Under the Never Sky Review

Under the Never Sky
by Veronica Rossi
Genre: YA Dystopian
Format: Hardback borrowed from Kim.
Midnight Minute: Aria, exiled from her protected world, teams up with outsider Perry, both needing the other to complete their goals.
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.

Midnight Thoughts:

~ So, I avoided this book for a long time.  I love dystopian, but there's so many of them and it can feel like too many.  But I'm going to a Veronica Rossi book signing, so I finally caved on this one- and lucky I did!
~ I love the title of this book, it's beautiful and poetic.  
~ Soren was crazypants and I really thought his role would be bigger.  
~ So in the Outside, there's people who have highly developed senses- sight, hearing, scent.  I think the scent one has to be the worst, because, really, how often are people really showering in these post-apocalyptic dystopians?  
~ Aria has a beautiful singing voice, which at first had me rolling my eyes because her name matches her gift and usually I find that people do not live up to their names (I know a Sunny that should be named Gloomy), but it turns out her mom genetically altered/planned her so that's less eye roll worthy. 
~ I was a little off put by Perry's certainty that he'd make a better leader (Blood Lord) than his brother Vale, but Vale didn't score a whole lot points with me in the book.  But it's got to suck for Vale, his kid prefers his brother, and his kid brother is all like: You suck, I can do better!
~ I don't like Brooke.  Mostly because she's a potential rival for Perry.  
~ I have seldom wanted someone to die in a YA book than I want Soren to.  May he suffer some nightmarish Greek Mythology punishment in Hades- the kind where buzzards eat his organs for all time.
~ It must be nice to know who your enemies are just by the scent or emotions.  It would have made high school a lot less confusing.
~ LOL- Perry having to tell Aria about her first period! It was very after-school special. 
~Also, wow, eating berries can be sexy as hell. But then bacon cheeseburgers can turn me on...
~ This whole rendering thing, is there a chance I can get Alexander Skarsgard to render to me?  Would the Hubs be cool with that?
~ Am I the only one that kept calling the Crovan the Craven?  
~ It's got to be awkward if your boyfriend can smell you ovulating!
~ I like Perry, but I'd be cool with Aria hooking up with Roar because he is all kinds of hot. 
~ The ending throws some punches.  To the gut. Ouch.  Can't wait until I get the second book!

Timeless Characters:

Aria- having grown up in a protective settlement, she's unprepared for the harsh outside world.
Perry- blonde dreadlocks, super hearing, super scent, super sexy.
Roar- even hotter, funnier and perfect than Perry.
Vale- Perry's bro, Blood Leader of their village.
Talon- Perry's cute lil' nephew, but a bit like Carl from The Walking Dead- should have stayed on the damn porch!
Paisley- Aria's friend, don't get attached.
Soren- crazy creeper.
Marron- the Doc to Perry's Michael J. Fox. He's awesome.
Cinder- young boy that follows Roar around, his name kind of says it all.
Reef- a guy Perry befriends the hard way. 

Midnight Moment:

When Perry saves Aria from some Crovan (they're cannibals), he does so in a shocking way.  At least I was shocked. 

Probably you should be shocked too, or you need to lay off the Tarantino movies and the ID channel.  I kid, I watch those too.  No better way to keep the Hubs in line than to have him catch me watching the Deadly Women marathons. ;)

Stop The Clock:

How could I have not read this book before?  Everyone else has, and they liked it, but nope, I had to be the one person who didn't pick it up.  I think I was on dystopian overload, but Under the Never Sky definitely stands out from the crowd. 



  Veronica Rossi— Website |Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky  gets a Midnight Book Rating of: 

Challenges:
A-Z Challenge
What's in A Name 6 Challenge
Book Bingo Challenge