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

Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi is the last novel in her stunning young-adult dystopian trilogy, Under the Never Sky.    If you have not yet read the first in the series, I would recommend skipping this review, and checking out my review for Under the Never Sky, instead.  You can view that here. I also reviewed the second novel in the series, Through the Ever Night, which you can read here.

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.                                                                    @Goodreads

I found Into the Still Blue to be a good, but not great, conclusion to the Under the Never Sky trilogy.  I absolutely loved the first two books in the series.  Maybe that is the reason that I didn't love the last -- I liked it, but love it, I did not.  However, I did not power-skim it like I did Mockingjay in order to get through it; I wasn't disappointed, exactly, I just wasn't completely satisfied.

Four stars for Into the Still Blue, and four and a half stars for the Under the Never Sky series as a whole.

In a nutshell, I felt the end was a bit rushed.

Spoiler alert!  (Do not read if you have not read this novel and intend to)



I had absolutely no qualms with the novel until the scene where Perry says goodbye to Aria so that he can embark on the suicide mission with Cinder in order to get the group of refugees passage into the still blue.  Of course Perry had to go, that's a no-brainer.  You cannot expect someone to risk their life for you if you are not willing to reciprocate.  My problem was with Aria.  What should have been an emotional, powerful scene, simply was not.  She understood Perry's need to accompany Cinder immediately, and just bade her goodbyes to the love of her life.  In like two pages.

Shock of the century when we think Perry's dead, but he isn't really, right?  Who saw that coming?!  Total eye-roll fest right there.

Finally, everyone still living is reunited in the Still Blue, and ... end of story.

In conclusion, I have to stress that I still did really enjoy this series despite not loving the very end of the last book.  I still feel that the world-building, character development, plot, and pacing were wonderfully done.  I love Perry and Aria's star-crossed romance, and found myself staying up at night to finish just one more chapter.