This book basically start off where Aurora Rising finished. 

This book starts off fast paced and doesn’t slow down one bit. Throughout this book Squad 312 has everything thrown at them and without giving any spoilers away there is plenty of surprises in the book.

I love that are gang are starting to feel like they are a family and can rely on each no matter what. Also I liked that Cat wasn’t forgotten and each of them remembered her.

We start to see romances grow and I hope they continue in the next book. 

I love books with multiple POV’s as it gives each a character a voice. 

The book ends on a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to find out what happens next to the gang. 

This a exciting space filled adventure that doesn’t let up its pace one bit with excellent characters, lots of humour and plenty of action. 

I received a ARC from Netgalley and Oneworld Publications.

Squad 312 are just trying to get through the day. It feels like the whole universe is out to get them and, honestly, that's not far from the truth. Stopped at a space dock trying to sell their Longbow because, lets be honest, it's slightly inconspicuous they are frustrated, but un-surprised, to find their names and faces being shown as wanted for a terror attack. Just when they think things couldn't get any worse the Unbroken show up, and not just any unbroken but Kal's sister, and she is determined to bring him back into the fold. They manage to escape, thanks to a surprising benefactor, and head off to find the Hadfield, the ship that Auri was found on, hoping to find the black box (which is actually orange) and find some answers as to what actually happened to her. Only its Squad 312, so things don't quite go according to plan. People are captured, beasts are slain, enemies become wary allies, strength is found in the unlikeliest of places and what started off as a battle for their lives ends as a battle for the world.

If you read my review for Aurora Rising you will know that I adored this book. So, understandably, I was wary when picking this one up. Would it live up to it's predecessor or would it fall into second book syndrome. I should know by now that when it comes to the prowess of Kristoff and Kaufman I shouldn't be worried. This book hit me in all the feels again and I flew through it in a matter of hours (whilst at work!)

This book is written in the same format as Aurora Rising with each chapter focusing on a different characters perspective. The characters personalities shine through and it was easy to know which perspective you were reading from, even without the chapter headers. We get a lot more from Zila and Fin's perspectives in this book and, even though I loved them both in the first book, they have grown to become my two favourite characters. We get an insight into Zila's past which does an awful lot to explain her aloofness, she grows so much as a character in this book and her chapters were equally heartwarming and heartbreaking. Fin is still his quirky self, still putting himself down and pushing past the pain so as not to seem a 'lesser' member of the squad. We see his relationship with the who squad grow in this book and his interactions are just the best. 

Ty and Scar are still heartbroken over the loss of Cat and the bits where she was mentioned had me in tears ( I know I'm a wimp ok!) But both are determined to see the mission through, get Auri to the weapon and save the universe as we know it... no Pressure. Auri's character growth is one of the most impressive in the book. She is far from the scared little girl in the previous book, and I enjoyed seeing her grow into and learn how to use her powers. Kal, my strong sweet Syldrathi. Kal gets the short end of the stick in this one. Stalked by his sister to rejoin the Unbroken, he feels safe and happy with his family in squad 312, only he has a secret, and not just a little one, that will change his fate and how everyone thinks of him. 

The layout of the book makes for an easy read, you never get bored stuck with once character for too long, and you still get the little titbits of information from Magellan before each chapter. Because of their writing styles it is easy to fly through the pages and I had read around 60% without even realising. There is one mahoosive plot twist in this that I just did not see coming at all, and then wondered how the hell I didn't guess it earlier. Kaufman and Kristoff definitely like to torment their readers, and I am such a sucker for punishment. 

Both these writers have a knack for bringing their worlds to life and this series is no different. Have I ever been to space? Physically no, but I feel like i'm there, right alongside squad 312 every time they enter the fold, engage in a battle or ,you know, are just generally running for their lives. This is such an invaluable things to readers like me who enjoy visualising what is happening and bond with the characters, and I defy you not to bond with every single one of them. Even the gorgeous... sorry evil Syldrathi Saedii. The ending of this book had me wanting to throw it out the window, and if I hadn't been reading on my phone I might just have done it. You thought the ending to Aurora Rising was bad? Boy do you have no idea what you are in for. The last chapter was brilliantly written, even if I do think they only did it to torture us and I literally could not put it down. 

