Cover Image: Aurora Rising

Aurora Rising

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Member Reviews

I was given an e-arc by Netgalley and then immediately bought the physical copy because I LOVE this gorgeous cover by the amazing Charlie Bowater!
As I first started to read the book I felt a little iffy, ONLY because I'm not really into Sci-Fi and I felt out of place with trying to picture everything and I was wondering what some space words meant but I pushed through. (But that's just me since I'm not too familiar with space stuff.) Another thing that I was really iffy about was the dialogue. I don't know but sometimes I felt like it was a little too juvenile but as I kept reading I felt like it improved and it stopped bothering me.
Now, with those little pet peeves out of the way I have to say that I REALLY enjoyed this book! I was hooked by the first two chapters and boy did it get better and better! I slowly but surely fell in LOVE with ALL of these characters, Aurora being my favorite. I just immediately felt for her situation and I sympathized for her and I can see her character growing immensely. I was on the edge of just wanting to know the mystery to everything! The who, what, where, when and why! And by the end we knew everything and boy IS. IT. BIG. There was honestly NEVER a dull moment. I loved learning about this world, each character and I found the different races and cultures to be so fasinating.
This story played like a movie in my head and if you're a fan of Voltron, Star Wars, X-Men, The Last of Us & Annhialation then chances are you might enjoy this book too.

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Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman is the first book of the young adult science fiction fantasy The Aurora Cycle series. The story takes place in the year 2380 and is told from multiple points of view changing from each character chapter by chapter.

Tyler Jones is a star student at Aurora Academy and ready to graduate and get first pick of his own top notch crew. However, when Tyler should have been back at the academy accepting his honors he instead finds himself side tracked with a rescue mission.

Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley (Auri) had been trapped for two centuries but saving her may just be the beginning a war millions of years in the making and now Tyler ends up with the leftovers losers as his crew.

So far so good with another great series in the making from Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. These two authors really know how to pen some great action and adventure with characters and stories that are easy to become engaged in. Aurora Rising felt like a futuristic scifi Breakfast Club so yes, sign me up for book two now please.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

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I just finished usher this amazing novel from the dynamic duo of Kaufman and Kristoff and am blown away by its amazingness. I think it is their best novel yet

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The Illuminae Files is one of my all time favourite series (I even the tattoo to prove it) so I was pretty excited going into this but also nervous. What if it didn’t live up to the hype I built up in my head? Well I’m here to tell you it FUCKING DID AND THEN SOME

This is everything I’ve come to expect from this duo: hilarious dialogue, epic space adventures, insane twists, heart wrenching sorrow, and so. much. sarcasm.
First off the plot is fantastic. It’s so fast paced and action packed. There truly never is a dull moment

What makes this book are the characters. Omg the characters. I don’t want to give anything away, I want you to discover things about them for yourself. But all I want to say is that I ship it (all of it), and they deserved better.

Overall Thoughts:
Do not hesitate to pick up this book. It’s so good and I cannot wait for the sequel.

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Aurora Rising is just another example of why Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are the power team you don't underestimate. It's a spectacular scifi fantasy that keeps you turning pages til you are left with your jaw on the floor when the book shuts.

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Although this book had some issues, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can tell because 1. I didn't skip and 2. it's almost 500 pages and I finished in five days!

Issue #1. The Characters-The characters were stereotypes. The vampy one, the comic relief, the smart sexy leader, the angry one, and the sassy one. Although they were round characters, we've all read them before. The only thing that stood out was Scarlett-the vamp. In her own chapters, she used her looks to get what she needed but in other's chapters she was caring.

Issue #2. Themes. One of several things that separates a good book from a great book are multiple themes and they have to be somewhat obvious. This book had one major theme, family/friendship, and although it was a strong theme, that was really the only standout. The other thing that makes a great/critical book-characters.

Issue #3. One character that I didn't like ended up being important.

The pacing was great-lots of action mixed with an adequate amount of character and world development. If you don't pay attention, the plot could get confusing but I slowed down and really tried to understand so that wasn't a problem. The ending was great.

The only reason this was a 4.5 instead of a 5 was because the characters were just not unique enough for me.

