This was a hard novel to get into. The novel jumps you into an action scene. However, it throws the reader off guard. It was hard to follow what was going on. It eventually became clear. It is a fast-paced tale. However, it is unoriginal. The characters are stereotypical. The romance seemed forced. Overall, I had time getting the book.

The Viking culture was full of warriors and shield maidens. Men and women alike fought for their clans against numerous enemies. There's was a language of violence and strength through battle. Can vikings hardened by battle, make peace with enemies against a common foe? That's what this unique novel seeks to answer.

I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

Kiss ass female Viking wielding axes! What's not to love?

This was an incredibly fast-paced, un-put-down-able fantasy.

The plot twists will more than keep you on your toes and the characters and setting will hold your attention. As well as being jam-packed full of action and adventure, Eelyn is rough and tough but yet bright and sensitive.

Overall this was a great full throttle fantasy with a brilliant female protagonist.

**Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **

I am a sucker for vikings this last year. I know, I am late to the viking party, but I am still there! After binging on all the current seasons of the History Channel show, I was so excited to hear that there was a YA book coming out told from a female vikings point of view. I mean really, who does not love Lagertha? I anticipated a younger version of that character, kicking butts and taking names, non-stop action! Well, that was not this book. If you are looking for an action packed experience, unfortunately keep looking. Sure there were a couple of battle scenes, the book even starts with one, but really this was about the people of the times and how life was in between the battling. I think there were more flash backs of battles than actual battles. But what would I know, maybe this is more realistic to the times than what my brain created for me. (And it didn't hurt that the cover is so gorgeous I had an instant case of cover love, I was going to get a copy of this regardless of content!)

Wow, this was a slow burn for me. It took a while for me to be actually interested in the story (almost 50% of the book was finished!) since it moves VERY slowly but when I noticed that my chest ached and I fought tears for Eelyn I came to the realization that somehow along the way I was invested. This was very much a character study book, with a single narrator that you get to know inside and out. I felt and experienced everything that she did and at times her loneliness and isolation was palpable- they became mine too. I completely understood Eelyn, and without any effort on my part, I bonded with her. There were times where she wished for death and I got it - keep in in mind that I did not want her to die, but I understood her motivations and mind space.

Sky In The Deep was a debut book and I appreciate the difference in perspective and writing style the author used. I will for certain check out more from Adrienne and see what other kinds of worlds she wants to bring to life- I guess there is a companion novel coming out next year that I would love to read (I have lots of speculation on what that will be!). I highly recommend checking this book out even if it is not your usual topic because, yay, Go Vikings!

Un·put·down·able

This book was seriously addictive! I started reading in the morning and I could NOT stop. I just had to keep reading despite having stacks of work to get through. Sky in the Deep is a fantastic historical YA and I'd recommend all to read this book.

The book opens with the eve to a battle. A recurring battle where the gods demand their blood offering every 7 years. A battle in which Eelyn lost her brother 7 years ago or so she thought. Her determination to find her brother led to her being caught and forced to live with her clan's enemy. But there is another threat facing both clans and the only chance to survive is if they stand united against a common enemy.

The story is told solely from Eelyn's perspective. She is an amazing warrior. Despite her smaller stature, her determination and resilience shaped her into an admirable character. All the conflicting emotions she felt, love, hate, guilt, anger, came clearly pouring through the pages. And that slow-burn romance is what really gets me. Unlike insta-love that's out-of-control and ends with a crash; a slow-burn reels you in and kept you on tenterhook 'til the last page.

I'm not familiar with Vikings or any historical facts relating to them so this book reads more like fantasy to me though without much magic, it does feel more like historical fiction. The description of nature and of life has the ring of truth in them (it wasn't an easy life).

I cannot stress enough just how much I love this book! Young and old, I'd recommend that you check out this book!

Thanks to St. Martin's Press & Netgalley for copy of book in exchange of honest review.

I enjoyed the writing style but I kinda wanted more? I don't know what it was, but it felt like the norse mythology and feeling had been americanised.

Disclaimer: I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Overall Thoughts:

Vikings, war, betrayal, forbidden love? Yup, this one ticked all the boxes, and I was so excited to finally be able to read this, and you know what? It didn't disappoint. It was gritty and gory and pretty much lived up to all my expectations.

