The Girl the Sea Gave Back
by Adrienne Young
Pages: 327
Publication Date: September 3rd, 2019
Cover Comments: I LOVE this cover. The sea sweeping up around Tova and the way the title is centered on her is fantastic.
For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.
For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.
Review
I finished The Girl the Sea Gave Back a couple months ago, shortly after finishing Sky in the Deep, and really enjoying it. While I can still recall the plot and details of Sky in the Deep, I had trouble remembering everything about The Girl the Sea Gave Back and thought I must have been forgetting something because I only remembered a few things happening in the plot. But that’s exactly it. Nothing much happens, until the end. I can appreciate that this is a wholly different novel from its predecessor, and I was looking forward to discovering more about the world and the new characters this book introduces. However, I found both main characters to be flat and forgettable. Events in the story that should have made me feel some emotion left me cold, because I never connected with the characters.
The romance was strange and halted for me. It takes way too long for the love interests to meet, and even once they had, it seemed like the only connection they had was “fate”, which is not a compelling love story. I was even a little surprised when a kiss finally happened, because it didn’t seem to fit with the relationship that had been built at that point.
In spite of all of the above, Adrienne Young really can write some great battle scenes, and the last few chapters of the book were truly riveting. I just wish I had been hooked before the end.
The romance was strange and halted for me. It takes way too long for the love interests to meet, and even once they had, it seemed like the only connection they had was “fate”, which is not a compelling love story. I was even a little surprised when a kiss finally happened, because it didn’t seem to fit with the relationship that had been built at that point.
In spite of all of the above, Adrienne Young really can write some great battle scenes, and the last few chapters of the book were truly riveting. I just wish I had been hooked before the end.
☆☆
*Thanks to Netgalley and the author for the chance to read The Girl the Sea Gave Back before its publication date.
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