Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky, #2)

by Veronica Rossi

[KitsuneBae]

You can read my review in this blog: www.pageshaven.blogspot.com

Contained in 341 pages, Through the Ever Night is a fast paced story with lots of realization, drama, action and things that need to be reflected on. I can say that it’s one of my favorite books for 2013 since it wasn’t what I usually expected from those book series suffering from the typical “middle book syndrome.”
The story started off minutes after the ending of the first book (Under the Never Sky). Aria and Perry saw each other again after many months of being apart. The meeting was short but kind of intense since you can really feel how they longed for each other. Yet, on that very first scene then, Aria’s matured take on things has already manifested when she openly told Perry that they should keep their relationship as a secret. Reason was that she wanted to protect Perry’s credibility as the new Blood Lord of the Tides. Although reluctant, Perry had to agree but in return, he convinced Aria to go with him to the Tides Community.
Except for Roar, Willow and some old lady, hostility greeted Aria when she first came to the Tribe. Although hurt and insecure and in a new environment, Aria struggled to fit in and find ways to prove herself that she is a worthy Tide member. While Perry’s credibility and position as Blood Lord of the Tides were slowly questioned by the Tribe members. Somehow, in the novel, he became insecure of his abilities, somewhat paranoid and I have to admit that because of his great love for Aria, he sometimes lost track of what should come first; his duty to his people or Aria. This is where I loved Reef and his band of men because despite Perry’s immaturity sometimes, Reef had always been there to guide and support him every step of the way.
In the almost middle part of the book, Aria with Roar’s company pursued her real mission and that is to find the Still Blue in exchange for Talon’s freedom.

Plot
The plot was very well written. The twists were subtle but engaging. Not too complicated but enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. Through the Ever Night gives us a more detailed scenario of the culture dynamics of the outside Tribes. The story was painful on my part because I just couldn’t believe that an almost happy family could turn out the way it did to Perry’s. Just because of greed, insecurity and incompetency, one brother and sister have to end up dead.
And of course, as I’ve mentioned in my introduction, Through the Ever Night talks about sacrifices for the greater good. Like Aria who chose to leave Perry because of her mission to rescue Perry’s nephew and to give Perry the chance to provide his undivided attention to the Tide community. Like Perry who after reflecting on his actions and Reef’s guidance chose to stand by his people even though his heart is crying for Aria. Like Liv (Perry’s sister) who chose to marry another Blood Lord even if she’s hopelessly inlove with Roar.
Loyalty was also the best points about the book. I admire how Reef and his band of men stood by Perry when almost everyone else mocked and doubted his leadership. I also love how Cinder, with his mysterious and not-so-good past, chose to remain with Perry despite the fact that they got into quarrels. And it was touching having to know that Cinder is actually doing his very best not only to please Perry but Willow as well.
And lastly, true love would always be one of the best ingredients for book success. In here, true love had always been manifested in Perry and Aria’s situation. There’s no question about that. But I’m amazed how Veronica Rossi was able to squeeze in Liv and Roar’s love story in the book without ruining it. Liv and Roar’s story was bittersweet. For some reason, it reminded me of Titanic.  Roar was just Mr. Perfect. Funny, witty, handsome and a fighter for true love. I want to hate Veronica for hurting Roar this much.

Characters
To make the book more beautiful, new characters were introduced. I love some of them and hate some of them. But the most notable thing in the book was that the primary characters of the book were evolving into better and admirable individuals. You’ll have a more in-depth look on why Perry, Roar, Liv and Vale grew up to be what they are, where they’re coming from.

Interactions and Dialogues
Again, there’s no debate that Veronica Rossi is a wonderful weaver of words. I like how she was able to establish a platonic relationship between Aria and Roar who were together for the most part of the book instead of Perry and Aria. Their relationship gives me this sense of comfort and pressure-less environment wherein you know that someone would always be there for you without fearing that he/she’ll fall in love with you in the long run. I admit that love triangle nowadays are kind of cliché.


Overall Impression
Through the Ever Night is a job well done again for Miss Rossi. The ending was satisfying with a bit of a cliffhanger to maintain the suspense for the last book. My expectations were actually exceeded because there are a lot of books out there which for some reason has a second book that’s only meant to be filler for the whole series. I am hoping that Warner Bros. who optioned this book will give the green signal and show it in the big screen. Oh jeez, if that happens, I only wish that the movie justifies the book.