Sky in the Deep, by Adrienne Young | Book Review

Hello, friends. Today I have my book review of

TW: Blood, Gore, murder mention, Murder, Torture, Torture mention, Slavery mention, Slavery

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.

Part Wonder Woman, part Vikings—and all heart.

Hearing about Sky in the Deep made me excited about Eelyn’s story…but I had trepidation about reading Sky in the Deep since I’d never read from Adrienne Young. I didn’t know what to expect from her writing.

Sky in the Deep is a fast paced story which is good; it kept me reading the book.

There’s only one point of view within Sky in the Deep, which is another thing that this book has going for it. If there were multiple views within the story, they would have been very distracting. Honestly, another point of view would have taken away from the story itself.

The detailing that the story settings have in Sky in the Deep is great–it’s not overly detailed (which would’ve ruined the feeling of the novel), but there’s just enough of, well, everything, for Sky in the Deep to be a truly enjoyable novel.

Sky in the Deep actually made me seriously tear up. UGH 😭

The character development that Eelyn goes through (grows through?) is astounding. Simply astounding. Seeing as how Eelyn was angry, riddled with grief and loss of loved ones… Seeing how Eelyn worked through her emotions and slowly (so slowly) comes to terms with her new-found beliefs and life was great to read.

Another thing that had the story going for it, was that the romance that seemed to pop out of nowhere wasn’t a focus of the story.

I read Sky in the Deep and I’m so glad I did! I’d been wanting to read Sky in the Deep for so long. I’m glad that I finally got around to reading Eelyn’s story.

I give Sky in the Deep, 3 stars.

Have you read Sky in the Deep? If so, what did you think of it? Have you read anything else by Adrienne Young?

I’m really looking forward to reading Adrienne Young’s book; The Girl the Sea Gave Back!