Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi

Hey all! 

I just finished reading Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi! (Mild spoilers ahead)

"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 energy storms will. 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 come together to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky."




To be honest, this is a re-read for me. I read it several years ago, I think when I was 14 but decided to pick it up again because I'll be meeting Veronica Rossi here in April! 

It's hard for me to review this book. If you guys have been following my blog for a while, you know how much I adore characters, sometimes even more than plot. 

Under the Never Sky had an amazing plot but was lacking on the character side of things. 

This dystopian/sci-fi debut is about our two main characters, Aria and Peregrine. Aria is a 'Dweller' - she is a part of a selected few who were chosen to live in some sort of underground bunkers to save humanity from the Outside. This world is very futuristic and is riddled with Aether storms, which to me sounded like lightning tornados. Since these are so dangerous, a part of humanity was put in enclosed cities, where they basically live in a video game - they have eyepieces that let them travel do virtual worlds. Aria was banished from Reverie because of her friend and is left on the Outside. 

Peregrine (Perry) is an Outsider who is trying to find his Nephew. He has a really weird sense of smell that lets him smell emotions and how people are feeling at any given time. He also has night vision and is a good hunter. The smelling thing was really strange for me to get used to, but it was a creative idea, so why not? 

My problem is that I'm having a hard time describing what they were like. They both despised each other at first, more than any two characters I've seen. They were both so rough and annoying and stubborn. Suddenly, they both realize that the other isn't as awful as they thought, and they fall for each other almost too quickly. 

Now one character I did really like is Roar. This guy has a really intriguing backstory and a fun, snarky personality. I really want to know what happened between him and Liv, and why Perry is so against their relation. 

Now for the good part: the worldbuilding. There is this huge contrast between the Dweller world and the Outside world. The Dwellers live in this very futuristic society with virtual reality, advanced science, prolonged life, no disease, etc. On the other hand, the Outsiders live in an almost primitive way, with hunting and fighting to become the Blood Lord. They have animalistic senses and have virtually no problem living in the wild. And the two societies hate each other. 

I think it would be nice to have more of a backstory about what happened to separate these people, why they hate each other, and even about our main character's past. In that sense, this book flet more like the sencond book in a series, or as if it was missing a few chapters in the beginning. 

The good thing was that it was fast paced, had a great world built around it, but I think could have been drawn out a little bit more. 

I'm giving this book a 3/5 feathers. It was an enjoyable read overall! 

Have you read Under the Never Sky? What did you think about it? Let me know! 

Have a great day! 

Stay bookish,