I adored this ! But it lacked the wow factor

WELL FUCK THAT ENDING WAS GOOD!

Aurora Rising: 4/5 ' Who am I to deny gravity, aurora? when you shine brighter than any constellation in the sky?' This comes as no surprise, but Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman have done it again. As they always do. Aurora Rising is a multi-perspective young adult science fiction adventure novel set in space. The story follows seven, yes, SEVEN different perspectives, each of whom is an entity in Aurora Legion 312 squad of misfits. We have Tyler, the squad leader with dimples to die for, Zila, the brain of the operation and a woman of very few words, Scarlett, a fiery diplomat, Fin, a tech genius with an awesome exoskeleton, Cat an insane pilot so good that it may seem she has wings of her own, Kal, an elf alien with anger management issues, and of course Aurora, Auri for short, a human who has just been awakened from a 200-year long nap. Oh, and did I mention she has powers? Like super cool telekinetic powers? Yeah. After Tyler answers a distress call to a long-forgotten ship and rescues Aurora from the carnage, he is greeted back at the Aurora academy with the last draft pick of squad members. Thus squad 312 was born of the bottom of the barrel picks. Squad 312 is thrust into an incredible journey around the galaxy, full of more questions than answers. As Aurora learns more about herself, the squad learns more about the galaxy and the secrets it has been keeping. This band of misfits and outcasts takes on the improbable task of saving the galaxy, with only one thing under their belt, faith. Oh, and a super cool telekinetic superhuman. Although there are seven different perspectives in this book, I think it flowed together nicely. I did not have any trouble keeping the perspectives apart, nor was I confused at any point. I do believe though that there was not really a need to put the perspective of every character in the book. Like we could have followed two or three main characters and had some awesome side characters instead. I think the problem with all seven perspectives is that since we're in everybody's head, we don't get that insane attachment to one character, if that makes sense. Instead, we feel a little love for everybody. This is not necessarily bad, but I think the more hard-hitting moments in the book could have hurt a bit more if we were seeing it through one perspective rather than everybody. The worldbuilding is incredible. I honestly never really feel confused about the world in Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff novels and I don't know how they do it. Every world they throw me into is so believable and feels so real that I never question it. This is really what makes the book so special in my opinion. What takes this book to a whole other level though, is the plot. We have the classic Jay Kristoff cliffhangers, plot twists, and heartbreak but it is always spun in a new way. I am always surprised about what Kristoff and Kaufman come up with and it seriously always blows me away. I felt like I was right there exploring space and planets with squad 312. I can't wait to pick up Aurora Burning next, but I AM AFRAID. I AM NOT READY. Ok here I go anyway :P

3.75 stars The squad dynamic in this is what really made this book for me. Oh, and I saw someone fancast Tyler as young Leonardo Dicaprio while I was reading this and now I can't UNSEE IT.

I want to start off by saying that I wanted to love this book so bad. Everything about the blurb, the cover, and the concept drew me in and told me that this was going to be great. I honestly think the cover art is the best thing about the book aside from space Legolas. Instead, I got space racism and internalized misogyny because women have to hate other women because of men even in space. It took me 300+ pages to get even a little invested in more than two characters which is a shame. When you only tolerate 1/4 of the cast of characters you know there's a problem. Part 3 was what brought the book up from a 2-star rating. (Truly, it is probably a 2.5/2.75 for me personally). This book reads middle grades if I'm honest. It's also way too fast-paced and the authors chose to give the characters convenient ways out of problems that if they faced and dealt with the consequences the book would have been a lot more interesting and solid. I see a lot of reviews saying that the Illuminae series was great - so I will give this writing duo another chance and see if that series will work for me instead! Specific character thoughts will be spoiler tagged below! Most of them are my gripes with the book. (view spoiler)[ Zila's character is a travesty to me. Her chapters were a paragraph long and written in strung-along sentences. She was given no real backstory to justify her actions or behavior. The only thing we know about her for the majority of the book is she is uninterested in other people and she is violent. She loves shooting people with her gun (on stun setting - I think). She is then given one smidge of development where another character confronts her and she cries. That's her whole arc in this book. I could not stand the way they wrote Cat. Her whole personality is her being angry that a dude doesn't want to be with her and even though she is super talented --- she spends most of her time just hating another woman because the dude she likes saved her. She deserved a true redemption arc and instead... if you know, you know. Although at that point I was glad it did. 50 boyfriends for Scarlett? Tyler's whole personality was that he was hot. And everyone is sarcastic/sassy for what? I wanted actual personalities. Kal gets alien racial slurs thrown at him in most chapters. "Pixieboy" was one of the most unnecessary aspects of the book. I think Finian was the most fleshed-out character and for that, I really enjoyed his chapters. He had a personality, wants, and a backstory. Also, you're telling me that these 7 people who literally just graduated, have no experience working or even tolerate each other, escaped scot-free from a fully armed and manned space ship that wiped out two other ships? While some of them were handcuffed? I'd sooner believe I, myself, was an alien than believe that could happen and it was written so fast that it felt rushed and a "chosen one" trope. (hide spoiler)]

