Book Review: Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins

Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins

Pages: 338
Publish date: October 6th 2015
Publisher: Month9Books
ASIN: B01228EY3G
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US

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 neighbours.

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.

Nameless:

I received a copy of Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins from Month9Books for review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I hadn’t heard of this series or the author before I read Nick’s review a couple of months ago. The idea of the world was immediately captivating. And nonetheless, I trust Nick as we both have similar tastes in books.

Nameless follows protagonist Zo a Wolf and Healer who volunteers to infiltrate the Ram as a spy undercover. She has to become a slave and join the people that hate her kind. Her clan has put all their trust in her, and she wants revenge. However, unfortunately things don’t go to plan.

When she is at the Ram gate, Zo’s younger sister appears and now they are both putting their lives on the life. When Zo saves a young Ram’s life, she is marked as a healer. And with her growing feelings for a Ram solider, things are not going the way that she has planned. Not only is Zo loyal she is fierce and strong. I loved the fight that she had.

Zo was an intriguing protagonist. She had this strength about her that I admired. A love for her siblings and even essentially her clan. She has given up her life for revenge and not many people can do that – mind you a seventeen-year-old. When everyone around her hates her and marks her Nameless, Zo finds the strength to pull through.

Nameless has the basic revenge story. However, the world that Jennifer Jenkins has built is quite unique. The reader is on the edge of their seat through the whole story. We don’t know what is going to happen next if anyone is going to find out.

The world building of Nameless was exceptional. The reader is able to find things about the world throughout the story and there isn’t info dump. Which can sometimes happen with fantasy books. Nevertheless, the world was slowly built, and throughout the story layers upon layers were formed.

All the characters in Nameless are excellent. Everyone one is unique and engaging from the get go. I felt myself falling love with everyone. Gryphon was by far, the most enthralling. The reader doesn’t know too much about him at the start. We are not too sure where he stands and what he believes in. And as the story unfolds, so does he. Gryphon becomes close to Zo throughout Nameless and although it starts as this hate relationship, I love that it turns into something more.

I also love Gryphon’s relationship with Joshua. He cares so much for him and Gryphon only wants him to be strong. Joshua was the comic relief and he was needed. He was so beautiful and charming that I could not help but love him. However, Gryphon didn’t baby Joshua and instead taught him to be strong.

The romance was one of my favourite parts of Nameless. It was the beautiful slow-burning kind, which swept me away. Nevertheless, it was forbidden, swoony and left me wanting more.

Overall, Nameless pleasantly surprised me. Nameless explores friendships, family and believing in yourself. It’s about letting a name define you, and not letting your prejudice get in the way. The combination of a fascinating world, captivating characters and a brilliant plot, makes Nameless a must read for fantasy lovers.