Review: Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Book: Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Series: Under the Never Sky #3

Released: January 28, 2014

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 400 (Kindle)

Rating: 5+

 

Goodreads 

 

 

From Goodreads:

The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece" Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Times bestselling Through the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

 

First and foremost, if you have not read the first two book in this series, Under the Never Sky and Through the Ever Night, you should get thee to a bookstore, Amazon, or wherever you like to buy books right now and buy this series. As with all books in series, there will be mentions of plot points from the first two books. 

 

You tell 'em Snape.

So up until a few months ago, I had never been worried about how some of my favorite series would end. Was I totally happy with Mockingjay? Eh, not so much, but it was still good. I loved the end to The Bitter Kingdom. But all of my dreams of HEA were shattered, SHATTERED I TELL YOU, when I read Allegiant (my review of which is here). Since then I've been so much more cautious and let's just say scared, to read series enders. I was much more optimistic when early reviews started coming in and some of my favorite reviewers said good things about this book. I am thrilled to say that Ms. Rossi most definitely did not disappoint.

 

On to the review. 

 

The story picks up 4 days after Through the Ever Night Leaves Off. Aria is suffering from being shot. Perry is trying to figure out how to save the Tides, Roar is shrouded in grief, the Dwellers are sick, and poor Cinder is still captured by Hess and Sable (who is so SO incredibly evil). Basically everyone needs to find the Still Blue. The aether is now almost constant, and has turned red-something that last happened before the Pods were created. 

One of the best things about this book was all of the action. I loved every minute of it. Our heroes are under constant threats from all different directions. They're facing the aether storms, Hess, Sable, discord between the Tides and the Dwellers. It never stops. Even when you *think* they are going to get a reprieve, something else pops up.

But mixed in with all of that action there are some wonderfully swoon-worthy moments between Perry and Aria. What I love so much about their relationship in this book in particular is how much they open up and actually TALK to each other. Communication people. It works! But my favorite moments from the entire book is when they are discussing how Perry doesn't have a nickname for her (while Roar, on the other hand has TONS for her).

Seriously. How DO you find a nickname to encompass all of that?

Another one of my favorite aspects of this series has always been the friendships. Aria and Roar have to been one of my favorite book-friendships EVER. I love those two together. They fully understand one another in a completely platonic relationship. They maintain that close connection throughout the turmoil that has occurred (and does occur) during this series. While Aria and Roar maintain their friendship, Roar and Perry are definitely at odds during this book. It hurt my feels to see these two former best friends hardly even tolerate one another.

There were definitely a few surprising characters this go round. Soren quickly became one of my favorite people in this book. He's snarky, intelligent and damaged. I enjoyed his developing friendship with the Tides. Which leads me to Brooke. I couldn't stand her in the first two books, but she definitely came into her own in this book. And then there's Sable. Dude is every villain you've ever read about and wanted to throttle rolled all in to one. We only got a small glimpse of his evilness in Through the Ever Night when he killed Liv. He takes it to a whole other level in Into the Still Blue. 

I'm not really going to go into the plot points, because you really just need to read this for yourself. There's so much that happens and I think it's best read if you have no idea what you're getting into. Just know that it's full of awesomeness.

 

One last thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about this book: it's realistic (within the realm of this world anyway!). There are lots of schemes. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't. I appreciated that Rossi didn't make everything easy for them just because they're our heroes.  

 

I love these characters. I didn't want them to go away. EVER. I didn't want this series to end. I'd be more than happy to continue living in this world-maybe some more stories involving Roar perhaps?

I'll leave you with my favorite quote from the story:

Smart girl, Aria.