I didn't find this story compelling enough to finish, sorry. I do not post negative or DNF reviews online. Thank you for this opportunity.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I could not get into this book. It was confusing at times, I didn't really know what I was reading. The cover is absolutely beautiful but the story itself did not draw me in like I wanted it to. It drug on a little longer than I was patient for.


I was given an ARC from Netgalley in return for my honest review.

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

This was better then "Sky in the Deep". I actually finished this book. I wasn't enthusiastic however. It just didn't grab me. The main character in this story seems more real to me. The struggle was relatable even if only abstractly. Unless something drastically changes however i do not see myself reading another of this authors books.

I enjoyed The Girl The Sea Gave Back but not as much as Sky in the Deep. I didn't connect with Tova as much, she was kind of hard to understand because she didn't even know much about where she came from and who she is. There was just a disconnect with her storyline for me.

I loved Halvard's parts and am so glad we got to follow him older. The cameos from other Sky in the Deep characters was also great, it was nice to seem them. These books were my first and only Viking books I’ve ever read but I would definitely love to read more books inspired by them.

This book was hard for me to get into. Very boring, not horrible but bland. I just couldn't connect to the characters. I think the beginning should be more attention grabbing to make readers want to read the rest of the book.

This vikings-inspired fantasy novel is a companion to THE SKY IN THE DEEP, which I read last year and enjoyed. THE GIRL THE SEA GAVE BACK is set 10 years after THE SKY IN THE DEEP, and follows a clan called the Svell who find themselves facing war with the now-joined clans from the first novel.
Overall, I found this book just okay. I found all of the names difficult to keep straight-character names and clan names ran together for me. There were just so many of them, and I found it pretty confusing throughout. The plot was quick and fun to read, but it was resolved a little too quickly for me. I think this could have benefited from another 30-4o pages of plot and resolution.
If you loved THE SKY IN THE DEEP, you'll probably love these as well!

I really wanted to enjoy this sequel, but I found it lacking in a way I can't describe. The plot fell flat for me after loving the first book so much .

I was so excited to get back into this world but did not like it as much as Sky in the Deep. I still loved this world and the descriptions of this world and it's people are done so beautifully! I would have liked to seen more of our old tribe and hear more about their transition into their new surroundings and joining together of their tribes! The ending was satisfying yet left me with questions so I'm hoping it was setting us up for another book?

4.5/5 🦄
The Girl the Sea Gave Back
By Adrienne Young

Wow! This book was riveting! Tova is a Kyrr girl who washes ashore in a new land and is hated by the people she lives with—but they keep her around because she is a truthspeaker, a person who can read stones to tell the future. Halvard is the future chieftain of his tribe, the Nadhir—a new tribe formed of two formerly blood-feuding peoples. Their fates become intertwined as the Svell, Tova’s keepers, decide to decimate the Nadhir, their neighbors.

This book was an amazing mix of romance and fantasy action. It has flashback chapters which I normally don’t like very much but I loved in this story because it gave you more background information. You basically figure things out as the main characters do because of how it is organized. The romance part is very subtle—it’s just a feeling of interconnectedness for the most part and only the suggestion of romance really. But it works really well and it’s a very fast read—the pacing is good too, which can be an issue for fast reads. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes stories about fate and rival clans. It has a cool Vikings vibe and lots of interesting names (which you may hate or love). But a solid read overall and the audiobook is good too since I split time listening and reading. Maybe keep a tissue handy is you get a bit teary eyed while reading sad parts like me. 😉

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher as well as a final copy from BOTM YA and borrowed the audiobook from my local library (I like my options) and none of that altered my review from thinking this book was awesome.

(review on Goodreads, will be featured on instagram @inkstains.and.dust and the corresponding facebook of the same name and twitter (@InkstainsD)

Having previously read Adriennes previous novel Sky In The Deep, I knew I had to read this one. Like with her last book I really enjoyed `the world she build and the use of mythology and culture. I really liked the main character and the journey she had to take. I do wish that the author spent a little more time explaining certain things and maybe fleshed our the characters more but besides that I enjoyed it.

I had a few issues with this book, in terms of the plot and how it was formatted.

One of the main reasons I liked Sky in the Deep was because the perspective was in third person, but it wasn’t complicated by the crutch authors often use along with that.

Let me explain.

Usually a third-person perspective will mean that the narration can switch between multiple characters, giving the author more freedom to explore different characters and plots because they are not tethered to the main perspective. The Girl the Sea Gave Back did the opposite, and ended up leaning on that crutch. Most chapters alternated between Halvard and Tova’s perspectives, with random interjections of flash-back chapters that were confusing and felt oddly placed. I felt like Young was info-dumping a bit with the flashbacks when that information could have been weaved in without random, arbitrary flashbacks.

Side note: I just noticed that the Goodreads synopsis does not mention Halvard’s name once, and he is one of the main perspectives we follow…. Why?

Anyway, back to the book itself.

I would say the plot points of this book relied a lot on what happened in the prequel, because it was constantly recalling the past wars with the Aska and Riki, as well as the legendary Herja attacks that brought peace to the warring clans ten years before this book picks up. I didn’t find it weird that there was a decade between the two settings, I think that worked well enough, but I just felt like nothing new was happening. There’s only so many new and surprising things that can happen in Viking wars. Even when some characters died, I wasn’t as surprised and empathetic as I was while reading Sky in the Deep.

Bouncing between two perspectives was also fine, it’s just that I personally don’t like when chapters are separated clearly between different characters, but it remains in third-person narration anyways. I didn’t feel connected to the characters at all because I wasn’t ever inside of their heads. I couldn’t feel their emotions as well as I could even during the first book where the perspective was in third-person but only followed one character. I know all of that sounds very confusing, but I think those who agree with my opinions on multiple perspectives will understand (hopefully anyways!).

While I can appreciate that romance was not a main part of the plot in this book, it did feel like the lack of romance made the book less interesting for me. Maybe that’s a subconscious realization that I rely on romance to be interested in a book… But I don’t know. I felt like the distance between Tova and Halvard and the magic that was introduced didn’t connect well enough. When they finally do cross paths, the romance was clumsy and forced. It didn’t have enough time to develop, and therefore fell flat. In fact, the whole ending felt rushed to me. The book was battle after battle, and then there was only about 50 pages left for the resolution and wrap up all the smaller storylines, which is not enough.

Now, I did give this book 3 stars despite crapping all over pretty much every aspect of the plot and style. Why you ask? Because, with as many problems as I had with this book, I couldn’t put it down. Young’s writing itself is compelling, and there’s definitely a lot of plot action happening to keep your eyes reading down the pages.

I didn’t love this book, obviously, but I didn’t hate it either. I was definitely expecting better, having read Sky in the Deep first and given it 4 stars, but I couldn’t find the same level of excitement about this one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “The Girl the Sea Gave Back” by Adrienne Young. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I believe this is meant to be a standalone. I have ‘Sky in the Deep’ on my TBR, but didn’t get to pick it up before I was approved for this title. I guess that was a mistake since I believe this book spoils events in ‘Sky in the Deep.’ When I started reading ‘The Girl the Sea Gave Back,’ I immediately felt like I was missing information having not read the first book.

Anyways, ‘The Girl the Sea Gave Back’ has an intriguing title and a stunning cover. The story follows Tova and Halvard who are Vikings. Unfortunately I couldn’t connect with the story. It didn’t feel accessible to me like some other Viking fantasy books I’ve read in the past. Since I felt lost about the context that maybe the previous book could have provided, I couldn’t connect with the story in a way that kept me turning the pages. I’ve tried multiple times to push through, but I have to mark this one a DNF. I might pick it up again through my library but I did not finish the book in the time frame I had access to it.

A fan of Sky in the Deep, I was really excited to read The Girl the Sea Gave Back and I was not disappointed. Just like Sky in the Deep, The Girl the Sea Gave Back features fierce women and an exciting plot. I was also really sucked into the world - Young's worldbuilding really captured me. Although at times some characters felt a little surface-level, the book had a great plot and I was hooked all the way through.

One of the things I enjoyed immensely about Sky in the Deep was that it was a standalone book. As much as I love series, good standalones are treasured finds, so I was really happy that this wasn't a sequel, but it was still set in the same world.

There didn't seem to be a lot of world building for this story. It wasn't really anything that relied on the first book, but I'll admit it was a bit difficult to get into at first. A lot the history unfolded through the story as the main character, Tova, found out about things herself, which was an interesting choice. I liked that it was more real time for finding things out, but I feel like a little bit more background might've been helpful in having it less confusing.

I enjoyed that it was mostly a story about finding a place in the world. There was a very slight element of fated romance, but it was faint and towards the very end. I like that it wasn't one of the big strings that tied the two main characters together.

Adrienne really has a gift for her writing flow poetically. Her settings really work well because the people whom she writes about trust in nature and are people of the Earth. They take from it, but also give thanks. You can see a lot of Adrienne's personality through her writing. I get the sense of mindfulness and being at peace with her surroundings. I think that's one of the reasons why I enjoy reading her books so much. They bring me to a tranquil place.

I gave this book a solid 4 stars.

This one was so much better through audiobook than physical reading. I began reading this story with literally no idea of what it was about except that it was super hyped and the publishers were total gems and approved my wish that I made for it during my trigger happy ARC binge earlier this year. Told through dual points of view, the story took off at the inciting incident, and captivates you–however, things slow down significantly. I really planned on DNFing it, because of how slow the pacing got and I was constantly getting sucked out of it. However, I borrowed the audiobook for it from my local library and decided to give it once last chance during a solo road trip.

Needless to say, I am really happy I switched formats. The audio grips you in the slow pace and brings a different tonality and intensity to the story that I was craving before. The characters began to form and became more in depth and I fell head over heals in love with this world and our main characters as they found their place within their people and came together in this beautiful immersion that left me gripping my steering wheel and grinning from ear to ear.

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell. The Svell found her washed ashore, and ever since, they have used her for her gift as a Truthtongue. She has no memory of her past, but the markings on her skin tell a story and mark her as one who can cast rune stones to read the future. The Svell people fear her because of her gifts, and her place among them is fragile. When two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, everything is at the risk of collapse. When Tova cast the runes to predict the future, she sets into motion a series of events that will change everything.

I really loved Sky in the Deep when I read it – it was epic, exciting, and adventurous with characters I adored and a swoon-worthy romance. Unfortunately The Girl The Sea Gave Back just didn’t manage to beat the expectations the first novel set. I didn’t enjoy the characters or their dynamics as much, and it wasn’t as epic as I was hoping.

There is so much culture and history to explore in this world – such as the Kyrr who were SO interesting and I really would have loved to explore them a little bit more – but I felt The Girl The Sea Gave Back fell short exploring this world. The worldbuilding is definitely lacking.

The shifting perspectives was very jarring sometimes. I really do love multiple POV books BUT in this one a scene would play out in one characters perspective then the exact same scene would then be in the follow up chapter from the other characters perspective and while this is an interesting narrative style, it just didn’t work and most of the time, it made it a very repetitive read.

Unfortunately, the lack of interesting character dynamics, lack of tension, lack of world-building, and shifting perspectives made this a disappointing read. Her debut novel Sky in the Deep is definitely the stronger of the two.

This was okay, but definitely not a favorite read nor a book I will probably pick up again. Honestly, I found the romance a bit predictable and it lacked action. I do love the cover and think Adrienne Young is really talented. Oh! And I really enjoyed revisiting characters from the first book; it always makes me happy when see old favorites in new book.

I did not finish this book. I gave it a try and read a few chapters but just couldn't get into it. The concept seemed interesting and I would recommend it to readers who are into mythology but it didn't work for me.

I received a free copy of the ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this one after it ended, as in I really liked the ending the best. I spent a good majority of the book wishing for more, or that I had spent time reviewing the events and clans from Sky in the Deep. By the end, I realized I didn't really need to go back. I would say I was a solid 3.5 star range but then the end turned it for me. I would recommend it. It's a pretty quick read, and while it is emotional and brutal, it wasn't a super deep or heavy feeling book to me.