Book Review · Books

The Last Namsara (Iskari #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli [BOOK REVIEW]

The Last Namsara (Iskari #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli [BOOK REVIEW]

I adored The Last Namsara! It was the fantasy escape I didn’t know I needed. I also now know that every book that has dragons in it is likely to be a hit. If you have a favourite dragon book, please do let me know! 

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 darkness—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 learning 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.

The Last Namsara (Iskari #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 421

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Publisher: Gollancz

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

Thoughts:

In a kingdom on the verge of war, Asha is in the centre of everything. Not only because her father is the king, but because she is on the road to redemption. Eight years ago, she told a dragon an ancient story, and the next thing she knew, her mother was dead. Not only that, but the town burnt to ashes and she’s left with a burn scar on her face and body. Since then, she has been the most notorious dragon hunter, vowing to kill the last dragon standing and re-unite the kingdom. 

Asha deals with a lot of self-discovery in this book.

Finding out also other truths and being on the crossroads of who and what to believe. She is a powerful lady from day one and I loved that about her. But she doesn’t have freedom. She’s betrothed to a man she despises. And going on one more dragon hunting adventure can set her free from him. What she ends up realising is that she was more “imprisoned” than she imagined. But also, freedom can come in different ways.

Apart from Asha’s amazing story, we have so many other stories entwined with hers, that make this book special. Safire, Dax and Roa – a very integral part of Asha’s journey, as they battle issues of their own. Torwin, who ended up being my favourite character with his unconditional love and support. Someone who was not afraid to look Death in the eyes, all in the name of love, rightfulness, happiness and freedom. 

“I’ll wait for you at Death’s gate.”

And it goes without saying, Shadow and Kozu, the two dragons, who made me love them so much through the pages. The kingdom politics and scheming were very well thought of. The book felt like a YA Game of Thrones trope. Very different in plot, but sharing some of the main trope similarities. The part I loved the most were the ancient stories and their significance in a world where they were now forbidden. 

“Eight years had made her forget: dragons liked to tell stories almost as much as they liked to hear them.”

When the stories are so powerful and unite people that were segregated for a long time.

Stories so powerful, that leaders and kings feared so much, they banned everyone from telling them. It was quite satisfying to read about all these people refusing to be censored. Refusing to be silenced, and finally being able to not only tell their stories, but shout them freely. This book managed to evoke all feelings out of me, and that’s what made it special!

About The Author:

The Last Namsara (Iskari #1) by Kristen Ciccarelli [BOOK REVIEW]

Kristen Ciccarelli is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been translated into a dozen languages.

Before writing books for a living, Kristen dropped out of college and worked various jobs. These included: fruit picker, artisanal baker, L’Arche assistant, community bake oven coordinator, bookseller, and potter. She also spent a year living in a punk house.

Today, Kristen resides in the Niagara region of Ontario with her husband and their book-obsessed toddler. She is happiest when she’s reading a good book by a warm fire or chasing her giggly daughter down the shores of Lake Erie.

Website: https://www.kristenciccarelli.com/

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Book Review · Books

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly [BOOK REVIEW]

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly [BOOK REVIEW]

After reading “The Stepsister” by Jennifer Donnelly, I was keen to start “Poisoned” and read Snow White’s reteiling, but I wasn’t impressed.

Synopsis:

Once upon a time, a girl named Sophie rode into the forest with the queen’s huntsman. Her lips were the color of ripe cherries, her skin as soft as new-fallen snow, her hair as dark as midnight. When they stopped to rest, the huntsman pulled out his knife… and took Sophie’s heart.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Sophie had heard the rumors, the whispers. They said she was too kind and foolish to rule – a waste of a princess. A disaster of a future queen. And Sophie believed them. She believed everything she’d heard about herself, the poisonous words people use to keep girls like Sophie from becoming too powerful, too strong…

With the help of seven mysterious strangers, Sophie manages to survive. But when she realizes that the jealous queen might not be to blame, Sophie must find the courage to face an even more terrifying enemy, proving that even the darkest magic can’t extinguish the fire burning inside every girl, and that kindness is the ultimate form of strength.

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 410

Genre: Fantasy, Retelling, Romance, Young Adult

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★

Thoughts:

Sophie, the main character, has a heart of gold that we instantly see. Then, the huntsman actually stabs her and takes her heart, leaving her dying in the forest. The lovely seven men in the house in the woods help her stay alive by building her a clockwork heart. This is probably the only things different compared to the Snow White story, aside for the King of Crows part.

For me, it felt like reading the original story again and that wasn’t why I picked this book up.

In “The Stepsister” , although it’s the Cinderella retelling, it was all about the stepsister and the author had the freedom to create her own story. However, here, Sophie just followed the trope of the original Snow White tale. I liked the metaphor of the heart – people losing their will, and their faith in the kingdom ruled by a ruthless queen. The metaphor of their freedom being taken away when ruling by fear is implemented.

I enjoyed Snow White losing her heart and then going on the adventure to find it. Although, I have to admit, I didn’t enjoy the part about the King of Crows and his connection to the queen. In the end, it felt like everything the queen had done was because she was forced to do it. This ended up making her not the true villain and having no responsibility nor accountability. What about all those people in the kingdom that suffered from her ruthless hands?

