6 Stars | TOP REC

Sky in the Deep was an immersive and spellbinding fantasy novel with a richly-plotted, adventurous story full of a brutally hard existence and the strength and culture of a people. Its impressive and enchanting worldbuilding made it incredibly easy to slip into this world and become enamored with each character's purpose to the story, and it was--from start to finish--an absolutely stunning debut from Adrienne Young.

This character-driven tale beautifully showcased a self-sustaining warrior heroine that fought on the frontlines with her clan and lived for the glory of her people. Eelyn's impulsive and brash tendencies added to the complexity of her character, and for all of her stubbornness and strong convictions, she wasn't without compassion and humanity. Her journey was as heartbreaking as it was touching for it wasn't just about war and differences between clans, but of a fighter of a young woman growing to understand a culture and people outside of her own--even if doing so broke everything inside of her. Eelyn felt so close to my own self--maybe more than a book character ever has--and because of the brazen nature of Young's depiction of a perfectly flawed woman, many readers will find pieces of themselves in her regardless of the fantasy aspect. Even with such an adventurous and action-packed story, Young also perfectly wove in a subtle but lush romance that was as instinctive as it was raw--a well-earned and truly powerful addition to this tale.

Every aspect of Sky in the Deep was carefully crafted to create an addictive story that encapsulated so many important aspects of a person--from family to beliefs to resiliency and loyalties--and brought them to life. She's a character to root for, to mourn for, and to rue the loss of once the final page has come. Young's writing is polished and skilled, beautiful and evocative, and positively beguiling. Her writing amazes from page one and she kept on delivering with every new page. It took months to find words for this review and they do not even touch, in my opinion, the greatness of this novel, but if any Young Adult book is worth the buy, this one is.

Wow. Sky in the Deep was stunning. I knew absolutely nothing about Vikings coming into this book so it took me a few chapters to get into it and make sense of the fighting. Once I was hooked, I could not put it down. Sky in the Deep is a beautifully written story full of warriors, love, family and loss. Eelyn is one kickass heroine. There were times the story made my heart ache in my chest while other moments were so warm and tender it brought a tear to my eye. I am also really enjoying the recent number of authors who are taking on the topics of hate and prejudice in all its forms. I will definitely be on the look our for what Adrenne Young does next!

Full review will be live on my blog at www.readandwander.com within the week before the book is released.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press Wednesday Books for the privilege of reading and review Sky in the Deep!

First and foremost, than you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this early! I always love and appreciate the chance to review books early. Second, I want to throw out that no one is more disappointed here than I am. I had such high hopes for this and the reviews from other bloggers made me actually jump with joy when I received the email saying I got this. But, as you can tell from my less than stellar rating, there were some problems.

Let's start with what I did like; the characters and the writing. I don't necessarily know if I liked Eelyn on her own, but I liked her interactions with other characters. I really like Inge and Halvard, and I liked the way Eelyn was with them through the ending of the book. Seeing Eelyn's relationship with Iri, who was half Aska and half Riki, was really interesting. It was like their relationship was a direct reflection of the book as a whole. The romance that was blossoming between Fiske and Eelyn was probably this book's saving grace to me because at one point I was only reading to see how this would play out. And I'm sure a lot of people are going to gripe about the fact that she's falling in love with her captor but it wasn't a Stockholm Syndrome thing at all. It seems weird, but I think the only characters I did like were the Riki characters.

The writing was great. It was beautiful and intricate and I think had this been a different book I could have really liked this author. Depending on what her next book is I'll definitely be giving her another chance. I think when it came to this book it was more content that I disliked than it was anything else.

Now on to what I didn't like; the plot and pacing. Here's the thing, the book starts out fast. Like right in the first three or four chapters you're thrust into battle with Eelyn and she sees her brother and then she's kidnapped. And that's it. That's basically the most exciting thing about this book aside from the romance aspect. I remember I was exactly 25% through and all I could think was "I'm literally so bored". This book was like 10% fighting and romance and interesting bits and 90% just pointless conversations, garlic crushing, and walking. The pacing was wildly off the mark and it meant that all the action was clustered in the beginning and ending of the book, making the whole middle super boring aside from like two or three pages.