Things I Loved:

- I'm all for bad-ass female characters that don't take any crap and can handle themselves. Eelyn is all that and then some. She's been trained from a young age to be a warrior, to handle physical pain, to be able to tolerate a lot. Despite all that, it doesn't stop her from having a more emotional side and being, well, human. And slightly teenager.

- The world-building was fabulous! The Aska and Riki are so different, and yet extremely similar in their beliefs and cultures. Both were highlighted brilliantly, and I loved learning new things about the cultures and being able to compare the two. The lore behind their rivalry and the stories of their gods, I thought, was really well done, too, and I felt entirely immersed in this world.

- I am 100% for hate-to-love tropes and forbidden love done right ... and I was totally rooting for it here. I mean, mention of the romance is in the summary, so it shouldn't really surprise anyone at all. I loved Eelyn and Fiske on their own, which just made their romance all the more enjoyable.

- The plot was horribly predictable and there were pretty much no surprises at all in that regard ... but I kind of didn't even care? It feels so odd to say that, because I'm usually one crying foul because I get annoyed when I can call the entire plot ahead of time. But I was so caught up in the culture and the romance that I was like, meh, I know what's going to happen, so BRING IT ON.

Sticking Points:

- The ending was too easy. There, I said it. I won't give away any spoilers, but there was so much build-up and tension and then ... it sort of just deflated? I was a bit disappointed.

- There were plot points that I felt were just sort of left open and not tied in by the end. Which maybe that's fine and those questions didn't need to be answered and those points were irrelevant, but I'm nosy and I want to know these things.

Trigger warnings : lots of violence, torture, slavery, attempted rape.

I was so nervous about reading Sky in The Deep since I got so obsessed with Vikings (again!) this summer and I wasn’t sure how I will feel about a YA Vikings-inspired book, but it lived to the hype and to my high expectations.

I loved how the author incorporated some of my most favorite aspects from the Vikings’ era like how important honor, family and their clans were to them. I always adored this period because despite the betrayals and the oh-so-many battles, people were so loyal and dedicated to whatever they felt like they belonged to. Our modern society can’t relate.

And everything was so bad-ass in this book from the battle scenes that were very realistic and not boring at all (because I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I read battle scenes, I just go far away and start thinking about something else entirely) to the romance that was subtle, yet very touching (the forbidden love trope is here and you’re going to live for it!!).

FAVOURITE THINGS
- Eeylin was a great heroine, I loved seeing her struggle with getting too comfortable in the Riki clan, an enemy clan because she was so loyal to her father and her clan. Also, her relationship with her brother was so complex and well built because even though I wanted them to make up and be on good terms again, it was understandable how Eelyn couldn’t get past what she perceived as a betrayal on Iri’s side.
- Myra and Eelyn’s friendship was super cute, I wish we got to see more of them fighting side by side and being powerful sisters.
- The family dynamics in this one are absolutely great, I’m pretty sure all of them would die for each other *heart eyes*
- The action scenes were A+, 10/10 would recommend. It would just make you want to get an axe and hit things or maybe not??? Kids, don’t do it at home.
- slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers trope.
- I also loved the gods and their story and how that impacted the tribes, it was really cool.

“Vegr yfir fjor. Honor above life.”

THINGS I DISLIKED
-While I really liked the romance, at times it felt a bit underwhelming because the love interest wasn’t around a lot and we didn’t get many scenes with them before they kiss. I wasn’t confused when they kissed or something because I was expecting it, I just wanted more interactions between them before it happened, you know. Because they went from disliking each other to somehow standing each other to ‘we have a deep connection, I can just feel it, you know it, I know it’ and yeah, it felt a bit rushed. Most probably because there were other things going on, a little more important, but still you understand where I’m coming from.
It has a slow start, but if you stick with the book, you’ll most probably enjoy it!
- I feel like this book would have been better if it was a duology because there are lots of things happening and sometimes the development of many characters suffered because of action scenes or other plot-lines that were going on.


All in all, I would recommend this book to everyone who’s interested in Vikings and loves YA lit or who loves action-packed novels and strong heroines.

Thanks to Wednesday Books for offering me an e-ARC of this book, this hadn’t influenced my review, nor my rating!

