Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle)

I bought the hardback version. The book came with one small indent on the hard cover. This put me off slightly but it’s barely noticeable especially because the paper cover covers it. For that reason I gave it 4 stars, but other than that, great purchase!! Cant wait to read it!

My friend and I started this book together, same day…but I finished it two weeks later because I struggled with feeling engaged and investment in the plot. The good news is, by the end of the book, I had regained some investment.The 312 squad was a great concept and their coming together as a team was pretty hilarious. All the quippy banter was to be had when they were together. I basically liked the team dynamic and most of the characters individually but there’s a whole lot of different species, physical characterstics and cultural values to process as you get to know them. I found myself confused a number of times. The world building felt unwieldy at times but I gradually got to grips. All that said, I still didn’t know Finian and Zila by the end of the book and I think I should have been more knowledgeable by then. The differing POVs didn’t always help reader cohesion with characters and the plot.Aurora was a superb main character because there was so much to fathom and her initial appearance was just the surface of what was to come. I liked Tyler and Scarlett but Tyler seemed to lack depth, however I suspect this was about the walls he put up as he led the squad. My other favourite was Kal, again a mysterious character with depth and complexity, I kind of wanted to get my teeth into him…snigger. I am here for the pairing potential in its infancy in this book and that element gave me the feels and interest.So, what didn’t I gel with? The pacing was up and down and I lost interest a few times so that I felt that I had to push through. I felt disengaged with the plot at times and the middle section of the book was a bit like walking through mud. I have to say though, the last 20% reignited my interest with fast-paced and exciting developments.I am definitely invested in the bigger picture that this series offers with a slight trepidation about the bigger plot that was revealed in the end of the book; at the moment that doesn’t float my boat. I hope to go into AURORA BURNING with my love for some of the characters, carrying me through.

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Acadmey are being assigned their first missions. Srat pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, however his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs who nobody else in the Acadmey wants.He has the following in his team:      A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm      A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her banknotes      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 wonderingAnd Ty's squad isn't even his biggest problem - that's be Auror Jie-Lin O'Malley, the girl he's just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for over two centuries,Auri is a girl who has been thrust out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, Tyler's squad fo losers, discipline-cases and misfits might be the last hope for the entire galaxy.I love this pairing of authors, and i knew that this was going to be an instant hit for me. I always try to go into a book with a clear mind however this was a different story. I was grabbed from page one and i knew that i was not going to be able to put this down and i read it in 2 sittings. I found that this was the right amount of balance between sci-fi and adventure which kept me guessing what was going to happen next. It also helped that we have a buddy relationship which also pulls the story along, I can not wait to see what the next one does for the storyline.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. This was an 'Instagram purchase' which basically means that I bought it because so many people I follow on Instagram were gushing about it. After reading it I can confidently say that this book is completely worth every squealing post. The world-building was absolutely amazing and I'm shocked by how much the Betrasken remind me of my own family. I can't wait to find out more about these cultures in the sequel.When reading young adult Sci-Fi or fantasy, I think we can agree that no matter how much we love them, the main pairings were rather easy to see from the beginning. But in my opinion the final pairings for this book were rather unexpected and all the better for it. I also love a quotable book and this was definitely one of them, a sentiment many agree with given all the merchandise that is already available for the book. Merchandise is a good indicator of how loved a book is and since I already have an Aurora Rising inspired candle and bookmark I think its safe to say that I could not possibly give this book anything below 5 stars.Yet I felt like I had to because I found some typos.

“Do moons choose the planets they orbit? Do planets choose their stars? Who am I to deny gravity, Aurora? When you shine brighter than an constellation in the sky?”⁣⁣Aurora Rising is a fast-paced, action-packed story vividly told in the seven voices of the Squad 312 members – a band of misfits and delinquents who have been assigned their first mission after graduating from Aurora Academy.⁣⁣Set in space in the year 2380, the novel opens with a scene in which Squad Leader, Tyler Jones, investigates a distress call, attempts a daring solo rescue mission and discovers a girl who has been cryogenically frozen for two centuries. ⁣⁣This sets off a number of events in which Aurora (cryo girl) starts getting weird powers, the Squad go in search of alien artefacts and an ancient evil creature tries to hunt them down.⁣⁣A fab science fiction novel that had me hooked from the start. I really liked the plot and was really intrigued with the setting being in space and visiting different planets. ⁣⁣I think the seven POVs was a bit much and we didn't get to explore all of the characters in as much detail as I would have liked, but hopefully this will develop in the next book. Having said that, the friendships and the bonds between the characters really made the story whole and I liked the concept of finding your squad and belonging.

