Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

Within the confines of a cave they're using as a makeshift refuge, they struggle to reconcile their people, Dwellers and Outsiders, who are united only in their hatred of their desperate situation. Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. Then Roar arrives in a grief-stricken fury, endangering all with his need for revenge.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble an unlikely team for an impossible rescue mission. 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.

In this final book in her earth-shattering Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

Review:

It took me way too long to finish this book. I have been a fan of this series from book 1. And I have read my fair share of positive reviews for this finale. I was expecting to love this one, and maybe that’s part of my problem. Maybe my hopes were too high.

I just found this one to be a lot less interesting, a lot slower, and a lot more anti-climatic. I think one of my favorite things about the series as a whole was that I never really knew what would happen next. Rossi wasn’t afraid to kill off important characters. Also, the adventures, the ideas, and the general plot-line read rather uniquely for me. I didn’t know what to expect.

In this last installment, not only did I know what was coming (it’s not like there were a lot of options), but I also never really pulled away that unique feeling I had come to know and love. It read like a lot of other dystopia finales. I’m not saying I needed more people to die or even that it was unbelievable in its version of happily ever after. I’m just saying I wanted to be a little more surprised.

It was also super easy to put down. There was a long build-up in the beginning, in which plans were made to rescue Cinder and steal some enemy ships. And not much happened. The story picks up with action half way through, and I didn’t find it to be that engrossing really until the last quarter of the book.

I didn’t hate the book. Getting to read about Aria, Perry, and Roar again was definitely a treat I would not want to miss. I love these characters, even when they are at all time lows. I also loved the setting that continued to get worse and worse. I loved the idea of finding a new place for everyone to cohabitate in. I know I said the preparations made the beginning rather slow. I guess I wanted to see more of the cohabitating in the beginning. I barely saw any of Aria’s past life friends from the pod. I was hoping for a lot more drama than I was given. So, if so much time needs to be spent on the preparations, can there at least be drama too?

I liked seeing Roar slowly heal. I loved the dynamics of his relationship with Perry. And I loved watching Aria play moderator. I also loved Perry’s relationship with Cinder and what he was willing to give up for him really showed who Perry was as a character.

I was not a fan of all the fighting between the two evil bad guys. There was some (rather unneeded) torture in the book too that really didn’t add much to the story line. I think Cinder could have come to the same conclusion a lot earlier than he did. I think all the stuff with the bad guys slowed my reading down too. It was too 90’s cartoon-like, and not enough dystopia/fantasy/adventure.

I am still a huge fan overall of the series. I have no idea how Rossi could come up with such an interesting, complex world. I adore the characters in these books. I just felt like this last installment was lacking a lot of the unique magic that the first two had. I give it a 7/10.