The second book in the series follows Squad 312 as they try to save the galaxy from an ancient evil. They face many challenges, including a clan of gremps, illegit GIA agents, and Kal's long-lost sister with a Syldrathi army. The discovery of the Hadfield, a colony ship that vanished with Auri as its sole survivor, might be their salvation. However, time is running out, and Auri needs to master her powers as a Trigger. The fate of the Aurora Legion's heroes and the galaxy itself hangs in the balance.

This book had me at the edge of my seat. A wonderful follow up to the amazing first book that had me ready to dive right into the final book.

I've come back to this book multiple times after its release and I just can't get into it. This sucks because the first book in this series was an easy five-star read for me when it came out. I'm just going to have to DNF this one because it's not working for me.

I definitely prefer Aurora Rising to Aurora Burning, a lot of the things I enjoyed from the first book were missing for me, I really liked the beginning of Auri's and Kal's relationship in the first book but in this it was so in your face and a little annoying.

I still really liked the found family dynamic and love the diversity of the cast of characters

I don't think I'll carry on with the series, not because it's out right-back but just because it's not for me!

I genuinely enjoyed the first book in the series. The characters were fun, the world was intriguing, and the story line really pulled me in; however, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted.

Loved the sequel to Aurora Rising, Jay Kristoff has always written impressive books but its extremely unfortunate that I won't be reading or supporting this author any more than I already have due to the drama surrounding him.

I was so excited to read this book! I was such a huge fan of Aurora Burning. Cal is everything. Amie and Jay always give us great work! I love their duo work, it's absolutely the best. I am not always attracted to scifi but for some reason when it comes to Jay and Amie I am all in! The characters seriously kept this story going, I am so attached to them. Although the plot was a bit slow to start off the plot twist and the evolution made it worthwhile. The pacing of the second half of the book was more up my alley, I was filled with so much emotion when I finished this book! I must have more!

This review is going to be really hard to write without yelling a lot or giving away anything. This book picks up very shortly after the first book. Squad 312 is trying to disguise themselves with a new ship after becoming wanted by the galaxy. Unfortunately, they are spotted almost right away and then the craziness begins. There is so much that was uncovered during this book. The secrets about Auri's power, the mysterious background of Kal, and why Zila seems emotionless. With the loss of Cat, the crew is trying hard to hold together and move forward. There is so much that went into this story, but at the same time it didn't seem like a lot happened. In the previous book, they had more travels but this one takes place only in a couple of spots. Things don't really get completely crazy until the end. Yes, that stupid freaking ending that literally had me wanting to throw the book in the trash. It is such a cliffhanger and I just need to know what happens next, NOW. During the book I had a lot of screaming going on and it just shows again how well Amie and Jay work together to deliver such an addicting book.

I have some of the same feelings about the characters. Honestly, I love this Squad so much. All of their personalities really bring this team together. They are all so different which makes them perfect. I found Scarlett a little more annoying this time though than I did the first book? I don't know why but I just didn't enjoy her chapters as much. I'm so happy we got more of Zila. Her background story definitely explains a lot but I like how she opens up more personally, she gets more chapters. Her line, I do not feel nothing, is just perfect. I just love Fin so much. He wasn't as outrageous in this book as you can tell he's definitely developing more feelings for Scarlett and I liked that. While he still has his one liners and brings a lighter air to the Squad - he definitely calmed down a lot. Tyler was so, so for me. I enjoyed him more this book, especially during the second half. While he still was a little arrogant, he focused more on his protectiveness of this family that has been created. His leadership showed more throughout this novel. Auri definitely developed more in this book. With her new power and learning the meaning behind it, she really had to come into her own. She embraced more about her destiny and what it might mean she has to give up. AND THEN THERE IS KAL. AND I LOVE KAL SO MUCH. HE'S JUST A BIG SOFTY AND HE DOESN'T NEED MY PROTECTION BUT I WILL FIGHT FOR HIM. Oh my goodness, he is seriously my favorite character for so many reasons. Even as his background was more introduced, I just loved him more.

Final Thoughts

Overall, Aurora Burning was a fantastic sequel to the first book. While it didn't have as much adventure as the first book, there is definitely enough there to keep readers on the edge of their seat. New revelations helped propel this book - almost into my trash. I absolutely love the direction the story is going but it is a hard one to follow as I just want Squad 312 to be happy and safe. The squad is definitely developing, and I swear if Kal doesn't get a happy ending.... I will riot. I highly recommend this book, and the first one, if you like sci-fi full of adventure and heartache - with a lot of sass

I am officially obsessed with this series and these authors. This book... I don't even fully know what to say because I loved everything about it. Just like the first one, this book kept me on my toes. I read through both books in a matter of days because I couldn't stop. It's such an intricate story, and I absolutely adore the characters. The ending destroyed me a bit. Forewarning, there's a huge cliffhanger. I'm now dying for the next one. It's one of my most anticipated books of 2021. This has easily become a new favorite series, and I now have to go read all of the authors' other books!

