If you've read the Illuminae Trilogy, this book is in the same ballpark as those books. It's a space fantasy that's amazing and full of wit and humor that comes with a Kristoff/Kaufman book. The characters are all unique and their personalities are amazing. The relationships that each character has with one another are realistic. Everything about this book is amazing. There's even an AI named Magellan that inserts more humor and backstory/information regarding events that have occurred in the world. Buy this book immediately upon release.

Well, folks. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have done it AGAIN. Seriously, is there anything these two can't do? The story was so unique and utterly intriguing I can see so many book refrences like The Expanse (Leviathan Wakes by James S.A Corey) involving amazingness and (secret thing I cant say) and of course a bond of witty friendship with a mix of espionage like Six of Crows. This book is truly a mix of everything I love and everything that is awesome.

Aurora Rising is one of my most anticipated releases of this year. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff blew my mind with the Illuminae Files trilogy and I’m a HUGE fan of Jay Kristoff so it was only natural for me to be excited about their new foray together.

As you can see from the synopsis of this book it’s another sci-fi novel set in space with a huge cast of characters. It’s similar to the Illuminae Files but it’s different enough that fans of that series will walk in with some familiarity but walk out gobsmacked with what Jay & Amie have done with this new world (universe?). As always, the characters are fantastically written and instantly make you love them, the world building is gorgeous and makes you clamor for more, and the plot is wonderful!

However, I found a LOT of similarities between this and the movie Serenity, which is a continuation of the Firefly series. Rag tag team of outlaws? Check. Chick in cryo? Check. Super powered girl that the government is after? Check. Super secret world that no one knows about? Check. Add in a few more elements that are spoilers for the book and you’ve got yourself a literary version of Serenity. Am I complaining? Hell no!

There’s a lot of nods to previous avenues of sci-fi. If you’re a fan or even a casual follower, you will notice nods to Starship Troopers, Star Trek: New Generation, and Red Dwarf. You will even notice little wink wink nudge nudge nods to The Princess Bride, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Aladdin. Not to mention the 80′s classic The Breakfast Club, which I think heavily influenced the character cast. These are the only nods that I caught, but knowing how much Jay & Amie like to toss them into their work, I can only imagine how many more there are that I didn’t catch.

As always, Jay & Amie provided their own spin on it and really allowed the novel to soar on it’s own. What really stands out is the cast of characters. Tyler, the Alpha; Scarlett, the Face; Cat, the Ace; Finian, the Gearhead; Kal, the Tank; Zila, the Science; and finally, the namesake for the book, Aurora, our fish out of water. Each character gets their own POV (I KNOW, IT’S A LOT), though Zila only really shows up a small handful of times, and you will grow to love each and every one of them throughout this adventure. Characters are really the bread and butter for Jay & Amie’s novels, I think, because they write such good interactions, dialogue, and growth for their characters.

Personally, I loved Finian, Kal, and Magellan, a smart mouthed AI on a tablet who’s basically next gen Alexa, the most. Aurora, in my opinion, wasn’t really fleshed out as much as she could have been. To me, she seemed more like the typical YA trope of ‘super special YA heroine’ but I know that Jay & Amie have more in store for her so I’m reserving judgement for now. Zila, a black character who I think is on the Autism spectrum but wasn’t confirmed in story, didn’t really get a lot of her own POV in book, but I really did enjoy what we got from her. Magellan was fantastic and I really think it speaks volumes for Jay & Amie as authors that they can make you care so much for an AI character.

There was a hint of romance in this story but it was really a blip in the storyline. It kinda reminded me a little bit of the whole Twilight imprinting thing BUT NOT IN A BAD WAY, I PROMISE! The pairing shocked the heck out of me considering the most commonly used YA trope is that the first guy our heroine sees is usually her HEA. Not to mention, the two characters don’t even get together in this book. There’s literally no relationship execution in this book, but a promise of what could happen and I honestly really enjoyed that addition.

