First and foremost, let me start off by saying that, originally, I didn't like the cover. I thought the art was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but I didn't understand why we had to have another face on the cover. I'd originally thought that the cover would be more like the Illuminae trilogy, honestly, because I found those to be very fun to read through and decipher. Then...then I read it and I actually flip flopped on my original feeling because after I read the story and met the characters, it kind of felt right to have this mysterious girl out of time (Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley) on the cover. I still kind of wish that it included the other members of the cast, but I digress. 

Speaking of cast, this novel follows A TON of characters. Not only do we follow Aurora, but we follow Tyler, his sister Scarlet, his best friend and pilot Cat, a snarky tech named Fin, a sociopath named scientist/medic Zila, and a hot space elf named Kal as they are basically thrown together and have to deal with the after effects of Aurora coming out of cryostasis. I've decided Scarlet and Cat are basically my spirit animals because their sass and snark just resonate with me. Honestly though all of these characters bring MAJOR snark and humor to the overall story, which gave me major Breakfast Club vibes while I was reading. I don't remember if someone said it (they probably did) but honestly this book is basically The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 1, not 2.). The only complaint, and I can't even call it that because more than likely we'll see more of her in the second book, is that there honestly wasn't enough Zila in this novel. My poor little sociopathic baby needs some love. And I would have liked to get a little more backstory for each of the other crew members, not just Scarlet, Ty, Aurora, and Cat, but like I said, there's always book two!

I don't know if ya'll have noticed, but I'm a bit of a sucker for world building. Amie and Jay in particular are two authors who go into such minute detail in regard to world building that it makes my inner nerd just gush (I swear I was a cartographer in a past life). The world they created in this novel is expansive without feeling overwhelming. Never once did I think "oh there is too much going on" or that I didn't understand some aspect of the world. They make the world building fit seamlessly into the story and it doesn't feel like an info-dump when we meet a new species of alien or learn about a new planet or something. 

You may also have noticed that I'm a stickler for pacing. Usually one of my biggest peeves is that there were things that made the story feel slow, or scenes that could've been taken out because they didn't really add much to the overall story. With this novel I didn't feel that way at all. I felt that all the scenes were deliberate. There was enough action that, at times, it was so hard for me to put this book down and that began at the very start. 

Overall, I have no complaints about this novel. Jay and Amie do such a good job making sure that we get to know each character even though it is such a large cast of characters. They do not make the world building feel like one big info dump, and honestly the pacing of this novel was (in my opinion) perfection. I'd definitely recommend you guys check it out if you're interested in a new sci-fi read, if you've read the Illuminae files (IT IS NOT A SPIN OFF), and if you're a fan of a sassy cast and awesome world-building!

* I was provided an arc by NetGalley in exchange for a review*

I’m not really a sci-fi reader. Or at least I didn’t think I was. This book proved me wrong. A YA sci-fi action packed adventure, this book held my full attention and adoration as it followed squad 312 and their stowaway, Aurora, through the galaxy.

The story is great. It’s intricate and fascinating, and the authors do such an amazing job blending the action with moments of humor and even some elements of mild horror. The characters too were really well thought out, and as the reader I was able to bond with each member of the squad. It is hard leaving them for now, but I can’t wait to see what the next book uncovers.

Woo baby I am nervous about this review. xD I am so thrilled I was able to read Aurora Rising before its release in May, and I absolutely loved it!!! I don't think this review requires much preamble, so let's get into it.

If you are wholly unfamiliar with Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman as a Sci-fi writing duo, you are missing out! They are the writers of The Illuminae Files one of the series responsible for pulling me back into the book community a few years ago. Their work has a really special place in my heart for so many reasons. They were also some of the first authors I ever met in person at my local book shop! They inspire me to keep reading, and they are also super fans of my painted books which is awesome. So enough about how amazing they are! Here are a few of the major reason I am obsessed with this new YA Science Fiction series.