This was such a great sequel! So much happened to keep me on edge, which is expected from Kauffman and Kristoff, but that ending destroyed me! I was definitely expecting more and then it ended, i need the third one! I’m so upset about how everyone treated Kal near the end, he definitely deserved better considering all he’s done for them, they’re supposed to be friends. Regardless of that, it was phenomenal!

Where do I begin...well I love found family and squad books so Aurora Burning and Rising always manage to succeed on that level. I appreciate that they all have their roles and I listen to this on audio and they each had their own narrators! But it's also a book about misfits coming together and taking on this huge force, that people don't even see around them. Can they do it? The stakes seem higher than before. But what I loved in RISING which I didn't get as much of in BURNING was this feeling of unpredictability. There were some twists and turns I wish I didn't see coming, but did. And that's not to say that this is singlehandedly bad, but it just means that in a mostly action packed, and focused, plot it mean that some of that tension and pacing fell flat for me. It also doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the plot, I did. I'm a sucker for some great SF battles and aliens and so BURNING definitely checks those boxes.

I loved dearly some very small twists and turns, I loved seeing Zila more, teared up a bit over Cat, and always love Fin. But in general while it made for easy and enjoyable reading, I never felt like I needed to read because OMG like I did in the first? It felt very much like a solid sequel but it also felt like it was setting up action for the third in a way that the first didn't feel like it was setting up the second. If that makes any sense....Will I read the sequel? Yes because what was that ending?! But I hope they bring back all that emotional urgency I was lacking.

Yikes, I did NOT know how badly this book was going to break me all the way through the end. I mean, they DID warn us and pretty much every early reviewer was just screaming but I was not prepared for how bad Aurora Burning was going to wreck me.

Somewhere along the line, Fin became my favorite character and this book gave us all the goods. The range of emotions the characters go through kept me fully enraptured in the story.

When I say I love middle books, this is the exact example of why. We have a base knowledge of the characters and get to see them being their best (and sometimes worse) selves. We know the world and get to see different parts of it, socially, culturally, and physically. We know the stakes and then Jay and Amie mess us up worse. Oh, yeah, that’s just how second Jay and Amie books work. Everything about this book is bigger, brighter, and hurtier. Ouch.

I need book 3 right now.

Yeah, Ima need book three NOW. Even better than the first one! So many twists and turns and crazy surprises. A definite roller coaster. I have so many feeling right now. And a few hopes and dreams for the next one. Like seriously, why am I even surprised that Jay and Amie would do this to us‽‽

Ahhhhh!!!!

How dare Kristoff and Kaufman do this to us, yet again!
Each book continues to get better. I could not put this read down. I feel so hurt for the way Kal was treated by his friends & the distancing of characters, but all in all I would recommend this book to anyone.

4 solid stars for Aurora Burning.

The dynamic duo, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff have done it again. They have KILLED me with another book. I mean is it possible to start a petition for book 3? (btw dying to see who will be on the cover, might I suggest Kal again?)

Squad 312 is on the run and the adventures/chaos never stops. Picking up right where we left off, the squad is still just as snarky as before. Which is hands down the best part of Kaufman and Kristoff's books, they do sassy so well! They create some amazing characters especially Kal… Finn shined in this book along with a new character, Zila. Her story was an interesting one (no spoilers don't worry) but I loved it!

And while I loved this book, I also hated the ending. I am not a fan of cliffhangers when I don’t have access to the next book. But I hate brutal cliffhangers, this one felt unnecessary. The whole ending just felt rushed and jam-packed full of action. It felt odd and out of place with the rest of the book. So I am interested in seeing how the rest of this plays out.

If you love space, misfits, CHAOS, love, and cliffhangers then this is the book for you.

Seriously though, book 3, please.

"Son of a biscuit." My heart. The perfect amount of pulled heart strings + the perfect amount of snark + the perfect continuation of the story while moving it along and without being too much "2nd book filler" stuff = Aurora Burning.

I didn’t know my Star Trek loving heart was waiting for The Aurora Cycle books until I read the first one. It’s been four long years since we were treated to Chris Pine as Captain Kirk and I was craving the camaraderie of the Enterprise crew, epic-space romances that only this 50-plus-year-old fandom could produce and the spectacular mayhem that only Jim Kirk’s genius could provoke.

