Beyond the Tower by JacQueline Vaughn Roe

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 246
Series: The Journey #1
Genre: Retelling, Christian, YA
Published: Nov. 27, 2018
Rating: 2 stars

Synopsis:

My tower was my prison, until I betrayed my witch.

She told me twisted tales by the fireside and allowed me books that filled me with longing. That was my life. It was all I had.

‘Til one night, Paul heard me singing and convinced me to hope that we could escape together. Life could be different, if I had the courage to escape the witch’s grasp.

But she found and killed him. And she’s cast me out, alone. Without him. Without her.

I don’t know where to go, how to find food, or even who to trust in this strange world. But isn’t that what she wants? For me to beg her to take me back? I may know nothing of the world beyond my tower, except this.

I’m never returning to my prison. She’ll never control me again.

Rapunzel’s journey begins weaving fairy tales and faith together in a lyrical retelling you won’t forget.

Review:

Something happened; something began to transform her appearance for a moment. But it was just a moment, and though I recall it as I stand here among the ruins of my life, I know that I will never witness what was trying to emerge. Not unless she wants me to. It only now occurs to me that she was a captive, too.

Rapunzel retells her life with the witch. The story starts with Rapunzel among sunflowers that had been ruined by the witch, as well as Rapunzel’s hair shorn off. She tells of what her days were like in the tower and the stories the witch told her.

This also tells of what happens to Rapunzel after she is dismissed from the tower. She is trying to make it in a world she has never known, due to the witch hiding her since birth.

I don’t know how I feel about the writing style. I do like the aspect that you can tell this is set during the medieval era. But for the most part, I was bored and couldn’t care less what happened. I skimmed and skipped. I just feel like this story isn’t for me.

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

My edition: Kindle Unlimited
Pages: 352
Series: Sky and Sea #1
Genre: Historical, YA, Adventure
Published: April 24, 2018
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis:

Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.

Faced with her brother’s betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family.

She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating.

Review:

Eelyn is taken captive after she finds out her brother is alive. At first, she doesn’t know what to think. She is hurt and angry. But when an ancient enemy attacks she has to trust her brother and his friend Fiske.

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would. It’s kind of a hyped-up book. With a hyped-up book, I tend to be the person who ends up not liking the book. I loved the action. I loved the world-building and I loved the relationship-building as well.

I really didn’t know where this book was going to go. The slow build between Fiske and Eelyn was tension-filled. I loved that you can understand the anger and the hurt that Eelyn felt towards Iri. It wasn’t stupid drama. I love the action. I totally recommend this book. The romance is not front and center which I liked but also didn’t like because I just wanted them to kiss already. But again totally recommend it.

I don’t know if I will go directly into the second book since its focus is on Halvard who is Fiske’s younger brother.