I can't express to you how boring this book was. The only reason I gave it two stars instead of one was because I liked the romance and the characters and I finished it just to see how it ended for them. The third clan, the Herja, are played up to be these ghosts that just slip into the camps and kill everyone and leave and you're left thinking this is some supernatural clan of actual ghosts. But you never learn anything about them! Like nothing at all. They just fight them, that's it. The one thing that could have been interesting is instead ignored and forgotten.

Be advised that this is a standalone and thus there isn't some major cliffhanger ending, but I kind of wish there was because then the ending would have actually been interesting. I'm actually really proud of myself for pushing through with this and finishing it for this review. I'm glad so many people were obsessed with this but it just wasn't for me and I'm really sad about it, I wanted to be wowed but this book just really missed the mark.

I loved the influence by the Celtics and Vikings and I really enjoyed this book. One of the only faults it has is that it ended.
Eelyn is strong, battle proven and loyal to her family and clan. I loved the beginning of the book as we were immediately thrown into the battle but still got to see how Eelyn is characterwise and what is important to her so we can care for her and her friend Myra.
I really enjoyed following her journey and I’m thankful for this book because it gave me back the hope that characters who focus on their honour a lot can be great and clever characters. I’ve often read characters who act quite stupid just to be honourable and not only endanger their own life (because who cares) but that of others, too and oftentimes without a good enough reason (for me at least).
Eelyn had a reason to prefer death over losing her honour and I could totally understand where she was coming from. The worldbuilding, their culture and the differences and similarities between the two clans were quite interesting and I would have loved to go even more in-depth.
Eelyn coming to terms with what happened and what is in her immediate future was done brilliantly and I loved her struggling and her determination not to give and not to forgive were quite realistic.
The family dynamics were another part I really liked. Her fragile relationship with her brother, her slowly warming heart to the little kid … were beautiful to witness. Also, her relationship with her best friend Myra and her Dad felt raw and real.
A lot of the characters were interesting, all very different and with their very own struggles, hopes and dreams.
Again, the atmosphere was great and I would have liked the book to be a bit longer so we had more time to really explore not only the world and culture but the people and their feelings more. This book really gripped me and I can only recommend it!

This book is filled with incredibly worldbuilding, and that was my favorite part of this story. There was so much thought put into the different cultures in the book and everything they did.
I also really enjoyed the main character. She is such a complex person and also such a badass.

The only fault I found (and it wasn’t much of one) is the pacing throughout the 2nd half of the story. There was a lot of time just spent talking and explaining without much else all of a sudden, as well as a Love subplot that emerged very suddenly. I know this is YA, and I definitely saw the love subplot coming, but I felt like they went straight from no attraction to declaring their love.

5 stars!

*

Sky in the Deep is an incredible and refreshing YA Fantasy novel. The world-building is fascinating and very well-done, with a setting that works great as a background for an intriguing, tense, and action-filled plot. The characters are layered and complex and, with a fast pace, it’s a delight to read about them struggling with honor, betrayal, and love.

Adrienne Young shows so much promise with this debut novel. The writing is engaging and really hooks you in right from the start. The characters, even being Vikings, are somehow super relatable. There is so much emotion in each page and character interaction that makes it hard to put this novel down.

I am!!! in love!!!! Sky in the Deep blew past any and all kind of expectations I had. This is an amazing standalone story that captures your attention right from the very first chapter. The action and set up to the story are amazing, and the story only gets better the more you read.

Eelyn, as a narrative voice, is wonderful. She’s a great main character and it’s really easy to connect with her and feel her pain. Her character development throughout the book is also very well-done, as she struggles and changes her perspective. That can also be said for all side-characters: they’re all interesting in their own right.

Action is a really big part of the novel and it’s all so well-written. The fast pace and, at times, slow build up to it is so so so good. There’s also a slight sprinkle of romance that works really well with the overall plot, although the focus of the novel is very much on familial relationships and the rising tensions between clans.

In the end, Sky in the Deep is a unique and lovely read. The plot is very well written and developed, the characters are easy to connect and relate to, and the struggles the characters face are interesting. The setting only helps to bring it all together, and the sweet ending is the perfect way to balance out and contrast a rather striking beginning. Definitely recommend this to all Fantasy fans, especially those looking for something new!

