Sky in the Deep

I’ve been sitting here for days trying to write this review. Basically, all I want to do is scream at you intensely to preorder this book immediately and just thank me later.

There’s isn’t a whole lot more I can tell you about the plot that isn’t already said in the blurb…not without spoiling everything for you.

What I can say is this: Eelyn is a hardcore, badass boss! I’m basically nearly old enough to be her mother, but I want to be her when I grow up.
She has definitely become my new favourite protagonist, and it didn’t even take 5 pages for that to happen. She immediately leaps off the page and into your heart. Plus, we’re introduced to the sweetest and most adorable cinnamon roll to ever grace the page. Halvard may only be a child, but he stole my heart with his pure cuteness.

I can’t really be sure why goodreads has classified it as “fantasy”. To me, it’s more of an ancient historical fiction story with slight mythological aspects. Regardless, it’s a gorgeous and juicy story that has latched onto my soul and I’ll happily keep it there for all eternity. It’s a story about revenge, betrayal, heartbreak, acceptance, and love.

The thing I loved the most about the book were the action scenes. They honestly knocked the wind out of me with how well they were written. Hands down, some of the best written scene I’ve ever read. They weren’t overly descriptive, just descriptive enough to be able to picture it all and feel like you’re fighting right alongside the characters.

I’m honestly shocked that this is Young’s debut novel. She’s a writing pro and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
(*whisper screams* please write more books set in this world with these characters! I don’t want to let go!)

Loved this.

We seriously need more viking novels. I really just enjoyed these characters. I enjoyed the themes of forgiveness and accepting those who believe differently than you. I could have used more fighting (even though there was a good bit of it, as vikings you can never have too much) and more about what happens next but I guess I’ll have to wait for the next book.

I am super excited to read The Girl The Sea Gave Back soon!

Sky in the Deep has one kick butt heroine that will totally knock your socks off!! She is the warrior, the daughter, the sister, and of course the lover and I loved Eelyn so freaking much!! I read this book in one setting and just could not put down and I am so happy that I already have book two so I can read that one as well.

The story is one that was kind of what I would consider childish. That two tribes come together every 5 years to battle and kill each other. I kind of wished that the author would have chosen a real reason why these two tribes were killing each other. So that was a little weird. The other issue I had was the flow of some of the chapters. It felt like they didn’t flow from one to the other very well. But this didn’t happen very often.

This was a wonderful historical fiction with no fantasy elements which was a great break from the norm. I was at first missing those elements but after a few chapters in I didn’t miss any of that at all. The story was steeped in the culture and religion of the Vikings and I loved what the author did. I do wish that we would have gotten some more of this than what we got but I am happy with how it all turned out.

In the end this book gave me everything I was looking for family, love, life, forgiveness, and more!

Sky in the Deep is a young adult historical Viking age inspired fantasy novel. This is an amazing standalone novel. Yes even with that ending it is a verified standalone. Eelyn an Aska warrior believes she saw her brother die in a battle five years ago. Now when in combat with a Riki clan she sees her brother fighting on the battlefield with the enemy. Eelyn is captured by the Riki’s and now hows to decide how to forgive her brother and whether or not to trust Fiske.

“Ond Eldr
Breath Fire.”

I received this book in the May 2018 Owl Crate box and I was on the fence whether or not I wanted to read it. Some days it sounded so good and other I was meh. All in all, I am very happy that I gave this book a chance. It really surprised me how much I liked it. I am really impressed with Adrienne Young’s writing especially since this was a debut novel. I am not a person that is big on a lot of companion novels but I will have to check out what she has coming up next year. Since its going to be a companion novel I really hope that it focuses on Fiske. I just need more.

“Vegr yfir fjor.
Honor above life.”

If I am being honest I was on the fence about how I felt about this book until the last fourth. That last fourth was just remarkable. Such a good balance of action and romance. I also am a sucker for Hate to love is the one trope I can never get enough of. Adrienne Young did not hold back on the gore in this book. So if you are not very good with that you may want to be careful reading this book. I cringed more than once.

Pure and so beautiful! <3

A Must Read!!!

I loved this book such great characters and the story was great

What a story it was, OH BOY. It left me with such a book hangover that I still felt the high after a week finishing. This is a phenomenal story but not at all what I executed. Although I had a really hard time writing a review without saying to much thus spoiling the story but I certainly tried. However I caution everybody who wants to continue that there might be a couple of really minor spoilers in there.
The story started out in the middle of a battle and while it’s exciting and exhilarating, it’s also a bit hectic and if I want to be completely honest not the best written fight sequence I ever encountered in a book. While the writing is really vivid and electric overall, this first and later the final battle scenes would have place for improvement and a bit of fine tuning here and there. That aside back to the beginning, while it’s not the best, it still gives a perfect picture about the mindset of the main character. And anyway the focus of the plot is so not the fighting, but rather self discovery and looking at things in a different light alas breaking the mold in a time when customs, rules are the way of life.
I loved how the story generated such conflicting emotions in me from the very beginning. First with understanding the reasoning behind Iri actions but also with reading the events form Eelyn point of view seeing side of the story as well. After that the whole plot revolves around these conflicting emotional reactions regarding clans, beliefs, family and everything in between. The root of the problem in here is that the main character experiences and sees things from different angles and start to doubt what she thought her way of life should be. It causes a lot of trouble for her but I loved how she handled herself.
Okay, so maybe I think if there was a bit more focus on the ‘personal’ betrayal aspect of things rather than the betrayal towards the clan/deity it would have given an extra edge to the book but it was an amazing story as it was as well.
The story is narrated by Eelyn, the main character and before I started reading I kind of built up a picture about her character in my head just based on the synopsis and the cover and that one was about a badass, fierce warrior woman and whiles she was that and more her strength in this book wasn’t that. She is a daughter, a son, a warrior, a woman, a friend and more at the same time. She has so many obligations to fulfill that I feel she kind of got lost in there. By following the rules of her clan and her father she thrives to be the best she can but she is not infallible and when something shocking happens to her, her world crumbles and her vulnerabilities get front row seat. And basically the plot is about her building herself up from the ashes in a new light. She sees behind the façade of the enemy and gains a new understanding. All of this propelled by fragile love and family. She is one amazing main character on a beautiful journey.
There are a couple of other characters whom play an important role in the line of events but they still somewhat stay on the background and represent a guideline for Eelyn. I loved Fiske, with his brooding and seemingly cold demeanor but his soft, caring inner self. I also think that Halvard’s eager, open personally wasn’t just cute but a necessary element for Eelyn transformation as well.
The storyline has a steady pace but it still felt like it flew by in minutes. This is one of the stories that I could read endlessly and it’s a shame that it ended. However around 80% I started to worry, if there is going to be a big conflict they been gearing up to. It was a bit strange and disorienting how late certain events played out in the grand scheme of things but it worked in this case.
I just loved every minute of this story and I’m amazed by the atmosphere the author created for her book. It was a surprising read for me and I hope Adrienne Young keeps up this level and produces some more similarly magical tales.
While I enjoyed the book and I’m sad that it ended it’s kind of refreshing encountering a standalone YA fantasy, since nowadays trilogies and duologues became a thing. It was the right choice on the author part.