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Aurora Rising is the first book in a new series by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Both authors wrote the Illuminae Files trilogy. Kristoff also wrote the Lifel1k3 series as well as the Nevernight Chronicles and the Lotus War series. Kaufman has written the Starbound sieries, the Unearthed series, and the Elementals series. Aurora Rising is published by Knopf Books for Young Adults and was made available on May 7th. This is a young adult science fiction adventure.

First off, I need book 2 right now.

Second, this is a Guardians of the Galaxy kind of story. Told in multiple perspectives, top student, Tyler Jones, is out flying in the Fold before graduation and picking members for his flight team when he discovers a damaged ship with one survivor. When Aurora awakens, it's revealed she's been in cryosleep for over two hundred years. Tyler is stuck with the most unwanted crew members plus his twin sister, Scarlet, and their best friend, Cat, and sent on a delivery mission to a refugee camp. Once there, everything goes wrong when they discovery Aurora snuck aboard their ship and the Terran government is after her for reasons unknown. The group of seven have to figure out what is causing her strange powers, why the Terran agents are wiping out anyone who has contact with her, and what happened all those years ago that has awakened a war from a millennia ago. There's snark and a little romance to follow.

This was one of my most anticipated releases for this year.

Starting with what I enjoyed most.

I love each of the characters and how different they all feel to each other. They each can be jerks yet they are also capable of working together when they need to. They grow together as a family. Cat was a bit annoying with her obsession with Tyler when he made it clear he wasn't interested and there was a time when I flat out hated her because of her unchecked jealousy.Aurora is cool and moves through the various emotions of discovering she is in the wrong time, her family is all dead, and she is now gifted with a strange power that is implied to be older than most of the alien species. I also like how her relationship with Kal develops though there is a moment between him and Tyler that I found hysterical. Zila didn't get much development, which was disappointing but given the little we do see, I suppose it does make sense. Out of everyone, i think Finian is my favorite-- it's a tie between him and Kal-- since he is the jokester but he also seems like the annoying brother who helps everyone relax and fit together. Kal is the defender. He's hated by his people because of his clan, yet he shows himself to be caring and gentle, careful to manage his anger and rage and look for another way out of fights before turning to violence, though he is more than capable of taking out a small army.

The villains are also interesting. You believe it's a government entity and suspect it has something to do with Aurora's original mission. Suddenly it turns into a conspiracy that the crew are forced to run from, and finally into an ancient enemy scenario. This is fun and it's interesting to see this UN type crew turning rogue in order to protect Aurora. However, it does feel a little odd pacing wise. Maybe it's because I started with Illuminae and loved the slow build and reveals that spiraled out of control once I realized what was going on. This book was more traditional and linear. The reveals aren't as ground shaking, which I was disappointed by.

As I said before, Cat also got on my nerves. She's a cocky pilot but her obsessive jealousy really rubbed me the wrong way, even though she does redeem herself in the end.

Overall, it's a great book. Fast paced, a fun adventure, and plenty of character development that sets this series up for another book and a bigger threat.

If you like space adventures, if you liked the Illuminae Files, and if you like rag-tag teams of assholes coming together as a big family, this is the book for you.

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This was the first time I read a book by both of these authors together, now I can see why people were raving about their writing styles. This was a fun read and I enjoyed how everyone had their own POV chapter and how they all kept pretty much in sync with everyone else around them. Finding out who the "villain" is was a twist I didn't see coming.

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This book was honestly amazing! Perfect for fans of Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, and of course Illuminae. Honestly one of my favorite reads of the year so far! Witty, funny, amazing.

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Absolutely loved this one, and I can't wait for the next book! I loved the unlikely heroes and the world building. If you're a science fiction fan this definitely is for you!

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I almost just can’t even pull my thoughts together for this one. It made me laugh (a lot). It freaked me out. It made me cry. This book is just wonderful.

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Aurora Rising was an epic ride! I was so intrigued from start to finish. Squad 312 will forever be the squad i wish i had! This is my first time reading a Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman book and it certainly won’t be my last! I loved the character develop, the characters as a whole and separately. This one really is a turn pages for all readers. I’m excited to see what happens next because, well... it tore your heart open at the end!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for given me the chance to read this before it was released! I own a physical copy and am proud to have this part of my book collection!

