A must read for anyone who loved Sky in the Deep!

I received this book from Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Tova, a child of the Kyrr, washes up on Svell shores with no memory of how she got there and the marks of her people on her body - including one identifying her as a Truthtongue, someone who can cast stones about fate and receive the truth from the gods. When her power ends up causing a devastating effect between two clans, Tova finds herself connected to Halvard, a future chieftain of the enemy clan. Tova may be able to save Halvard and his people, if she's brave enough to break free of the Svell.

As a fan of Sky in the Deep, I really enjoyed The Girl the Sea Gave Back as an expansion to the world I first met with Eelyn. Tova is a very different character - and while she is well used to the barbarity of a viking world, and has known a lot of fear and cruelty, she is also very sensitive and downtrodden in a way. I really liked meeting Halvard as a man, having seen him as a boy in Sky in the Deep. It was weird to see some characters again, a whole ten years older, and also sad to see the clans we met in the first book fighting for their lives again when peace had come at a great cost the first time.

The book is very fast-paced and action packed and takes place over the course of a few days. There is a bit of a rush of information about the Svell and not really enough about the Kyrr. The end did feel a tiny bit rushed and I feel like the book could have been broadened out a bit - and a bit more could have been put into Tova and Halvard's relationship as well as it was very much a 'connection' without a lot of actual conversation and getting to know one another (unlike Fiske and Eelyn).

I would definitely recommend reading Sky in the Deep first as there are characters in this from that book, and also a lot of background information could be a bit confusing without knowing what happened in Sky in the Deep.