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akirokis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
captainoliimar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal death and Body horror
Minor: Ableism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
imaginethisreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A beautiful blend of comedy and suspense. An excellent read for young, teen and adult sci-fi fans.
This group of hero's made me laugh, cringe and cry.
Oh and Kal is hot as f!ck.
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War
nuin_giliath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
What ended up sinking this ship in my eyes were the characters. Repeatedly, we are informed about how insanely gifted this crew is and yet their behavior never convinced me of that fact. They were shockingly inconsistent with how they fluctuated between being insufferably juvenile and wise beyond their years. One minute, they'd be acting/talking like ten-year-olds, complete with jokes about soiling their pants. The next, they're speaking as if they're army veterans who have been jaded by the experiences of a thirty-year career. That doesn't make sense. You can't have it both ways. I was also devastated by how awful most of the female characters were. They were frequently petty, whiny, and so very shallow. With having a woman co-authoring this book, they should not have been this incredibly unrelatable to me (also a woman.) What absolutely broke my heart over this is that characters are typically the best part of a book for me. Without feeling a connection to them, the whole book comes across as dull and lifeless.
The plot, while intriguing, was barely present until the last 30% or so. While those final chapters were really well done and rather exciting, I felt cheated that I had to trudge through so much inadequacy to get there. By that point, I had lost any interest in these characters - except for Zila who simply needs to BAMF! the rest of them into oblivion - which unfortunately meant that the heavy emotional beats were lost on me. And that's tragic.
Having had such high hopes for this book, it truly pains me to rate this so low. But a story where I can't connect with the characters is never going to win my heart. The potential was there, but the execution failed miserably. I'm currently uncertain if I'll continue with the series at all.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Blood
rebeccajost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Blood, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Ableism, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Colonisation
mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
smasson13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
TBH, there are some predictable events in the story and usual tropes, but it feels new and fresh. The pace is so fast and the characters are killer.
Amazing read, definitely a win.
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Cursing, Death, Blood, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sssunny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm a sucker for a good sci-fi read so I was automatically dazzled by the world built by Kaufman and Kristoff, but never had I read a book with such loveable characters. The characters were definitely the defining factor that lead me to giving this novel a 5 star review, the plot itself (while still exciting) was typical to any adventure novel. I love the relationships the characters develop with each other throughout the novel and how they overcome all of their biases and self-centeredness as they bonded with the misfits they were stuck running from the galaxy with.
Overall, this book was so much fun to read and was exactly what I needed after reading thought provoking, I-should-probably-wake-up-before-I-read-this kind of novels. I needed that YA mind break and after loving Illuminae Files and reading those books three times over, Aurora Rising didn't miss. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loved Illuminae Files, and any of my fellow YA-novel-enjoyers. I definitely will read this one again!
This is just my extra little tidbit **SPOILERS**
Finian was probably my second favorite character, I loved how for the longest time all you saw was his sarcastic, asshole-ness and as soon as you were able to read from his perspective you immediately felt for him and felt for his struggles.
Tyler, at first, seemed like a pretty basic and straight up character, but as the novel progressed I was invested in his transformation and I needed him to realize his love for Cat sooner!
As soon as Kal came into play when we first met him in a fight with other Aurora Legionnaires I knew I had to know more, and anytime a chapter in his POV came up I was like hell YEAH!!
While she didn't say much, Kila was so entertaining to read. She reminded me of the Bennett sister from Pride and Prejudice that didn't speak much but when she did it kind of caught everyone off guard. Also towards the end of the book when Tyler told her that while she was incredibly smart she had no social skills and Kal looked over to see Kila tearing up slightly it made my heart hurt and I was invested with the direction her character went from that point forward.
Scarlett was a total badass, and I love the way that she cared for the team in her own subtle ways making sure everyone felt recognized. I feel that she was a vital character in making the team that seemed not to fit together at all, come together in the end.
For most of the book I found myself pitying Aurora. She came off so helpless and came off as a damsel in distress and annoyed me quite a bit. In that final few chapters of the novel and Aurora finally seemed to be attempting to get control over whatever is going on with her she finally got to be an entertaining character to read and not just Kal's one-true-love.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Violence
Minor: Genocide and Grief
jpw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death, Torture, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Colonisation