Pros:

+ WOW
+ I did not expect to love this THIS MUCH
+ Every aspect was PHENOMENAL
+ The family relationship was so authentic and beautiful
+ It was a really personal subject to me and I loved the way it was handled here
+ Let’s not forget THE ROMANCE
+ Because it was fabulous
+ Eelyn is a great main character
+ VIKINGS
+ It’s wonderful


Cons:

- Nothing
- Seriously, nothing
- Believe it bitches


I knew one day all my NetGalley requests would pay off. I knew that, statistically speaking, there had to be one book of the lot that I adored beyond reason. I just new it.

This is that book.

Sky in the Deep follows the story of Eelyn, a daughter of the Aska clan. She and her clansmen are bone-deep rivals with the Riki clan, and every battle between them is a bloodbath.

But when Eelyn sees her dead brother battling alongside the Riki--and he saves her life from one of them who seems to know him--she is forced to question everything. Her father asserts that her brother materialized as a vision to save her, and his reappearance confirmed that his spirit made it to Valhalla. Eelyn’s father finds this to be a comfort. But Eelyn is not so sure.

Okay, so, I loved this book. I loved it so much. I started reading at 2 AM on a very bored night, expecting a book that was just so-so. I reluctantly went to bed an hour later (VERY reluctantly) and woke up in the morning DESPERATE for more. I immediately finished the rest. In one go.

It was awesome.

I went in basically blind (I didn’t even read the synop before requesting, just the positive reviews, because VIKINGS) and it was a REALLY GOOD blind read so I suggest reading as little as possible about the book before going in. It’s seriously that good.

Eelyn is such a fantastic main character. She is put through a lot of shit, and she’s angry, and she’s struggling, but she’s fierce as hell and it’s not just “Look At Me I’m A COOL YA Heroine!”. It’s not posturing. She really is a fucking badass. Move over, Katniss. (Katniss is fine pre-Mockingjay but she’s held up as the pinnacle of badassery among YA heroines so I’m only saying)

But as much as a motherfucker as she is, Eelyn is made SO much more real through her internal struggles. She finds it impossible to forgive; she can only see her own pain, and that pain is real and cutting. The feelings she experience in this book are so authentic and raw, I cried multiple times. The relationship between Eelyn and her older brother is painfully real--I know, because I know exactly what she’s going through and how she feels. It may be portrayed through Vikings and war, but everything about their relationship is as relatable as it gets.

Let’s talk about the romance!

Ohhhhh honey was that a good romance. I’m grinning like a fool just thinking about it. It’s my favorite kind. I don’t want to talk too much about because YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE IT FOR YOURSELF. Yes, it is that good. Ugh, and the ending! I can’t deal with the ending! It was wonderful, it was everything I wanted!

Sky in the Deep is unforgiving and brutal but also full of heart and love and forgiveness. it’s a beautiful story about family, love, and how deep those bonds go. It was a story about those bonds, yes, and the things that sever them. It was truly one of the best books of this year, and I say that with full confidence despite only reading this in January.

A free copy was provided by the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for honest review. Thank you!

WE ARE FAMILY!

This book was great! I absolutely enjoyed the Vikings aspect and thought it was a truly unique approach.

There was a big focus on family and blood above all. It was different then the usual way of focusing on solely the love aspect of it. BUT NOT TO PUT THAT DOWN because "SWOON". I love Fiske.

I love that it wasn't love at first sight, there was a bitter angst that was so deeply rooted it took a bit for Eelyn's heart to warm up. This allowed a progression in the book for both characters.

Eeyln really comes to know who she is. She loses herself and finds that fire within to gain it back before the final battle descends. Thanks to her family, and her new-found family they're able to reach peace.

Also, that cover is GORGEOUS.

I kept hearing about this book from my book club and the cover pulled me in as well. It's an amazing story about a powerful and strong woman with whom I connected with. I loved the world building and the history in it as well. Will definitely be buying a copy of this when it releases.

Vikings! And so much more than that. I haven't read YA Fantasy in a beat, but this this book took my hand and yanked me into myths, legends, and a new world in the most wonderful way. There's a lot to love about this book, from the authors beautiful (albeit at times violent) writing to the growth of Eelyn's character. The latter may be my favorite part, as the author executed Eelyn's movements, emotions, decisions, thoughts, missteps in such a way that it made complete sense. I also loved the themes of 'fate' and 'hope' that emerged. I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy fantasy, but also historical.

