Under the Never Sky review

Description: Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.

As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.

They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY

The first book in a captivating trilogy, Veronica Rossi’s enthralling debut sweeps you into an unforgettable adventure

My thoughts: This book is another reason why I’ve stopped claiming to know what my favorite book of the year is (at least until the last possible moment). Its perfect books like this that surprise me with good dialogue, great characters, and a magnificent plot! I can’t even count how many times I put the book down for a few seconds just because I needed to take a moment to smile and appreciate the awesomeness (yes awesomeness) of it all. I needed to smile at something brilliant, or catchy, or funny. It’s still hard for me to even stop my fan girl instincts from kicking in right now!

In Under the Never Sky, you have a controlled environment and an uncontrolled one. And two characters from both sides that eventually cross paths and have to work together to meet their own needs. But of course as they go on, the other person’s problem becomes their own. 

It was just this big journey that resulted in vivid descriptions and aspects that left me captivated. For one, the plot is unpredictable. In this way it reminded me of Girl of Fire and Thorns the way the main character’s journeys’ actually resulted in character development (which should normally happen but unfortunately doesn’t sometimes) because of all the things the characters had to deal with. The alternating chapters between Aria and Perry also showed this development. Because as they went on, they seemed to take on a little bit of the other person's attributes, which tends to happen if you’re around anybody long enough.

That’s why the plot itself would have won me over. First I thought they’d be going one place but then something happened and they changed routes. Or I thought they were going down a certain path until they met up with another character. And then the unthinkable happened and I’m like: “What in the world is happening?!” (but in a good way). And unlike some books I’ve loved in the past, this book leaves me pleased in a way that I can’t wait for the next book, but not in the sense that it ended with a cliffhanger that made me want to slam books and look crazy by mumbling to myself.

Veronica Rossi has created a world full of lovable characters, beautiful writing, and enough action, romance and suspense to have me counting down the days for the next book (I want it NOW)!

Additional notes:  

- Can I just say that Roar was amazing! I mean Perry is cool and everything, but I’ll take Roar over him any day.

- Most of the time I end up liking a side character more than the female main character, but I was really impressed by Aria. She initially had personal issues and prejudices, but she also changed in major ways that had me saying "go girl!" throughout the book.


[insert contented sigh]