Roar and Liv

By Veronica Rossi

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.

Set in the harsh but often beautiful world of Veronica Rossi's "unforgettable" Under the Never Sky (Examiner.com), this captivating prequel novella stands on its own for new readers and offers series fans a fascinating look into the character of Roar. Poignant and powerful, Roar and Liv is a love story that will "capture your imagination and your heart." (Justine on Under the Never Sky)

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062239556

Veronica Rossi

Veronica Rossi graduated from UCLA. The first book in her New York Times bestselling Under the Never Sky trilogy was named an ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection and an Indie Next List Pick. The second book, Through the Ever Night, was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. The series has been optioned for film. Veronica lives in northern California with her husband and two sons.

Book preview

Dedication

For Gui and Pedro

Contents

Dedication

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Excerpt from Through the Ever Night

1 - Peregrine

2 - Aria

Books by Veronica Rossi

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Copyright

About the Publisher

 1 

I make my move when the tribe is asleep. Footsteps light, I skim across the dirt clearing, the chirp of crickets the only sound in the calm spring night. When I reach Perry’s house, I climb onto the window ledge and stretch up, grasping the rusted flashing that borders the roof.

Here goes.

One.

Two.

Three.

Swinging my legs out and up, I flip myself onto the roof. My landing is almost silent—just the brush of my knees on the stone tiles as I ease my weight down and the slosh of the jug of Luster that’s tied to my belt. People say I’m quiet as a cat. If they could hear as well as me, they’d know that cats are actually pretty loud.

Standing, I dust off my pants and scan the shadowed homes that circle the clearing. I hear a distant snore. The quiet creak of a door somewhere. Otherwise, nothing.

I head for the warm thread of light that seeps through a hole in the roof. It comes from a small gap where a tile cracked a few years ago during an Aether storm. I tread lightly and avoid the noisy spots. Perry and Liv are asleep in the house, but I’m not skulking up because of them. It wouldn’t matter if they heard me coming, but their brother, Vale, is inside as well—home only hours ago from his trip to the north—and I won’t chance waking him.

Kneeling by the sliver in the tiles, I bend down and peer through it, blinking as my eyes adjust to the light . . . and see a falcon with its wings spread wide. The tattoo on Perry’s back. He’s sprawled on his stomach in the loft, which is right below me. I try to look for Liv, knowing that if Perry is here, she’s curled up in front of the hearth, but I have a poor angle. There’s only one way to see her tonight.

I bring my mouth to the hole and raise my voice just enough. Perry! Wake up! He doesn’t move, so I try a little louder. Wake up, you oaf!

Perry rolls onto his back and starts to snore.

There’s a saying that warns people against waking sleeping giants. I should listen to it, but I want to see Liv too badly. I pull the jug of Luster from my belt and unstop the cork, muffling the pop with my hands. It’s a shame to waste it, but I don’t see any other way—and this could be entertaining. I bring the jug to the gap and pour the Luster through it.

I hear a solid thump as the roof shakes beneath my feet. The warm light from inside disappears as three fingers poke through the hole. Scrabbling, wrathy fingers full of murderous intent. After a moment, they’re replaced by a green eye that’s shiny like a cat’s—really like a cat’s.

Perry mutters a few curses and then asks, What’s wrong with you? His voice is muffled, but I hear him perfectly.

Get Liv and meet me on the northern trail, I say.

The cat eye moves left and right as Perry shakes his head. No. Beach trail. Someone poured Luster on me and I have to wash it off.

Right. Beach trail in five minutes. Don’t take too long.

Only one finger appears this time. The obscene gesture makes me grin.

I recork the Luster and climb down. There’s one more thing to take care of before I meet Perry and Liv. I cross the clearing again, guided by the light of the Aether, the rugged cottages of the Tide compound spreading around me.

At Brooke’s house, I rap softly on the door.

She eases it open a few moments later and smiles. The cave? she whispers.

Brooke is Liv’s closest friend, and for the past year she and Perry have been together. Half that time Perry has been trying to end it. Perry will probably be streaked at me for bringing her along, but so what? I like things the way they are.

I nod and lift the bottle of Luster. You coming? I ask, though I already know she is. Brooke is always up for anything when Perry is involved.

