Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

This action-packed sequel to Aurora Rising kept my heart thumping (and breaking) for 495 pages. I cannot wait for the next book!

---

SYNOPSIS

First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well. from Goodreads.

---

REVIEW

Every time I mentioned that I was reading Aurora Burning people would respond, “ooooh, that ending.” Well, ending aside, they could have warned me about the effect the non-stop action would have on my heart rate!

I knew I wanted to read Burning, but I wasn’t looking forward to it quite like I was Rising. I enjoyed Rising (you can read my full review here) but I was struggling to pinpoint exactly why. Well, without spoiling anything, I can tell you that the action combined with the inter-personal character development had my flying through this book at warp speed.

It is difficult to find a series where the second book doesn’t slump but, like with The Illuminae Files, Kaufman and Kristoff have managed it again. This book has none of The who’s-who and world building drag required of the first book and so it just action packed awesomeness. Delightfully, we finally do get a little more of crew member Zila, a new character, and a whole mess of mysteries and surprises.

The thing that I am loving the most about this series is the wide variety of strong female characters. Scarlett’s gorgeousness combined with her interpersonal skills and language, Zila’s vast intelligence, and even Auri who has greatness foisted upon her must find the mental strength to use her gifts. All of these women are fantastic, flawed, and fabulous in completely different ways. I especially appreciated that the men around them all except their awesomeness as reality like they would for a male character. This is a world I could live in! Well, except for the space travel and the constant threat of death…

This book did a much better job providing me with the unique voices of each character. The differing points of view also helped me understand each character’s inner fears and demons which balanced out the superbness that are their individual skill sets. Because without this insight, I would probably hate them all. With it, they become relatable. And their patience with each other is remarkable. Let’s just hope that patience is matched with forgiveness because some characters have some major explaining to do in Book Three.

And now we are back to that ending right? The huge cliffhanger? It absolutely is but I loved it. I want to sit down and hash this book out and guess what will happen and how it will all be resolved. I cannot wait and I am so thankful that the authors have given me this elevated feeling because now I have one more thing to look forward to!

---

Tell me, please!

How do you feel about cliffhangers?

---