What tickled my fancy: Second book in a trilogy, but stuff actually happens.
What ticked me off: Why did they switch narrators? This production sucked.
Who might like it: Readers who enjoyed the first book — but choose the print version.
Review copy from the public library
Note: Spoilers for Under the Never Sky
I’m surprised to see from my records that I gave Under the Never Sky 3 1/2 stars, because in my memory I enjoyed it very much; I was certainly very eager for the sequel. I don’t remember my thoughts, but I’m fairly sure the audiobook narration was considerably better than this one — which wasn’t bad enough to make me stop listening, but bad enough to be distracting and make it difficult to evaluate the book on its own terms. It’s partially the production, which is full of awkward long pauses, and partially the narrator’s sometimes odd emphases and inadequate female voices.
Other than that, this seemed better than the standard second book in a YA trilogy. I kept fearing the dreaded love triangle, but it never actually materialized. (And surely it’ll be too late by the third book? Please please please?) It’s a very tense story, as the main characters are all dealing with difficult things: Perry is discovering how hard it is to live up to the expectations of the people he now leads, while Aria — half outsider and half dweller — doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. These would be standard angsty YA theme, but in the context of a dangerous future world, they’re extremely serious, even life-threatening issues.
And then there’s Roar and his search for his missing love, Liv… I won’t spoil this, but… sniff.
I was interested to see definite clues this time that this world is our world, after an environmental calamity. Possibly the clues were also there in the first book and I missed them on the audio. I find it hard to get a strong sense of the world building in this format, but it seems quite plausible as a potential dystopia, despite the woo woo aspects of enhanced senses.
I wouldn’t recommend starting with this one, but if you enjoyed the first book, I think you can safely read on.
A Willful Woman... 
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