I freaking loved this so much! From the very first pages I was completely hooked.

This is a Viking-inspired tale. We have two clans that have completely opposite believes. Our MC, Eelyn, is a warrior from a clan called Aska, who worship the god Sigr. According to the legend, it’s Sigr’s will, that the Aska fight their enemies – the Riki, who worship the goddess Thora – every five years. The Aska and the Riki have been hating each other due to their beliefs for as long as they can remember.

During one of those battles that happen every 5 years, Eelyn sees her brother, Iri, who she thought to be dead, fighting as a Riki and soon after, she is captured by the Riki. She is kept as a slave by Iri’s new Riki family, that try to protect her and let her escape. In the beginning, she doesn’t understand how it’s possible that her brother turned himself into a Riki, but the longer she lives with them, the more difficult it becomes to hate them. Until one day, a clan that has been feared for long appears and does more damage than it ever did before, killing both Aska and Riki people. Will that mutual enemy be enough to break such an ancient blood feud?

This world is fantastic, the characters are fantastic, the writing is fantastic… I absolutely loved everything about it! Where the hell do I start?! Ahhh!!

Okay… I’m calm now. Let’s start with Eelyn. I LOVE Eelyn. She truly is a badass heroine. She is fierce, strong, independent and yet… Broken. She lost her mother, and until recently believed she had lost her brother too. She is captured, destitute of everything she believed in. She feels betrayed by her brother who left her; she feels anger for leaving him still alive, even tho she thought him dead; she feels betrayed by her own beliefs; she feels relieved for Iri to be alive; she feels sad, alone and afraid because the world is not what she believed it was. She feels everything and all at once. It was breathtaking, and I couldn’t help but deeply connect with her. Ahh… I absolutely love Eelyn!

But she was not the only character I fell deeply for. The whole family she stays with is just so amazing! Not because they are anything special, but because they felt so real! They didn’t treat her bad – even tho other Riki people would – but they didn’t treat her in any special way. They are careful and the connection slowly starts fortifying. They are a family that love each other and that would give anything for each other. It was impossible not to love them. Even tho I did hate some of them at the beginning, they just grew on me. Especially Fiske, whom I now love!

The world was fantastic and very well written. It was totally believable and I was sucked right in. The writing made everything so realistic! Everything was incredibly detailed – the sound of the sea and of the battles, the smell of the houses and food being done… It made me feel like I was inside the world.

It wasn’t as action-y as I initially thought, but it for sure had enough of it. It had amazingly described battles, with some gruesome scenes and a lot of blood and dead bodies… It was intense and yet it was quite a slow-burning book. We get to see Eelyn’s life change – everything she believes in is turned upside down and we slowly get to understand the characters and the world.

It does have some romance, which only added more to the story. I really loved how it was slow-burning, how we get to see everything evolving right before our eyes. It was so freaking sweet!

This was such a believable story! It’s heartbreaking, emotional, and it had the occasional gruesome part, which I live for. It was completely gripping, full of amazing characters and a world that I absolutely love and need to read more about. I never thought I would love a Viking-inspired book so much!

I can hardly believe this was a debut novel… This is an amazing fantasy book! It’s meaningful, talks about honor, beliefs, friendship, and love in a unique way, while having some bloody battles on the side. It was breathtaking, gripping and exciting! I would 100% recommend it!

This needs to be a series. Tell me there are more! Viking power! I loved it, my kid loved it.

Sky in the Deep was a great light fantasy set in Scandinavia. I enjoyed every aspect of this book and it deserves all the hype it’s been getting.

I liked being in Eelyn’s mind. She’s a fierce and loyal warrior of the Aska clan with a very obvious fighter mentality. Her character was drawn out very well, I especially liked when she finds out about her brother and the struggle to love him but also feel betrayed spans nearly the whole book. It’s not an easy thing to get over and Eelyn is faced with a LOT of conflicting emotions throughout. Loyalty to her people, what she thinks is right and the unmistakable pull of the Riki family. Her internal battle is a long one and I like the way she manages to still hold to her beliefs while embracing new ones.

There’s a bit of romance in this but it’s super slow burn and I actually had no idea it was coming until like halfway through the book. It’s minimal and doesn’t take away from the story but the build up is perfect. Having not read the blurb prior to diving into this, I actually had no idea there was romance at all haha. Young keeps it lowkey but also angsty at the right times. I’m on board with this ship.

