Aurora Blazing A Novel

This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance Aurora Blazing is a story that is part of a space opera romance and boy I want this to be a NEW trope so badly. Because I am hooked on it so much. This author has done such a spectacular job in this here and I am stunned with the quality and depths that she has written these books in and I simply just can't seem to get enough here. And in Aurora Blazing we have a step further in this world and this family. I won't say that I liked this more than book one, I think I still liked book one slightly more, but I definitely had a ball of fun with this one. Its different than book one, so you have to take that and expect something more unique here. In this story we have our royal princess, Bianca von Hasenberg, who is a widow. She did her royal duty but even that doesn't seem to satisfy her father who seems to want to match her into another loveless match all for political gain. But when there is an attack on the royal family, and her twin is sent to the border for war and her other brother is kidnapped by enemies unknown she is more than ever determined to find him but she has one tiny issue... the head guard for the royal family who is a pain in her behind. She just can't get rid of him, so they make a pact...to work together to find her brother. Ian is more determined than ever to protect Bianca, but their journey takes them into dangers they may not survive... Aurora Blazing was such a kick ass story that I fell so hard for. I love the whole bodyguard and princess trope and these two make such a great team. I have such a soft spot for Bianca. She is so driven by love for her family and willing to do anything for them. I love seeing all her sacrifices and growth and what she has had to do as so many of them had because of their father. I found it very interesting in seeing how Bianca and Ian fared because quite frankly they both have such strong personalities that they really battle each other but once they start being open and accept one another that is the MAGIC in this book. Once they stop fighting each other and open themselves up to other possibilities in their relationship, I just wanted more and more of that lovin' and team work. They have such a unity together that I was so drawn to and couldn't seem to get enough of. Another wonderful aspect of the story is the political plotline of the "Space Opera" theme we have going on. I love seeing royal politics in play in stories but especially in this series plot line ---this author just makes it so vibrant and real and you gravitate towards it even more. Very excited to see where she takes this series. Overall I found Aurora Blazing to be a stunning read that takes you on an adventure of space, royalty complexities and family connections that indulge your senses!

Content warnings: (view spoiler)[domestic violence (including medical experimentation), gaslighting, torture (off-page), slavery (hide spoiler)] I am pretty much ride-or-die for kickass space princesses. Give me a broken relearning-how-to-be-kickass space princess, plus the whole princess/bodyguard dynamic? My love knows no bounds. This was pretty much one of my most anticipated reads for 2019 and I am so happy that it did not disappoint! While this is the second in a series, you could conceivably read this as a standalone, though you’ll miss some background about the previous couple. After the death of her husband, Bianca has spent the past year recovering – mentally, physically and emotionally – from the damage he caused, and trying to deal with the new secret abilities she’s gained via his experimentation. She’s broken but not beaten down, even if the only way she’s able to show it is by rescuing other young women from bad marriages and verbally fencing with the House security director, Ian. When her brother disappears, Bianca knows her abilities are the only way to find him before the worst happens. Her father, of course, doesn’t understand, so Ian is sent to retrieve her. As events unfold, though, it becomes clear that they’ll need each other if they want to bring her brother home alive. Having reread Polaris Rising immediately before reading this book, there are lots of similarities and some substantial differences. Ada and Bianca are very different women, but they are both strong, competent, and used to getting things done – not to mention ride or die for their siblings and found families. With PR, the action and romance arcs were entwined and progressed at roughly the same pace. This book starts with a bang, then slows down so we can get more into Bianca’s headspace before the action and romance pick up steam at around the halfway point. In PR, Ada and Loch are thrown together (pretty much literally) at the start of the book, and then continue to interact throughout it. In this book, a chunk of it is spent with Bianca on the run from Ian, so there’s a break in their interactions. While I thought this affected the romance arc – it felt a bit too end-loaded for me – I thought it was perfect for giving me, and Bianca herself, a sense of who Bianca is on her own, her strengths and capabilities. I do wish we’d gotten to see more of Bianca and Ian’s relationship. While they’ve known each other for years, it would be an extreme stretch to call them friends, and since Bianca was instrumental in hiding Ada from Ian, they’d probably be better described as adversaries. The majority of the romance arc is very slow burn, and part of it is Bianca’s obliviousness. There’s some backstory there as to why Bianca would think that Ian would never in a million years be interested in her, but suffice it to say that that, plus her added loss of confidence from her marriage, blinds her to Ian’s true feelings. While I sometimes find characters missing the point to be annoying, I actually had a lot of fun with it this time. Once they realize that they have *feelings*, their relationship progresses rapidly from “this will never work” to exclamations of how perfect they are for each other. What did end up selling the relationship for me is that there’s no magic penis here – it’s Bianca who needs to figure out her abilities, not Ian, and Ian’s place is mainly to support her and, at points, get out of her kickass way! So while I definitely had some raised eyebrows about the speed of their HEA, I do agree that they’re perfect for each other. Alright, now that that’s off my chest, I loved the heck out of the scifi action arc of the novel. Bianca and Ian are both pretty kickass on their own, and together they’re pretty unstoppable. The world building continued to be excellent, and I loved the hacking, especially the VR aspects. One of the author’s strong points is that she takes some pretty common tropes, from both the romance and scifi sides, and gleefully leans in to them. This leads to some spectacular tension – similar to how when you see Captain America get into an elevator with a bunch of goons, you know what’s going to happen next. It’s a little bit campy but incredibly fun, and I had a smile on my face for a lot of the book. If you hadn’t guessed, I think Bianca is an incredible heroine, and honestly I would have a hard time picking whether I like her or Ada more. She’s been through a lot, but rather than turning bitter, she relies on her inner strength and the love of her family to keep her going while she rebuilds herself. That’s complete heroine catnip for me. Ian was a bit of a harder sell, initially, as his overprotectiveness was annoying (how DARE you doubt my precious heroine’s kickassedness?!?!) but once Bianca calls him on it, he reigns it in. I suspected much of Ian’s backstory, but I felt like there should’ve been more to it. (view spoiler)[According to Loch in the last book, all the squads except his perished. So shouldn’t he have recognized Ian? Ian seemed to recognize what/who Loch was back in Polaris Rising, but neither Loch nor Rhys (who was part of the Fornax team) recognized him. I’m not sure if I missed the explanation in the book, but I’ve read through it twice and didn’t see it. (hide spoiler)] It’s a little thing, but I’m hoping that whole business is cleared up more in the next book. Overall, I adored this book, and the last book in the trilogy is already one of my most anticipated books of next year. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves scifi romance or strong, capable heroines! I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was a great book! I loved this story just as much as the first book in this series polaris rising. This one follows Bianca von Hasenberg. After her older brother has been kidnapped, she has to use all of her special technical skills to find him and evade her bodyguard when he is ordered to bring her home. Both Bianca and Ian end up having to work together in order to bring her brother home. I loved everything about this book. And cant wait to read the next and final book in the consortium rebellion trilogy. I will be picking up everything that jessie mihalik writes.

