Book Review: Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3) by Veronica Rossi

Title: Into the Still Blue (Under the Never Sky #3)
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: January 28th 2014
Length: 400 pages  
Keywords:YA, fiction, dystopian, romance, action, friendship
Source: Publisher

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.

Summary by Goodreads

When you've read all three books in this series you can see a very significant development and distinct suspense curve from UNDER THE NEVER SKY, THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT to INTO THE STILL BLUE. A trilogy with a strong and very harmonious story unit. Veronica Rossi's books are adventurous and wild and have just so much to offer. The Still Blue is this mythical and paradisiac place we've been waiting to discover together with our heroes since the very beginning and now we are as close as never before.

This last leg of Aria and Perry's journey isn't any less thrilling and dangerous than the previous instalments. This book is the chance of one last surge of action, to win the final battle against nature and the hellish Aether storms. But the Horns and the Dwellers around Hess aren't any easier to defeat than the Aether.
When our friends start into INTO THE STILL BLUE there are many uncertainties weighing them down. How can they get Cinder back? Find the Still Blue and outwit their enemies? You should be prepared to lose more characters in this final battle.

INTO THE STILL BLUE is very much about how all three different tribes are trying to achieve their respective goals, about the violence and battle potential between them. The Horns are very rural and big in force, the Dwellers are strong in the research and technology department and the Tides are caring and are putting high importance on the well-being of their people. I guess I know who you'll all be rooting for.

Amidst all the chaos and fighting there is Aria and Perry's love for each other, which is soothing and a welcome change. Their romance can be your silent island in the storm-tossed sea of this story. Now there are even more emotions and needs in the relationship of the two. Like other YA couples they are not free of conflicts and problems, but they are always reasonable and talk about what's worrying them at some point at least.

One could think after I liked all three UNDER THE NEVER SKY BOOKS so much, I should finally be able to give this last book in the trilogy the full five-star rating. Here's why, besides the very good last book that it was,  I wasn't completely happy with the ending.
Veronica Rossi reserved a good amount of chapters to tell us what's in it for our characters in future and tries to tie up every single story thread in the end. I wasn't convinced that she used the time we readers get to spend with our characters in the end economically enough. Some expendable scenes were simply stealing time from my precious last happy minutes with Aria and all the others. You can imagine I wasn't okay with that. I guess you see, this isn't the worst critique one could have about a book, wanting to always know more about your favourite characters in the end and to hope that their story never ends.

4,5/5 ****/* INTO THE STILL BLUE - The astute and perilously wonderful conclusion to the much beloved UNDER THE NEVER SKY series.

I only started the UNDER THE NEVER SKY series in the summer of 2013 and didn't have to wait too long to read the second and third books. Now I'm letting my favourite characters go with mixed feelings and can all but hope that we'll meet again soon in an UNDER THE NEVER SKY spin-off series. I'm so glad that everyone who discovers this series now can get all three books at the same time. Think of this series when you are planning your next special book series reading weekend.

"Aria lurched upright, the echo of gunshots ringing in her ears. Disoriented, she blinked at her surroundings, taking in the canvas walls, the two bed pallets, and the stack of battered storage trunks, finally recognizing Perry's tent. Pain pulsed steadily in her right arm. She looked down at the white bandage wrapped from her shoulder to her wrist, dread swirling in her stomach." ― p.1

INTO THE STILL BLUE you might enjoy THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS, a fantastical world created by Rae Carson. In BREATHE by Sarah Crossan and BLOOD RED ROAD by Moira Young teens are fighting the lack of oxygen on the planet and sandstorms. Just in case you are already missing Veronica Rossi's Aether storms.

* Have you read BROOKE, the novella between THROUGH THE EVER NIGHT and INTO THE STILL BLUE?

* Click here for an excerpt of INTO THE STILL BLUE.

* To watch the book trailer, click here.

* Want to meet Veronica Rossi? Check out her event schedule.

* For more information about Veronica and her books visit www.veronicarossi.com.

* Thanks to Harper Collins International for sending me a copy of INTO THE STILL BLUE for review!