Reviews

Aurora's End by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman

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natramz's review against another edition

4.0

4.5/5 rounded down

I felt a little underwhelmed with this book. I loved the cover though. I still really liked this series. I wish the crew was together more.

Fav Quote: “… and I see the wild, unpredictable beauty of a life lived alone-but never entirely alone.” (p 482)

ryan_b's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

asriram's review against another edition

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4.0

Overall, I really liked this book, more than the other novels in the series. The cliffhanger from the previous book was well-handled, the character relationships (the highlight of the series) were even more well-fleshed out, and the story resolved the arcs and themes set up in the previous books in a very satisfactory way.
The book divides the team into 3 distinct groups. On the one hand, we have Tyler's arc -- this is probably the least compelling arc for me, and thankfully the one the narrative focuses on the least. Then, we have the arc with Zila, Finian, and Scarlett -- this one features a trope I find extremely boring, and the initial setup isn't particularly interesting, but while the later part of the arc does not branch from the standard execution of this trope, the character relationships salvaged this and made it worthwhile as a whole. Then, Kal and Auri have my favorite arc -- a trope I really enjoy, character relationships that were being set up in other characters arcs coming into play, and the execution was well handled, if exactly on point for the trope. As the arcs weave and collide back into one another for the final arc of the story, the ensuing events are thrilling and compelling.
I think there are still several factors that prevent me from truly loving this book. I was unhappy with the resolution of the story. The Rahaam are a threat to the entire galaxy, a threat that has been around for millions of years, and the resolution to their threat, the method of defeating them is so... dull. It doesn't feel earned by the narrative, and it doesn't feel engaging as a result. The humor in this book as well jarred me -- I suspect that this is just a stylistic/taste difference between me and the standard demographic of this book, but I grew tired of the teenager-ness of it all, and while these characters are all eighteen from my understanding, my mind tends to view them as 15-16 years old instead, just as a result of the general immaturity of the characters. And the trope-y nature of this entire series has made it extremely easy to determine what is happening next -- I feel this takes so many ideas from Avatar: The Last Airbender in particular, but handles it in ways that are slightly less compelling than the original.
Overall, however, despite my complaints and reservations, I did enjoy the end of this book. I thought the themes and arcs set up in the first two books came to more than satisfactory conclusions in this book. If anyone were interested in YA Science Fiction, and wondered if this was a good series to read, my answer would definitely be yes.