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kracivi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Sky in the Deep is a beautiful story. It takes place in Scandinavia, where two tribes are sworn enemies due to their beliefs. We follow Eelyn, a 17 year old warrior, who goes through many moral, and religious challenges on her ever-changing journey. Her goals change overtime, and she herself also changes.
The book is filled with a heartwarming romance.Though I wish there had been more bromance on display between Iri and Fiske. The writing is beautiful yet easy to follow. I think this would’ve been more beautiful if it was written in dual pov, but I also understand that what makes this book mesmerizing is growing with Eelyn— as we know her thoughts and her feelings.
I would recommend this book for those in a reading slump, as it is a quick read. Or for those who enjoy a romance that is centered around belief challenges, and does not include— what some may call— smut or spice.
One thing I wished there was more of was tension. A stronger tension between Eelyn and Fiske, to make the ending more impactful.
The book is filled with a heartwarming romance.
I would recommend this book for those in a reading slump, as it is a quick read. Or for those who enjoy a romance that is centered around belief challenges, and does not include— what some may call— smut or spice.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
bookwormbullet's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent
forthesanityof1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Accidentally deleted my review by pushing the wrong button. This book got points for the first 120 pages and tight writing. Characters were hard to connect with or care about. Plot was unoriginal and dropped a couple big points without explanation. Romance was forced and had no genuine connection that would make me root for it. It only had vikings going for it and nothing more. A let down, but that's what I get for trying a book tiktok likes (tbf I had picked this up BEFORE it hit tiktok but guess I still haven't learned my lesson).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
bookling_thoughts's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book hits different. It was an immersive story and you really just wanted the best for all the characters ❤️
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Abandonment, Blood, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War
nsfinch's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
It was fine. Nothing special. Probably more enjoyable for young teenagers, other than the content warning I’m about to write.
CONTENT WARNING: There are three attempted rapes in this book, and the third one really seems like it was written as a rape and maybe edited later.
CONTENT WARNING: There are three attempted rapes in this book, and the third one really seems like it was written as a rape and maybe edited later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault
There are three attempted rapes in this book, and the third one really seems like it was written as a rape and maybe edited later.egurgens's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I really enjoyed this book! We get to know the main characters backstory a bit before any drastic really happens, which sets a good base for the main plot to develop. Definitely a great enemies-to-lovers book. Set in (Viking?) villages, there is a continuous war between the followers of two different gods. Every five years, the two sides fight in a particular field, fighting to avenge the blood feud declared between the two gods. Everything changes when an impossibility happens, and Eelyn finds herself surrounded by enemies, learning how to survive in a new way and path in life. A common enemy appears, pulling the two clans into a reluctant alliance.
There is SO much tension in this story, but it really keeps the reader engaged. The reader gets to watch as Eelyn struggles through her emotions and difficult situations, and enjoy watching her develop into the character we end up loving. There are definitely some difficult topics touched on, like the threat of sexual assault, violence, graphic violence, and lots of loss / grief.
There is SO much tension in this story, but it really keeps the reader engaged. The reader gets to watch as Eelyn struggles through her emotions and difficult situations, and enjoy watching her develop into the character we end up loving. There are definitely some difficult topics touched on, like the threat of sexual assault, violence, graphic violence, and lots of loss / grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, War, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Vomit
navibo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
First 150 pages or so were extremely boring, but the rest was filled with events.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Slavery and War
michellemaas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was pretty conflicted about my feelings for this book. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to give it 3 or 4 stars since the pacing was not that great and there wasn't much that ultimately happened, but I was entertained.
I am going to start with the pacing. My version of this book was 300 pages on the dot, and I read it in two sittings with 150 pages read per sitting. While the first chapter jumps right into the action (maybe one of the best opening chapters I have ever read), the next half of the book just focuses on our main characters with nothing interesting happening. Then you get onto the last 100 pages or so and the pacing is perfect with an ideal mix between action and characters development. While I didn't necessarily mind reading the first half (I was still entertained enough to finish the book, after all) I have found that pacing problems, especially in a book this short, could spell disaster. Luckily Adrienne Young made up for it in a hell of an ending, but the inconsistent pacing was inconvenient and something to note.
Next, I want to discuss our main love interests: Fiske and Eelyn. Their relationship was enemies-to-lovers and also a slow-burn supreme. I enjoyed the development of their relationship (especially with the pacing of the plot being a bit off I was worried their relationship might feel a little rushed, but that was not the case at all). Their interactions and falling in love all felt like a very natural progression and also a realistic portrayal of love between the ages of 16 and 24. There was passion and loyalty between them but they were responsible enough to not neglect their duties to their clans in favor of their happiness. I also liked that they were true enemies-to-lovers (down to him shooting her with an arrow) instead of an "I kind of dislike you for no good reason other than it serving the plot"-to-lovers situation. The resolution of their relationship-based conflict was also masterfully done in my opinion since we would usually see the girl giving up everything to be with the guy in a situation like theirs but it wasn't the case this time.