From universe building, to meeting new species. Epic space battles to epic banter, this book has it all. I love this series so much and Squad 312 will always hold a special place in my heart. Now the torturous wait until May 2021!

The World
Aurora Burning is book 2 in the Aurora Cycle series, so the world is established by now, and Amie and Jay are well aware of this, and don’t spare much time for setting the scene, as we don’t overly need it. The setting as a whole is largely familiar from the first book. There are new, smaller scale settings, of course, that are thought out and well put together. Again, I’m still really interested in the world at large, fascinated by the politics of things. Honestly, I just need a politics in space book. This world would totally work for that, but I don’t think it’s quite Jay and Amie’s speed!

The Plot
There’s a “Stuff You Should Know” section at the very start of Aurora Burning that summarises characters and events of Aurora Rising – I petition for every book that’s a sequel to have this because it was so helpful! Also, it’s told from the point of view of Magellan, which is pretty awesome.

There’s not a moment where this book lets you catch your breath. Not. A. Moment. I’m undecided at this point whether that’s a good thing. It’s… certainly something. It’s got breakneck pace throughout, from the very moment the book begins, there is shooting and excitement. The “downtime” isn’t downtime. It’s just five minutes of scheming before everything hits the fan. Again.

The ending! The ending! The ending! This book just tore my heart out without a single moment of hesitation. I’d seen other reviews that had mentioned the ending but didn’t think too much of it. Heed those of us that say the ending will torture you, and quite possibly anger you, that Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman dared to end a book like that. I’ve never known a book to end quite like that. TV shows, perhaps. I’ve never read a book that did it. And I never want to again, not without having the next book lined up and waiting for me. I don’t know how to wait for book 3 as I write this. I’m kind-of just sat like ??? looking around the room for the answers. Hint: the room didn’t have the answers.

The Characters
Aurora
Aurora is still our main character, surprise surprise! She’s affectionately known as Auri throughout most of the book, seeing as the characters are much more familiar with each other than they were when Aurora Rising began. The found family element is much more pronounced due to the fact they’ve already been through so much together before Aurora Burning even began. Aurora herself goes through a lot in this book, from trying to come to grasps with her recently discovered powers and dealing with the less world-saving things, like relationships with those around her. Reading about her was sweet, and empowering, as she went from an innocent girl, unable to use her power without fear of hurting others, to having confidence in who she was and what she could do.

Kal
Kal was, and remains to be, my favourite character. And let me tell you, he definitely goes through it in this book. He plays a much bigger role in Aurora Burning than he did in Rising. (I mean, his face is on the cover, after all. And isn’t it a pretty face and a pretty cover?) My heart wasn’t ready for quite the amount Kal goes through in this, and honestly? I love him even more after everything.

Fin
Fin has risen up the ranks to be my second-favourite character. Honestly, I just have a thing for the snark and the occasional heroics, overcoming anything that’s put before him. The jokes definitely help though. Speaking of jokes, the comedic aspect is rife throughout this whole book. It’s a key element for more than one character, and they all handle it in different ways. Fin goes for the nicknames and the jokes. And it’s fun, and brought a smile to my face each time.

Scarlett
Again, Scarlett provides some more comedic relief in the forms of heavy sarcasm and the sporadic innuendo. In fact, her sarcasm is also as perfect as her Syldrathi. I feel like Scarlett was in Aurora Burning a lot, but her part wasn’t as meaningful as I expected. Her made side-comments about exes that may have aided her in some way, translates for the others when they didn’t bother to learn the languages they probably should’ve learned, but none of it felt terribly important. I hope there’s more for Scarlett because who and what she is can provide more to the world of the Aurora Cycle.

Tyler
Tyler is the Alpha, the squad leader, who honestly had a bit of a stick up his ass in the first book. He’s a lot better in this book, more laid back with a better personality than “I’m the leader, listen to how amazing I am and my ideas are fantastic and never wrong.” Ok, so he still thinks his ideas are amazing, but otherwise, he’s mellowed a lot in Aurora Burning, and the book is better off for it.

