Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

About the book

Under the Never Sky is the first book in a series by Veronica Rossi. It was published by Atom on 7^th February and the book is 336 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.

Plot

Worlds kept them apart.

Destiny brought them together.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

What I thought

Under the Never Sky is a book that I’ve had on my TBR pile for months now. While I was having a blogging break, I didn’t read much at all so this was one of the books that got neglected during that time.

Under the Never Sky has a pretty slow start. Luckily, I had been forewarned about this otherwise I think I may have given up on this book quite quickly. During the first 50-60 pages or so, the book launches us into a completely new world that isn’t explained too well. Confusing is an understatement. I had no idea what was going on at all. Luckily, once this part is over, everything clicks into place quite nicely and it all made a lot more sense.

Aria, the female protagonist of the story, narrates part of this book. Chapters are alternated between her and Perry, the male protagonist. I really like this way of telling a story as it makes it possible to really get to know both characters. Once Aria leaves her safe home of the Pod and is forced into the wasteland, she has no idea what is going on or how she will survive. Her home is one that is very futuristic where she is able to go wherever she wants in a virtual reality system. The outside is extremely different and so are the people. Where Aria is used to her way of life, Perry is used to something else completely.

I really enjoyed the contrast between Aria’s home and Perry’s. Aria’s home is reliant on technology whereas Perry only relies on his senses, hunting and basic ways of survival. The alternating narratives help to show how each character copes in their newfound situations and I could easily see the differences due to their upbringings. The way in which Perry lives has quite a complex background to it and this was one of the most interesting parts of the book. I loved learning more about the ways of his tribe and how everything worked.

A lot happens in Under the Never Sky but the pace seemed pretty slow for the most part. I think this was mainly to do with the fact that Aria and Perry travel around quite a lot so some time is spent walking or hunting etc. However, during these times character development is strong as there is a fair amount of dialogue and getting to know each other. The pair, with an obvious romance about to happen, take things extremely slow and they don’t even like each other to begin with. Veronica Rossi builds up the tension between the two characters and lets things progress at an even pace.

Even though this book had a really slow start and was so confusing, I really enjoyed it in the end. The world created is an extremely interesting one and the characters are amazing. Under the Never Sky reignited my interest in dystopian novels!