Enter The Aurora Cycle Books by powerhouse team Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

Together, they soothed the ache I felt for new Star Trek movies (I’ll binge Discovery one day, but I can’t get into another TV show at the moment). Their explosive sequel, Aurora Burning, gave me the most Trek vibes, as Squad 312 dodges galactic law-enforcement, bounty hunters and a particularly headstrong Syldrathi warrior. When we last saw them, they were shocked from the loss of one of their own and burdened with the knowledge that a a vicious ancient parasite capable of destroying the galaxy was already spreading throughout the ‘verse. And they may be the only ones willing and able to stop it—thanks to Aurora’s new status as the trigger of a weapon powerful enough to take out the threat.

The book follows a high-octane plot across the galaxy and every chapter became harder to put down. My heart happy sighed as I balanced the new normal—social distancing life—with this welcome reading escape. It was the perfect distraction to quarantine woes.

I was delighted to find that the Syldrathi’s are obviously Vulcan analogs—all the way down to the “pull” they experience for their “Be’shmai” (t’hy’la much?). The Squad distinctions match the Starfleet tracks, though I like the names of Squad 312’s roles better. Who wouldn’t want to be a Face instead of a Communications Officer? But you don’t need to be a Trek fan to enjoy this romp. The unique voices of the six crew members (plus Aurora) provide a foundation for the crew’s bond that really shines through the book. It’s easy to find yourself deep in the Squad 312 fan club, enough that you wish you could join the Aurora Legion and suit up with them yourself. I could read an entire book of the easy banter that the Squad shares. There’s a particularly lovely scene, the calm before the fold-storm, so to speak, where the Squad plays a dice game after waking up from nightmares. This slice of life among the action early on in the book was a balance for the intensity that only Amie and Jay could deliver.

I also find it hard in books with ensembles to really get behind a specific character. Usually I find myself rushing through certain chapters because the characters and their specific actions seem extraneous and unnecessary. However, Amie and Jay create a group of characters that are no longer together but each feel purposeful in their role in the overall story. I found myself deeply wishing I could get more glimpses of them from their time in the Aurora Academy or flashbacks and anecdotes because this cast of characters is fascinating and well-written. It speaks to Amie and Jay’s strengths as writers and collaborators that each member of the Squad feels like they belong. It’s even hard to pick out your favorite, though for me, that changed a few times. Although, can I cheat and say I love them all equally? Especially because despite being space disasters and the misfits of their Academy (with the exception of Tyler, the golden boy and Aurora who didn’t actually go there), they’re all ridiculously competent at their jobs. I love the bits where Scar charms someone, Zila is brilliant, and Tyler shows off his strategic know-how. Bonus points for Finian’s much-needed comic relief throughout the books. And I loved Saedii for being fierce and terrifying, another formidable character in the series.

I’ll also say that I went into this book expecting one thing and being happily surprised by a nice plot development early on. (No spoilers but it involves what was in the vault.) I would have accepted a book about the crew coming into their own as galactic fugitives just fine, but by adding deep conspiracies and mystery onto that space sundae, I happily devoured it and the cherry on top. Amie and Jay are good at layering these unexpected moments so that their readers can still be happily stunned by new developments.

I don’t want to spoil anything because that would be rude. (Readers of this review, who also enjoyed the book, should find me on Twitter so we can discuss.) I could only urge you to read the series (or listen, as the audiobooks are fabulously narrated by a full cast and are wonderful). It’s a wild (starship) ride and one that is worth every moment spent listening or reading. Especially now when we could all use a bit of an escape. I promise that it’s worth it.

4.5 stars rounded up

I really enjoyed Aurora Rising, but loved this book! I was absolutely unable to put this book down and that cliff hanger has me struggling to comprehend just how long I have to wait for the conclusion.

What I loved about this book:

1. Mothercustard the characters in this book are probably one the best assembled cast of characters I've recently read. They are all so different, but they mesh together so well. I'm a huge fan of character growth and conflict and you get both in spades in this book.

2. I definitely ship Aurora and Kal hard, so I need to see a HEA! Their relationship was pure chemistry and the effect of the pull had me swooning.

3. There are some major bombs dropped in this book. There a few really great twists in this book that I definitely didn't see coming (and a few that I did) and that ending will have me shook for days.

There is one part in this book that was a major turn off and in my opinion, beneath Squad 312. I was so infuriated when I read it that I actually had to put the book down for a moment, but I eventually moved past it to devour the remainder of the book.

Overall I loved this book and highly recommend you start reading this series in time for what's sure to be a mind blowing conclusion to The Aurora Cycle series.

