Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle) Paperback – Illustrated, April 7, 2020

4.5 Your Family Seals Your Den StarsThis is a little Firefly + Star Trek + Invasion of the Body SnatchersI’ve enjoyed many of Jay Kristoff’s books and Aurora Rising is no exception, except that it is also written my Amie Kaufman and I’ve never read her before but will now for sure. I like the group of misfit characters brought together by long time bounds and twists of fate. I really like Aurora, the girl who floated in the void for over 200 years and came out of it into a world very changed. I definitely appreciated the twist of who the bad guy(s) are and what they are planning. Also, the worldbuilding and alien cultures created in this is a plus making the world/universe seem very deep indeed without getting too wordy.Aurora Rising is a multiple PoV style telling. Every character has a unique voice in the story and contributes to the overall scope, so you are always in on the action.Squad leader Tyler is the golden boy of the Academy. No drinking, not partying, no shenanigans of any kind. He should have gotten first pick to build the squad of his dreams. However, he was off rescuing Aurora from the void and so he totally missed that opportunity and now has a very eclectic squad that only has two members on it he wanted.Those members include:Twin sister Scarlet, serial dater, master of sarcasm, smile you could swim in and the best Face in the academy. Do not play poker with her, she can read your every tell and make you happy to be losing all of your money to her.***There’s something about her—under the bitchy and the sexy. Something almost maternal. Goldenboy looks after us because we’re his squad. His responsibility. Scarlett looks after us because she cares. ***Cat was almost recruited by another squad leader, until she reminded him of some important parts that might go missing if he dared try. She is the best pilot in the academy and has been friends with the twins since elementary school when she hit Ty over the head with a chair. I think that is 5-year-old equivalent to I love you, but she keeps reminding us that they are just friends *wink, wink*Kal, an alien that looks a lot like Legolas from LoTRs, is drool worthy for me. He is the stoic fighter, with a past he can’t escape and is from a hated race. He is even hated by most members of his own race and might have a couple anger management issues, along with a deep desire to not be touched and might be feeling something akin to gravity towards our Aurora.***“There is a gravity to everything, Aurora,” I finally say. “Not just planets. Not just stars. Every cell in our bodies, every cell in creation exerts a gravity on the objects and people around it. And…that is what I am feeling. For you.” ***Zila is a bit strange. She is a brilliant scientist/inventor but really doesn’t seem to understand people or emotions at all. She likes statistics and can totally tell you your odds of survival in a pinch. She also likes to shoot things with her stun gun, like a lot, like even people she knows. Be careful around her.***“Zila, you’re the smartest person on this ship,” he says. “You might be one of the smartest people in the whole Legion. Do you know what your problem is?”“I…would be happy to hear your feedback, sir,” she replies.“Your problem is that you know how everything works except other people.” ***From another alien race is Finian, the Tech wiz in a suit. It’s not a go to the office kind of suit but a I had an illness as a kid that jacked up my body and I need this to compensate suit. He may or may not be a little on the defensive side of life because of it and pushes most people away with sass and snark.Last but not least is someone who isn’t a member of the crew but appears to be at the center of a huge conspiracy and might just be the key to saving the entire universe, Aurora. The girl that just spent 200 years in the void is the biggest unexpected wild card of them all. She was supposed to go to a colony off earth, but history doesn’t remember that colony at all and now she is wanted by the Global Intelligence Agency a.k.a. the GIA***IF YOU EVER FIND YOURSELF ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE GIA, I SUGGEST TERRIFIED AND ABJECT APOLOGIES. EITHER THAT, OR PRAYER ***But no pressure for this newly formed team to protect someone that could get them all killed.I loved this adventure tale. It has a little bit of everything in action, adventure, destruction, a mystery, an evil plot, a potentially epic love story, a very likable squad and dinosaurs (okay it wasn’t an earthen dinosaur but it seemed like the biggest baddest monster in the galaxy) just to round everything out.Wow there are some heart pounding moments in this and I loved the ride. I’m going to have to check of Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman’s other series to get me by until the next book is released.Audio Note:There is a full cast of narrators for all of the different PoVs. All the cast was good but Steve West was absolutely perfect for the voice of Kal, and this is why I love ensemble casts, you can always tell whose PoV your listening too. But the downside is that Steve West is one of my favorite Narrators and so I wanted him to have more PoVs. It was an incredibly enjoyable listening experience.

