3.5 stars
Oh, how the mighty fall. As much as I loved Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning, they ultimately made this book feel disappointing.
I found the pace at which some of the relationships developed to be somewhat rushed and clunky unfortunately. Scarlett and Fin’s relationship has been progressing almost slowburn-like up until this instalment, but as soon as this book starts they get together, and it felt a bit jarring. Then there’s Tyler and Saedii, and I was so excited for their relationship to develop as they grudgingly worked together, but that never happened. They get together very quickly and not quite out of nowhere, but close to it. The book provides a handy explanation for this though, which is nice I guess. Aurora and Kal have basically no romance since they got together so quickly in the first place, which is fine, I barely care about either of them. Though even aside from that, the romance in Aurora’s End felt like it was forced in at random intervals instead of woven in naturally.
💜Aurora spent the entirety of the book standing there gawping, saying sorry and clenching like she was constipated as she does ✨magic things✨. Unfortunately the only thing she can really offer as a character is being the trigger, which forces her into a position of only being needed for one thing.
💙Kal was basically useless as both a character and a fighter for almost the whole book. He didn’t even need a POV at all to be honest. All his chapters could have just been Aurora’s and it would have changed nothing. In fact, all of his chapters should have been Saedii’s. At least then they wouldn’t have been useless.
💛Tyler was the only one pulling his weight in this book and actually doing what needed to be done. He was also the only one with a firm gasp on the realities of the situation and the actions that were needed. He absolutely needed more page time with Saedii and the other squad members.
🖤I don’t know where the hell Saedii was, because she was barely in this despite being on the blurb like the rest of squad 312, and her presence was desperately needed. She absolutely should have had a POV and her own chapters. It would have not only fleshed Saedii out as a character more, but Kal and Tyler as well.
❤️Scarlett… was there. I normally love her, but she wasn’t really doing anything in this book. She was also less funny and charismatic than she normally is, which is unfortunate. As a character she was treated more like a maternal figure than anything.
💚Fin was also just there, and he was also less funny and interesting than he normally is. I love him as a character, and I wish I had more to say about him and half of the cast, but so many had their roles minimized in this book. Yes, they had the same amount of chapters, but a lot less development was going on.
🤍Zila was then officially and canonically treated like the odd one out we all feared she was. Which just felt unfair to her character. Like she was always meant to be the sacrificial lamb, and because of who she is she would be okay with it. She got a happy ending of sorts, but it still didn’t feel quite right.
🧡Cat’s situation is complicated, but as a whole I guess her character ended up where she needed to be? I don’t know, I’m kind of unsure what to think. She probably should have had one POV chapter to tie things up, and even help us (the readers) understand the enemy better.
🤎Nari Kim was a fine addition to the cast. I never disliked her, but she didn’t feel especially interesting, likeable, or really anything in particular. She was kind of just… there. Maybe she should have had a POV as well, but that also would have just stretched out an already too long portion of the story. So, I don’t know.
This book was also a lot less humorous and charming than the previous two. In addition, the story structure was also different, and not in a good way. I didn’t feel like the squad bonded at all in this instalment. The first two books in the series felt kind of like Guardians of the Galaxy in the sense that it was a fun, comedic, high stakes action packed sci-fi adventure, about a found family that wins against all odds and bond in interesting ways. However, this book didn’t feel like that. It was missing some of its soul.
The pacing was also off. This instalment felt too long in the wrong parts, and too short in the right sections. I don’t feel like Saedii and Kal mended fences at any point, and neither had character arcs unfortunately. The ending felt kind of rushed and a little forced, but it is what it is. I’d say overall I’m happy with how it ended, I just wish it did it with more patience and attention to detail.