Thursday, January 3, 2013

Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) by Veronica Rossi
Synopsis (Goodreads):
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 abarbarian, 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.
My Thoughts: I've been in the hugest dystopian/post-apocalyptic frame of mind and this book absolutely rocked my socks off. The world is fascinating -- both Aria's fabricated existence and Perry's very real, very deadly way of life. The characters intrigued me and following along as Aria has to learn to adjust to the world outside her pod kept me hooked.

Aria and Perry seem like such an unlikely couple on the surface. She's a city girl, he's a country boy. More or less. His abilities and his family have kept him separate from most of his tribe -- meaning that he's not great at communicating. He doesn't want the burden of a girl who has no survival skills but he can't leave her behind. Aria's just a useless piece of baggage at first. Through no fault of her own, I must say. Her life inside the pod is all about the fun and frivolity of the Realms and she's been taught that you can't survive outside. Yet, she learns. She pushes herself and she manages to keep up with Perry because he's really her only hope at first. As they get to know one another, the dynamic shifts and THINGS HAPPEN.

I really hope that we get some answers in future books as to how the world reached this state where electrical storms scorch the skies and can wipe out whole communities. I want to see what drove the Dwellers into the pods. How did the Outsiders survive? I have ALL THESE QUESTIONS!

I finished this book a few days ago and I'm still thinking about it. I think I'm smitten with Perry's silence and Aria's fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds. And I, you know, have all those questions. WANT MOAR, PLEASE!

Books in this series
0.5. Roar and Liv
1. Under the Never Sky - Hardcover | Kindle
2. Through the Ever Night
3. Into the Still Blue

Author Links
| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon |

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

14 comments:

  1. I was totally smitten too. It made me want to know more about Ether & I really could care less about stuff like that.

    I LOVED how their relationship evolved. It was very Po-Katsa-like. Can't wait for the sequel.

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    1. Po and Katsa are from Graceling, yeah? I have that on my Seriously Series list to read sooooooon. (Now I'm even more excited about it!)

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  2. Awesome review, Kelly! Everyone seems to have read and loved this book and I'm soooo intrigued by it! I do love a good dystopian, so one that gets high markings from a lot of my favourite readers should probably go on my TBR list. :)

    Thanks for sharing!

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  3. I think you know how much I loved this book. I let my mom read it, and now she's been bugging me to get Through the Ever Night. So... I know one book I'll be getting next week.

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    1. Ooh. I feel a tandem read coming on. Maybe. If I can manage to not read it IMMEDIATELY!

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  4. I love a book that has you thinking about it well after you have put it down. There is something about them that just sticks with you :)

    I don't have this one so it will be a next year thing but it does sound worthy of a spot on my YA list for 2014.

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    1. I *really* liked it. The only thing I didn't like was that I had to wait for book 2 to come out. *pouty pouty pout face*

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  5. Dang. I'm sad that I haven't picked this one up yet. It is definitely up my alley, and I'm glad to hear that Aria surprises us. I love me some dystopian awesome!

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    1. I've wanted to read all my dystopian books since I read this and I haven't yet. I should get on that.

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  6. I've had this book sitting on my shelf for a while now but haven't picked it up because I was NOT in a dystopian mood. However, that will soon be changing - yes, indeed! This books sounds pretty rad :)

    ♥Isalys / Book Soulmates

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    1. I have all these plans to wallow in dystopians and I haven't followed through, yet. SOOOOOON!

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  7. Seriously, you totally ARE cracking out on Dystopian :O

    Ummm... "She's a city girl, he's a country boy. More or less." HA! I'm kind of cracking up laughing. Is one of them republican, and the other a democrat? You could totally fanfic this one :P

    LOVE your review. And... ugh. I just tweeted you :P

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    1. O.O THAT VIDEO. LOL!

      I have a ton more dystopians I want to get to, too. I just... didn't. I WILL HAVE TO MAKE TIME FOR THEM!

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