After quickly finishing the first book, I dived into the 2nd one the next day. I think that maybe where my problems with this book originate. While I still enjoyed this book, it ended up being my least favorite. While I liked Biance and Ian in the first book, they fell rather flat in this one. And also, there was some weird changing of some back-story since the first one that I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't read them back-to-back. There is some chemistry between the two, but I never felt Ian respected Bianca's abilities, it was too much "I protect" "You hide" even after they talked about it. The plot to save Frederick was interesting, and I liked the introduction to the Syndicate, but it was average I guess. I found Ian to be a copy, with a few minor changes, to Loch-one of those minor changes was giving Ian zero personality. (view spoiler)[ My biggest gripe is Ian being a soldier like Ian. Especially after how he treated Ian in the past book it made no sense now that the reader knows Ians saved him. (hide spoiler)] Overall, I'm glad I read it. This is the book that really sets up the overall plot for the series.

CW: heroine was tortured and experimented on by her ex-husband (off page), violence including futuristic weapons, gory medical details, miscarriage (off page). A Space Princess finally free of her abusive ex-husband who experimented on her uses her unwanted skills to help find her kidnapped brother, causing her bodyguard extreme consternation. Along the way she comes in to her strengths and finds out the very bodyguard who rejected her all those years ago has been in love with her, forever. Super delicious slow burn space opera, I adored the world building, the action, and the concept of a strong princess who isn't necessarily physically strong, but who uses everything she has to fight for her family. Told in 1st POV, I really wanted Ian's POV as his motivations are very unclear for a long time and I would love to see things from his perspective. But, this is truly Bianca's story and she is the star and you'll love her. If you like romantic suspense, this is a perfect jump into Sci-Fi romance because it has all the best elements of suspense plus the science fiction elements. I was kept on the edge of my seat as Biana, Ian and the rest of their friends and family (hello Ada Loch) try to find Ferdinand. Spoilery comments and CWs below: I LOVE when wounded characters have to heal together, and the scene in the medical tank was exceptionally tension building. Proper use of an aphrodisiac and lingering touches. It takes so long for these two doofs to kiss but it was real worth the wait. CW: heroine was tortured and experimented on by her ex-husband (off page), violence including futuristic weapons, gory medical details, miscarriage (off page).