That being said, I liked the revelation of how the people in the kingdom lived. The promise of a better tomorrow with a queen that actually cares about her people. I also enjoyed the romance that wasn’t actually the main point in the story or a crucial element in the book plot. It was one of those cute side plots that kept me interested.

In the end, a bad taste in my mouth still stays with me after reading the book. There wasn’t a lot of originality and after I finished it, it felt like I finished Snow White, not a retelling.

About The Author:

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly [BOOK REVIEW]

Jennifer Donnelly is an American writer of young adult fiction best known for the historical novel A Northern Light. A Northern Light was published as A Gathering Light in the U.K. There, it won the 2003 Carnegie Medal, recognizing the year’s outstanding children’s book.

She lives in London and her debut novel, No Life for a Lady, will be published in Spring 2023.

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Book Review · Books

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin [BOOK REVIEW]

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin [BOOK REVIEW]

I remember loving Elsewhere when I read it as a teenager. And now, reading it again, I know why I always loved it so much. It’s sad, happy, but most importantly, real. 

About the book:

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 271

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

My Thoughts:

“I’m just a girl who forgot to look both ways before she crossed the street.”

Liz is almost 16 and she dies in a hit-and-run accident. And this is where her story begins. Instead of going wherever it is that people go when they’re dead, she wakes up on a big boat that’s heading to a place called Elsewhere. It turns out that people go to Elsewhere when they die, they live there (if you can call it that), age backwards and then return to Earth as babies to be (quite literally) reborn. 

As we follow Liz around on the ship, she is having a very hard time understanding she is dead. She thinks this is all a dream and expects to be woken up anytime. 

“It can be particularly difficult for young people to realise they have passed. Young people tend to think they’re immortal. Many of them can’t conceive of themselves as dead.”

As the story goes on, Liz meets her grandma, Betty, who passed away before Liz was born. Due to how time is measured in Elsewhere, Betty now looks quite young. Young enough to be in a relationship with Liz’s friend. We’ll get into that in a minute.

Liz is supposed to now live her life and find an avocation.

An avocation is like a job on Earth, except you have to really enjoy doing it and can only do it if it makes you happy. So Liz becomes a counsellor for the Division of Domestic Animals, and her task is to welcome dogs on Elsewhere and explain everything to them when they arrive. I loved the idea that the dogs could talk with some people that can speak the dog language. Some of my favourite scenes are when the dogs are talking – the humour in them is priceless!

At the beginning, Liz is having a very hard time accepting this reality. She dies before she could truly live her life and she will never grow up, have children, buy a house, or grow old. Not on Earth and not in Elsewhere either. She’ll just age backwards from 16 to 0. She is very depressed and spends a lot of time at the Observation Desks, where she can watch people on Earth through binoculars. She even tries an illegal way to make contact and it massively backfires. 

“Many people on Earth spend their whole lives dead.”

But in all this grief, she meets a friend and things slowly start to get better for her. She starts to find joy in the years she has left and enjoys herself. This book has a powerful message about living in the moment and making the most of life with the cards you’ve been dealt. It’s a sad, but true story about life and death, grieving, depression, but also about friendships and love.

“People, you’ll find, aren’t usually all good or all bad. Sometimes they’re a little bit good and a whole lot bad. And sometimes, they’re mostly good with a dash of bad. And most of us, well, we fall in the middle somewhere.”

The ending is a bit sad, but at the same time satisfying. And it will definitely make you want to read the book backwards as soon as you have finished it. 

About The Author:

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin [BOOK REVIEW]

Gabrielle Zevin is an internationally best-selling and critically acclaimed author, whose books have been translated into thirty-eight languages.

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry spent several months on the New York Times Best Seller List, reached #1 on the National Indie Best Seller List, was a USA Today Best Seller, and has been a best seller all around the world.

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Book Review · Books

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini [BOOK REVIEW]

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini [BOOK REVIEW]

I cannot believe it took me this long to finally mark Eragon as a read book. This book has been on my shelves for way too long and I am happy I finally got to it.

About The Book:

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1) by Christopher Paolini [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 517

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Young Adult

Publisher: Penguin Random House

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★★

My Thoughts:

Knowing how saturated the fantasy genre is today, I was apprehensive going into the book. The boy and the dragon story have been used very frequently. But as soon as I read the first few chapters, I was transported to Eragon’s farm in Carvahall, joined his adventure and never looked back. 

Eragon is just a boy on a farm, doing his bit to help his uncle. When one day he finds a shiny blue egg, he is sure he can sell it in town and buy food for the winter. But as soon as people find out he got it from the Spine, they want nothing to do with it. So Eragon decides to keep it for a bit, until he can find a buyer. When the egg cracks and a dragon is hatched, Eragon’s whole world is about to change. He knows a few things: he has a special connection with the dragon through his mind and he is in big danger. Along the way, an old man called Brom offers Eragon help and knowledge, and we find out so much more about dragons, Dragon Riders, magic and all the dangers Eragon Is about to face for being a Dragon Rider in his time, when the king is searching for him. 

