Aurora Burning

Review originally posted on Geeky Galaxy

The World
Aurora Burning is book 2 in the Aurora Cycle series, so the world is established by now, and Amie and Jay are well aware of this, and don't spare much time for setting the scene, as we don't overly need it. The setting as a whole is largely familiar from the first book. There are new, smaller scale settings, of course, that are thought out and well put together. Again, I'm still really interested in the world at large, fascinated by the politics of things. Honestly, I just need a politics in space book. This world would totally work for that, but I don't think it's quite Jay and Amie's speed!

The Plot
There's a “Stuff You Should Know” section at the very start of Aurora Burning that summarises characters and events of Aurora Rising – I petition for every book that's a sequel to have this because it was so helpful! Also, it's told from the point of view of Magellan, which is pretty awesome.

There's not a moment where this book lets you catch your breath. Not. A. Moment. I'm undecided at this point whether that's a good thing. It's... certainly something. It's got breakneck pace throughout, from the very moment the book begins, there is shooting and excitement. The “downtime” isn't downtime. It's just five minutes of scheming before everything hits the fan. Again.

The ending! The ending! The ending! This book just tore my heart out without a single moment of hesitation. I'd seen other reviews that had mentioned the ending but didn't think too much of it. Heed those of us that say the ending will torture you, and quite possibly anger you, that Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman dared to end a book like that. I've never known a book to end quite like that. TV shows, perhaps. I've never read a book that did it. And I never want to again, not without having the next book lined up and waiting for me. I don't know how to wait for book 3 as I write this. I'm kind-of just sat like ??? looking around the room for the answers. Hint: the room didn't have the answers.

The Characters
Aurora
Aurora is still our main character, surprise surprise! She's affectionately known as Auri throughout most of the book, seeing as the characters are much more familiar with each other than they were when Aurora Rising began. The found family element is much more pronounced due to the fact they've already been through so much together before Aurora Burning even began. Aurora herself goes through a lot in this book, from trying to come to grasps with her recently discovered powers and dealing with the less world-saving things, like relationships with those around her. Reading about her was sweet, and empowering, as she went from an innocent girl, unable to use her power without fear of hurting others, to having confidence in who she was and what she could do.

Kal
Kal was, and remains to be, my favourite character. And let me tell you, he definitely goes through it in this book. He plays a much bigger role in Aurora Burning than he did in Rising. (I mean, his face is on the cover, after all. And isn't it a pretty face and a pretty cover?) My heart wasn't ready for quite the amount Kal goes through in this, and honestly? I love him even more after everything.

Fin
Fin has risen up the ranks to be my second-favourite character. Honestly, I just have a thing for the snark and the occasional heroics, overcoming anything that's put before him. The jokes definitely help though. Speaking of jokes, the comedic aspect is rife throughout this whole book. It's a key element for more than one character, and they all handle it in different ways. Fin goes for the nicknames and the jokes. And it's fun, and brought a smile to my face each time.

Scarlett
Again, Scarlett provides some more comedic relief in the forms of heavy sarcasm and the sporadic innuendo. In fact, her sarcasm is also as perfect as her Syldrathi. I feel like Scarlett was in Aurora Burning a lot, but her part wasn't as meaningful as I expected. Her made side-comments about exes that may have aided her in some way, translates for the others when they didn't bother to learn the languages they probably should've learned, but none of it felt terribly important. I hope there's more for Scarlett because who and what she is can provide more to the world of the Aurora Cycle.

Tyler
Tyler is the Alpha, the squad leader, who honestly had a bit of a stick up his ass in the first book. He's a lot better in this book, more laid back with a better personality than “I'm the leader, listen to how amazing I am and my ideas are fantastic and never wrong.” Ok, so he still thinks his ideas are amazing, but otherwise, he's mellowed a lot in Aurora Burning, and the book is better off for it.

Zila
Zila was the quiet, probably somewhat strange science officer in Aurora Rising. She's still very much that, but she comes out of her shell more, and we learn more about her past. And it's not a happy one, but it also explains why she is who she is. I'm glad we got to see more of her. I just hope that continues into the next book. That particular story isn't over, I'm sure of it.

I 100% recommend pre-ordering Aurora Burning if you haven't already! A) Have you seen the cover? Kal, the orange colours, I love it. At this point, I'm not sure where I've pre-ordered it from or what edition is actually going to arrive for me. I just know when it does, I'm going to ogle the cover for a while because look at it.