Adrienne Young

A 2018 Most Anticipated Young Adult book that is part Wonder Woman, part Vikings―and all heart. 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, Eelyn is captured and must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbour 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.

Sky in the Deep

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: train to fight and fight to 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.

Sky in the deep

I struggled with the beginning, and I just got used to it as the book went on.

Eelyn sees her brother (Iri), who she was sure was dead, fighting on the opposite side during a battle. She tries to follow him and ends up being taken by the enemies, the Riki clan. Eelyn stays with the family that Iri now sees as his own and eventually there was a common enemy that needed to be beaten.

The characters ended up growing on me, but that didn’t mean that I particularly liked or cared for them. I think I might have liked Fiske the most out of all the characters, but maybe that’s just because he’s not shown much (or at least not enough for me). I didn’t like how Iri and Eelyn acted throughout the majority of this book – they had this unexplained situation between them and yet it seemed like neither cared to find out what happened. Eventually when they do talk, it’s just facts of what happened, and it seems like they’re fine with each other shortly after that.

I wanted to know more about the Herja because I couldn’t quite understand whether they were an enemy clan or if maybe there was something supernatural about them.

I could see the potential between Eelyn and Fiske, but it seemed to happen quickly without any development, so I didn’t care about that either.

It felt like the purpose of this book was to have a message instead of telling a story, which isn’t something I like. To me, it seemed to be more about character growth and the morals of the story, instead of action and character interactions, which is what I prefer.

I didn’t like the ending either. The big battle scene at the end was underwhelming, and the behaviour of the clans felt a bit too easy and just there for the message.

This book wasn’t for me and I’m not sure if I’ll try other books by this author.

I struggled with the beginning, and I just got used to it as the book went on.

Eelyn sees her brother (Iri), who she was sure was dead, fighting on the opposite side during a battle. She tries to follow him and ends up being taken by the enemies, the Riki clan. Eelyn stays with the family that Iri now sees as his own and eventually there was a common enemy that needed to be beaten.

The characters ended up growing on me, but that didn’t mean that I particularly liked or cared for them. I think I might have liked Fiske the most out of all the characters, but maybe that’s just because he’s not shown much (or at least not enough for me). I didn’t like how Iri and Eelyn acted throughout the majority of this book – they had this unexplained situation between them and yet it seemed like neither cared to find out what happened. Eventually when they do talk, it’s just facts of what happened, and it seems like they’re fine with each other shortly after that.

I wanted to know more about the Herja because I couldn’t quite understand whether they were an enemy clan or if maybe there was something supernatural about them.

I could see the potential between Eelyn and Fiske, but it seemed to happen quickly without any development, so I didn’t care about that either.

It felt like the purpose of this book was to have a message instead of telling a story, which isn’t something I like. To me, it seemed to be more about character growth and the morals of the story, instead of action and character interactions, which is what I prefer.

I didn’t like the ending either. The big battle scene at the end was underwhelming, and the behaviour of the clans felt a bit too easy and just there for the message.

This book wasn’t for me and I’m not sure if I’ll try other books by this author.

Rica Lelina

Marcy Pursell 

** spoiler alert **
           I loved this book, enough to give it five stars, and yet, it still left me wanting. As soon as I started reading, I couldn't put it down, and read it in two days. The whole time I was reading, I knew there was a second book in the series, "The Girl the Sea Gave Back", and so while I read, I assumed the story would end on a cliffhanger, or continue in the sequel. When I finished reading, I realized that the story appeared to have been all wrapped up. I loved the book, and yet, I wanted more background and depth with the characters. I felt like two of the main characters don't even talk that often, so how could they really know each other? At the end of the Kindle version, there was a bonus scene from Fiske's perspective, which I enjoyed, and it made me wish we'd had alternating POVs throughout the book, to give me more of the background I wanted. Alas, when I looked up the summary for the second book in the series, it appears to be an entirely different story, and didn't have as good of reviews, so I don't think I'll continue. When I started thinking back to the plot of this book, I also realized that it all seemed superficial to me, again, not that much depth, and yet, I loved it.

garnet

Took a while to get into it, but once there was some character development I was totally sold! Amazing characters and super unique/interesting plot. Just wanted more description of character and scenery to totally set the scene

Melissa Palmer

Book #106 Read in 2018
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

This is a Viking book that high school and adult readers will love; it has action, history, romance and so much more. The main character is a strong female Viking warrior, who is smart and brave. She finds her presumed dead brother, living with another clan, and is taken by them. Will she make it home? Will she keep her honor? I really enjoyed this book.

Danny Werhane

It took me a while to get into this book but one I did I was able to read it pretty fast. I enjoyed the last 100 pages and the ending the most. 3.5

Kimberly Burgess 

Great writing, great characters, not a lot of humor but a lot of heart 💜

Abdullah

Very good if you a quick read with writing that flows easily and with a plot that's simple but gets you engaged fast. I had fun with this.

dija

This was quite enjoyable and fast paced but like, that's it??????? The last chapter is RIGHT after the climax and that's that???

I felt like there were things that were rushed in the book, the characters felt flat to me and the romance kind of felt forced. I also can't take someone who's name means "Fish" seriously.

Rachel Kanyid

This was exceptionally unmemorable. Not a bad read, but the storyline could have been much more exciting...