Aurora RisingAuthor: Amie Kaufman and Jay KristoffSeries: The Aurora Cycle book 1 of 3Genre: Young Adult Sci-FiRating: 5 starsAurora Rising is an epic space adventure that pulls in elements of Firefly, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy. A lot of book blurbs will throw out popular movies, shows, or books for a comparison, but in this case, it’s definitely a true statement. The story begins with us finding a spaceship that has been lost for over 200 years and the only survivor in cryostasis. From there, we hook up with a ragtag group of beings (this is space, after all, the truth is out there) who are all looking for a place to belong but are firmly labeled outcasts by everyone, even themselves. There’s a conspiracy, battles, heists, tinges of romance, coverups, chases, and so much more.Initially, I was going to give the book a 4-star rating just because each of the 7 characters have POV chapters and it got jumpy at times trying to keep up. But once I got used to the unique perspectives each character offered, I didn’t mind so much. Tyler, the overachiever put in charge of the outcasts (and doesn’t quite know what to do with them). Scarlett, cocky, sarcastic, and secure in her femininity. Cat, the best pilot in the academy who stuck with Tyler even though he broke her heart. Kal, the being who’s treated as an enemy because of what his people did. Fin, the wise-cracking comedic relief who uses attitude to hide his pain. Zila, whose IQ is off the charts, but who doesn’t understand how to connect. And finally, Aurora, the girl out of time who’s trying to understand this strange future she’s woken to find and where she fits in it.At times, I did feel like some of the banter was out of place. This group is out of their depth and making it up as they go along, so sarcasm and arguments are certainly part of the mix, but it seemed over the top every now and then. There are also time jumps where a chapter starts in action and then it backtracks to see how the characters got to where they are.My favorite character was Kal because I tend to be a sucker for the hard exterior and soft interior. But the character I want to know more about (and who I think will end up being my favorite overall) is Zila. She had a few chapters from her POV, but they were short and/or skimming – as in barely gave us any depth to her and/or her past. I look forward to finding out more about her in the rest of the series.Also, for anyone who reads this book, brace yourselves for chapter 34. I won’t spoil it. But chapter 34 was so beautifully written and received. I’d read it again if I could but it’s still too fresh. If nothing else, that chapter alone would have pushed the 4 stars to 5 stars.I recommend this book for anyone looking for a non-stop ride where “one more chapter” really means “I gotta finish this book and get some answers!”.

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.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. I loved the Illuminae books and Aurora Rising felt like another attempt to replicate that success that definitely fell short. It's definitely fun and I loved a couple of the characters, Cat for one. All the great aspects of this book have been covered in other reviews so here are a couple of things I didn't like:Too many POVs. There's seven main characters. That's a lot. Zila barely did anything and probably could've been cut; Scar didn't seem that important and probably could have been pushed together with Cat, and Finn probably could have absorbed Kal.Speaking of Kal, maybe I've spent too many years reading Star Trek novels and fanfiction, but he felt like a weak Spock rip-off. Kal is basically a pre-reform Vulcan: so before Vulcan society became all logical, they had really high emotions and were super violent. Plus pointy ears, elaborate hair braiding, and mating bonds. All this "Pull" is basically Vulcan mating bonds. They even use be'shamai to mean beloved, where Vulcan has "ashayam" to mean beloved. Someone has been reading too much Star Trek fic haAlso I didn't particularly like Auri? I felt a lot of sympathy for her, especially at the start, but she's not particularly likeable.I was expecting something more like Sanderson's Skyward, where space training school plays a bigger role. It plays virtually no role in the book.Aurora Rising was fun, but I wasn't overly impressed especially considering how much I've loved some of the authors' other books.

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Acadmey are being assigned their first missions. Srat pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, however his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs who nobody else in the Acadmey wants.He has the following in his team:      A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm      A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her banknotes      A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy's biggest chip on his shoulder      An alien warrior with anger management issues      A tomboy pilot who's totally not into him, in case you were wonderingAnd Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem - that's be Auror Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for over two centuries,Auri is a girl who has been thrust out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, Tyler's squad fo losers, discipline-cases and misfits might be the last hope for the entire galaxy.I love this pairing of authors, and i knew that this was going to be an instant hit for me. I always try to go into a book with a clear mind however this was a different story. I was grabbed from page one and i knew that i was not going to be able to put this down and i read it in 2 sittings. I found that this was the right amount of balance between sci-fi and adventure which kept me guessing what was going to happen next. It also helped that we have a buddy relationship which also pulls the story along, I can not wait to see what the next one does for the storyline.

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!