Zila
Zila was the quiet, probably somewhat strange science officer in Aurora Rising. She’s still very much that, but she comes out of her shell more, and we learn more about her past. And it’s not a happy one, but it also explains why she is who she is. I’m glad we got to see more of her. I just hope that continues into the next book. That particular story isn’t over, I’m sure of it.

I 100% recommend pre-ordering Aurora Burning if you haven’t already! A) Have you seen the cover? Kal, the orange colours, I love it. At this point, I’m not sure where I’ve pre-ordered it from or what edition is actually going to arrive for me. I just know when it does, I’m going to ogle the cover for a while because look at it.

Our Hero’s are back and up against an ancient evil. 

This book crippled me.  

Squad 312 are sill a bunch of misfits and are brilliant as ever, against all the odds. 
Set straight after the event of Aurora Raising, this books kicks off with a bang and keeps you gripped to the pages. The best way to describe this book would be a group of your friends sharing one hell of an adventure full of whit, sarcasm, action and an epic fight. 

That ending! Should be a crime however Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman have done it agin. 

Very much looking forward to Book 3

312!!   312!!   312!!   312!!

If this had been written by anyone else, I would probably be less critical...as it is I still think it’s an amazingly original story with a group of characters that will forever be at the top of my favorite fictional people list but I still feel that it fell a step behind my expectations.

The beginning was a bit too slow for me and Aurora and Kal’s relationship and personalities can feel sometimes a bit forced, mostly when compared to the incandescence of some of the others like Fin or Scar...oh Scar. Let me take a moment to write an ode to Scar.

Not only she is gorgeous, smart and refuses to take sh*t from anyone...she is the kind of character that few authors would dare to make female. I loved the way she used and spoke of her body and sexuality and how she refused to allow anyone else the power to define her. Here’s to the authors for letting girls everywhere get to know her.
Okay, I'm back in control of my hormones.

One of my other favorite aspects was how thirsty Fin and Scarlet were for their other squadmates and their own praise of their own attributes but there were some instances in which it crossed a line for me and felt forced or even “icky”.

This was an amazing read for another reason: there was disability rep, LGBTQ rep, faith rep, diversity rep,...Kristof and Kaufamn do not kid around when creating alien societies and they excel at creating believable cultural differences. I can barely wait for the next one because if there is something else that the author excels at are cliff hangers...

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this DRC.

7.5/10

This was as heart pounding, adventurous and nerve wracking as the first book in the series. Does this book have the worst sort of cliffhanger ending possible? Yes, it does! but did I love this book to the moon and back? you bet I did!! and even though, I am pretty sure that my favourite characters will  just be fine but that doesn't mean that I am not keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that they make a grand come back after that ENDING!!

The strongest point of this series is its entertainment value despite the plot being average and kind of tropey. However, I absolutely love the pace of this book and the characters. The characters development of each one, whether its Tyler, Scarlett, Finn, Aurora, Kal, Zila or even Sadie is done really well. While the first book slowly made these characters into a team through their trials and tribulations, this book does a fantastic job of deepening that bond. As a result, I was so much more invested in the story as a whole and the respective stories of each character. I think this story is made superior because of the relationship that exist between characters.

The only drawback for me was the romance between Kal and Aurora which came across to me as just a bit of cheesy! Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to read the final installment.

