Rashika, The Book Owl

The first sequel I read this year was disappointing but of course that's nothing new. Most sequels tend to be disappointing, but if the first sequel of the year disappoints, you lose hope for the rest that you were looking forward to. It's the reason why I didn't read this book as soon as it came out. I couldn't. I was too scared that Rossi would fail to make it as awesome as the first one. I should never have doubted her.

Rossi never fails to impress me, first with Under the Never Sky and now with Through the Ever Night. This sequel has given me hope again, it doesn't matter how many disappointing sequels there are out there. You will come across some that will never fail to amaze you. Such is the case with this one.

I think the best thing about this book is the relationships amongst the characters. Rossi did the one thing most authors are too scared to. She has a platonic relationship between a guy and a girl, the one thing that authors are scared of (apparently). Friends can love each other without having feelings for the other. Really. I am so tired of friends in love triangles or whatever and I absolutely ADORE the relationship between Roar and Aria. It's as good as the one with Perry and Roar. Both are in love with another person and it's as clear as that. No messed up feelings. No nothing. And I am so glad for that because it gives me a better chance to enjoy Roar's character. He is so different from Perry. Perry is serious (not in a brooding way) because he has tons of pressure on him and he is always trying to do what's best. Roar follows his heart, he does what he needs to but he is a loyal friend and he is hilarious. He knows how to lighten the most serious situations. I just hope that nothing happens to him in the next book (me being paranoid).
There is a lot of character development as well. It makes me so happy to see that each character has improved in their own ways. Perry learns how to be a true leader throughout the book. He isn’t perfect and he isn’t an amazing leader in the beginning the way some people magically tend to be in YAs these days. He learns! Same with Aria, she develops into a better character (not that I had any problem with her before).

One of the things I don’t understand is why people think that authors who kill characters are brave. It’s not taking a risk if it’s a useless death. Yes I agree that sometimes someone needs to die but sometimes authors tend to kill for no reason (Suzanne Collins). Rossi didn’t do this and thank god for that. This is the sign of a good author, someone who can write a great book without going about killing people.

Also she doesn’t end the book with a cliff hanger. She ends it how authors should end books in the series. She solved the problems we were dealing with in this book leaving a bit of room for the third book. Perfect. 

I think I am kind of sad I read it so soon. This means I’ll have to wait a WHOLE year for Into the still Blue. But I believe in Rossi and I know she will make the wait worth it.