Aurora Rising has been on my watch list for quite some time. A lot of my friends and family kept recommending it, but I never found the book in my chase. I tried borrowing from the library, but every time it became available I was just too busy. I finally found it at a clearance book sale and I was THRILLED! And safe to say, the book was really good and I want to finish off this series. I'm a little late to the hype train, but at least I enjoyed it! It's 2380 and the cadets of Aurora Academy are going on their first missions. Unfortunately for us, one of our main characters, Ty, gets himself into a bit of trouble. He ends up finding Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, a girl who was cryogenically sleeping and is from a world that is "long gone" (or at least... they say it is). He ends up with a disgruntled group of "losers", which includes his sister and his best friends (ouch, I know). The team end up getting thrown in a race to save Aurora and the galaxy's biggest mystery yet. Oh, and did I mention there's super powers? This book was fun! It was definitely a YA book, but that's why I liked it! The book was easy to read and had lots of lore and details packed in the book. There's action, relationship drama, and all sorts of intriguing space ideas that get tossed around. I super enjoyed it, even if it wasn't the world's greatest masterpiece. It's a fun ride that kept me entertained, which is what I hope for out of a book. Overall, it's a fun read and I can't wait to find the next one! Four out of five stars.

“Almost every particle in the universe was once part of a star. Every atom in your body. The metal in your chair, the oxygen in your lungs, the carbon in your bones. All those atoms were forged in a cosmic furnace over a million kilometers wide, billions of light-years from here. The confluence of events that led to this moment is so remote as to be almost impossible. Our very existence is a miracle.”

3.75 ⭐'s

I had a lot of fun reading this book, it truly was enjoyable to throw myself into a fast paced, action packed, easy to read sci-fi that doesn't get too bogged down on the science and just has a good time. This book was so unserious that it almost felt like reading a comedy set in space, in ways that really served the book but in a lot of ways too it let down the overall story line too. The premise is fascinating, a girl found lost in space trapped in a cyropod for over 200 years works with a newly arranged misfit team of legionnaire peacekeepers to figure out who she is and what is happening around them. There's intrigue, espionage, found family, spooky hallucinations and disembodied voices connected to powers that no one understands, aliens, corrupt political and law enforcement systems, a creepy interconnected zombie-like infestation ravaging the Milky Way - all the things that make an amazing recipe for a really good book and yet I felt slightly disappointed.

I think the main thing that stood out for me as not so great was the format of this book, it's a multi POV story with seven unique characters telling the story, but all of them are in first person perspective and I found this utterly confusing. Most of the characters had the same sassy attitude which made it really hard to tell a few characters apart, Kal and Zila were the only two who really had a distinctly different personality to any of the others and even then Zila's character was brushed over as if she barely mattered. Fin and Auri were the most rounded of all the characters but Cat, Scar and Tyler all blurred into one for me unfortunately. In the end it meant that I didn't really feel connected to any of the characters because most of the deeper feelings and pivotal moments were quickly swept up in the change of perspective. I've read other books with many POVs where it worked and I felt a deep connection to all of them (looking at you Six of Crows) but this one just felt one dimensional and superficial. I think maybe the author spent too much time trying to make the characters seem cool and spunky then actually giving them more depth.

Aside from that, the book was pretty good, it's very action packed and has a really fascinating plot, I genuinely wanted to know what on earth was going on and was excited to continue reading. I wish a bit more time had been spent on really focusing on this strong story line instead of focusing on the inner drama of the crew. I felt like this did a disservice to the book as a whole and I think this book could've done without it's romance drama. The immediate sense of jealousy and cattiness between two of the female characters was a bit off-putting sadly and it read almost like a high school drama rather than 19-20 year old's who are entrusted with flying space ships around a complex "fold" in space and time keeping the peace between alien beings when they can barely keep the peace between themselves. I was really hoping to feel more camaraderie and teamwork mixed in with the really interesting plot, but didn't quite get there unfortunately. There was a lot about this book that was incredibly funny though, I found much of dialogue between the characters very entertaining most of the time and genuinely laughed out loud a couple of times too.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read and I will absolutely be picking up Aurora Burning because I'm excited to see where this story line goes. I just think it could've been written a little bit more polished and given a bit more depth.

This is my top 5 sci-fi, love the characters, full cast of audio, can't wait to read the rest of the series. Highly recommend!