First of all, let me thank Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the chance to read and review this book: To Kill a Kingdom, pre-release. As always, these thoughts are my own. This review is spoiler-free and no main plot points are revealed.

I give this story 4 stars.

Synopsis:

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.
Character:
When I picked up this story, I was expecting a YA fantasy novel. I was wrong. It is a YA historical fiction adventure, and it's wonderful.

The best thing about it is that, being historical fiction, it felt authentic. It felt real. I was worried, as were some other reviewers, that the main character Eelyn would be dificult to connect with. She was not difficult to connect with-- in fact, I believed in her all the way. She's realistic, and she feels like she just stepped out of the mists on a fjord. She's fanastic.

Despite being a warrior, Eelyn doesn't feel too bloodthirsty to me. She fights for her life and her family's lives, but she doesn't feel evil in any way, another of my fears. I mean, guys, the main character is a VIKING who is a warrior and the whole point is battle. But Eelyn is the perfect MC for this book and she's 100% believable throughout.

Plot + Worldbuilding:
Again, this is a very realistic book, and I felt like I'd stepped into the age of the Vikings. I felt as if these people and their struggles were my people (they are, as I'm descended from Vikings, as are most caucasian people) and their struggles meant something to me.

Why 4 stars?
Even though I really loved this book, the plot, the characters, the smidgen of adorable romance . . . it still felt just a little lacking. I'm not even sure why. The ending felt a little rushed, and the story does move slowly in some places.

Bottom line, I liked it, I will probably buy it, and I think you should too.

5/5 stars!

[This review is based on an ARC edition provided by the publisher via NetGalley. These are my honest opinions.]

“Honor above life.”

The Aska motto above signifies what a large role honor plays in Eelyn’s Viking culture. I love how Adrienne Young also plays with several meanings of family and how those interpretations tie in with the theme of honor. The author really digs multiple layers deep into these ideas, and her thoroughness contributes to a touching story complete with rounded characters.

Young’s prose is lovely, her descriptions utterly vivid. The world felt so authentic because of the cultural details included about the Riki and Aska ways of life. Yet, the information was presented in a skillful way, not at all info-dumping on the reader. The story was well-paced, and I flew through it in just a few days.

Eelyn’s character drew me in immediately, and I became emotionally attached in the first chapter. It is quite an accomplishment when a debut author can achieve this effect! I rooted for Eelyn through the entire story, and there were so many layers of tension that contributed to her character growth. She faced plenty of internal and external conflict throughout. By the end of the book, I’d grown fond of all the main characters – with the exception of the Riki Tala, who seriously got on my nerves. But Eelyn, Fiske, Inge, Iri, and Halvard truly felt like a genuine family at the book’s conclusion.

I also thought the slow-burn romance was effective. Your opinion on the enemies-to-lover trope could impact your enjoyment of the romance in this book. However, I thought the romance was well-paced, and it was in no way insta-love. It took the two characters quite a while to build up trust and develop understanding for each other’s way of life. The tender moments between them were so touching and filled with chemistry. 

This book also had plenty of battle action and violence since war is an essential part of Viking culture. I would caution readers who are sensitive to this type of violence, because it included things like eye-gouging. Furthermore, some of the things that happened to Eelyn during her period of capture were quite brutal. As a member of the Aska clan, she often got attacked and was in constant danger from the men in the Riki village. So, it may not be the best book for the youngest of readers.

But another thing I loved about this story is that the moments of vulnerability were balanced by many other scenes of awe-inspiring strength and endurance. Eelyn displayed so much spirit, and I can’t wait to see what characters Young will create in her forthcoming publications!

Everything about this book felt so carefully thought-out. Once I reached the end, I even realized how beautifully the title ties in with the book’s theme. You should definitely give it a try!

Full review found at [a cup of tea and an armful of books]!

This is an awesome story full of fighting clans, an immersive world, and characters with their own unique personalities. Although it uses a lot of familiar YA tropes, I found myself devouring this book in a little over a day. I really enjoyed this Viking inspired fantasy!

I was happy to be reading a standalone YA fantasy novel, as those are fairly rare, but now that I finished it and loved it, I want more.

This book showed a lot of promise but I felt it was lacking in good plot or character development. I didn't really get to know the characters too well so I didn't really grow to care what happens to them. The plot seemed to lack the tension I think it needed.

First, I want to thanks the publisher and netgalley for letting me read this book before its release..

