Their love isn’t flashy and immediate, but that’s why I believed it. I’ve read a lot of reviews complaining about the lack of romance between Eelyn and Fiske and that’s basically the exact opposite opinion that I have of them. They had to learn how to trust each other before they could love each other - and that makes sense. There’s a tension between them that builds as their relationship ship grows, and I thought it was really well done. I can only hope it will continue as people start to intermarriage and further bridge the gap between them, and instead allowing people to make choices not on an ancient hate, but on their own wants.Īlthough Eelyn and Fiske do fall in love, it’s not the traditional YA troupes of gazing into each other’s soulful eyes while going on and on about their love for each other. It’s so wonderful to see this change in Eelyn and by the end, we are witnessing more mixing between the Aska and Riki tribes. The story focuses on Eelyn learning to understand this new relationship and coming to believe that it’s not always blood ties that make people family it’s mutual love, trust, and acceptance. Yet, she is confronted with the fact that her brother loves his Riki family as much as he loves his Aska one. Eelyn, and the belief of her people, is that blood is what connects it. While it first appears that this is about a hatred between the Aska and Riki tribes, the crux of this story is really about what makes a family. It’s About Family and What Ties Us Together Eelyn proves to be strong physically (this is a girl who isn’t afraid to face grown Viking men on the battlefield) and learns to be emotionally strong.

But this is a hard road, and Eelyn is constantly put into situations where she is forced to find her inner strength and rethink her beliefs. And there is a slow build up to Eelyn realizing that family is more then blood and that loving one family is not a betrayal of the other. In a culture that values loyalty to your tribe (the Aska) and honour above your own life, it wasn’t surprising how angry Eelyn was to find out that her brother had willingly chosen to stay with the Riki (rival tribe) instead of coming back to them. I thought Eelyn was a really wonderful heroine and very clearly a product of her environment.

And I’m really happy I did! There are so many really mixed reviews about this book, but I thought it was a fun read and I like the direction that Young took in this story. I was nervous, because I didn’t know how gory it would be and I’m not a big fan of a ton of fighting, but I still wanted to give it a try. This book grabbed my attention for two reasons: the badass cover (the hair! The axe! those green eyes!) and because it sounded very Viking-inspired, which I don’t feel like I’ve had enough opportunity to read.

Adrienne young sky in the deep series