Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1)

Holy nuclear heck in an intergalactic handbasket!! Where do I start?? Let\’s start off with some admissions. I am proud to be a HUGE Scifi geek! Besides that I\’m a proud lover of Space Operas. Put those together and Aurora Rising sounds taylormade just for me and my ilk. This particular book happened to be one of my most anticipated books of the year. I preordered it WAY back when and then waited… I waited as months passed… I waited as seasons changed… I waited and waited for any form of news or advanced review to be revealed just so I could see how my literary dream fared. Do you know what?? All this build up and anxious waiting led to a supernova explosion of…MEH. I might have been spoiled with some amazing, underdog gems early on in the year but I never thought that I\’d be so spectacularly let down by my prize pony… and man oh man was I ever disappointed! This book was a pairing of not so stellar Space Tropes, a boring Space Heist, uninspiring drip drop Space Romances (if you can call them that) and a boat load of dueling POVs WHICH were at best- annoying and at worst -the cause of malignant time reimbursement wishing. Here are my 2 shiny pennies of thought- there definitely could have been a more seamless cohesion if only the list of POVs were whittled down to say 1 or 2. I understand that it\’s easier to convey a character\’s perspective by having us rummage around in their head but being inside so many minds felt disjointed and… well… mental (and not in the fun \”I\’m lovably quirky\” kind of way). Sometimes more is just more and I wish that this book had something more. The characters were okay. The action was better but sporadic. The world development was lacking depth except for the imaginative, unique and varying \”Alein\” species…those were fun BUT I say, with a heavy heart, that I could have easily…happily…put this book down, unfinished mid way, in order to save time (and emotional attachment) for the next contender for Book of the Year. Overall: was this dud of a Sifi Space romp horrible? No! But that No comes with a strong PSA warning– if you have been an anxious ball of space dust waiting to read this book… if you are so excited your teeth are vibrating… then not only have you most likely injested too much caffeine but you will also likely face snoozing, apathy, and crushing disappointment in your immediate future.

~~~Review posted on The Heart of a Book Blogger~~~ I read and loved the Illuminae Files, but I was a little worried Aurora Rising would not live up to the that series since it was going to be told in regular book format (and not with the amazing unique format in Illuminae). However, I had nothing to worry about because Aurora Rising freaking blew me away. Aurora Rising is told through seven POVs and switches between them fairly quickly, which helped me speed read through this book in just a couple of days. So let’s break down our crew of misfits—we’ve got: Tyler—the Goldenboy and leader Scarlett—the twin sister, flirt, and expert diplomat Cat—the best friend and badass pilot Zila—smart, anti-social, and will do anything in the name of science Finian—a sarcastic jerk and mechanical genius Kal—angry, violent, misunderstood, and going to protect Aurora at all costs Aurora—our girl who was lost in space for 200 years and now has telekinetic powers The book begins right as Tyler is rescuing Aurora during a storm that is about to destroy them. Talk about a hook, amiright? Due to this daring rescue, Tyler missed the Draft, where he earned the first four picks as the top in his class. This a major bummer as now he’s stuck with the crew nobody wanted…well them and his sister and best friend who were not abandoning him under any circumstance. As they’re sent out on their first mission, a lowly supply run that must be some kind of joke, they find Aurora stowed away in the cargo bay and their true mission is revealed. All of a sudden they’re fugitives on the run, trying to figure out why this girl has powers, why they were assigned to protect her, and what in the world they are going to do next. Sound amazing, yeah? Well add in a heist and a creepy ancient enemy, and now you got a freaking epic story. I absolutely loved everything about Aurora Rising—the crew, the plot, the setting. I did not want to put this book down, so much so that I even wanted to call in sick so I could keep reading (I didn’t but I was very tempted). It kept me on the edge of my seat and the wait for the sequel is going to be a hard one. Overall, you’re not going to want to miss out on Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s newest sci-fi adventure! Fans of Illuminae will love the cast of characters and action. I know I did! Aurora Rising is definitely a new favorite, I cannot wait for news of the sequel!