One of my favourite themes in Sky in the Deep was the familial aspect. Bonds to family and bonds to clan were explored deeply here as Eelyn struggled to come to terms with her brother fighting with the Riki. He’s fighting for the enemy but he’s still her brother. Does loving him mean she accepts him as Riki and does that in turn betray her family back home and the Aska? The Riki are not so different from the Aska in their way of life, and they too have loving families as Eelyn witnesses first hand. I loved the dynamic between Eelyn and her brother’s Riki family.

Young has put just the right amount of action and detail into this to make it a juicy fantasy but not too much that it should be stomach turning. There’s lots of axe throwing, sword slicing, guts spilling out as well as stitches (without anaesthesia back in those days mind you) and resetting bones right on the spot (this did kind of creep me out). These are people born to fight, male and female alike, a weapon put into their hand as soon as they can walk so it was fitting. I was curious about this ruthless clan and wish there had been more about their origins though.

That being said can we talk about the male and female equality in this book? It was great, both genders can fight, are EXPECTED to both contribute and both can take positions of leadership too. Hallelujah. Women who’ve had children can choose to take care of them but can also take up the blade again if they feel like it. I’m here for that.

The writing in this is great, it flows well in a sophisticated manner. You don’t realise how much you’ve read (and you’ll fly through this) because Young’s style is so effortless you take in the descriptions so quickly, the images easily conjured in the mind and you don’t want to stop.

Sky in the Deep is kind of one of those stories that you know how it ends. You kind of get the general idea of where it’s heading based on the blurb, but you’re there for the ride. Which is sublimely executed. It’s one helluva ride with lots to see and learn along the way. As they say, it’s all about the journey right?

It was a battle ridden love story. Let's make that a genre!
I was over the moon with Eelyn and Fiske's blossoming love. My favorite part is when Eelyn tells him, "I don't belong to you" and Fiske says "Yes you do and I belong to you." Cue my squeal of joy and delight!
Then the whole story line with Iri. I teared up when he reunited his father. This book while bloody and violent (and this woman LOVES a bloody fight scene), was all heart with all the feels.
Loved it!

This book. This book HAS ME IN ITS CLUTCHES AND WON'T LET GO. I finished reading it yesterday, thought about it all day, and fell asleep thinking about it. I woke up this morning thinking about it. Now as I sit here, I'm still lost in my head. Wandering the battlefield in Aurvanger, and listening to the axes clang and the warriors roar. Feeling the crisp, briny breeze blowing through my hair from the fjord, and the wintry air stinging my cheeks on the snowy mountainside. The world was so richly depicted, with such precision, that it becomes home. Your mind takes up residence there and holds you hostage.

Adrienne Young is an exciting new voice in the fantasy genre. Her words are evocative and powerful, connecting you to the pulse of the character's hearts and the deep reaches of their minds. Making you feel things you hadn't anticipated feeling, and aren't entirely sure you want to feel. Nothing is glossed over, or romanticized about Viking life, yet I loved it all the more for its unmerciful honesty.

Sky in the Deep is about a war that spans centuries and generations. It nurtures a hatred between the Riki and the Aska clans with no conceivable end in sight. Every five years like clockwork they meet, and prepare for the eventuality that their loved ones may be leaving them for the afterlife. Eelyn is one of the fierce who fight to defend her people, and uphold their honor. She's raised to be strong, and her pride for the Aska courses through every inch of her veins. Her strength and courage will soon be all she has to hold on to, and not once does she let it slip. I loved Eelyn so, so much. The betrayal that broke her heart laid heavy on my chest, and made me suffer right along with her. She brushes off stab wounds, arrow punctures, countless indignities, and the loss of her freedom. But it was the betrayal that wounded her so visibly, more than anything else could.

In the last fighting season, she lost her beloved brother, Iri. The memory of his broken body beneath the cliffs feeds the fire burning in her blood. Vengeance sits at the end of her battle axe, but nothing soothes the ache that's left from his loss. The last thing she expected was to see him once again. Walking, breathing, and possibly most shocking of all, fighting with their sworn enemy against their people. When she sees him run out of the fog and lock eyes with her, she has no idea in that moment what his return will bring about.

