Under the Never Sky Review

Blurb:
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.

Book: Under the Never Sky
Author: Veronica Rossi
Series: Under the Never Sky
Standing: Book 1
Setting: Earth?
POV: third person by Aria and Perry, past tense
Genre: YA paranormal, dystopian-ish, post-apocalypse-ish

Reading: first time
Rating: 3 stars






My rating might be a little biased.

When I first picked this book up, I had no idea exactly what genre it fell under. I guess I sort of knew it was a dystopian/post-apocalyptic mix, but I was hoping it had some kind of fantasy element to it. I might have misled myself a little. Turns out it was more so post-apocalyptic, with the crazy environment and desperate survival means. I generally avoid these kinds of books, as dystopian and post-apocalyptic books aren't really my favorite genre. But I had already started it, so might as well finish it.

The beginning half was hard to get into for me. The introduction to the perfect world, Reverie, and how it was related to the outside world was good, but the characters frustrated me. Aria was exiled from Reverie, thrown into the "savage wilderness." Perry was the complete opposite, a survivor in the outside world, completely independent. Both didn't seem compatible with each other. Aria was extremely dependent on Perry, and given Perry's independent character, I seriously questioned why he didn't just up and leave her. That being said, both Perry and Aria's actions were relatively realistic given their upbringings (Aria having been sheltered, Perry feeling the need to take care of weak and helpless people like his nephew), but it also drove me a little crazy.

It wasn't until the second half that I was more involved with the story. The pacing was better, more easy to follow. And once Aria was capable of handling herself, or being independent, I found her more likeable. (However, her character growth was very sudden, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.) The ending was quite satisfying; they both accomplished what they originally set out to do, and new questions and events have risen as a means to continue moving the plot forward to the next books. I was extremely skeptical of the book 50 pages in, but the last 50 pages turned out to be pretty good.

All in all, if the beginning was a bit faster, I probably would have enjoyed the book more, regardless of the post-apocalyptic and primal survival themes going on. Would I re-read this book again? Maybe. Am I going to continue the series? Again, maybe. Not sure. I'm not big on these primal themes of survival,  where the world is conspiring against you. Mainly because I feel inadequate after reading them, as I know for a fact I wouldn't last a week out in the wilderness. But the plot is interesting enough that I do want to know what happens. So we'll see if I keep reading it!

Give it a read, and let me know what you guys think!