Adrienne Young

The Girl The Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

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Rating: 3/5

They weren’t afraid of battle. They were afraid of losing what they loved. And that’s what made them brave in battle.

The Girl The Sea Gave Back follows Tova, a young warrior who has always lived among the Svell, the people who found her when she washed ashore. Although the memories of her home and clan have faded away, the sacred symbols and stavs inked all over her body mark as her the one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. But before, she knows it the two clans among Svell are at odds with each other for the first time in history and Tova is pulled between the two.

Having read previous books by Adrienne Young, I was looking forward to reading this and I feel a bit let down. I have always enjoyed how her world-building is shown in her books and I didn’t feel that way with this book. But, I’ll get to that in a bit. First, the cover is what reeled me in as it’s beautiful and I was very interested to read about vikings and I found Tova an interesting protagonist. She had moments of vulnerability and toughness and it was handled really well which makes it easier to relate. One of the biggest blocks for me to fall completely in love with it was the ending, it felt very rushed to me and I was a bit disappointed. I felt like the book could’ve been a bit longer and spread out but it just felt like she was trying to cram everything in and I lost interest. But, it will be a hit for others and that’s wonderful so if this sounds up your ally, then check it out!

Namesake (Fable #2)

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Rating: 4/5

“We were salt and sand and sea and storm.”

Namesake is the enthralling second installment in the Fable series by Amanda Young. A year ago, I had heard people talking about Fable and how good it was and I finally decided to check it out and I wasn’t disappointed at all. This second installment finds Fable diving deeper into a world of deceptions, betrayal, and she will learn the secrets that her mother took to her grave.

This book was just as good if not better than the first book! Fable’s world is even more cutthroat, devious, double crossing than in the first book which is what I loved. I love Fable, I think she is a great protagonist and I rather enjoyed the dynamics between herself and Koy, who is stuck with Fable and doesn’t have a choice. Another relationship that I loved seeing develop was between Fable and Saint, it even made me a bit emotional because of complex it was.

Overall, I was pleased with the plot, the characters and seeing where they went and what was going to happen next. It was a very enjoyable book and I was hoping that I would enjoy it because while I did like the first, I felt like there could’ve been more done in terms of story. But we’ll see what happens next and hopefully we won’t have to wait too long!