Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Aurora Cycle book 3)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Please visit the Book Series Recaps if you need a refresher of the first book.

“Is this the end?

What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases, and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

Wait. . . . Not. So. Fast.

When we last saw Squad 312, they working together seamlessly (aka, freaking out) as an intergalactic battle raged and an ancient superweapon threatened to obliterate Earth. Everything went horribly wrong, naturally.

But as it turns out, not all endings are endings, and the te4am has one last chance to rewrite theirs. Maybe two. It's complicated.

Cue Zila, Fin, and Scarlett (and MAGELLAN!): making friends, making enemies, and making history? Sure, no problem

Cue Tyler, Kal, and Auri: uniting with two of the galaxy’s most hated villains? Um, okay. That, too.

Actually saving the galaxy, though?

Now that will take a miracle.” - taken from Goodreads.com

For me, too much time had passed between the publication of the second and third books in this trilogy. The beginning of this book seemed to take a while for the storylines to converge onto one path. Our characters are literally scattered throughout time and space but once I saw where the story was going, I was hooked. Definitely a satisfying conclusion to his trilogy. 

Visit Amie Kaufman’s website.

Visit Jay Kristoff’s website.

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Aurora Cycle book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Aurora Rising, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

Please visit the Book Series Recaps if you need a refresher of the first book.

“Our heroes are back… kind of. 

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. - taken from Goodreads.com

I don't know what to say. All kinds of bombs were dropped throughout the book but I never saw coming. And the heartbreak. The authors pull no punches here as everyone was fair game. But that ending! I'll be gripping the edges of that steep cliff until a still yet unnamed third book comes out.

Visit Amie Kaufman’s website.

Visit Jay Kristoff’s website.

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Aurora Cycle book 1)

“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.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I loved these authors’ previous collaborations, The Illuminae Files, I so much that I couldn’t wait to dive right into their new series. Written in prose form, this story is told from seven different points of view. That sounds completely confusing but it’s not. Jay Kristoff describes this book as a cross between The Breakfast Club and Guardians of the Galaxy and he hit the nail on the head. Realized the shocking twist literally paragraphs just before it was revealed and that cliffhanger ending is seriously leaving me dying to get my hands on the next book. Once again, Kaufman and Kristoff have left me wanting to read more space opera books.

Book two is not yet titled.

Visit Amie Kaufman’s website.

Visit Jay Kristoff’s website.