Sky in the deep is very different from what I read in fantasy YA. It is a special book. Intense. Sincere. Beautiful.
It's the first time I read something related to the Viking and I loved it.
Our heroine, so badass, fierce. A love interest beautiful in every way.
I loved their relationship, especially in this context because their clans always hatred each other. Their connexion is deep and so true it melts my heart.
But things change and for the better when a common ennemy is showing.

The book has a good pace and was well written, between characters development, the coutumes and daily life and battles. There is always something to learn, to discover.
I'm glad it is a one shot but secretly I hope there will be more because the setting is quite unique.

I feel attached to the characters and I will surely miss them.

Thank you, Netgalley and Wednesday Books, for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this book. My views are entirely my own. This was truly an awesome read! Sky in the Deep is badass, with a MC that leaves you wanting to scream at her and in support of her. 10 out of 10 recommend.

My review as I posted on goodreads already:

Thank you to netgalley and the publishing house that gave me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Our MC Eelyn is a fierce and feisty character who believes strongly in who she is and what she stands for.... which of course means all that gets blown out the water when she sees a ghost across the battlefield.
Eelyn is of the Aska, enemies of the Riki who meet on the battlefield every five years and the story starts out at this new cycle of battle between the 2 clans. Eelyn is ready to do battle with her fighting mate Myra. The last clash between the Aska and Riki, Eelyn lost her previous fighting mate, her brother Iri and she doesn’t intend to lose Myra. During the battlefield as she clashes with the Riki she is saved by a ghost, a boy who looks like her brother would if he’d survived but it couldn’t possibly be, she saw him die. Didn’t she? Eelyn chases after the ghost in the next clash and things start going downhill for her from there. Captured by the Riki, Eelyn must face what she knows, what she thinks she knows and everything she doesn’t as she waits for the opportunity to escape back to her people.
Of course, things are never that easy.
A legendary, ruthless clan makes a reappearance. If Eelyn hadn’t already experienced loss at their hands when she was younger she wouldn’t believe it possible but it most certainly is and now driven by a need for survival and love for clan and the brother she thought dead the most dangerous and possibly impossible task has befallen on Eelyn and Fiske, the boy who saved her brother all those years ago, to unite the clans to survive this enemy.
***
This story is brutal and bloody and I loved every bit of it.
First of all, Vikings.
Vikings!
Okay?
Eelyn is a warrior, she has trained and fought hard for her skill.
Her loyalty to her family and clan is admirable.
She is a badass, but she is a believable badass. She gets injured, her injuries slow her down, make her fumble. She is human. She gets back up and keeps fumbling along. She is amazing.
Her emotional struggle with her brother was interesting. It was a different type of battle but a battle nonetheless.
The relationship between her and Fiske had possibilities. Not sure I liked how fast it seemed to play out but I felt the spark between them at least which is more than I can say for most YA books.
***
The best part about this book? Besides having Vikings, kickass women in battle, family and loyalties being tested? It’s a stand-alone. A fantastic, beautiful stand-alone. I’m so happy right now. Definitely recommend.

I adored this book. I found this book very engaging (yes that is my favorite this for books) and the story was well executed.

Eelyn is a warrior that resonates with me. Deep family ties, honor above all and working hard. The battle scenes feel intense and got me sitting on my seat. The romance felt believable and I could actually feel their relationship growing on the pages without taking away from the overall story (very important to me!)

Also, this is a standalone novel. I am so happy for that! I'm kinda tired of series now, and this is a small added bonus for me. :)

Actual Rating 4.5
*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

After reading it I realised it is a debut novel by Adrienne Young, It didn't feel like a debut, It was wonderful and writing was impeccable.

This story got all the elements, love-hate relationship, family, friendship, a badass-warrior-stubborn heroin, I am in for it.The story was a bit slow at the start but after you survive that slow pace,voilà you are here in catchy and fantastic part.

Aska and Riki, two tribes by two gods Thora and Sigr, are enemy of each other, and their generations are just fighting to each other for sake of their gods who were supposed to against each other, Events changes in one war, when Eelyn found her brother Iri fighting at the side of Riki, Iri who was dead for them for 5 years while fighting in Aurvanger. She got caught her self by Riki while tracking her brother.

I was kind of in book slump, But OMG, this book drag me back on track. Though I am still wondering about how to pronounce some name of characters 😅, I hope I am not the only one who suffers from this struggle.
Ending was bit quick, It was good but I just want to read some more.