My friend and I started this book together, same day…but I finished it two weeks later because I struggled with feeling engaged and investment in the plot. The good news is, by the end of the book, I had regained some investment. The 312 squad was a great concept and their coming together as a team was pretty hilarious. All the quippy banter was to be had when they were together. I basically liked the team dynamic and most of the characters individually but there’s a whole lot of different species, physical characterstics and cultural values to process as you get to know them. I found myself confused a number of times. The world building felt unwieldy at times but I gradually got to grips. All that said, I still didn’t know Finian and Zila by the end of the book and I think I should have been more knowledgeable by then. The differing POVs didn’t always help reader cohesion with characters and the plot. Aurora was a superb main character because there was so much to fathom and her initial appearance was just the surface of what was to come. I liked Tyler and Scarlett but Tyler seemed to lack depth, however I suspect this was about the walls he put up as he led the squad. My other favourite was Kal, again a mysterious character with depth and complexity, I kind of wanted to get my teeth into him…snigger. I am here for the pairing potential in its infancy in this book and that element gave me the feels and interest. So, what didn’t I gel with? The pacing was up and down and I lost interest a few times so that I felt that I had to push through. I felt disengaged with the plot at times and the middle section of the book was a bit like walking through mud. I have to say though, the last 20% reignited my interest with fast-paced and exciting developments. I am definitely invested in the bigger picture that this series offers with a slight trepidation about the bigger plot that was revealed in the end of the book; at the moment that doesn’t float my boat. I hope to go into AURORA BURNING with my love for some of the characters, carrying me through.

Aurora Rising is set hundreds of years in the future humanity has spread across the stars encountering more races as they go all, so far, humanoid and air breathers. It’s agaisnt this back drop we meet Tyler the star cadet in the Aurora legion a elite peace keeping force, planning his bright future everything becomes derailed when he makes a unexpected rescue, Aurora ( like the legion probably a coincidence maybe not ) a girl over 200 years out of time, meant to be part of earths original band of colonists she and those with her got lost in the Fold, the passage way by which mankind and the other races travel the stars, the only survivor she wakes up to a strange and hostile universe. that sets the backdrop for the rest of the story Aurora’s origins the sinister people after her and Tyler who finds himself going from having the pick of the best of the best of his graduating class, in a process called the draft, to making do with the dregs the social misfits and smart asses in the legion Alphas who form the command caste command small multi discipline teams so Tyler finds himself in command of the legions problem children, Scarlett his sister the teams diplomat or face, Cat the hotshot pilot and Tyler’s best friend, Finian the bestraken engineer or gear head bisexual and suffering from health issues all of which is overshadowed by his abrasive personality, Zila the sociopathic science officer with a tendency to shoot first,kaliis a member of a alien race literally bred for war whose species is on the brink of exterminating themselves. At heart this story is straight forward band of misfits story think firefly, with a lot of comedy and heart to be mined from the group interactions with Cat, Auroa and Tyler being particularly well drawn , Scarlett and Finian develops as the story goes on Zila is more of a cipher at this stage but with room to grow. Underneath the misfits storyline there is a strong B plot horror and mystery going on .This isn’t terribly original as I said it calls to mind Firefly and Serenity or recently the ketty jay series of books what is though is fantastically well paced, well written with great characteristion and with this writing duo you know this series is in safe hands. Definetly worth checking out.

I read the Illuminae series last year and I LOVED it. Like literally LOVED IT. So naturally, I have been excited about this book since it was first announced. I managed to get this beautiful Illumicrate version. It\’s a real stunner and has matching pink sprayed edges! This book has multiple POV which if you have read previous reviews you will know I absolutely LOVE. to start with Auri is our link to this new crazy world. She is learning through her uniglass and allowing us to learn what has happened in the 200 odd years since she boarded the Hadfield. This was a great way for us to learn the world. I loved the uniglass pages. They are so typical of these authors who just love to push the boundaries with traditional publishing. My favourite characters were Zila and Fin. Zila is super smart but has trouble interacting with others. I already know she gets more book time in the second instalment so I cannot wait for that. Fin is a complete ass. He has the biggest chip on his shoulder. He acts like he is very full of himself but I think its all a front. Fin has been through a lot and I think that makes him put up walls and make sarcastic comments to deflect from his real feelings. Amongst all of this Fin is very funny. This book has it all. The adventure, the romance, the humour and the pure torturous heartbreak. I cannot wait for book two!

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