The plot itself, as I said, wasn’t too original. It’s something we’ve seen before and flew so closely to Serenity that I wasn’t all that surprised with how things turned out. If you watch that movie and then read this book you’ll see a lot of comparisons between the two that will sorta kinda make you expect things to happen in the book and then not be surprised when they do happen. The pacing was really well done. There were enough lull moments that when the action hit I flew through it with a lot of anticipation and worry. The ending, as usual, ended with a loud bang and left me severely wanting more.

All in all, this book is a wonderful add on to the YA sci-fi genre and I am so glad I got to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m definitely jonesing for some more from this squad!

I will post my review close to publication but this book was AMAZING! I loved squad 312 and need more of them. Can't wait for the next book in the series.

This was such an improvement to the Illuminae files, I feel like. I guess I just don't get along with novels that are put in weird formats like case files and such. This was a solid foundation to what I think is going to be an enjoyable series.

You know you’ve read an exceptionally good book when you relish the idea of writing your review as soon as you’re done because you want to impress upon everyone the exact emotions you were feeling as soon as you’ve reached the last page. Guys. I know we’re only a quarter of the way through 2019 but I’ve read some damn good books so far. This….is one of the best. As much as I loved <i>Finale</i> this might honestly have been better. I’ve wanted to get my hands on this book since it was first announced. I loved the <i>Starbound</i> trilogy by Kaufman and Spooner and also ate up <i>The Illuminae Files</i> which was by the same two authors who also crafted this gem of a book. In both series, I loved their take on the distant future and their incredibly addicting writing. The characters were unforgettable and there was always at least one relationship that had me swooning and dying for more. Based on ALL of that, THIS BOOK LIVED UP TO EVERYTHING I HOPED AND DREAMED IT WOULD BE.

Premise wise this book is about Tyler—a star squad leader who is about to get his dream cadet picks at the Aurora Academy and spend his life doing good and keeping peace in the ‘Way….until the complete opposite happens…kind of;

It’s about Scarlett, who only joined the Academy to stick with her twin brother, Tyler, and who is the mother hen of the group while also having killer wit and sarcasm;

It’s about Cat, Ace pilot, tomboy, not-so-secretly in love with her best friend who might also happen to be squad leader;

It’s about Kal, hot Legolas lookalike alien who has anger problems and may be the new love of my life;

It’s about Zila, trigger happy, very quiet, possible sociopath but also possibly there is a lot more to her than meets the eye and I’m interested to learn more???;

It’s about Finian, ALSO SUPER SARCASTIC, alien, techie boy who loves giving his squad shit whenever possible about whatever possible;

And finally, it’s about Aurora, or Auri, who was stuck in cryo-freeze on a missing ship for the past two hundred years and finds out she was the only one who survived and that she now has confusing new powers when she wakes up.

AGAIN, this is another one that’s been likened to SOC but other than the fact that it’s a group of misfits, it’s entirely its own thing. Each character has POV chapters but they never felt disjointed. I knew exactly who each one was immediately and loved each one immediately. What I’m trying to say is that Squad 312 is my new ~squad~ and I would die for each and every one of them. *sobs*.

This book was intense in a way that I had forgotten sci-fi could be. I don’t read a ton of it but when I do it strikes me that same way every time. I mean there’s the magnitude of Auri waking up TWO HUNDRED YEARS after she was put into cryo-sleep, knowing that life as she knew it is completely different and everyone that she had ever known and loved is dead. There’s the fact that a character dies and the incident ripped my heart out and stomped all over it and I was sitting there crying in my car trying to hide it so my husband wouldn’t ask and then make it worse hahaha. I guess I’ve been reading too many romances or something. But I took it hard. HARD I TELL YOU. And the mystery of the story itself was one of the most gripping that I have read in a long time. I am dying for the next few books. Dying to see how certain characters grieve and heal. Dying to see how certain relationships blossom. And most importantly, dying to see how the universe is saved from sure destruction.

