Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Book Two of the Under the Never Sky series

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publication Date: January 8. 2013

Rating: 3 stars

Source: hardcover copy given as a gift

Summary (from Goodreads):

It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death. 

Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.

Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at first. 

Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?

Threatened by false friends 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 sci-fi elements to create a captivating adventure-and a love story as perilous as it is unforgettable.

What I Liked:

Let me tell you a story, about this story. I started reading this book on January 20th (2013, of course). I was sooo excited to be reading the sequel to one of my favorite books of 2012! I got about 180 pages into this book, and stopped. I couldn't take it, I couldn't handle this book (I'll explain why in the next section). So, I put the book down, and moved on.

Of course, I ended up getting an advanced reviewer's copy of Into the Still Blue in the fall, so I couldn't just NOT read book two, could I? So, I picked up book two, and here I am. What a journey Through the Ever Night has been for me. I knew I wasn't going to not finish this book, but it all depended on when I got a copy of Into the Still Blue. Which easily could have been sometime in 2014. 

Anyway, I didn't love this book, but I'm really glad I finished it. It picks up months after book one ends, but it starts with the reunion scene that is in the epilogue of book one (I think it was an epilogue, and not a chapter). Aria's presence in Perry's tribe makes the tribe uneasy and untrustworthy of her. And the aether storms grow worse, weakening the tribe. Aria still has to find Sable, and the Still Blue, in order to get Talon back. How will Aria and Perry's relationship survive?

One of the things I really enjoyed about this book (and was also present in book one) is the dual points-of-view, and the third-person narration. It's not easy to pull of third-person narration in YA, especially since most books are in first-person narration. It's even harder to do third-person narration in split points-of-view. I LOVE getting to see things from Perry's eyes AND Aria's eyes - and I love that both are told in third person. Props to Rossi for that!

The plot and story was kind of slow, which was one of my biggest problems with this book. BUT. It served its purpose - the final showdown that will occur in book three is pretty showy and big. I cannot wait to see how things shake down in book three!

The romance is rocky in this book. Perry is heavily tested in this book, more so than Aria. It's more like he is more tempted than she is, more easily swayed to see things that are not there. However, I didn't get too annoyed with him (or Aria), because nothing was serious to go pointing fingers and screaming, "LOVE TRIANGLE!". Both Perry and Aria were tested, and they survived, and I think that is a great way to have a relationship progress in YA literature. See? You don't need a love triangle...

In general, this was a pretty good sequel - it didn't suffer from sequel syndrome, and the author didn't do horrible things to the male and female protagonist. Yay.

What I Did Not Like:

I spent way to long "reading" this book. Granted, I really only spent two days reading it: January 20th, and December 28th. But seriously - it should NOT take me almost an entire year to read/finish a book. On January 20th, after 180, I had zero motivation to finish this book, and I very clearly remember why.

The first 180 pages were painfully boring. For me. Not much happens, and what happens doesn't happen in a way that captured my attention. Things don't really pick up until about fifty pages later, or when some characters find Sable. THEN things start to get interesting, and I really wanted to know what was going on.

But, Perry's life with the tribe? Did not interest me. I didn't really care. I understand why Rossi spent so much time and pages showing and telling the problems with the tribe, about shelter and food and trust and the aether storms - to show how difficult things were for Perry, to help develop Perry's character, and so on. But it was painful. And boring. And painful.

I had to skim-read the first 180 pages, to familiarize myself with what I read so long ago, and I could remember what I had been thinking at the time. I thought it was boring then, and I thought it was boring now (when I was revisiting the content). There's a problem there.

It was probably possible that I didn't need to read this book. It didn't feel necessary to the series - it felt like a filler novel. And it filled the spot of a sequel well. But I wasn't in love with this book. It didn't break my heart, or make me super happy, or make me rage. It just me bored and tired.

But I am very, VERY excited to read book three next. I have it, and I am going to read it next.

Would I Recommend It:

I would still highly recommend this book, if you liked/loved book one. And if you're contemplating reading this series at all, do it! This sequel isn't amazing, but it fills the spot of a sequel pretty well, and it continues the story appropriately. I'm quite sure book three will blow readers away, just like book one did. 

Rating:

3 stars. It was a great sequel, but I'm just really excited to read book three. I feel like I could have skipped this book completely, and could have just jumped right into book three. Oh well!

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