Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle #1) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman -- Restarting August 2nd 2023

[Jenn]

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Date changed. Restarting August 2nd 2023. Happy Reading ☺

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[lj ♡]

pages 1-58

(view spoiler)[this is so much fun so far! i love the premise. the timeskips aren't too confusing which is good, and i'm enjoying the fast pace. i'm looking forward to some found family vibes! my only gripe so far: scarlett seems like kind of an exaggerated character. 37 boyfriends, really?? she's like 17 (i'm guessing)! her sarcasm is fun but perhaps a bit over the top as well. i'm hoping for a more complex exploration of her character as we get farther into the book :) (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

lj ♡ wrote: "pages 1-58

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I've read the Illuminae Files so I'm used to the characters sounding a bit like a caricature/trying too hard to be cool, haha! It's just the style of these authors, I guess. (hide spoiler)]

Up to Chapter 9

(view spoiler)[I'm really curious what's actually going on. So many mysteries: what happened to Aurora's colony and father? Why was she being sent along with the squad? Why was the squad sent on the mission? I can't guess at what's going on behind the scenes. (hide spoiler)]

[lj ♡]

i've been meaning to read the illuminae files as well at some point so that's good to know in advance, hahah.

up to p. 152 (middle of ch. 12)
(view spoiler)[
things are definitely getting interesting! i'm enjoying the relationships developing between the characters. the banter is a lot of fun. i think zila is my favorite so far. i like how abrupt and deadpan she is, but not overly banter-y. she sort of reminds me of wednesday addams if she was really into stats & science. (hide spoiler)]

[lj ♡]

up to ch. 16
(view spoiler)[
whoaaa ok aurora has fancy powers now! i feel really bad for her. i like getting to know more about betraskan society/fin's pov. the whole thing about eshvaren/octavia not existing is really strange. i'm curious how that's going to resolve, if it even will in this book since it's a series. (hide spoiler)]

[lj ♡]

up to ch. 24

(view spoiler)[
CAT cat cat why did you do that?? not smart... also why is the "trigger" so important? i'm so curious! i'm loving the fast pace of the book in general, it helps keep the plot from dragging, which would be very easy to happen given the amount of characters and various subplots. speaking of subplots... the romance dodecagon going on here is... a lot. i don't know quite how i feel about it, other than that i can tell tyler & aurora are going to be a thing and cat is going to be mad about it and i feel really sorry for her because that's rough. and what on earth is going on with kal/auri?? kal's weird mating thing is making him act strange around her... (hide spoiler)]

[lj ♡]

up to ch. 32
(view spoiler)[ omg so much has happened. first of all i did not expect auri to sort of like kal back?? seems a little quick... and what does that mean for tyler/auri and cat/tyler?? the love dodecahedron is getting extra complex lol. also the plan to get into bianchi's office with cat fake-betraying them was so smart. i like how they're all starting to work together and get vulnerable with each other -- they're becoming a real found family! :) octavia is extremely creepy. the flower-face-possessed GIA people are very unsettling. (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

This is on pause for me because I'm trying to finish my previous book, but I'll get back to it in a day or two! I'll catch up ASAP

[lj ♡]

sounds good, no worries!
i finished it!
(view spoiler)[
the ending!! i was getting emotional for cat. the squad just doesn't feel right without her! poor tyler... and the virus/being/thing is pretty darn terrifying. i'm curious how the squad is going to go about taking it down, it doesn't seem to have any weaknesses! well, except for aurora... i wonder how her powers will grow. i definitely need the next book soon! (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

5%
(view spoiler)[ Wow dad of the year. Forgets birthday, but wants to call to announce new girlfriend even though he's not divorced from her mom and mom wasn't allowed to go with dad so yah dad of the year

I just realized this is like a "one with power" or whatever that trope is, where Aurora is like the chose one of whatever. She's 237yrs old. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

28%
(view spoiler)[ Oh she sees visions and now her eyes too!

Ship being there that quick, no faces, very trigger happy? Sus. They knew something was up and was watching from afar.

is there someone controlling her or something was awoken in her while she was sleeping, or something more sinister? (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

53%
(view spoiler)[ OMG HES ZINGING WITH AURORA 😍🥰

i refuse to think it's like the weird af imprinting shit from Twilight, instead it's the super cute zinging from Hotel Transylvania!

also the girl going through all her exes to make more room in the memory for more, mood, also she had 38 exes at one point. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

lj ♡ wrote: "pages 1-58

[spoilers removed]"

i think she probably just dumps them for trivial things, i mean if aliens and space travel were real, i'd be all over those boys XD have some high standards and not waste a second on the not worthy ones *shrug*

[Brooke]

lj ♡ wrote: "up to ch. 24


CAT cat cat why did you do that?? not smart... also why is the "trigger" so important? i'm so curious! i'm loving the fast pace of the book in general, it helps keep the plot from dr..."

aw you don't like the zinging?

[lj ♡]

Brooke wrote: "lj ♡ wrote: "up to ch. 24


CAT cat cat why did you do that?? not smart... also why is the "trigger" so important? i'm so curious! i'm loving the fast pace of the book in general, it helps keep the..."

no zinging >:( lol

[Alexandra]

Up to ch 13

(view spoiler)[Sounds like Aurora is possessed or something? She doesn't know what she's doing half the time but she has these really strong powers. I'm dying to know what's going on. Only the beginning of the book and they're already about to be murdered, lol. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

89%
(view spoiler)[ YOU WERE JUST ATTACKED BY CHIMPS NOT EVEN 5MINS AGO, ONE OF YOUR CREW IS PROBABLY GONNA DIE, YOU SAW THEIR FREAKING BONES FOR GOD'S SAKE. BUT YAH LETS KISS, CLEARLY IT'S A VERY ROMANTIC SETTING/VIBE

WTF dude, this is not the freaking time for this shit. zinging or not! god get your head in the game. (hide spoiler)]

[Brooke]

is there a plan to read book 2 this month as well? i'd love to continue but need to get a library loan.

[Alexandra]

Up to ch 19

(view spoiler)[I'm always iffy about these "mating bonds" stuff but I'm very curious about why that happened with a human which seems like something that never happened before.

Also, is Cat going to betray them out of jealousy? Boo. (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

Brooke wrote: "is there a plan to read book 2 this month as well? i'd love to continue but need to get a library loan."

I'd be up for scheduling a BR for the second one sometime, whenever people can get the book.

[Alexandra]

Up to ch 28

(view spoiler)[I'm glad Cat didn't betray them. I love me a good heist. I'm not sure how I feel about this whole ancient alien possession thing, are the agents possessed by yet another ancient alien race that is bad? (hide spoiler)]

Also, am I the only one who's sad every time they try to shush Magellan? I always want to hear what it has to say because information is good!

[Alexandra]

Guys I can't believe I didn't realize this until a review pointed out but she's been sleeping for hundreds of years and her name is Aurora. LOL

[lj ♡]

i didn't notice that either oml

[Alexandra]

Finished finally

(view spoiler)[I'm not crying you're crying. God, these two always manage to make me emotional. (If you guys haven't read the Illuminae series, highly recommended.) I didn't expect anyone to DIE in the first book. I mean, Cat was the character that stood out the least to me, but her death still made me cry. And when Aurora saw her dad :((((

I'm actually glad none of the romance takes the forefront in this because we've got way more important things going on right now. (hide spoiler)]