I read this entire book in one sitting, well lying, I was in the bath and the water literally went cold while I was in there because I couldn’t put this book down. It’s so fast-paced (particularly having just finished such a slow story) and I was completely transported into this world.

I’ll start by saying that there isn’t a lot of ‘fantasy’ in this book beyond the fact that it is obviously not a real story being told. Those looking for Viking magic wielders may be somewhat disappointed. However, I don’t think that’s a downside at all, the action and the characters more than fulfilling my needs for excitement and adventure.

I keep talking about pace, and fast-paced books are something of a double-edged sword. On the one hand there isn’t time for the reader to get bored, however, you do sacrifice some time for worldbuilding and detail. This is more of a ‘learn as you go’ kind of setting, you find out aspects of culture and society as the story progresses rather than being told them in any kind of formulaic manner. That’s entirely a matter of personal preference, I think that in this case it is done very well and I preferred this method for this story.

I will also confess that my knowledge of Viking folklore is very limited, my husband would be able to evaluate it more, and hopefully, I’ll know more after our trip to Norway at the end of the month (eek!). However, right now I can’t speak to the historical accuracy of this setting, don’t go in expecting to see Thor and Loki wandering about, it’s not that kind of story, but there are a lot of details in the kinds of homesteads, weapons and hairstyles these characters have. It’s the right kind of detail for this story, managing not to stall the story but helping you to feel immersed in this setting.

The plot is lovely, it’s got action, travel, character development and twists and turns. While I think the ending is a little rushed, I loved what it did with the idea of family and loyalty as well as that of age-old conflict and changing times. Fair warning, there is a heavy, very predictable, romance aspect to this story that I know will turn a lot of people off. I would recommend going into the story with that in mind as that way it probably won’t bother you as much. I find that if I know what I’m getting myself in for I’m much more likely to enjoy it rather than finding it annoying.

Should you read this? If you are looking for a fresh, fast-paced read with oodles of action and interesting characters (including a wonderful female protagonist) then you should pick this up. I’m excited to see what Adrienne Young comes out with in 2019!

My rating: 4/5 stars

By the way, I received a digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Sky in the Deep comes out on the 24th of April so be sure to pre-order if you’re interested!

ARC provided by publisher and NetGalley for free, but this does not influence my review.

Right out of the gate this book grabs you and pulls you in. The action and adventure, in the beginning, had me cheering for the Aska to slay all the Riki as they are mortal enemies. I wasn't expecting the story to unfold the way it did.

We follow the tale of Eelyn who while battling for her way of life, her people, and her pride. Everything is as it should be until during a battle she spots what she believes is her brother fighting alongside their mortal enemies. While investigating she is kidnapped by the Riki and what ensues is a tale of loyalty, faith, and with some romance.

Vikings, kick-butt female, and a little romance had me wishing there was more when the story ended. I am very much looking forward to owning this one in print.

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Rating: 5 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

What I Liked:

Warning: this book is a new favorite of mine and there will be a lot of fangirling in this review. I can't guarantee everything will make sense or flow coherently but I can guarantee that it will be abundantly clear that I loved this book. So much.

Y'all, I don't even have the words. I don't know how to write this review. All I know is that I've just finished reading the book, after sitting down to start it several hours ago, and I want to shout to the world how much I enjoyed the story. This is one of those books that clicked with me as a reader instantly, and at no point did my enjoyment of and connection to the book let up. I'm sorry if I won't be very articulate in this review. I'm sorry I won't do this book justice. And I'm sorry for those that did not (or will not) enjoy the book. It's a new favorite of mine, and one that I'll be rereading and thinking about for a long time.

The story opens with immediate acting, in which Eelyn and her people (the Aska) are getting ready to face off with the enemies, the Riki. Eelyn and her friend Myra are fight side-by-side when Eelyn is thrown down and about to be killed by a Riki - when someone stops the Riki. Much to Eelyn's surprise, that someone is Eelyn's brother, who she watched die five years ago. It turns out that Iri is not dead, and has been living with the Riki for the last five years. When Eelyn, now badly injured, is taken by the Riki, she must learn to survive in the enemy's village until winter is over. But with the closing of winter comes the emergence of a stronger, common enemy of both the Riki and the Aska - the Herja. Eelyn may be the key to the union of the Aska and the Riki, which could lead to the survival of all against the Herja.

