Every 5 years, the Aska and the Riki clans come together in an ancient blood feud. A warrior in the Aska clan, Eelyn enters the battlefield this year and is stunned to see her brother Iri fighting with their enemy, considering he died 5 years ago after falling off a cliff. When Eelyn is captured by the Riki and her life spared, she is taken as a hostage to her enemy’s mountain village. Forced to live as a slave, Eelyn must survive the winter with the Riki and vows she will escape as soon as the snow melts.
I really liked this book. I thought the Viking-inspired tale was an unusual story for a young adult novel. Honestly, I had stepped away from YA novels for a while because I was tired of every book being part of a trilogy and I just got worn-out from reading about high school and all these things that seem so important when you’re a teenager. But this book drew me back in.
The action scenes are excellent. The author writes some pretty fascinating fight scenes with some extraordinary descriptions. I felt like I was right in the action with everyone, even though I know nothing about fighting.
But the book is not just about fighting. There’s a romance that I thought was very sweet between Eelyn and the Riki warrior who saved her brother’s life. I thought that Eelyn was a strong character. A large portion of the novel deals with the inner conflict she faces between what she was raised and taught to believe and her loyalty to her family.
This was a fantastic and fun stand-alone novel.
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