Non spoiler thoughts: After sitting with this book for a few days I think my final rating is a 3.75. I think it was my fault that this fell a little flat for me. My expectations where WAY to high, and if I had gone in with less then I would have enjoyed it more. I loved the last about 200 pages of the book, but I was felling a bit meh with the rest of it. I think my main issue was the pacing. It throws you straight into the action, and then just stops. not much happens for a solid 50ish pages. Auri was just kinda hanging out, and wasn’t interacting with the other characters besides Tyler. What happens in that part is important but it should have been spread out or done another way that was less boring. The real plot didn’t start until about 30% through the book and it heavily involves Auri as a character. I also had a bit of a hard time connecting to the writing and story. The writing wasn’t great honestly. It felt a little choppy most of the time. I did LOVE the world building. It was complex and rich and I love all the alien species! Finian and Kal where the most interesting characters to me because of they are different species of aliens. Both races had their own culture and it was great! One more thing is that there is a romance that starts to develop at the end and I’m totally on bored with that. I did not expect those two characters to be love interest, but It worked really nicely! There is another romance that is a little bit prominent throughout the book that i did not like at all. I’ll explain more in the spoilers section. Yay! ***SPOILERS***** Okay first thing. Auri powers! They are so cool. They where introduced wayy late in the story though. They where kinda hinted at in the first chapter, but not enough. Auri’s powers where a super prominent part of the story and it should been added in within the first few chapters. I did not enjoy Cat at all. She was just so annoying to me. She the kinda bad ass female character I would normally dig but I just couldn’t stand her. She was the only part of the squad who was not on bored with helping Auri and. . . Just a party pooper. I also did not understand the Tyler/Cat romance at all. I could just see no chemistry what so ever between them. I’ve never been a fan of friends/lovers but this one just seemed ridiculous! I was honestly relieved when Cat died. Yell at me all you want. The way she died was very sad, I felt really bad for Tyler and Scarlett but besides that I’ve glad she is no longer in the cast of characters.

Ok, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff stabbed my heart once again and I want to thank them. I *loved* this book. I loved the squad (and I will die for them). I listened to the audiobook (I gasped when I recognised some of the voices) and I 100% recommend that one. 100/10 would recommend.

I loved this book so freaking much! Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have become some of my favorite sci-fi authors and definitely my favorite writing duo. This book had me on the edge of my seat and very excited to keep going. I was swept away and felt like I was present. It also switches POV and I'm a sucker for that.

These authors know how to write science fiction. And they can write amazingly deep characters

Wow. The probability of me finding the right words to convey how amazing the characters in this book were is the same probability of Finian coming up with an insult for Kal.

Excuse me while i go cry on the grave of my expectations. You might think i'm overreacting but when one of your most anticipated books of the year disappoints you this much, you're allowed to mourn however long you want. the characters are undeveloped and very one dimensional, they feel stereotypical. We have Tyler who is basically the boy scout of the group. Scarlett is the flirt, Cat is the tomboy kinda mean bestfriend, Kal is the brooding fighter, Finian is the annoying sarcastic kid with one-liners and Auri is the annoying clueless protagonist we see in so many other novels(i understand why she acts that way but come on it was so annoying). I don't know if the authors are taking personal dig at me but the only character i was intrigued by ended up with chapters that are half a page AND SOMETIMES LESS. Zila baby i'm so sorry for what they made you be. Normally i'd have no problem with the stereotypical roles but only if IT WASN'T THEIR WHOLE CHARACTER. I mean they basically had no personalty and after my love kady grant i expected more tbh. Honestly i feel like i should personally apologize to every character in this book for how half-assed they are. Also if i hear the words 'holy cake' and 'son of a biscuit' ever again, i'm going to scream. the alternating perspectives was a kind of overwhelming at the start and the first third of the book was very info-dumpy and at some point i got confused and had to reread it from the start. the romance was completely underwhelming and i didn't care for any of it. I feel that there is no built up to any of the relationships and they seem to come out of nowhere. There are no chemistry between any of them. Also one of the relationships was because of an actual mating bond, i mean what the hell? i thought those only existed in 2012 wattpad werewolf stories but i guess not. the plot was the only thing that kept me going other than my ongoing hope that this was going to get better because no way amie kaufmen and jay kristoff wrote something this bad but oh well.

It's physically pains me to only give this book 3 stars, because it had all the elements I usually enjoy in books, but somehow the whole story felt flat.

The end's left me devastated, can't wait to read the rest. I could do without the overprotective soulmate part, though.

3,5owls.

4.5 stars

this was so perfectly made to get me out of my fantasy/sci fi slump. i am way too protective over a certain squad 312 now and i will forever be. this gave all the vibes and tropes in my opinion (especially found family, heart eyes!!) and had very very little romance but tons of cute&flirty interactions and the BEST banter (and personal thank you to finian for being the comedic relief and my new favorite ever) i need more of these characters because well i do but i am hands down so terrified because if anything happens to them I SHALL COMBUST. finian you have my heart forever, i might come and pick up aurora burning soon when i realize i miss everyone too much. please read this if you are a hardcore guardians of the galaxy fan because that was also running through my mind the whole time. did i mention i love finian? okay im done.

