{ about the book }
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Youngstandalone novel
publishes April 24th 2018 by Wednesday Books
e-ARC provided via netgalley
e-ARC provided via netgalley
Seventeen-year-old Eelyn’s world is war. Raised to fight alongside her Aska clansmen in a generations-old blood feud against the Riki, 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 if she wants to make it back to the fjord after the thaw. But when she begins to see herself in the people she's been taught to hate, the world Eelyn once knew begins to crumble. And after the village is raided by a ruthless clan many believe to be a myth, Eelyn is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend who has tried more than once to kill her. Together, they must end the blood feud between their clans or watch their people be slaughtered.
A lush, Viking-age inspired fantasy about loyalty, forgiveness, and the definition of family.
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•
{ my review }
♫ ♫ ♫
Oh man. I... I expected more? This was okay but I wasn't really... blown away by it. The aspects I was really looking forward to just fell flat and it ended up being disappointing.
The first half of the book is a bit difficult for me to explain. I thought it was well done, but I also thought that nothing of real consequence happened. If that makes sense.
I just. I expected so much MORE. The first half is literally the main character, Eelyn, getting captured by the enemy clan, and forced to act as a slave in the home her brother now lives in—which makes him a traitor in her eyes. There was some sibling angst but it felt like they hardly interacted? I initially understood—even adored—how Eelyn acted towards him, it was sort of warranted. But there was hardly any bonding!! I wanted more time where the two finally hash out everything between them but I was cheated.
Anyway, it was also a lot Eelyn thinking that she’ll escape the first chance she gets but… she never following through. It was weird, like her fight left her at some point. The first half was well written and paced and all, and I get the setup, it is important, but it didn’t push anything forward. Basically: It… hardly did anything for the plot?
Then the second half was just rushed. Which is weird, y’know, because it had that going for the former half, but everything after just felt too fast. We were finally introduced to the bigger, life threatening problem, but they were super one dimensional and dealt with way too easily. There was a big battle and all but… it lacked any depth to it. Where that succeeded in the beginning, it failed here.
The romance was also weird for me. I didn’t feel any chemistry, and I honestly have no idea how Eelyn and Fiske began to have feelings for each other in the first place. I wanted to like it because it came highly recommended to me by someone whose recs I trust, but it just… didn’t work out.
Overall, I’m just disappointed, lol. It was interesting and definitely very engaging—I stayed up all night to finish it!—but it didn’t wow me like I’d hoped it would. So, that being said, it’s a solid 3 stars from me.
The first half of the book is a bit difficult for me to explain. I thought it was well done, but I also thought that nothing of real consequence happened. If that makes sense.
I just. I expected so much MORE. The first half is literally the main character, Eelyn, getting captured by the enemy clan, and forced to act as a slave in the home her brother now lives in—which makes him a traitor in her eyes. There was some sibling angst but it felt like they hardly interacted? I initially understood—even adored—how Eelyn acted towards him, it was sort of warranted. But there was hardly any bonding!! I wanted more time where the two finally hash out everything between them but I was cheated.
Anyway, it was also a lot Eelyn thinking that she’ll escape the first chance she gets but… she never following through. It was weird, like her fight left her at some point. The first half was well written and paced and all, and I get the setup, it is important, but it didn’t push anything forward. Basically: It… hardly did anything for the plot?
Then the second half was just rushed. Which is weird, y’know, because it had that going for the former half, but everything after just felt too fast. We were finally introduced to the bigger, life threatening problem, but they were super one dimensional and dealt with way too easily. There was a big battle and all but… it lacked any depth to it. Where that succeeded in the beginning, it failed here.
The romance was also weird for me. I didn’t feel any chemistry, and I honestly have no idea how Eelyn and Fiske began to have feelings for each other in the first place. I wanted to like it because it came highly recommended to me by someone whose recs I trust, but it just… didn’t work out.
Overall, I’m just disappointed, lol. It was interesting and definitely very engaging—I stayed up all night to finish it!—but it didn’t wow me like I’d hoped it would. So, that being said, it’s a solid 3 stars from me.
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