Do yourself all a favor and pick this book up when it comes out. I give it my highest of recommendations.

I went into this book with high expectations after reading Illuminae and I was not disappointed. There is never any time wasted with Amie and Jay. Getting to the point, they jump into the mysteries of Aurora Academy.
There were so many moments I was confused and sure of what was happening but then again so was the team. Taking the reader for a tailspin, it is like being there any going through each of the revelations along with them. My favorite part (SPOILER) was on the Sempiternity during the masked ball. The way they reacted was as if the reader was being fooled along with the leader of this world.
Mystical and action packed, this takes par to their previous work together. I’m already itching to get back into the world once more. They make the heart ache always by the end of the book. An ending which, in retrospect, I should have seen coming yet was still upset over the fact of it happening. Knowing them, there may not be that happy twist of events to make it better. Always worth the five stars.

Honestly, when I read this book and didn't immediately fall in love with it, I thought it was me. I figured I'd missed something, and that's why I just felt the book was so superficial. I was honestly ashamed to admit that I didn't really enjoy a book by the authors that brought us Illuminae. So I chatted about it with some people. The more I talked with them, the more I realized that it wasn't just me though.

Let's start with the characters. Honestly, I didn't really feel the connection with them in this book, and the dramatic scene at the end of the book involving one of the main characters in what should have been a super dramatic scene just fell flat for me. Aurora, especially, was so inconsistently portrayed that I spent most of the book wishing I could skip her viewpoints.

I also feel like this book engaged in some queer-baiting. I was promised gay, and other than one kiss, the book was annoyingly straight. All of the main characters in the squad pair up in straight pairings. Unless there is more development on this front in future books, don't really expect much gay other than the fact that all of the characters appreciate how beautiful each other is regardless of gender.

The last complaint, which again, I'm mentioning after discussion with other readers, is the amount of content that is HIGHLY influenced by other works. I feel like this book goes beyond a homage, and straight up rips off the plot of (view spoiler). This gets a little dicier when you start taking into the space elves, which just seem to be a rip-off of SJM.

It's just...not at all what I expected of Jay and Amie. I went into this book assuming this would be a solid 5 stars, and I'd be raving about it for ages. Instead, I canceled my pre-order.

It's been a solid three days since I finished Aurora Rising and I still don't have words. Well, I have words. Just just aren't professional enough for the blog. Because currently my brain is: ASDFGHJKL and basically my emotions are all over the damn place. To say that Aurora Rising exceeded all of my expectations is the understatement of the year. Whether you are new to Jay and Amie's writing or you are already familiar with the writing duo from the Illuminae Files, their newest novel does not disappoint.

After rescuing Aurora O'Malley from the Fold and her impending death Tyler Jones misses out on recruiting the squad of his dreams. Instead he is stuck with the recruits that nobody wants. Aurora Rising is told from the POVs of each of the squad mates: Tyler, Scarlett, Cat, Aurora, Kal, Zila and Finian. Each character has their own unique voice and their own internal battle as they race across the galaxy to stop an impending war and seek answers to the lost Octavia Colony and keep Aurora out of the hands of the authorities who are bent on killing her.

Tyler: I really really loved Tyler's character growth from the beginning to the end of the novel. We see him and his anger towards having to have the bottom of the barrel recruits. But through out the book we see how his views of each of his squad mates change and how he learns that each has their own individual asset that they bring to the squad.

Aurora: The girl who started it all. After being in cryo-freeze for 200+ years Aurora was expecting to wake up on the Octavia Colony and not in a cell on an intergalactic space academy. But soon things are turned upside down when the authorities want her, and we learn that Aurora plays a bigger role in the sake of the universe then just being 216 years old.