Overall I enjoyed this book even if I felt it could have been better. There were a lot of times that it felt like there was more of a concept than necessarily a plot. Young did a great job of capturing Viking mythology and incorporating their ways of life, beliefs, and rituals into her storytelling but I wish she would have skipped out on the world-building a little to flesh out the actual plot more. Since there are only two books in this series with neither of them being super long the world-building isn't as important as it would be in something like Throne of Glass or From Blood and Ash which are both series with 4+ books with each book clocking in with more than 500 pages.
Finally, I just want to put a disclaimer that I read this book right off of a reading slump, so I was kind of forcing myself to read it since I have been wanting to read it and wanted to get over my reading slump. I don't know if that affected my reading experience and therefore rating. I try to be very fair and unbiased when reviewing the books I've read but I did want to put the disclaimer out there. If you love YA, enemies-to-lovers books with a bit of gore and a few emotional plotlines I think this will be right up your alley. For me, I was just hoping for a more plot-driven book this time around (meaning that there was more stuff happening in the book instead of just focusing on the characters for long periods), but with that being said I still really enjoyed it, and would probably reread in the future so please do not take my criticisms as hate towards the author since there were several redeeming qualities to Sky in the Deep despite its flaws.
I am going to start with the pacing. My version of this book was 300 pages on the dot, and I read it in two sittings with 150 pages read per sitting. While the first chapter jumps right into the action (maybe one of the best opening chapters I have ever read), the next half of the book just focuses on our main characters with nothing interesting happening. Then you get onto the last 100 pages or so and the pacing is perfect with an ideal mix between action and characters development. While I didn't necessarily mind reading the first half (I was still entertained enough to finish the book, after all) I have found that pacing problems, especially in a book this short, could spell disaster. Luckily Adrienne Young made up for it in a hell of an ending, but the inconsistent pacing was inconvenient and something to note.
Next, I want to discuss our main love interests: Fiske and Eelyn. Their relationship was enemies-to-lovers and also a slow-burn supreme. I enjoyed the development of their relationship (especially with the pacing of the plot being a bit off I was worried their relationship might feel a little rushed, but that was not the case at all). Their interactions and falling in love all felt like a very natural progression and also a realistic portrayal of love between the ages of 16 and 24. There was passion and loyalty between them but they were responsible enough to not neglect their duties to their clans in favor of their happiness. I also liked that they were true enemies-to-lovers (down to him shooting her with an arrow) instead of an "I kind of dislike you for no good reason other than it serving the plot"-to-lovers situation. The resolution of their relationship-based conflict was also masterfully done in my opinion since we would usually see the girl giving up everything to be with the guy in a situation like theirs but it wasn't the case this time.
Overall I enjoyed this book even if I felt it could have been better. There were a lot of times that it felt like there was more of a concept than necessarily a plot. Young did a great job of capturing Viking mythology and incorporating their ways of life, beliefs, and rituals into her storytelling but I wish she would have skipped out on the world-building a little to flesh out the actual plot more. Since there are only two books in this series with neither of them being super long the world-building isn't as important as it would be in something like Throne of Glass or From Blood and Ash which are both series with 4+ books with each book clocking in with more than 500 pages.
Finally, I just want to put a disclaimer that I read this book right off of a reading slump, so I was kind of forcing myself to read it since I have been wanting to read it and wanted to get over my reading slump. I don't know if that affected my reading experience and therefore rating. I try to be very fair and unbiased when reviewing the books I've read but I did want to put the disclaimer out there. If you love YA, enemies-to-lovers books with a bit of gore and a few emotional plotlines I think this will be right up your alley. For me, I was just hoping for a more plot-driven book this time around (meaning that there was more stuff happening in the book instead of just focusing on the characters for long periods), but with that being said I still really enjoyed it, and would probably reread in the future so please do not take my criticisms as hate towards the author since there were several redeeming qualities to Sky in the Deep despite its flaws.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Chronic illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
delvie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
God, I needed this book. Slow-burn enemies to romance that doesn't rely on spice to the point where I'm just reading to get to the next romantic scene is 100% my jam. The setting is fresh (fae who?). The hatred at the beginning is believable. Give me more of this on my shelf.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
hannahbaysinger_jones's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence