This book was just as amazing as the authors first book, sky in the deep. I loved the setting and characters she created. Everything about the setting was amazing. The multiple points of view lent to a good telling of the story. I cannot wait to read more from this author.

I loved the book I do fill like it was a slow starting book other than that it was a very good book. I will definitely recommend this book to our patrons.

This book was a bit confusing from the beginning. It is told from the point of view of Halverd and Tova, two young people in a dangerous climate of war. When war becomes reality, they must fight for what is best for their people. Tova only barely remembers her family as she was thought to die years ago and had been set adrift in the sea (funeral rites for her tribe) but was adopted by the war loving Svell tribe. Halverd is struggling with the oncoming responsibility of chieftain of the other nearby tribe. When these tribes clash, both must choose the right path. I am not sure if this book was written as a preview to a series or as an introduction but the first several chapters were confusing and the characters never really came alive in a way that I cared what happened to them. An okay read but there are some improvements that could be made.

At first, I was having a difficult time getting into this book. It was a slow start, and I was having trouble connecting to the characters. I didn't realize this was a companion book to Sky in the Deep, which I haven't read. I'm sure if I read it and was familiar with the world, it would have been a much easier read. With that said, about halfway through the book, I was hooked. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Both main characters brought something real and authentic to the story. Although the story wrapped up nicely, I would have liked an epilogue to provide more closure. I'm hoping this means there will be another book :)

Three and a half
Don't you just love that cover ? Sadly for some reason the story doesn’t actually fulfil its potential. If you’ve read Sky in the Deep than you will have already met Halvard, who is a young warrior destined to become Chieftain of his Clan . Halvard has overcome so much to be who he is but the one thing he’s sure about is that he wants peace for his people and not war as no one truly benefits from it.
Tova was rescued as a small child and taken in by a Clan that both despise and fear her. Her ability to connect with the Spinners and see the future has so far kept her alive but a huge betrayal within the Svell Clan leads her to make choices with disastrous results !
If you are hoping for a romance you will sadly be disappointed as this felt more like a precursor to what could be a relationship between Tova and Halvard. I very much enjoyed the portrayal of these Norse peoples and thought that the author did a sterling job of portraying how it’s so easy to blame others for your own mistakes and actions. Tova was treated abysmally but there was a tiny glimmer of compassion from an unexpected quarter that truly warmed my heart but then bam instantly the darker tone returned.
I’m sad to say that ultimately this felt unfinished and as much as I appreciated the possibilities of the ending I did feel let down. I guess I just wanted more information, more answers particularly about Tova and her strange connection to Halvard. What I did enjoy were the strong family ties within this world and look forward to reading more about these characters.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

This was a good follow-up to Sky in the Deep. Although Sky is still my favorite. It was good to see the previous characters and find out what happened to the "little brother". It was very imaginative and heartfelt.

I was really excited for this book. I heard nothing but great things about it. Sadly it wasn't the one for me. I struggling with connecting with the main character and following the plot at some points. This book has been loved by so many already and will be by many more after it is published.

Disclaimer: I did not read Sky in the Deep so my review may reflect my lack of prior knowledge of the world Young has created.

DNF at page 35. I usually try to give books at least 5-10 chapters for me to get into the story but I wasn't connecting with any of the characters. The writing isn't bad, necessarily, but something about it is just off-putting enough that I didn't want to continue reading. I'm probably missing some crucial world building and lore that would make the first chapters seem less overwhelming/underwhelming at the same time (strange but true) so I might try and read Sky in the Deep and then return to The Girl the Sea Gave Back. For now, unfortunately, it's going on my DNF shelf.

Okay let me just say that I enjoy Adrienne Young’s books so much! I enjoyed Sky in the Deep and I enjoyed this one too! The time jumps were a but confusing and unclear but maybe thats because it was an e book copy, im sure the formatting is better in actual print books! I do love the connection between Tova and Halvard, it felt like insta love but not LOL idk how to describe it. I did wish they had more moments together. They only really started reacting aroung 50/60% into the book. The ending was quite nice and somewhat open ended. Makes me want a second book with more of Halvard and Tova. I also loved the cameos of Sky in the Deep characters especially Fiske and Eelyn 😭 All in all i loved this book and i’ll be buying the physical copy when it comes out! Thank you NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eArc.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a Viking-inspired stand alone book set ten years after the events in Adrienne’s Young’s first book, Sky in the Deep. I am a big fan of Sky in the Deep. I thought it depicted Nordic life as I imagined it would be: violent, harsh and full of mysticism.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back brings us back to the same setting but this time we are following Tova and Halvard. The book is told through their dual perspectives. Tova is the girl who wasn’t supposed to be alive. She becomes the rune caster of sorts for The Svell people. The Svell think she is a curse, but the leader of the Svell keeps her with them. Among her own people, the Kyrr, who she has been separated from, she would known as a Truthbearer.

