Monday, May 4, 2015

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!

9 comments:

  1. Glad I'm not the only one who didn't fall in love with this book! I've seen raved reviews and when I actually read it, I wondered if I read the same book. It was just... meh. It's one of those books you're only mildly interest in, and just continue reading it for the sake of the ending.

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    1. Yes! The idea of the world was fine, but I wasn't too sure about the story itself. Something about it didn't really click with me, It wasn't high on my TBR list and I'm not sure whether or not I'll still be reading the other books. If I do, they won't be really high on my TBR list...

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  2. This was one of the first series which made it on my TBR and since then I've been seeing it everywhere! Shame you didn't like it, hopefully I'll have better luck but I'm a little anxious about the slow start which usually isn't my thing. Great review, I'm a new follower :)

    Most recent post on Enchanted by YA: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.com/2015/05/review-rogue-talon-2-by-julie-kagawa.h

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    1. Hi Anna! Thanks for dropping by :) This book wasn't my favourite, but that doesn't mean that it won't be yours! That's the beauty of literature: everyone sees it differently, and it's the most interesting when we're able to compare our views! Hopefully you'll enjoy it more!

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  3. Hi Erika!
    Congratulations! You've been nominated for a Liebster Award!
    Check out my blog for all the rules and how to get involved ;)

    Cody @ http://literary-lyobsessed.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. Ahhh! Thank you so much, Cody! I'm so excited! I'll get to it straight away! :D

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  4. Thanks for dropping by! I followed you on Bloglovin' :)

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  5. This is one of those books that sat on my TBR forever and finally got removed after reading so many lukewarm reviews. There are just too many great books so it was culled. Great review.
    Suzi Q., The Book Dame

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    1. Thank you! Yes, I agree with you about having way too many good books out there. It's easier to weed out the good ones from the bad ones on the TBR shelf by reading reviews!

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