Review | 'Under the Never Sky'

Under the Never Sky
Veronica Rossi
374 pg., U.S. Hardcover
HarperCollins
4 stars | A-



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.


This book was totally different than I expected it would be. It was a very intense, unique, but sometimes dull novel. I was expecting a lot more darkness coming from Aria, since she was banished from Reverie. Sure, there was some darkness surrounding her, but I feel like she moved on a bit too quickly. I didn't understand hardly any of her motivations, and thought that the development of the story's MAIN character could definitely have been improved upon.
The pacing of this book was incredibly slow, it really bugged me. I was so annoyed by the way things were just so intricately described, it became so unrealistic and unnecessary. It was redundant and unneeded, and I was disappointed by that aspect.
Certain characters in this book wear electronic eyepatches (Smarteyes), and they reminded me of the Eye-drives from Doctor Who. So, really, I was picturing members of the Silence/Madame Kovarian herself walking around. Yeah. It was pretty creepy.
So basically the story is just about Aria looking for a way to return to Reverie, and a way to reach contact with her mother. Peregrine's plot revolves around looking for his nephew. I just thought there could have been a lot more insight on Aria's life in Reverie, and a lot more scenes that developed the relationship between the protagonists, if there was going to be one. Why would Veronica Rossi make a relationship and then just render it underdeveloped? 
Veronica Rossi's writing style was very nice, though. I liked the way that everything was nicely placed and structured finely, but, like I said, the pacing really needed to have been quickened.


This book's sequel, Through the Ever Night, is due out early next year.