I’ll get my bow. She disappears into the house.

I look around the compound as I wait. When it’s quiet this way, it’s easy to remember the night I came here with my grandmother twelve years ago. I was barely seven then. Gram and I walked up out of the darkness on a spring night just like this. We’d been traveling for weeks and the soles on my shoes had worn through. Gram knocked on the first door we came to, and when Perry’s father answered, I thought he was the biggest man I’d ever seen. He invited us inside and had bread and fennel soup brought to us. Three kids watched us from the loft above as we ate, but it was the girl I couldn’t take my eyes off.

The next day Gram and I were given a room behind Bear and Molly’s house, which was really a storage shed with wooden walls that made clicking sounds as they expanded during the rainy months. My gaze moves to their house now. Gram is gone and the walls stopped clicking a few years ago, but I still sleep there.

Brooke returns with a bow and quiver over her shoulder and we make our way out of the compound without a word. Where we’re going, the northern cave, is an hour away. It’s still part of the Tides’ territory, but there’s always a risk when you travel that far away—especially at night—of being attacked by the dispersed. The danger is part of the fun.

As we approach the beach trail, I spot two tall figures with pale hair up ahead and frown. It ruffles

Reviews for Roar and Liv

[shaunesay · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this, but it is definitely a companion piece rather than a test the waters piece. It could be stand alone, there is enough explanation for that, but know that there is another half of the "world" that isn't even mentioned in this short story that is a main part of the larger novels.

[Andrew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

cute little novella to go with this beautiful story. I loved it

[kazhout · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(This mini-review was originally posted at My Library in the Making.)We met Roar and Liv in Under the Never Sky and learned about their saddening backstory. So when I started reading this novella, I thought I was ready for all the feels because I knew where this was headed. Turns out, one can never be ready for heartache. Sweet and sad at the same time, Roar and Liv made me tear up starting at chapter three (yes, three), and then in every few chapters after that. It wasn't all sobs though, because in here, we also got a deeper look into Roar and Perry's friendship which brought moments of laughter. I guess my only complaint about this one is that it's very short, even for a novella, but that also means the plot was extremely tight and the pace extremely fast.MY FAVORITE PART was every single one with Roar and Liv together in it. This whole novella, basically.

[wanderlustlover_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm not sure if I did these out of order, or if I did them right. I read this one first because it was the prequel book. I kind of loved the characters and the lay out a whole lot (which led me to some problems when I slammed book one). I loved the mysterious culture, the power struggle, everything. I was really pumped to push into the novel after this book.

[bornbookish · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Mini Review: My thoughts in 5 bullets...ROAR!Roar has been my favorite character throughout the entire series. I was so excited to get inside his head and find out more about his past. The RelationshipEven though we never got to see Roar & Liv’s relationship firsthand, before this novella, it has always been a huge, defining part of Roar’s character and an essential part of the series.WitOne of the reasons I love Roar is for his wit. He always knows exactly what to say and when to say it. I was so happy to get more of that.BrotherhoodRoar & Perry have always been like brothers. We get to see how that all started, and exactly how much they’ve been through together.OverallThis was a novella that offered us a firsthand look at the relationship we’ve heard so much about. It was well worth the read in my eyes.

[myntop · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I went into this novella without having read any of the rest of the series. I like to read things in Chronological order, which sometimes gives me a different outlook on the prequels when I finish them. That being said, this novella was extremely well written. I know nothing of this world, or the basic idea of the main part of the series, and yet after these 70 some odd pages, I'm hooked. I was reading it on my Nook and didn't have book one with me at the time and I was upset that I couldn't immediately get into the first book! I want to know where all of this was leading, I want to know what some of the words which weren't really explained in this prequel mean, and what the world is like in the dystopia that the author has created. I'm so excited for the rest of the series!

