Review: The Girl the Sea Gave Back - Adrienne Young

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again--a home.

Sky in the Deep Series:
Sky in the Deep
The Girl the Sea Gave Back

Visit Adrienne Young's website for more information

Review:
Tova doesn't remember the early years of her childhood, all she knows is what the clan who rescued her told her. That she was abandoned at sea by her own people before the Svell found her washed ashore. The Svell gave her a home but they have always been wary of her as her people are considered cursed. As long as Tova is willing to use her gift as a Truthtongue, her ability to read the runes and always know what is true, they will let her live but if she stops being useful she knows she'll soon be killed.

The Girl the Sea Gave back is set ten years on from events in Sky in the Deep, the Aska and Riki clans joined together to fight a greater enemy and have since merged into a new clan called Nadhir. Although the Nadhir are living peacefully and have made no attempt to threaten the Svell the Svell leaders are wary that they could be a dangerous enemy. The Svell are divided on what to do about it, some want to keep the peace while others are determined to start a war now while they still hold the advantage in numbers. When Tova is asked to cast the stones to help them decide how to proceed things are changed forever and Tova is forced to decide whether to help the people who raised her or the clan the runes are leading her towards.

I really enjoyed being back in this world. It was especially nice to see what previous characters are getting up to now and I loved the fact that Fiske's younger brother Halvard has grown into a strong young man who is being groomed to take over as leader of the Nadhir clan one day. Tova's abilities were really interesting, I really like the world building in this series and the use of Norse mythology is cleverly done. I have to admit I was expecting more romance though considering the first book had quite a strong romantic subplot. Tova and Halvard don't even have a proper conversation until about 75% into the book and up until that point they only see each other in passing. I think it was a bit much expecting us to believe they both had such strong feelings based on fleeting glances no matter what fate had decreed. That's a fairly minor issue though, this story was more focused on the action and had some great battle scenes so if you go into it looking for that rather than romance then you won't be disappointed.

I believe this series was a duology and it does end at a point where you're not left on the edge of a cliff waiting for more answers but I'd still be happy to spend more time in this world if Adrienne Young does decide to resist it. She's definitely an author I'm going to be watching out for though and I'm interested to see what she comes up with next.

Source: Received from Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Other reviews of this book:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Don't forget to check out the rest of the stops on The Girl the Sea Gave Back blog tour:

Blog Tour: The Girl the Sea Gave Back - Adrienne Young

Today I'm excited to be taking part in the blog tour to celebrate the UK release of The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young. This is the second book in a fabulous viking style fantasy series that I've really fallen in love with. Make sure you check back later today to read my full review but in the meantime I have a fab excerpt to share with you.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back:

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again--a home.

Sky in the Deep Series:
Sky in the Deep
The Girl the Sea Gave Back

Visit Adrienne Young's website for more information

Excerpt from Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young:

TOVA

I hooked my fingers into the leather string around my neck and lifted the purse from inside my tunic. I hadn’t cast the stones since the night Vera died, and the memory slicked my palms with sweat, my stomach turning. I opened it carefully, letting them fall heavily into my open hand. The firelight glimmered against their smooth, black surfaces where the runes were carved in deep lines. The language of the Spinners. Pieces of the future, waiting to be read.

Jorrund unrolled the pelt and my palms pressed together around the stones.

“Lag mund,” Vigdis whispered.
“Lag mund,” the others repeated.
Fate’s hand.
But what did these warriors know about fate? It was the curling, wild vine that choked out the summer crops. It was the wind that bent wayward currents and damned innocent souls to the deep. They hadn’t seen the stretch of it or the way it could shift suddenly, like a flock of startled birds. Fate’s hand was something they said because they didn’t understand it.

That’s what I was for.

I closed my eyes, pushing the presence of the Svell from around me. I found the darkness—the place I was alone. The place I had come from. The call of the nighthawk sounded again and I pulled my thoughts together, sending them into one straight line. My lips parted, the words finding my mouth and I breathed through them.

“Augua ór tivar. Ljá mir sýn.

“Augua ór tivar. Ljá mir sýn.

“Augua ór tivar. Ljá mir sýn.”

Eye of the gods. Give me sight.

I held my hands out before me, unfurling my fingers and letting the stones drop until they were scattered across the pelt in a pattern that only I could see, reaching out wide to either side. The silence grew thick, the crackle of fire the only sound as I leaned forward, bringing my fingers to my lips.

My brow furrowed, my eyes moving from one stone to the next. Every single one was facedown, the runes hidden. Except for one.

I bit down hard on my lip, looking up to see Jorrund’s eyes locked on mine.

Hagalaz, the hailstone, sat in the very center. Complete destruction. The storm that devours.

For more than ten years, I’d cast the runes to see the future of the Svell. Never had they looked like this.

But the stones never lied. Not to me.

My eyes drifted over them again, the pace of my heart quickening.

“What do you see?” Jorrund’s voice was heavy when he finally spoke.

I stared at him, the weight of silence pushing down on me in the hot room until it was hard to draw breath.

“It’s alright, Tova,” he said, gently. “What lies in the future of the Svell?”

