Review: The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli

Series: Iskara #1
Publication Date: October 3rd 2017
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA, Fantasy 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis: In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be dark—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death bringer. 

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up hearing in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

My Rating

5/5 stars

My Review

The Last Namsara is absolutely fantastic. Amazing characters, tons of action and dragons! Its perfect for all YA fans.

As a little girl, Asha was burned by the first dragon. Now she's made it her mission to slay all the dragons in her land, including the one thats burned her. The only way the King will let Asha annul her marriage to Jarek, the man that saved her life, but has continued to make it miserable every day since, is if she kills the first dragon, and brings his head before him. But when Asha's brother asks her to save the life of a slave, and an ancient god visits Asha and gives her gifts, along with special tasks to complete, Asha is running out on time to kill the dragon.. Will she face the wrath of the gods, or will she save herself from a terrible marriage.

Asha is such an amazing main character. She is strong, intelligent, sassy and a badass. I instantly fell in love with her from the beginning of the book, and her character development made me love her even more. She has a very strong and determine attitude, and will definitely follow her heart and do something, even though she may be hated for it, or face a prison sentence for breaking the law. It was definitely hard for me to say goodbye to her at the end of the book.

There were other fantastic characters, such as her brother, her cousin, and the slave. Every character was so unique, yet crucial to the story. Its not often that secondary characters go through a really impressive character development, but surprisingly a great deal of secondary characters in this book did. I was really impressed with the character development of everyone.

As soon as I heard this book had dragons in it, I knew I had to have it. While the dragons definitely made the story better, the fantasy aspect of the story was really well written as well. The whole plot line was so creative, and the addition of the old gods, as well having royals vs slaves, it was all so creative. It's been a while since I've read a book that has incorporated slavery and shown just how horrible it really is, the author did such an amazing job in making it sound realistic, great job.

I loved every single aspect of this book, the only thing I would change would be to add a bit more surprises to the story, it was just a tad too predictable. Overall I still really enjoyed it and I can't wait to continue this series.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Review: The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Series: Ravenspire #1
Publication Date: February 16th, 2016
Publisher: Balzer + Bray 
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Retelling 
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ TBD

Synopsis:  Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

My Rating

3/5 stars

My Review

I've always loved retellings, and I haven't read one about Snow White before. The Shadow Queen had so much potential, but unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations.

Lorelai Diederich had everything taken from him. Queen Irina stole her father, her people and her kingdom. Lorelai and her brother are forced to hide out until Lorelai gains enough strength and learns to control her magic so she can kill Queen Irina once and for all. In the land of dragons, Prince Kol becomes King after the tragic death of his parents and older brother. The only way he can protect his kingdom from the invading ogres is to align with Queen Irina so she can use her magic against the ogres, but Queen Irina forces Kol to track down Lorelai and bring her her heart.

Magic, dragons, and a princess going on a mission to defend her kingdom. Doesn't that just sound wonderful? Well it really would have been if it wasn't for the boring plot, lame characters and a romance that was okay, but you'd never ship.

Lorelai definitely had potential of being a good main character, she's determined and kind. Unfortunately I grew really tired of dialogue and actions very fast. She's not the brightest and continues to repeat her mistakes. After a while, her story just became very boring. I didn't want to read from her perspective because I knew exactly what she was going to say and do. There was no excitement and nothing that made me want to keep reading.
Kol was actually a really good main character. I loved reading about him in his dragon form and how he's trying his best to lead his kingdom even though he didn't have a clue how to do it. I really admired him in the beginning, it wasn't until his romance with Lorelai started developing where he became very predictable and downright boring. 

I listened to the audiobook, and there was a point in the story where I actually fell asleep and missed a good half hour, I didn't even go back to re-listen, I just continued because I knew it was going to be a boring part anyways and I'd rather just do my best to finish this book.

While this book had a very cute ending, it left me with a bunch of questions at the end and a feeling of "this is highly unlikely to work out."

I really wanted to like this book more than I did, maybe my expectations were too high. I would only recommend this book if you're a huge fan of retellings and you don't mind predictability and boring plot. I hope you guys like this one more than I did.

Happy Reading,
Aneta

Talon by Julie Kagawa

Series: Talon #1
Publication Date: October 28, 2014
Genre:YA, Fantasy
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: Long ago, dragons were hunted to near extinction by the Order of St. George, a legendary society of dragon slayers. Hiding in human form and growing their numbers in secret, the dragons of Talon have become strong and cunning, and they're positioned to take over the world with humans none the wiser.

Ember and Dante Hill are the only sister and brother known to dragonkind. Trained to infiltrate society, Ember wants to live the teen experience and enjoy a summer of freedom before taking her destined place in Talon. But destiny is a matter of perspective, and a rogue dragon will soon challenge everything Ember has been taught. As Ember struggles to accept her future, she and her brother are hunted by the Order of St. George.

Soldier Garret Xavier Sebastian has a mission to seek and destroy all dragons, and Talon's newest recruits in particular. But he cannot kill unless he is certain he has found his prey: and nothing is certain about Ember Hill. Faced with Ember's bravery, confidence and all-too-human desires, Garret begins to question everything that the Order has ingrained in him: and what he might be willing to give up to find the truth about dragons. 

 My Rating: 5/5 stars

My Review: “They wanted me to sit, listen, learn, be quiet, when I wanted to run, shout, jump, fly.” 

I did not think Julie Kagawa could have done any better than she did with the Iron Fey Series... Yet I was proven wrong!!

I am a huge dragon fan! Except that every time I've read dragon books I've usually been really disappointed which is why I was very hesitant in trying this series! 
I am so glad that I did, because Julie writes about dragons like I've never seen before. This whole idea that dragons can switch into human form and have tried to live amongst us for a while now is so fantastic I couldn't believe no one ever came up with his before.

I love Ember! Her attitude and personality is so amazing and hilarious, there were moments where I didn't know if I should laugh with her or admire her for the things she did! She's one of those characters where she doesn't like being told what to do, and she likes to know the details of what she's doing and why she's doing it, which is exactly what Talon doesn't provide her. I love how she's brave enough to try and seek out answers on her own to discover the truth about Talon.
There were moments where she really had me worried, she could have handled some situation way better than how she did it, but it just added to her character and made me admire her even more.

Garret and Riley... I usually have a clear choice in love triangles but this time I'm stumped. I love Garret, and I love how he is going through pretty much the same thing and Ember and not knowing if their organization has been honest with them. He's really cute and I super athletic which I love. But on the other hand we have Riley, and he's that badass/motorcycle riding/rouge dragon. I usually have a thing for the mysterious bad guy that ends up falling in love with the main character, but this time I would have to say that I like Garret's personality way more than Riley, but Riley is a dragon which is major cool.
If Garret was a dragon I would most likely be trying to get married to him right now, but I guess not all wishes come true.

The plot of this story was fantastic, while it was a little long, there was tons of action and surprises that made you want to keep reading. Julie's writing just keeps getting better and better, and it just makes you fall in love with the characters, the plot and the world-building. All aspects of the book were perfectly written.

I cannot wait to continue reading this series when the next book comes out. I highly recommend this book to all Fantasy lovers, no matter the age group, and no matter if you like Dragons or not. You will love this book.

Happy Reading,
-Aneta