Review: Aurora's End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Well, I cried ten times, and I screamed out loud at least four times. So it is safe to say that I liked this book.
This is the third and final installment in the Aurora Cycle, book one being Aurora Rising. The series follows a group of seemingly disparate people unwillingly paired together who are then unwittingly sent on a mission essentially to save the galaxy. Book three is now at a critical juncture.
I am going to start out with the negative; it will not be very long. I don't love mind magic stuff generally, and this series has a fair bit of mind magic; I also thought a few points near the end were a touch saccharine. Both of these things are very much personal taste issues, and honestly, they were not big issues for me at all, just thought I would make a little note. This isn't negative, but if you read Amie Kaufman's first series, then a lot of the evil alien stuff will give you whispers vibes.
Now on to what I loved.
I could have read 700 pages of just the time loop plotline; I loved that part of the book so so so much.
My most significant note is that I liked Scarlett in the past, but she was not my favorite. In this book, I almost constantly ached to be in her point of view. It was literally almost immediately upon her first POV chapter that I was sure I was going to continuously crave being in her head. I also cannot overstate how much I have loved watching what Zila does over the course of this series. I certainly thought that Zila was underutilized in book one and was so happy that she got so much more page time and story in book two. And wow, does she get her time in book three. She is an amazing example of a slow start leading to the best part. I continue to love Fin probably the most. I really think Tyler is an excellent example of making a lawful good character interesting and dynamic. Kal continues to be a wonderful example of processing trauma while also being a giant sexy wife-guy. Auri's story makes excellent use of her center point of the series status, and she continues to be cute and determined.
Probably my favorite thing about the end of this series was the way it leaned into restorative justice over vengeance. I think it fits really well with the themes of the series and was still able to provide a satisfying and conclusive ending. I also really liked that they were able to have the same conflict with Auri and Kal with the ending they chose as they would have had for a more traditional ending.
This series was really excellently plotted. It is very apparent that this was planned by two people who have a lot of experience. Reading reveal after reveal, it is just so apparent that so much of this series was so intentional and thoughtfully laid out. I really loved reading it.
This book really was just a delight to read. I was absolutely pulled in; I dropped two other books I was reading and just focused on this. There were moments I was screaming answers at characters, and times I gasped out loud. Kaufman and Kristoff really nailed my preferred balance between 'I KNEW it' and 'whattttt.' I mostly felt like a smartie, but not so often that I ever for bored. There are always so many mysteries going on that something is coming that you did not guess, or what happens is what you thought, but it isn't happening how you thought it would.
I just had a grand time and now have every intention of rereading the series so I can really delve into all the clues hidden in the first two books. And just so I can hang out with these people a little longer.