From one adventure into another, the book is quite rich with action, stories, and interesting characters. I really liked Angela and the merecat, as well as the Twins. They seemed quite interesting, although I can’t say I trust them. I liked Brom and Murdoch too – their knowledge and experience in different topics intrigued me. 

The magic in Eragon was a cool concept.

I liked the Ancient language and the fact that you have to know certain words to cast a spell. I also liked that you cannot lie in the Ancient language, although I’ve seen that before in other lore that features elves. And I was also quite intrigued by the “true name” and the power it held, the possible duels and the rules on how magic works from a distance. The magic concept in Eragon intrigued me a lot and I loved that. 

Be prepared to watch Eragon learn about who he is now, his legacy and his powers. And watch him try to choose what allegiance he should aid, and how involved he wants to be. The Spiderman quote “with great power comes great responsibility” rings very true in this book. 

Eragon’s dragon, Saphira, is also a big character. She has great powers and ancient wisdom, and together with Eragon they make a great team. They share a unique bond and I’m excited to see how they’ll grow stronger together. 

I will be continuing the series and pick up the second book in the series, Eldest. I am curious to know more about their adventures. If you haven’t read Eragon yet and love fantasy, I warmly recommend it. It made me forget I was a book reviewer for a long time. I was so captivated by the story I forgot to take notes and had to re-read some parts of the book later. Could not recommend it more!

About The Author:

Christopher Paolini was born in Southern California and has lived most of his life in Paradise Valley, Montana. He published his first novel, Eragon, in 2003 at the age of nineteen, and quickly became a publishing phenomenon. His Inheritance Cycle—Eragon and its three sequels—have sold nearly 40 million copies worldwide. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is his first adult novel.

Visit Paolini.net for the latest news about this project and connect with other fans at Shurtugal.com, his Facebook page and Twitter profile

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Book Review · Books

Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer [BOOK REVIEW]

Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer [BOOK REVIEW]

I am so privileged to have an advanced reader’s edition of “Some Mistakes Were Made” by Kristin Dwyer. Huge thank you to the team at Harper 360 YA.

About The Book:

Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer [BOOK REVIEW]


Pages: 374

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Young Adult

Publisher: Harper 360 YA

Format I read it in: Paperback, Uncorrected Proof

Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis:

Ellis and Easton have been inseparable since childhood. Everything they do, they do it together. And Easton’s family also takes Ellis into their home due to her personal circumstances. But one rash decision changes everything, and Ellis is forced to move halfway across the country. It’s been a year now and Ellis hasn’t spoken to Easton. And maybe it’s better that way – allowing the heart some time to heal. But when Easton’s mum invites her back home for a visit, Ellis is quickly surrounded by the anger, sadness and betrayal she felt a year ago. And also with the boy she never stopped loving!

My Thoughts:

I was bawling my eyes out whilst reading “Some Mistakes Were Made”. Easton and Ellis really captured my heart. I could feel all their teenage angst, anger, sadness, love and the pain of a broken heart, especially when that happens to be your first love.

“Easton is a habit I can’t break. A feeling I can’t let go of. A truth I only admit in my weakest moments.”

This book reminded me of feelings I felt years ago, and took me back to a time when I could feel exactly how they were feeling, and for that, I shall cherish this book!

“And I have to be careful because memories are like rain. A harmless drop here and there falling against my mind, then suddenly, I’m standing beneath a flood.”

Ellis and Easton have this intense chemistry between them, and when they are not together, the love transforms into great pain and suffering for both of them. How Kristin Dwyer managed to capture all those vibes into the pages of this book I will never know, but I am here for it.

Ellis was also a very powerful character.

Reading about her story and her family, I had so much love for her. Making choices like those is difficult, and dealing with things she dealt with was not easy at all. I unfortunately, may have had the misfortune in my life to find similarities there. I am glad she had Easton to be there for here, even though for only a moment. And not only Easton, but his brothers too. They are, honest to God, angels in every sense of the way. I love how they accept Ellis into their family and never stop caring for her!

“Old people say all the time that they wished they’d travelled when they were young. Let’s go on an adventure. Let’s see the world and meet interesting people and eat weird food and live a life that’s bigger than this house and a lake and your parents and my parents.”

When I picked this book up, I was expecting teenage romance. And I got so much more! Little did I know, this book would make me feel so many things and bring me back my high school memories in such a vivid way. Be ready for a story that features love, suffering, resilience, family, teen angst and a better hope for the future! I cannot recommend it enough!

About The Author:

Some Mistakes Were Made by Kristin Dwyer [BOOK REVIEW]

Kristin Dwyer grew up under the California sun and still prays every day for a cloudy sky. When she’s not writing books about people kissing, she and her spouse can be found encouraging their four overly opinionated misfits to get into trouble. Kristin is a part-time hair model and wants you to know she is full-time TSA PRECHECK, and one time a credible news outlet asked for her opinion on K-pop (it was the best day of her life). Please do not talk to her about your fandom, she will try to join.
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