Okay wow, I did not expect this to be so touching. Seriously, it has an incredible message. It's all warrior stuff for the most part which isn't usually my type of read, but I found myself really caring about the story because it made me feel. It's a beautifully told story about enemies becoming allies and learning that your enemies are more like you than you ever imagined. The romance between Eelyn and Fiske was so touching and sweet and genuine. I really appreciated everything about this. It's like a 3.7 for me.

Wow, Vikings, clan wars, a badass heroine, enemies to lovers trope, a romance that doesn't distract but instead enhances? Come on now.

This was a fun, unique concept and a super quick read for me! I have been meaning to get to Sky in the Deep for a while now and I’m happy to have finally devoured it.

I found the premise of deep-seated Viking clan rivalries to be a super fun jumping-off point. Having read a lot of stories with the enemies-to-lovers trope, I thought the plot arc was *a bit* predictable at times, but that didn’t take away from the well-developed characters and intriguing details that illuminated this world.

I also thought the ending read suuuper fast (which can be a plus or negative, depending on your reading preferences). I wish that part was fleshed out a little more. But then again, I am also totally the type of reader who loves suspenseful build-ups to big battles where you get to know all of the characters motivations and fears (which this book did a great job of showing), but not a super big fan of the actual action sequence of the battle itself.

Basically, my main takeaway was that I really enjoyed Young’s writing style and characterization, so I’m very excited to read more of her works!

Comparable titles:
Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh
The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Nemesis by Anna Banks

***I received a free copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

honestly,,,, you had me at vikings. the concept for this was so cool and i love that it lived up to my expectations! i thoroughly enjoyed this and look forward to whatever this author has in store next

Eelyn is a warrior for her Aska community. She fights alongside her father in their rivalry against the Riki. When she is almost killed in a battle, she sees her dead brother among the enemies. Her father assures her that he couldn’t have been there, but when she meets her brother again on the battlefield, he takes her as a prisoner. Eelyn has to figure out how to get back to her father and how to deal with the betrayal of her brother.

This story had a Nordic setting. They were like a viking community. I’ve never read a book like this, but I learned about vikings in school, so I found it really interesting. I really liked that the women were considered warriors alongside the men in this community. In many stories set in ancient times, the women have to stay home while the men fight, leading the main female character to figure out a way to fight. However, Eelyn was able to focus on other issues, since she was already a warrior.

The story started out quite fast paced. The moments where Eelyn saw her brother on the battlefield to when she was captured happened very quickly. The story slowed down a bit once she got to her brother’s new community. However, I was pleased with the ending. I thought the next book in the series would be a continuation of this story, but it has a new plot. I’m looking forward to reading it because I loved this setting.

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A good Viking story! I loved seeing the siblings reunited and the slow romance and the action and fighting. A lot of fun!

4.5*

Wow. I loved that so much. I don’t like knowing too much about a book before I dive into it and I was completely taken off guard. Essentially, it follows a girl, Eelyn, who, all her life, has only known war– the Aska and Riki go to war every five years to avenge their gods. One day, Eelyn sees her brother on the battlefield with the Riki and she ends up getting captured by them. Day by day, her world gets turned on its hinges as she must decide what to do and how to get back.

I was so surprised by this novel. It completely blew me away. When it first came out and I heard about it, I instantly bought it and knew that I was going to love it. However, I hadn’t gotten a chance to read it until now. From the first chapter, I was hooked and already knew that I was going to love it.

Adrienne Young’s writing is so captivating. It’s fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat, unsure of what’s going to happen next. From the first chapter, the reader is instantly dropped into the world. However, I think that the author did a fantastic job of introducing the Aska and Riki and what was happening. It was fast-paced, but it wasn’t to the point where I had no idea what was going on.

Not only was the writing captivating, but the characters were even better. I loved them all so much and seeing their own complexities as well as Eelyn’s own realizations was completely gripping. As we see both sides of this century-long hatred between the Riki and the Aska, I think that it shone light on even some of the prejudices in our world today that may blind us.

As she is thrown into a strikingly similar, yet different world, the tension between Eelyn and the Riki that she is surrounded with when she is captured is like a tangible thing and it kept me on the edge of my seat.

I definitely recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for something fast paced, full of tension as well as a strange sense of beauty– that maybe there is something deeper to our own perceived ‘enemies,’ something that makes them just as human as us.

I can’t wait to reread this :)

I really really enjoyed this one and reviewed in my good reads. I have attached the link https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34726469

* I was provided an arc by NetGalley in exchange for a review*

If you have any curiosity or fascination with Vikings then this fantasy should be right up your alley. Eelyn is a very well written character and has that notorious Viking mentality which makes this book both a fun read and one with a good amount of action. As an older sister, I also enjoyed the relationships with siblings, making this book relatable in a sense.

I don't think I can properly put into words what a phenomenal story this is.