Scarlett: Scalett is Tyler's older sister and complete sarcastic wise ass and I loved every moment of reading from her POV. A lot of times we see characters go from weak to strong, but not Scarlett. She was strong from the moment you meet her. I loved the fact that everyone just embraces the fact that Scarlett has dated A LOT of guys. No one shames her for her and she doesn't shame herself. I absolutely love that! Also, do I smell a crush brewing?

Kaliis "Kal": Kal is one of the alien species that we get to meet in this book. After his home planet is destroyed he joins Aurora Academy to make a difference for himself and his species. Kal was one of those characters that grew on me, the more you got to know him the more you understood why he behaves the way he does. I am really excited to see where Jay and Amie are going to take Kal in the next book.

Finian:I found Finian to basically be the male version of Scarlett. In short: Finian is a brilliant wise ass. He is the other alien species that we are introduced to in Aurora Rising. After over coming a virus when he was a child Finian has to wear a mechanical exoskeleton to function in his day to day life. I found to crack up at a lot of the things he said. I enjoyed seeing Finian grow throughout the novel and overcome some of his limitations.

Cat: I didn't realize how much I loved Cat's character until the final chapters of Aurora Rising. Cat is hard core and isn't going to take shit from anyone. We see through her chapters how she is in love with Tyler but how they could never be together because he is her superior officer. I am intrigued to see where Cat's character is going in the next book considering the end of Aurora Rising.

Zila: I LOVED Zila's character. I related to her on a deeper level on how she doesn't have a group to fall back on. I also really loved the fondness she had for shooting her squad mates at the most inconvenient times. But Zila gets shit done and I am so ready to see her in book two. I just wish there were more chapters in her POV.

There is so much I want to talk about but I can't because of spoilers. *sobs*

I really loved how the story is seamless. Amie and Jay said that they each wrote specific characters but you can't tell who wrote who. A lot of times in books that are co-written they don't flow seamlessly and you can tell the difference in writing styles. In Aurora Rising you can't tell the difference and I loved that.

Each chapter held unexpected surprises that moved the story forward in cool and unbelievably cool ways. Though the ending ripped my heart out, it was interesting the see the alien plants and how they have a a hive mind and are a singular entity. Overall I really loved Aurora Rising and I can't wait to see what this writing duo has in store for Squad 312!

Oh my gosh where to start with this masterpiece?! Firstly I’ll start with thanking Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for a chance to read and review it!

Aurora Rising starts with a literal bang and the crazy adventure just keeps going the whole book. I wasn’t sure how they were going to follow up Illuminae Files and I’m so happy to see them keep to the Sci-Fi genre because you can always tell how much research they put into their books. I also loved the immense diversity put into this book, it all flowed and made sense. Every character has a complete different personality just like in real life and Kal is serious goals now for my future book boyfriends=p The world building is so interesting and I can not wait to see new planets. Plus the nod to the collector, yesss!! By the end, I was literally a speechless mess of a puddle. I can not wait to see what happens next to our squad! I know it’s not going to be a smooth ride, but we must have faith! #squad312forever

My star rating: All the stars, but seriously 5 stars out of 5.

I was provided with an eARC of this in exchange for a fair review.

Holy balls, Batman. Amie and Jay have done it again with this amazing piece of sci-fi magic!!! Why should you read this book? Two words: Space Elves. No, seriously. SPACE ELVES! I literally died every time Auri made an LOTR reference at Kal, and I spent the whole book envisioning him as a cross between Legolas and a teenaged Rowan from ToG. The cast was unique and diverse and brought so much to the table, plus we got crazy heists and chase scenes and murderous alien species of all types. I cried near the end (seriously Jay & Amie, HOW COULD YOU!) and now am utterly destroyed. I need book 2 like yesterday, and this one hasn’t even come out yet! There aren’t enough heart-eyed emojis in the ‘Way to describe my feelings at this point. Well done. Well. Done.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Aurora Rising is the first in a new series by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman.

