Review Wednesday: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

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Under the Never Sky #1

Goodreads Blurb:

"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."

Review:

While the beginning of this book (meaning like the first couple chapters) were slightly slow, I got so sucked into the story after that!  I admit, it made me slightly obsessive about finishing it.  While I did love most of it, there was one big piece that never was clarified for me.  Let's get into it, shall we?

1.  The plot.  Like I said, it wasn't super interesting for the first couple chapters but after that it really picked up.  I loved the ups and downs and the journey in general.  The pace was perfect and the action was spot-on.  While it followed the typical hero's journey with the plot points and characters, I found that it didn't bother me as much as it could have.

2.  The romance.  While the romance is pretty obvious from the start (what do you think will happen with the POV's of two characters who are finding their way together?), I found that I enjoyed it's development.  It definitely wasn't love at first sight and there was no love triangle which is fabulous.  In general, I really loved Perry and Aria together.  They really do compliment each other and their relationship always made me smile and laugh.

3. The characters.  The characters were also all quite lovely.  Most of the important characters were developed well and were very nuanced.  However, Aria's mother's character was never really worked on and it seems like her relationship with Aria remains mostly in the dark.  I still enjoyed reading about them all, however.

4.  The science.  The is the part that wasn't as developed enough for me.  While the Realms and Pods are explained well enough, the appearance of the eyepieces and how they attach and where they attach was pretty fuzzy for me.  Also, Aria's heritage felt like it was thrown out of left field.  It's never hinted at really until the end when you actually find out.  Additionally, the brain condition and the symptoms pertaining to it were confusing to me.  I guess I just never really got how it really develops because I never really understood the eyepieces and what led to them in the first place.

The Final Verdict:

A very well rounded story with complex characters and plotline and a wonderfully developed romance.  However, the science could have used a little more explanation for me.

4 stars

Favorite Quote:

“If there was no fear, how could there be comfort? Or courage?”