[pacey1927 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This has been a good weekend of reading for me. I read two books and this one "Scarlet" the long awaited sequel to last year's "Cinder" was positively amazing. This series is unlike any other I have ran across. We have a futuristic world where there are other alien races facing a world of extinction because of a disease that is rapidly spreading and killing people. Add in that the stories are sci-fi twists on our favorite fairy tales and I am sure that you won't find anything else quite like this series.We left "Cinder" with Cinder being captured and imprisoned. She meets up with Thorne...a would-be captain and together they make a prison break. They need to find out more about Cinder's past and what happened to Princess Seline and they know that evil Queen Levana is still wanting war desperately with Earth. Scarlet's story is the primary focus of book two (hence the title) but it is mixed with Cinder's storyline intelligently.Scarlet finds her grandmother missing and a strange man named Wolf hanging around. She doesn't trust him at first but believes that his strange tattoo could be a huge clue in her grandmother's disappearance. Together they find out quite a bit more about some secrets kept in Scarlet's family. The romantic subplot of this story really grabbed me. I will say that I had the pleasure to read "The Queen' Army", a short story that takes place before the events of Scarlet and I believe that it really added to my enjoyment of this novel. I knew who Wolf was and I knew his background by the time Scarlet meets him in this book.Why does this series, and this book in particular, stand out in the crowd of YA fiction? First of course is the unique premise I mentioned in the first paragraph of this review. Second is the amazingly detailed and interesting characters. Besides loving Scarlet and Cinder, I adored Wolf and have a true weak spot for the comedic charm of Thorn and the tender friendship shown by Iko. And Queen Levana is a true villian and its so easy to dislike her and want to see her receive justice. Prince Kai melted my heart in the first novel but here he really is empathetic character. He is having to make big decisions and as a reader I could feel his misery when facing the consequences of his choices. I hated that he and Cinder had no interaction in "Scarlet". Third, I loved how parts of the "Little Red Riding Hood" fairytale was re-worked for this book. I can't give anything away...but I loved how the author pulled off the big bad wolf in grandmother's clothing type scene. It was quite a nice twist.The pages flew past as I read this book, much like they did when I read "Cinder". That is the best way to tell how much I enjoy a book. I know other readers who like to savor their stories but when I truly love a novel, I read it very quickly. Try this series if you haven't. It deserves all the praise its been receiving.

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: An emotional look into the love of Roar and Liv in this prequel short story.Opening Sentence: I make my move when the tribe is asleep.The Review:Roar and Liv is a quick supplemental story for readers who enjoyed the first book in the Under the Never Sky trilogy. This is a short novella set right before the events in Under the Never Sky. Roar and Liv are in love. They always figured they would be together even though they never really thought about marriage, until the day Liv’s brother Vale announces that she will marry a rival leader. This novella explores Roar’s feelings for Liv and even explains a bit of what Peregrine goes through with Vale as the ruler.This is a fascinating novella to read for those who have read Under the Never Sky. It just fills in information about the village that Peregrine comes from and the journey to the northern tribe that they undergo before Liv disappears as explained in the first novel. Even though this is a prequel of sorts, I think this would be best read after Under the Never Sky to truly understand what the characters have gone through to get to the point they are at now. The timeline felt a little off to me but I don’t exactly remember how long Roar had been searching for Liv in Under the Never Sky when Peregrine and Aria met up with him.Unlike Under the Never Sky, Roar and Liv, is told strictly through the first person of Roar. Whatever thoughts and feelings that Liv is having during this difficult time are not explained. But on the bright side, I really enjoyed Roar in Under the Never Sky and loved to have this little insight into his thoughts.Notable Scene:“Thank you for earlier,” I say, breaking our silence. What I really want to say is I’m sorry, but those words don’t seem to want to come out.“’Course, Ro. Anytime.” His tone is casual, but I know he means it. “I’ll talk to Vale tomorrow. You know I’ll do everything I can.”I nod. What I know is that he has to do everything he can. Vale would never listen to me—especially not after tonight. And Liv can’t marry someone else. It can’t happen.“We were supposed to be brothers one day, Per. Real brothers . . . family.” I don’t know what I’m saying. The Luster is speaking for me. But I can’t take the words back.Perry looks right at me. “What do you think we are?”I turn to the sea and stare at it. I watch the waves until the tightness in my throat loosens and I’m breathing normally again. He’s right. We are family. I’m not terrified of what I could be losing in the future. I’m scared of losing what I already have.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.FTC Advisory: I purchased my own copy of Roar and Liv. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.