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! A 2018 Most Anticipated Young Adult book from debut author Adrienne Young, Sky in the Deep is part Wonder Woman, part Vikings—and all heart. 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. “THIS IS A GRIPPING STORY, RICHLY TOLD.” —Renée Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of Flame in the Mist "FIERCE, VIVID, AND VIOLENTLY BEAUTIFUL.” —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval “A STUNNING DEBUT” —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen “BLEAK BEAUTIFUL AND DEADLY” —Traci Chee, New York Times bestselling author of The Reader “WHOLLY UNIQUE AND INSTANTLY ADDICTIVE” —Kerri Maniscalco, New York Times bestselling author of Hunting Prince Dracula “HEARTRENDING, HEART-MENDING” —Kayla Olson, bestselling author of Sandcastle Empire

A 2018 Most Anticipated Young Adult book from debut author Adrienne Young, Sky in the Deep is part Wonder Woman, part Vikings—and all heart. 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.

Courtney

I had no idea I needed vikings in my life until I picked up this book. 
I loved this story from the very beginning. I wasn’t sure I would connect with Eelyn, but not only is she a strong as hell, bad@$$ female warrior, she also has a love for her family, and a softness to her that I enjoyed seeing bits of. 
This story not only has a Strong Female Mc, but it also has a strong male MC whom I fell for in the first few moments of meeting. 
This story has vikings, clan wars, ancient rivalry, found family, pure enemies to lovers, and a fight for survival. What more can you ask for from a book?!? I truly enjoyed Adrienne Young’s world, her writing kept me captivated and I had a hard time not thinking about the story when I had to put it down to go to work.

soph <33

Marchelle

this book was so good, it had enemies to lovers, vikings, closed door romance, and a strong female lead 

gracyn neely

Sophia Taylor

I liked this book as a whole. I think the pacing was a bit slow, but overall I liked the characters and the story.

Ashley Wendt

Amazing! I wish there was more. This standalone book will have you on your toes. On my list for best read in 2018

Elisa Bieg

I’ve been curious about this book since it came out, but it never quite called to me enough to actually get it and read it. 

However, I just won The Girl the Sea Gave Back in a giveaway and SITD is on Scribd, so I thought I’d listen to it before tackling the spin-off. 

Predictably, this wasn’t entirely my cup of tea, but I didn’t hate it. I liked the story, but I didn’t enjoy the writing. I found it slow, overly descriptive and tending too much towards navel-gazing for my taste. 

I quite liked the characters, and I liked the commentary about the family you choose vs. the one you’re born in, etc; but I found the characters not well-fleshed out, leaving me with a somewhat vague impression of them rather than a distinct, vivid one. It’s a pity, because as a character-driven story, it definitely could have benefitted from better development — especially considering how interesting some of them are.

Overall, not a bad read; but one I doubt I would have had the patience to drag my feet through if it weren’t for the audiobook. 

Still, it is somewhat fairly memorable, so I feel like 3 1/2 STARS is fair.

(It also put me in the mood for more novels in this type of setting, so there’s that 😊)

Savannah Winchell

The sky in the Deep by Adriene Young
3.75 ⭐️
- gorgeous and evocative writing 
- interesting characters and cultures
- pacing issues: the last 50 pages needed another 100 at least
- characters changed very suddenly with little merit
- unnecessary sexual violence
- dat cover

Brittney Browne

4.5🌟🌟🌟🌟
For someone who has always loved YA, I have been on the YA STRUGGLE bus lately and thought, “well maybe YA just isn’t for me anymore”. Enter Sky in the Deep. This ✨lovely🌟 little gem slid right into my downloads and restored my faith in the whole genre. Strong FMC? Check ✅ Engaging storyline and well-paced plot? Check ✅ Swoon-worthy, to die for male love interest? Check check check. I would die for Fiske💘. I would totally let him shoot me with an arrow. THIS is the type of man every girl should ship for in real life (I mean, aside from all the tribe war killing 💁🏻‍♀️). This is a nearly perfectly done YA fantasy book, in my opinion. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

eden

** spoiler alert **
           I HATED THE FIRST PERSON POV SO BAD!!! probably will never read the sequel, also they werent actually enemies like they literally stopped after five sec!

its 3 am…. adrienne ma’am what the fuck how????? this was so good?? many pol might dislike the slow beginning but i adored it i loved seeing the small developments

 fiske and eelyn….. let me not start god the tension THE TENSION yall know how the tension was in pride and prejudice this is it exactly im screaming truly just them being in denial of their feelings but also not really?? them being terrified of their feelings???? the way i stopped breathing everytime they interacted?????

also the writing???? holy shit i love it so much it was so heartbreaking but also so???? i dont even know how to explain it but damn man shit had me gasping for air i swear the parallels the way some lines are repeated in a different way GOD😩😩

standing ovation STANDING OVATION👏👏👏👏👏👏

Age range 14+ Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, god-decreed rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: train to fight and fight to 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. Eelyn loses her focus and is captured. Now, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbour is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan settling in the valley, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved Aska clan, which is rumoured to have been decimated by the same horde. She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother's friend who tried to kill her the day she was captured. 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 find a way to forgive her brother while daring to put her faith in the people she's spent her life killing.

Livia

2.5 at most

Honestly, I was going into this book with not much expectation. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I was just following along the story without thinking too much, and I'm not feeling any of the characters. Eelyn's character is just meh to me because she's such a typical YA heroine that gets kidnapped and falls for the enemy. And to be honest, I never find that moment to signify that she and Fiske are in love with each other. The only character I do somewhat feel for is Myra, and I am angry that she's barely even in the story despite being Eelyn's soul sister. I would have loved seeing more about that.

And the ending was very rushed, with just 20 pages of resolution and the sudden peace between two clans. I wish the after was explored more, how the Aska and the Riki deal with co-existing without war after centuries of hatred and bloodshed

Sky in the Deep

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