Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Girl the Sea Gave Back

Oh man, what a disappointing read. I absolutely love this author, but this book did not do it for me.

There was a lot of info dumping when it came to the world (that we already knew a bit about from Sky kn the Deep) but a map would have really helped.

There two main characters and POVs were both boring and felt very flat, one dimensional. Neither POVs had any depth of character growth. There were so many side character name drops that it was hard to keep it all straight and the connection between these two characters were practically non existent. Yet the ending suggests a relationship forming. Which is weird because WHERE IS THE ROMANCE? The main characters have completely separate storylines until the last 40 pages of the book. Even after their brief encounters they acted as if they just went on a long journey together and knew each other inside and out.

The plot was my biggest struggle. It was very underwhelming and felt like it wasn’t really going anywhere. Although the first half was interesting, I became uninterested very quickly as the story progressed.

My favourite part of the story was learning about the clans. I wish we got to see and interact with the different clans more (example maybe one main character is forced to work with the enemy clan and has to learn their customs). This could have been a great enemies story.

The writing itself isn’t bad, it’s just the execution. I loved the first book, Sky in the Deep, but I would recommend d stopping there and don’t bother with this book.

I love this author, but this book felt too much like a debut.

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mnboyer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I've been reading a lot of Adrienne Young this month and cannot decide how I actually feel about her work. This was "okay" but not extraordinary or breathtaking in any way. Was it good, sure! But it wasn't a book that I can say I love, despite a really pretty cover!

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readwithsuzanna's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

3.0

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stardust_heidi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Really enjoyed this one, though it was quite a different feel from the first book in the series. I love Tova and Halvard a lot.

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the_books_music_life's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The Girl the Sea Gave Back is dual pov and follows Halvard from the first book as a young adult and a young Kyrr girl named Tova.

So far I don’t really care for this story and I contemplated for a while if I was going to DNF this. I looked at reviews and most of them were mixed, I tried to find a spoiler one so I could know what happened. The only reason I didn’t DNF this one was because I wanted to know how it ended.

I do like how Halvard gets his own story and I like the small bits we are told about what happened to the characters from the first book.

The action and fight scenes are more thought out, last longer, and are, in my opinion, better than the first book. But just like the first book The Girl the Sea Gave Back is character driven and not plot so it took a while for anything to really happen.

There are some things that happen in this book that you have to suspend your disbelief on, both because it’s just not possible and because it’s not explained.

If you are looking for a romance or even a slight one this isn’t the book for you. This books main focus is the conflict, the action, and the main characters.

I would recommend the audiobook if you are like me and have a hard time pronouncing things because let me tell you, the way things are spelled in this book isn’t how they’re actually pronounced.

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megyeager's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Though many parts of this book hit the notes I was looking for: viking-esque magic, warring clans, and a girl at the center, it missed the mark in so many other ways that I found it bordering on unenjoyable. The first gripe I had with this book was that it was part of a larger series, but the book itself gave no indication of that fact. Because of this, I was often left with questions about the world-building that were likely answered in the previous book.

The lack of any real explanation on why these two clans are going to war aside from "one is getting too powerful and we want to be the most powerful" was yet another reason why this book was so frustrating. However, the thing that really bothered me was the climax/resolution that felt so incomplete. The main characters had met 3 times total and already wanted to spend their lives together? Two of the times they met they were trying to murder each other but now they're in love? They had no time to develop into a couple the audience could root for, the only connection they had were the runes and that wasn't enough for me.

Overall, I felt like if this book had been given a chance to expand and spend more time developing the characters and the relationship between the two leads, the novel could pass for new adult and reach a different audience entirely.

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kaytrain's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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steffandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I feel like I just watched an Episode of Vikings and I loved every second of it. But only an Episode, not an entire season. Contrary to Sky in the Deep, which took place over the span of several months, the story of Tova and Halvan took place over a couple of days. While we had glimpses of flashbacks to 13 years ago, 10 years ago, 7 years ago and 3 years ago, it was a fast paced story.
I loved to see how Halvan‘s story developed to him being a full grown man instead of the so far helpless little brother in Sky in the Deep. I loved that we saw glimpses of characters we already knew. I loved their big family, how everyone came together besides not being blood related.
I loved that we got to see the seer side in this story and how Tova‘s and Halvan‘s fates were intertwined.
I need more of these stories please!

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