The Girl the Sea Gave Back

I need this much sooner than next year...

Spoiler-Free Review:

I'm not sure why so long to read this book, but I'm thinking it was meant to be. Being back in this world with this culture was like getting a warm hug. I adore this world and the characters that Adrienne Young created for this series! This book takes place 10 years after the events of Sky in the Deep, and it follows the journey of Halvard (Fiske's brother) and Tova a woman from another clan. We do get to see some familiar faces from Sky in the Deep. I am a reader who loves closure, and so I love that we got a bit more on where the characters from the previous book ended up. The adventure in this book was just so well written. My heart was pounding for so many chapters. The detail and imagery that Adrienne Young writes with is unreal. I felt so present in the story and I love that. I took off one star because I craved more connection between the two main characters. They finally have a moment and then the book ended. I wanted a little more closure from them. Maybe an epilogue? The reader can assume where the story goes but I wanted to read it. Overall I loved this book and it was comforting to be immersed in their world for the second time this month. This book is pretty firmly YA there is violence and some “gore.”

DNF

Another one I wanted to like more than I did. I think it needed to be either longer or edited way down. With all the characters, political factions, and timelines going on, it could have gone all the way. But in a 300pg YA, it felt cluttered. I was into the alternate perspectives of Tova and Halvard, because it really fleshed out the plot and I liked both of them. Bonus points for cool imagery, battle scenes, and a satisfying ending.

The story had excellent pacing and a truly lyrical quality to the writing! I especially appreciated that it starts in the middle of the action instead of spending whole chapters describing things. I enjoyed the world and the main characters. It was a fun, light fantasy.
I really wanted to get to know the minor characters better. They were intriguing but ultimately not well explored. I also found the ending a bit unimpressive when compared to the rest of the book, especially the insta-love quality.
All and all it was fun and an easy read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After thoroughly enjoying Sky in the Deep, when I saw this book come up on Netgalley, I knew I had to read it. What I totally didn't realize it before starting is that this book is also set in the Sky in the Deep world. You don't need to read the other before this one, but it does shine a light on some of the characters and the background of one of the clans. I did wish I had re-read Sky in the Deep recently. I recognized names, but couldn't remember if we knew anyone more – had I, I might have felt more emotional over a few of the actions and scenes.

While I did really like this one, I felt like most of the time I was waiting for something to happen. The book is pretty much all a lead up to the end part. This makes it feel more slow-paced. In fact, the book is told over just a few days. There also are not many positive interactions between people, which bummed me out. And yes, that means only a few short interactions between our main characters, who are love interests. Truly, the romance is something we could have done without in the book, because I don't think it was handled very well. I think they only have 3 conversations in the book... maybe.

Yet, I did really like it. I couldn't help but keep flipping the pages to see what was going to happen. I even enjoyed how the flashbacks were handled.
Tove and Halvard are really interesting characters. Halvard is thrust into a leadership position, when he doesn't want to be and Tova is an outsider forced to use her abilities in order to survive. I liked the characters and wanted them to succeed, which also probably why I felt so compelled to keep reading the book to the end.

I definitely will recommend this one, but not for anyone wanting something fact-paced. Yes there is action and some brutal scenes, but the pacing might throw some people off.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back picks up about 10 years after the events of Sky In The Deep. Halvard has grown up in a time of peace in his new combined clan, the Nadhir. Meanwhile, a girl named Tova has grown up an outsider among the Svell after being discovered by their holy man in a funeral boat washed up on the shore as a young child. The tattoos covering her body mark her as coming from a mysterious northern clan and as being a Truthtongue, someone who can see the future by casting rune stones. The Svell fear her, and when one day the stones bear an ominous message, a cascade of violence begins and Tova begins to question her powers and her past.

I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as Sky In the Deep. It was a bit confusing and choppy due to alternating perspectives and timelines, and the characters were not as well developed. I didn't feel as drawn into the story and I did not get invested in Tova, the new character. The connection between Halvard and Tova felt somewhat arbitrary and forced as well. I did enjoy getting a glimpse of how the characters from the first book were doing 10 years later!