From the opening scene, this story was filled with action, constant nonstop battle and conflict. It isn't all bloodshed and war, though there is some of that and it is brutal. Even with Eelyn badly injured and taken as prisoner among the Riki, the flow of the story never slows down. I thought the pacing was really well-written, except maybe towards the last few chapters (things were a bit fast).

Eelyn is a strong, fierce warrior, though she isn't a heartless killing machine. Yes, she is a Viking warrior, but she is entirely human, with a loyal, noble heart. She loves her family and her people, and holds fast to her traditions and values, but even still, she begins to see how the Riki are just like the Aska. Eelyn's character growth is obvious; she is angry and bitter at first (and rightfully so), but her willingness to forgive creeps up on her. She was dealt a cruel hand and the Riki did badly by her at first, but she came out stronger, and she saw the truth of things.

I so wish this book could have also included Fiske's POV, like alternating third-person POVs or something. Fiske was an enigma a first - he seemed to be cold and driven and lacking in emotion. But all of his actions and decisions started to add up as we learned more about him as a man. He is a good person given difficult choices to make, and I can't fault him for what he did for his family, for Iri, for Eelyn. I adored Fiske. It took some page time for me to start to really like him, but I knew there was more than meets the eye. And hey, it took a lot more page time for Eelyn to like him. (And rightfully so. I'd hate him too at first, if I were her.) His redemption was sound though. He acknowledges his wrongs to Eelyn. This was so important and I'm glad the author made sure to write this into the story.

Eelyn's relationship with her brother is a tricky one. She is so angry with him for leaving the Aska even after he was healed by the Riki, for choosing to stay with the Riki, for never letting the Aska know that he was alright, for leaving her/forgetting about her. She tries so hard to harden herself against him; honestly I didn't really blame her at first, but I also slowly came to forgive Iri, just as Eelyn slowly came to forgive him. The author does such a good job of writing Eelyn's relationship and complicated feelings towards her brother. She is happy he is alive, but she is angry that he is alive (and living among the Riki, like family).

The story comes to a climax when the Aska and the Riki both are attacked by the Herja. A good solution? The Aska and Riki should join forces. The two clans have been rivals for a long time, but Eelyn and Fiske are willing to try to convince both clans to fight together.

There is romance, if you couldn't tell! It's a subtle romance between Fiske and Eelyn. There is no insta-love or insta-lust - and you'd see why, when you see how Fiske and Eelyn meet and what happens after that. Eelyn shouldn't have fallen for Fiske, but she did, and I get it. I see why. They are so similar, and they needed each other, and they grew to care about each other. I loved how subtle the growing feelings were - I expected the romance between Fiske and Eelyn, but I also love watching it bud very slowly. And hey, no love triangle! A good slow-burn, hate-to-love romance. Two of my favorite tropes when it comes to romance!

The ending is a really, really good ending, for the Aska and the Riki, for Eelyn and her people, for Fiske and Eelyn, for Iri and his new paths. I so respect Adrienne Young for ending the book the way she did - it's a good HEA. Don't get me wrong, everything isn't sunshine and rainbows in all things, but the author also didn't do something obnoxious and cruel to any of the characters. The ending is so positive and hopeful and I loved it.

What I Did Not Like:

Hmmm, I guess I wouldn't have minded more kissing? Fiske and Eelyn's chemistry was super subtle and didn't really start showing until more than halfway through the story - and for good reason (Eelyn was hurting and hating everyone, and rightfully so). But I would have loved to see a little more chemistry and tension between them, because I feel like they would have had such fiery chemistry. Their chemistry is simmering in a subtle way, which is cool, but there's nothing wrong with some good passion too. *wink*

Anyway that's not really a bad thing or a complaint, more of wishful thinking but HEY this book was excellent, don't mind me!

Would I Recommend It:

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants an action-packed story with a tough but vulnerable heroine (i.e. a warrior who is also not a cold-hearted killing machine), a difficult brother-sister relationship, a smoldering hate-to-love romance, and a pact that could change the course of history for the two clans. This story is so powerful because it shows how two sets of people can seem so different but are really just like the other. I think any YA reader would enjoy this book, and it's a standalone so there's no waiting for additional books!

