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Book Review: Aurora’s End, by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

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I borrowed an audio copy of Aurora’s End*, by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff through my local library. I reviewed books one and two, here.
Aurora's End audio cover

Is this the end?

What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases, and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

Wait. . . . Not. So. Fast.

When we last saw Squad 312, they were working together seamlessly (aka, freaking out) as an intergalactic battle raged and an ancient superweapon threatened to obliterate Earth. Everything went horribly wrong, naturally.

But as it turns out, not all endings are endings, and the team has one last chance to rewrite theirs. Maybe two. It’s complicated.

Cue Zila, Fin, and Scarlett (and MAGELLAN!): making friends, making enemies, and making history? Sure, no problem.

Cue Tyler, Kal, and Auri: uniting with two of the galaxy’s most hated villains? Um, okay. That, too.

Actually saving the galaxy, though?

Now that will take a miracle.

my review
I didn’t dislike this, but I also didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as the first two books (especially book one). Fin was one of my favorite characters and I admit to wishing he got more screen time here (in the book with him on the cover).

Similarly, what I so enjoyed about book one was the interplay between all of the characters. Here, they’re split into three grouping and don’t come together until the very end. I appreciated how each of their storylines wrapped around and became pertinent to the ending. But I missed seeing them all together, missed their humor and sarcasm.

Lastly, I was simply bored for the first half of this book. The second half had a bit more going for it (and even made me cry a little). But being bored for the first 5 or 6 hours of an audio book is hard to overcome. Plus, I thought the solution to the Ram problem was incredibly pat. I was not thrilled with the ending.

Having said all that, I did still like the overall sarcastic tone of the book, appreciated the amount of growth in the characters, and the narrative cast did a good job.

* Narrated by Kim Mai Guest, Johnathan McClain, Lincoln Hoppe, Donnabella Mortel, Jonathan Todd Ross, Erin Spencer, and  Steve West.

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Other Reveiws:

https://cupsandthoughts.com/2021/12/04/non-spoiler-book-review-auroras-end-by-amie-kaufman-and-jay-kristoff/

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Book Review: Awakening, by Poppy Williams

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Earlier this year Awakening (by Poppy Williams) was featured on Sadie’s Spotlight and I was given a copy of the book. And while my Awakening Challenge is technically finished, I couldn’t resist reading one last book with the title to bring 2021’s total to 15. It makes me laugh to scroll through my reviews page and see the same title go by again and again.

awakening poppy williams
★Every Hero Has a Beginning★

Raised by parents who work deep within the U.S. intelligence agency, Zoe Dixon has picked up a few skills along the way.

When her family moves to a new town, Zoe thinks it’s business as usual. But that all changes when a student turns up dead at her new school. Now, after years of keeping a low profile, Zoe has to decide whether she’ll step out of the shadows and use her skills for good.

As she digs deeper, she’ll uncover shocking truths that will change the course of her life forever.

my review

This is a perfectly enjoyable Young Adult adventure novel that I likely didn’t appreciate as much as I should have, being older than the intended audience. All the same, I like Zoe a lot. I thought the mystery was well-integrated, the possible future love interest sweet, and the writing/editing clean. I did think the sudden twist too jarring and didn’t find it particularly believable. It required some drastic changes in character and I thought didn’t even work toward the the stated goals. In fact, it seemed to me the effect would be just the opposite of those sought. (Sorry, being more clear would be a big spoiler.)

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Book Review: Anchored, by Bridget E. Baker

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I picked up a free audio copy of Bridget E. Baker‘s Anchored on Google Play. It was narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya.

anchored bridget e baker

Two worlds, one fate…

Alora was born with the ability to Lift, a power no other women on Terra possess. If the wrong people find out, there’s no telling what will happen. But when she almost kills a man in self-defense, her secret is exposed and she’s forced to run for her life.

On Earth, Alora’s running from something else: hazy memories of her parents’ death and the social worker who wants to separate her from her brother. When she sees the man she almost killed on Terra at work, she’s flummoxed. She’s never recognized anyone from there before—after all, Terra exists only in her dreams…

When her dreams begin to leach into reality, something incredible awakens in Alora. But she knows better than anyone that everything comes with a cost. As the barrier between worlds crumbles, Alora must decide which is safer, which is more powerful, and which world is worth saving.

my review

It’s not that I didn’t like this, it’s just that I was ready for it to be finished way before it actually was. The book is loooooong and it feels even loooonger than the 412 pages (14 hours 27 minutes) it is listed as. And I get it—the book contains two interconnected, but not completely overlapping stories. So, I understand why it’s required a lot of pages to tell the tale. But good lord, I thought it would never end.

The writing is fine. The narrator did a good job. As far as I can tell in audio, the editing seems fine. But I was just a little sick of the special-special snowflake that was Alora. She was the best at everything, important to almost every named male character in the book (be it familial love, attraction, or fanatic hate) and there didn’t even seem to be any other female characters of note. Plus, Alora was too wrapped up in her own head, too many characters showed up and then were dropped as unimportant as the story progressed, and the ending wasn’t particularity satisfying. Not enough of the overarching issues were actually explained and the last minute attempt to make the villain relatable fell flat for me.

All in all, I didn’t hate it. But I’m not in any hurry to read more of the series either.

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Other Reviews:

Iheart Fictional People – Review: Anchored, by Bridget E. Baker

Ya Books Central – Anchored