Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

 my rating: 2.5/5 stars

SYNOPSIS:  Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland - known as The Death Shop - are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild - a savage - and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile - everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.

My Review: Alright, Lets get this straight. I REALLY wanted to love this book. I mean, REALLY. I wanted this to be right up there with my favorite novels read ever. I know...high expectations, much? Well, after reading so many fantastical reviews raving about how amazing this debut dystopian was, I couldn't get a copy of it quick enough! Unfortunately, a lot of this about this book left me questioning and overall, unimpressed.

From the very start of this book, the reader is blindly thrown into this strange, futuristic world Rossi has created. It honestly took me about a third of the way through the book to finally understand this world, and even at the end is still had some unresolved questions. Why do Aether storms happen? Why are their Outsiders? Why can't they just live in the Pods with the rest of the population? I also still don't really understand the realms or what Perry means when he says he's "rendered" to Aria or Tallon. Maybe these questions will be answered in future sequels, but I really don't like to be left hangin' like this. One of my biggest pet peeves when it come to books is when an author doesn't develop the characters, the plot, or the story world enough, and Rossi, I'm sorry but you've managed to do just that. As for the characters...they were OK, but I Aria and Perry were a bit dull for me. Their romance was just...meh. Roar and Liv's romance on the other hand? LOVE :) Honestly, Rossi should just abandon Perry and Aria and continue the story with Roar and Liv because THAT WOULD BE SO MUCH FRIGGIN' CUTER! Oh, and also, Talon was such a little cutie pie. Having a much younger brother myself, I have a soft spot for little boy characters such as Talon, hence why I loved his adorableness so much.

The only thing I have left to say about the story is that I never was reading this book going "OMG, I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!" which frankly, sucks. I mean really, that like the best part about reading books! .....*sigh*

Overall, This book wasn't at all what I was hoping it was going to be unfortunately. I don't know....maybe it's just me. Like I said before, lots of people have enjoyed this book, so I do believe I'm the odd one out when I say I don't think I will continue to read this series. You, fellow book lover, on the other hand may enjoy this story immensely, so don't let this review get your hopes down if you plan on loving this story! If you don't love it thought, you can't say I didn't warn you...