Amie and Jay have done it again, in fact they have surpassed themselves in this latest instalment of the Aurora Cycle, which I enjoyed even more than its predecessor, Aurora Rising. It really is essential that you do read Aurora Rising before picking up this book, otherwise you are definitely jumping in at the deep end. That book introduces our various characters and the concept of the great danger that the galaxy is facing , and without that introduction not only will the reader feel somewhat lost, they will miss out on the character development and interplay between the various members of  Squad 312 that is the heart of this series. 
Aurora Burning picks right up from where the first book left off, and it definitely hits the ground running. This fast pace keeps up over the course of the whole book, with a few breather moments here and there where we learn more about the pasts of several squad members. None have had an easy time of it, but Zila's story is phenomenal, and as well as giving us real insight into her character it is also one of the most tense and heart stopping sections of the book as a whole. We get more development of the Auri/ Kal romance, which I also enjoyed. Aside from our old friends, we also get the introduction of a fierce new character who has the potential to really shake up the story in several ways, and lives up to that potential wonderfully. While I enjoyed the revelations and the way the story played out, I found the reactions of the characters to one particular event a little unbelievable- it's impossible to say more without spoilers, but that really was my only gripe about the book overall. Full of drama, packed with emotion and completely gripping, I loved this book and can't wait to get my hands on the next one. 
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher ,all opinions are my own.

Aurora Burning dives straight back into the action with our favourite bunch of space misfits and does not let up for a second. It was brilliant to get some additional character backstory and to see those characters who had more of a supporting role in the first book really come into their own in this one. I especially loved getting more of an insight into Zila! The book ends on an agonizing cliffhanger so the third installment really cannot come soon enough!

To say I was excited to read this is an understatement. Yes, I went in with high expectations. And oh my lanta, this book should come with a warning = Buckle up people, cause this is one hell of a ride!

'Know the past, or suffer the future'

I wasn't prepared for this. Mentally, physically, everything!

It was not just good, it was phenomenal!

There are so many things I loved about this book, the plot, the characters, new and original, the feeling of family, Scarlett, Fin and the mystery of Zila's earrings! 

But the clear winners for me are Aurora and Kal. I'm a romantic at heart and I was so interested in The Pull. Everytime the word Be'shmai was uttered I melted in a puddle of love (please don't read too much into that!!!!)

'She is smoke and starlight, she is blood and fire, she is a song in my veins as old as time and deep as the Void.'

We get a little bit of everyone's lives. The journey they each had to take to get where they are now and what the future could possibly bring. It was mostly heartbreaking but there was beauty there too.

It was non-stop action, mystery and drama. I was actually out of breath reading it! I mean these poor kids couldn't catch a break! And that ending....I was like wtf, where's the rest....noooooooooooo, it cannot be left like that!

They did it. The authors wrote a humdinger of a second book. Words fail me. It was totally and utterly amazing.

I was lucky enough to be granted an early digital copy of Aurora Burning by the amazing team from NetGalley. This is in exchange of an honest review. 
I will try and be as spoiler free as I can be, however, read on at your own risk :)

Title: Aurora Burning
Series: Aurora Cycle book 2
Author: Amie Kauffman and Jay Kristoff
Published: 5.05.2020
Pages: 512
Copy: From Netgalley - digital
Rate: 5*

If you read the first book from the trilogy: Aurora Cycle then you are already familiar with the main characters and the story line.
Aurora Burning is pretty much picks up the story where we left it in book one; after the events of Octavia III. Our anti heroes are tied, emotional and deflated, however, the future of the entire Galaxy/Universe is on their shoulders so they are on the move again.

In this book we meet with some pretty interesting new characters; Saedii I am looking at you here. And our misfits go through some amazing character changes/developments, which I loved. 

Okay, let me discuss some of the positives and the negatives to this book that I thought. 

I am going to start with the negative/s as I really want to finish this review on the positives.
One of the things that I have struggled with was Aurora's character development. Yes, I know I said that my cinnamonbunns have come a long way from book one and they have, however, I found Aurora a bit pathetic and almost boring for the first 300 pages of this book. This was mainly because, I did not feel like she has come a long way. I didn't feel like she has changed or tried to be better with her ability and it really bugged me, especially after everything that has been happening with the squad. I started to get annoyed with her. However, reading the full book, I do understand the rationale and the planning behind this, however, I just found it a bit slow and frustrating at times. 

Another thing, that I struggled with is the romance between Kal and Aurora. Don't get me wrong I am a sucker for hot space elf/ and human girl love story I love them, but I felt like their chapters focused on this a bit too much. 

