YA Weekend Audio: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Sky in the Deep by by Adrienne Young
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Macmillan Audio (April 24, 2018)
Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
Author Information: Website | Twitter
Some books are just so heartfelt and earnest, that they can be forgiven even if the plot is somewhat simple and a bit thin. That’s exactly how I would describe Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, who eschewed all the fancy bells and whistles in her debut, avoiding bogging down her story with overly complicated and unnecessary details. What you end up getting is a straightforward Viking-inspired tale that never becomes extraneous, leaving way more room for meaningful character development and setting an energetic pace that never flags.
The book follows seventeen-year-old Eelyn, a young woman warrior from the Aska clan. For time immemorial, her people have been engaged in a bitter rivalry against a neighboring clan, the Riki. Every so often, their two clans will clash violently on the battlefield, each side losing people after each skirmish. That is how Eelyn lost her brother Iri five years ago, when she watched him get struck down by an enemy blade.
But then one day, the impossible happens. During their latest battle against the Riki, Eelyn’s life is saved by a familiar figure who appears out of nowhere amidst the chaos. To her shock, her rescuer is none other than her brother Iri, but he is alive and well, and not only that, he is with the enemy warriors—not as a prisoner, but as an equal and peer. Confused and angry, Eelyn goes after Iri for answers, but winds up being captured by the Riki, and during the time with their clan, she finally gets to witness the full depth of her brother’s betrayal. Not only is he fighting with the Riki, he has been taken in by one of their families, becoming the adopted brother of one of their warriors, a young man named Fiske. As the winter wears on, however, Eelyn gradually realizes that her captors are not that much different than herself—they all struggle against the bitter elements, are dedicated to their gods, and live to protect their loved ones. The Aska and Riki even have a common enemy, a ruthless clan long thought to be legend, but which is now rising again to become a threat. In order for both their clans to survive, Eelyn must team up with Fiske to convince their elders to put aside their animosities, for only united can they hope to have a chance.
Sky in the Deep begins in a rather typical fashion—with a battle scene. Here we are also introduced to Eelyn, who is a somewhat archetypal character as well, since, let’s face it: YA is chock full of “badass female protagonists™” like her, whose warrior training involves being taught how to act with more honor than sense, resulting in a worldview limited to winning glory on the battlefield by racking up a steep body count. In truth, I actually found myself wholly unimpressed by the book’s intro, turned off by the usual tropes and also by Eelyn, whose personality was predictable and shallow. And if I’m to be completely honest, the entire story is really just one big cliché, basically boiling down to our protagonist being taken out of her environment and thrust into her captors’, only to eventually become part of their world. There’s even the good old enemies-to-lovers romance which I saw coming a mile away.
Where this book really shines, however, is how these tropes are handled. I really don’t think the author set out to upend the genre here; I suspect she just wanted to tell a good story and focus on the growth of her characters over time. Credit where credit’s due: while I was less than enamored with Eelyn in the first half of the book, I gradually came around to her in the second half. My change of heart had a lot to do with the way her interactions with other characters were written, with her relationship with Iri being a central aspect of the plot. Within Eelyn rages a never-ending tug o’ war where her love for her brother battles the deep betrayal she feels for thinking he has abandoned her. It’s painful for our protagonist too, because the Aska essentially believe that those who kill their own people are denied entry to the afterlife. Eelyn fears that Iri has damned his soul to be alone forever, and thus we also often see her torn between hating him and wanting to save him.
Then there’s Eelyn’s relationship with the other members of the Riki household in which she finds herself enslaved. Inge, the family matriarch, is a stabilizing force with her calm and no-nonsense attitude. She makes Eelyn really open her eyes and look around her to see that maybe there’s more to every situation. Halvard is Inge’s younger son, a little boy whose innocent and child-like view of the world shows Eelyn how prejudices are learned—and how they can be unlearned. And finally, there’s Fiske, who only treated our protagonist well at the beginning for Iri’s sake, but later, he too comes around to see that he and Eelyn are actually very much alike. They both treasure family and care for Iri, and from that common ground is where a romance is sparked and begins to grow. Their love story didn’t exactly blow me away, nor did I find it to be anything special. However, it was sweet and relatively drama-free, which goes a long way with me these days.
