Title: Under The Never Sky
Author: Veronica Rossi
Series or Stand Alone:
Next Book: Through The Ever Night
Aria has lived her entire life in the
safety of Reverie – a closed off city in a dome that is
self-sufficient and is able to provide food, water, shelter, and
oxygen for its people. When Aria hasn't heard from her mother (who's
currently in Bliss – another city), she begins to worry. Unable to
contact her mother, Aria attempts to gain information on Bliss
through a boy named, Soren. Aria's attempt to get information on
Bliss eventually leads to her exile out of Reverie and into the Death
Shop – the outside world beyond the safety of Reverie where there
are a million ways to die. In the Death Shop, Aria meets Perry, an
Outsider, who's looking for his little nephew. Aria fears that her
body isn't adapted to the environment of the Death Shop and that
she'll die from disease. She knows her best bet of survival is
staying with Perry, and the two form an unlikely friendship.
Under The Never Sky was a surprisingly quick read for me and I finished it in a day. I thought the book had a good pace and the action was spaced out nicely. There was never really a dull moment where nothing happened and it wasn't action packed where every scene was a fight scene either.
Though the book had a good pace, it was hard for me to get into the story at first. When I first started reading this book, I felt like I had missed a whole chapter or something because, a lot was happening in the beginning and I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. As well, a lot of new terminology, words, and concepts were thrown at me and I didn't really grasp them at first (e.g. The Smarteye, Scire, The Realms). However, as I read on, things began to make more sense.
One thing that I still don't understand after reading the book is, what Aether is. Aether is mentioned consistently throughout the entire book but is never really given an explanation. From reading the book, I know that Aether is dangerous and that Aether storms can cause mass destruction. The book also mentions that Aether is always swirling in the sky and that the sky is never clear of it. To me, the Aether sounds like a hybrid between lightning and clouds. I think I'm way off though.
The romance was very sweet and it had a nice, steady build up. It was definitely not love at first sight, lust at first sight, or even friends at first sight. At the beginning, Aria and Perry become unexpected allies and see each other as a means to an end, as they had a common goal at the time. The romance did not dominate the entire story and moments between Aria and Perry were very sweet.
Under The Never Sky is unique because, the story was able to combine a dystopian society with a post-apocalyptic type world. With the dystopian society of the Reverie and the wilderness of the Outside, you get the best of two worlds rolled into one book.
My Rating: 4/5 stars
