ARC #Review: SKY IN THE DEEP by Adrienne Young

SKY IN THE DEEP

Author: Adrienne Young
Series: N/A
Source: eARC via Publisher
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Rating: 2/5 stars

Summary:
OND ELDR. BREATHE FIRE.

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.

Purchase:

Amazon | Chapters | TBD

I feel like I read a different version of this book than what everyone else did. I did not enjoy it at all. It felt super flat for me because there was no real history there and it was very lacking. It was another one of those books that felt like it tried to hard to be Amazing and fell short. The biggest issue for me was that the entire time we were supposed to come to the conclusion that both clans were exactly the same but there was not enough information about Aska's culture in the beginning for me to compare to the Riki. I got the idea: they were the same. But I wasn't even sure what the Aska believed in, wanted, etc. for me to actually draw comparisons.

I also disliked the relationship. It felt forced. I almost think this would have been better as a duology rather than a standalone. As much as I am glad that there are more standalone novels in YA Fantasy, this was one that didn't work with that format. I would have liked way more details about the culture and how they fit together (and didn't) because if they really were "exactly the same" then there wouldn't have been a divide?? I guess I just wanted more history before the plot actually began.

But then once Eelyn is captured she keeps saying like "I could kill them all!!" and I'm like "then do it." It was annoying to hear her say over and over how she was so tough and blah blah blah but then never follow through. It was ridiculous to me - on par with how Throne of Glass is tbh. It just wasn't worth the time or effort for me to read this one, but I did do so while sitting in the bath drinking wine so it wasn't all bad.