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A review by laurennoel
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
3.0
3.5 stars.
I liked the book well enough. I think at this point I've come to the conclusion that I don't like first person present point of view in fantasy novels. It always comes across as stiff and stilted and just... not great. The Cruel Prince is another example of this. The writing style just isn't the best and it reads like a teen writing fanfiction for the first time. It just doesn't flow correctly.
The plot was intriguing and the world building was also great; except it also fell short. It had the potential to be really good, but it misses its mark. The characters are too one-dimensional, and the pacing of the novel is off. The book tries to be too much while simultaneously not being enough. The characters undergo a lot of change, but we're only privy to when that change occurs when the narrator tells us it happens. There's not much internal conflict when there should be. The development between the characters is also off and could have been delved into deeper. The relationship between Eelyn, the narrator, and Fiske while expected, also came out of no where with very little development. There's so little interaction between them and then boom! He's risking his life for her and literally a day after telling her he has to make it back to his family, he's telling her he'd leave them to come and stay with her in her hometown and professing his unwavering loyality. It was just weird and not well developed at all.
Furthermore, the ending was rushed. The romance, the alliance, the final battle, and the resolution all take place within 40-50 pages, which might seem like enough time for all of this to happen, except these pages are short and the text doesn't take up much space. I made it through the entirety of this book in just under three hours. It's incredibly easy to read in one sitting, but the ending leaves you lacking and thinking "that's it?" The resolution between the Aska and Riki also doesn't make a lot of sense politically. The best way to put it is the book itself is naive. Like I said, the plot itself is interesting; but the lack of development in all areas of the book leaves the book lacking and falling short of what it set out to do.
Another point is dialogue. The dialogue often feels forced, and stiff, and reads as someone''s first attempt at writing conversations between people. Essentially, it just doesn't read as natural conversations. In relation to the plot, the characters/dialogue work for the plot, not the other way around. It's incredibly easy to tell that the things that happen, and the small snippets of conversation we do get, are meant to propel the plot, instead of the natural flow of the characters' actions carrying us forward. Hopefully that makes sense. It's all just to say that everything just feels quite forced.
All in all, I don't know how to describe this book other than a "pick me" girl's fave?? It's a quick read, and it's not horrible. If you liked the Cruel Prince, you might like this, and if you didn't like the Cruel Prince, don't read this. I personally do not like the Cruel Prince series, as it holds a lot of the same faults as this book.
I still admire Adrienne Young. I've bought each of her books as they've released, and am just now getting around to reading them, and I wholeheartedly support Young as an author. I just also recognize the faults of this book, but also contend that this was Young's first published book. I look forward to reading The Girl the Sea Gave Back next.
I liked the book well enough. I think at this point I've come to the conclusion that I don't like first person present point of view in fantasy novels. It always comes across as stiff and stilted and just... not great. The Cruel Prince is another example of this. The writing style just isn't the best and it reads like a teen writing fanfiction for the first time. It just doesn't flow correctly.
The plot was intriguing and the world building was also great; except it also fell short. It had the potential to be really good, but it misses its mark. The characters are too one-dimensional, and the pacing of the novel is off. The book tries to be too much while simultaneously not being enough. The characters undergo a lot of change, but we're only privy to when that change occurs when the narrator tells us it happens. There's not much internal conflict when there should be. The development between the characters is also off and could have been delved into deeper. The relationship between Eelyn, the narrator, and Fiske while expected, also came out of no where with very little development. There's so little interaction between them and then boom! He's risking his life for her and literally a day after telling her he has to make it back to his family, he's telling her he'd leave them to come and stay with her in her hometown and professing his unwavering loyality. It was just weird and not well developed at all.
Furthermore, the ending was rushed. The romance, the alliance, the final battle, and the resolution all take place within 40-50 pages, which might seem like enough time for all of this to happen, except these pages are short and the text doesn't take up much space. I made it through the entirety of this book in just under three hours. It's incredibly easy to read in one sitting, but the ending leaves you lacking and thinking "that's it?" The resolution between the Aska and Riki also doesn't make a lot of sense politically. The best way to put it is the book itself is naive. Like I said, the plot itself is interesting; but the lack of development in all areas of the book leaves the book lacking and falling short of what it set out to do.
Another point is dialogue. The dialogue often feels forced, and stiff, and reads as someone''s first attempt at writing conversations between people. Essentially, it just doesn't read as natural conversations. In relation to the plot, the characters/dialogue work for the plot, not the other way around. It's incredibly easy to tell that the things that happen, and the small snippets of conversation we do get, are meant to propel the plot, instead of the natural flow of the characters' actions carrying us forward. Hopefully that makes sense. It's all just to say that everything just feels quite forced.
All in all, I don't know how to describe this book other than a "pick me" girl's fave?? It's a quick read, and it's not horrible. If you liked the Cruel Prince, you might like this, and if you didn't like the Cruel Prince, don't read this. I personally do not like the Cruel Prince series, as it holds a lot of the same faults as this book.
I still admire Adrienne Young. I've bought each of her books as they've released, and am just now getting around to reading them, and I wholeheartedly support Young as an author. I just also recognize the faults of this book, but also contend that this was Young's first published book. I look forward to reading The Girl the Sea Gave Back next.