The Girl the Sea Gave Back

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.

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.”

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!