Series: Aurora Cycle #1
Release Date: May 7th 2019
Publisher: Rock the Boat
Pages: 478
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I bought a copy of this in my local Waterstones
Rating: 5/5 Stars
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
Aurora Rising was one of my most anticipated releases of 2019. I adored the Illuminae Files and I was hoping this would be just as fun and exciting. If it’s even possible Aurora Rising was even more incredible than I had hoped and it was an immediate five star read.
The story follows Squad 312, a group of Legionnaires who are flung together as the academy dregs no one else wants on their team. When squad leader Tyler discovers the girl he rescued from space stowed away on his ship it sparks a series of events that they might not live to see the end of.
Aurora Rising is just the most fun and fast paced story. As can be expected with this space epic it sets a pretty relentless pace and I was constantly trying to squeeze chapters in because I was dying to know what would happen next. There’s a really brilliant cast of characters and I grew really attached to all of them. The book is full of sarky, sassy moments and plenty of banter between these wonderful characters.
The plot is really intriguing and I really enjoyed the twists and turns of the story – some of the surprises were a bit obvious and I saw them coming – but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story. There were some emotional moments too and the story certainly ended on an enticing cliffhanger – I’m dying to find out what’s in store next for the squad.
There is a bit more romance in the story than I was expecting and a case of insta-love that I’m not so keen on but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment too much. Overall I thought this was a really fantastic read and if you enjoy fast paced action stories or you’ve read work by these authors before, I’m sure you’ll love this one.
I was really struck by the eye-catching cover for How to Stop Time and so when I picked it up and read the synopsis I just knew I had to read it. I really loved this book and absolutely raced through it. The writing is so addictive that I honestly couldn’t put it down. I loved the premise of this book, mainly because it was a unique spin on the being who lives for centuries idea. Tom is not immortal, he simply ages slower than the rest of humanity. It’s a rare condition, and this idea makes the book seem all the more believable.
This was a bit of an odd read for me. I love DC Comics, but have never really clicked with Wonderwoman. When I heard that Penguin were doing a YA series of DC heroes I jumped at the chance to read them, even more so when I found out that Leigh Bardugo (one of my favourite authors) would be writing one. However I was still a bit unsure how it would go when Wonderwoman wasn’t a story I was all that familiar with.
Series: The Fandom #2
A few years ago at YALC I was lucky enough to get an ARC of The Fandom and I devoured it. I loved the idea of a group of friends who ended up being transported into the world of their favourite fandom and of course finding out that when they get there it’s even more dangerous than they thought. When I started The Fandom Rising I was so intrigued because I had no idea where the plot was going to go – the first book had reached a satisfying ending and the blurb for The Fandom Rising was very mysterious and vague.
This is my first time reading a book by Virginia Macgregor and I very quickly became absorbed in this emotional tale. The story follows Air, a young woman who is tasked with one job: get her brother Blake from the airport and make sure he turns up on time to their sister’s wedding. Whilst waiting for the plane to arrive she sees Christopher, who is also waiting on the arrival of the same flight. Their worlds collide when they learn that flight 0217 is missing. Unsure whether her brother even got on the flight, the two drive across the country in a desperate attempt to find him.
I loved this book from start to finish. Sarah Gilchrist is such a fascinating character. Forced to leave London in disgrace, Sarah is part of the first group of female medical students at Edinburgh University. She’s determined to become a doctor and help those in need. However those around her are not so thrilled at the idea of having female doctors, and there are those in her family who would much prefer she let the idea of doctoring go and get married.
This is easily one of my favourite books of 2017. (I know I’ve said that a lot this year, 2017 has been a fabulous year for books after all). But honestly, I can’t reccommend this book highly enough. I’d heard some of the buzz about it on social media, and so when it was announced that people attending this years Young Adult Literature Convention would be able to buy early copies, I jumped at the chance.
This has got to be one of the most unique YA fantasy books that I’ve ever read. I picked it up on a whim from my YALC pile and absolutely couldn’t put it down. I devoured this book in one breathless sitting, and it definitely left me hungry for more. The concept was probably what intrigued me most about Everless, the idea that time is a currency and if you don’t have enough money to pay for something you can bleed your years to pay for it.
This book is unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s a fresh take on the artificial intelligence tale and I absolutely loved it.
The Bibliophile Chronicles 