Aurora's Angel

by Emily Noon

sad song

Didn't we just learn that these songs are celebratory?

That seemed unlikely but if she went through all this trouble to rescue the girl, only to find her in the throes of make-up sex Aurora would be tempted to bite her.

pardon?

It meant the captive had to endure helplessly, aware of everything that was happening but unable to move or even scream. It was the most horrific torture to inflict on another living being for the sake of profit.

Unnecessary clarification, we were literally just told they are paralyzed but awake

From one emanated the scent of dirty fur and pungent male wolf in human form

???

“Your smell and size…you must be Aurora? Clan Blood Moon has heard stories of a female by that name.”

you must be.... The Protagonist

Aurora saw hope warring with fear and something else that flitted past so quickly she couldn’t catch it.

How did she see it if she didnt catch it?

deep blue depths

“I’ve flown before so I understand what I have to do. You just need to let me know when you want to land because I don’t want to break my legs if you decide to make a quick landing.” “It’s great that you’ve been flown before. I worried you might panic because most people do the first time up.” “Unless you drop me you don’t have to worry about me panicking but there is something you need to know.” “What?” “There’s a storm brewing out there and we might get lightning.” Evie grimaced. “Lightning is the last thing we need.” “Yeah, we both have our jobs cut out for us tonight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” “No kidding. Let’s do this. I’ll be right behind you.”

This is such awkward dialogue

“When I tell my flock what happened to me and about this place they’ll seek retribution so I need to have my facts straight. I can’t have any doubts. All I saw in passing was a chained man with missing fingers and a scarred chest. I think I know what that means but I need to see for myself.”

Arent cutters notorious though? Like wouldn't her flock already know what a cutter is without her needing to "see it for herself"?

Aurora shoved the freezer over the side.

This is such a wild way to kill someone when you're on the run and also trying to sneak of out a heavily guarded area

exotic slant

Uhm

It was probably one tree she decided after studying it more. Just an old one of a variety unknown to her which was hardly surprising as she didn’t spend time in forests unless she absolutely had to. It wasn’t that the tree was a tall giant. Instead of pushing upwards it had expanded sideways investing in its roots which was probably wise considering the fierce weather and heavy rains that hammered this area at the base of the mountains. During their trek into the forest she’d seen many trees lean precariously against their neighbors and numerous ones on the ground in various stages of being overgrown or cannibalized by colorful mushrooms. Squinting at the tree to keep random raindrops out of her eyes Evie got the peculiar impression she was looking at a stout matriarch weighed down by several layers of heavy skirts that ballooned out from her hips, obscuring her feet. This thought made Evie blink several times. She had to be very tired to see an old woman in a tree; her mind had a way of offering her odd perspectives when she was overtired or stressed.

The writing is so awkward

she appeared almost slender despite her height and powerful build.

Second time she tells us the protag is strong but SKINNY

It beats Wolfie. That’s what I’ve been calling you in my head.”

But we never saw this in her POV???? also if someone gave me that nickname i would actually go feral

When they crawled through the entrance of the cave Aurora had turned to face her and said, “Be welcome as my guest. My sanctuary is your sanctuary. My food, your food.” At the time she’d nodded even though she found such formality odd considering their ragged appearance and the setting, essentially a hole in the rock, but thought no more of it.

Why didnt we see this when it happened??

jersey,

deadass im so confused as to the vibes of this world BECAUSE WE'VE GOTTEN NO SOLID WORLDBUILDING

Feeling dubious about the panty she’d worn for several days she gave it a quick sniff and felt a mixture of relief and embarrassment that Aurora had washed it as well.

Hhhhhhhhhnghhh

My tongue is doing a happy dance.

hate that thanks

“I saw a brief glimpse of them in the forest.

Wish you'd taken us along

There was however something she was having difficulty with. Evie had a habit of casually wandering into her personal space and touching her. It was just a brief touch, usually on the arm, but she did it with alarming frequency.

Telling instead of showing again??? like this is the first i'm hearing of this

Your father sounds like a good man and smart. I think I would like him.” “Yes, he’s a good man and a great father.”

"your father was a good man" "yes he was a good man" "i know bitch THATS WHAT I JUST SAID"

I was young when she died so I don’t remember that part of her and it’s strangely comforting to think a part of her remains within me even though I know he doesn’t mean it as a compliment.”

Repetition

We were inseparable.” “Where is he now?” “He’s dead.” “Oh. I’m sorry. When did he die?” “When I was a child.” “How did he die?”

Girl read the room

“Aurora, I’m so sorry I brought that up. You don’t have to tell me any more if you don’t want to. I didn’t mean to upset you. You were there?”

GIRL "sorry didn't mean to pry" immediately asks another question

Evie hissed in a sharp breath. “How old were you when this happened?” “I had just turned eleven.” “Aurora…I’m so sorry. I wish that had never happened to you.” Aurora gave a bitter smile and said, “Yeah. You and me both.” After a moment’s silence Evie asked, “Do you know what became of the people who killed your father?”

