Sky in the Deep

‘Qnd eldr, Breath Fire.’

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

'Sky in the Deep' is a standalone, young adult fantasy novel by Adrienne Young following the harrowing journey of Eelyn. Telling the tale of war and love, this page turning story contains an invaluable lesson of how there are always multiple aspects to every story, always two sides to a war and not everything we believe and are taught is the ultimate reality. For me it was a very enjoyable read narrating the story of enemies turned into allies, and misunderstandings forgotten for a greater good.

The protagonist, Eelyn belongs to the Aska tribe who have always viewed the Riki clan as their sworn enemies based on a rivalry between their gods, Sigr and Thora. To honor this feud every five years they indulge in a battle against each other, a battle ending in meaningless bloodshed and agony on both sides. It was at such a battle, 5 years ago, that Eelyn lost her brother, Iri. She has spent the last 5 years mourning his death, resulting from a fall off the side of a cliff where his body had to be left.

So imagine this: after half a decade of grieving his demise, Eelyn encounters him on the same battlefield where he was left for dead- this time fighting against his own tribe along with the Riki. She chases after him only to be almost killed by a Riki warrior, Fiske, who happened to be her brother’s best friend. Saved by Iri, both her brother and Fiske disappear.

'He was gone, devoured by the fog, the Riki disappearing with him.

As if they were ghosts.

As if they were never there.'

A chain of events ensues which leads to Eelyn being held captive as a dyr, a slave, by Fiske's (and Iri's new) family. Her bitter resentment towards her brother, and scalding hatred towards the Riki clan, the enemy she has been taught her whole life to hate, slowly unravels as she begins to realize one simple truth: the Riki and the Aska are not that different.

The story continues introducing characters like stern Inge (Fiske's mother), Runa (Iri's betrothed) and of course ADORABLE Halvard (Fiske's little brother). Seriously Halvard is one of the cutest little cupcakes ever!

*cough cough* Aaanyways as Fiske and Eelyn's affection towards each other grows they forge a strong bond and convince their clans to reconcile and instead focus towards a bigger threat, the Herja, a ruthless band of men and women who travel around plundering towns, taking prisoners and brutally murdering them later.

Hearts are broken, heads are smashed and basically a lot of bad ass stuff happens finally leading to much needed peace and a hope of a better tomorrow where the Riki and Aska can peacefully co-exist and you know, stop beating each other to pulp every 5 years.

The only thing I found a bit absent was the lack of proper development of the romance between Eelyn and Fiske. But then again that could be because I’m used to the complexity of multiple book series. So overall a good read I give it 4 stars.