This was so good much better than i thought it would be i cant wait to pick it for book of the month so i can annotate all my favorite parts

When I saw that Adrienne Young was publishing another book, I was ecstatic. I really enjoyed her debut novel, Sky in the Deep, which you can find my review for here: http://sarahjuneblog.com/sky-in-the-deep-book-review/.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back was written in the same style, switching between perspectives, and that is always something that makes a book more interesting.

The characters are interesting, the action is enticing, and this story makes you want to continue reading until you are on the very last page, and suddenly the story has come to an end.

I can't wait to see what Adrienne publishes next!

I started this book with high expectations. I loved Sky in the Deep, and I was excited for the companion novel. However, I was a little disappointed with The Girl the Sea Gave Back. I hate to compare both books, but this one seemed lacking. The first few chapters were a little hard to follow, and the very little world building left me feeling a little disconnected. I thought I was missing a chapter in-between the two novels to help bridge them together.

I didn't feel a strong connection with the main characters, and with the constant battle preparations, I couldn't get a good scope of Halvard and Tova's personalities. Once the plot started to get underway, it was easier to follow along. But I ultimately felt like underwhelmed through the book. I loved Adrienne Young's writing in The Sky in the Deep, but it didn't translate very well for me in her second novel.

after having just finished the author's first book, which paints events 12 years before the events in the girl the sea gave back, i can easily say that sky in the deep was better. i normally wouldn't compare the two books, but since one is technically considered a sequel to the other, i kind of feel inclined to. i began this book hoping that it would be enough of a stand-alone to read without having read sky in the deep, but i found that to not be true, so if you haven't read sky in the deep, i think you're going to be very confused. read that book first and then i think you can come to appreciate aspects of this novel. i think that's why i liked it, even though it wasn't the best.

it was just messy in my opinion compared to book one. i liked having one single point of view in book one and that isn't the case for the girl the sea gave back. you get halvard and tova's points of view and while i did enjoy being inside both characters heads from the perspective of someone who liked both characters, i don't think it fit the story. furthermore, there were additional flashback chapters that gave insight into past events. those definitely didn't fit with the rest of the story and i feel like they could have been incorporated into chapters that took place in the current timeline. it took me out of the story completely.

what worked for me was basically just halvard. i loved him in sky in the deep and i wanted to love this book just because of him solely. did i find tova's story interesting? yes, but i didn't feel any major attachment to her. she seemed to fall flat. in some ways, so did halvard when you look at his characterization from the first book to this one. i think in a lot of ways, this novel wasn't fleshed out like it could have been. i know that the author was probably trying to go for a shorter book like the first one was, but there just felt like so much was missing.

I really enjoyed this story. It's well-researched and fascinating.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Definitely enjoyed this one more than Sky in the Deep.

Another Norse tale from Adrienne Young and it begins with the funeral ceremony of a young girl child who is given to the sea- believed dead and given over to the Fates. Miles away, a Svell man comes upon the young child and takes her back to his village. They recognize her tattoos and use her as a Kyrr "Truthtongue." As Tova grows, the villagers fear what the gods might be playing at and what it means for their survival. Meanwhile, a warrior and chief in training named Halvard and his tribe grow closer to war. Both Tova and Halvard tell the tale and their various flashbacks that fill in their backstories.

I definitely enjoyed the buildup and revelations more in this book and the cinematic scope of the battle scenes definitely kept me invested. Although their is attraction between Tova and Halvard, I am so glad that it didn't descend into a mere YA love story. I look forward to the next installment. I have nominated this book for breathtaking cover of 2019.


Goodreads review published 25/08/19
Publication Date 03/09/19

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

The cover is gorgeous. Unfortunately the story fell flat for me. The story was very slow. There are a lot of characters to remember on top of learning this world. I did not read Sky in the Deep and I’m not sure reading that companion novel would’ve made a difference. I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Halvard, soon to be leader, and Tova, a truthteller, are the alternating narrators, whose clans are at war with each other. The possibility to develop and connect with these characters was there. I expected bigger, more exciting things in this world. I finished this book because I had to, not because I wanted to.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

Rating: ★★★★

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin's Press for the e-ARC!

"The Nādhir would follow me into the mist of the forest when the sun rose. And only the gods knew if we’d ever come out."

With a slower start than her previous book, it took me a few start and stop moments to get really sucked in to the world again. I wish I had chosen to reread Sky in the Deep to refresh myself on Adrienne Young's beautiful world building before diving into this one. Set 10 years later, it is difficult to pick up this book without having the first still fresh in your mind.

That being said...
THIS BOOK WAS GREAT!

It was entertaining, action-packed, and at times... beautifully brutal. The battles were so well-written, it feels as if you as the reader are transported into the center of the battlefield and if you don't pick up the nearest dropped weapon you may find yourself among the fallen.

I loved the reappearances of Eelyn, our main character of Sky in the Deep and that even though her reappearances are short and sweet, her personality shines through and remains true to her story in her own novel.

Tova. That girl has a story for sure. I thoroughly enjoyed her development. She grew so far from a frightened young girl doing as she's told and saving her own behind with obedience into this phoenix of a woman. She flowered into this strong individual that not only tried to change her fate, but the fate of the clan that begrudgingly took her in and mistreated her and the fate of the clan regarded as an enemy. She tries to put to right the wrongs that had been done on her words due to her Truthtongue abilities to see the future. You can't help but to cheer for her as she owns up to her mistakes and tries to save as many lives as she can.

Halvard has come so far from the sweet, enchanting, mischievous young boy I remember in Sky in the Deep. He's taken on so much responsibility at a young age, but his determination to make the right choices for his people and for the sake of peace among the clans has you in awe of him. He has become such an intelligent and brave young man in the 10 year gap between novels and has so much more potential in him.

Overall, this book was fantastic. The cover art is amazing and beautiful. The world is as strange and mystical as the historical people and landscape that inspired it. I highly recommend this story to everyone and anyone. This author is one to look out for. Both of her works are among my favorites for the years they were published.

Despite being named for Tova, The Girl the Sea Gave Back is really about Halvard, a side character from Young's previous title Sky in the Deep. And unlike Eelyn, neither Tova nor Halvard are particularly active forces in this story. It was impossible to justify the actions of the forces in this story - simply because they're not properly explained to the reader. These clans are going to war - but why?

I think the highlight of this book was in the flashbacks, where we get most of the meat of the character development and the larger story. Until the last 20% or so, all of Tova's narrated portions were essentially the same and only served to fill in pages between Halvard's forward momentum. Which drove me nuts. Halvard we understand, he's nothing special really, but Tova is surrounded by an air of mystique that is never really explained.

Also, it seemed that Young went very far out of her way to avoid mentioning Eelyn, Fiske, and Iri throughout most of this book. These were the three main players in Sky of the Deep and so end up coming in near the end, but while we get references to children, we don't know which child belongs to which of them or how old they are or what these characters do. Having them be elsewhere for most of this book just felt lazy to me. And I'm usually the first person to try to distance a story like this from characters in the previous one (but if that was the case, I'd choose a completely unrelated character to take up the mantle, not the little brother).

This book unfortunately lacked a lot of the brilliance that the previous book brought: determination, vivid battle scenes, a rich mythology, a distinct culture (or two), and characters that drive the plot.

I would probably read another of Young's books set in this world, but I hope for growth rather than another step backwards.

Hey, remember when I said that I definitely needed more vikings on my shelf? Well praise be to Odin, Thor, Loki, Freya, Sig, every Valkyrie and whoever else up there will accept, because did I ever find myself a winner from an author who has yet to fail me.

If like me you loved the hell out of Adrienne Young’s debut novel Sky in the Deep, then you will absolutely be here for this stellar follow-up. The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a companion novel that takes place ten years after the events of Sky in the Deep. We get a glimpse of life with the combined people of the Riki and Aska clans, and a little snippet of the stars of that story: Fiske, Iri, and my badass girl, Eelyn.

As with Young’s first book, this was riveting from start to finish. There’s something about her writing that just draws me in. It’s honest and real, and somehow quiet and calm. There are scenes that are brutal and brimming with emotion, and yet it’s never sensational or over-done. It has a quality that makes it so believable and acceptable. Despite the viking lifestyle being something that would never fly today, I never have a moment of outrage or gratitude that we’ve moved on from such ways of life. It just is what it is. Kill your neighbour because you feel like it. Please don’t actually do that.

Even though the synopsis speaks only of Tova, this story is told through dual POV. Tova, obviously, and Halvard. You may remember him from Sky in the Deep as younger brother to Fiske and Iri. The two have never met, and yet somehow their fates have been entwined by the Spinners.

I adored Halvard’s POV, which surprised me immensely. Usually I lean towards the female main character. However, he felt like such a well-developed character with a good head on his shoulder, good people influencing his life, and a healthy dose of self-doubt to keep him from being cocky and insufferable. He’s very easy to get behind and root for.

Tova should have been my girl like Eelyn was before her, but something was missing. I still connected with her and feared for her in certain situations, but she wasn’t all there just yet. I would’ve liked to have seen more from her in terms of development and her future-telling. I was always left wanting more every time I finished reading her chapters.

Now, my rating is actually 4.5 out of 5. Where it lost half a star and was kept just shy of a perfect score was the ending. As this is another standalone it was conclusive. I also found it to be satisfying. But good heavens was it abrupt. I received an e-arc and I was wondering if the last five pages neglected to download. Is that it? It almost felt like a disservice to such a great story to just drop off where it did. I’d have loved just one scene more.

So, basically, everything Adrienne Young writes, I’m reading. I see she has a duology coming in 2020 that is about a deserted island. SIGN ME UP, WEDNESDAY BOOKS!!!

The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young is a companion novel to her wonderful debut, Sky in the Deep. Set several years later, it follows the stories of two characters , Tova and Halvard ( a name that may be familiar to readers of Sky in the Deep. Tova is a Truthtongue, her body covered in mysterious tattoos and makings of her people, the Kyrr, who live an isolated lifestyle in the far North. Sacrificed to the sea as a child, she washed ashore and was taken in by the Svell tribe, though not all of its members approve. Her ability to cast the runes and read the future is valuable however and so she is tolerated. When she is called to cast her stones for the clan chieftain, it leads to a war that she wants no part of, against the neighbouring Nadhir tribe, a war that will also deeply divide the Svell and turn brother against brother.
Halvard is the future leader of the Nadhir, the new tribe formed by the joining together of the Riki and Aska clans, and when the Svell attack one of their villages it seems like war is inevitable. When the Svell leader seeks to meet and make reparations for the attack, it seems like there may be the possibility of avoiding a brutal and bloody conflict. When Tova and Halvard cross paths, it seems like there is a strange connection between them, one that goes deeper than clan or tribe , but what does it mean for their future?

I was delighted to receive and ARC of this book, I really enjoyed Sky in the Deep and was eager read more from the author. I have to say that the first half of this book was something of a struggle, it felt like I was being bombarded with names and titles, and while I understand that there was a lot of ground to be laid for the story it just felt somewhat cumbersome. I know the ARC may differ from the finished book, and I hope that the final product will contain a list of characters and clan affiliations, as I do think this would make things easier, As I have already mentioned the story is told from two perspectives., and while this is a device that can work very well, it does require that the two narrators have very different " voices" something that is not really achieved here - at times I found myself having to check back to see which character's chapter I was reading which is not ideal. I found Tova's story the more interesting, and I would love to know more about her original people, the Kyrr. I will say that the book did pick up in the second half , and once it got going it moved at a cracking pace with lots of drama and tension. and some epic and gruesome battle scenes.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Though it was slow going, I really enjoyed the first book by this author, Sky in the Deep, but just couldn't get through The Girl the Sea Gave Back. Set in the same world, this companion novel of sorts follows Halvard, brother to protagonist Fiske from the previous book. It's been ten years since the clans merged and now they face a new threat.

I'll be honest, I don't remember a ton from Sky in the Deep and you don't really need to in order to get through The Girl the Sea Gave Back, but maybe I would have enjoyed it more had I re-read it first? I don't know. The main issue I had with this book was that it was boring. I couldn't get into it. Usually by the quarter mark there's something to keep me hooked enough to keep reading but I didn't actually care about either character (Tova and Halvard).