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When my friends from PRH invited me to be a part of this blog tour for Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman’s newest book, I felt uneasy to instantly say yes because 1) I have an irritating book slump that won’t seem to leave me alone, 2) I wasn’t entirely sure if another Sci-Fi book could help me conquer said slump, and 3) I only had less than 2 weeks to read the review copy they so generously provided. But now, I’m glad to report that as of publishing this post, my slump is finally over (DEAR LORD, PLEASE HELP ME.) thanks to this heart-pounding novel. Read on to know what my reading experience for Aurora Rising was like.

Aurora Rising follows the story of Tyler Jones, a star Alpha student of the Aurora Academy who, on the night before “the Draft” discovers a ship that houses a centuries-old survivor named Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley. After a long, stressful night, he comes back to the academy, ending up with a crew that’s less than enthusiastic to be a part of his squad, mainly because they’re the ones who were left, after every other Alpha has made their choices. Tyler is left with Scarlett Jones, Tyler’s fraternal twin sister, as their squad’s Face, Zila Madran as their Brain, Catherine “Cat” Brannock as their Ace, Finian de Karran de Seel as their Gearhead, and Kaliis “Kal” Idraban Gilwraeth as their tank. Together, they go on an intergalactic mission to discover the mystery of Aurora O’Malley’s sudden appearance, and find out what role she plays in a war millions of years in the making.

One of the many things that instantly got me hooked is the undeniable heartwarming chemistry between our ragtag group of misfits. Even though, at first, everyone was struggling to find where they would fit best, it still felt as if they were made to be a part of Squad 312. Each and every one of them had a significant role to play, and as the story progressed, I’d like to say that they slowly gotten used to each other’s presence, allowing for them to later on complement each other’s contributions to the team. With every turn of the page, I found myself falling more and more in love with how they functioned as a single unit. And their character developments, both as individuals and as a team, were spot on. In less than 500 pages, they managed to turn themselves into crew members who were as passionate, and dauntless, as they were determined and wise. And I enjoyed every single page of their story.

Next, let’s talk about the emotions that this novel perfectly managed to pack into one book. What made me appreciate Aurora Rising all the more is the way that every now and then, there are scenes that’ll get your blood pumping, ones that’ll melt your heart, others that’ll squeeze your eyes out and make you cry, and lastly, there are whole-ass chapters that’ll have you holding on for dear life. And the way that the story transitions from one scene to the next felt flawless, and not at all forced, which I greatly appreciated. Tyler and his crew of legionnaires will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions, and by the end of the story, you’ll have no choice but to wallow in your tears and sadness like I did. Like always, Jay and Amie managed to play with my feelings and I can’t believe I let them do it again. (Though if I’m being perfectly honest, I would definitely let them play with my heart all the time if they wanted to.)

Squad 312’s whole story is completely reminiscent of Jay and Amie’s Illuminae Files and hardcore fans for their previous series would be more than glad to know that Aurora Rising reads just like Illuminae, Gemina, and Obsidio. Even without the extra stuff like journal entries, medical statements, and other graphics, this novel still maintains the exhilarating tone and overall mood that were initially introduced in the authors’ previous books. When I first got the chance to browse through my finished copy, I was a bit disheartened to find that there were significantly less graphics compared to the Illuminae Files. But, after being able to read through it, I was a little shocked to still be amazed by the story. Just goes to show that Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman’s talents for writing transcended even the most breathtaking artworks and/or graphics. Oh, and also? The signature Kristoff-Kaufman Humor is THERE. So there’s that.

“Reading Aurora Rising is a surefire way to get yourself to come out from a book slump. It definitely coerced me out of mine, and I’m elated to have been given the chance to read this in advance. Like I’ve said, fans of the Illuminae Files would undoubtedly adore this new book / series, and I, personally, can’t wait for the next installment.”

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I loved almost everything about this book and highly recommend it to readers of science fiction or fans of a good action story. The book starts out with an intense rescue scene, and keeps on moving from there. The authors do a great job of keeping the story moving but also spending time with each character to help them develop and grow throughout the story. Each chapter is written from the viewpoint of a different character, and I really enjoyed being able to spend that time seeing the situation from the different personalities. The world in Aurora Rising is riveting, and it's fun following the characters as they develop through the story. This would be a great choice for fans of Star Wars or Guardians of the Galaxy. The story leaves off with just enough closure to leave the reader satisfied but enough of a cliffhanger that they'll be ready to grab the next in the series when it comes out. I know I'll be keeping an eye out for more from these authors.

