Title: Through the Ever NightAuthor:Veronica RossiEdition: hardcoverSeries: Under the Never Sky #2Released Date: January 8th, 2013Publisher: HarperTeen
Goodreads / Amazon It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.
Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?
In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.I wanted to love this - I really did. Except there was one major issue: there wasn't really much going on in this novel. There wasn't intense romance, like how it was building up in the first novel. There wasn't hard-core action, like I expected to be after what happened in Under the Never Sky. There just wasn't anything I expected.
And the thing was, I didn't even expect very much out of this one! Usually when I go into sequels, I beg and beg and BEG that they won't fall into the sequel trap of being totally suck-ish. When I read Under the Never Sky, I only gave it a four stars. That's a pretty good rating, if I say so myself. It was a good book, but it didn't do much for me. It didn't bring out amazing emotions, and after finishing the book I didn't have that many emotions that made me want to rip my hair out like an amazing book usually does. After finishing it, I could care less if I really picked up this sequel. But I did, and I guess I was kind of bored out of my mind.
In the first book, I remember loving Aria! She was strong, yet had the vulnerable aspects to make her realistic. In the sequel, she kind of annoyed me. She was oblivious to clear things, made quick and rash decisions, and rarely ever thought ANYTHING through. I expected Aria to grow so much more, but I felt that she returned to her past Dweller actions at some points. I constantly found myself saying, "Really, Aria?!"
The one thing that kept this book going for me was the relationships. First of all, Aria and Perry. I wish there would have been a few more scenes between the two of them, but due to the plot it was understandable that there weren't as many. I think the purpose of this was to create some sexual frustration. At times it did, but other times it seemed like it was trying to hard. Next, the relationship between Aria and Roar. I'm not talking about an intimate relationship. Well, I take that back since they didn't seem to have a bond. It wasn't a romantic bond - definitely a friendship bond. I'm glad Aria was able to rely on someone other than Perry so she didn't seem as incredibly weak. Then there's Roar and Liv. This relationship was one crazy roller coaster ride. I just want to run up to Roar and give him a big ole hug. He reminds me of that person you know that has gone through so much but still manages to crack jokes and have a smile on their face. In this novel, that person is Roar. By the way, great twist with Liv, Miss Rossi! The one thing that pissed me off with it was that Perry didn't even seem fazed by ANY of it. I mentally yelled at him a couple of times.
The other thing I really liked was the message the book gave. It seemed to revolve around the idea that everything may not be okay. That may seem like a total cliche, and some people think it should be a common theme in most dystopian novels, but this one did it the best. Aria had troubles with Hess, Soren, and being accepted in the Tides; Roar had struggles with trying to get Liv back; Perry is constantly nit-picked and people even turn their backs on him.
I think all those things were done well, but besides them, there wasn't anything else going on in the novel like I had hoped for. I constantly was begging the book gods to bless me with some more substance, but rarely found my wishes answered.
I'm debating if I'm going to rate this book two or three stars. There were some really bad things in this novel, but then there were things that were done exceptionally well. Due to the fact that I'll probably read the third novel, I'm going to give this book a three. I may not have shared similar feelings for this book as the rest of the blogging community, but I hope that others will find this book more entertaining than I did.
