Title: Sky in the Deep
Author: Adrienne Young
Releases: April 24, 2018 by Wednesday Books
Genre: YA Fantasy
OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.
My Thoughts: Compelling, gripping, beautiful novel that I already see myself rereading for many years to come. I feel rent open by the love and loyalty Eelyn feels and how it shifts throughout the story in response to the things she discovers. This is an amazing telling of one girl going through many hardships to find out that her clan really isn’t all that different from the one she’s been raised to hate, and they have the same basic needs and desires as herself and her clansmen. How do you continue to hate a culture once you begin to view them as fellow humans? She feels betrayed by her brother’s choice, but, as much as she fights it, slowly comes to accept it and his newly claimed family. When the Herja attack, she realises more about herself and her life than she expected.
“I was the ice on the river. The snow clinging onto the mountainside.”
Eelyn’s journey drew me in from the first page and I absolutely loved every minute of it. This girl is a strong Viking badass who takes shit from no one and will cut your balls off for your trouble. I think I’ve developed a girl-crush! Of course, the protagonist wouldn’t be so interesting without some flaws, right? Well, hers are very relatable. She’s grown up in a culture who’s told her that the Riki are the blood enemy due to some god’s clash ages ago. She’s stubborn and believes in the tradition of her people…until she doesn’t. How can she continue to believe that these are the enemy after all she’s seen? Still, trust is hard won and it takes time to change thoughts you’ve been entrenched in from the time you’re young.
“Vegr yfir fjor – honor above life.”
Fiske, her captor, is not all he seems from the beginning. I love his part in her story and I thoroughly enjoyed that even though he ‘owns’ her, he’s still fair and just. He protects her time after time when he really doesn’t have to do anything and I love him for it. Yes, partly because they share a brother, but also because he is just a good guy. He’s a phenomenal character who just gets better as their journey progresses.
“Home felt an entire world away.”
To be entirely honest, I wanted more of this story. simply because I never wanted to leave Eelyn’s world. To say I loved this book is an understatement. I was shocked to learn this was Adrienne Young’s debut novel. She has written an amazing novel that I can’t wait to dive into again and again. I’ve already bought a few copies to give to friends…
GOODREADS . AMAZON . BOOK DEPOSITORY . B&N
Blurb: OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.
Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, rivalry against the Riki clan. 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, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.
She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.
Early Praise for Sky in the Deep
“With Sky in the Deep, Adrienne Young has brought to life fascinating, multi-dimensional characters in a starkly beautiful world. Everything is rich and evocative. The ice melts against your skin at the same time the adrenaline takes hold of your heart. This is a gripping story, richly told.”
-Renée Ahdieh, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Wrath and the Dawn
“Fearless in its exploration of family, forgiveness, loyalty, and love, Sky in the Deep is fierce, vivid, and violently beautiful. This book will wage a war with your heart as brutal and as bold as the battles inked in its pages.”
– Stephanie Garber, New York Times Bestselling author of Caraval
“Brutal and beautiful, with breakneck pacing and starring a heroine that will make you want to run into battle with her, Sky in the Deep is a stunning debut that will leave readers enchanted and breathless all at once.”
– Roshani Chokshi, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Star-Touched Queen
“A dangerous and brutal world navigated by an equally fearsome girl—Sky in the Deep is a delicious tale filled with fierce battles, shocking betrayal, and a slow-burn romance that’s as hard fought as the wars raging between the two clans. Readers will welcome this vivid gift to the fantasy genre, as will fans of darkly lush historical settings. Wholly unique and instantly addictive, I was captivated from its opening lines.”
– Kerri Maniscalco, New York Times Bestselling Author of Stalking Jack the Ripper
“Bleak, beautiful, and deadly, Sky in the Deep is both a gritty, gut-wrenching tale of war and a thoughtful meditation on identity, family, and faith–a story with the ferocity of its main character as well as her raw and tender heart.”
– Traci Chee, New York Times Bestselling author of The Reader
“Heartrending, heart-mending: this book broke my heart into a thousand pieces, then put it back together even stronger than before.”
– Kayla Olson, author of The Sandcastle Empire
Available for pre-order:
Amazon // Barnes & Noble // Audible // Indiebound // Powells
Coming in 2018 from the following publishers:
United States & Canada: Wednesday Books (April 24, 2018)
Germany: Harper Collins
The Netherlands: Unieboek Spectrum
Czech Republic: Albatros
Spain: Urano
All quotes are taken from an ARC and may not match the final product. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books via Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