Positives:

I really liked how the story follows on from the last book, that they not all of a sudden forget about their fallen comrade - Cat. That she still has a huge part in their lives, she still shapes their characters and that she is still there in the decisions that they make.  

I really enjoyed to learn more about all the characters and what led them to be the way they are. The Jones twins, there is definitely more to them than what we thought and oh my god that revelation at the end just... I can't even put it into words. "Remember Orion". 
I loved to learn more about Zila and her past and let me tell you, it is heartbreaking. But it explains why our medic is the way she is. There is definitely more emotion and human to her after this. 
Fin, Kal and Aurora; we get to know more about their character as well, with some very interesting developments.

I already mentioned, but I am very pleased with the new character who showed up in the book. It has definitely added to the story line, and made a couple of twists and turns in there. Which, was amazing. 

The book was filled with twists and turns. Some things we have seen coming, however, a couple of things were a surprise and left me gobsmacked until I could comprehend the gravity of the situation/revelations. Just AMAZING. 

Another positive, I really liked was that the books or Megallan gives us a little bit of a re-cap at the beginning of the book, just in case you are like me and read the first book a year ago. I found this really helpful to remember who is who and to reopen the still not yet healed heartache book one caused. 

And let me just put an appropriate gif here, for my reaction for that ending Mister Kristoff and Amie Kauffman... 

In conclusion this book was everything that I waited for over a year and more. It had action, space, sexy space elves and some amazing characters in it. A dream team with even their ups and downs that we would love to be part of.

Now I just need to wait another year for book 3....

Oh.My.God

This book blew me away. These characters and this world are just so captivating, and I can’t help but be sucked into this universe. 

I love Auri, she’s gone through so much and this book just proves how strong she is. We also get to see a lot more of her relationship with Kal which is a relationship I honestly adore. We learn a whole lot more about Kal and his past in this book, some of which had me feeling incredibly heartbroken.

One thing I love about this series is the different perspectives. It helps me become attached to the characters and helps me fall in love with their individual quirks. The characters in this book are ones I know are going to live with me forever. Squad 312 are just brilliant. I love the sass, the sarcasm, the banter and most of the respect that have for each other. 

The ending though…if you’ve read it then you know what I’m talking about! I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the next book to see what happens. This book had been brimming on a 4.5 review but honestly those last few chapters had me swiftly reading in anticipation only to be left on a cliff-hanger worthy of 5 stars. 

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have honestly done it again. I am in love with this series already and I really recommend picking it up! This is a fast paced, breath-taking and mind-blowing sci-fi book which deserves all the love. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Rock The Boat for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

So I want to start my review of Aurora Burning by saying I do not consider myself to be a sci-fi fan. It’s not a genre I would pick out for myself in a book shelf or a library. I have no interest in sci-fi films or science in general either. 
I DO however, consider myself to be a Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman fan. I think it’s a HUGE testament to their writing and their craft that they can get a person who actively says they do not like sci-fi so crazily invested in a sci-fi series. 
This book was BRILLIANT. It had all the brutal heart wrenching twists from Kaufman and Kristoff that you’d expect, except like ten times more brutal than ever. 
I love the characters. Every single one of them. This team is such a brilliant spectrum of personalities and skills and they work together so brilliantly. They work so brilliantly to the plot. The plot was so rich with detail, there were so many little odes or explanations to things from the first book. Another aspect that I think marks two writers who excel at their craft. The tiny details were phenomenally thought out. 
I don’t want to say much about the plot because this is one of those incredible stories that you just neeeeeed to read, but I urge you to do that. Even if you don’t like sci-fi, I promise you, you’ll love it. It’s crazyyyy good and I can’t wait for book three!

No other word for this than incredible!

A great continuation from Aurora Rising. Packed with kickass characters, so much action, and a little romance. Also, this book is 50% sarcasm and bloody brilliant!

I cannot recommend this series enough, if you haven't read it you're crazy!

Kaufman, Kristoff, I love-hate you, you broke my heart!

A worthy follow-up to Aurora Rising, Kaufman and Kristoff are a truly magical writing team. 

