From the publisher, “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.”

Set a few years after Sky in the Deep, we catch up with Halvard who his now the leader of the merged clans.  The new character is Tova, from the mysterious Kyrr clan, who washed ashore when she was 6 years old.  The Svell instantly fear and loathe her so that her life is constantly in danger.  Yet it is the only home she knows as she cannot remember her time before.  Halvard’s clan seeks peace with the Svell but during their meeting, the Svell attack.

I really enjoyed Sky in the Deep.  Perhaps too much of my time passed between books because I had to relearn the land.  This book moved more slowly, more plodding.  Either from the sparse dialogue or the amount of introspection.  Still a satisfying read, it did not have the edge of the first book.  I do look forward to more from the author.

eGalley review                                                    Publication date 9.3.19