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I absolutely adored this book. It follows a squad of "misfits" thrown together to take on a mission. My only issue with this book was that almost all of the characters had a snarky, sarcastic attitude, which eventually did get a little bit annoying but didn't take away from my experience at all. I am VERY excited to see what adventures these characters get into in the future.

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Three and a half stars: A thrilling Sc-Fi adventure that starts out strong and then falters toward the end.

Tyler Jones can’t sleep. Tomorrow he will reap the rewards as he prepares to graduate from the Aurora Academy. As the top graduating cadet, Tyler will have first pick of the new recruits. He plans on selecting the best of the best to create his dream squad. Then a misstep and a dramatic rescue cause Tyler to miss the draft. That means his dream squad is nothing more than a dream. He is stuck with the bottom of the barrel. At least his twin sister, Scarlet, and best friend, pilot ace, Cat stuck with him. The remainder of his crew turns out to be a brilliant scientist, but she has some sociopath tendencies, a smart ass tech geek who wears a special suit due to a medical condition, and an alien warrior with a propensity for violence. Somehow Tyler must turn this band of rag tag rejects into a kick ass squad. Then they get their mission orders. The gang is stuck with a humanitarian mission that is a piece of cake, waste of time, until things go terribly wrong. Tyler and his crew quickly find themselves in possession of something incredibly dangerous. The must outwit and outrace the law of the galaxy or die trying. Will they survive?

What I Liked:
*Kaufman and Kristoff are brilliant together, and I can’t get enough of their Sci-Fi adventures. I was immediately sucked into Aurora Rising. It read like a Star Trek adventure. I loved getting to know the ragtag crew as they learned to work together, became family and outwitted and outran the law. It was thrilling!
*The characters are terrific. I enjoyed the polar opposites that were thrown together. At first, the crew doesn’t like one another, nor do they really get along, but then things change. Life threatening danger forces them to work together, and somehow they become friends and then family. I loved watching this group of misfits find a rhythm. Together, the gang is brilliant. Loved it!
*The action in this one is non stop. From the opening pages, Tyler is facing a life or death situation, talk about an opener! From there, things continue to ratchet up. I loved that there was hardly a moment to catch your breath.
*Talk about twists and turns! There are so many unexpected developments in this one that caught me completely off guard! Especially the Mission Impossible theft scene. There is a huge twist in there that I didn’t see coming! Brilliant. This one kept me on my toes!
*The world building is outstanding. I honestly felt like I was plunged into a Star Trek movie. There are strange worlds, hostile aliens and a plant infested planet that it is uber creepy.
*I liked that there wasn’t really a romance in this one. Yes, there is chemistry and attraction between several of the characters, but nothing concrete. I am excited to see who matches up with whom.
*The ending is not quite a cliffhanger, but close. Things settle out for a moment as the gang reels from the climatic events, and plot a new course. I can’t wait for more.
And The Not So Much:
*I was completely invested and riveted to this book, and then somewhere around the three quarter mark, things started to slow down, and I felt like the pace dragged. I wasn’t overly thrilled with all the lead up to the heist scene. It felt a little lengthy. Then when the big twist comes, I wasn’t completely sure that it all worked. I think it was almost too far fetched. Still brilliant though.
*The final portion of the book, to me, wasn’t nearly exciting as the first half. I don’t know, maybe it was just me??? The first half was thrilling!
*I have a lot of questions still when it comes to the ancient race, the weapon and so forth. I am anxious to learn more in the next book.
*There are these small snippets of information in between the chapters, they are like small documents that provide background information and detail. My issue with these documents was that they were hard to read on the Kindle and I couldn’t blow them up or enlarge them.

Aurora Rising was a book that completely hooked me from the opening chapters. I loved the action, the characters and the chemistry between the crew. I thought there were some brilliant twists and development, and I thought the no stop action was fantastic. Unfortunately, I felt like the pace dragged around the three quarter mark, and I don’t think the final portion was a brilliant as the first part. Still it was an entertaining read, and I am eager for more from this dynamic writing duo.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

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The day is finally upon us. Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff has been out for approximately two weeks, and I’m finally reviewing it! Aurora Rising was arguably my most anticipated 2019 release. (It was quite possibly also the most hyped.) I absolutely loved Kaufman and Kristoff’s Illuminae Files, which I finished over this past Christmas holiday. The two series are not set in the same world, and Aurora Rising is told in a more traditional format. Similar to Illuminae Files, however, Aurora Rising has a fun cast of characters and an adventurous story in space. Plus, this time there’s aliens.

