Through The Ever Night by Veronica Ross

Goodreads Description: "It's been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don't take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe's precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both. Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder,Can their love survive through the ever night? In this second book in her spellbinding Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi combines fantasy and dystopian elements to create a captivating love story as perilous as it is unforgettable."

My Review: It's ironic that this book is marketed as "unforgettable", when it seems pretty...well, forgettable to me. It's a decent enough sequel but I found it rather lacking in both action and romance. Perry's parts were honestly just downright boring and I found his struggles to gain the Tides' support very unrealistic. Either he must be the leader of the dumbest people on the planet of Earth or...yeah, no, that must be it. I mean, they get mad at him for not allocating more workers to the fields when they're under threat of attack and he CLEARLY needs to use those workers to defend their home. They also scoff at him wanting to move their settlement to the caves, which sounds unpleasant, I know---but do they not SEE the aether destroying their settlement all around them? Do they seriously think they can just sit on their behinds and go their merry way? 
          So yeah. That made me a little irritated. Aria and Roar's story was much more interesting, partially because I like both Aria and Roar better than I like Perry (seriously, why couldn't Aria be with Roar? Perry's so cliche perfect) and partially because their journey to Sable's settlement---more like kingdom, really---was much more interesting and it echoed sort of a Graceling feel. 
          Some signifcant things did happen in the book, with Liv and the attacks from other tribes and, oh yes, the whole big bad business with the Still Blue. The book definitely sped up near the end, which I liked. The first half of the book seemed kind of like a waste of time to me. But still, apart from the chaos at Reverie, which happened at the VERY end of the book...nothing happened. I had hoped we would learn more about the Still Blue or something, but not really. 
          The main reason I liked this book was the same reason I liked the first one: Aria. I find her to be a really likable character: friendly yet tough, a loyal friend, and she actually makes pretty good decisions, unlike a lot of idiotic heroines. She matured pleasantly from the first book, which was nice. 
          Hopefully the next book will have more resolution as to matters of the Still Blue (which is pretty much the only thing anyone really cares about, readers included). 

Cover: It's alright, very much like the first. But I wish they'd picked a guy who actually resembled Perry and not just some male model. And perhaps actually shown what aether looked like. 

Overall Grade: B-