Nota verdadeira: 2,5. Infelizmente. Eu tinha altas expectativas, esperava que fosse melhor ainda que Defy the Stars e que fosse a perfeita mistura de Invictus com space opera. Tanto Defy the Stars e Invictus entraram para a lista dos meus favoritos, mas Aurora Rising não chegou nem perto. Tinha todos os ingredientes para ser ótimo e épico, como falam em propagandas dele, mas não é nenhuma das duas coisas.Não é péssimo também, já deixo claro. Se você nunca leu nada desse tipo, é provável que goste bem mais do que eu gostei. Por um lado, li bem rápido, porque a leitura flui fácil e até que dá para entreter. Por outro, o enredo é bastante batido em muitos sentidos, a ponto de até suas reviravoltas serem previsíveis. Além disso, tinha algumas coisas que se tornaram rapidamente irritantes, a ponto de eu começar a revirar meus olhos em todas as vezes que aconteciam.O final até que é bacana, mas tinham me falado que seria incrível e eu só achei okay mesmo. É interessante, mas não me fez querer continuar lendo a história. Na verdade, achei até um pouco revoltante ser essa a grande descoberta e explicação, porque foi tarde demais para o meu gosto e raso demais também. Não satisfez toda a expectativa que o próprio livro criou em mim durante todos seus mistérios e problemas.A maior decepção para mim foram os personagens, porque era o que eu esperava que fosse fazer toda a história valer a pena. Eu amei o Fin, de verdade, que é a única coisa realmente boa do livro, mas todos os outros são muito clichês, estereótipos do começo ao fim e forçados em vários níveis. O romance é forçado, a linguagem que eles usam também, suas motivações são bastante repetitivas e eles narravam do mesmo jeito sempre, o que me irritava muito quando mudava o narrador do personagem, porque eu nunca conseguia identificá-lo! Tinha que ficar voltando ao começo do capítulo para lembrar quem era.A linguagem forçada foi o que os estragou de vez, porque ficou claro que o livro foi escrito por dois adultos tentando parecer jovens e descolados. Não funcionou. Nem de longe. Só me fez morrer de vergonha alheia desde o primeiro capítulo. Mesmo sem isso, a personalidade deles é chata e sem graça, quando não é insuportável e irritante como a da Cat. Meu deus, Cat é muito, muito chata! Nem sei como aguentei até o final! O Kal vai de mal a pior. Pareceu bem interessante no começo, mas só decaiu dali para a frente. Aurora tinha muito potencial, mas logo no seu primeiro capítulo já se mostrou superficial e infantil. Tyler é a pessoa mais sem graça do universo, Scar é um estereótipo do começo ao fim e Zila mal aparece para ter personalidade. Não consegui me importar com nenhum deles para seu final ter algum efeito.Em compensação, o Fin é a coisa mais preciosa do universo desse livro. Ainda bem que ele existe, e é por ele que vou ler o próximo.Não são só os personagens que foram forçados. A criação do universo passou um pouco do limite, chegando a ser meio ridículo. Os aliens diferentes, todos aleatórios para serem estranhos, só fizeram a história perder credibilidade. E os Betraskans e Syldrathis (tá, aliens também), que são realmente importantes na história, só me deram a impressão de ser fantasia, em vez de ficção científica. Syldrathis, como o Kal, são basicamente elfos. Não teria achado tão ruim se o resto todo não tivesse parecido aleatório, arbitrário e vago demais para uma construção de universo (literalmente).Não quero julgar esse livro para decidir se leio os outros dos autores, mas é difícil não julgar. Nunca li mais nada de nenhum dos dois e foi bem decepcionante começar logo com esse. Não sei se algum dia vou ler outros livros deles, mas ainda devo continuar com essa série e vou torcer para os próximos serem melhores!