Awesome Aliens!!!
One thing that didn’t play a major role in Illuminae is aliens, but that is not the case in Aurora Rising. Kaufman & Kristoff introduce several alien species in Aurora, which understandably leads to some amazing Star Trek level inter-species cooperation…and disagreement. One of my favorite things about Science Fiction is the formation of found family groups that need to solve big problems together. This book delivers on that kind of problem solving in a big way, and I loved seeing how the crew worked together and leaned on each other when necessary.

For any fans of Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, some of the same ideas about alien society are explored in Aurora. There is a species call the Betraskan’s who live in large family groups, similar to the Aandrisk race in Chambers’ series. I loved comparing and contrasting these 2 races while reading. I highly recommend Aurora to any Wayfarers fans.

Aurora Herself!
I am happy to report that Kaufman & Kristoff have once again created a cast full of characters I love to love. Aurora is such a delight for me. She has a fair amount of damage, she is not good at everything she tries, and she’s forced to acclimate to lots of dangerous and intense situations. I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed the design and personality of Aurora. If you feel like you’ve been reading about the same main character over and over again, you will not feel like that here.

The other characters in the crew are equally amazing. There are a couple that fit more comfortably into familiar boxes. They’re smart, attractive, highly skilled space farers but trust me they use their powers for good and are a delight to watch in action.

Scary Space Sickness!!!
If you know my reading preferences, you know that I love a good plague storyline. While Aurora doesn’t contain a plague necessarily, there is another scary space illness introduced similar to the Phobos virus in Illuminae. I feel like there’s still a lot to learn about the origins of this new illness, and I cannot wait for future books to reveal more.

The scare factor in Aurora is not quite as high as book 1 of Illuminae, for anyone who might be put off by lots of horror elements. It is certainly thrilling and contains a lot of suspense, but it’s not quite as straight up scary as Kady Grant’s trek through a Phobos infected space craft.

What More could you Want!?
Aurora has a lot more to offer like cool Sci-Fi technology, different worlds, evil government entities, deep conspiracies, and plenty of inter-crew romantic tension. I’m looking forward to seeing Aurora in person, and I can’t wait to see where this series goes. I feel blessed to live in this time when Kaufman & Kristoff are writing together. Their work will live long on my reread shelf.

Have questions about Aurora Rising? Let me know in the comments! The book will be on sale May 7th, and if you preorder you can get lots of different merch depending on your location. Check out all the details here.

If you’re on Netgalley, you can request a digital arc here: Aurora Rising on Netgalley.

That was so much fun! It’s not all fun and games. It does get quite serious, like the duo’s other space series. And while it has a little of the Illuminae feel, it’s different enough that you won’t feel like you’re reading the same story over again. (Not that I’d mind...)

I won’t say much about the plot, because I think it’s important to go in knowing as little as possible about what’s happening. I mean, I was utterly clueless, so the reveals were...pretty freaking awesome! These authors have some kind of genius in their creativity, because I’m not sure where these ideas are coming from. I do know that I hope they continue to write together forever.

I loved the diversity of the characters. Every single one was unique and different from the rest of the squad. Yet when put together, they were perfect. They made sense as a group. I’m honestly not sure I can even choose a favorite, because each personality was so great.

There’s plenty of humor in this as well. For as dark as things sometimes got, someone always managed to make a situation less intense. And it was much appreciated.

I won’t compare it to Illuminae because that’s just not fair. I will say that if you loved that series, you’re bound to enjoy this too. It doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, though it’s obvious the story isn’t over and has so much left to tell. I can’t wait for the next installment!

I really liked this and plan to continue the series. It took me a while to keep all the characters straight--their personalities, their origins, etc. I felt like there were also a lot of alien terms and names (proper names, places, events, etc) being thrown at me and at first I thought I'd need to keep track of all of them, but decided not to stress about it. After that, it was much easier to settle into.

"Squad of losers" seems pretty inaccurate, tbh. They're all abnormally good at their jobs (especially considering they're supposed to be teens) but no matter, such is the brand of YA! I enjoyed this. It's a fun sci-fi romp, and I would pass this on to anyone looking for an action space-read. I do not think we needed that many POVs. We could have gotten the story without several of them just fine, and the voice (they're told in first person) often blended together. I prefer Illuminae, but the format and the character of Aidan are what pushed that over the top of typical sci-fi for me. This one didn't have that. Still a good read, but didn't feel particularly remarkable. If you like audiobooks though, I have a feeling this one will be fun, if they get a bunch of narrators. (:

ARC provided by Knopf Books in exchange for an honest review.