Halvard, is part of the Nādhir people. The Svell has been terrorizing their villages and they meet with the Svell to repair relations when the meeting ends up in bloodshed. From there, we see how Tova’s fate is tied with Halvard and the Svell as they all fight for their survival.

The things I liked about the book:

I found Tova and the mysterious Kyrr people fascinating. I loved learning about them and wanted to learn more about their mystical ways. I think the only time I really connected to the book was when it was about the Kyrr tribe.
The action and battle scenes are great. It is violent but for the time period this story is set in, I expect to see this type of violence.
The author does so well writing these historical fiction novels because I feel immersed in the world, especially when it comes to the landscape, battle scenes and mystical aspects of their religion.

The things I didn’t enjoy:

The time jumping threw me off it was so jarring because it went back 7 years, then 10 years, then 12 years…🤦🏻‍♀️. I think without it, my reading experience would have been way different. This was my biggest issue with the book.
The romance was not a thing in the book and then there it was in the end. It wasn’t nurtured enough throughout the book so for me it felt forced.
I also had a hard time connecting to any of the characters until maybe the ending of the book. I really I gravitated more towards Tova’s background and family. That’s where I felt excitement when I read the story.

Overall, I think I had higher expectations. I enjoyed the parts of the Kyrr and Tova’s history but everything else in this story was just okay for me.

SKY IN THE DEEP was a notable 2018 standout for me and -- similar to my recent dilemma with Erin Bowman's IMMUNITY -- its followup is tonally worlds apart from the predecessor. THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK is a much quieter, more character-driven book than SKY IN THE DEEP. The story hinges around Tova and Halvard, who belong to rival clans and are each on a journey to keep their clan from going to war. The tension between the two clans is shown through the contrasting perspectives of Tova and Halvard; most of the story deals with the two of them confronting struggles individually, which wasn't what I was expecting based off the reviews I'd read prior to starting the book.

I found the amount of characters really hard to keep track of, particularly as the relationships between people in power in both clans is very important to understanding the plot of the first 30-0r-so percent of THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK. The shifting perspectives also drove me nuts. Often, something exciting would happen from one perspective only for the next chapter to just be the other character's view of the events I had just been told. It slowed the story down and felt really repetitive.

It seems from other reviews that people either really liked SKY IN THE DEEP or THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK. The two books, though both are about vikings, feel like very different stories. If you like more character-driven books, maybe this will be the Adrienne Young book for you.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back is another Viking-inspired story with a female heroine, and once again I truly enjoyed Adrienne Young's work. Also, the cover is gorgeous!

This is a standalone, but I personally think it would go much better as a follow-up to Sky in the Deep. In fact, I wish I had reread that book to make this one that much richer. There were reappearing characters and references to events that happened in Sky in the Deep, and I couldn't remember everything as well as I would've liked.

Tova and Halvard were the two viewpoints in The Girl the Sea Gave Back, and both were flawed, yet strong individuals. Not to mention, both ended up being pretty badass in battle.
I wish the romantic aspect was more developed. There was such potential!

I still enjoyed the book as is, although I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel that continues Tova and Halvard's story.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

Ok I did not like Sky in the Deep but I was seduced by the cover so I ended up trying this one. I think this author may just not be for me. I had some serious issues with her previous book (the constant use of rape threat rather than actually creating characters for instance) and while this book doesn’t duplicate those issues, it also doesn’t quite fix things like pace and structure either. Plus the fight scenes are not good. That’s putting it mildly. The author’s style has bloomed however. The prose was lovely in this book. The story just didn’t capture me. TBH if you’re after Viking tales with romance Marie Louise Jensen’s Daughter of Fire and Ice and Sigrun’s Secret are a far better bet, IMO. This just wasn’t for me.

I did not finish this book in whole. Unfortunately, it wasn't a good fit for me. The plot was intriguing, but the pacing and the characters were not enough to keep me hooked.

•Spoiler Free Book Review•

•I was given a free copy by #NetGalley and @WednesdayBooks in exchange for an honest review•

"Augua ór tivar. Ljá mir syn."
"Eye of the gods. Give me sight."

"For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue... She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse."

First of all, "The Girl the Sea Gave Back" by @adrienneyoungbooks is no "Sky in the Deep." Sorry not sorry. That book came to an end. A BEAUTIFUL ending. This book may take place in Hylli but that's where the similarities end.

TGTSGB is just as beautifully written as SKY. The characters just as rich, the twists just as awe inspiring, and the ending just as beautiful.

I loved how the story jumped back in time throughout the book, giving us insight into what has happened these past 10 years since the Riki and Aska joined together. How Halvard grew up along the fjord and how Tova came to be with the Svell and developed her Truthtongue gift from the gods.