Set in the future where people are settled among the stars and have met alien life forms our story begins with Tyler, a hot shot future leader, who in a dashing and heroic attempt to save someone ruins the future he’d been working towards all this time. Due to his actions he missed the chance to make the dream team he’d been wanting and gets a group of misfits and outcasts instead, but Tyler is a stand up guy and he’s going to make this work. (Whether the others want it to or not.)

Aurora went to space decades ago, ready to join her father in a period when space travel was still fairly new. She wakes up, after being discovered in the Fold by Tyler, to find that the ship she’d been on had gone missing for decades and she’s the only survivor. Also, she has dreams that show her the future and her life is in danger. You know, as these things happen.

What follows is a fairly fast paced action book.

The story is full of charm, wit, interesting powers, and lots of sarcasm. It’s also about finding yourself and finding family among people you meet. The team may not have been the one Tyler wanted but it’s the one that everyone on the team seems to need. There were a lot of things that happened, and I’m interested to see the consequences and follow up to some of them. There were also a lot of backstory and bigger things were glossed over and hinted at and I really need some of that in the next book(s). One word, Zila.

This book blew me away. Let me start off by saying I'm usually completely against space/sci-fi. Don't ask me why I have no good reason. I grew up with Cape Canaveral/NASA in my backyard and watched shuttle launches all the time so you'd think I'd be a super fan - BUT maybe I was that annoying teenager (and then adult) who wanted to rebel and act like it wasn't the coolest fucking thing. ANYWAY, so I wasn't entirely sure how I'd feel about this. However, I wanted to give this a go because of how much I enjoy the authors.

Well, damn. I'm so glad I did. If I could give this book more stars I absolutely would. It sucked me in right from the beginning and I wanted to speed read it in one sitting (though I knew better, cause I'd regret it). Things I loved:

- The characters. While they are all different they do a great job of complimenting each other in terms of skills and personality.
- The banter. Some of the characters had known each other for a long time and had a great rapport.
- The plot. There seem to be two distinct things going on and right now I don't see a connection (though I'm sure there is). I love that there's enough mystery left for the later books.
- The world. While I wouldn't describe this as highly-detailed world-building, it was enough to suck me in and make me want to know more while giving me enough to be able to picture it clearly.
- The heart-stopping moments. While I'll keep this spoiler-free just know there are several times where I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a while. Some good, some bad.

Basically, I just want to be part of Squad 312. Even if space isn't your thing - put your petty ass opinions aside (like I did) and read this book ASAP. I can't imagine you'll regret it.

UM WHAT. HOLY CAKE. Six of Crows meets Guardians of the Galaxy in this epicly rendered sci-fi story.

Jay and Amie have brought us yet another beautifully constructed universe that's jam packed with glorious tech, mind blowing scenery, and characters that will steal your heart.

The story is told in first person from each of the main characters, 7 in all, and each POV was so good. Usually when reading books with different POVs I always have a least favourite one, but this wasn’t the case with Aurora Rising. Each characters POV was unique and intriguing. I found myself constantly wanting to know more about each of them, their dynamic pasts, and their opinions about who and what was around them. With every turn of a page I fell more and more in love with Squad 312.

The first instalment of this series was filled with world building that made my heart so happy. There were so many other smaller events in the book that will no doubt have some consequences in the future. And I, for one, can’t wait to find out about them in the next book(s).

(The consequences will break my heart but I’m so excited???)

Anywayyyy, this is a MUST READ. If you haven’t read The Illuminae Files, DO IT and after that do yourself a favour and read Aurora Rising too because these stories are so amazing like asdfghjkl.

Make sure you preorder Aurora Rising!

HOLY CRAP!!!! Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff never seize to amaze me. Definitely on my fav's list. I can't wait to receive my hardcopy! Auri is a badass, this book had me feeling all sorts of feelings. I love the non stop action and the gasp moments! I seriously cannot wait for the next book! Thank you so much for the arc! it was EPIC!

