Review: Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Aurora's End by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Series: The Aurora Cycle #3
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on 2021-11-09
Length: 502 pages
Reviewing Hardcover from My Book Shelf
Rating:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES • The squad you love is out of time. Prepare for the thrilling finale in the epic, best-selling Aurora Cycle series about a band of unlikely heroes who just might be the galaxy's last hope for survival.

Is this the end?

What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases, and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

Wait. . . . Not. So. Fast.

When we last saw Squad 312, they working together seamlessly (aka, freaking out) as an intergalactic battle raged and an ancient superweapon threatened to obliterate Earth. Everything went horribly wrong, naturally.

But as it turns out, not all endings are endings, and the team has one last chance to rewrite theirs. Maybe two. It's complicated.

Cue Zila, Fin, and Scarlett (and MAGELLAN!): making friends, making enemies, and making history? Sure, no problem

Cue Tyler, Kal, and Auri: uniting with two of the galaxy’s most hated villains? Um, okay. That, too.

Actually saving the galaxy, though? Now that will take a miracle.

Please note that there may be spoilers to the previous books in this review.

What an ending!!! Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff is the explosive final book in The Aurora Cycle. Picking up immediately where book two left off, we see the Squad 312 separated by more than just distance. Tyler is in Syldrathi custody, Auri and Kal are in the Eshvaren weapon with the Starslayer, and Fin, Zila, and Scarlett don’t know where or when they are. With the fate of the entire universe on their hands, the Squad must find a way back to one another if they have any hope of winning this war.

First off, let me just say WOW. This book blew me away. Normally, I will devour a good book, but this one I savored, reading it over two weeks because I did NOT want it to end. I just soaked in all the details watching as all the pieces of the puzzle fell together. One of the things I admire about this author duo is their ability to weave a story together, leaving a trail of clues from the very beginning pointing you to the inevitable end without you realizing it. I went back and looked at the other books as each of these pieces fell into place and again was just in awe.

Now that my fangirling is out of the way, let’s get on with this story. As with the previous books, we get points of view from all the Squad members which just adds to the story rather than distract. Fin is still my favorite character POV to read from, and since he graces the cover let’s talk about him. Fin is a calming influence on the entire team, and this time he isn’t with all of them, only Zila and Scar. His infatuation with Scar continues to develop which I’ll admit I was rooting for from the first time he showed interest in her 😉 I personally loved his character’s growth. When we first met him in book one, he’s bitter about his lot in life and uses humor as a deflection. He still uses humor to deflect, but he also has a newfound confidence in his own abilities thanks to his Squad. As a Betraskan and because of his illness preventing him from living a normal life, Fin has been drifting without a real family, but it is here he realizes that his Squad is his family, and he draws on that strength.

There are multiple plot points happening simultaneously throughout this book, and it can get confusing. Time plays a big role in this as the team is separated by not just distance but years. Zila, Fin, and Scar are in the past. Auri and Kal in the future. And Tyler is alone in the present believing that all of his Squad are gone. He believes that he is the only one left and that it falls to him to stop the Ra’haam before it is too late. It is interesting to see the Ra’haam from the perspective of time. In the past, they aren’t even looking for it yet. In the future that Auri and Kal have found themselves in, the Ra’haam won. So everything really does fall to Tyler. Even being separated, the Squad work together to find a way home. I can’t say much more on this without major spoilers (and no one wants that) so I’ll just say this. The plot is fast-paced, action-packed, heart-stopping, and gut-wrenching. You will laugh a little, cry a lot, and maybe even catch yourself holding your breath hoping the characters pull off a miracle.

Overall I loved Aurora’s End. The entire series from beginning to end has focused on a bunch of misfits who never really fit with anyone else. The story is about more than just an adventure across space and time, more than a war for the fate of the entire universe, it’s about family and finding the ones to call your own. And that friends is just beautiful

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