Sky in the Deep

Just the word ‘Viking’ was enough to draw my interest to Sky in the Deep but it definitely didn’t hurt that Adrienne Young is an amazing storyteller.

Viking wars, berserker tendencies, and a love interest too; you don’t want to miss this one! If I were a Viking warrior, I would want to be just like Eelyn. She’s strong, feisty, and determined and her character was easy to empathize with. Fiske (oh, Fiske!), Iri, Myra, Halvard, and the rest of the characters that rounded out the story, the setting, the fighting, the rituals; everything made this book fantastic!

I devoured this book while at the same time hoping it would never end. I love that it’s a stand-alone because they are so rare these days, but I was stalking Young before I even finished reading to make sure we were going to hear more from her. Bonus: there’s a companion novel coming in 2019!!

This is a must-buy! Recommended for lovers of fantasy, historical fiction, YA, and romance.

This is a fantastic, stand-alone fantasy debut. There are wonderful, complex family relationships and friendships. Totally badass fighting sequences, balanced with thoughtful character development. I loved it!

Thank you, Netgalley and Wednesday Books, for the opportunity to read and review this book. My views are entirely my own.

I cannot gush over this book enough! Sky in the Deep is breathless, vivid, and badass, with a heroine you'll at once want to scream at and for. Debut Adrienne Young has created a book you'll never want to leave, with characters you'll instantly love.

Step into a Viking-inspired world, fully-realized and beautiful, heart breaking and wonderful. Here, Eelyn is a young woman of war, having spent her entire life fighting with and for her people, having felt the sharp pain of war and has emerged the most hardened warrior. After years of honing her body into a weapon, her heart and mind into unforgiving stone, Eelyn mirrors the unyielding surroundings and people of Aska. But her world is turned upside down when she discovers her brother - a brother she watched die on the battlefield - fighting alongside her enemies, the ruthless Riki.

The writing in this debut is beautiful and confident, the characters fully realized and unique. Young has proved herself a confident and adept writer, and has easily become one of my must-buy authors. Fans of Renee Ahdieh’s lushly painted world in The Wrath and the Dawn and the badass, self-sufficient heroine of Marie Rutkoski's Winner's Series will love this book!

4.5 Stars

I will begin this review by saying that I read this book in one sitting, no dinner cooked, no homework done, no sleep gotten. So, be prepared when you open this novel up to be completely useless for 4 – 5 hours. Sky in the Deep completely blew me away.

Sky in the Deep is a novel about a young warrior who finds out that her dead brother is alive and living with the enemy. When she is captured by him and his friend, they take her to their village and make her a dyr (a slave), in order to protect her identity. It is a book of self discovery, understanding, love, family and conflict. Young is clearly a very talented writer who can delve deep into the human psyche in what seems like a very simple, clear way. Her writing is not complex, it is fast paced, to the point and concise. However, every word carries a meaning, every glance a deeper thought, ever action means something.

I absolutely adored the book. If you are looking for a good read, full of emotions, self discovery, strong female characters, love and fights – read this book! You will love it!

This book is so good. Like "stay up way too late because I can't stop reading" good.

This book is so, so good!!!! It's been a long time since a book amazed me! The plot was authentic and engaging, the writing style was impeccable, the characters were badass and striking, and the romance was stellar! I only have good things to say. This book is a masterpiece! I've already been telling my librarian friends about it. I highly recommend it!

this was the kind of book i never wanted to put down. it was bloody, visceral, and so much fun. Eelyn is a fierce, defiant, and wonderful character, and her story was just so engrossing. From the beginning battle against the Riki to the end battle where everything comes to a head , I was entranced by this book. I loved the characters, especially Fiske and Halvard, Inge and Iri. This is just a brilliant, action packed book that i never wanted to end, but was extremely satisfied when it was. Just a complete winner.

Not enough stars!!

OH.MY.GOSH. I just finished this and now I’m sitting here with a big dorky smile on my face. Such a good book. Exciting and adventurous. Romantic and sweet. It’s just like Amazon said, Wonder Woman meets Vikings.

I loved the romance weaved throughout this story. It’s subtle. I wondered if there was even going to be a romance, and amazingly I was okay if there wasn’t. I was that hooked. But when it showed up, I was super happy.

There is so much I wanna say, but I’ll let you read it and enjoy it for yourself. But the best part is that it’s a standalone! This wonderful story is all wrapped up in one spectacular package. I've added it to my YA list and told all the teens I teach to add it their TBRs.

I found a new author to obsess over. SO GOOD!!

I can’t wait till my daughter reads this book. She’s gonna love it. LOVE IT. Ax and knife throwing is a hobby of hers.

I love, love loved it!! I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. This book was took off g=from the get go. This was an action packed Viking masterpiece. The plot did not let go until the last page. This was full of brutal scenes and Viking badassery and I can't believe its a standalone. The one time you don't want something to be a standalone because you love the world and the characters so much you don't want it to end. Eelyn is an exceptional heroine and I just adored her. She is tough and brave, kind and endearing and seriously badass but also somehow humanely flawed. She was extremely relatable. I loved how much she grew from seeking revenge and being stupidly prideful to being understanding and forgiving and that maybe she does need to rely on other people and not just herself. I didn't think she was able to grow and see how idiotic she was being and kudos to the author for being able to show that much growth with a character in a standalone book. The romance is subtle and kind of out of nowhere but I didn't mind. This book focuses more on family and tradition and how our pride can end up hurting us in the end.
Overall this is an exceptionally well written and plotted book and I cannot wait to get a physical copy to swoon with over and over again.