This book had a very interesting premise and an engaging opening.Unfortunately this book felt dragged out in parts. Additionally, the setting and additional characters did not feel fleshed out enough.

I thought the world in this book was interesting but I was left wanting more. The romance was a major part of the plot and I found myself not very invested in it. I enjoyed this book but didn't love it.

This book was wild from start to finish. I am a huge fan of Norse myth and this book had a good about of it. I would definitely read it again.

A fantastically written story about vikings! I loved the protaganist and her fiery personality. While some parts frustrated me a bit I loved Miss Young's writing style and awesome action packed fighting scenes. Overall I rated this book 4.5 stars

Sky In The Deep was a favourite that I picked for the June 2018 choice for Love At First Chapter. It was June's pick because:

(1) The female protagonist is a bad ass Viking warrior. Enough said there.
(2) It's jam-packed with action and will have you sitting on the edge of your seat (or couch? bed?) wishing you could read way faster than you can.
(3) It's about family and the lengths you'd go to save those you love, no matter the consequences.

The link shared on the website and newsletter is as below.

Absolutely LOVED Adrienne Young's SKY IN THE DEEP! I had been hearing such wonderful things about this book from so many people and I was not disappointed! The writing was excellent and I was swept away by the story--it felt so fresh and it was a beautiful winter read! Very much looking forward to THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK!

I really enjoyed this one, though I didn’t LOVE it quite as much as everyone else has been. I think my main issue was I wanted more action earlier on. This book felt more character growth focused and that’s always something I struggle with, I like my action packed fantasies. There was action eventually I just felt it took a while before anything really happened. It was a very quick read and I did enjoy it none the less.

Sky in the Deep starts with a bloody battle between two warring clansmen, the Aska and the Riki. Eelyn fights for the Aska but while on the battlefield, she notices her brother who supposedly died five years ago fighting for the other side. Eelyn gets captured by the Riki and they take her back to their mountain village where she has to survive the winter while being desperate to get back to her family. When a ruthless clan thought to be a legend attacks the Riki village, Eelyn has no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother's friend. Together they have to unite the Aska and the Riki clans to take out the threat once and for all.

All of that up there? It's in the summary of the book and it's pretty much everything that happens here. If you know the entire book by the summary it gives you, why are you even bothering to read it?

The world in this book- huh? We have different clans, mountains and some Fjords. There is no difference shown between these clans besides what color armor they wear and some fable about how one god pissed off another god and they've hated and killed each other since. Both clans say random words in a different language that are never really explained and yet we're supposed to know what any of this means.

This book is really boring. Eelyn becomes a slave and.... does mindless chores for a lot of it. When she first gets captured- she is a fighter. It really doesn't take long for her to accept her new life though and fall for her cute captor. Also I kept forgetting her name because everyone kept calling her Aska.

I was promised Wonder Woman and Vikings and I didn't get either. Maybe if the main character did things for herself instead of just letting men decide what she did and didn't do, maybe it would have been better. Maybe if there was more action instead of household chores I would have liked it. Maybe if the romance wasn't god-awful. Who knows, just wasn't for me!

I had a hard time with the extensive amount of narrative vs dialogue, and not being prewarned that the viking gods would be made up. Otherwise, solid read.

Okay, can I just say something crazy?! VIKINGS! I absolutely loved this book! It was so unique in so many aspects. Eelyn’s identity wasn’t partially tied into her romance with another character, the romance didn’t come into play until the end of the book, all of the characters had amazing character growth, and they were just very relatable and real. The writing was absolutely fantastic and this author has become an insta-purchase for me. I also want to praise the book for talking about religious acceptance. I talked about this in my rave video on the book on my YouTube channel, but to summarize: throughout the book the reader is told about these two different, but similar, religions that the Aska and the Riki have and cherish. But in the process of the story the reader comes to see that maybe while they worship different Gods they’re not as different as they appear to be. In my opinion, one of the main problems in today’s world is the lack of respect of other people’s religions. While I’m not a religious person I respect and try to be mindful of other’s religious preferences and beliefs. I liked how the book showed the character’s progression and acceptance of the other group despite their religious difference. The main character’s progression from absolute hatred for the Riki to accepting and being open minded about their beliefs, even though she didn’t sacrifice her own, was absolutely inspiring for me.