Tova is a Truthtongue who can read rune stones and that part was cool but there was no worldbuilding to support her gift and all the vagueness left me disconnected from the story in general. There just wasn't really much to her character beyond her purpose and role in the clan. She's hated by almost everyone, that's all I know about her. No connection.

I had to look up who Halvard was when I first started reading because the name was familiar but I'd forgotten from the previous book. He's your typical fantasy warrior character. Again, not much to him and I felt zero connection to want to see him succeed. And then there's the attempt at a potential romance between him and Tova? Very slight, mind you, and I couldn't buy in because I didn't care about either of them.

There's just no tension in the story! For all the fighting and clan dynamics, I felt none of it. No reason to keep reading to ensure that my faves survived. It just comes back to my first point: I was bored. I didn't want to keep reading and while the writing is easy enough, the not caring with the big cast of characters and minimal worldbuilding made it a struggle all around. The bit about the lack of worldbuilding in particular made no sense to me because this book expands on the previously established world from Sky in the Deep but there wasn't any attention given to those expansions or the characters inhabiting them other than one-off descriptions.

I finally gave up and DNFed at 47%. It wasn't likely that it would improve enough to redeem the first half for me which is a shame, but I wasn't in the mood to waste my time with a book that bored me from the very beginning. Hopefully future works from Young are more like her debut novel.

I was super excited to jump in to the next book in this series. I absolutely adored Sky In The Deep. So I was delighted to get a chance to read and review this one.

This book starts off with a super interesting premise. A young girl, Tova, has passed on and put out to sea for her funeral, onky to turn up on the shore of anothet clan. She is an object of distrust, but does what she can to stay alive.

The other perspective we get is from Halvard, a young man who is next to succeed his people. He is trying to assist in bringing about peace from the clan Tova is with. But has to step up sooner than he expects with little experience with actual war.

I have to say I really enjoyed both characters here, and loved how the author portrayed them. It was easy to connect to them, and truly feel the emotions they were going through.

Unlike Sky in the Deep, the settings and world around Tova and Halvard aren't really filled with as much description. It almost feels like as a reader, I kind of should expect to know how villages and the forests should look like in this second book. I was hoping for a bit more.

The other issue is I felt a lot was missed in building the connection betwern Tova and Halvard. It started off great, but felt like stuff was skipped or cut. Feels like the book could have elaborated or built on this connection so much further.

Overall the book was a fun read, albeit a bit shorter than I expected. I am a bit let down after being such a huge fan of Sky In The Deep, but there is enough here to be entertained by. This is one of those times wherr I'm rating it a 4, but its much closer to a 3.5.

The Cover

I absolutely love this cover! At first I wished it matched Sky in the Deep more since they are companion novels, but in the end TGTSGB has such a beautiful cover and it fits the story.

The Plot/Characters

I honestly don’t know how I feel about this book. I was really happy to follow Halvard on his journey 10 years after the events of Sky in the Deep. I really love it when we get to see into the future (or see a character’s back story) but the first half of this book was a bit out of touch. I know that this is a companion novel and I did read Sky in the Deep but TSTSGB had almost no world building and I got so confused with all the name dropping in the beginning.

The battle/conflict carried out quickly and was almost too easy. I had the same problem in Sky in the Deep though.

I liked that this was a dual POV and we got to see how Halvard was doing but also how Tova felt and her journey to rediscovering her family. I ended up really loving Tova and thought she was really sweet and again, would love to see 10 more years into the future with a short story or something like that.

I’m glad they didn’t have instant-love. I feel like that would have ruined the feel of the book. Instead they have grown to trust each other and will grow to feel love.

I also LOVE how Young focused on family. We know that family was super important and the theme in Sky in the Deep and that carried over to this book. The bonds they share are amazing and I love that 10 years later everyone is closer than ever. Halvard and his family share such a deep bond and it’s very beautiful to read about.

The Writing

I love Adrienne Young’s writing style. She writes beautifully and that’s really what carried this story.

