Fast paced, thrilling and action packed! A book you’ll definitely want to read. An extremely strong heroine who has a heart of Iron and strong beliefs. She fights for the people she loves and what she believes. The story will keep you hooked from the very first page. This is something you won’t want to miss!

4.5 stars, reflected on the ice of a frozen lake.

This book! Clan wars, SHIELD MAIDENS, "Norse" mythology. I loved everything about it.

If you love shows such as Vikings or movies such as The 13th Warrior, this is the book for you. And if you're not sure? I don't care, read it anyway.

This book jumps right into the action. We immediately find ourselves in the midst of a decades long clan war, following the main character, Eelyn as she and the rest of her Aska clanspeople fight the Riki clan, their sworn enemy. One of my favorite parts of this book were the battle scenes. Young does not skim over them, nor does she soften them. Instead, they are detailed, ruthless and descriptive enough that I could picture every sidestep and ax swing, I could hear every battle cry and the clash of bodies.

As the book description suggests, Eelyn soon finds herself it the heart of enemy territory, at their mercy and seeking answers after she sees the impossible. While many typical female characters may be written to appear strong, but are truly dependent and weak, Eelyn is everything but weak. I loved her character (and all of the others), she is savage and vicious when she needed to be but also loving and empathetic at other times. It was easy to connect with her character and I feel that's one of the main reasons I came to love this story.

As the story progresses, Eelyn sees the lines she always felt were rigid and unyielding, begin to blur. This is a great story of opening your world to accept others and loving them for who they are, despite being taught to always focus on your differences.

Despite the sometimes brutal battle scenes, this book is chalk full of slower, softer scenes (which are no less great), including a smattering of growing romance as the book progresses. The romantic aspect may have been my favorite part overall (what can I say, I'm a sucker for these things), but it never felt overbearing or forced. Instead, it blossomed slowly and tentatively as the story progressed and fit into the plot well. And of course its one of the best romantic tropes there is (*coughenemiestoloverscough*).

And I just have to say, the ending battle was so cool and plotted out well. I loved the way this book ended (NO CLIFFHANGER, praise da Lord) and felt very satisfied and fulfilled with it. I can't wait to read the next book Young has planned for this world!

Overall, another great new release (seriously 2018, this is getting out of control) that I hope you will all try out.

*Received this ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.*

HOLY CRAP GUYS!

I'm so happy that I finally found time to read this book and I like read it within a couple of hours! IT WAS THAT GOOD! I literally couldn't put it down!

Sky in the Deep was such a fantastic book to read. I love Eelyn's character throughout the whole thing - even though she did come off as whiny sometimes I loved the crap out of her anyways! I found it so freaking interesting that her brother Iri, who everyone thought was dead (for like years!) was alive. FREAKING ALIVE. Just sitting there smiling and shit. ALIVE PEOPLE. I was so mad that he made them all think he was still dead. I was also mad because Eelyn was mad because he basically had this whole new life that didn't really include her or his own people.

Besides that I loved the amount of sexual tensions between her and Fiske. Also, I love the names in this book! This book kind of reminded me of like Game of Thrones or something like that. It had a lot of tribes or clans and different people they worshipped or prayed to. I also really like how she fought with an axe. I don't even think I could pick up an axe let alone kill someone with it.

Overall, I'm obsessed with this book. I think I'm in love with this author. I'm dead serious that I will look for more of Adrienne Young's books.

I gave this book a chance - 5 chapters worth, actually. It just didn't catch my attention the way I needed it to. The pros are that it has a great female protagonist who is self-sufficient and interesting and I think it'd be a great fit for someone looking for that in a story. It also reads as something that I haven't seen much of in recent young adult novels. The battle scenes were brutal but appropriate considering Eelyn's culture. The drawback for me is it seems like a slow moving plot despite the fact that it's an adventure.

Sky in the Deep is an action packed story about two Viking tribes locked in an age old blood feud. I loved this from the start. We kick the story off right away with following our main character, Eelyn into battle. All of the fight scenes and battle were so well written, I loved reading them and getting swept up into the excitement and action. Eelyn is a strong character and I just loved her. I don’t think I would have normally picked up a book about Vikings but I’m so glad I did because this blew me away. The ending seemed a little rushed and wrapped things up almost too nicely, I was honestly kind of hoping it was a series and would leave us with a cliff hanger but then I checked and saw it was a stand alone so I’m not surprised. The ending isn’t my favorite but it didn’t in any way take away from my enjoyment of the rest of this book.

This book was so good. If you are someone who doesn't read YA, this might be a book to read anyway. Too often in YA, when we are given a character who is raised to be a warrior we are also given a character devoid of emotion beyond anger. Eelyan is a human character, she feels an array of emotions, she is still a warrior but when she is in a situation where her anger and sadness have claimed her she lets it show with tears the way a human would.