Kristoff and Kaufman's latest series follows a crew of misfits, in over their heads as usual, fighting an ancient evil. Told from multiple perspectives, the story begins with Tyler Jones, star pupil of the Aurora Academy (a kind of intergalactic peace corps), rescuing Aurora, a young colonist who has been in cryo-sleep for over 200 years on her way to the Octavia settlement. Because of the timing of the rescue, Tyler misses his opportunity to form a crew of his own making, and he's instead stuck on his first mission with the supposed dregs of Academy pupils. When they're sent on a simply supply run, it becomes clear that there's a much bigger danger threatening humanity, and the key to defeating an ancient evil lies within Aurora and the secrets from her doomed Octavia mission.

Kaufman and Kristoff are such a good writing pair, and they excel at writing rollicking space adventures with a cast of characters that readers will want to just hang out with. There's aliens, romance, space parties, and some really scary plants. The humor is snarky and laugh out loud funny, per usual. I'd recommend this for fans of Beth Revis, Marissa Meyer, and Megan Spooner.

A really fun space adventure with a twisty plot, sassy characters, and cool powers.

I loved the banter. It was light and fun and had lots of eyerollingly crude jokes that were funny in context. This got me out of a small reading slump.

Cons: too many main characters that were hard to keep track of at first (but not for long), and as much as they each had a good individual backstory and identity, at the end of the page, they all had the same attitude and felt too similar. They were all sassy, brilliant, save-the-day heroes, who forgive and forget and are loyal to the end. On the one hand, it's fun to read as opposed to all the dark betrayals often stuffed into books. But I would've liked seeing more dissent without them unrealistically bouncing back into cheerful loyal heroes two seconds later.

Aside from that, I really enjoyed this book. The banter and narrow escapes and suspenseful moments were plentiful and thrilling to read. The plot is interesting and refreshing. And there are pretty and scary elven aliens and heists and space chases... You don't want to miss it.

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A huge, giant, mega THANK YOU to the publishers and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely amazing! Amy and Jay are masters in their craft and I will sell my soul for anything they will ever write in life.

This is definitely a Sci-Fi Breakfast Club as @misterkristoff put it. And I'm living for every sassy, witty, loving interaction. (Especially Kal!) At first I kept getting Scar and Cat mixed up but that was resolved in my mind quickly. I CAN NOT wait till book 2! So glad I ordered a special edition of this months ago.

This book was received as an ARC from Random House Children's-Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

What a spellbinding joyride to read with action and adventure packed in every page. Aurora Rising tells the story of Tyler Jones attending Aurora Academy in the year 2380 and his band of misfit friends doing whatever it takes to stand out among the rest. Then they are put in a situation that forces them to rescue Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley in inter dimensional space and she is in a cryogenic sleep and will not wake up until the next century. This puts the academy, Tyler, and his friends in great danger and they will do whatever it takes to survive. When I finished this book, it came across sounding a lot like Ready Player One and Interstellar and that made it even more entertaining to read.

We will consider adding this title to our YFantasy collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

In the future, we've reached the stars by exploring the Fold, an area of space where there's no color, and distances mean nothing. You can travel to the other side of the galaxy in a few days, but stay too long and it might make you literally go insane. Tyler Jones has set out on his first mission as the leader of a squad from the Aurora Academy, guiding a group of misfits and one tag-a-long, a girl who got trapped in the Fold for 200 years.

This is your basic space opera - battles, spaceships, a snarky talking computer, aliens bars that reminded me of that scene from Star Wars, and a sentient kudzu that's threatening the very existence of life in the galaxy. Kristoff and Kaufman go more mainstream with the text format then in their Illuminae series, but do mix it up a little by having the narration switch points of view chapter to chapter. For the most part they do a great job - the different alien species *feel* different, and while I could see the romance sub-plot coming, the main story had some nice twists and turns. A fun read.