BOOK REVIEW: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

A 2018 Most Anticipated Young Adult book that is part Wonder Woman, part Vikings—and all heart.

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.

“THIS IS A GRIPPING STORY, RICHLY TOLD.” —Renée Ahdieh, New York Times bestselling author of Flame in the Mist
"FIERCE, VIVID, AND VIOLENTLY BEAUTIFUL.” —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of Caraval
“A STUNNING DEBUT” —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen
“BLEAK BEAUTIFUL AND DEADLY” —Traci Chee, New York Times bestselling author of The Reader
“WHOLLY UNIQUE AND INSTANTLY ADDICTIVE” —Kerri Maniscalco, New York Times bestselling author of Hunting Prince Dracula
“HEARTRENDING, HEART-MENDING” —Kayla Olson, bestselling author of Sandcastle Empire

“Does it hurt?” He leaned closer.
My stomach dropped, pulling my heart down with it and the pulse in my veins beat unevenly. He was too close to me.
I stood, the bench scraping on the stone beneath us. He looked up at me, and I tried to find something to say. But there was too much. It was all buried too deep. I couldn’t reach it.
“Everything hurts,” I whispered.

Hollllyyyyy BLEEP. Guys. GUYS. I started this in audio ON A WHIM yesterday because I needed something new and honestly it was one of the first books that was available on Overdive as I was scrolling through. I hate admitting this but I actually got a copy of this in eARC form from Netgally but got busy and pushed it aside (obviously) and am only just now reviewing it. I’m a terrible person. BUT BETTER LATE THAN NEVER RIGHT?! Especially after this glowing review that’s trying to burst out of me.

“I feel like…” I caught the sob in my chest and swallowed it, suddenly embarrassed. He leaned in closer to me. 
“Like what?” 
My eyes ran over his face. The scruff on his jaw. The dark lashes around his blue eyes. “Like I’m a flame about to burn out.” 
My voice was so thin it sounded like I could reach out and break it with my fingers. “Like I’m going to disappear.”

I think I also might have put this off because I thought that the Viking aspect might be too much. I’m not a person who loves that extra dose of violence that Vikings are sure to always provide. I mean it’s common knowledge. Rage and duty and honor practically runs through their veins. They are warriors through and through and this book did indeed have it’s fair share of visceral, gory scenes. However, it’s more than that. It’s about family and love and realizing that someone you’ve been taught to hate all your life might just be the person who is going to save you. 

Like I loved the entire process that Eelyn goes through throughout the entire book. From a proud, I’d rather die than be in a room sharing breath with a Riki, stance to a hmm they are kind of similar to my own people, to okay, um, now I’m in love with one and I can accept that my brother is now one, lol. I loved seeing Fiske’s relationship with Iri, and how Inge took him in as one of her own. How right after she came to be with them, how Halvard was always kind to her and wanted to impress her and learn things from her. I mean this really is a book about family in every sense of the word imaginable. Family doesn’t have to be blood to be family and Fiske and Iri were a perfect example of this. 

Fiske in general was just…a treat. I don’t know if I’d exactly call it hate to love…though I guess it was. ANYWAY I loved that progression as well. There was no insta love at all. It was a gradual, but inevitable thing and I just…*shivers* I love it so damn much. So many perfect scenes and lines come to mine I will definitely be re-reading this again in the future.

“I’ll go where you go.”
This time, the words were unyielding.

Finally…the writing. This writing is 100% on brand with what I love in a book. It made me feel every single emotion. Fear, anger, love, hurt, disgust. And my heart swelled. Boy did it swell. There were so many lines of just pure feeling that enveloped me and carried me away. Since having my daughter there have been few times where I have pushed my valuable sleep aside to stay up reading and this was one of those times. I honestly probably could have finished it all in one day but I didn’t want my tiredness to impact me loving the ending. ASKLGNSEKVSLIEHGE. So yeah. This was an excellent book and I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on the next.

“Ond eldr,” I whispered his people’s battle cry against his lips. Breathe fire.

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