This review is going to hurt me, and I feel awful I even feel this way. I want to preface this by saying I really enjoy these authors’ previous works, and I think Amie and Jay are awesome humans who write amazing stories.

But… I was so disappointed by this book. I am trying very hard not to compare this to the Illuminae Files, but it’s hard not to when this is yet another story set in space featuring a group of young cadets.

This book follows six cadets who come together when their squad leader, Tyler, rescues a girl who was cryogenically frozen. Aurora doesn’t understand why she woke up 200 years later than anticipated, because she was supposed to land on a planet called Octavia III. But then we quickly find out Aurora has inherited some strange and deadly powers, so Squad 312 must escape in order to save her and themselves.

Here is Squad 312 at a glance:

Tyler – The Alpha and squad leader. His level of attractiveness and dimples are mentioned so many times it’s going to make you roll your eyes into the back of your skull.

Scarlett – The Face (aka the diplomat) and Tyler’s twin sister. She is described as having firey red hair and just as stunning as her brother.

Cat – The Ace, pilot. She’s tough as nails and loyal to Tyler and Scarlett.

Kal – The Tank, Syldrathi, a Legolas-lookalike according to Aurora, but with darker skin and silver braids. The Syldrathi have a war history with the Terran people.

Finian – The Gearhead, Tech Division. He is Betraskan, so he appears “alien-like”; skin is white and he has to wear contacts which makes his eyes appear all black. He’s bisexual and presents with a disability for muscle weakness, nerve damage, impaired mobility.

Zila – The Brains, Science Division. She is described as having dark brown skin and curly black hair. She’s also very serious and matter-of-fact. I believe she may be on the autism spectrum but this is not my lane so I would love to see others chime in in regards to this.

Aurora – A Cryogenically girl frozen for the last 200 years and was supposed to wake up on Octavia III. She is Asian, described as having short black hair with a white streak, and freckles across her nose. She can do some serious damage but cannot control these new, strange powers.

I think what threw me off from the very beginning was that this was marketed as, “They’re not the heroes we deserve. They’re just the ones we could find.” Maybe it’s just me, but that quote made me assume we were going to be presented with a ragtag team of misfits who are subpar at their jobs but must come together to fight the good fight. When in reality we already have the best-of-the-best Legionnaire, his sister, his best friend, and three other legionnaires who are good at what they do.

So I’m already rolling my eyes at how misleading that was. However, I just could not get past how boring everything was. Part 1 showed us how the squad escaped with Aurora, Part 2 took us to the World Ship where a very long, unnecessarily drawn-out heist took place, and then Part 3 turned into a very bad sci fi movie rip-off.

And usually I can get over a mediocre plot, but when the “action” was putting me to sleep? I just had such a hard time picking this book back up. Also I couldn’t care less about any of the characters. Aside from Kal, everyone was extremely one-dimensional. There’s a cringey “mating bond” that appears between two of the characters, which honestly made me want to DNF right then and there.

Here’s the thing: Even though Illuminae isn’t my favorite series of all time, the friendships in those books were palpable. You felt connected to them. But in Aurora Rising? There were SO MANY POV’S that I couldn’t even keep track of who to care about. Every single squad member had their own POV (that’s SEVEN!) and they were all told in first person. Sorry, not a fan of trying to figure out whose POV I left off on if I had to put the book down in the middle of a chapter.

I know this book has already received a lot of early praise, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. I just can’t get over how messy everything was, how bland the characters were, and how much I just wanted everything to be over.

Rating: 4 stars!
Received an e-book via NetGalley for an honest review.

This isn’t my first trip around the sun with Kaufman and Kristoff for I loved their Illuminae series, and I’m truly am happy to say I’m glad they got together again for another book collaboration; however, this wasn’t a five-star read that I had initially anticipated.

