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374 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2011
Perry nodded absently, imagining a world without fear.
Was that possible? If there was no fear, how could there be comfort? Or courage?
The Aether didn’t look like something that could put an end to the world, yet that had nearly happened during the Unity.And speaking of the Aether, that angered me the most. It is talked about ALL THE TIME, but it is NEVER EXPLAINED. What is an Aether storm? I don't know and neither will you. Unless, of course, you are a mind reader. If you are, please share the secrets of this universe with me! There were so many holes in the story that I just could.not.compute. Throwing around capitalized words does not impress me.
He jerked when she traced the shape of the wings on his skin, a groan sliding out of him. Perry silently cursed himself. He couldn't have sounded more savage if he'd tried.
His hair looked like it had never seen a brush. Snarled blonde ropes, all uneven in length and color, coiling in every direction. As he'd spoken, she could've sworn she'd glimpsed canines that were slightly too long and canine. But nothing was more hideous than his eyes. The Savage's eyes were bright green but also reflective, like the eerie gaze of a nocturnal animal.
He didn't have a clue what book he'd chosen. He couldn't read. Had never learned. He walked out of the cave before she could see that and call him a stupid Savage.
He smiled. It was the lion grin she'd only seen a few times. Sweet and engaging, with a hint of shyness. It showed a whole part of him she didn't know.
Peregrine or Perry? She didn't know what to call him. Perry made her shoes from book covers and taught her how to find berries. Peregrine had tattoos and flashing green eyes. He twirled a knife without fear of cutting himself and put arrows through people's necks.
Up close, she saw the gleam in Roar's gaze. He had a prince's looks but a pirate's eyes.
"Seers are good at looking, and good-looking, but before you start wondering, no, I'm not a Seer. Just lucky."
Of warmth and calluses. Soft and hard together. She absorbed the beauty of him and his world. Of every moment over the past days. All of it, filling her up like the first breath she'd ever taken. And never had she loved life more.
“Perry stepped out as soon as the elevator doors parted. “Are you coming?”
“Fall off your own roof, Perry,” he said as the door slid closed.
“Aria, what’s wrong?”
She stood, moving slow and defeated. “I’m dying. I’m bleeding.”
Perry’s gaze traveled down her body.
“It’s not my feet.”
Perry closed his eyes and inhaled. Her scent had changed. The rancy Dweller musk was almost gone. Her skin breathed a new scent into the air, faint but unmistakable. For the first time since he’d known her, her flesh smelled like something he recognized, feminine and sweet.
He smelled violets.
He took a step back, swearing silently as it hit him. “You’re not dying. . . . You really don’t know?”
“I don’t know anything anymore.”
Perry looked down at the ground and drew another breath, no doubt in his mind.
“Aria . . . it’s your first blood.”
“Roar leaned across the table and smiled at her seductively, his dark hair falling into his eyes. “When you say everything happens in the Realms, do you mean everything?”
Aria laughed nervously. “Yes. Especially that. There are no risks in the Realms.”
Roar’s smile widened. “You simply think it and it happens? And it actually feels real?”
“Why are we talking about this?”
“I need a Smarteye,” he said.
Perry rolled his eyes. “There’s no way it’s the same.”
They reached for each other then like some force had pulled their hands together. Aria looked at their fingers as they laced together, bringing her the sensation of his touch. Of warmth and calluses. Soft and hard together. She absorbed the terror and beauty of him and his world. Of every moment over the past days. All of it, filling her up like the first breath she’d ever taken. And never had she loved life more.
“Aria rolled up onto her toes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The soft warmth of his mouth sent a wave of fire through her. Perry froze, then his arms tightened around her ribs as he deepened their kiss. They molded together, fitted against each other with stunning perfection.”
“She bent close to her mother’s face. Quietly she sang the Tosca aria, her voice warbling and breaking, but she knew it didn’t matter. She’d promised Lumina this aria—their aria—so she sang.”I personally think her name told us pretty much about herself, who she really was, or what she was able to do. Aside from this aria(the way she sang and the song belonged only to her dearest mother and her), another possible reason for her name was the astounding fact that she was And that just left the readers to explore or reveal something they've never thought about.
“Rose.” Aria smiled. “She told me lots of things.”
He cringed. “She did? What did she say? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
”She'd survived the outside. She'd survived the Aether and cannibals and wolves. She knew how to love now, and how to let go. Whatever came next, she would survive it, too”
This book is for you if…ya dystopian novels with fantasy elements and an enemies-to-lovers-trope are just the thing to get you going. It reminded me a bit of Divergent - but not quite as good - and can be described as a better version of Breathe. Should you give this a try I'd advise you to have the sequel at hand.
"if there was no fear, how could there be comfort? or courage?"
PERRY: “How old do you think I am, Dweller?”
ARIA: “I’m a little shaky on the fossil record, but I’d say fifty to sixty thousand years.” (lol)
“Imagine a world without fear. Was that possible? If there was no fear, how could there be comfort? Or courage?”
“This wasn’t the Realms, where a thought delivered a result. But she also knew she’d given herself a better chance. And in life, at least in her new life, chances were the best she could hope for. They were like her rocks. Imperfect and surprising and maybe better in the long run than certainties. Chances, she thought, were life.”
“Killing a man should be more different than killing a game. It was not.”
“She knew how to put one foot in front of the other even when every step hurt. And she knew there was pain in the journey, but there was also great beauty.”
“And in life, at least in her new life, chances were the best she could hope for. They were like her rocks. Imperfect and surprising and maybe better in the long run than certainties.”
“She found it curious and frightening that she could deeply dislike someone she didn’t even know. It wasn’t her. At least, it wasn’t how she used to be.”
“She looked up. “A world of nevers under a never sky.”
She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up.”
“That was my first kiss," she said. "My first real one."
He brought his head close, resting his forehead on hers. Blond waves fell around her face, soft against her cheeks. His chest rose and fell as he drew in a breath. "Felt like the first real one for me, too.”