There are some really amazing characters in this book, and the setting is just amazing. this is the first time I have read a book about Vikings, and while I don't know a great deal about their culture, the culture created for this book felt real. And the all the characters felt like real people. They reacted to things the way you'd expect people to react in their situation.

I feel like I should mention this, in case it's not something you want to read, but there is a good deal of violence in this book. One particular scene got to me and I had to put the book down for a few. It's a fairly graphic torture scene where the MC pops a man's eye out with her thumb. I am going very light on the detail here in my review the actual passage in the book goes into almost unnecessary detail. It was very gross.

I also really like that this is a standalone novel. That's something else that I feel like is pushed too often. To make everything a series.

This was a fantastic book. Highly recommend.

Ooookay, where to start?... I was absolutely HOOKED from the first chapter! I mean, Vikings, clan wars, majorly awesome female warrior protagonist, can you get better than that?! And All. The. Feels. Side effect of reading this epicness: I kind of want to learn how to fight with an axe now... Anyways, I LOVE this book! Go read it!

reviewed for romantic times book reviews

SKY IN THE DEEP rages over the fate of a young warrior as she becomes a captive of the clan with which her people have a centuries-old blood feud. Heart-racing action ignites alongside painful truths and twisting depths as the characters must learn how far their hatred is willing to go, and how costly forgiveness may come. A must-read for YA Fantasy fans, this is certain to be a top release of 2018.

Lots of action filled these pages (could it be a Viking-inspired fantasy without it?) and between each battle cry and swing of an axe there runs the deeper themes of family and loyalty. The ending of this book does not come easily. Eelyn is not a happy let’s-make-the-best-of-things type of girl, she’s a warrior with a lifetime of hatred bred into her soul, which makes her a wonderfully complicated and interesting main character.

I found myself riveted by the story and its characters so I will call this one a success. It definitely lived up to the hype for me!
-pooled ink Reviews

This book exceeded my expectations. It was fast paced and well written book. Based on Nordic (Viking) tradition this book shows the confusion of battle and love for family and clan.
The book follows a young Aska warrior girl Eeleyn who follows her heart in battle against the rival Riki mountain clans. She risks all to see her dead brother again. Her choices help decide the fate of the two clans and their warring gods and religious beliefs. Will they unite or will they fade into history?

Sky in the deep
Adrienne Young

This books is probably my favourite read in the longest time!! I can’t get over how amazing it was and I need more!!
‘Vegr yfir fjor’ – Honour above life.
Sky in the deep follows the story of Eelyn, 17 year old Viking from the Aska clan. This book is beautifully written about fate and destiny. Was it the gods who sent Eelyn on this path? The Aska have a life long rivalry with the Riki clan but all that comes into question when they are faced with an enemy bigger than them. Can the two clans join together to defeat their mutual enemy and live their days in peace?
What do you do when you find out the closest person to you who thought was dead for the last 5 years turns out to be living and breathing and living with your sworn enemies? How do you overcome that betrayal and move forward? The relationship between Eelyn and Iri is strained but wrapped in love and betrayal.
Eelyn is help captive to the Riki and she begins to see that this clan is just like hers. They do the same things as hers, wear the same clothes, use the same medicines, just worship different gods. She starts to see her captives not as monsters but as normal people just like her and that’s a battle in itself with the way she has been brought up.
This story was wonderful, I can’t wait to read it again. I love everything vikings and these beautiful sayings used throughout the story such as ‘Ond Eldr’ – Breathe fire

I am always exited when I find a standalone fantasy novel there is something so satisfying about a well done standalone novel. I am very impressed and satisfied by this strong debut. The writing is lovely I was enticed by every page, somehow Adrianne even made doing chores interesting to read about. There wasn’t as much fighting as I expected from a book about rival viking clans. But I’m not complaining because I think there’s enough and each one is epic, and the story is really about the relationships.

Each relationship was beautiful, and even though the book is only a little over 300 pages the relationships all developed naturally and slowly. I really liked the main character Eelyn she’s tough and compassionate. Throughout the book she questions everything she believes in and the journey she goes on is heart wrenching. I sympathized greatly with her and there was quite a lot of unexpected emotional moments.

I strongly suggest going into this knowing as little as possible. I had forgotten most of the synopsis before starting it and I’m glad I feel like knowing nothing added to my enjoyment. All you really need to know is that this is a standalone viking YA novel. In a nutshell it’s about fighting for whats right, letting go off prejudice and finding love in unexpected places

<b>“Ond Eldr. Breathe Fire.”</b>
I cannot put into words how much I loved this book!
It was so thrilling and alluring. I was completely sucked it and felt as if I was one of the characters in the story. This Story was full of thrilling suspense and I loved every single second of it!

