Aurora's End (Aurora's Cycle #3)

Squad 312 forever.

Available at Amazon.com

Aurora's End
Amie Kaufman (Website)
Jay Kristoff (Website)
Aurora's Cycle, book three
470 pages, Kindle Edition
Audiobook, 15+ hours
First published November 2, 2021
ISBN 9781524720889

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.

Nobody—but nobody—does a recap better than the authors of this book. This final installment opens up with Scarlett, whose self confidence rivals the best of them, and Finian as they wake up to find that they are not, in fact, dead. Which is weird, because that's what usually happens when you, ya know, blow up.

And they realize it again, and again, and again, as we repeat the chapter over and over and over while stuck in a time paradox. In a different place. In a different time.

They're no longer in 2380. They're in 2177. And the galaxy is at war.

Kal and Aurora... they're twenty-seven years into the future. So... 2407.

And Tyler and Kal's villain sister, Saedii (aka Lexa from The 100) are in the present. And speaking of...

Tyler is Saedii's mate? Oh my.. yes! Tears for Cat, but oh yes! I am here for this. For this psycho wench that parades around with a necklace of her past suitor's fingers and our dear, beloved captain.

She’s rage. She’s fire. Pushing like a knife into my chest.

I do what I wish.
I go where I please.
I take what I want.

And I see it then. As her eyes drift from mine, down to my lips and back up again.

Maker’s breath, she wants me.

We crash together, so hard the split in my lip opens again. She breathes into my lungs and my fingers weave into her hair, and the thought of how stupid this is is drowned out by the feel of her in my arms as I lift her off the ground.

She cinches her legs tight around my waist, gasping as we collide with the wall, her fingernails drawing lines of fire across my bare back as my hands squeeze her tight, pushing her hard against the metal. Stupid as this feels, crazy as it is …

The whole galaxy might be at war tomorrow.

We might all be dead.

Live for tonight. Tomorrow we die.

Her mind is entwined with mine, drenching me with her want and redoubling my own. It’s hard to breathe. To think. I’ve never felt anything like this, never needed anything so desperately, but this is insane, this is…

“Saedii,” I gasp, twisting my head away.

Stop speaking, Tyler Jones, comes her voice in my head. There are better things for you to be doing with your mouth.

Yeah, okay.

Hard to argue with that.

But then we're back with Kal and Aurora in the future, hanging with Kal's villain father, reuniting with a very angry Tyler and... Saedii's dead. And Zila. And Fin. And Scar. They're believed to be dead, too. And we lost the battle because the weapon we need, the weapon only Aurora and Kal's father can wield, never came.

And a third Tyler chasing Cat, who died in the first book? Or is it the o.g. Tyler? How many Tylers are in this book?!

And how many of those Tylers will die?

Gah! All the feels. The ache! How dare you take such a fun ride and hit me right in the chest in the end!

I should have loved her better. I should have loved her more. And I try to tell her, with the breath I have left in me, with the lips I press to hers, opening my mind and pouring into her, telling her I’m sorry.

I love you.

And then I drive the knife right into her neck.

Dang, Tyler.

And Saedii with her daughter, Lae. Finian and that damn pen. Kal with his Be'shmai. Zila.

There's so so much. And, yes, it's all about time.

5 out of 5 stars. I'm going to miss Kal most of all.



Available in ebook | paperback | audiobook

Previously in the series:

2025/25

Aurora Burning (Aurora Cycle #2)

My deception and my devotion. Only one of them for her.

Available at Amazon

Aurora Burning
Amie Kaufman (Website)
Jay Kristoff (Website)
Aurora Cycle, book two
Audiobook, 15+ hours
Kindle Edition, 497 pages
Published May 5th 2020 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
ASIN B07YRWKB65

Our heroes are back… kind of. From the bestselling co-authors of the Illuminae Files comes the second book in the epic series about a squad of misfits, losers, and discipline cases who just might be the galaxy’s best hope for survival.

First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.

I had to do it. I finally got around to it. And with the intro being the ever so perfect recap and, need I say, introduction to the characters, I was *so* happy to be back in this world.

Only to be absolutely devastated at the audacity of what's left of Squad 312 turning on one of their own. Rip out my heart why don't you!

And only to stomp on it with a cliffhanger ending? How dare you!

Rolling the spoilers... In this installment, Cat remains alive in memory alone. When her image isn't being manipulated for half ass interrogation methods that is. Tyler is taken prisoner, alongside Kal's sister, Saedii, and spends the greater half of the book in captivity. Kal and Auri endure "months" in isolation as Auri learns to wield her powers as the Trigger, refusing to forsake all for the greater good but still managing to forsake love when... *sigh* And the rest of the squad is just hanging on for the ride until everything goes dark. Literally.

4 out of 5 stars.

Available in ebook | hardcover | paperback | audiobook (I recommend the full cast audiobook!)



Now, I need to call out Saedii for looking a little too much like Lexa from "The 100". Right?

Previously in the series:

Aurora Rising (Aurora Cycle #1)

If blood is thicker than water, Scar and I are practically concrete.

Available at Amazon

Aurora Rising
Amie Kaufman (Website)
Jay Kristoff (Website)
Kindle Edition, 480 pages
Audiobook, 14+ hours
Published May 7th 2019 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
ASIN B07FS1K4WL

From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.

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 tech wiz 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.

Before I get into this I must say: That cover is perfection.

Now, where the book itself is concerned... it was fun! I did this read as an audiobook which offered not just one narrator, but an entire cast of voices lending their various accents and personalities to this diverse group of young, intelligent cadets. Each character possesses their own quirks and laugh out loud personas weaved into a refreshing and highly entertaining story.

Tyler Jones is in the right place at the right time when the life of Aurora, still subdued by cryo-sleep, ends up in jeopardy. He manages to save her, but sadly no one else, and it only costs him the draft. Returning to base, he's left with the leftovers of squad choices but still manages to score his friend, Cat, and his twin sister, Scarlet, on his team. He gains Kal (the warrior), Finian (the geek), and Zila  (the brain) as well.

Aurora is a girl from a past of which has no record. She has powers of no explanation. And soon, she manages to, oh so innocently, get Ty and his team looking at a court marshal, labeled fugitives, and all kinds of compounding troubles.

I'm going to link the cast list here, provided by the author and depicted below, because there wasn't a single character I didn't like. And I'm going to spare another moment to applaud this book for absolutely being a tale anyone could enjoy, regardless of gender.

As far as *this* reader is concerned... it checks all kinds of boxes. ☑ SciFi setting. ☑ A clear Alpha. ☑ His dependable, gonna-make-you-smile Beta. ☑  A friend meant to be a lover. ☑ A geek yearning to be noticed. ☑ Matebonding! OMG, Kal!! I swore if this turned into a triangle I was going to throw my airpods across the room. 

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommend. Especially in audiobook. (FREE with an Audible trial, but oh so worth the money if you buy it on its own.)

Available in ebook | audiobook | hardcover | paperback