All the stars in the galaxy! This book! I don’t know why Amie and Jay like to see their readers in so much pain and misery, but they sure do enjoy ripping our hearts out. 😅 We returned to (most of) our favorite squad and were immersed in the action packed scenes we have come to know and love from this author duo. We were given so much more backstory for the characters this round and it really helped flesh out the development of each individual character as well as their relationships with the others. We met a new face in this chapter and, let me tell you, she is a Bitch (with a capital B). I still can’t believe Amie and Jay would do us like that at the end, but now I need book 3 in my hands immediately. 😫

BOOK REPORT for Aurora Burning (The Aurora Cycle #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Cover Story: Pretty Big Face
BFF Charm: Make it Rain
Swoonworthy Scale: 8
Talky Talk: Kaufman and Kristoff
Bonus Factors: Siblings, Twists
Anti-Bonus Factor: Cliffhanger
Relationship Status: I'm Yours

Content Warning: There are scenes of physical violence and memories of childhood trauma in Aurora Burning that aren't overly graphic, but are certainly descriptive.

Red alert! Aurora Burning is the second book in the Aurora Cycle. If you haven’t read the first book (Aurora Rising), man your battle stations turn away now, as there might be spoilers in this review. If you’re caught up, however, feel free to continue below.

Cover Story: Pretty Big Face
I'm glad Kal got his own cover because I 100% do not mind having to look at his face. (And, as usual, I stan a Bowater cover.)

The Deal:
The members of Aurora Legion's Squad 312 are having a rough go of things. They're on the run after discovering a galaxy-spanning conspiracy/ancient alien species heavens-bent on assimilating all of the people of the galaxy into their hive mind; they lost one of their own to the Ra'haam (the aforementioned hive mind); they're wanted fugitives being framed for an attack on their own people; Aurora's struggling to figure out her powers and is kind of a ticking time bomb; and the Unbroken are looking for them, too.

Saving the galaxy never looked so good impossible.

BFF Charm: Make it Rain
I have varying levels of Feelings toward the members of Squad 312, but the overarching one is how much I wish I was a member, too. They're all way smarter, stronger, more attractive, and more confident than I am—not to mention total badasses, every one—but they're still misfits with their own issues and struggles. They make me want to be a better person, one worthy of being part of the team that will absolutely save the galaxy. (That's not a spoiler; we still have one more book in the series. It's just a very strong opinion that's going to turn out correct, gosh darn it..)

Swoonworthy Scale: 8
Bless you, Kaufman and Kristoff, for giving me the swoon I so badly needed.

Talky Talk: Kaufman and Kristoff
After finishing this book, I texted a friend "I hate Amie and Jay as much as I love them. It’s a very confusing relationship." On the one hand, this book is everything I've come to expect from the two authors: funny, inventive, adventurous, emotional, anxiety-inducing, and a little sexy. On the other, *waves hand at the list.* There's very little downtime in Aurora Burning in which to catch one's breath, and the action continues to ramp up until literally the last line. (See Anti-Bonus Factor: Cliffhanger, below.)

Bonus Factor: Siblings
There are some really interesting sibling dynamics at play in Aurora Burning, and not just between Tyler and Scarlett. But that's all I'll say about that.

Bonus Factor: Twists
Aurora Burning features some killer twists, one of which I saw coming—and led to a bit of disappointment on my part in the way certain characters responded to the reveal, but because spoilers I can't get into it here; happy to take it to the comments if anyone wants to chat—and one that seemed totally out of left field, but made sense after I thought about it for a bit. Kaufman and Kristoff are so good at sucker punches!

Anti-Bonus Factor: Cliffhanger
I was warned, but I was so, so, so not ready.

Relationship Status: I'm Yours
I wasn't totally sure how I was going to feel about you, Book, and I'm a little mad at where we left things. But I would be kidding myself if I tried to act like I wasn't 100% in on this thing we've got going. I can't wait until we can get together again.

Literary Matchmaking:
● If you haven't read this duo's Illuminae Files yet, I hope you realize I'm going to recommend it to you at every opportunity until you do … and then after, forever and ever and ever.
● Brandon Sanderson's Skyward series has similar galactic crisis and mysterious alien entity appeal.
● And Claudia Gray's Constellation series also features a lot of space adventure and found family themes.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Knopf Books for Young Readers, but got neither a private dance party with Tom Hiddleston nor money in exchange for this review. Aurora Burning is available now.

Okay, I don't even know where to start with this one. This book took me almost a month to get through (even though I was aiming for the pub day due to it being an ARC *yikes*) because I was just savoring it! I didn't want to get to the end of the book because I knew how long I would have to wait until the next one came out.

I think the favorite thing about this second book in the series is how much each character grew as a person. In the first book, they were all still a little immature in their own ways. By the end of book 2, they were all so much stronger due to the experiences they had to go through.

I enjoyed the look we got into Kaliis and Saedii's life and learned more about their species (? is that the right word?) If there were some spin-offs to this series, I would definitely not complain!

Many things were revealed in book 2, some I saw coming but some I never expected.

I never knew I could be attracted to an illustration but phew, the cover of this phone is beautiful. I can only image what Kaliis would look in real life.

** I received an ARC from Knopf Books For Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. **