Tag: Amie Kaufman

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1) – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:

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.

Review:

Our favorite sci-fi writing duo is back!!! I don’t know how they do it, but Amie and Jay have done it again!!! I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how Amie and Jay could possibly follow The Illuminae Files, but I did not need to worry at all! Aurora Rising is an epic, fast-paced, action-packed adventure!!

Aurora Rising follows Squad 312 from the Aurora Legion. Tyler, aka the Golden Boy, is the Aurora Academy’s top student. He’s meant to be the Alpha of the best squad. But that all changes when he decides to go on a solo trip into the Fold to clear his mind before the squad draft. While in the Fold, Tyler comes across an abandoned ship and discovers a girl in cryo-sleep. He successfully rescues her, but misses the draft. Tyler is now stuck leading a squad with his sister, best friend, and the rejects from the draft. Squad 312 leaves on their first mission and chaos ensues.

Aurora Rising was NON-STOP! From the very first page, the story grabbed me and did not let go! Squad 312 is a magnet for danger! Everywhere they go they get into trouble! The plot is fun and full of action and epic battle scenes. The story flows and is well paced. Amie and Jay built the world of Aurora Rising perfectly. There is never information overload or dumping. I especially loved the Illuminae Files-esc pages. It was such a cool way to provide the reader insight and more information into this world.

I absolutely LOVED this cast of characters. Jay and Amie create the most original, complex, and hilarious characters. Seven point of views could be a lot, but it was not overwhelming at all. I enjoyed every single point of view chapter. My ONLY complaint would be to have more Zila. However, I have a feeling that more is coming in the next books.

If I had to pick a favorite character it would probably be Finian with Scarlett as a very close second. I just love Fin’s sarcasm and little quips. And Scarlett is just so bad ass! She is fierce!!

Aurora Rising was absolutely incredible. Amie and Jay are GENIUSES! I seriously don’t know how they do it. It is going to be a very long wait for the next book!!

Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1) – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

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Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Synopsis:

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.
      The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.
     But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again.
      Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Review:

I am speechless. I do not know how I am going to form coherent thoughts to write this review. I am now OBSESSED with Illuminae. I don’t know why it took me so long to read it! I had heard that it was incredible and everyone loved it, but it just kept getting pushed down on my TBR list. I have been missing out!!! Illuminae (and I’m sure the other books in the series which I am currently waiting on Amazon to deliver) is one of my new FAVORITE books. It was so damn good.

I absolutely loved the way Illuminae was written. The first time I flipped through the book I was a little nervous about the “dossier of hacked documents” style of writing. I was worried it would be difficult to follow. IT WAS NOT AT ALL DIFFICULT TO FOLLOW! I don’t know how they did it, but Kaufman and Kristoff were able to pull off this incredible story-telling style. My brain literally cannot process how these two super-humans were not only able to successfully co-write an incredible story, but also format it in such an untraditional way that not only worked but elevated the story! I have no other way to describe the formatting and story telling method other than IT IS SO COOL!

As for the actual story of Illuminae . . . it was exciting, suspenseful, emotional, and action-packed. I adored our main characters, Kady and Ezra. All of the different POVs (including Kady and Ezra’s) were so well done. I felt like I was there on the Hypatia and Alexander with them. I was stressed, anxious, terrified (looking at you plague afflicted), and grief stricken along side Kady, Ezra, and the rest of the passengers. Marie Lu’s quote on the cover describes my feelings about Illuminae perfectly . . . “Brace yourself. You’re about to be immersed in a mindscape that you’ll never want to leave.” She’s 100% correct . . . I never want to leave this incredible story.

Illuminae was an emotional twisty-turny super intense rollercoaster. And I loved every minute. I am officially on the Illuminae hype train! I am so freaking excited for Gemina and Obsidio to be delivered so I can dive in to the rest of the series!