Series: Sky and Sea #1
Author: Adrienne Young
Published April 24th 2018 by Wednesday Books
Goodreads Synopsis
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.
Goodreads
Review
I've always liked books that have historical elements to it, and when early reviews came in for this one, I thought it seemed up my street, and that I better check it out. When I first read the book, it had no UK publisher, and was billed as a standalone book, but since then, a sequel/companion book has been released, both in the UK as well.
In Sky in the Deep, our main character, Eelyn, is training to be a warrior in her clan, the Aska, against their enemies, the Riki people. Since the dawn of time, both tribes have been at odds with each other, and when the weather is right, the fighting season always plays out the same way - each tribe launches an attack against the other, there are losses, and then they mourn the dead, and regroup for winter. When she was 12, she witnessed one of her first battles, and even saw her brother, Iri, die. So, now at 17, seeing that long thought dead brother, on the side of the Riki, is a deep betrayal, and she can't let it lie. She's been captured by the Riki, and taken to be a slave for Fiske, her brother's new friend and fighting partner, when she starts to realise that perhaps both tribes should just regroup together, as they have more in common than not. It also helps that her growing feelings for Fiske make her want them to be friends, and focus on the common enemy, the Herja people, who have killed both Aska and Riki indiscriminately.
One thing I can plainly say is that this is not an easy going book. There are so many dark themes in the book, and violence plays a crucial role. It's brutal, the description of the death scenes, and all of the threats that get bandied about, but even so, it was an enjoyable read. I think this is partly down to the fact that the themes of friendship, sibling love, and romance are interwoven with the violent scenes, that it's not always so heavy. Because of how Eelyn had seen Iri being killed - or she thought she had - she really had to reconcile herself to the fact that he was still alive, and reconnect with him in that respect, and then deal with the hatred she felt towards the Riki, and Fiske in particular, for taking him from her. It's a complicated relationship, and it progresses naturally, rather that it being all sunshine and lightness that all bygones are forgotten.
Honestly, the same goes with Fiske too. He - to Eelyn - is the reason she's been injured, captured, lost her brother, and is enslaved. It's not as if she will immediately fall for him, or he for her, but when we understand his character more (everything is from Eelyn's PoV) and see him be redeemed in her eyes, we start to see him as someone suited to Eelyn, and honestly good for her. Even so, the chemistry was there from the get go, which may have led to so much of the hatred from the beginning, but also the whole fact that they were enemies was an issue too.
The plot, and especially the way the book concluded, was so good. There weren't any moments that felt unnecessary, even the times when we have descriptions of the camp or cooking, etc. Having the Herja be introduced as they were, and the way they were dealt with was the perfect conclusion to the book, and I would've been happy if it had stayed a standalone, but I guess when I pick up The Girl the Sea Gave Back, I'll see if I change my mind.
Dates Read:
May 23-25, 2018Rating
4 Stars