I found myself deeply conflicted, reading this book. In a classic case of Fantasy!Stockholm Syndrome, the main character's core identity is wiped completely away and replaced with an attachment to her owner and eventual love interest. That's right, Eelyn is enslaved—a state which, in her Askan (read: Norse) religion, will cost her the god Sigr's favor and any place in the afterlife—and taken captive by, then sold to, an enemy Riki warrior. She's understandably devastated by both her physical abasement and her spiritual damnation, but thanks to a weird storyline involving her missing brother having been previously saved by the Riki warrior and defecting to the Riki himself, and the musclebound attraction of her unexpectedly kind slave owner, Eelyn comes around. A skilled warrior herself, she is transformed by some magical cuddles & etc. with the Riki, and persuaded by her brother's arguments, she decides to unite the Aska and the Riki in the face of a greater threat: another invading people group, this time a group unfortunately lacking in sexually attractive slave owners. Because no adults would ever think of getting over their differences in the face of a common enemy, it's left to these teens to break from tumbling each other in the hayloft long enough to convince their elders that despite having been at war for generations, they should just go kill some other people and worry about all that pesky "you killed my husband but now I'm supposed to watch your back?" nonsense later.

Ah, to be young again. It's been so long since I trusted, much less lusted for a person who beat me at the one thing I liked to do, then enslaved me and made me give up my culture afterward! But hey, battle scars are sexy and I'll do anything for a man who knows how to purge pus from an infected shoulder wound.

I'm Vikings trash like 90% of readers, but no thank you.

That said, Young does put great sentences together, and I really liked Eelyn in the first twenty pages. Eelyn's world comes across as well-researched if somehow fantastic in the choice of names and gods and so forth. This is marketed as young adult fantasy, but if you squint and ignore the name choices, this could just as easily be historical fiction.

Honestly, I really, really wanted to like this book as much as everyone else seemed to. The synopsis sounded fascinating and I loved the fact that there were two warrior clans who have battled against each other since forever and now they have to come together against a common enemy. However, I found the execution of the book to be a bit dry and lacking. There were certainly a lot of action but that was it. The world building seemed subpar and the characters development were minimal.

From the synopsis, it seemed as if the “ruthless clan that was supposed to be legend” wasn’t as grandiose as I had imagined. I was expecting some legendary fighters and whatnot but other than the fact that they were large (there were a large number of them – far more than the Riki or Aska individually), that was pretty much it. They weren’t even considered as legends because they raided Eelyn’s clan, the Aska, a long time ago so, for the Aska, they certainly knew that this clan existed. Plus, they didn’t even show up that much in the book. The only important role they played was raiding the Riki clan and thus uniting the Aska and Riki and they were all slaughtered quickly after. So much for being ruthless and legendary…

As for the character building, I honestly didn’t see much appeal for Eelyn. The only thing she seemed to care about was her clan and fighting, which is totally fine, but then the author put a love interest there which really offset her character. The romance that developed wasn’t unexpected as this is a YA novel but I think this book would have been far better if this romance was not there. It took away some of the core plot and Eelyn’s character development.

Overall, I think this book is hyped up for no reason and the gorgeous cover is certainly distracting as I was honestly expecting greater things. The storyline itself was also really easy to guess – there wasn’t any real plot twists especially since the synopsis essentially gave the whole book away.

Such a great story! I am always fascinated about books that use a culture or people from history. I love the use of Vikings and their culture and watching the characters develop and grow. Not to mention the mythology and magic! Such a great story!

Fun YA set in a Nordic type land, every 5 years the Aska and the Riki meet in the battlefield and clash. Our main character gets captured and taken slave/prisoner by the Riki, but it is bc she sees her supposed to be dead brother fighting as a Riki.
Good book about the power to change and see beyond differences. Love story was slow build and mild. The villains, the Herja, we not fully explored or explained, they were a mysterious big bad with no known purpose of why they expanded their raiding efforts and about where they came from.

I am extremely late in reviewing Sky In The Deep, but I've been in such a YA funk this past year and didn't want to read a book I was excited about when I was obviously in a bit of a slump. But my YA mojo has been slowly coming back this summer and I've been particularly keen on reading YA fantasy novels. This book is about warriors and enemies and that just sounded right up my alley.

Sky In The Deep started off with a bang with me. The opening scene was a battle between the Aska and the Riki, two enemy clans. This set the tone for the entire book. It was dark, bloody and full of violence. On the very battlefield, our Viking heroine, Eelyn sees her brother, who she thought had died 5 years earlier. Injured, she is captured by Fiske, a friend to her brother, and is taken to the wintry mountains of the Riki village to be kept as a servant in Fiske's home. Eelyn was a fiery character, just as I was expecting for a book with such a premise. She was vehemently contentious against Fiske and his family in the beginning, as she was someone who was fiercely loyal to her clansmen. Her anger, her strength, and her allegiance radiated through Sky in the Deep, making her a character that you passionately want to root for. She was angry at her brother for becoming one with the Riki and she was angry at her circumstances of being stuck with the Riki. There is just something about angry female characters that I find very compelling!

We also get to know the Riki's village life and culture better through Fiske's family. I wasn't quite sure what to make of Fiske at first. He did kidnap her, after all. His intentions became much clearer as the story moved forward. As with Eelyn, he too was fiercely faithful to his kinsmen and family and was willing to do anything for them. He eventually became a love interest for Eelyn, showing his affections for her in subtle ways. Though I wasn't exactly swooning over this romance as it was a little quieter than I was hoping for, I thought it was sweet. What was a prevailing theme throughout Sky in the Deep was the strength and power of family relationships. I loved how the book had such a strong focus on it. Young explored the frayed bond between Eelyn and her brother, as well as her bond with her father. We also see the "soul bond" between Fiske and Eelyn's brother.

I found the world building in Sky in the Deep also compelling. The book explored the lives and culture of both the Riki and the Askas through Eelyn's lens. We also learn a lot about the Gods they worshipped and where and how the rivalry between the two clans emerged from. Where the book faltered a little bit for me was the pacing. I found the first half to be rather slow and uneventful. It was only past the 60% mark that the true action began to materialize, so the final battles and ending seemed a bit rushed, in my opinion.

Regardless, Sky in the Deep was a fun read. It wasn't without its flaws, but it was a solid debut with likable characters. There is supposed to be a companion novel next and I'll be looking forward to reading it for sure!

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young unfortunately fell victim to the hype for me. I have had this book on my radar since last year and was anticipating it SOOOO much. I was disappointed. I can't quite put my finger on what but it just didn't click with me. It was good. I mean, it wasn't bad. The writing was fine, the characters were fine, there is nothing glaringly bad about it but, I don't know, for me, it just fell FLAT.

As far as the plot goes, in my opinion, there wasn't much of one. I felt like I just kept waiting for it to pick-up and then it was over. I made a status update on Goodreads at about 150 pages in that it read like one of my cultural anthropology textbooks from University - that's honestly how I felt. As an examination of Viking life, it was great, but that wasn't really what I was looking for.

I would read other books by this author but not if these are the characters the story follows. I'm just not compelled to follow-up on them. At all. So, yeah, this one is tough for me. It hurts but as I said, it was good, it just wasn't what I thought it would be. I am glad I had the opportunity to read it; I don't regret it but I wouldn't highly recommend it.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

Viking warrior Eelyn is part of the Aska clan and every five years for as long as history can tell the Aska have come to the fields and fought the rival Riki clan. As Eelyn is on the battlefield she sees something that just cannot be, the brother she saw died five years before is on the battlefield....fighting for the rival clan. To subside her thoughts of her gods just bringing his spirit to her, she finds him on the battlefield and ends up being taken prisoner by the Riki. As Eelyn is trying to come to terms with her brother's disappearance and betrayal another violent, murderous and nomadic tribe comes into the Riki village and wrecks havoc, only for Eelyn to find out that they have already attacked the Aska as well. Now Eelyn is faced with the uncertainty of her family surviving in the Aska village and the fact that these two warring clans will have to put hundreds of years of violent tradition aside for the betterment of both clans, but can two life-long enemies join forces for the good of all?

An amazing, action packed and riveting novel. This novel starts with action and does not stop and has an appropriate, small splash of romance that does NOT take over the novel (much appreciated). This novel not only looks at the ties of clans, but the true deep relationship of family, friends, and those who become your family because of life and situations. This was just a powerful and wonderful novel that I did not want to put down. And even better about this novel is that it is JUST ONE!!! However, I could definitely see an option to continue the story if wanted, but this novel was well finished and logical and not rushed. Just a wonderful, awesome strong female characters who are kicking ass and taking names and amazing. Totally loved this novel! What is next Adrienne Young?!?!

Quick thoughts:
- Highly anticipated read!!!
- Cover took my breath away
- WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT 😭
- Tedious and slow pacing
- C H O R E S 💀
- Bland characters
- Equally bland romance
- 3rd party enemy as a plot device
- 😴😴😴
- Overhyped
- 1/5 ⭐️

* Full review to follow.

This is geared toward readers who like fast paced, girl power, woman warrior stories set in the northern climates similar to the communities beyond the wall in Game of Thrones. The story starts in the middle of a clan war as Eelyn and her battle partner Maya from the Aska clans fight the Riki clans. These two teenagers are seasoned warriors who plow through the enemy ranks until Eelyn gets separated from Maya and is cornered by a massive and powerful Riki warrior. Just as Eelyn believes that he will kill her, she is saved by her brother, but she must be mistaken. She saw her brother die five years ago and this warrior who looks like her brother is wearing the armor of the enemy.

I labeled it fantasy-ish just because it is not really in an unrealistic setting or containing the kind of magic or fantastical creatures found in the genre, but as a fantasy buff, it contains enough of the elements to make this devour worthy. Carve out enough time for this.

A digital advance copy provided by Net Galley and the publisher for an honest review.

Riki and Aska are two clans that are fated to fight for following different gods. The Aska believe in Sigr and the Riki pray to Thora. During one of the battles, Aska warrior Eelyn sees her brother Iri wearing Riki armor. It's the same brother that she thought was dead. Not being able to let him go a second time, Eelyn finds herself being taken by the Riki to be traded or enslaved. But her brother has other plans.

Fiske, Iri's friend, buys Eelyn in order to keep her safe at Iri's request. Because of that, she is brought to Fiske and Iri's household and instructed to lay low. Eelyn was never one to hide the fire within her or remain prisoner. However, the more she protests against the Riki, the more she realizes how similar they truly are to her clan. There's also a different type of enemy out there--a common one--and Eelyn may be the only one who can save both Aska and Riki.

I loved watching the romance flare and burn between Fiske and Eelyn. Adrienne Young's writing is so vivid and vibrant that I could see the scenes and feel the emotions crisply as if I were watching it all play out. This book will draw you in and make you finish it in one sitting.


Final Verdict: This book is perfect for fans of mythology, action, and romance. This goes onto the list as one of the best books in 2018.

Sky in the Deep is Adrienne Young’s debut novel is a powerful and vivid story set against an icy landscape and infused with Viking mythology, brutal and bloody violence and unexpected romance.

Seventeen year old Eelyn is a warrior; a fighter; a survivor. As a member of the Aska clan, Eelyn fights alongside her family and clan mates against their enemies, the Riki, in an ancient tradition and long standing rivalry. It’s simple; fight and survive. Until one day on the battlefield, Eelyn catches a glimpse of her long dead brother….fighting with the enemy clan. Soon taken prisoner by the Riki, Eelyn struggles to comprehend her brother’s betrayal. She must find a way to survive the harsh mountain winter even if it means relying on her brother’s best friend Fiske, a Riki warrior who only sees her as a threat. Torn between her loyalty to her clan and her growing feelings for Fiske, Eelyn will have to reassess her definition of loyalty and family as she finds herself caring for people she has always viewed as the enemy. And when the Riki village is attacked by a ruthless clan thought only to be legend, Eelyn will have to find a way for the Aska and Riki to work together before both clans are destroyed….forever.

I have to admit; I was somewhat apprehensive when I began Sky in the Deep as I hadn’t had any experience reading Viking themed novels in the past, nor am I a big fan of the violence and brutality that comes along with them. That being said, I had heard so many positive things about this story that I decided to give it a go….and I’m very glad I did. I really did enjoy Sky in the Deep and was delighted by the story that Adrienne Young has created.

Told through the poignant and powerful voice of Eelyn, Sky in the Deep is a compelling story. Beautifully written and with a genuine and authentic feel without author Adrienne Young feeling the need to bombard her reader with complex and complicated Norse and Viking history, Sky in the Deep is a very fast paced and exciting novel, that also features nice undertones of family and romance.

I liked the characters within the story very much including love interest Fiske and protagonist Eelyn who is a strong and easy to follow main character. Young sets up many moments of reflection and development as her characters struggle—again Eelyn most importantly—with the new reality of their lives. Decades of distrust and rivalry do not disappear overnight and I liked seeing Eelyn slowly begin to trust members of the Riki clan, even as she faced an internal war with what she had always known and what she was now witnessing.

Adrienne Young has created a great story of survival and romance that bridges the gap between clans and age old rivalry. Perfect for anyone wishing to dip their toes in the Viking genre while discovering a conflicting world of brutality and simmering hope, Sky in the Deep is a great read and proves Adrienne Young is an author to keep an eye on!