Essentially, Aurora Rising is another Sci-Fi adventure that follows the story of star pupil Tyler Jones who 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. But Tyler’s squad isn't even his biggest problem as that'd be Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries.

The plot of the story is truly fantastic. It definitely has a sense of familiarity, (Sleeping Beauty plus Star Trek inspirations? Yes, put me on board too Captain) and adding elements of an adventurous heist while (trying to) balance a crew unique character dynamic. Yet, that actually became one of my issues— the characters.

The story is told in each of their POVs, so a total of 7: Tyler, Aurora, Scarlett, Kallis “Kal,” Finian, Cat, and Zila. I normally don’t like stories with a heavy amount of POVs, but sometimes it can work for me. Unfortunately for this story, a lot of the characters seemed to blend together or seemed unimportant for the progression of the plot. There was a few plot twist towards the end where I could reason as to why they had all of their POVs, but it still wasn’t strong enough for me to genuinely enjoy them all. I will say I really loved Auri (Aurora), Tyler, and Kal’s POV the most, and think most of the story could’ve been carried through them. Also, the crew’s representation was pretty good, but I did expect more from their dynamics as well.

The writing and pace of Aurora Rising was really my favorite part of it all. I wasn’t expecting modern references and jokes, and because of that it’s what truly kept my rating high. I giggled every time they swore “Holy Cake” and laughed at any Middle-Earth reference because who doesn’t love a good Tolkien joke? Kaufman and Kristoff definitely kept the quirky YA fantasy elements to this, but without drowning it in overbearing cliches. They had some concepts that were fresh and new, and they kept it well-paced into the novel letting it develop nicely over time.

In the end though, this book was just — good. I would say I did enjoy the premise, but afterwards it didn’t leave craving for more (as I did for illuminae especially). I would say if you are wanting a YA sci-Fi to comfortably read because you are in the mood for such a genre: this could be for you.

Aurora Rising is like if you took Star Wars, Stranger Things, and Six of Crows, stuffed 'em in a blender and made a media smoothie. The end result is a purpley galactic concoction that is tons of fun.

With an ensemble cast of 7 (7!!!) characters, there's a LOT going on. We have golden boy Tyler Jones and his twin sister who is the Nina of the group, Scarlett. There's Cat, the pilot and Tyler's bestie, an elvish alien Kal, super genius Zila, alien Finian, and our Sleeping Beauty/Eleven, Aurora. Because of the amount of first person POVs, I had a hard time connecting to all the characters.


My favorites were Kal and Zila 100%. I only wish we'd been able to spend more time with each character to really understand them and their past, as well as see the team grow together and mesh like family. Though I was a little disappointed with the underdeveloped aspects of the team's relationships, I did LOVE both these characters and will keep reading just for them. Kal was a precious elfy stoic soft boi and Zila was the smartest most hilarious robotic girl ever. I LOVE them!! The story was exciting and energetic at a breakneck pace, with the kind of intergalactic spaceiness perfect for Star Wars fans. The only flaw I might point out is how... stark some of the similarities are to Stranger Things. It might have been intentional homage, but it felt a little too close for comfort.


However, this is otherwise a super fun space romp that has all the hilarity and voice of Jay and Amie's famous Illuminae trilogy. It's an easy read and keeps you on your toes. If you're a fan of their style, you're sure to love this!


ARC was provided by Random House via Netgalley for an honest review. Thank you 💖

AURORA RISING was a great start to an epic science fiction series. It begins at Aurora Academy and deals with a squad of graduates.

The Alpha of the squad is Tyler Jones. He was very near the top of his class and should have had his pick of other squad members. Except he was off rescuing Aurora Jie-Lin O'Malley who was the sole survivor of the colony ship that was taking her to Octavia where she was going to be a cartographer. Her ship was lost in the Fold and she is 200 years out of her time.

Tyler's new squad has a lot of the dregs of the Academy. He does have his sister Scarlett for his diplomat. She wasn't going to let her brother attend the Academy without her but she wasn't really interested in doing well there either. And he has Cat for his pilot. She is the best in the Academy is fiercely loyal to Tyler. She also might have more than a small crush on him.

