SO THIS BOOK WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST HYPED OF 2018 THAT I KNEW I WOULD HAVE TO READ THE MINUTE I HEARD ABOUT. Compared to Vikings and Wonderwoman with that gorgeous dark cover and the promise of a forbidden romance?

HOW ABSOLUTELY BREATH-TAKING DOES THAT SOUND?

And, from all the hype around the internet and the hype I created for myself, I DIDN’T END UP LOVING IT AS MUCH AS I HOPED I WOULD.

Not that I didn’t like it, because I did. The book was powerful in a lot of ways and the romance was enjoyable, but I just felt removed/ didn’t connect with the book as much as I wished I would.

I guess, in a nutshell, I was hoping this book would be a new favourite, but it turned out that it was just one of the many.

THINGS I LIKED:

1. THE COVER: Yes, hello, please let’s talk about that MARVEL of a cover that caught my eye and hasn’t let it go till date. Also, there’s an inscription when you open the dust jacket of the book that says ‘Breathe Fire,’ and if that isn’t the COOLEST THING EVER, I don’t know what is.

2. THE WRITING: Even as a debut author, Adrienne Young had this unique way of storytelling and her writing was poignant as she wrote about a harsh world and, well, I really loved it. I read her book in just three days and I can’t wait for the next one.

3. THE RIKI: I actually fell in love with certain members of the rival to Eelyn’s clan, the Riki, namely Inge, Fiske and Halvard. I wish we saw more of Runa, Kerling and Gyda and ESPECIALLY Iri, but I did love the Riki.

THINGS I WISH HAD BEEN BETTER:

1. IRI: A brother our main character thought was dead because SHE LET HIM GO during war is REALLY ALIVE AND LIVING WITH A RIVAL CLAN? I felt like this was such a brilliant part to the storyline and yet, I saw nothing of Iri and Eelyn reconnecting or even being siblings. All I got in the end was a measly line of about how ‘it would have to be worked on’ and I was honestly QUITE DISAPPOINTED.

2. REALLY, I DON’T KNOW WHAT ELSE BUT STILL: Like I said before, there was something that stopped me from FALLING IN LOVE that I can’t name till date. It just didn’t get my fangirl side fangirling or my hopes raised.

Will I read more from Adrienne Young? DEFINITELY.

An enjoyable read with poignant writing in a harsh world + a forbidden romance. I’d definitely recommend it, even though it wasn’t the BEST fantasy I’ve read.

Ond Eldr. Breathe Fire.

Completely, 100% full of that Viking Badassery that you'd hope and expect. It did take me a hot minute to get into the book, more because of the writing style, some of the words in my copy were present tense then past tense, so I got a little confused but as I pushed through, the problem righted itself, and I ended up thoroughly enjoyed the story. Eelyn is kickass, warrior viking who is strong and seriously stubborn, but in those pages, you watch her grow so much, she grows so much, no just for herself, but also her people and her enemies. And Fiske 💕💕💕 Just Aww..! 5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Stars all the way!

I didn't think I would enjoy a novel about vikings, but I am so here for this young adult viking novel! Eelyn lives in a violent world where two rival clans battle to satisfy an ancient rivalry between the gods, but can age old prejudices be set aside to deal with a threat that could destroy both clans forever? Full of romance, spectacular world building, and badass female warriors, Young's debut novel finally deals with a world where monsters were the real monsters all along.

I love the use of shadow on this cover. The main character takes a lot of hits but doesn't give up. Pretty bad-ass even when all I sometimes wanted her to just let herself heal. I could've done without the romance and I wish the best friend had more scenes but overall I liked how the story went.

This book was actually something that initially caught my friend's eye and then I found out about it through her, and I'm so glad that it happened because this book was such a great historical fiction to read. What I think I really liked about this book was that it was very naturally historical and slightly natural while also tying in a lot of questions about how the role of family is thrown into the mix.

The only drawback about this book is that there is only one and I WANT MORE!!!! I actually don't think this story would benefit in any way from an additional book, but the characters and story were compelling enough where I want to hear more about this world and their lives.

Sky in the Deep was a lovely break from the usual stories that are released and from the business of the end of the school year. It was captivating and engaging and I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a standalone novel that is not just contemporary romance.

A stunning debut that is so richly detailed, you feel as though you've become apart of this brutal, beautiful world. It emotionally broke me, and put me back together. It's an addicting read that you want to re-immerse yourself if after you read it. I absolutely loved it!

VIKINGS! I can't tell you how long I have waited to read this book. I was hooked the moment I first heard about it. This book far exceeded my exceptions, and what I thought it would be. This debut is more than Vikings, epic battles, a fierce warrior, and clan loyalty. At the heart of this story is love and friendship, and not just the romance kind of love. It's a love of family, love for friends, love of traditions, and the love of your clan. All of which you'd lay your life down for.

Evelyn is my kind of character. I absolutely loved her. She is a warrior. She's a survivor, a fighter, and a character whom I was surprised at how quickly, and deeply I connected with her. She's such an incredibly strong, fierce and loyal person. Her vulnerable scenes really resonated with me. I felt like I emotionally connected to all she was battling, both emotionally and physically through out this story. I understood what she was going, though I have never experienced what she had. I love the way Young wrote her character. She wasn't an untouchable character. She was a larger than life character who is broken down, and rediscovers who she is, and so much of that makes her this incredibly realistic character. The YA book world needs more characters like her.

I loved the journey Evelyn goes on, and those she meets. There is so much more to who these other characters are in the story, and I loved getting to know them. They were three dimensional characters who I felt like I connected with on some level. I couldn't help but loving these characters almost as much as I loved Evenly. I loved the emotional connections they had with each other as families, friendships, and battle mates. Even the ones Evelyn wanted to hate, were hard to hate, because you see them as similar to Evelyn's own clan, and can't help but love them.

Fiske was definitely a character I came to love. What transpires between he and Evelyn is a delicate, deeply rooted line rich in customs, and traditions of two opposing clans. There's a lot of tensions, and learning to trust. Their way of life is brutal. There's also this soft side to them too. I really appreciated the fact that Young stays authentic to the trust issues through out the story. She doesn't rush what doesn't need to be rushed, and instead allows the readers to see the struggles of breaking the stereotype between Evelyn an Fiske's clans, while still having to stay true to their customs. I loved the trust that they learn to have, and what it develops into. The enemies to possibly something more is one of my favorite tropes when it comes to stories like this.

The fight scenes are awesome. I felt like I was watching Vikings as I was reading this. These scenes are brutal! Young makes you feel like you're right there on the battle field, or trying to protect the village during the raid of an opposing Clan. Young definitely doesn't sugar coat the brutal life as a Viking. There are some things that happen to Evelyn that were even hard to read. I love that Evelyn and some of the girls are just as fierce as the men are, and they're treated equally in that regard. I really liked seeing the transformation from Evelyn's side from seeing the rival Viking clan as enemies, and having this pure hatred for them, to realizing that they're not so different from her own clan. It wasn't an easy thing, and it was so well crafted in this story.

The world building is absolutely amazing! I loved the world in which this book is set. I felt like I was getting a peak into the past. Not only that, the way Young details everything, from the mountains, to the woods, their villages, and all the places that make up their home, are easy to visualize. At times you feel like you can also smell the smoke coming from a camp fire, or feel the cold against your cheek, or the way the woods smell. I love the way Young wrote this book. It's so beautifully done, and the pacing is perfect! This book is everything I love in a YA book. I'm blown away this is a debut. I look forward to reading man

Sky in the Deep begins with a bang. We’re immediately thrown into war as the protagonist, Eelyn, fights alongside her best friend, Mýra, against the Aska clan. This opening scene immediately got me pumped and eager to see what will happen next. I thought the story’s pace would continue on that high note, but instead it immediately plummets to a more moderate pace as the story turns from war to focus on Eelyn’s conflicted emotions and relationship with a brother she thought had died but instead had become a traitor by joining their rival clan, the Aska.