Aurora Rising has a large cast of characters and is told in all of their POVs at some point in the story. The main cast makes up the newly formed Squad 312 out of Aurora Academy. If you haven’t met them yet, I highly recommend reading the character bios on Get Underlined‘s website and the official book trailer. Seriously, they’re an interesting bunch. A squad is typically made up of six legionnaires all with different roles, and Squad 312 consists of the twins Tyler (Alpha) and Scarlett (Face), their best friend Cat (Ace), the smart-ass Fin (Gearhead), the hot-headed Alien warrior Kal (Tank), and a trigger happy scientist Zila (Brain). Squad 312 also has a stowaway, the mysterious girl from earth Auri. Tyler was expecting to get an elite squad in the draft as the golden boy of the academy; however, he ended up with a group of misfits, and they’re quite the squad.

Aurora Rising was a thrilling ride. I enjoyed watching all of the characters evolve and learn to work together as a team. Each character has personal struggles they’re trying to overcome in the story. The choice to have the story told from multiple POVs was interesting and worked well for Aurora Rising. Personally, I think Kaufman and Kristoff did well making each of the POVs unique. I’m excited to see each of the character’s growth as the series continues.

The plot itself was full of twists. While I could predict who the bad guys were and had gut feelings that certain decisions would go south, Kaufman and Kristoff kept me on my toes the entire time. They shocked me with their plot twists and emotionally wrecked me with the ending. Whoever said authors were not kind people were right. Kaufman and Kristoff gutted me with that ending, and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive them. We’ll see how things continue when book 2 is ever released.

If you’re someone that enjoys science fiction or any of Kaufman and Kristoff’s prior books, I highly recommend reading Aurora Rising. I know I’m going to push this book on all of my friends. (In fact, I just gave a copy away today.) It’s a page turner from the start, with a cast of misfits I couldn’t help but fall in love with. I hope everyone gives it a chance.

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Disclaimer: I received an e-arc and a physical copy from Knopf Books. Thanks! All opinions are my own.



Book Series: The Aurora Cycle #1



Rating: 5/5



Publication Date: May 7, 2019



Genre: YA Sci-Fi



Recommended Age: 15+ (slight romance scene, some language, little gore, death)



Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers



Pages: 473



Amazon Link


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.



Review: Holy cow! I think I have found my next sci-fi addiction post-Illuminae! I feel in love with this book! I quickly bonded with Aurora and I love how Amie and Jay wrote this book. The multiple POVs don’t feel disjointed or messy. The story is compelling and the plot is interesting. I absolutely loved this novel with all of my heart.



If I had to choose one thing to complain about is that it felt like it should have ended sooner (but I’m absolutely not complaining that it kept going lol).



Verdict: Read this nowwwww.

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Kristoff and Kaufman have taken readers back to space in this new science fiction story of a girl virtually lost in space. Aurora was on a ship headed toward a new colony for people from earth when the ship encountered problems and she was stranded in cryosleep for 200 years. Tyler is at the top of his class and ready for the draft where he will be first to pick his space team. When Tyler gets diverted by the alert of Aurora’s living lifeform, he does what heroes do – he tries to save her. Now Tyler has missed the chance to assemble his dream team, but he doesn’t regret helping Aurora.

What a great start to a new space saga. While Tyler is the brilliant, charming, handsome commander, his crew is an eclectic mix of losers and loyal followers. These characters are remarkable and memorable. While the world-building starts strong, the plot gets a tad cumbersome at times. There’s nonstop action and threats galore to keep our heroic team on their toes and coming up with quick fixes. The writing is clever and again, the characters are what win the day. For lovers of the Illuminae Files series, this is one they will not want to miss.

3.5* rounded up

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This was perfection. Contained the just right amounts of camraderie, drama, angst, and action to rocket it up to one of my top reads of 2019. Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are a dream team and I cannot wait for more of this series. Full review TK for The Young Folks.

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