Aurora Burning book review

Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Series: The Aurora Cycle #2
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on May 5, 2020
Pages: 512
Goodreads

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 wanted so badly to love Aurora Burning, but it just didn’t hold my attention. I found that the drama became too much of the focal point and the other members of the team that actually had a great backstory were now being overshadowed by other parts of the point. To put it bluntly, I was bored. I was expecting badassery and all I got was angst and anger. I will definitely be carrying on with the series and I’m hoping the last book will be able to pull it back from the brink for me, but this definitely wasn’t my favourite read.

I think the problem I had with the characters in Aurora Burning was the same as the first book, everything just felt completely rushed and the most important parts seemed to be brushed under the carpet. I would say I saw the major twist coming and the reaction of everything frustrated me a little, I couldn’t really see why everyone reacted the way they did but I suppose it added to the storyline I guess. I think what I wanted for this book was for there to be less outside drama and to see the friendships and relationships develop at a more natural pace but what actually happened was the exact opposite and I don’t think they actually grew as people throughout this because there was just TOO much going on. I just wanted more from the character side of things than what I got, which makes me sad because I’m all about the character side of things.

The best bit of Aurora Burning for me was definitely watching Scarlett, Fin and Zila. They still remain my favourite characters and seeing them have a little bit more time at the forefront meant that the story held my interest a little more than it would have done if they had taken a back seat. I loved learning more about Zila and her back story and I think it definitely added more of a dimension to her as a character and helped explain why she was the way she is. I really wanted to learn more about Fin and his backstory and what makes him tick, I feel we have heard little bits and bobs but I would love to know more about him.

I have mentioned some of the worst bits of Aurora Burning above, but I think this one felt a little plot-heavy and drama heavy. There was SO much action packed into some parts and then others I really struggled to get through because it was so dry. I just think that the pacing was off throughout this book and I wished that some of the action would have been more spread out and it gave me a chance to take a breath!

I have mixed feelings about whether I would recommend Aurora Burning, if this was a standalone then I probably wouldn’t. However I am still holding out hope for the last one and that might be a redeeming factor! Who knows!

What did you think of this one? Did you like this one more or less than the first? Let me know!