The only thing I felt needed a little more progression in the book was the world building. I feel that there was more to this world than what we had at the end of the novel, but for what we got it was well done. The book as a whole was extremely well done and I’d definitely buy a whole series of Eelyn and Myra’s adventures as… wait for it… VIKINGS!!!!!



Verdict: Break out your battle axe and grab this book today!

Finally a good standalone novel! I keep trapping myself in series and I'm so happy to end the year with an emotional poignant historical fiction like this!

4.5

Skye in the Deep by Adrienne Young is an impressive debut novel that every fan of YA fantasy should add to their tbr. A masterfully written tale with badass characters and a beautiful message, this story exceeded all my expectations! Knowing this is the work of a new author truly blows me away! 

I want to start off by saying that I've read plenty of first time novels, and this doesn't read like one. This story is expertly crafted, interesting, layered, and emotional. It's not one of those books you forget about the second you put it down either. It's stays with you, and that has a lot to do with the author's cinematic writing style. I could picture everything she described with an incredible ease that made the book that much more memorable. 

Though I loved the action, suspense, and violence, what stood out to me most in this story was the exploration of what it means to be a family, a friend, and just plain human. Watching these people struggle to survive, to take care of each other, to hold onto their faith, to fight when giving up seems like the obvious choice, and striving to live and die with honor is emotional, intense, and deeply moving. 

The relationships between all of the characters were the highlight for me period. They were unbreakable, complex, and sometimes, complicated and forbidden. The latter made everything a lot more interesting. 

Skye in the Deep is a vivid, bloody, entertaining, and exciting piece of literature that I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to read. I appreciate a story with a well built world, fierce characters, a love connection worth rooting for, and epic battle scenes that keep me on the edge of my seat. This book delivered on all fronts ! 

Bottom line, I fell in love with this story, the setting, the characters, and the heart of this novel. I hope you will, too! 

YA Fantasy fans that don't mind a little slow burning romance with their adventure, this one's for you!

This book has some great character development, and while I really appreciate such books, I didn’t find the plot here very compelling. The middle portion is very slow paced too. However, it’s still a well written debut and I’m looking forward to the next companion novel.

Compelling and violent, this was well written even if the romance was slightly unbelievable as was the easy resolution of decades/centuries of violence and hatred.

This was wonderful!
I loved the protagonist and her journey and I have a bit of a book crush on Halvard.
I loved that it didn't follow the usual YA formula and was everything I wanted it to be.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book reminded me of Game of Thrones’ battles in the snow against the cold ones from the Wildlings point of view. It is actually a Viking clan story about an axe-wielding warrior maiden, Eelyn, whose clan traditionally wars with another clan every year until villages worth of people in both clans are mysterious killed off. Eelyn (which autocorrect wants to keep changing to Evelyn) thought her older brother died in a battle years ago but ends up getting captured by his clan and living with his new family. As she learns about this rival clans’ way of life she must choose loyalties and question her belief system as all clans people face this new horror. I felt like the plot and storyline were predictable but I ended up loving and connecting with the characters so much, it didn’t matter to me in the end. I would read this just for the “woman-kicking-a**” part of it again.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

First off: I received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. However, because I am a bad person who quickly loses interest in stuff (even fun stuff), I never managed to read the whole book before it was archived on netgalley. So basically, I ended up buying a copy of it myself because it sounded so interesting and I really liked the first half I got a chance to read back then. I still feel like I should mention that, even though I ended up buying the book later.

Sky in the Deep started off very strong. The initial battle scene was so good and it managed to draw me in and hold me and never let me go. No joke, I finished this book in two days and it was a while ago since that happened.

The main thing I absolutely loved about this book was the  Scandinavian viking history that it is so clearly inspired by (except for certain names *cough* Fiske *cough* but I can look past that). It was quite refreshing to read a YA novel in which the characters are essentially vikings. I kept thinking of this as How to Train Your Dragon, if you take away the dragons and add a lot of gore.