But his science and medical specialist Zila Madran might be a sociopath. She's brilliant but not a people person and tends to use her disruptor to solve a lot of her problems. And his new Tech is Finian de Karran de Seel, a Betraskan, who is isolated from his family, wears an exoskeleton because of weak muscles, and has a well-honed sense of sarcasm. Finally, his combat specialist is Kaliis Idraban Gilwraeth, a Syldrathi member of the Warbreed Cabal, and one of the few Syldrathi at the Academy since the war with them ended just a short while ago.

Their first mission seems in keeping with a squad made up from the leftovers. They are sent to bring medical supplies to an almost abandoned space station currently housing a small number of Syldrathi refugees. The first problem is that they won't let Kal come aboard because many members of his caste are still fighting against the Terrans. But a bigger problem is that they have a stowaway. Aurora was told by the Academy leaders to stow away on their ship. And now the Terran Defense Forces and the Global Intelligence Agency want Auri and are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way.

Auri has come out of the Fold with psychic powers and visions. Worst of all, her past seems to have been erased. She's told the planet she was going to never existed and never had a colony. Untangling all the lies and figuring out her new powers and her purpose keeps all the kids busy for the rest of the book.

I liked the characters who were all unique individuals. I liked the worldbuilding. I liked the action and pace of the story. The only thing I didn't like was that this is book one of a series and now I have to wait to find out what happens next.

This book brought me out of a reading slump. I loved Aurora Legion 312 with every fiber of my being and would probably die for each and every one of them. The banter between this motley crew had me laughing throughout my entire read. I’ve preordered my copy already and can’t wait to read it a second time.

I liked this book allot, but i need to say that i expected so much more out of this duo 'cause i read Illuminae trilogy and i loved it. It was a great sci fi book that is set in the future and its plot is set in space and with an amazing plot twist.. I loved the world that they build and i find that the book had so much fast actions scenes. So if you like a great sci fi book set in space and a book whit great characters this book is definitely for you.

Like i said the plot was very good, but i didn't mesh with the writing style, and i found that some parts of the book were very sad and sometimes it was too fast. The characters were build up very well, but every character has the first person and sometimes i was forgetting who's perspective it was. So i had some problems whit it. And i expected so much more but in Illuminae we couldn't see their writing style, and that was the biggest problem in this book.

Overall i gave it 4.25/5 stars. And i recommended to everyone that likes fantasy or sci fi.

I really enjoyed the characters and character development in this book. I don't think I liked it quite as much as illuminae but am glad that I read it and am intrigued to see what happens next. There was good world-building. I still get annoyed by teenagers pulling off heists and outsmarting adults with more experience, but I realize that it's a thing that happens a lot in YA. I really enjoyed the ending.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff bring us a thrilling new YA sci-fi futuristic space adventure where the supposed dregs of the Aurora Academy face off against a millenia-old evil that has resurfaced. At the centre of this galaxy-wide drama is Aurora, known as Auri, who Tyler rescues first off from a centuries old transport that was stuck in a space/ time flux. She’s literally over two centuries old but really just 18.

This book was so much fun to read! I thought that the six POV setup would confuse me or leave me desperate to get back to certain characters, but it worked out very well. Finian kept me cracking up with is wiseass comments, Tyler kept proving that flashing his amazing dimples wasn’t the only thing he was good at, same with his twin Scarlett, she was way more than just a pretty face, and my fave of Tyler’s squad, Kal, the tall brooding elvish type who feels compelled to protect and rescue a very special someone over and over, made me wish I was that special person :) Cat’s the cool Ace who flies their spacecraft like it’s a live action video game, and Zila is a trigger-happy sociopath who just might have found her niche group.
This book has it all: a space masquerade, a daring heist, tension, adventure, a surprising kiss you won’t be expecting, strangers who become tight friends, enemies who will scare the bejeezus out of you, and my personal favorite, budding romance :) I can’t wait to get my hands on the next installment.

