Lovin' los libros

 

 

 

I am always so nervous about ending a series I love, as I am never sure of what direction the author will take. After becoming so invested in the characters and their storylines, us readers can only hope that the author ties up all loose ends, answer all our questions, and give us the ending the characters deserve. It is such a tricky thing, as you know you cannot please everyone. However, I have to say: I am very satisfied with Rossi's ending to her Under the Never Sky series.

 

In the first book, Under the Never Sky, we are introduced to both the Dweller and the Outsider worlds as they come crashing together in the form of a girl named Aria. Aria has evolved so much from when we first met her and I absolutely loved her strength in this final book. After everything she has gone through, she has really earned her place in Perry's world. She's not the sheltered Dweller she once was. Instead, she has known hardships and loss and has had to fight to survive. She has been forced to make the difficult decisions to help the ones she loves. After not seeing Perry and Aria together much in the previous novel Through the Ever Night, I was so happy to see them together as a unit again. They balance each other so perfectly and I love how they are both driven to do what is right. Aria is really put in the middle between two people she cares about dearly for the majority of the book, but I felt she handled that with grace and worked to bridge the gap instead of widen it.

 

Perry has also come a long way from when we first met him. He has accepted his responsibility as a leader and that he must do what is best for his tribe as a whole, even when the greater good comes at a dear price. I obviously don't want to spoil anything but there was a scene towards the last 1/4 of the book where I felt such pride and despair for Perry. If you ever doubted that he was a good man, that scene will completely make you reevaluate those doubts. I loved watching him and Aria together- he is completely in love with her and just the way they interact with one another is really precious.

 

ROAR. ROAR. ROAR. Oh gods. All I can really say here is that we see a very different Roar in this book than we did in Under the Never Sky. However, I absolutely adore his and Aria's friendship. These two are beautiful together. I can't recall a book where the female love interest had such a strong relationship with the male lead's best friend. Roar does not open up to many people and I love his easy acceptance of Aria. When Perry was being too thick headed, Roar was the balance and the calm to the storm. I hate that we don't see this for a good portion of this book. Roar is being suffocated by his grief and unfortunately, instead of leaning on his oldest friend, the rift between the two is absolutely heartbreaking.

 

Rossi does an amazing job of continuing her world building and while my heart was certainly broken at times, she managed to leave me quite satisfied with her ending. I really liked seeing the shift in alliances as well as watching the Dwellers and the Outsiders come together to seek out a better life for themselves. I am never ready for a series to end, so I have to say I selfishly wish Rossi would write a final novella, from either Roar, Brooke, or even Soren's POV just to check in with our characters and see how they're doing.

 

Into the Still Blue is the perfect conclusion to the Under the Never Sky trilogy and it has earned its place as one of my favorite conclusions to a YA series. Props Ms. Rossi. You brought so much life to this series, its characters, and I loved seeing all of the development and growth throughout.