Under The Never Sky series by Veronica Rossi

Under The Never Sky
Everyone in the Reverie lives in a virtual world where nothing is real and everything is perfect. So when Soren takes Aria and friends into an open dome and starts a fire, things start to get out of control.  Aria gets the blame for it all and is dumped in the Outside to die. Outside the Reverie, Aria essentially has to re-learn everything and it was very strange seeing things for the first time through her eyes, like the lack of pattern in the stones and her fingernails growing. I immediately warmed to Aria, with her absentee mother and non-existent father, her tough lot in life along with the sudden desertion of her home.

Aria and Perry are thrown together as they both hunt for the same thing: a dome called Bliss. Their budding relationship takes a while to warm up of course but is a deep contrast to the secrets they uncover when they reach Bliss. This is a great start to their story, an amazing introduction to the world with lots more to explore in the rest of the trilogy. 

Through The Ever Night
Picking up nearly where we left off, Perry is now Blood Lord of his tribe and is struggling with all the troubles that is causing. The Tides don't trust Aria and that rift is undermining Perry's rule. Meanwhile, Aria is really coming into her own after discovering her heritage, but that doesn't make things any easier to be accepted by the Tides. So Aria leaves Perry behind and  she and Roar go on a mission to the Rim, to find Sable and Liv. Speaking of which, I loved how there was no competition for love between Aria and Roar. It wasn't just that he was already taken, there was simply no jealousy in their relationship. Of course the way they ran away didn't stop Perry from feeling a bit jealous but it wasn't warranted and he knew that. 

Rossi has got the balance between the heart-stopping action and the burning romance exactly right. As the Aether storms get worse and supplies dwindle and friends are no longer so friendly, things are looking tense. Aria and Roar's mission doesn't exactly go to plan and what happened broke my heart into tiny pieces. We also get a bit more information about Cinder and his connection to the Aether. Which is vital information that could change everything for the Tides, until Cinder is kidnapped. What I especially loved about this book was that it didn't feel like a filler between the intro and the grand finale; great and terrible things happen relating to their journey and survival, and I loved every page.

Into The Still Blue
They have all come a long way, but they still have a ways to go before they are safe. The effects of Through the Ever Night are still being felt deeply (which I will not mention for fear of spoilers). Let's just say that Perry and Roar are distant due to differing ways of showing loss. Revenge and desperation are the emotions of the day so when they attempt to rescue Cinder from Sable and Hess, things go quite wrong. At the end of the last book we learned about the alliance between Sable and Hess, and in this one we discover more about Sable and the Horns, and Hess's place in their partnership, which is to say a crappy one. 

Things are looking pretty bleak as they are trapped and separated and literally beaten. But then an unexpected friendly helps, which I will also not mention because spoilers. Sable forces Cinder to use the Aether to open the storms to get to the Still Blue and he was so very brave even though he might die doing so. But of course finally getting to the Still Blue is not the end of the trouble with Sable and once again things look awful for all their futures. 

This was an incredible finale, full of action and breaking points and love and fear, and all these amazing characters that just made this story. I think this is one of my new favourite trilogies and definitely one of favourite relationships between Aria and Perry. They have all grown so much and I loved following every step of their journey.