“Sky in the Deep is my first read of Adrienne Young’s and I now want to binge all of her books!”

Review by Rayleigh Setser

Part Wonder Woman, part Vikings—and all heart.

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 didn't realize how many of Adrienne Young's books were on my TBR until recently, but somehow this one made it to the top of my list. Sky in the Deep is my first read of hers and I now want to binge all of her books!

Sky in the Deep is such a fresh YA Fantasy compared to what I've been reading lately. It's a simple, straightforward plot that is both exciting and easy to follow. I loved the sibling's relationship. I loved the portrayal of how intimate friendship looks, both male friendships and female friendships. And of course, the romance was very natural and sweet.

The Viking clan theme is one of my favorites and this one was done very well. And the parents that are in this? Viking parents have always been some of my favorites in literature and the parents in this book are no different. I kept picturing Hiccup's dad from How to Train Your Dragon whenever Eelyn mentioned her father. The family dynamics are just so nice in this book. Highly recommend it to lovers of Viking fantasy!

Content Ratings:

6. Strong action/gore (most action sequences describe blood loss and the injury to a clear picture, albeit brief and infrequent). 

2.  Mild content (holding hands and mild kissing).

2. Frequent substitute cursing (commonplace "craps" etc. and/or book-specific words).

Other Trigger Warnings:

Content warnings: Spice levels are very low, two semi-detailed kissing scenes and implied/fade-to-black seggsy scenes. There are also a couple of suggestive, sexual harassment comments made, as well as an attempted r*pe scene. Gore levels, however, are very high with battle scenes very descriptive and some torturous acts made by the main character. This is very unlike me, but I cannot for the life of me remember if there was any cursing… If there was, it would’ve been mild enough that I overlooked it. But I truly don’t think there was any language.

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