I felt deceived by that opening battle scene. I don’t like it when a story opens on such a high note and immediately slows down. I prefer a build up because otherwise I feel like my anticipation and energy was all for nothing. Because of that, I took a break from the book. I was hurt. I later returned to it because I wanted to complete it. I didn’t hate the story so being tricked by the opening scene was no reason to give up on it, and I’m glad I gave it a chance. The story slows and instead focuses on Eelyn’s character development as she accepts her circumstances and who her brother has become and seeks a way to unite the rival clans to face a common enemy.

Though Eelyn didn’t stand out to me, I like how badass she is because she fights with a sword and an axe at the same damn time! I also liked that the story is inspired by the Vikings, which is new for me, and is set on fjords in brutal winters, though I wish we were provided more descriptions of the setting to fully immerse me in it. These days, I often become annoyed by romance in YA novels, but I liked the romance that develops in this. It does so gradually and I like how it plays out later.

It’s a decent story and I liked it. I loved the opening scene but didn’t care much for the battle toward the end.

Overall: ★★★☆☆

It’s good. The change of pace at the beginning threw me off, but I like the direction the story went.

"Ond eldr"

Breathe fire.



From the first page of Sky In The Deep we are thrust into the brutal, chaotic beauty of the Nordic setting that grabs hold of you and doesn't let go. This is a world of fog shrouded fjords, hard eyed warriors and warring clans.

As someone with Noridc heritage, I have always been on the lookout for a novel set in the time of Viking history and folklore. Until now there hasn't been any books paving the way for this niche in YA literature, until now. Sky In The Deep follows the story of Eelyn. Eelyn in an Aska warrior who has lived her whole life in her village on the fjord. Every fighting season she meets the rival clan of the Riki at Aurvanger, the blood soaked setting for every year of conflict. When she sees her dead brothers face through the fog soaked battlefield wearing the armour of the enemy, it sets in motion a journey that will change her life forever.

This is a stand alone fantasy book and it is utterly refreshing. The story doesn't rely on cliches so often used in YA novels but explores the themes of family, betrayal, honour and self discovery. The characters are well developed, real and visceral in their depth of emotion. This was the case for not just Eelyn, our main character, but all the other cast in this novel. These characters will leave a mark on you that will be hard to remove.

I have to commend Adrienne Young on her beautiful representation of the Viking and Nordic culture. In this novel we get to explore what life was like in a Viking village and fighting clan. The sacrificial ceremonies and traditions, the moral codes and eye for an eye justice, as well as the age old animosities between rival clans borne from fabled law of wars between Gods. I really hope this novel paves the way for more Viking based fantasy because this era of history in fascinating.

What really made this book sing however was the writing. Adrienne has a beautiful yet subtle way of making her words so visual that I felt I could reach out and touch the world around me. The wood clad halls, smells of burning sage, snow capped forests and roaring battlefields all burst of the page in wondrous quality. This book played out like a movie in my head making my reading experience unforgettable. The action is some of the best I have read as it is both co-ordinated and unpredictable. The fighting techniques used by the warriors and fighting mates such as the clicking of tongues to signal movements and orders was thrilling. Within the bloody chaos of battle our characters managed to find oddly beautiful and serene moments that brought not just bloodshed and death to the fight, but also emotion.

I could keep talking about this book for hours so i'll have to wrap this review up. You don't read this book, you experience it. Sky In The Deep is a unique, thrilling and emotional exploration into Viking life and self discovery. I loved every page, every character and I will not be forgetting this story anytime soon. If you like fantasy, history or are just looking for a quick but thrilling read then pick this up. It comes out in April so get your pre-order in and step into this beautiful and brutal world

Summary

This story follows Eelyn, who is the member of a viking tribe called the Aska. She finds in a battle at the beginning of the book that her brother, whom she thought was dead, is actually now a part of the Riki, who are rivals to her clan. She finds herself in the Riki village, where she learns more about the clan that has been her rival for as long as she can remember. A legendary tribe attacks that same village and she is forced to fight and take sides that she never anticipated before.