"you dont need to tell me any more!" proceeds to ask thirty more questions

“They were cutters – they cut him up and sold his body. They would have harvested every part of him from tail to nose if they hadn’t been interrupted. They had already skinned him and removed the most valuable parts before they were made to stop. I found his organs in a large jar with one of the first men I killed. I was lucky with that. The rest that was taken I found piece by piece. I made a vow that I would keep hunting until I found all of him.

Could have included trauma flashbacks in the first scene with the cutter to give the first scenes more depth and to make this reveal much more meaningful

Or why your ancestors chose the title of ‘House Aquilar’ which means, if my translation is correct, the house of eagles. An eagle is a predatory bird that swoops down from above and takes its prey by stealth and brute force.

thank you for explaining what an eagle is i was actually so confused babes

“Yes?” She turned slightly expecting Evie to be pointing at something of interest wanting to know more about it as she had several times since their last stop but she was standing still her head tilted like she was listening.

Are we allergic to commas orrrrrr

her freshly washed and mostly dry panties,

ENOUGH WITH THE PANTIES

I’m in my tiger form, I don’t have fur on my private areas or anywhere else on my body. The hair on my head grows quickly but I don’t have excessive body hair. Actually, I’m smooth all over, in case you were wondering.”

Strong but SKINNY, weretiger but bikini waxed

He said at least a dozen sheep were taken by predators every season but since we’d lost none yet the owner would not become suspicious if we let the men have a few.” “That doesn’t sound right,” Evie murmured. Aurora shook her head. “I didn’t think so either. I gave my word to protect the flock and I had kept them safe. I was proud of that.”

What is this anti-socialist propaganda

The tall woman was very muscular but instead of being bulky like a man she was all long sleek muscles and feminine curves.

Don't piss me off

She was the sort of woman that, had Evie seen her enter a nightclub, she immediately would have stood up to go talk to her before every single man and not-so-straight woman honed in on her.

Bad writing

cute pink panties,

I SWEAR if you don't quit it with the PANTIES

There’s no way you could fit that much food in that flat tummy of yours.”

Dont PISS ME OFFFFFFFF

Evie grappled with the thought of a traumatized eleven-year-old girl returning to the horrendous scene she’d just escaped, to kill the hunting party of grown men who’d murdered her father, a mature tiger-shifter.

Like actually how though

Taking her cue from Aurora, Evie waited and watched her watching the disappearing woman and scanning the surrounding area.

im actually so confused

“Your tiger form is that powerful?”

Telling not showing

Having him near should deter any of the wolves from nipping at Evie literally or figuratively as he was a respected high-ranking clan member. He wasn’t one to look for trouble but he was no submissive. Once provoked he was a vicious fighter who went for the throat, definitely not someone to challenge lightly.

This whole section sounds like the stream of consciousness ramblings of someone with ADHD

five-star hotel

there are hotels??? there's a star system for hotels???? I thought we were in fantasy land

She noticed a large tent being erected in the central clearing to their right and the bustle of activity around it. Pointing toward it she asked, “Is someone getting married in the big tent again?”

this is so funny to me LMAOOOOO

“Oh, come on, Aurora…you don’t know why we want you? You need me to spell it out? You are a descendant of the Old Bloods. They are the only ones who can shift parts of the body at will, the rest of us have to be either in human skin or animal fur. I know you can do the mixed human-beast warrior form too, just like the Old Bloods could. That is very rare now. Then there is your reputation... Everyone knows when you unleash your beast there will be carnage on a grand scale. Whenever Oswald gets drunk he still goes on about how you tore through those reinforced walls and fucked up that den of cutters that grabbed Eddie. The way he tells it when you were done the walls that were still standing ran red with the blood of your prey.”

"you are strong and super cool protagonist and also sooooo pretty and skinny and hot and you're so good at everything and we all love you"

“I broke a table on his thick skull. His people took exception to that and tried to keep me from leaving so I broke a few of them as well and collapsed their meeting hall. That was too much I know but by that time I was furious.”

another action scene that we just get told about after the fact, also i don't really understand who is break what on who

“It was easy. They built it like a house of cards but with logs. All I had to do was rip out the weight bearing poles and gravity did the rest.”

this world has no concept of structural integrity someone get these people some structural engineering degrees

“If you were anyone else, I’d not believe that story but I know what you’re capable of when you get angry and your beast is freaking huge. I almost pissed my pants the first time I saw you like that.”

"you're sooooooo big and strong and that is your only personality trait but also you are so skinny and hot and your waist is so tiny but your muscles are so big and scary"

An hour later Aurora came out of the cabin and sat next to Nesa on the porch steps.

We don't even get to see this conversation???? That we've been building up to for the first fourth of the book????

“Yeah, I noticed you neglected to mention Yutu had tried to shift to wolf and his lower half got stuck in limbo.

Why is all of this happening off screen? like how did we not get to see this?????????????

“So, did my grandfather manage to find what you were looking for?”

Wish we got to see that!

trucks

there are trucks??!?!?!?!

She concluded it was probably because unlike the previous day there was a constant cool breeze and a decent cloud cover. The other difference Evie noticed was that unlike the previous days and even that morning Aurora set a slower pace so it no longer felt like they were on an endurance march.

we always get these retroactive descriptions