Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky #2) by Veronica Rossi (2013)

YA Fiction | DystopianBlurb:

“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 and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, can their love survive through the ever night?”
–Goodreads

Book One: UNDER THE NEVER SKY

pooled ink Review:

The middle child of books. ‘Middle Child Syndrome’ is a debatable theory but it generally holds true when it comes to books. The first book knocks the breath out of you with magic and ingenuity, the second book kind of kicks a bit of dirt around with its shoes and resembles more of a long rickety terrifying bridge stretched out across a vast cavern landing you in book three which will either be a mind-blowing conclusion or a flat disappointment. But it’s that middle book that always makes me nervous because it tends to teeter between continuing its predecessor’s upward momentum or slipping down that oh so slippery slope of ‘meh’.

Through the Ever Night, however, did a pretty a-okay job. If my reviews are to claim honesty then I must admit that it didn’t wow me quite as much as the first book (although that might just be some subconscious prejudice because I tend to love the first book in a series best) but it did do a really good job of weaving in more interesting characters, thickening the plot, raising the stakes, and transporting the reader through more difficult challenges, decisions, and risks throughout the whole arc of the book.

It was interesting to see tribe life and how they would take to Aria. It was fascinating to see how Aria’s old home-dome fared without her and with time. It was exciting to meet other tribes and characters mentioned many times in the first book but never in much detail. It was enticing to see how Aria and Perry’s journey did not in fact end with the first book but had ages to go until they could truly breathe in peace.

Rossi did a good job of furthering the plot and characters with this book and avoiding puttering around grasping at straws and falling into that oh so common quagmire of ‘middle book syndrome.’ It left me not just wanting the final book but needing it. It fed that desire to see Aria’s journey through to the end.

Cheers.

 Purchase here: Through the Ever Night 

Check out the rest of the series: Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky #1) and Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3)

Originally rated on Goodreads on August 08, 2015.