Under the Never Sky

Author: Veronica Rossi
Publication Date: January 3, 2012
Source: Gift

Summary from Goodreads: Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.
As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.
They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY.
The first book in a captivating trilogy, Veronica Rossi’s enthralling debut sweeps you into an unforgettable adventure.

Rating: êêêê

Review: This book was a bit challenging to get into at first. There is a lot of terminology that the author uses that is clearly common in this dystopian future but not to the present day reader, so there was a lot to figure out and some of it I’m not 100% positive I envisioned correctly. The world building could use some work, there is little explanation about how the world came to be this way. I also struggled to connect with the two point of views, but that changed about 25% of the way into the book.

Eventually the plot started to pick up and before I knew it, I was reading until I fell asleep with my kindle in hand and waking up reaching for it again. There is a dash of paranormal sci-fi that works really well. There is also a nice balance of romance, you’ll see it coming but it doesn’t over power the story. There is a decent amount of action and a pretty big twist. In summary, it has all the elements that create a book that I will love.