** spoiler alert ** Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman did it again! Holy biscuits! This book was a whole lot of rollercoaster rides. I loved the interaction between the characters. Although the book reads in 7 different POV it never lost the connection to the plot or the characters themselves, the story wrapped itself nicely... I need book 2!! I mean like yesterday! Of course the authors break you a little bit or maybe a lot. The characters...here goes: -Tyler: leader... pretty smart boy, tries to do the right thing. Scarlett: bad ass chick not afraid to speak her mind and get the job done -Cat: another bad ass... I’m not gonna lie, I’m a bit pissed at how things turned out for her! Fudge! Wtf was that???? -Zila: she’s there but she’s not there but she’s still needed.. kinda a “no bothers given” personality, l Her dry sense of humor is likable lol. -Kal: hottieeeee alien boy, *whistles* yup this is the boy that would give his life for you, I swear the whole mate thing took me by surprise but I LOVED IT! Scifi with a side of destined eternal mate/purpose umm yes please. -Finnian: oh Finnian, loved him! Ok so this may sound weird but! I have this speculation that finnian is connected to AIDAN.. yes illuminae files AIDAN... ok ok so hear me out... Finnian is in charge of the tech controls and Aurora cycle is about 200+ years give or take before illuminae?! We don’t exactly know where AIDAN came from but yea... that’s my thought folks... we shall see if my speculation is correct! -Auri: ok so she’s this badass kung fu master, about 200+ years old on the run from the government. Love her! Her character development was a bit slow but she came thru. I was caught by surprise with the love interest in the story! Usually it’s the leader of the pack but I enjoyed it so much more being Kal! Overall I was super pleased with the progress of the story, it read like illuminae but I loved the fact that we got to learn more about each of the characters. I can’t wait for the memento booklet, I want to know if what my brain is stirring up is true! It’s killing me! Ok folks.. this is a super FIVE STAR for me! Absolutely loved everything about this book, the diversity in characters is very much appreciated since that’s the world We live in, even though it was aliens we were reading about lol. Thank you Jay and Amie for this masterpiece! I look forward to the new book! Squad 312 gives me life

Ok, that was that. I feel so awkward giving this less than a stellar review, because Twitter and bookstagram have been replete with raving and 5-stars, and crying emojis and "How dare you?!?" aimed at the authors, (inferring that the readers were heartbroken and that the ending was torturous but the book was nevertheless amazing). SO. I liked it. I didn't love it. It was a fun read, and it did a lot to help me emerge from a slight book slump that I seem to be always on the verge of, in the last few months. The characters were great, a really fun mix, and I quickly developed favorites, because DUH. I will say that I didn't feel as strong a connection to them as I did when I read some of the authors' other work (Illuminae, LifeL1k3, Nevernight), but I liked all of the characters. One thing that was a bit of a letdown was that except for Zila, the POVs didn't feel terribly distinct, and I often had to look back to the chapter head to see who the speaker was. But during the narration, their characters and temperaments were definitely distinct, each individual having a very clear-cut personality. And the dialogue was always quite fun, as we have come to expect from Amie and Jay. I guess I didn't find the story super-remarkable. It was fun, fast-paced, with a few sections that made it hard to put down the book, and some very good fight scenes! But some of the reveals were kind of blah, and I felt like too much of the resolution of sticky situations was left to... one of the character's special powers. Also, there was so much talk of feelings. I like romance and romantic entanglement, and I like moments of bonding, but I couldn't help but feel that it was a bit too touchy-feely at times, and every time it felt like the pace had come to screeching halt to allow for this moment of magic/bonding/sadness to happen. Still, as I said, it was a fun read, and a fairly smooth one. And I definitely want to hear more about the characters, so I will be reading the rest of the trilogy; but for me this doesn't rate higher than a 3 1/2 stars.

Like...3.5? This was definitely enjoyable and action-packed, and it had all the science fictiony things that I tend to love. But also, it was SO tropey, and not all of the tropes were ones that I like. Namely, mating bonds, and some other spoilery ones I won’t mention. Nevertheless, I was entertained while reading this—the snarky characters were fun to read (I love Finian and Cat). Tyler and Scarlett were both sweet. But my girl Zila did NOT get the screen time she deserved, and I really hope we see more of her in the second book. So basically, the humor and the action scenes were on point, but I wanted something more from everything else—whether it was a character who didn’t get enough screen time (Zila) or a romantic attraction that seemed out of place (Kal). I also can’t help but compare this to the Illuminae trilogy, which I think is vastly better than this book. I would definitely check those out if you liked Aurora Rising (or even if you didn’t) because honestly, the characters in this book all reminded me of characters from Illuminae.