In her confusion, Eelyn is captured, and her life is forever changed while living with Iri's new family. The family that took her and her father's place. Eventually, when she can see past her bitterness and anger, she faces some hard truths about her way of life, and the prejudices she's been raised on. I'm going to be honest, I can't say that I completely forgive her brother. For the most part, I understand it, and even agree with his ability to see past the old beliefs. It's even admirable. What I can't wrap my mind around is that he turned against his family and clansmen.

Fiske seems harsh and brutal at first, certainly not someone I could imagine ever pairing with Eelyn. But as time wears on, you see that his actions are motivated by his need to protect Iri and the rest of his family. If her identity is discovered, no one's safety is guaranteed. She suffers cruelty there, but also sees the love. The families. Eelyn begins to thaw, her hardened heart softening a little bit more every day. But when a powerful enemy rains terror and destruction upon the land, their plan may be their salvation or the end of life as they know it.

There's no way I can properly explain how incredible this story is. I had so many overwhelming emotions for much of the book. So many!!! One thing I have to mention is how much I LOVED the gender equality of Eelyn's people. Men and women were trained side by side, and never once was a female coddled or believed to be less worthy. The fight scenes....mah gawd...I was sitting on the edge of my seat seeing the epicness go down. Fingernails were chewed, reading position shifted repeatedly as the action escalated. All I can say is, this is going on my yearly favorite list. It was that good. Now excuse me while I go obsess a little bit more, and nurse my book hangover.

Sky in Deep was almost there for me. I would have enjoyed more character development and less gore but in these ways, it was a perfect book for fans of the Vikings television series. I like that it was a stand alone but would enjoy hearing more about some of the side characters.

What a refreshing read! The main character Eelyn, is a strong woman who is battling between family, love, and customs. Plenty of action, and romance!

I buddy read this book with the super amazing Amy from <a href="https://amagicalworldofwords.blogspot.com/">A Magical World of Words</a>. We had a lot of fun chatting about this book and you can check out her review <a href="https://amagicalworldofwords.blogspot.com/2018/04/sky-in-deep-by-adrienne-young.html">here</a>

3.5 stars

<blockquote><b>“Believe what you like, Eelyn. The bear is an omen.” The words came slowly on her thin lips. “And omens often bring change.”</b></blockquote>

I think I went into Sky in the Deep expecting to completely fall in love with everything... And while I <i>did</i> enjoy the book a lot, I think the hype got to me and it wasn't the five star read that I wanted it to be. The book hooked me with the opening chapter but I felt it perhaps couldn't live up to this for the rest of the book.

It's a <b>Viking inspired tale, full of ancient feuds between clans and Gods</b>. It's bloody and brutal and almost everything I could ask from a debut YA Fantasy:

• A great world that felt like a true and authentic Viking world
• Great use of language which again, felt very authentic
• A back story including clan warfare and feuds.
• Equality on the battle field between men and women
• Unflinching action and brutality when I didn't think that the book would go there
• A slowburn, hate-to-love romance

However for some reason I really struggled to connect with the characters and events that should have had me holding my breath or <i>feeling</i> just left a void. <b>I got the essence of what was going on, but everything just felt too perfunctory.</b>

Eelyn was technically a great female lead - a little headstrong, a whole lot determined and virtually fearless. She had great family and values and fought for what she believed in.

Fiske was a little dry for my taste - I picked the love interest immediately and really struggled to get on board with the romance, even though it was some of my favourite things in a romance!

There were a few lovely descriptions, especially when the harsh winter set in to the land, but I did feel as though <b>the writing was a little expository and the interactions between characters felt too superficial</b> and the pacing felt a little off, starting with a huge battle and ending with a huge battle but the middle being filled with random incidents and a couple of escape attempts surrounded by everyday life in the Viking world. I felt like the plot wasn't propelled forward by much more than random incidents occurring to Eelyn and that we spent so much time 'warming up' to the world that the important stuff that happened about 75% into the book was too quickly swept under the rug and neatly resolved in such a short time.