Every sentence, every single word of this book, is so deliberate and intentional that it is mind blowing. It has been a long time since I've read a book that was so expertly crafted as Sky in the Deep. 
Vikings and blood feuds, rival gods and an enemy so powerful that to breath their name incites fear. These are some of the things that make Sky in the Deep a breathtaking novel. 
I would give this book a thousand stars if possible. This is definitely one that I could read again and again.
Highly recommend for fans of historical, especially Vikings.

This book was absolutely breath taking. I quickly became submerged into the VIking-esque world and didn't want to leave! I read the book in one sitting; I honestly couldn't put it down. I did want more developed of the relationship between Eevlyn and Fiske .. but that might have been just selfish wishful thinking. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves YA. It hits all the classic tropes, but with a fresh setting and world

Eh.  This one just didn't do it for me.  
I felt that it was trying way too hard without really giving meat and bones to the story.

I wanted to begin this review by saying I liked this story. I never read anything like the world I got to know, and it left me entranced. I’m a HUGE history nerd, so the references to Vikings had me squealing all over the place.
My favorite aspect to this story was the familial relationship and meaning of the story. The romance was pushed to the side till the end, and it focused on the sibling relationship and family that isn’t blood because in many ways found families are just as vital as blood ones. It showed strong kinship and the power of love for others, which is the true meaning of family. I loved it. I loved it. 
My only real complaint is that I wanted more. Each chapter felt like it was moving lightning fast and ended too abruptly. I wanted to spend time molding these relationships further, but I felt as if the scene would slip out of my fingers because everything moved faster than I could comprehend. And it kept happening.. It hurt my enjoyment because I was frustrated scenes ended so soon. This fast paced feel I experienced then led me to not really care for the characters, and I was left with this wonderful story with "eh" emotions for the characters. Eventually when I reached those pivotal scenes that were meant to move me- I blinked and felt basically nothing. I know that's a bit harsh to say, but I didn't have that connection. 
It's a sad feeling to be disappointed in an exciting debut, and I hate feeling anything less than positive, especially when the writing is so luscious. Still torn on my rating but I'm leaving it at middle ground for now.

Did not finish, 20% of the way in.

I don't really understand how a book can have so much action yet at the same time still feel really boring. We open the novel with a large battle scene and right from the get-go I had a hard time being invested in what was happening and in the characters because I didn't feel I had enough backstory to care about the consequences of what was going on around them. I don't think this is well explored enough in the first 20% of the novel, so it becomes difficult to root for the main character and become invested in what's happening to her. I've also come to realize that Viking type stories really aren't for me, and that's just a personal preference.

While predictable, I enjoyed the different world/setting that the characters live in and enjoyed the story.

Vikings! I loved the battle scenes and Eelyn was so easy to connect with. The friendships and the characters are so wonderful. And I loved the world building. I love romance in books, and there's not much in this one... so that was a bit disappointing. Great writing!

Well, this wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for.

When I read the blurb, it sounded exactly like the kind of book I tend to love. We had a strong main girl, a brother that came back from the dead, and a never-ending war between two clans. What’s not to love about that?

This book is about this girl, Eelyn, who’s a fighter. She’s part of a clan or a tribe, I’m not sure, and has been taught how to fight since she was a little girl. This clan has one goal: fight and kill as many Riki (another clan) as they can so they can honor their god. That’s why they have fighting seasons every 5 year. On this particular fighting season everything changes: she sees her thought-to-be-dead brother and gets caught by the people she was fighting against. Now, she’s a prisoner (a dyr – which I still don’t know what that means, exactly) and not only that, but she learns that her brother had not only been alive all this time, but he was living as a Riki.

A Sky in the Deep introduced me to a confusing world, so I’m going to do my best to explain it. This book is about this girl who’s a fighter. She was taught since she was a little girl how to fight in battle to honor her god, a god that told them the way to do that was to forever fight the Riki and kill as many as they could. But one day, in this fighting season, she saw her brother. The weird thing was, her brother had died 5 years earlier. WHAT. So, what else could she do? She had to find him. So of course she went after him and found herself caught by the very same people she had swore she would always fight and hate.

At first, this story caught my attention. It was so interesting to read about this girl who was so dedicated to her cause and so convinced that the world was what it was and there was nothing else to do. But as I kept reading, some things were left unclear. I kept waiting for a backstory to explain the real reason behind this hatred, and not only that, but explanations to the weird words. But at the end of the day, the book was all action and no important details. The relationships felt kind of shallow and didn’t actually grow from one thing to another.

I guess, I was expecting something completely different. I really wanted to like it, but I guess it was lacking too many things for me. I hope the second book is better.

A good story, strong characters. Too predictable for me. I will recommend it for those looking to read this type of story.

A wonderfully complex story of the Vikings with a heroine who is more than capable of holding her own in battle. The story keeps you intrigued and has twists that keep the action level high. Overall, a great book!

I like the concept of the book but it seemed a bit of a generic YA in the sense that I could guess what was going to happen next.