This book starts with a hit of adrenaline and just keeps going, whilst finding time for beautiful character moments (Zila’s storyline in particular stands out). The plot takes our heroes all over the universe and, damn, Space has never been so fun (or terrifying).

My only complaint is that I now have to wait for the third one - I need it right this second!

The ending to this book should be illegal. It really should be. Unfortunately we are left with the cliffhanger of a lifetime and I may have thrown my phone in a hissy fit at having to wait to find out what's happened.

In true Kaufman and Kristoff style this book delivers equal parts sass, snark and love and friendship. OK maybe a bit more sass and snark but that's why we love these characters! 

The plot is fast moving picking up from Aurora Rising and running off into the mayhem that is Aurora Burning. The craziness builds into a giant crescendo and then it ends. No resolution. Just darkness.  

It's a truly magical book though! I had to wait 48hours to write this review because I was still so hyped and emotional about it. It's breathtaking. It's world changing. It's mind-blowing. Read this book. You will not be disappointed. In fact I believe the sequel only improves on the original in this case! 

Review will be live on all socials over the long weekend.

What an unbelievable cliffhanger, don’t think I can survive waiting for a sequel next year, please bury me with a copy of this. Love the storyline and the humour infused writing, will need to read their other series to keep me entertained.

Unfortunately I could not read the book, as the format available epub cannot be read by my kindle. A shame, as I  was looking forward to read this instalement.
I'm giving it 3 stars on the premise that I will manage to read the actual book and then update this review.

This book will break your heart, make you laugh and make you scream at it. 
The character growth makes you love them even more, plus we learn a little more about the two quietest members of the crew.

Scarlett is still one of the favourite characters and the thoughts about her chest are stop on. You know what I mean girls.

Plus Fin is has the inner voice is most of us bookish people when it comes to hot characters.

I am in need of the last book now as my heart can't handle waiting a year for the next one

To be perfectly honest, I barely need to think about how many stars to give a Kaufman and Kristoff. If I could give this book 312 stars, I would. Layered, lovable, genuine characters? 5 stars. Incredible world building? 5 stars. Slow-burning romances that I ship with my whole heart? 5 stars. A brilliantly executed and breathtakingly evil bad guy? 5 stars. Heartbreak and tension and a cliffhanger ending that made me want to throw something at the wall? ALL OF THE STARS.
My mother insists that Netflix option these books immediately for production, and I agree.

I have words, and I have feelings, and I have anger. Yes, all three. And while I know this is typical behavior in Kristoff/Kaufman books, I'm still in this position nonetheless. I never learn, right? The writing as usual is full of sass, lots of banter, jokes, innuendos, and while it might seem too much sometimes, it gives the story the lightness it needs to balance the harder parts.

It's a 99% action packed book, with only a few chapters of a sort of calm for both the readers and the poor characters. They can't catch a break, and neither can we. Every chapter, with the different POVs is full of fights, blood, secrets, and mysteries.

I loved seeing and learning more about Kal, who is definitely my favorite character of the whole series. He is just the sweetest and it pained me being uncertain about things that have happened and are happening to him and his new friends. The story about his past was heartbreaking and I just wanted to hug him and make him better.

Not all characters were given the same space to allow us to get to know them better (I want more Fin in the next book, please), but the ones that we did get to know more of (Zila) gave the way they interact and grew from the previous book a brand new meaning. I love seeing characters grow into their better selves. It's refreshing.

One thing I absolutely didn't like was the use of one particular trope. Every time I see that trope used, my blood boils, and I get so furious! Without spoiling the trope is this one: blaming the children for the sins and crimes of their relatives. And everyone forgetting all the good things of a person because of that, like all their experiences are automatically fake, and now all they feel is hate, everything else cancelled. I really didn't like that part and I'm still fuming because of it.

That's why I'm not giving the 5 stars I initially wanted to give it. It's my subjective opinion because I personally don't like it, it's unnecessary and the response of the other characters just ridiculous.

But the book has a lot of fulfilled potential and I can't wait to have the next book in my hands because I need to know! That ending! They sure know how to leave the readers hanging.