Sky in the Deep

4 stars — Wow. This one was fairly slow to start, and while I was enjoying it, I wasn’t wowed. It had some moments of repetition, and there were some pacing problems where I felt like there could have been some editing down. But then I got sucked right the frick in, and holy cow was that a fun ride to the end!! This was not action-packed from start to finish — even after things started ramping up, it wasn’t just in the sense of action and plot, but also of delving a bit deeper into some complicated issues of how the Riki and Aska clans see each other, and how the way they were raised bred that hate…and what happens when you’re captured and you come to see them as very similar to you, and not necessarily hated monsters…basically what happens when it turns out that things aren’t black and white, but more grey. That’s what Eelyn comes up against, and I thought the nuances were very interesting. Especially given her feelings for her brother, how she views his actions mixed with her own guilt… And then there’s Halvard. Halvard could thaw the iciest heart I believe. His childlike innocence was just exactly that extra needed. Eelyn was a very interesting heroine, because she was SUPER warrior. I appreciated that I could *almost* understand how she came to be the way she was based on the way she was raised, and the tragedies of her past. But it added a very violent aspect to the story that I will admit I wasn’t expecting. Not bad, just…hard to stomach at times. I’m not good with war and shiznit. But it was nice to see women treated equally in both clans. She goes through a HUGE transition throughout the story, and I found it to be very believably paced. I felt like she hung on to enough skepticism and doubt, and really warred with herself enough that it felt realistic. Basically, I BELIEVED everything she was feeling. Even though this story was light on the romance, I loved what it brought to the table. I marked this one enemies to lovers, but there were so many other nuances to the story. I loved the way it developed slowly, almost in the background. I appreciated how Eelyn and Iri’s relationship went through so much in this story as well…and that there were probably always going to be unresolved feelings there. It was complicated, and believable for what they both went through. I understood both of their perspectives for the most part. Obviously Halvard was the unsung star of this story. Without him, this would have been half the story, even if he was only a secondary character. He just brought so much, and he was delightful. I also really appreciated Inge, and to a degree Runa. And even Myra. And Auggie. Yeah, lots of great secondary characters that helped Eelyn in her development. I LOVED listening to this one. As a result, I had no idea how most of the names were spelled, but on the other hand I didn’t have to guess how things were pronounced! I thought the narrator did a wonderful job with this story. Her pacing was fabulous, her voices were always consistent and spot on, and she did a great job portraying emotions. I loved that she gave Eelyn a bit of a harder edge…it just fit with her character. I will admit that I wanted a bit more from the bear stuff. I enjoyed the symbolism, but I felt like I was wanting something bigger as a result, it kind of got lost after the battle. So yeah. A book I probably wouldn’t have even noticed if not for being a book club pick, and I was just thoroughly entertained.