Review - Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

by Veronica Rossi
publisher: HarperTeen
date of publication: January 8, 2013
format: digital review copy
pages: 352
source: Edelweiss

From Goodreads:

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.

In Through the Ever Night, the second installment of Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky series, we once again meet Aria, Perry, and Roar as they reel from the aftermath that was the culmination of Under the Never Sky.  Each now carries a heavy burden that leaves each facing challenge upon challenge.  It is these challenges, as well as the increasing dangers of the volatile atmosphere, that lend Through the Ever Night its intensity and overall appeal.  As a continuation, Through the Ever Night delivered in so many ways.

Aria continued her track record of being both stubborn and pragmatic.  Both traits help to make her the intriguing character she has been since the very beginning.  However, there was a little something lacking.  The best way I can describe it is Je ne sais quoi.  I can't quite put my finger on it, but something in the way Aria handled the situation in the Tides community and her relationship with Perry didn't quite match expectations.  Perry, too, left me feeling bewildered at times, even to the point of wanting to reach through the book to shake him and ask what the heck he thought he was doing.  Roar proved to be the rising star this time around.  He exhibited a great range of emotion and even more of the things that make Roar, well, Roar are revealed.  He then became all the more likable as a character and left me looking forward to seeing what he gets up to next.

So far as the plot goes, Through the Ever Night presented what one would expect after reading Under the Never Sky.  There is a great deal of social conflict, atmospheric volatility, and much betrayal and overall evil behavior.  However, the sense of urgency behind it all just wasn't doing it for me.  I wouldn't say that I felt blasé about the whole thing, but I came quite close.  There were some shake-ups and unexpected events that kept me on my toes, but there were also certain occurrences that were almost too predictable, leaving me feeling so-so about them.  I will say, though, that the continuation of the Liv storyline was superb.  It was interesting, enjoyable and, ultimately, fraught with emotion. 

This series continues to hold my attention captive and grows on me even more with every new addition.  It's hard not to become wrapped up in the story of Aria, Perry, Roar, and Liv.  It's also difficult to ignore world-building that includes skies roiling with aether storms of such magnitude as to remain a constant threat.  If you've already read Under the Never Sky and are hoping for another great story, you won't be disappointed.  If you have yet to read either book, I highly recommend them.  Through the Ever Night is especially fun to read on stormy days.  Talk about your atmosphere!

Buy Through the Ever Night at the Following Locations:

Amazon / IndieBound / B&N / The Book Depository

Obligatory legal statement: This digital review copy was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Edelweiss. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.

 

Review - Under the Never Sky

by Veronica Rossi
publisher: HarperCollins
date of publication: January 3, 2012
format: eGalley
pages: 268
source: Netgalley
Amazon / IndieBound / B&N

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.

In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.

What I Thought

The year is off to a great start if Under the Never Sky is any indication.  I just have to try whatever book of dystopian leanings that catches my eye.  Under the Never Sky, I am glad to say, did not let me down.  From the very first chapter, I was caught up and taken on a thrilling journey as Aria set out to find her mother and, in the process, became exiled from the only home she had ever known.  The dual view storyline was lovely and was just the right way to give the full idea as to what was going on in the world at large.  Though Aria and Perry are different in many ways, they have much more in common than they might at first think, a theme that really added a nice layer to the story at the forefront.  This book had it all.  My only regret is that I will have to wait an entire year to find out what happens next.

Aria was a character that I truly enjoyed watching as she grew.  She started out as a sheltered, naive girl who was quite content to believe everything she had been told about the world outside the pods.  Her initial interactions with Perry really showed the extent of her sheltering.  I definitely felt for Perry as he dealt with her misconceptions about him (though, to be honest, Perry was quite the gruff character, at first).  Her education in life on the outside world was everything from riveting to thrilling.  Her reactions to something so simple as a rock was both sad and lovely.  Rossi did an excellent job at playing to the idea that this girl had been living her life in a virtual world.  As for Perry, the character development that he goes through is both the opposite and parallel to Aria's changes.  He goes from being a gruff barbarian-type to being the epitome of strength and loyalty.  Overall, the characters really made the book for me.

The settings for Under the Never Sky were a study in opposites.  I found myself much preferring "The Death Shop" as a setting far more than I enjoyed Reverie.  Reverie exuded sterility and blandness (which is pretty much the point), whereas The Death Shop, while dangerous, held much beauty and mystery.  You never knew what would come up next while Aria and Perry made their way across the wilderness, which added a great layer of spontaneity and unpredictability to the story.  I love nothing more than being taken by surprise and not given enough clues to figure out the outcome of the book too early.  This book is a great example of just what it is that I like out of my books. 

Under the Never Sky is one of the must-reads for January 2012.  If you want a riveting storyline and enjoy dystopian societies, this is definitely a book you will want to check out.  The added elements of atmospheric anomalies and people with advanced capabilities just make it all the more interesting.  I highly recommend Under the Never Sky as a January acquisition.  You'll want to read this sooner rather than later.

Obligatory legal statement: This eGalley was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Netgalley. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.