REVIEW: Brooke (Under the Never Sky #2.5) by Veronica Rossi

Brooke (Under the Never Sky #2.5)  by Veronica Rossi

Publication Date: November 26, 2013

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source: eBook Purchased by Reviewer

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

The only fight she can’t win is the one for Perry’s heart. Following the stunning climax in Through the Ever Night, the Tides have been forced to see shelter from the Aether storms in a dismal, secluded cave. But Brooke’s memories of the cave go back much further, to when she and Perry used to come here together. That was before Perry fell in love with Aria and before Vale’s dealings with the Dwellers altered the course of the Tides forever.

Now, with her sister back from the haunting year in captivity and Aria lying unconscious in the sick bay, Brooke struggles to put the pieces of her life back together. Without Perry, who is she? And what is her role in this frightening new world? As these questions swirl about her, an old threat to the Tides resurfaces, and Brooke is forced to put the lives of her people before her own. But in taking this step outside herself, Brooke may finally discover what she truly wants.

When I first heard that Veronica Rossi was doing a novella in Brooke’s POV, I was less than happy. I never considered her more than a secondary character and definitely not to the point of needing her own story, but it was actually better than I thought it would be. Seeing her struggle with everything happening around her struck a chord with me. I will say, however, that I wasn’t in love with it.

Though, Brooke does seem to change a lot in this novella and I hope that Veronica Rossi shows a little bit more of this new side of Brooke in Into the Still Blue, I just feel like it was kind of forced. It all happened so quickly and slightly unnaturally. I hate to give spoilers, so the only other thing I will say that bothered me is that on her journey to move on from Perry, she takes a turn into scandalous waters. Not her best move, at all!

BUT…seeing her mature and grow up a bit was a nice change to her usually nasty demeanor, and it was pretty nasty in the novella. I enjoyed seeing her soften up a bit and learn to be a better person. I’m pretty sure that her sister, Clara, being back had a huge influence on that but I can also see that it was also her wanting to be a better person for her sister and her people. She’s a natural protector and I absolutely LOVE that about her because that’s how I am in my life. It’s my natural instinct to protect people and that’s something that me and Brooke share, which of course makes me relate to her more.

So overall, though there were some thing’s I disliked about this novella, I think it was a great read and great insight into Brooke.  Let’s see what Veronica does with this in Into the Still Blue!