Ms. Young is a gifted writer with the ability to paint the most extraordinary story. I was sucked in almost instantly and binged the book in about 2 days. Overall giving The Girl the Sea Gave Back ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 stars)

The battles were brutal and and Awesome

This was a bit slow to begin but it had to be with the background information. Though I did not read Sky in the Deep prior to this one and didn’t feel that I had to. I ended up truly loving this book, but it reminded me quite a bit of Vikings on the History channel and Halvard was an awful lot like young Ragnar Lothbrok. I can only hope he stays that way.

The story was about Tova who was found at six years old on the shore by a surrogate father, Jorrund. She was in a funeral boat that was partially burned out and it was obviously to him that she was a kyrr truthtongue which is a seer of sorts that uses stones like runes and reads them. He decides to use this to his political advantage and tells her that she was a sacrifice to the gods by her people. She grew up thinking that. The Svell whom she lived with hated her for being the messenger of bad things. They treated her like the things she saw where her fault even though they were the ones that would ask for the readings, mostly during dire situations or in times of war.

The battle scenes were brutal and like the Vikings TV show they were extremely detailed so that was another thing that reminded me of the same. But I was loving it. Tova tries to do what is right and nobody wants to let her, and nobody ever stands up for her. Though when it comes down to the major battle there is a scene where I found myself crying, then cheering out loud. It was an awesome moment. There were a few of those in this book. I love a lot of action.

Really enjoyed this book. I hadn't realized it was sort of a continuation of The Sky in the Deep (I had hoped it was, but somewhere along the way I thought people were saying it wasn't) You don't need to read Sky in the Deep first, but it definitely helps give background.
Love all the characters and the viking world. A lot of "Ooo what's that mean" and things that you think you know, but don't. So yeah. XD

**Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review**

3.5 STARS ROUNDED UP TO 4 (due primarily to the last 30%)

I'm absolutely thrilled I got to read an ARC of this book as its been on my wish list since the cover reveal. I loved Sky in the Deep and had all the grabby hands for this one.

This book happens ten years after we finish Eelyn and Fiske's story, written with a timeline that fills us in with the major plot points for the characters in flash back chapters. I really enjoyed this choice from the author and thought it was well done and unique.

In this stand-alone but sequel to Sky in the Deep, we follow Tova (new) and Halvard (not new). I really enjoyed the role these two characters played and the dynamic between them. Their character arcs were fully developed and i loved watching them grow.

The story is full of tension and the plot was unique and exciting. The last 30% really went above and beyond and I thought ACT III was well executed and I could not turn the pages fast enough.

I struggled with the pace up to that 70% mark though. It felt like the author wanted this to be both a stand-alone and a sequel. In order to make it a sequel, she basically recapped the entire novel of Sky in the Deep. Like all of it. And it really bogged this book down. I'm not sure I needed all the reminders of every detail from SitD. I think that if this had been branded a sequel, it would have been understood that SitD comes first and a lot of this back story could have been cut, cleaning up the pace, but as it stands, its too much. It affected (effected?) the way i connected with the characters and how long it took me to push through the book. That said, I found the last 30% worth the push so would still recommend the read.NOTE: DESPITE THE BACK DETAIL, I STILL THINK READING SKY IN THE DEEP FIRST IS HELPFUL.

This book is dark and really takes you to the brink of the darkness these characters experience. The writing is wonderful and engaging. The characters are interesting and the timeline is unique.

Solid 3.5 STAR RATING FROM ME :-)

This book is set in a Viking world.
This is a time of mysterious gods , unknown , unforeseen forces.

Our story begins with death and will come full circle. A young mother so in her love with her child , but the child is not meant to survive . The spinners have foretold this. Our poor mother places her cold , blue child to be delivered into the afterlife. The funeral boat is then lit never to be seen again .
The three spinners decide the fates of mortals , good or bad . Jorrund of tala has coming seeking advice , wisdom , guidance . A flash of white catches his eye and leads him a spinner . A fate spinner. Life or death. That is what this spinner has brought to jorrund .
Jorrund come across a blackened boat with a small child inside . A pale young girl , not a dead infant . A truth tongue , one who will eventually be able to read the runes and see the web of fate . This is truly where our story begins.
Tova is a truthtongue . She decides life and death and war . War with another clan is where we start and end.

Such a intense , interesting world .
This book was out of my comfort zone as it’s not my normal style , but I really found myself drawn to the outcome.

I was excited when I heard about this book. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first. The romance felt rushed and thrown in there at the end. I did love getting to see characters from the Sky in the Deep and what happened to them. I thought Tova and Halvard were great characters. Overall I enjoyed this book and wanted more I can’t wait for more books by Adrienne Young.