Likes

I thought this book was OK. I was so excited when I heard the pitch because I really love Scandinavian culture and roots, which translates to said vikings. Wonder Woman is also the best DC movie of all time, sooooo! I did feel like Eelyn resembled a strong woman such as Diana very much throughout the book. She was incredibly capable of handling herself in a fight and she also had a strong attitude when it came to loyalty of the ones she loved. I thought that the story really ramped up once the other tribe attacked the village and that is when I was completely engrossed in the book and couldn't put it down. I thought that she also resembled Clarke from the 100 a little, being the bridge between tribes and trying to bring them together to fight so that they would not meet certain death.

Dislikes

I thought that the book was kind of slow. I was not that interested in it before the big battle scene happened that caused said above events. I thought that it was interesting to hear about some viking lore and how that group lived, but it seemed kind of boring at times when it was simple domestic things. I expected this book to have a lot more action because of how it was described and because, well, the vikings were known to do a lot of conquering. I was please, though, that it was not as descriptive and gruesome as the actual show The Vikings is, because I literally cannot watch it! I didn't really care for the 'love' story in this book either, much like I didn't care for it in Wonder Woman. It just seemed unneeded and didn't advance the story, in my opinion. Fiske was a cool character and I understand the function of the romance but it was eh.

Recommendation

I would recommend this book to fans of the 100 as well as Vikings. It wasn't very Wonder Woman in my opinion but I liked it nonetheless!

When I first heard of a book about a girl viking, I didn't think it would be for me. I then read a small sample that included a battle scene and I decided I would pass on this book. Then, NetGalley allowed me to read the eARC of Sky in the Deep and I fell in love. This book is so much more than a book about vikings! This book is about loyalty, challenging what we believe, and how willing we are to grow and change. Eelyn, the main character has everything she thinks she knows challenged. She, like many of us, is brought up being told the differences between her tribe and the tribe they meet on the battlefield every fighting season. Not only does she find her brother, long thought dead, fighting with the enemy but she will also see them at a different level on their ground and realize that we have more in common as people than we often think.

This books is a great read, engaging, fast-paced with a real danger facing the characters. I recommend it for readers who want to think about their world around them, who like adventure, a touch of romance, and most importantly strong families and friendships.

Sky in the Deep promises action and Kick ass Women Vikings, but what you really get is a lack of world building, character development but some nice brutal fight scenes. I was so into this at first and then I hit a pile of sludge and was struggling to get through. It just turned very slow and boring to me and I was hurrying to finish it. I did like a few characters but over all they kind of felt one dimensional, I couldn’t even tell you what any of them looked like. The two clans coming together felt way to easy after multiple pages of clan members saying it would never happen and then it just does with not negotiating or anything and the end scene was very rushed. I did like some parts, and the Viking attributes but I am disappointed. Decent light fantasy for new fantasy readers.

It's not often that I really think about the writing style of a book, but I really, really loved Adrienne Young's voice. You ache along with these characters and it's all just so seamlessly written into the narrative. I'm not really one for battle scenes and I just tend to skim over them, but the good news is if you like them, there are plenty of them in this book! If, like me, you don't like battle scenes for whatever reason, don't worry - it didn't detract from my reading experience at all. There are a lot of really lovely character interactions throughout this book and the relationships are all so fraught and filled with tension and care. I really liked this one and I'm so glad I picked it up!

My request on NetGalley was approved so thank you to St Martin Press for this golden opportunity !

Honestly, I already finished this book a month ago and the review is up after a month later because I was so busy 😹.

anyway back to what I feel about this book,

I can say this is more to historical fiction rather than fantasy. I can't see any magical thingy happens etc. It's a simple story all I can say, a sister losing a brother and later rekindle so yeah a very easy plot there. I love to quote the kinda viking language in it or it is viking i'm not sure 😂.

but then, I can give credits to Adrienne Young for the ability to write such a good book in the debuting stage. It is not a dissapointment one but yet improvement still need to be made. So, I'm gonna waiting for her comeback then !

