BOOK REVIEW – Roar and Liv (Under the Never Sky #0.5) by Veronica Rossi

Roar and Liv (Under the Never Sky #0.5)
by Veronica Rossi
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Before Perry and Aria, there was Roar and Liv.

After a childhood spent wandering the borderlands, Roar finally feels like he has a home with the Tides. His best friend Perry is like a brother to him, and Perry's sister, Liv, is the love of his life. But Perry and Liv's unpredictable older brother, Vale, is the Blood Lord of the Tides, and he has never looked kindly on Roar and Liv's union. Normally, Roar couldn't care less about Vale's opinion. But with food running low and conditions worsening every day, Vale's leadership is more vital—and more brutal—than ever. Desperate to protect his tribe, Vale makes a decision that will shatter the life Roar knew and change the fate of the Tides forever.

Review:

*Spoilers for Under the Never Sky*

This book is a definite must read for fans of Under The Never Sky and for anyone who fell in love with Roar. While the story is set before the first, I highly recommend reading it after the first book to avoid spoilers.  And I also recommend reading it before the second, I can’t say why, just know that you definitely should.

I choose you. Above everything else, I choose you. – Roar to Liv

Roar loved Liv with every single fiber of his being.  She was his whole world and lit up his life.  They were something that had always been, and they never thought that a future together wouldn’t exist.  Yet when Vale, Liv and Perry’s older brother and tribe leader, came back from his trip their time together started a countdown.  Liv’s hand in marriage to another tribe leader was Vale’s solution to feed his tribe.  So reading this novella was utterly heartbreaking, yet it gave me so much insight at the same time too.

✮Life Sucks

She’s mine.
The words rage through my mind. Liv is mine.

This book made me see so many things more clearly.  The first being that I finally got why Perry was adamant about not wanting to be with Aria.  In his world, true love doesn’t always matter.  Keeping up blood lines and good relations with other tribes trumps true love.  So while I watched the tribe and Vale believe that Liv’s future union with a stranger was the best, I was sick to my stomach.  I felt overwhelmed, depressed and utterly lost right along with Liv and Roar.  I wanted to scream at the unfairness of their life.  I felt entirely helpless that Roar and Liv’s hopes and dreams no longer existed.  That their future had become entirely bleak.  And while I watched this unfold, I realized that I would have been reluctant to liking Aria if I was Perry too.

✮Vale Must Die

Liv turns to me. “He wants me to marry into the Horns. He sold me to them! Tell him, Vale! Tell him what you did.”

Seeing Vale from only Perry’s POV, in Under the Never Sky, showed a manipulative bully whom I hated.  And while he still comes across as a bully through Roar’s POV, I also saw something else.  I watched as his tribe stood behind him.  I saw how they viewed him as a strong ruler who they adamantly followed.  Even when they didn’t always agree with him.  It was frustrating to watch the tribes loyalty to Vale.  And it was even worse witnessing how he treated Liv, Perry and Roar.  I truly hate that man and easily wished his death a thousand times over.

✮More Reasons To Love Perry

Beside me, I hear the slosh of the bottle as Perry takes a drink. Minutes pass before he speaks again. When he does, he’s so quiet that I know the words aren’t really meant for me.
“You’re better than a brother,” he says.

Seeing Perry through Roar’s eyes just validated how much I had fallen for him.  You see, Perry wasn’t just a best friend to Roar.  They were more than even brothers.  And the things Perry did to help out Roar in his life, oh my gosh.  Perry would try to lift the weight off of Roar’s shoulders, and it hurt to read.  I still can’t believe what happened. But it solidified what I already knew, that Perry was a truly beautiful man inside and out.

✮Hidden Feelings

If I have to lose everything to keep her, I will.
I will.
I will.
I will.

I always saw Roar as this confident man whose sex appeal was just as palpable as Perry’s.  But listening to his thoughts, and hearing about past events unfold, I saw a very different Roar.  I saw a Roar who at times was unsure in life.  I saw a Roar who didn’t value himself the way he should.  I was shocked.  It made me just want to sneak into the book and make everything in his life all better.

So while I’m not always a novella person, I’m so glad I picked this one up!  I got to understand things so much clearer and I fell even harder for Roar and Perry.  I definitely recommend picking up Roar and Liv after you read Under the Never Sky!

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Under the Never Sky #1 Reviews: Jen Chelsea	Roar and Liv #0.1 Review: Jen	Through the Ever Night #2 Reviews: Jen Chelsea
Brooke #2.5 Review: Jen	Into the Still Blue #3 Reviews: Jen Chelsea

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