Word Spelunking

Guys! People! Yeah, all you readerly and bookish people, listen up...guysguyguys, this book! This. Book. I'm having so many feels and thinking so many thoughts right now and I can't even. Veronica Rossi gets all the claps and awards. I just want to hug her and bake her cupcakes and fangirl over her and grill her on book three all day! *sigh*I lurved Under the Never Sky and as a sequel, Through The Ever Night does not disappoint and I love it so much! So. Much...book two picks up a few months after book one and we're dropped right back into Perry and Aria's world, as they are reunited once again. But Perry's tribe, the Tides, don't accept Aria and some are even hostile towards her. Aria must make some difficult choices in order to find the Still Blue and save Talon, while Perry struggles with being Blood Lord and taking care of his people. Aether storms, cunning enemies, unexpected enemies, and heartache may just tear them a part.There was so much I loved about Under the Never Sky- the characters, the writing, the romance, the setting- and all of these awesome things are effortlessly and seamlessly carried over into Through The Ever Night. Rossi is a fabulous storyteller and she once again had me spellbound and enthralled from the first page to well after the last.The fresh, fascinating dystopian and sci-fi world in this series is one of my absolute favorites, and it is furthered explored in book two. There is something so exhilarating and darkly beautiful about the harsh, unpredictable, and wild world; you never know what new and exciting things this world will bring. Rossi paints her world with electric, vivid hues that explode off the page. In this book, we get to delve deeper into the inner-workings and structure of several of the tribes, including the Tides, which I found captivating. The world-building is very layered and consistent.This sequel doesn't seem to suffer from any lagging or repetitiveness like many other sequels often do. The story set out in book one continues to move along deftly in Through The Ever Night with purpose and excellent pacing. And while there is a great deal of action and continued world-building in this book, it is the continued character growth that I found most intriguing and impressive.Both Aria and Perry have naturally matured and really come into their own. Aria has developed a very organic, necessary strength and survival instinct that feels believable, while Perry feels like a more fully emotionally accessible character. I've enjoyed connecting with them as individuals and rooting for them as a couple, and I love that although they make for an addicting and enticing pair, they are first fully developed individuals. But, I do lurve me some of the addicting and enticing aspects of this couple, of course! The romance between these two in this book is less steamy than in book one, but I didn't mind because it also feels deeper and more profound.We finally meet Liv, Perry's sister, who is just as complex, feisty, and stubborn as I hoped she would be. But the character who really shines in Through The Ever Night is funny, loyal, swoon-worthy Roar *swoons*. I want to marry him and have little Roaries and hold hands with him and have telepathic conversations...it's clearly my destiny ;) These two broke my heart in Roar and Liv and they completely crushed my heart and soul n this book. I won't say why or spoil it for you, which is a good thing because I'm just not ready to talk about it yet...why, Rossi? WHY?!The ending is wonderfully satisfying and made me feel all warm and rainbowy, but it definitely left me wanting so much more and needing (NEEDING) book three!MY FINAL THOUGHTS: As far as sequels go, you couldn't ask for anything better than Through The Ever Night (except may Roar cuddles). Veronica Rossi has definitely earned her place among my top fave YA authors and I can't wait to read much more of her work. A MUST read sequel in a MUST read series!