Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Title: Through the Ever Night
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: January 8, 2013
Series: Under the Never Sky #2
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Source: Edelweiss, Purchased

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?

I liked Under the Never Sky quite a bit and Through the Ever Night was one of my most anticipated books of 2013. And it definitely lived up to my expectations for awesome. I am not quite sure what I was expecting from it, but it wasn't exactly this. This was way better than what I was expecting.

There should be a disclaimer on this book for how awesome Roar is. I enjoyed his character in Under the Never Sky, but in Through the Ever Night he is even better! Roar is an amazing, unwavering friend to Aria when she desperately needs one. His heart is laid bare in this book, and I love him for it. Perry has a lot of crap to deal with in this installment, as he is now the Blood Lord of the Tides. He must earn his people's faith, trust, and respect as a leader, and he must protect them from the elements as well as invaders. He struggles with these things and with guilt over what happened with Vale. I love the growth that Perry experiences over the course of the novel and I adore him even more than before because of it. Aria has some stuff to deal with of her own - prejudices from some of the Tides, the pressure of finding out where the Still Blue is and wanting to save Talon. But she also does a great deal of worrying about and doing her best to be an emotional support to Perry as well as Roar through their ordeals. My favorite things about the character development in Through the Ever Night are the growth that we see in Perry and the strength of the friendship between Aria and Roar.

The pacing in Through the Ever Night is faster than that of Under the Never Sky. There are more Aether storms and other dangers and there's just a lot going on, and that makes it a really quick read. There's none of that second-book-in-a-series syndrome thing happening here. The Aether is further described as liquid fire in the sky that strikes in funnels like lightning, and its origins are briefly explained. The plot is fast-paced and fun and appropriately frustrating in places. The character development is great. If you've been following my reviews for a while, then you know that one of my pet peeves in books is when actionable conflict is brushed aside in favor of contrived relationship drama. That does not happen here. There are plenty of worthy conflicts to fill that role, and any relationship tensions that do arise are thoughtfully constructed and believable.

If you loved or liked Under the Never Sky in the slightest, then you need to read Through the Ever Night. It's better than its predecessor. It's a fun sci-fi lite type of book with well-written and developed characters. I loved it. I need Into the Still Blue, preferably right now.