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katievallin's review
adventurous
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Enjoyed the first half. Skimmed some in the middle because I got bored. Didn’t really like the end because I’m not a fan of parasites, and I can tolerate only so much body horror. Also thought Aurora wasn’t very interesting, and the romance wasn’t very convincing (not a huge fan of the soulmate trope). Generally liked the other main characters, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Body horror, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Racism, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, and Death of parent
anonymous_dinosaur's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The book was overall very good, and the way the world was explained was incredibly easy to digest and interesting. However, I feel the ending went for shock value and did not deliver. Massive letdown.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Death
Minor: Sexual content
cosmicpanda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Violence, Grief, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, and Gore
Moderate: Chronic illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Ableism, and Police brutality
kathrynleereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I’m not going to lie, I didn’t think it was possible for Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff to write another series that I would love even half as much as I loved The Illuminae Files.
After reading Aurora Rising, it seems I was incredibly wrong.
The world built in this book was just intricate enough to show its depth, while at the same time not overwhelming the readers.
The plot was fast-paced and full of twists and turns (some of which you see coming and others that you really don’t).
And the characters. Seven of the most different characters you could possibly dream up, who all seem to work well together (at least some of the time). We got to know most of the seven members of Squad 312 pretty well, and I expect that we’ll get to know the others (mostly Zila and Kal) a lot better in the coming books.
Aurora Rising is hands-down in my three favorite reads of this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, Death of parent, and Genocide
Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Violence, Gore, and Gun violence
Minor: Cursing, Ableism, and Blood
ssellwood's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
Aurora Rising has an exciting premise; a group of unlikely comrades are pushed together after the discovery of a girl left in cryo for 200 years, pulling them into an adventure across the galaxy. I enjoyed the fast pace and action packed plot, but there's also time for humour and connections that pull strongly on the found family trope, and they even managed to make me care for characters I thought I disliked. There's also a hint of gore and mystery for those who enjoyed the more horror aspects of Illuminae. However, initially I found some of the characters a bit one sided, especially Zila, though they grew more dimensional over time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
eviethebookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Minor: Ableism, Genocide, and Death
meganders22's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Technically a reread via the audiobook, and MY GAWD. This was such an amazing narration of this book! I loved how the characters each had a different voice & it really showed off the character’s’ personalities. The Magellan moments were perfection also. I can’t to wait to listen to the other two books in the series, I’m so excited to hear how the series plays out. Also, rereading/listening to the book helps me to understand the many red herrings that were put into the book so casually!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence
tranquiltides's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I came into this book (and trilogy) on the heels of Illuminae Files.
While I cannot say that I enjoyed this more than the Illuminae files, Aurora Rising definitely delivers with a fun plot that kept me guessing, interesting, nuanced and unique characters that I loved, and scratches the Scifi itch if you’ve got one. I could also recommend it for younger readers (teens who are interested in maybe dipping their toes in Scifi if they Haven’t ever before.
I look forward to reading Aurora Burning and Auroras End in the near future!!
While I cannot say that I enjoyed this more than the Illuminae files, Aurora Rising definitely delivers with a fun plot that kept me guessing, interesting, nuanced and unique characters that I loved, and scratches the Scifi itch if you’ve got one. I could also recommend it for younger readers (teens who are interested in maybe dipping their toes in Scifi if they Haven’t ever before.
I look forward to reading Aurora Burning and Auroras End in the near future!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Violence
safety_pin's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Cursing, Death, Violence, War, Blood, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death of parent, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Alcohol
stelepami's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Many similar feelings as Serenity, with a dash of Farscape added. They even killed the pilot. Joss Whedon would be proud. Except they're all teenagers.
It does have abelism against an autistic-coded character, making it seem like she is deficit because she doesn't understand the feelings of others the way neurotypcials do. This is disappointing as a direct contrast to the books I just read* where the autistic character is loved as she is and provided accommodations by her friends as a matter of course.
* The Gilded Wolves books by Roshani Chokshi
It does have abelism against an autistic-coded character, making it seem like she is deficit because she doesn't understand the feelings of others the way neurotypcials do. This is disappointing as a direct contrast to the books I just read* where the autistic character is loved as she is and provided accommodations by her friends as a matter of course.
* The Gilded Wolves books by Roshani Chokshi
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Ableism