This book had so many good characters and it was a good mix between the action and the character development. Eelyn was definitely one of my favorites. For a 17-year-old in a YA novel, she is sure as heck not afraid to get her hands dirty. This book was definitely not afraid to get real in terms of gore and what actually happens in battle, unlike some other books in which battles are basically tea parties in comparison.

Fiske, aka Mr Fish (because fisk means fish in Swedish) eventually managed to worm his way into my cold heart. I was worried about insta-love in this, but fret not. Due to the circumstances (no spoilers) it would have been incredibly weird if there was even an ounce of insta-love, so thankfully the romance is more drawn out over time. It's also never in your face and always focused on how in love the two main characters finally are, but rather it's set aside while they face the bigger threat. The romance never steals any time away from the main action.

My main disappointment was really the ending. Everything was resolved way too quickly and it never felt like the enemy ever really posed a real threat. Basically, I would have loved to read this story spread out in a duology instead. Sky in the Deep is a standalone but I hear there's a companion novel in the works and I can't wait!

Definitely read this if you like badass female characters that are actually badass, and not just made out to be (I'm looking at you, Throne of Glass), and also if you like vikings.

This book was hyped a lot, so I admit I was pretty excited to get my hands on a copy. Thankfully I was able to get one through OwlCrate, and the cover of their edition is really cool.  Anyway, on to the review! 

Sky in the Deep starts off really well. The writing is emotional and it sucked me in and made me care for Eelyn. I could feel her hurt and her anger, and I really enjoy it when books make me feel so much for characters. Young's writing style is probably the best thing about this book. 

However the plot wasn't my favorite. Only about 100 pages in did I start to feel that the story was predictable and unrealistic. If you want a story about Vikings where things are brutal and you get to see the dynamics between warring clans, probably go watch the Viking show and don't read this book. The Riki clan sounds like it's going to be an unsafe place for Eelyn to be, but without giving too much away, it's just not. All of the tension simply goes away once Eelyn is taken to their clan and it's very disappointing. 

I still think that the characters were fairly well written. Eelyn and her brother have great personalities, and I still wanted to see them be happy in the end. I just found myself a little bored by the plot. 

I'm glad I read this book, but I doubt I'll be reading the companion novel to it. I gave Sky in the Deep 3 stars on Goodreads.

I heard a lot of hype about this book, and read rave reviews about the world building and romance. I eagerly requested an ARC... and this was NOT for me. From cover to cover, this book is filled with violence and despair. Now, I am no stranger to either of these elements. I read books featuring wars and tragedy all the time. Usually before you are thrown into the thick of it, you connect with the characters. You understand their motivations. You care when something happens to them! Unfortunately, I couldn't do that in this book. I couldn't connect with the characters enough to root for anyone or care what happened. As I said, there were LOTS of people who loved this book, but it was not my style.

Sky in the Deep throws us straight into the battlefield, as we find our heroine Eelyn fighting alongside her clan against their most hated enemy, the Riki clan. After seeing the impossible on the battlefield we see Eelyn struggle with the realisation that her brother is a traitor. However, when a greater power threatens both clans, Eelyn must learn to trust those she has been taught to hate.

I found the world building to be good, with a decent amount of backstory and a relative unique concept with Nordic influences. The battle scenes were very good, vividly described and brought a great deal of excitement and action to the story. Eelyn is also a strong female character, with a large amount of passion for what she believes in. I just found her a little pedestrian and predictable. She’s a cookie cutter of every YA heroine I’ve seen before and unfortunately there’s very little that’s new about her.

There are a lot of good interpersonal relationships found throughout the novel, particularly between clans people and the familial bonds they share. This was nice to see, and I appreciated the time spent to developing this aspect of the story. In comparison,I found the developing romance rather forced and again rather predictable. It’s slow burning, which I appreciated, but I thought not enough time was really spent explaining why Eelyn and Finke really liked each other apart from having this one shared experience together.

I also found that the novel overall had a weird pacing to it, with this amazingly gruesome and action packed opening chapter which quickly petered out into something rather slow. Life with the Riki in particular got a little dull, and I was crying out for something, anything, to happen by that point. I was expecting more after that opening scene.

A promising start, with some interesting concepts, but the pacing and romance put me off a little.