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for allowing me to review this amazing book ☺️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book. This is a wild ride of a story! Both female and male characters are well developed and relatable. I could hand this book to either a girl or a boy and neither would feel like their gender wasn’t well represented in this. That is awesome because recent YA publication trend tends to favor female characters. As a woman I find this so exciting but it does not always interest the guys. Fantastic story! This team hits another home run!

I received a free copy of this book through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Ok, there were a lot of things that I enjoyed and a lot that I really didn't. As always I break my review in three parts. Writing, characters and world building and story and overall enjoyment. Let's begin.
Writing. Unfortunately, writing felt really flat for me. There were 7 POVs and they all blended together. A lot of times I couldn't tell which character is talking, they all sounded the same. It would have been better if there were just two POVs. It's also written in first person which didn't help separating characters' voices.
So let's talk about those characters. Out of 7 only 3 stood out: Aurora, Ty and Kal. Because of constant POV switching we didn't really get to know them that much. I hope we will learn more in the next book.
World building as always with these authors is amazing! They really know how to create a story and add all the details to make it seem real! It wasn't that original, in fact I predicted almost all the plot twists but it was still fun.
So overall, it is a fun book, I feel like younger readers would enjoy it even more than I did. And I have high hopes for the sequel.

Reading Aurora Rising has led me to the conclusion that sci-fi just not my genre.

You see, there's nothing remotely BAD about this book (both Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are talented writers), it just contained all the typical sci-fi novel elements that have never appealed to me as a reader.

I didn't really love the characters either. The only two that interested me were Cat and Tyler (mainly Cat though). All the others I just found annoying and lacking of depth.

Overall I can see why people might like this book, especially if you enjoyed the authors' previous works, but it just really wasn't for me.

This book is absolutely phenomenal! Of course I was expecting it to be since I love both Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman!

One of my favorite things about this book was the characters! I loved these characters so much and I loved watching them grow as a group and individually!

I’m so excited to see where this series goes next.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have teamed up again. Lucky for us, because they make an absolutely fantastic writing team. I loved The Illuminae Files, and although I was skeptical that Aurora Rising could be as good, I loved Aurora Rising as well.

I'm not sure what I can say besides this book is awesome, preorder it now! The world building is impressive. I am largely ignorant and uninterested in space in general, but Kaufman and Kristoff manage to make it seem interesting, accessible, and super easy to understand. Their characters, as always, just leap off the page. There are only a handful of authors who can create characters like this, especially ensemble characters. They're all so distinct and diverse and yet so relatable. I love the banter, the complicated relationships, the teamwork. And of course we have some incredibly imaginative and sometimes horrifying, sci-fi/fantasy space danger stuff happening. Kaufman and Kristoff have some amazing imaginations and incredible writing skills.

I don't want to spoil anything, but I cannot recommend this book enough. I laughed out loud, I cried, I was literally on the edge of my seat. I would preorder the sequel right now if I could. Until then I will reread this one....

*I received a free ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

SQUAD. GOALS. That was a wild and awesome ride from start to finish. It's like Stranger Things in space.

Okay, let me just say, that was perfectly paced! I am a huge fan of the dynamic duo of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I love their Illuminae series and this was a highly anticipated read of mine just because they are great together. And it did not disappoint. The plot was really cool, the pacing was perfect, as I said, and the best part, the very best part, was the CHARACTERS!! Oh my gosh, I LOVE squad 312. I thought they were great from the get go, and now that it's over I'm just so impressed. This book is not super long and there are 7 POVs and yet all the characters are well-rounded, nuanced, and wholly unique. I love them all, though my favorites are Kal and Scarlett. A hot, stoic space elf (which is literally the best idea ever), and a flirty, confident woman who can literally charm the shirt off your back. My JAM. As for the others, Cat is a badass, I love her. And Fin is such a lovable asshole, wow. Auri is a GOOF. And Tyler is so smart and charismatic. And Zila is SO WEIRD. They are just great. I loved following them on this crazy space journey. It's so good. The reveal at the end was so interesting, and basically I need them to defeat that thing and get back the people that it stole, thank you, goodnight, and bring on the rest of the trilogy.