Book Blurb:
Part Wonder Woman, part Vikings—and all heart.
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.
Find out more about the book on Goodreads
My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Heart-Wrenching, Historical, Suspense, Teen--
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!
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