With emotional vulnerability and an epic worthy of the Viking world it's based on, The Girl the Sea Gave Back follows Tova, a Truthtongue who forsees the unraveling of everything she holds dear and Halvard, the young new chief of a rival clan who feels the pressure of survival. The second book in a loosely connected series, the author paints such an exquisite and vivid picture that it feels as if the reader is transported to the world she paints. With sympathetic characters and an intriguing storyline, this book is a real gem!

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

I really loved this book. I hope the author puts out more books based in this world in the future. Can I say again how much I really enjoyed this book.

Another beautifully written book set in the same world as Adrienne Young's first novel, Sky in the Deep. This one missed the mark for me a bit, but overall still worth the read. I am all for the descriptive settings and overall ambiance of this story.

This book was not what I was expecting. It was slow going and was a little bit boring with all the rituals with little explanation for them. Maybe if I read the first book in the series, then I would understand it all.

My second book by Andrienne Young and I need to keep reading. I loved Sky in the Deep, absolutely loved it, it was so well written with an amazing world and when I saw a sequel I nearly passed out. Unfortunately The Girl the Sea Gave Back is set almond a decade later and it follows a now grown up Halvard from the first book. That emotional connection helped but this one didn't give the reader enough time to fully get to know the knew characters before jumping into action (the first one started with a huge action scene but it follow a long character build). I enjoy being back into this world and whatever book comes next I'll be looked forward to reading it as well!

This novel had me hooked within the first paragraph! I enjoyed the story line although it was slightly predictable. However, before I even finished I made sure to preorder a copy so I could display the amazing cover on my bookshelf!

DNF....



After the first book, I decided to give this one a chance.



However, after a few chapters, I knew I wouldn't be able to finish it. The first few chapters were slow and didn't really give enough of a back story and as the book progressed, I just couldn't get into it.

THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK is told in alternating points of view from Tova, a Truthtongue living with the Svell as an outcast, and Halvard, a young warrior destined to become leader of his tribe. I liked both characters immediately. Halvard is so eager to do the right thing and has a fierceness and yet this endearing core of self-doubt. Tova has this insatiable curiosity about her past and an unshakeable faith in the Spinners, who weave the fate of everyone.

I found it a little difficult to follow some of the story world and keep track of the broad cast of characters. I didn’t realize at first that THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK is from the same story world as Young’s debut, SKY IN THE DEEP. If I had it to do over again, I think I would have tried to read SKY IN THE DEEP first so that I had a better understanding and more familiarity with the background, the tribes, and Halvard’s huge family.

The story has a very rich feel to it in terms of its history and culture. Each tribe has its own lore, its own gods and traditions, and its own way of doing things. The clash in those traditions created a lot of tension, too. That and the emphasis on the Spinners and their role in weaving together everyone’s fates created a sort of global feel in THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK that I really enjoyed.

It does also have a lot of battles and battle violence. A couple chapters are mostly descriptions of one critical battle. It was a little much for me, but you probably know by now that I’m a sensitive reader, so factor that in and check out my content notes below for more specific details.

If you enjoyed SEA WITCH by Sarah Henning or CROWN OF CORAL AND PEARL by Mara Rutherford then you should check out THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK.

Let me start off by saying that Sky in the Deep is one of my most favorite books, so when I saw this book I was SO excited. This book didn't quite live up to Sky in the Deep's potential, but it may be because I think so highly of it. There is no doubt in my mind that this author knows what she is doing. Her writing is amazing. She gets you hooked instantly which is not a quality of most authors. My main issue with this book was just that I didn't connect as well with characters as I did with the characters from the first book. I think I just wanted more from this book than what I got, nevertheless, it was still a good book and Adrienne Young is a great author.

I was so happy to read this book, I really enjoyed Adrienne's first book (it was one of my favorite book of 2018), but I have to admit I'm disappointed. I don't really know what happened here but I couldn't connect with the characters and the story was confusing. I didn't understand where we were going and it annoyed me. I tried several times to read the book, but I finally abandoned. I'm really sad that I didn't connect with the book despite Adrienne's beautiful writing style.
However, I will continue to support the author and read her next books!

