The Book
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In the land of mountains and fjords, meet the warrior Eelyn as she is forced into the servitude of her clan's blood feud enemies and learns that they are not so different from her.
Oh freaking myyyyy. This is honestly one of the best YA fictions I have read so far this year. With shimmers of Tamora Pierce and Lesley Livingston and a strong Viking-esque culture Sky in the Deep is both original and compelling.
While there is certainly a romance, it is slow to ignite and is not at all the focus of this tale. Instead, we learn that when a common enemy threatens, our enemies become our friends and leave us with the hope that they can continue to be our friends. Eelyn lost her mother to the common enemy when she was young, and then lost her brother to the Riki a few years later. Little did she know, though, that her brother survived and was nursed back to life by the Riki and now lives among them.
The scenery is stunning. At one point, it was as if I could hear the snow crunch, the ice creak, and smell the cold, snowy air. And while much of the description was placed at the feet of the fjord, Adrienne Young did not cheap out her characters. Eelyn, Fiske, and all the others are fully fleshed out, loveable, and easy to identify with.
Then the epic battles. This book is anything but slow. You are thrown into a battle from the very beginning, and each battle afterward is treated with the same finesse, action, and attention to fighting detail.
Though it certainly read like a standalone, I can't help but hope for more.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Adrienne Young for this beautiful, free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, sounds amazing. Great review.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great. Love the cover design too.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really good and I really like the cover
ReplyDeleteSounds very interesting! Loving the book cover too.
ReplyDeleteI don't read YA but your review has me considering this one
ReplyDeleteIt's ALMOST New Adult. It carries adult themes on the backs of 18-20 year olds. But the lack of language and sex scenes make it YA still.
DeleteSounds like a great book!
ReplyDeleteI have seen this book everywhere!! It looks quite good- glad to hear it is! :)
ReplyDelete"The scenery is stunning. At one point, it was as if I could hear the snow crunch...". When authors do that, it makes reading the book so much more fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat review, I absolutely love books that have Vikings in them and this book looks and sounds absolutely fantastic and right up my alley. I might need too check this one out one day thank you so much for sharing your awesome post.
ReplyDeleteOoo..great review! I have seen this on Netgalley & wondered about it. Glad you enjoyed it!
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