Review – Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Title Sky in the Deep

Author Adrienne Young

Description from Amazon

OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient, rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield―her brother, fighting with the enemy―the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

Initial Thoughts

I had seen a lot of hype around this book.  I literally have no idea why, but I blew off the hype and decided that I didn’t want to read this book.  I have nothing against the author, Adrienne Young and, the subject matter is right up my alley.  But, for whatever reason, I had decided to avoid this book.  However, when I saw the audiobook was on sale on Apple Books, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and give it a chance.

Cover Art

Since I listened to the audiobook instead of reading the physical book, cover art isn’t super relevant to this post, but I will include the section nonetheless.  Normally, I don’t like photography on covers.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  I don’t like to be told what to imagine when I read.  However, I actually like this cover a lot.  It doens’t give to much away and I don’t feel like the imagery contradicts what I thought Eelyn looked like.  Is this cover so pretty that I would get a physical copy for my shelf at home?  Probably not.  It is something that I would pick up and check out if I saw it in the store?  Yes, I would.

Favorite Character

Fiske – I can’t get over how much I enjoyed his “sorry, not sorry” attitude about everything.  Eeyln, I shot you with an arrow, sorry, not sorry.  He was fantastic.  He made no apologies and I loved that.

Series Value

This is not a series (at least as far as I am aware).  It seems to be a stand alone novel.  I liked that about it.  However, I think the characters have plenty of potential for more stories.  I’d read about the next generation of Aska/Riki and I’d read more about Eelyn and Fiske.  This book was great as a standalone but I would love to read more about the characters.

Final Thoughts

I am kicking myself for not reading this book sooner.  It was fantastic.  I loved every word.  I am also now a huge fan of Adrienne Young.  Not only is she a great writer, she’s super nice (I am speaking strickly about her social media), but she seems like she’d be equally nice in person.  I would read anything that she writes and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA Historical Fiction.

Bonus Fact

I actually listened to this book instead of reading it.  Since it was my first audiobook, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  But, I was very pleasantly surprised.  The narration was very enjoyable and I would definitely listen to more audiobooks.

Recommendtions for Further Reading

• Beasts of the Frozen Sun by Jill Criswell – this book is not released yet, but if you liked Sky in the Deep, you will love Beasts of the Frozen Sun.  Both stories feature a similar setting (Viking-esque times) and similar character development.  Also, from what I’ve read Beasts of the Frozen Sun is the start of a series.
• Anything by Tricia Levenseller, but, more specifically, Daughter of the Pirate King and Daughter of the Siren Queen – both of these books gave me similar vibes as compared to Sky in the Deep.  The writing style is also very similar.
• The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young – this is also unreleased as of now, but reading Sky in the Deep has made me a fan for life of Adrienne Young’s writing.  I’d read anything she publishes.