"A girl with fire in her blood. I told her to keep running"

QNR ELDR everyone !

ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

‘Vegr yfir fjor. Honour above life.’

Sky in the Deep is a debut, standalone, young adult fantasy novel that stars two different Viking clans. But this is a story about betrayal, then survival, then a choice.

I absolutely loved every part of this book and I flew through it. The book moves at a great pace and since the characters were so amazing it felt like this book was over in no time at all. If you’re looking for an easy read or a good standalone I definitely recommend this to you, especially if you enjoy a bit of Viking war.

Absolutely loved this story. It captivated my attention, and finishing the book was like coming up for air. The characters and setting were so well crafted; the depth and intricacy of the cultures in the story made for wonderful reading.

This book was a bit of a slow starter for me. While things were interesting enough at the beginning, it wasn't till the last half of the book where I became truly invested in it. I feel like maybe some of that was because it took me quite awhile to warm up to the characters. I just wasn't invested in the main character, Eelyn, for a long time. By the end I did feel more for her, but it took some time to get there. I think most of that came from the mercurial relationship between Eelyn and her brother.

I was also expecting more of the story in general. I was really excited to read about this mix of mythology and Vikings but I felt like those aspects fell short of my expectations. I think a lot of those elements that were a part of the story were the obvious ones, how intense the call to battle is and the idol worship, but I didn't see much that went beyond the surface there.

I liked the overall message of discovering that the enemy isn't always some unredeemable monster, but more often than not a person just like you, a shade of grey, a person capable of good and bad, darkness and light, with family and friends and people that love them. That was, to me, the best part of this story and undoubtedly the most compelling.

A great viking-esque book that manages to include romance without being overwhelmed by it. This is a book I think men and women both could easily read and find enjoyment.

DNF

I feel like I’ve been trying to read a completely different book to everyone else because Sky in the Deep has done nothing but bored me. Violent, stabby Vikings should not be boring…but here we are. I’m going with ‘it’s not you it’s me’ because I think I could enjoy this book under the right circumstances and maybe I’m just not feeling it right now? Eelyn seems badass to begin with but it feels like her getting kidnapped by the Riki and the whole dead-brother-back-to-life-but-with-the-enemy thing killed off the excitement and completely halted my interest. I can’t help but feel that it’s just going to get a bit bloodier and someone important will probably die, but then everything will work out and Eelyn and Fiske will ride off into a glorious sunset. I might be wrong, but I don’t have the energy to find out.

Sky in the Deep is a YA Fantasy that will stop your heart over and over again. There seems to be a trend of gritty feminist fantasy this year, but Sky in the Deep is among the best. The voice captures your attention on page one and refuses to let you go until the very last moment.

A story about two Viking clans who go to war every 5 years to avenge their Gods, children are trained to fight and when they come of age are sent to the front lines.
Eelyn is 17 and it is her second battle, after her first battle where her brother was killed, she is out to kill as many Riki as she can. While on the battle field she sees her brother, how is this possible? and he’s fighting with the Riki. She chases after him only to be captured by the Riki and taken to their town to be a slave, the worst possible thing for a warrior.

While this story had such promise to be a great book, I was let down, only the first chapter was full of fighting and it was quiet gruesome which was a refreshing change, but then it all went down hill. We found Eelyn to be captured and then spent most of the time reading about her moaning about being their slave and a few pathetic attempts at escape. There is slight world building and a good explanation as to why these 2 clans are fighting, secondary characters where a bit thin on the ground with their stories and the love story came out of no where, how do you get from wanting to kill each other and getting pretty close to all of a sudden falling in love, in a few days? Everything just seemed to easy, for them, none of the fighting and grudges of clans that had been fighting for hundreds of years. It was also very vague in places and I felt that there could of been more depth to this story, so much was missing!
Over all while I read and enjoyed the story it was just missing a whole chuck off story that would of made it amazing