Melting Pages
Book Reviews and Recommendations
Aurora Rising | REVIEW
I am yet again trying to catch up on some older reviews. I like to wait for the book to really sink in before writing my reviews, but some of these I’ve waited almost too long to write reviews for!
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 wonderingAnd 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.
Holy cow, this book was AMAZING. I’ve been waffling on reading the Illuminae Files because I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but after reading Aurora Rising I HAVE to get to Illuminae sooner rather than later! I was so blown away by the work that Jay and Amie put into this book, and they made the characters all lovable in their own way.
This book was a wild ride from the beginning to the end. We have quite a few POV’s throughout this book (like, 6 or so) which sounds like it would be overwhelming but it’s really easy to keep track of who is who and what is going on. The flow between each of the characters was A++!
I really loved the humor and banter between all the characters, and the way they all came together despite their differences was really amazing. We have seven characters that make up Squad 312, and I love each and every one of them! We have Zila who is the brains of the team and doesn’t always understand that you aren’t supposed to shoot people just because, then Tyler, who is the golden boy alpha who always follows the rules. His twin sister Scarlett is the face, which is basically the diplomat of the group and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use sarcasm as a diplomatic strategy before. Kal is an alien elf (you heard that right. ALIEN. ELF.) who is the groups tank, which basically means you don’t want to get on his bad side or he will kick you into next week. Cat is the badass ace of the team and one of the best pilots that their academy has ever had. Finian is a Betraskan gearhead who can do anything technical. He also has an exosuit to help him walk because he is disabled. And finally, we have Aurora, the girl who started the whole plot. No one is really sure what to make of her.
And the freaking references were amazing! They reference Lord of the Rings so many times that it makes my fantasy loving heart go wild.
“Listen here, Lord Elrond” -Aurora to Kal
I have so many questions about the end of the book and what happened to, well, everyone. Also, the ending made me cry, and that’s something that doesn’t happen very often. Basically, I loved this book and I can’t wait for the second book to come out and if this sounds even remotely interesting to you, you need to read it!
Have you read Aurora Rising yet? What did you think of that ending??
Melting Pages 
I’m so glad you enjoyed AURORA RISING! It’s definitely one of my favorites from this year! That squad makes my heart so happy!
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Ugh I need book 2 already! I need to know what happens!
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SAME, and it got picked up for a TV series, I believe?!?!! Count me in!
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That’s incredible! I can’t wait for that!
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I read Aurora Rising and finished it two (maybe three???) days ago and I LOVED IT SO MUCH!!!!
Amazing review and I can’t wait to see your review for the sequel!
-Emma 🙂
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Thank you! I can’t wait for the sequel!
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I totally agree with this review. This is such a great sci-fi read and the characters are really lovable and admirable. 🙂
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Thank you!
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I read this book in a day! I haven’t done that in a long time. Really enjoyed it. The ending… 🧐😲😢😔🥰✨
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That’s impressive! I finished it quickly too, but not that quick! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve finished a book in one day lol
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