Reading this book further ingrained my realization that I need more Viking-inspired stories in my life.

Sky in the Deep follows Eelyn, of the Aska clan, who for generations have held a blood feud against the Riki clan. Everything changes for Eelyn when she sees the brother she believed dead fighting on the battlefield... alongside the Riki. Captured by her brother and the Riki, soon Eelyn is forced to question everything she believed about her people's enemy - especially when an even greater threat emerges.

What really drew me into this story was the concept – the Viking-inspired culture was well-thought out, and it created an engrossing atmosphere for the plot. I think one of the strongest aspects was the day-to-day life of the characters, and learning about their culture as Eelyn did. My biggest complaint was Eelyn herself – her inner monologue was tiresome at points, and it takes a large part of the story for her to get over her irrational prejudices. I also felt the romance was almost... unnecessary? It seemed forced and wasn't given enough time to develop - I almost would've preferred a stronger focus on the friendships the characters build. Despite that, the plot was well-paced, and it was overall an enjoyable read. ( )

This book was a solid three stars for me right up until the ending. Was that deliberate on the author's part? Who knows. Did I eat it right up? Hell yes. ( )

Difficult to like main character.

Dead brother who isn't dead, but didn't explain what happened in the first several chapters.

Stack of other books to read.
=
Returning this one to the library and starting some other book. ( )

I did listen to this book Via audibook and overall I really did enjoy this read. It was not my favorite book. I really did enjoy the world building as well. I also thought the overall plot was super complying and really did like the large cast of characters that we were introduce to. The war settings was very cool to read about. I think this book was fast pace adventure and handled so many hard topics that was done so well. I really did grow to like the romance as well. I would def read more by this author in the future.
( )

I did listen to this book Via audibook and overall I really did enjoy this read. It was not my favorite book. I really did enjoy the world building as well. I also thought the overall plot was super complying and really did like the large cast of characters that we were introduce to. The war settings was very cool to read about. I think this book was fast pace adventure and handled so many hard topics that was done so well. I really did grow to like the romance as well. I would def read more by this author in the future.
( )