Welcome to my stop on the Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young blog tour!! I have a review to share with you today, and I definitely enjoyed this one!
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Published by Wednesday Books on April 24, 2018
Pages: 352
Format:eARC
Source:Copy provided by publisher for review, via Netgalley

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.

I found this book to be such an incredible breath of fresh air! I’ve been struggling a lot with fantasy lately, but Sky in the Deep proved a unique addition to the genre. It was definitely readable, too, as I was eager to know what would happen to the characters I so quickly grew to love. Let’s talk about the reasons I enjoyed this one, shall we?

  • The characters, and their growth. As I said above, I really enjoyed these characters, so now I’ll explain why. Basically, they were realistically portrayed, totally flawed, and incredibly relatable. They always did what they thought was right for their people- as everyone always does- but they were faced with a lot of tough choices as the began to realize that looking out for their people may not actually be the right thing to do.
  • Family was a huge focus of the book. Just like the clans were incredibly important to the characters, so too were their families, and I loved it. The theme of blood-family versus chosen-family was also prevalent. Which would the characters choose, if they were forced? Is one more meaningful than the other? What about when romantic love joined the mix? These were questions that human beings have dealt with throughout history, and are still dealing with. But asking them in such a dark, desperate setting made the stakes even higher.
  • The world is dark and brutal. The characters who live in it are unapologetic badasses. This combination is pretty fabulous. They didn’t make excuses,  they did what they needed to survive. There were quite a few battles waged during the course of the book, and even some smaller brutalities in between, but they made for a compelling story.
  • Speaking of the world, it’s pretty easy to follow. I think one of the things I’ve been struggling with in fantasy lately is super complex worlds and magic systems and such. This is a world that is fairly straightforward, and aside from struggling a bit with dialogue, I had no problems immersing myself in the world completely.
  • The atmosphere was on point! So you want to feel like the world is dark, and this did. But it also didn’t feel like a completely hellish nightmare, which I think was a good mix. There were some scenes that actually made the world seem quite beautiful despite its brutality, and I was pleased that the author captured that so well. Also, it’s Viking inspired, and what could be more fun than that? (And yes, it does feel Viking-y which I was giddy about!)
  • It’s a standalone! Okay, look- I would gladly have taken more Eelyn & Friends, don’t get me wrong. But… there’s something really nice about reading a book, feeling a lot of love for it, being satisfied with the ending, and being able to say “awesome book!” and leave it at that. And I think that the author did a great job of indulging the readers’s questions and curiosities, so that’s a win. (After writing this, I did just see on Goodreads that there’s a companion novel, and I won’t lie, I am totally here for it. But my thoughts on how it wrapped still stand!)

Bottom Line: So fresh feeling, yet so awesomely brutal, this is a definite must for anyone who enjoys a dark character-driven fantasy!

So, what is something you love to see in fantasy books? Do any of the things I listed here make your fantasy wishlist?

Posted May 1, 2018 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Blog Tour, Review / 11 Comments

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11 responses to “Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young: Review & Blog Tour

  1. Val

    Yay I’m so glad you enjoyed this Shannon! (And yes I love this review. GOOD JOB. I AM PROUD). I’m going to be honest, I was hesitant about picking this up because the cover reminded me of a book that I ended up disliking (cough Ivory & Bone cough), BUT I’m glad to see that all of my worries are for not. Literally everything you listed sounds so much better than my original expectations, SO THAT IS GOOD.

    I guess now I’m having regrets about not requesting this haha. Oh well! I’ll probably find it at the library 😛

  2. I just bought this one today and can’t wait to read it! I’m just surprised I didn’t order it SOONER. But yeah I’ll be all over this one!

  3. I’ve JUST finished reading another blogger’s rave review about this sooo it’s settled. I need to read this, like, YESTERDAY.?It sounds so awesome and like the sibling bond is what I want to read the most?!? Also I’m glad the world building isn’t super overwhelming/complex, because as much as I can like those…I’m tired. ??I want a book that doesn’t melt my brain at times hahaha. Ahem. Anyway! Definitely going to read this one soon!

  4. YAY! The synopsis of this one had me at go, but your feelings on it have cinched it- I’m definitely getting and reading it. I love a fantasy that’s driven by the people in it, rather than the world. I don’t care if it has dragons or magic- what are these people needing? What’s blocking them? How do they deal with it? Also love when any genre book focuses on the family (or deep friendship ties) as much or *more* than any romance- I realize as an adult that a lot of my incorrect assumptions about romantic relationships came from exposure to se many books where it was the most important thing in the plot, or in the character’s life. Now, I’d rather read a story that focuses on that complex sibling relationship, or the changing aging parent/grown child dynamic- *especially* if the genre isn’t women’s fiction or general fiction, but something fresh like SFF.

  5. Thank god the characters are “unapologetic”, because the vikings were no joke, super aggressive, and not afraid to swing that axe. I desperately want to read this book, but I don’t know when I will, because it already bums me out knowing that it’s a standalone. I’m a big series binger and I’d be super depressed if I loved this book, and couldn’t get anymore material on the characters.

  6. This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year. Bought a copy, stared at it in wonder…but I still haven’t read it! LOL

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