Rating:

5 stars. This is the type of historical fantasy (or maybe just historical fiction - it's not always easy to classify Viking-based fiction) that I love and need more of. I love the kickbutt heroine who isn't perfect and isn't merciless, but is still fierce and tough. I love the kickbutt hero who makes difficult decisions to protect those he cares about, and whose selflessness is so underrated by those around him. I love the story of the Aska and the Riki coming together to survive. This book is a new favorite of mine, an instant preorder, a novel worthy of shelf space. I can't wait to read more by the author, unrelated or otherwise!

I am such a sucker for stories set in a Viking/Nordic-type of culture, so when I got the opportunity to review this book, I was ecstatic. Sky in the Deep tells a story about two warring clans, The Aska and The Riki, and how one Aska girl named Eelyn gets captured by the enemy in the search for the brother she thought was dead. I really enjoyed this one, and I thought the fighting scenes in this book were really brutal, but in a good way. Although there is one scene in this book about a eyeball, that I kind of had to skim because it was gross. Young doesn't try to sugarcoat the culture in this book, it's dark and realistic and she really paints for you the setting. I totally just pictured Whiterun from Skyrim, but that's because I am OBSESSED with Skyrim.


Eelyn is kind of an unlikeable character, which is kind of why I liked her. The majority of the book she spends as a Dyr (or slave for The Riki) and she tries to fight tooth and nail to get out of it. She was a warrior through and through, and she was pretty bitter. I had to laugh at times when she would say things in her head about how she could just wait for everyone to fall asleep and slit their throats. Girl was savage! And I liked it. I also like that we slowly see her change her perspective and realize that her enemy was not that different from her own people. When a bigger enemy threats both clans, it was refreshing to see her put all her past opinion aside so that both clans could survive.


I really liked the relationship that develops between Eelyn and Fiske. I had a feeling about Fiske when I first met him in this story, so I wasn't surprised about how the relationship between him and Eelyn turns out. I don't think Fiske really wanted to take Eelyn capture, but he was doing what he thought he was supposed to do. Fiske had already broken the rules of his clan before, so it was clear his heart saw that they were more alike than either clans really realized.


I liked this book a lot, but I feel like I wanted more out of it. The ending did feel a little rushed, but I felt all in all it was a really decent book. If you like books about warriors from Nordic-style cultures, I would recommend this one.


*I received a free egalley copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


Happy Reads Everyone!

I hate this feeling when you have no idea how to rate a book, and well it’s happening with this one.

<i>I received an e-ARC copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I believe that two things ruined somehow this book for me, the first one being the hype and the second one my lack of time to read it. Honestly, when I received the ARC I was over the moon: a few of my friends have already read it and loved it. Plus, it has amazing ratings on Goodreads – really, you can’t miss the hype. So when I got to read it myself, I started to get scared to be disappointed because in my head it was already something exceptional, and well I ended up being disappointed indeed. The other problem that I had is that I started it when I had no time to read, i.e. at a bookfair, and having to read this book for five days somehow got me bored and I had to force myself to finish it. Of course it has nothing to do with the book itself, but I think that it is also why I am finding it so hard to rate it.

When I first started it I was excited and a bit impressed. I loved the fact that the story started right away in the middle of a fight scene and I absolutely adored the world and its culture. It felt new and original and I was super happy to read something like that. There are quite a few other fight scenes in this book and they are all epic and well written. Really, I was hooked every time and it’s one of the main reasons of why I loved this book, the other reason being the main character Eelyn who I really liked: she was strong and never lose sight of her goal.

But, as I said, something still felt off as I was reading. Sometimes I felt as if nothing happened and when I try to summarize the book I realize that it is the case (which shouldn’t be a problem because I love slow-paced books and I have nothing against the ones in which nothing happens, but here I still got bored). It may be because I didn’t really care about the other characters, like Fiske for example. I wasn’t rooting for the romance, which I guessed immediately. I believe the problem may be me in this case, but I just wasn’t interested. Anyway, the story focused more on the characters in the end than the plot, and if like me you didn’t really care about them and only were there because of the said plot… well, you will be left like me, waiting for something more.

To be honest, it is a good YA book. It is original, well written and very interesting. I was just somehow waiting for something else, for something more – maybe more battles, more feels. Maybe it’s just because I became very hard to please when it comes to YA because I already read so many… Maybe it’s just me, but I still was disappointed. I decided to give it 4/5 stars for now, it sure is a good book and I'm sure many people will love it but maybe it wasn’t the right one for me. 4 stars is a really great rating for me so I still believe that I loved it but I just wasn't in the right state of mind for it, I think.