Book Blurb:
The new gut-wrenching epic from the New York Times bestselling author of Sky in the Deep.
For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.
For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.
Find out more about the book on Goodreads
My Review:
4 Out Of 5 Stars
Genre: Historical, Suspense, Teen--
Tova does not have people of her own, instead she is an outcast with a clan that does not want her yet uses her skills to read the runes. When the clan has to make a choice about starting a war, she is the one who decides their fate. Halvard has enjoyed the life of peace that his people settled into in the last 10 years, not really knowing what fighting for his life really looks like. But now the time has come to step up and fight for his people...or die trying.
The Girl The See Gave Back is almost completely the opposite of Sky In The Deep, which is the companion novel set 10 years prior. I picked up Sky In The Deep expecting an action packed viking warrior battle like every episode of the show Vikings, but instead it was a quiet, introspective novel that dealt with a lot of angst and grief, but ending in a fast harsh battle. Well, The Girl the Sky Gave Back was action packed, almost from the start we see clans battling and people fighting to the death. At every turn there was some kind of action, be it training, or stealthily sneaking, to full out scary battles where most people get injured and it is raining death. I will say that I had a harder time relating to the characters since we basically meet them in the middle of the action without any time to get to know them. We did occasionally get back story told in random time points from the past that helped to show how both characters came to this end point which did help.
The story was dual narrated by both the main characters, which is my favorite in a romance story- which this was not actually, but it hinted at the potential for more. Halvard was introduced in Sky in the Deep as a cute and curious child so seeing him as a serious adult was a new change. I love that his family showed up, which were more grown up versions of all the character that I had previously met. Tova was a different type of character, one that was controlled my faith and chance, but basically knew nothing of herself and where she came from. They were such different characters who had only a few brief interactions during a war, but the author did a great job of showing that the fates had more in store for the two.
The ending, while leaving the conclusion up to fate aka the imagination of the reader, it seemed like this world was wrapped up. That being said, I would love another story set in this word full of fighting, magic, clans and lasting love. The author makes her worlds feel real, as if I am part of it, I can feel the ax swing by my face, the sweat running down my spine, the adrenaline spike from the stress of the situation. I look forward to whatever she wants to create next.
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