Aurora Rising by: Jay Kristoff and Aime Kaufman

Rating: ★★★★★

Word Association: Space, Adventure, Rogue Mission

Pacing: Excellent. The mission kept the reader moving right along. The backstory and history of the characters felt relevant and not just filler.

Pros: Totally engrossing and action-packed, Space (need I say more), Strong plot that leaves a lot to explore in the sequels

Cons: The sequels aren’t out yet...

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Summary via Goodreads:

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.

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Review:

“And my last thought before I pass out completely? It’s not that I just saved someone’s life...or that the both of us should most definitely be dead. It’s that I’m going to miss the Draft.”

This fast-paced, action-packed, sci-fi gem of a novel drops up exactly where we want to be. Right in the middle of chaos. We find ourselves in the vast expanse of space, the Fold to be exact, with one of our main characters at the helm of a spacecraft. Out for a late-night fly to calm his mind before the Draft happening the next day. A ceremony in which he, as Alpha will be able to pick the best and brightest crew members to join his squad. But before he can think about that, he has to think about saving a ship that is sending an SOS. Little does he know that waiting for him on this ship is a mystery girl who will redirect the course of his life and test his loyalties to the legion and his squad.

This book is told from multiple POVs and we get a brief backstory for each character and the role they fulfill on the team.

Tyler is the Alpha and he can’t be anything but. He is strong and level headed, the “golden boy” of Aurora Academy. He will do anything necessary for the good of the squad. Fin is the Gearhead, he specializes in machines and quit-witted sass. He puts on a tough exterior, but deep down he just wants a place to belong. Kal is the Tank. A warrior through and through. He has a complicated relationship with his people who have been in war and turmoil for a long time. He also feels strongly for Auri thanks to a mating bond that his people experience which he describes as “the pull.”

“Do moons choose the planets they orbit? Do planets choose their stars? Who am I to deny gravity, Aurora? When you shine brighter than a constellation in the sky?”

Scarlett is the Face, she is diplomatic and understanding but don’t underestimate her charming disposition. Her signature sarcasm will stun you into silence and her twin, Tyler, gets the worst of it. Cat is the Ace, a skillful pilot and will not pass up the opportunity to remind you. Cocky, almost to a fault, but fiercely loyal to the squad, but mostly to Tyler who she harbors secret feelings for. Zila, the Brain is everything her job title implies. There is not a logical problem she can’t solve. Mostly quiet throughout their adventures when she does talk she has a lot to say. Auri is the mystery girl Tyler rescued from the Fold. She was on her way to a colony in space but her ship never made it trapping her in cryo for over 200 years. Now strange things are happening to her including visions that she can not explain.

This rag-tag group of misfits embarks on a legion sanctioned mission which quickly dissolves into chasing down the missing pieces of Auri’s past, looking for answers about the family she once knew, the colony she was headed for, and the mystery of the visions that plague her.

“The only places I fit are the places inside my head,” she continues. “It is as you said, sir. I do not understand people.” She looks around the bridge. “But I believe of all the places I have not fit, I fit here a little better.”

Friendship, loyalty, and belonging are as important as the adventurous plot. The squad comes together to pull off incredible things, using their individual talents to support each other. Kristof and Kaufman execute the multiple POVs wonderfully. Each voice is unique and clear. Aurora Rising gets my highest recommendation. I came for the entertaining intergalactic plot, but I stayed for the bond between members of squad 312.

“We the legion. We the light. Burning bright against the night.”