Beauty and the Reader

This book had been recommended to me for months, so when I finally got the book, I started reading it very soon. As it said on the cover that fans of the Hunger Games would love this trilogy, so I started this book with quite high expectations. Apart from a few little things, this book totally lived up to my expectations!

I read this book in six days, which isn't very fast for me, but looking at the lack of time I have and reading slump I'm going through, I think this was quite fast. The main reason why I couldn't stop reading was probably because of the "mystery" involved. When I read this book, I had lots of questions. I always like it when a book leaves you questioning all the time, especially if you are still able to follow the plot in someway. This was the case with Under the Never Sky. At the beginning, everything was vague, and as a reader who didn't know anything about the book, this made you want to read the book even more. However, I believe it could've been set up with a little more explanation, so that more details about the beginning could be remembered. Personally, I don't remember much of it, only some vague details.

Secondly, the viewpoint. Under the Never Sky is told from two perspectives : Aria's and Peregrine's. I really liked this, as they both were really interesting characters, and I wanted to know their story and what they thought about some things. However, the thing I didn't like about the perspective was that it is told in third person viewpoint. We were already given a story with two main characters, but why the third person? It sometimes confused me a little. This was not because of not seeing any difference between Peregrine and Aria, but at moments I was not fully committed to the story, this could be confusing. Moreover, I think the story being told in first person would have made much more sense, and would have made it more personal. On the other hand, when reading Allegiant, which is also written from two perspectives in first person viewpoint, I thought I was reading from Tris's perspective when I actually read from Four's perspective, even at times I was only focusing on the story.

I really liked the characters and as well felt connected to them. Aria had some characteristics I could relate to, and, even though he is a boy, I as well understood Peregrine and why he did what he did. Moreover, I thought their emotions were well-defined, so the few actions/reactions I didn't really get were explained. The other characters in the book unfortunately weren't present as much as I'd like them to be, but they were there, and even though I didn't understand them as well as the main characters, I did enjoy them being there. I especially liked Cinder. I hope we will read more about him in the second book, Through the Ever Night.

One of the major things that disappointed me were some deaths. I surely didn't think too many characters died, but I did think that some of those who did die could've been given another "fate". By this, I mean to say that I believe some of the deaths could have had a more creative solution. This might sound a little mean, but I was hoping there would be a kind of "fake" death. I will still be hoping to see this in the following books!

Lastly, some of the things I loved about this book, starting with the cover. In my opinion, it is really really beautiful, especially the cover we get to see on Goodreads. Secondly, I loved the title. Under the Never Sky sounds so beautiful, and so do Through the Ever Night and Into the Still Blue. Also, I liked how it was mentioned in the novel itself, and the Aether having to do with it. Furthermore, I loved the world. From my point of view, this was a very well built up world, that made sense and its description immediately created a clear image in my mind. And last but not least, I loved loved loved the ending. It was so beautiful! I can't wait to read the last book!!