All in all, nothing earthshattering to see here, but some books are just plain fun to read. Sky in the Deep is one such example, and I found the novel’s story and characters immensely enjoyable. Perfect if you’re looking for a quick and straightforward read, with almost equal amounts of action and emotion, brutality and sweetness.
Audiobook Comments: I just love, love, love Khristine Hvam. I’ve probably listened to dozens of audiobooks read by her, so as soon as I saw her name listed as the narrator for Sky in the Deep I knew that it would be a fantastic listen. Just as I anticipated, she delivered a wonderful performance, giving Eelyn the perfect voice.
The BiblioSanctum 
I haven’t really read any Viking stories yet, but it’s nice to hear about a really good YA one. Absolutely well-written review, Mogsy. I liked reading the part where you tell us about your own relationship with the character and how the author brilliantly does character development in this story.
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It was a book that got better as it went on, and I got to know the character a bit better. I was glad there turned out to be more depth to her 🙂
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I just finishing this one up (at about 90%) and while is started a bit slow for me, I love it now! I think I agree completely with your review- nothing earth shattering, very trope-ish, but still enjoyable for all that. And Eelyn grew on me big time. Nice review! This one kinda reminded me of the 13th Warrior movie too even though it’s different in a lot of ways- the Herja being this mysterious enemy and all that.
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Yeah, it did take some time to get going, but as a whole the story was pretty fast-paced.
I agree, nothing earth shattering, but it was fun. I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
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Well-handled tropes cease to be tropes when the writing is good, and this seems to be case if one has the patience to bear with the characters’ quirks and the important part of their journey. This seems to be case here, so that knowing I should give the story a chance to really develop would be a big help against my ingrained lack of patience… 🙂
And the cover is quite intriguing!
Thanks for sharing!
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Yep, like I always say, there’s a reason why tropes are tropes – some ideas are popular and that’s okay, as long as they’re handled well. This was a great example of that 🙂
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I was curious about this one but I heard a lot of different things about it so I wasn’t as impatient to try it I confess
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Me neither, I had passed on it the first time, but then I started seeing the great reviews and I confess I got curious!
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I honestly wasn’t thinking about the tropes when I read this, which means for me the author did a great job in general, especially with the characters. I’m really looking forward to the next book😁
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I’m glad to hear that! It’s true, when tropes are done well, you hardly even notice them. The “Going Native” theme was pretty strong here though, so I couldn’t help but pick up on that 😀
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I am scared, cos all those things that annoyed you would just make me dnf before I start to like her
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There are so many YA protags like that, I’m just glad she evolved past the cliches.
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The fact that both you and Tammy enjoyed this book is a positive sign, IMO. 😉 I’ll have to keep an eye out for this one. In fact, I think I saw it in the same bookstore where I saw Circe…
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Yeah, Tammy’s review was what convinced me to try this book. I’m glad I did!
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I loved this book! It was definitely very fun to read. I’m glad you thought so too. I’m a little sick of all the “badass” heroines in YA but this heroine slayed in all the best ways. I can’t wait to read more by this author. Great review, Mogsy!
Have a lovely week. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
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Yeah, the “badass heroine” is kind of getting tiresome, honestly. I thought Eelyn would be the same, but I’m glad she surprised me!
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I have to admit I really didn’t think about picking this book up but I’ve seen some really good reviews and seeing you give it 4/5 so I am becoming more curious. I do love the cover.
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Haha, you just described me exactly – I didn’t think about picking this up either until the rave reviews started popping. Then I wanted to try!
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Wow, terrific review! I’ve been sorely in need of a reliable review for this book (so many mixed reviews lol), so I’m glad that I now know what to expect going in. I also don’t mind a few tropes as long they’re well done, clean, and honest. 🙂
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Finding a good read can be tough, especially when you follow a lot of reviewers and the opinions are all over the place! I hope you get to give this one a try 🙂
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My thoughts exactly! Same on everything. I plan to post my review next week but I’ll most likely say similar things. I liked the battle scene at the beginning but didn’t like that the pace plummets after that, which is why I don’t often like when a story begins on such a high note.
Also didn’t like the protag much but she later grew on me. I was surprised I liked the story because after the battle I thought I wouldn’t.
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Yeah, this book really went through a lot of transitions. I usually don’t like books that do that, but somehow this one managed to hit all the right notes! Nothing that flips the genre on its head, but definitely a fun, enjoyable read.
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Fun works for me. One for the wishlist.
Lynn 😀
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