I really loved Sky in the Deep, Adrienne Young's debut novel, so I was excited to read the companion novel, The Girl the Sea Gave Back. It's not a direct sequel, but it's set in the same world as Sky in the Deep and the main characters appear in supporting roles.

Set 10 years after the events of Sky in the Deep, the Nadhir have experienced an unprecedented stretch of peace, but the neighboring tribe of the Svell are growing in strength and may be a threat to the Nadhir, who are still rebuilding after the events of the first book. Halvard is 18 and has been chosen as the heir to the chief of the Nadhir. He wrestles with whether he is truly the right choice for the job.
One of the Svell's advantages is a young woman named Tova. She is a Truthtongue, someone who can see the future. She is also a member of another tribe, the mysterious Kyrr. She washed up on a beach and was found by Jorrund, the Svell's spiritual leader. Her life with the Svell has been hard. Although they need her, they also fear her, and the only person who shows her any kindness is Jorrund, but Tova always wonders if it's because he needs her abilities to maintain his power.  She lives in constant fear of outliving her usefulness to the tribe.

The story is told in alternating chapters from Tova and Halvard's points of view. It's effective because the characters have very distinct voices. Tova's lonely life contrasts with Halvard's much more secure position. She's an outsider with no memories of her past, while he is a favored son of his tribe, with a supporting and loving family. The two have little in common, but when Tova casts the rune stones, a connection between them is forged.

The book has a fast moving plot, and most of the action takes place over just a few days. Young's spare prose works well for the story. The bleakness and beauty of this world really come through in her writing. It's a gripping story, and I hope Young writes more books set in this world.

Although this is sort of a sequel, it's possible to read it without having read Sky in the Deep. But the two books go so well together, I would recommend that you read the first one before reading The Girl the Sea Gave Back.

Well, that was disappointing.

I read sky in the deep a few months ago and while I did have a few faults with the story overall, I thought it was a very promising debut. This book however was a huge step in the opposite direction.

This story, similarly to Sky in the Deep, had so much potential. Set 10 years after the events of Sky in the Deep, we follow two main characters. Halvard, who we met in the first book, and Tova, a girl living as an outcast in her tribe since death seems to always follow her. She has the unusual ability to see the future. When she’s asked to use her ability to decide whether they should go to war or maintain peace, she sets into motion the events for the novel.

I also think this story wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. With Tova’s ability there were some fantasy/magic elements, but since Tova didn’t know too much about her past neither did the reader and it made things feel so confusing and disjointed. Along those same lines, there is a lot of talk regarding fate and destiny. It seemed like the paths of our main characters are meant to cross in some crazy way, but they spent such little time on page together and what could’ve been an amazing star crossed lovers/forbidden love plot line fell completely flat.

Basically, all the things I really enjoyed from the first book were missing. I was hoping that the author would stick with the fast plot lines and action, yet what we got here was only tons of wasted potential and a disjointed plot.

I can't decide whether I liked The Girl the Sea Gave Back more than Sky in the Deep. Epic story about a girl set to change the world!

I loved Sky in the Deep so much! So when I saw Adrienne Young was writing another book in this world, I was really excited to get my hands on it and discover a new favorite.

However, if you're reading this then you've seen I only rated it 2 stars which is... not great. I ended up listening to the audiobook even though I had an e-arc of this book. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed this story more if I had read it in another format. I'd like to think it's a me problem and not a book problem.

I wanted to DNF it because I couldn't find it in me to care about anything. I couldn't connect with the characters and I know I'll forget everything about this book in a day or two...

(Thank you to the publisher for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

I read and loved Sky in the Deep last year, so I was beyond the moon when Adrienne Young announced she was working on a companion novel. Unfortunately, I didn’t find in The Girl the Sea Gave Back the elements I loved in Young’s debut book.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back takes place ten years after the ending of Sky in the Deep. This time, the story is told through two different POVs: Tova and Halvard. Tova is a Kyrr with the ability to cast the stones, which means that she can read the future. She uses her ability as a Truthtongue for the Svell, the enemies of the Nādhir. Halvard is Fiske and Iri’s young brother and the next chieftain of the Nādhir, the clan that unified Aska and Riki a decade ago.

Adrienne Young’s sophomore book is a story about fate, hope and destiny. We follow the prelude of the war between the Svell and the Nādhir through Tova and Halvard’s POVs, which was interesting since it allows the readers to get a glimpse of the different dynamics inside both clans. I really liked getting to know more about this Viking world, especially the goddesses, gods and the Spinners.

But although the premise was interesting and I absolutely loved Young’s beautiful writing, I couldn’t connect with the story because of the uneven pacing and the lack of plot. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was reading a summary of the book instead of the actual book, because there is absolutely no tension through the entire story and you can easily guess how everything is going to end. Also, the story is so focused on the destiny of both clans and Tova’s past that we barely get to really know Halvard despite the fact that he is one of the main characters. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the connexion between Tova and Halvard is approached either.

Summing up, The Girl the Sea Gave Back was a complete letdown for me. I really liked the last paragraph and how the story ends that way, but overall the story lacked the tension and character development I loved in Sky in the Deep and it just bored me for the most part. Nevertheless, I have high hopes for the next books by Adrienne Young since I love the author’s writing and the premises of her stories.

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't the best fit for me personally. The plot moved very slowly, which I believe may have been due to the split perspectives in the story. I had a hard time diving into the book and becoming connected with the characters. I had the same issue with the first book, so I truly just think this was a matter of the book not being a great fit for my own reading style.

I requested an ARC of The Girl the Sea Gave Back on a whim, having heard good things about the author. Graciously, the publisher provided me with an eARC though NetGalley - my opinions are my own. What I hadn't realized when I requested this novel was that it was a sequel. So, I went off to read Sky in the Deep. Since I essentially read these novels back to back, I feel like I enjoyed this one more. The back and forth between new characters and cultures to familiar characters and cultures was something I appreciated, and the flashbacks were really interesting and helped lend context to both sides of the story. Overall, I really enjoyed The Girl the Sea Gave Back, although Sky in the Deep is probably my favourite of the two.

The Girl The Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young is essentially a companion to Sky In The Deep. It's set in the same fantastical Viking world. I, personally, was really excited to re-enter this world, but read about different characters this go around. I also was excited to read another of Young's books via audio, as I had such a good experience with the first book.

The Girl The Sea Gave Back opens up with devastated parents who believe their daughter is dead. They end up putting the girl out to sea on a funeral boat. Alas, that girl is not dead. So, the Svell people end up adopting her and utilize her gift as a truthtongue. Meanwhile, there's additional chapters from the point of view of Halvard, who has a fate intertwined with Tova's but is kind of her enemy. Also, two other clans have joined together in peace, but possibly in war against Tova's people which is bad news bears for Tova's life.

On the whole, I enjoyed my time with this audiobook. It has dual narration, with Caitlin Kelly and Dan Bittner narrating chapters as Tova and Halvard, respectively. The audiobook is eight hours and 23 minutes long and well produced. I wasn't overly invested, but I did find this to be an entertaining listen. It also was good enough that I do anticipate reading this book again some day, but likely via physical book. Recommended on the whole - especially if you like books about girls who do the right and moral thing - even when it brings strife and struggle. It's something I deeply admire and would recommend.

The Girl the Sea Gave Bak did not disappoint. It was a slow burn, and it took me a little while to get immersed back into the Viking-based fantasy world of SKY IN THE DEEP (which I also really enjoyed), but once I connected with Tova and Halvard, I really liked their intertwining stories, in addition to seeing how they each responded to their callings and figured out their true beliefs.