Sky in the Deep (Sky in the Deep, book 1)

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The Aska and the Riki clans have been at war a long time, thanks to an ancient rivalry between their gods. It’s a brutal life, but 17-year-old Eelyn is a warrior. She knows how to fight. She knows how to survive. But when she sees her brother fighting with the enemy on the battlefield — her brother whom she watched die five years ago — everything changes.

Captured and enslaved by the Riki and facing her brother’s betrayal, Eelyn is determined to outlast the winter in the mountains surrounded by enemies until the thaw comes and she can escape back to her father and her village. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless legendary clan, Eelyn knows she cannot wait for the spring thaw to act.

Along with her brother’s friend Fiske, Eelyn must set out to do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together or face watching everyone — her father, her brother, Fiske and his family — be slaughtered. But in order for the clans to unite, years of hatred and loss will have to be put aside and forgotten, and even Eelyn’s own definition of love, loyalty, and family will have to be confronted.

I fell hard for this book. Paired with lush, vivid writing, the high, heavy emotions associated with the themes of family, love, and forgiveness make it not just a brutally beautiful book inspired by the Viking culture, but a powerful one full of heart.

Rated: Moderate. There is no profanity. Violence is high, but while it is more descriptive, it’s not entirely gory. However, there are countless injuries, battles, and deaths, and one gruesome torture scene of an enemy. Sexual content includes the main character being groped by one man and ogled and threatened by another. In one scene, clothing is ripped away, and a half-nude character is left to die in the wilderness (nothing is described, but it’s clear what’s been done). There is also a fade-to-black sex scene with more focus on undressing. Characters kiss.

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