Review : Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Summary (from Goodreads)

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

Personal Thoughts

I have had Under The Never Sky for some time now, but I was so guarded about the book because of the mixed reviews that it has received from my GR, that I decided against reading it until a couple of days ago. Boy, do I regret not having read it earlier.

Under The Never Sky introduces the reader to Aria, a Dweller. Aria lived in the confined and protected city of Reverie until an incident left her exiled from her home. Surviving in the outside world is something so tough that Aria is certain that she will die. She, then, comes across Perry, an Outsider. Perry agrees to help Aria under the condition that she helps him find his nephew, who was taken away by the Dwellers. Their alliance is the only thing that will help Aria survive in the outside world.

There was something really appealing about Aria's character. She was a somewhat fiercely determined character that you cannot help but love. She didn't let anyone push her about and she did what she thought was right. Aria might have lived a sheltered life and because of that she, initially, appeared to be a little prejudiced about the Outsiders and their ways of life. However, she slowly became someone very open-minded and I loved seeing that emotional growth in her. I have soft spot for flawed characters, who eventually mature after learning. Because of how Aria was raised, I was expecting her character to wallow in self-pity and whine the entire book, but she didn't complain once. She was obviously a little scared, but she didn't allow her fear to rule her judgement. Aria was really driven to find her mom, so she focused solely on that.

Perry was yet another male character I fell hard for. Although I'm not a huge fan of his name, I was a huge fan of his character. I loved him, people. He was as strong-minded and unwavering as Aria. He was fiercely protective and the love he had for his nephew was so conspicuous in the first few pages he is introduced in. He was definitely a true kick-ass character. Perry was shattered on the inside because of the events of his past and because of that he always exuded a tough and rebellious nature. Mind you, Perry wasn't one of those male YA characters who "pretend" to be a bad-boy and all. He was truly brutal at times and he wasn't a guy who was afraid to murder people. Yet, you cannot help but love him when he showed his softer and sweeter side.

The romance was really well-done. The way Veronica Rossi executed the romantic relationship between Aria and Perry was just perfect. The two characters really didn't like each other at first. This was no "I hate you, but I'm attracted to you" kind of story. They both had prejudices about each other since they came from totally different backgrounds and they only started out as being partners. Slowly, they learned to put aside their brain-washed mindsets to form their own opinions about each other. In my opinion, it was really fascinating to see this emotional growth that they both underwent. Their relationship was bittersweet since it was beautiful, but at the same time they knew that it wouldn't last for a long time. I loved seeing them accept each other and truly fall for each other gradually. The romance in Under The Never Sky was definitely not the instant-love kind and there was no love-triangle. Honestly, I really cherished the relationship between the two of them because it just felt very realistic and they made a very complementary couple.

I have come across many books where the author mentions the secondary characters, but completely fails to develop them. This wasn't the case with Under The Never Sky. I swear, all of the secondary characters were so wonderful. I loved each and everyone of them. I, especially, loved Roar, Perry's friend. He provided some comic relief when the atmosphere of the book was really tense at certain points and I loved him for that. There is one character that I'm really hoping is not only mentioned more often, but also introduced in the next book and it's Perry's sister. From the little information we got about her, she seemed feisty and wild and I can't wait to learn more about her.

A lot of people have complained that the plot was confusing and that they had a tough time understanding Veronica Rossi's world. Fortunately, this didn't occur to me. Sure, I was a bit befuddled at the beginning because a lot of information was given at once, but throughout the course of the story I slowly started to understand and appreciate what was going on. Since Aria was a Dweller and Perry an Outsider, I got to see both sides of Rossi's world. There's an influx of dystopian books in the YA genre lately and finding something unique is becoming difficult. I praise Veronica Rossi for managing to find an intriguing, yet original plot line and make the book shine. I also really enjoyed the paranormal element that she added to the story. This only made the book much more captivating. Veronica Rossi's writing style was simply addictive. Once I truly got into the story, I became so engrossed that I couldn't stop reading. I was yearning to know what was going to happen to Aria and Perry and what the outcome of their adventures would be. To say that I was satisfied would be the understatement of the year. In the next installment, I look forward to learning more about the world, especially about the Aether.

Truthfully, words cannot describe how much I loved Under The Never Sky.

Under The Never Sky was a book that really surprised me in a good way. This was a wickedly terrific tale with a mind-blowing assortment of characters, an intense and entertaining plot and a heart melting romance that will have you mumbling "aww" with a smile on your face. According to me, Under The Never Sky deserves to be a huge hit! I can't wait for more !

Rating

Cover : 4/5

Plot : 5/5

Characters : 5/5

Writing : 5/5