I was a little surprised at how much I ended up liking this book. I was interested in it when I first heard about it. Then I started reading it and wasn’t sure how I felt about it, and was a little worried. It took a while for me to get into the book and to connect with the characters. But then as the story went on, I found something special in there that finally captured my interest.

Aria’s world is quite interesting. The novel is set in dystopia times, but there is some supernatural and fantasy aspects, though the fantasy is on a smaller scale, and kind of an unexpected musical aspect that brought the right amount of magic and beauty to the story. Aria lives in a society where people live in pods, closed off to the outside world that is full of disease and savages and only leads to death. They have an Eyesmart device (basically an eye patch that latches onto the skin around one of their eyes), that takes them into a virtual realistic world, where they can taste and smell and touch everything as if it were real. When Aria is accused of doing something she didn’t do, she is sent to the outside world, the Death Shop. Here she finds Perry, a savage, and together they go on a journey to recover what they have lost.

My problem with the book was the writing and characterization. I never felt the writing was great, it was just mediocre, and sometimes felt choppy. And I didn’t feel much connection or emotion with the characters as they were introduced. The writing never quite grew on me, (it was nice and easy to read, just not attention grabbing), but the characters slowly began to show themselves and their emotions. I came to understand and like them better. And the romance was sweet. It was brought on slow. It began rocky, with Aria and Perry not quite liking each other, but they soon begin to bond.

I thought the ending was nicely done. It wraps everything up nicely and ends with a sweet reunion. I think that there may be a sequel, there’s still some questions left unanswered. I don’t feel that it needs one though. I don’t know that I would read it unless I hear that it’s better than the first or is worth reading. But Under the Never Sky was a nice and intriguing read. Dystopian lovers I think will like it.



This arc was provided to me from the publisher via Netgalley.