<b>I did really enjoy the representation of family and the fact that family doesn't necessarily always have to be blood</b>. There was also a pretty fierce female friendship that just needed to be fleshed out a little more. The overall message that underneath everything else we are all the same is also an important one.

<blockquote><b>I reminded myself of who I was— an Aska warrior who’d lost everything. A girl with fire in her blood.</b></blockquote>

<b>The premise, the intentions and the bare bones of this one are good but I just feel that if it had been developed and cultivated a little more, this could have been a 5 star for me.</b>

An unusual era and society for a YA novel, that places an anachronistic young woman in a Viking-like drama of clan warfare. The anachronism of a strong, defiant warrior-woman and the heady if facile romance can be forgiven for the unique and engaging adventure.

Had you asked me what I thought about SKY IN THE DEEP in the beginning, I would've said, 'my favourite kind of YA fantasy, kick ass lady heroine, mysterious circumstances surrounding her brother's death, prisoner in an enemy camp, woo, four stars'. But the further along this story went, the more typical the plot, the more transparent the direction ("connection") of the characters, the more banal the events leading up to the actual point of it all, and the meaty substance of this violent Viking-esque world with a five-year cycle of warring clans instead felt.. not so meaty after all?

There were a lot of interesting aspects of this world that I definitely expected to see expanded (hello dreams and bear and gods or whatever?) and instead weren't. There were certain tropes that, yeah, okay, are not particularly unique for YA, but I'm okay with that if it's done well, but they were never developed enough for me to feel connected to. And while I was really on board with this kick ass chick and her strong convictions, clinging to who she is when cut off from everything she knows, she spent more than half the book crying and constantly re-aggravating a shoulder wound. Which we got to hear all about all the time. Not to mention this big epic battle at the end.. wasn't?

I appreciate what Young was trying to do here and I think it's a different enough flavour that fans of this genre will enjoy it (and obviously already are) but I think this story would've been better served as a duology in order to flesh out the world, the culture, the characters, and definitely the romance. I think it's a good effort from a debut author though, and it easily could've been a win had the overall story been as strong as it was coming out of the gate, and I'll be curious to see what she tries next.

2.5 stars

I would probably rate this more in the 3.5 range closer to a 4 star. So, I have a lot of thoughts on this book...i will try to make them coherent, but I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. The good part is that I was interested enough in this book to read it in one sitting. And that says a lot. The writing was clean and nice, the world building was enough to picture, but not too wordy.

There were times in this book that were a little too graphic and gory for me. I get that they are fighting clans and battles and such. But some of it was a little unnecessarily bloody for me. And some of the scenes were a little too graphic...and not totally necessary. And then it felt like it swayed hard trying to have some tender moments that didn't make the cut for me.

Ok, I'm not saying it was totally predictable, but there were definite lines of being predictable and kind of leading to where it was all going.. Most of the book we had been reading about feelings and such, and felt the last part didn't lag at all, which was o.k. But was surprised that it all wrapped up so quickly. Also, my most annoying part of this book was the random celtic/norse words...with no way to find out what they meant??? I mean couldn't you have put a guide somewhere as to what these words meant? That was super annoying. If the majority of your book is in one language and you use different words from other languages, just put a guide in there, it helps us all!

So, part of me wants to say it was a good book, but here's my struggle, the people are in a primitive lifestyle, they are all clans and have a massive hatred for each other. Yet, they can all work it out and get along? I get the view of we are all alike and have lives, so why can't we all just get along blank statements...but you're expecting ax wielding warriors to have a change of heart...and i get the whole survival thing, I'm following...but still some of it was a little Pocahontas for me. I get to a degree about Iri, and honestly that part made some sense. And I followed the progression of Eelyn and got it from her, but I don't know about the rest...

For me the book was like Pocahontas meets Brave mixed in with Braveheart fight scenes. Overall it was an enjoyable book, I finished it, maybe not a favorite, but a fine read and would recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

This book will no doubt make many YA readers very satisfied. The writing is solid and as a reader I felt situated in time and place, a good amount of action in the beginning and in the end. Likeable and relateable characters, but I wasn't feeling that I was presented with anything new.

An exciting, original story about vikings. Sky in the Deep is a great action-packed standalone fantasy novel which leaves you wanting another one.

Sky in the Deep was a fun read--it's quick and light and I enjoyed it all!