Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Sky in the Deep
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Publisher: Wednesday Books
ISBN:  1250168457
ISBN13: 9781250168450
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Review Copy Source: 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.

SKY IN THE DEEP shocked me with how intense and enjoyable it ended up being.

There is a lot going on in SKY IN THE DEEP and I enjoyed it all. Eelyn had issues, but was a very strong character. I enjoyed her grit and determination to resolve the conflicts that were thrown at her. The story was easy to follow. There is a lot of hate between the Aska and Risi, but there were a few characters in the story that were able to look past that and Eelyn was able to look past that after some time with those people. The secondary characters definitely brought a lot to the table.

The romance in SKY IN THE DEEP is slow, but sweet. Two enemies find love. It is not the main point of the storyline, but it was a nice addition.

One thing that really stuck out to me after reading SKY IN THE DEEP was how pointless and wasteful the war between the Aska and the Riki clans was. It was a bit hard reading about all the death that they both caused the others over an ancient rivalry that could have easily been worked out if they would have bothered to bring forth some sort of peace talks sooner. Eelyn being taken really was a blessing in the end.

I was kinda sad that the story ended. I would have totally read more if SKY IN THE DEEP was longer or part of a larger story. I say give this one a try.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.