Review : Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2)
Author : Veronica Rossi
Publisher : HarperTeen
Publication Date : January 8th 2013
Goodreads - The Book Depository

It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.


Personal Thoughts

Through the Ever Night was possibly my most anticipated sequel of 2013. Having loved Under the Never Sky, I was ecstatic to plunge into Veronica Rossi's world once again and meet up with two of my favorite characters, Aria and Perry. Anytime I start a sequel, I worry that it won't live up to my expectations and most of the time sequels end up disappointing me. I'm happy to say that this wasn't the case with Through the Ever Night, which I think is one of my favorite sequel in a series.

Several months after Perry becomes the leader of the Tides and Perry and Aria have parted ways when Aria is asked to go on a mission, the two lovebirds meet again. Perry takes Aria to the Tides but things don't go as planned when the Tides don't take a liking to Aria because she's a Dweller. While Perry tries to handle his responsibilities as the new Blood-Lord, Aria must do her best to save Talon from the Dwellers. With everything going on in their lives, they're not sure if the if their love will survive.

Veronica Rossi did a fabulous job in crafting complex and highly developed characters in Under the Never Sky. In Through the Ever Night, her characters become even more intricate than they were. Aria was a naive and innocent girl at the beginning of Under the Never Sky, but throughout the course of the story, the reader got to see her strengthen and blossom into this headstrong young woman. I didn't think it would be possible for Aria's character to grow further because she had already undergone immense growth in Under the Never Sky, so I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that Aria's character did, in fact, mature more in this installment. The strong shell that she had surrounding her became even harder, but not in a way that she lost her inner gentleness. Aria is the kind of character that I call kick-ass. She has a bold exterior, but on the inside she's still the loving old Aria. What I really loved about her personality was her ability to make the right decisions. She wasn't one of those dim-witted heroines who never thought once about the consequences of her actions. No, Aria was a smart, level-headed character who knew the difference between right and wrong. I loved her for that. Perry was always a character that I loved and my love for him grew by ten fold in Through the Ever Night. Being Blood-Lord, he has a lot responsibilities on his shoulders along with worry for his nephew, Talon. He knew that being the leader of the Tides would not be something that was easy, but he didn't think it would be that hard, but no matter how many obstacles he came across and no matter how many times fell down, Perry never bowed down. Instead, he would stand up, pick up his courage and do his best to be a leader worthy of the Tides. The secondary characters were also well written, with Roar still being one of my favorites. Veronica Rossi has truly won me over with her brilliant cast of characters.

The world-building in Through the Ever Night was a lot better than in Under the Never Sky. With a lot more information on Aether, Rossi's dystopian world became a lot more transparent and easy to comprehend. The plot too was exciting and very entertaining and held my attention throughout the book. My favorite aspect of this book was the relationships between the characters. Aria and Perry's relationship faced a lot of hurdles, with Aria having to save Talon and Perry being the new Blood-Lord. The road to happiness in their relationship was not easy, but Aria and Perry loved each other so much that they were willing to do almost anything to make their relationship work. There was no love triangle and no unnecessary drama that many authors seem to add in their books nowadays and that made me a very happy reader. By the end of the book, I thought the bond that they had had deepened and it felt a lot more realistic to me. My favorite relationship was that between Aria and Roar. The friendship that these two had felt so real to me. Like I mentioned above, Roar was his usual charming self, but events occur in the book that lead him to lose his witty and sarcastic nature. Throughout his ordeal, Aria was his rock. She helped him get through his situation and stood by his side no matter what. What they had was the epitome of true friendship. Veronica Rossi's writing was as usual absolutely stunning. She drew me into the book from the very first page making sure that I refused to stop until I reached the end. I also really appreciate that she didn't end the book in a dreaded cliffhanger. Instead, the book ends nicely leaving enough anticipation for the sequel, but not driving you crazy with wanting the next book. I truly can't wait to see what she has in store for us in the next book.

If you haven't tried out this series yet, then I strongly recommend it because it's absolutely worth reading mostly because of the brilliantly written characters. Plus, it's one of those series that makes sure that you're enjoying every single minute while reading. For me, Through the Ever Night was a winner! 5 stars simply isn't enough to rate this book!

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5