My eyes cut to Bekan, who stared into the fire, his gaze as hollow as the night his daughter died.

I reached out, the tip of my finger landing on Hagalaz before I answered.

“In the future, there are no Svell.”

Sky in the Deep:

In case you're new to the series here is some more information about the first book, Sky in the Deep:

Part Wonder Woman, part Vikings - and all heart.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights for 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, Eelyn is captured and must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbour 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.

If that isn't enough to get you excited about this series I don't know what is! Don't forget to stop by later to read my full review and in the meantime you can check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour below:

Review: Sky in the Deep - Adrienne Young

Part Wonder Woman, part Vikings - and all heart.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights for 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, Eelyn is captured and must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbour 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 Series:
Sky in the Deep
The Girl the Sea Gave Back

Visit Adrienne Young's website for more information

Review:
The Aska and Riki clans have been enemies for centuries thanks to an argument between the two gods they worship. Every five years warriors from both clans travel to the battlegrounds and there is a huge scale battle to the death as they fight for the honour of their clan. Seventeen-year-old Eeyln is an Aska warrior who has spent the last five years training to take part in her second battle against the Riki, the last time she watched her brother Iri die and now she's determined to get payback. Eeyln couldn't be more shocked when she sees Iri on the battlefield, not only did he somehow survive his injuries but he has now switched sides and is fighting for the Riki.

When Eeyln is captured and taken back to a Riki village she is surrounded by enemies, people she has fought against for her entire life. The biggest enemy of all is the brother who betrayed her and her father though, how can she ever forgive him for staying with the enemy instead of returning to them? Everything changes when the village is attacked by a third clan, a group with enough warriors to wipe out both the Aska and the Riki, unless two enemies are prepared to do the unthinkable and fight side by side against a common enemy.

Sky in the Deep is a fabulous debut from Adrienne Young, from the very first page you are thrown straight into the action watching Eeyln fight for her life in battle. This book doesn't shy away from the death and destruction caused by war and Eeyln is a fierce character who fights hard for her honour and to protect her clan. Even when she is captured she doesn't take it lying down, she fights at every turn for the chance to escape and make it back to her family. She ends up being taken in as a slave by the family that have adopted her brother but it is too dangerous for anyone to find out about her connection to Iri so they have to keep their relationship a secret.

Eeyln is as bitter and unhappy about her new situation as you'd expect so she's not the easiest character to be around for the first half of the book but as she gets to know the Riki she realises that they aren't really all that different to her own clan. They love and laugh just like the Aska and all they really want to do is survive. It makes Eeyln start to question everything she's been brought up to believe and wonder whether perhaps the enmity between the two clans is pointless. This book is very much about found family and about realising that deep down, no matter what clan they call home, people are all the same.

I really enjoyed seeing Eeyln soften towards the Riki as she got to know them better and I loved the interactions between her and her brother but I really would have liked to spend more time seeing them resolve their differences. I liked Fiske as a character and the beginnings of the romance that starts to develop between him and Eeyln but I felt like it needed a little more depth, I thought it might be expanded upon in the next book but that seems to be more of a companion novel featuring different main characters so I'm not sure if we'll see much of the characters we've met here. I do desperately want to read it though, it was really fun to read a viking inspired story and I'm looking forward to spending more time in this world.

Source: Received from Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Other reviews of this book:
Book Haven
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Paperback / Kindle:

Blog Tour: Sky in the Deep - Adrienne Young

Today I'm excited to be taking part in the blog tour to celebrate the UK release of Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. This is the first book in a fabulous viking style fantasy series and I loved every minute of it (make sure you check back later today to read my full review). In the meantime I have an excerpt to share with you now but first let me tell you a little more about the book:

Part Wonder Woman, part Vikings - and all heart.

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights for 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, Eelyn is captured and must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbour 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 Series:
Sky in the Deep
The Girl the Sea Gave Back (September 2019)

Visit Adrienne Young's website for more information

Excerpt from Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young:

Iri was still watching me. The dark leather of his armor vest made his hair look like an icy waterfall of bloodstained braids. The scruff on his face sat below sharp cheekbones and round, blue eyes.

Eyes I’d known all my life.

I pressed the heels of my hands into my forehead, thinking about the last time I’d seen him. Five years ago. Fighting beside me in the snow-covered glade with an axe in each hand. Snowflakes in his hair. Blood on his hands. He was tangled in the fight with a young Riki before they fell over the edge of a deep crevice carved into the earth. I could still hear the sound of my own scream as I watched him dis- appear. I’d crawled on my hands and knees to the edge, where the ground almost gave beneath me. He was lying on his back, his insides spilling out from a gaping wound. His eyes were already empty, staring up into the sky. And beside him, the Riki boy was half-buried in the snow.

I looked up, and Iri’s eyes fixed on mine for another wordless breath, as if he was remembering the same moment. And then he kicked his horse, cutting left into the group, and disappeared.

********************

Book Trailer:

If that isn't enough to whet your appetite I don't know what is! Don't forget to stop by later to read my full review and in the meantime you can check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour below: