Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Review: Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Title: Aurora Rising

Series: The Aurora Cycle #1

Authors: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Genre: YA, sci-fi

Publication date: May 2019

Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Source: Borrowed from library

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Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Thrift Books

Synopsis: The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
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 wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I had seen this book around for a while but I never really had the urge to pick it up and read it, even though I'd seen a lot of people say good things about it. I finally picked it up after I participated in a challenge (Pick It For Me) where a partner picked out books for me to read. I don’t do this a lot because I’m a big-time mood reader, but that’s neither here nor there. Lol. Anyway, one of the books my partner picked out for me was this one, so I decided to give it a chance! And you know what? I ended up really enjoying it! As you guys know, I've been very into sci-fi lately and this book was perfect for my mood. I mean, I didn't love it, but I'm glad I picked it up.

Right from the start I was intrigued. Tyler Jones was out flying around in space, minding his own. Business, when he came across this spaceship that had been ravaged by a storm. All the hundreds of cryogenically frozen passengers on this ship were dead... except for one girl: Aurora. A girl who had been in cryo sleep for well over 200 years! That's insane! So yeah, the story immediately pulled me in, especially because Tyler trying to get Aurora out of that ship and back to safety was INTENSE! It was good!

So yeah, I really liked the story and the mystery behind Aurora and what happened to the ship she was on and the mysterious planet she was going to. And There was So much more to the story that I was not expecting but really enjoyed! It was just a fun adventure!

I also really liked the ensemble of characters. I think I fell in love with Tyler as soon as he made his first appearance 😆 Listen, he's got these gorgeous dimples that he knows how to use to his advantage, and I just cannot resist a guy with dimples. Lol. But no, I really did like the characters. Tyler's sister, Scarlett, was sassy and fun. I really loved Fin—he was funny. Zila was weird but in the best way possible. And I also liked Kal, who was a fierce warrior but also had this softness to him deep down. I also felt so bad for him and the way they treated him just because of the alien race he was. So unfair. And I of course enjoyed following Aurora as she got her bearings in this new world. I even loved her tablet. Lol.

Now let me tell you about something I did not like: the romance. The fact that in the beginning Aurora was as into Tyler's dimples as I was and then nothing came of it made me upset. The person she ended up being romantically involved with... didn't ship it. Oh and the Pull thing? Hated it!

But besides that, I enjoyed the book. Despite the romance getting a big NO from me, I liked the characters as individuals. Plus, I enjoyed the story and am very intrigued by the world. Aurora was such an interesting character and I’m excited to learn more about her and see where her story goes.


Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊

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