A raw, emotional, and heart racing story that takes you into the world a warrior. This book had me right from the cover. It draws you in and promises that this will not be a fluffy story. Indeed it is dark, real, detailed, and thoughtful. The author painted a picture of the Riki and Aska clans battles and the wounds left from it. Eelyn is a hardened warrior who would rather die than be taken by the enemy. But maybe the enemy is just like she is. Now faced with decisions she never thought she would have to and find a way to bring the clans together to save them all.

This novel was a great read!! I liked the plot of the story. Eelyn, the "Storyteller" of this novel, is a 17 year old girl from clan Aska. Her enemies are the Riki clan and the Herja. The Aska and Riki fight each other every five years. 5 years ago, Eelyn lost her brother, which devastated her. She is a warrior and when she sees her brother alive, she is in shock. When she follows him, she is captured by the Riki. Eelyn is stubborn and tries to escape and fails. She is very angry with her brother and feels a deep betrayal. However, she has to rely on Fiske, her brother's best friend. Fiske is a warrior, stubborn, but protects Eelyn. He promises to let her go after the frost, but how can she trust a Riki? Eelyn learns much in her time with the Riki and sees they are not so different from her own people. She even begins to trust Fiske and begins to fall in love with him and he with her. When the Herja attack the Riki, Eelyn and Fiske realize they cannot defeat them alone. After losing many, they need to get an alliance with the Aska, who have also been attacked by the Herja. Will the two sides be able to put aside their differences to stop the common and greater enemy or will old prejudices keep them apart? A choice between family and loyalty becomes blurred when trying to save those one cares about.

This book was bloody fantastic. It has a little bit of everything - action, betrayal, kindship, romance. I honestly finished it all in one sitting.

Currently, I am unable to continue reading Sky in the Deep. I found the pacing of the novel quite slow, Eelyn's narrative didn't quite envelop me the way that I wanted it to, or the way that other people found it to be so captivating. Perhaps it was because I was reading the novel on my kindle rather than as a hard copy in my hands. I will come to Eelyn's story again when the publication hits shelves. The cover is absolutely gorgeous though.

It's like Vikings but without all the unnecessary violence against women. This book did such a good job of setting the tone and making us understand the dynamic between the clans and how that plays out for our characters, without making boring info dumps. It's action-packed, its filled with different kind of strong women, wand beautiful complex relationships. Besides, the writing is so vivid it's like I'm watching my favorite show/movie. Prejudice in a fantasy setting is always interesting to read, and this book approached it wonderfully.

Adrienne Young's Sky in the Deep is an exceptional YA novel set in a harsh and violent primitive world where clans routinely attack each other over pride, stores, and revenge. In the midst of a battle with the rival Riki clan, young warrior Eelyn thinks she sees her brother who is believed to have been dead for five years. A surprise attack the following night brings her face-to-face with her lost sibling. To keep his identity secret, she is taken as a slave into the seemingly foreign, but eerily similar world of the opposing clan.
Young's pacing is tight and addictive. Her characters are convincing and worthy of the reader’s total investment. And while many books can easily get bogged down in overly detailed descriptions of an world’s religious canon, Young mets out just enough to keep reader interest and character background moving.
I predict this book will be a hit for audiences of all ages. Sky in the Deep is one of the best novels I have read in a long time, and I will be telling many friends about it.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/ Wednesday Books, and Adrienne Young for an advanced copy for review.

***4 Stars***
*ARC provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Sky in the Deep tells the story of a young viking named Eelyn who's captured by her rival clan, the Riki. Among the Riki is her brother, Iri, whom she thought was dead. Eventually, Eelyn has to make the choice to join her Aska clan and the Riki together to defeat the Herja.

I really enjoyed this story! The author did a great job with world-building. You can tell she did her research. I know next to nothing about vikings but Ms. Young painted a very clear picture for her readers. Eelyn was fierce and loyal. She was a young girl who kicked ass on the front line during battle!

This novel was filled with fighting, killing, and lots of gore. I loved it. This author did not shy away from the violence in this novel. I actually found myself getting a little squeamish at times. It was awesome! 

Although this story was not romance heavy, there was a romance mixed in with all the epic battle and bloodshed. Eelyn and Fiske's romance was subtle, but that just made it have more of an impact. 

"I don't belong to you."
"Yes, you do." He pulled the hair back out of my face so he could look at me. "Like I belong to you." 

Eelyn's love for her people was palpable. She had an undying love and devotion to the Aska and it was interesting to read about her conflicting emotions regarding her loyalties. Although she hated the Riki, Eelyn comes to see them in a different light and she sometimes struggled with her acceptance of them.

I do wish the ending was a little longer. It felt a little bit rushed but at the same time, it did not leave me with any unanswered questions. I just think it could have been drawn out a tiny bit more.
Overall, this was a great read. I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author! Her writing style flowed smoothly and she did a great job with character development.