Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Under the Never Sky #1
Release Date: January 3, 2012 (US)
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Publisher (via NetGalley)
Rating: Essential

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 a barbarian, 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. - Goodreads

If you’ve read some of my reviews before then you’ll have noticed that I struggle when writing reviews on books that I love. So please don’t expect this review to be a work of art, because it won’t be. It’s recommended that you expect tonnes of gushing and squee-ing, just to be prepared!

Under the Never Sky is told in third person, from alternating points of view, which I wasn’t expecting! It was a great wait to get inside the characters’ heads whilst still being able to differentiate between them easily, rather than having to go back to the first page of each chapter just to check. NOT that you would have to do that anyway, because Aria and Perry are totally different!

The world that Veronica Rossi has created is unlike anything I have ever read before. I love dystopian novels but I have to say that sometimes they can become very repetitive as a lot are very similar. This world, however, is outstanding! I can’t describe my love for everything in this world, from the Pods which the people who rely on technology live in to the tribes that live on the complete other side of the spectrum.

Aria is one of the Dwellers that live in the Pods, and Perry is an Outsider whose brother is a Blood Lord for the Tides tribe. They lived completely different lives until Aria was forced away from her home, and they already had opinions on each other due to how they lived. Both of them are likable – or loveable, depending – and I loved reading from each of their points of views to read about the way they felt about things and each other. Both characters were wonderfully developed, and went through lots of character growth throughout the novel. I particularly liked Perry, but I think he’s my favourite of the pair because I am in love with him. That’s fair, though, right?

There was no insta-love between Perry and Aria, which was most excellent. You know how I hate it when characters experience love at first sight. Perry and Aria pretty much despised each other to begin with, and I loved reading about their growing relationship throughout the course of the story.

The plot is fast paced and gripping, and I could not put this book down once I started reading. I read it through the night, and when it ended I was left wanting more, but that’s not a fault. It’s because I’m in love with these characters and this world! I hope to see a lot more of Perry and Aria in the sequel, as well as Roar because I loved him too. He is awesome. *hugs*

I would have liked a bit more fighting at the end, but that’s just because I am strange and like lots of blood and killing. I’m perfectly happy with what I got, so there’s no way I’m rating the book down because of that.

I told you there would be some rambling, sorry! Regardless of how bad my review is, Under the Never Sky is a beautifully written debut that I could not put down, even for a second. I highly recommend this to people who enjoy dystopias, and to those who like a smidge of science fiction.