**thank you to netgalley & the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review**

wow, wow, wow was this horrible.

so if you guys aren’t familiar with my rating system: one star is a book I would have DNF’ed if not for xyz circumstances. because this was an ARC and it was a most anticipated read of the year, I trudged through.

let me emphasize this clearly: I. Wasted. My. Time.

I’m sorry to be so blunt but this was a complete fuckery of a book. there was hardly ANY plot what so ever besides the usual “warring clans” trope. the characters blended together so completely that I couldn’t even remember who’s chapter I was reading. there would be whole ass time jumps in the middle of chapters I had no idea WHAT I was reading. there were SO many names and places thrown at you, you never could even learn about the world to understand it. how a book can be so info dumpy yet subsequently teach you nothing at all is beyond me.

and the writing style OH MY GOD. it’s the kind of writing that tries so hard to be flowery but the author can only write at a high school level. I know that is harsh but it’s the only way I can explain it.

and you know what I do feel a little bad about how harsh I’m being but I genuinely don’t understand how this is being published. I know this is a companion to her previous work but I heard okay things about sky in the deep??

this seems like a sally thorne scenario where the author just forgot how to outline, plot, characterize, and just simply WRITE a novel. I don’t understand.

this has got to be one of the worst books I’ve read so far in 2019 and I’m very sad about it :(

This is a companion novel to Sky In the Deep, i say companion cause while it has characters from the original story it told from the point of view of a totally new character and it follows her story. Tova is a Truthtongue who was found by the Svell people washed ashore as a child and has been told that her people sent her away as a scarafice. She has no memory of them and her place in this new Tribe is not the pest. By trying to foretell the future she may bring about a whole new kind of war.

This was a four star rating for me i did not love it as much as i loved Sky in the Deep and i not sure if cause it a different kind of story then a brother gone missing. The battle scences cause lets face it most of this book was about a war and how much the Svell where going to use Tova powers to foresee the future.

The timing of this story is set ten years in the future which does make for a uniqueness as time has progressed to where the new clan from the east has had timed to become a stronger tribe. I also liked that both these stories are Viking stories so they are different then what i normally read. I would of liked more world building but their might of not been much to do there as it set in the same place as the previous book. Getting to see old characters with the new ones did make for at times an emotional plot. I think the author would do well continuing with this theme of telling stories set in this place but sharing from other characters points of view.

Loved this book so much.

I had read Sky in The Deep and loved it - so this was obviously on my "must buy" list.

Strong female character with a gripping plot. What more could you ask for? I do think the world building in this wasn't as great as it was in Sky in the Deep. It wasn't quite as gripping however I found it interesting nonetheless. I think this was more of a slow build and I know some people don't prefer that. Overall, I enjoyed it and can't wait for more from Adrienne Young.

I must say, I’m disappointed; I enjoyed Young’s first novel, however I feel this reads more as a debut novel than that. The plot seemed to move at an incredibly slow pace, and it never felt as though the stakes were high. The world building was minimal, and I couldn’t say I feel connected to any characters in particular. While I think the idea for this novel was there, the execution fell short of my expectations, however I know from her previous work how great of a writer Young can be, so I’ll still give her next project a read.

I read and enjoyed Sky in the Deep last year, so I was thrilled to get an eARC for The Girl the Sea Gave Back and it did not disappoint. I liked this one even more than Sky, the world building and atmosphere were great, I felt more invested in the characters in this book. I'd recommend it if you loved Sky or even if you thought it fell a bit flat, or you haven't read it at all because it works great as a standalone novel!

The Girl The Sea Gave Back is one of the most dynamic fantasies I've read in a long time. Adrienne Young is now an "auto-buy" author for me because I've loved everything she's written so far. Young's language throughout the novel was beautiful and compelling. In addition, the imagery she wrote was incredibly powerful. She also did a fantastic job of building Nova's character and developing her into a fierce warrior. I can say with confidence that Nova is the most developed and multi-dimensional protagonist I've read this year. Lastly, writing from both Tova and Halvard's perspective gave much value to the story as well as the flashbacks. The mix of these 3 elements of storytelling made for a clear and beautiful story.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of The Girl the Sea Gave Back!