[BOOK REVIEW] Sky in the Deep

Title: Sky in the Deep
Author: Adrienne Young
Pages: 335
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

What a nice break from all of the Slice of Life books that I have been reading lately! This fantasy novel sets itself apart from the rest by exposing us to the world of vikings. This is an action packed book with characters who must fight for their life in order to survive.

We follow Eelyn, who is from a Viking clan called the Aska. Every five years they fight with their rival clan, the Riki. But this year, Eelyn sets eyes on her supposed-to-be-dead brother. Things begin to spiral down for Eelyn as she searches for answers to questions she never knew needed answered.

Oh No’s

Eeylyn’s constant blame of Iri. She is the one that seeked him out in the first place. From the moment she laid eyes on him, she wouldn’t let him out of her sight or mind. She spent 90% of the book hating him and repeating her dislike over and over again. It got to the point that I would simply glaze over her monologues in the hopes that one day she would change her mind.

Authors love to include languages. I love to learn them! Only problem is when these words lack definitions. Throwing these words in at random is totally fine but I just wish a list of definitions was included at the end. I always get so frustrated when I don’t know what a word means and have to look it up.

Yay’s

I absolutely loved the rivalry between the Riki and Aska. The two are polar opposites and I loved seeing how primal the Vikings would have been. It was interesting to see how we learn from those before us and are taught to never question why we do things. People become stuck in the old ways, that’s just how it is.

The character development, oh my lord. Fantastic. This is a complete book with a satisfying end for every character. I loved how every person grew and learned from each other. Their paths were entwined in ways I could never imagine and that ending had me on the edge of my seat. The change we see which each passing page made this such a great read.

Those action and battle scenes were so intense I could not put my book down. Not only does it open up with an amazing fight scene, but the whole end is just one big fight to the death. I ended up reading late into the night just to follow that last battle.

I actually received this book in my Owlcrate a while back and finally got a chance to read it. My copy is signed and I love the hardcover design. It really helped shape who Eelyn was and their Viking culture. I definitely recommend giving this book a read if you are interested at all in Viking culture. You will need this for your library.

Favorite Quote

“‘Qnd Eldr’

They were words I heard before. Breath fire. The Riki said them to each other on the battlefield.”

Pg. 210

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-PM