Review : Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Nameless
Author : Jennifer Jenkins
Publication Date : October 6th 2015
Publisher : Month9Books
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Four clans have been at war for centuries: the Kodiak, the Raven, the Wolf and the Ram. Through brutal war tactics, the Ram have dominated the region, inflicting death and destruction on their neighbors.

Seventeen-year-old Zo is a Wolf and a Healer who volunteers to infiltrate the Ram as a spy on behalf of the allied clans. She offers herself as a Ram slave, joining the people who are called the “nameless.” Hers is a suicide mission – Zo’s despair after losing her parents in a Ram raid has left her seeking both revenge and an end to her own misery. But after her younger sister follows her into Rams Gate, Zo must find a way to survive her dangerous mission and keep her sister safe.

What she doesn’t expect to find is the friendship of a young Ram whose life she saves, the confusing feelings she develops for a Ram soldier, and an underground nameless insurrection. Zo learns that revenge, loyalty and love are more complicated than she ever imagined in the first installment of this two-book series. 

Personal Thoughts

Holy moly, you guys!! This book was EPIC in every way and so consuming. I not only had a hard time putting the book down, but when I did have to put it down, I could not stop thinking about the characters, the world and the romance. Nameless was the sort of the book that had me reeling and salivating for the next book. Jennifer Jenkins already has a huge fan in me!

Let me talk about the characters first : I freaking loved each and everyone of them. But especially the protagonist, Zo. When Nameless opened up, Zo was attempting to get into an enemy clan's camp, the Ram, so she could help her own clan, the Wolf, spy on them. This whole selfless act really set the stage for her character development. From the get go, Zo was a character who I absolutely loved. She was noble, loving and so loyal. Her devotion and strong bond with her sister, who also found herself infiltrating the Ram camp, was one of the many strongest points of Nameless. I loved that she cared so much for her sister and was willing to do anything for her. As an older sister myself who shares a strong bond with my sister, I connected emotionally with that. Not to mention, Zo was also badass and fierce in every way. This girl was the perfect heroine that I could ask of a fantasy book like Nameless.

We're also privy to the thoughts of Gryphon, a Ram soldier, who becomes close to Zo in the book. Gryphon was a tough character at times. You're never really sure of what his intentions are at the beginning. But once he started opening up to readers and his actions and motivations became clearer, it was easy to see that he was also a loyal, kind and thoughtful hero. He struggled with guilt over betraying his clan in minor ways at times even though deep down he knew he was right to do what he was doing. At the core, he was trying to make his clan a better group and I admired that about him and his willingness to rebel for a good cause made him a lovable character. By the end of the book, I was very much in love with Gryphon! The secondary characters in Nameless were also well-developed, and I especially grew a fondness for Joshua, a young boy who Zo heals at the beginning of the book and befriended.

Besides the characters being amazing, the world building in Nameless was also fantastic. Jennifer Jenkins, through her prose, slowly explored the world in her book, giving us snippets of information to help build a bigger and more vivid picture in readers' minds. We especially got to know about the Ram in this first book, but I'm excited and hoping that we'll get to see more of the others in the next book of the duology. The plot too was exciting and thrilling in every way. Like I mentioned, I had a really hard time putting the book down and I couldn't wait to find out what dangers the characters would face and how they would overcome them. Jennifer Jenkins is an amazing storyteller, and she knew exactly how to hook readers in with her storytelling.

The slow building romance was yet another part of the book that I LOVED. It was so tactfully done. The forbidden (my favorite) part to it added so much tension to their budding relationship. Plus, it was antagonistic, because they didn't trust each other very much at first. I loved watching them get close to one another and becoming better people in the process. The romance was swoony and made me ache in a really good way. You guys, I shipped this OTP like nobody's business. The ending killed a small part of my soul, but I have faith that the author will do these characters justice and I can't wait to see what epicness she has in store for us.

Fantasy fans, do not miss out on this epic new series. It's got everything that you could ever possibly want out of a all-consuming fantasy book: fierce characters, twisty plot, stunning world building, captivating prose and my favorite, a romance that will make you want to shout out your love for the couple at the top of your lungs. Do yourself a favor, and buy this book right away.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

**Overall Rating : 4.5/5**

Thank you to Month9Books for the e-ARC of Nameless.