Aurora's End Review

Aurora's End starts where Aurora Burning ended with squad 312 separated and all in danger. Now split off into groups the squad are all working to defeat the Ra'haam, and change past, present, and future. Aurora's End is a hell of a ride, with epic fights, plenty of tension, in more ways than one, and a story that will grip readers from the first page. 

My review:

Wow. What a ride. Aurora's End completely blew me away, just like the previous books in this trilogy. Honestly I think the ending of this trilogy is perfect. The story is wrapped up perfectly and although I did not want this trilogy to end, it was a pleasure to see the characters come to the end of their journey. I gave Aurora's End a 5 star rating, just like the previous two books in the trilogy, and I will definitely be rereading this amazing book in the future. I love the writing style of these books, the chapters for each character are all written so well and do not become confusing. The voice of each character is clear making it easy for readers to keep up with the plot and the characters. 

Tabs: 

I used tabs for the very first time whilst reading this book, as someone new to it I actually found it very helpful in absorbing the story. A bonus was how fun it was to look back at the tabs and the parts of the story that really stuck with me. This is how I used my tabs: 

   Purple- Parts that I really liked/ parts that made me happy

   Orange- parts that I didn't like 

   Blue- Important parts of the plot 

   Green- Quotes that stuck with me

   Yellow-  Things that made me laugh 

   Red- pulled at heart strings 

   Pink- Things I wasn't expecting/ things that surprised me. 

***MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW*** 

How many tabs did I use?

Throughout the 493 pages of this book I used 86 tabs. Looking at them it doesn't look like a lot but actually counting them I used far more than I thought and intended to. This was my first time using tabs while reading a book, I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure I got it quite right. However, I am looking forward to doing this again. 

I used 12 purple tabs. There was just so much of this book that I loved! Don't get me wrong, the characters really do continue their journey of heartbreak and hell in this book, but there was still a lot of fun and happy moments that really contributed to making Aurora's End such a good read. 

I was really hoping that I would not be using a lot of orange tabs for Aurora's End and I'm happy to say for the entire book I only used one. My only complaint about the Book was Zila's fate. In terms of plot this 100% made sense and was such a good idea, it really fits into the story well. Also, Zila finding someone she really loves? I was completely rooting for her and I love that this happened. I just desperately wanted the squad to be reunited. The found family trope is one of my favourite tropes and I wish Zila could have found her way back to the squad, but I can see how that would have required the plot to be changed considerably. 

The plot for Aurora's End is just epic, so much happens right from the first chapter, so I'm not too surprised that I used 17 blue tabs. Although there's a lot to follow in this story, with the characters being separated and not just having their own tasks but also being split across different time periods, Aurora's End is so well written it's easy to follow the journey of each of the characters. 

 

I expected there to be many quotes from Aurora's End that would really stick with me and I wasn't wrong. I used 8 green tabs and below are some of my favourites: 

"Tears are for the conquered, Kaliis" 

"There is  no love in violence" 

"He once told me that love was a drop in the ocean of what he felt for her." 

"Love shouldn't ask you to give up everything else; that's not how love works." 

Despite being written by authors that are known for torturing their characters and their readers, Aurora's End made me laugh many, many times. Aurora's End was absolutely heartbreaking at times, but there's plenty of humour and sarcasm to make up for it. Overall I used 18 yellow tabs. 

As I said, Aurora's End had many heartbreaking moments so I used 19 red tabs (I guess they're more of a pink colour?) I use the red tabs to mark any moments in the book that really pulled at my heart strings, made me cry, or made me feel any kind of overwhelming emotion. While Aurora's End didn't destroy me like Empire of the Vampire did, I still found myself tearful at times. 

Lastly I used pink tabs to mark parts of Aurora's End to mark anything that really shocked/ surprised me. There was a great deal of this plot that I completely loved but was not expecting. I also found myself shocked at times by the characters (like Tyler and future Tyler and their use of curse words). In total I used 11 pink tabs. 

Who was my favourite character? 

I can honestly say there is not one character in Aurora's End that I did not like. I love all the members of the squad and I was really excited to see Saedii again, my only wish is that we got to see a lot more of her. In the previous two books Tyler was my favourite character and that has not changed for Aurora's End. As much as I love the squad being together and I was overjoyed with them being reunited at the end of the book, I was too mad about them being separated for a while. I love the friendship between Tyler and Kal and Tyler and Auri so seeing the three of them together, even though it was future, adult Tyler for a part, made this a joy for me. 

How long did it take me to read this book? 

It took me just two days to read Aurora's End. I tried to pace myself but I was very quickly gripped by this story and eager to learn the fate of the squad so I had a very hard time putting it down. I also wanted to mention that I love books with multiple character perspectives and I find this is very well done in the Aurora Cycle. Although I haven't seen any news of the audio book being released in the UK yet, I have listened to the audio books for Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning, and I highly recommenced them for readers that like multiple character povs. I love the use of multiple voice actors, each feels perfectly matched with the characters, and they're just so enjoyable to listen to. 

What was my favourite part of the plot? 

So much happened in this book so it's hard to pick one part of the plot that I liked more than the rest. I found the loop that Zila, Scarlet and Finnian found themselves stuck in very interesting and both exciting and nail biting to read. 

October wrap-up

October has been my most enjoyable month of reading so far this year. I enjoyed 10 books this month, all of which I enjoyed, consisting of 7 YA novels, 2 NA novels, and one adult fantasy. 

I started the month with Stephanie Garber's Once Upon a Broken Heart, and being one of my most anticipated releases of 2021 it did not disappoint. I am a huge fan of the Caraval trilogy and could not wait to get my hands on Once Upon a Broken Heart. Stephanie Garber's writing style is just incredible, the world building in her books fascinates me and this book definitely makes it into my top 5 reads of this year so far. I gave this book a 5 star rating and it is perfect for any YA fantasy fans. Although set in the Caraval world readers do not need to have read the trilogy before picking up Once Upon a Broken Heart, but it might cause some curiosity for the trilogy. 

Moving on from Once Upon a Broken Heart, I dove into another anticipated release of 2021; Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Cursed. I had mixed feelings about the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, but went into Kingdom of the Wicked with an open mind. The only disappointment I had from the first novel was that it was far more YA than NA, when I had wrongly believed it to be NA. Kingdom of the Cursed more than made up for this and absolutely exceeded my expectations. Picking up from where book one left off, Kingdom of the Cursed is an epic story, it makes readers invested in all of the characters and I am desperate to know what happens next. I gave Kingdom of the Cursed a 5 star rating. 

My third read of October was yet another release I had been eagerly awaiting. Margaret Rogerson's Vespertine was an enjoyable read, but quite a complicated story. Rogerson's previous novels, An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns, are favourites of mine and the newest novel Vespertine did not disappoint. I gave Vespertine a 4 star rating. It was very enjoyable but I wish the beginning had been a little longer to give some more information on the world the book is set in. 

The next two reads of October were Kathryn Purdie's Bone Grace duology. While I did enjoy the two books, they weren't as enjoyable as I was hoping. I gave each book a 4 star rating. Unfortunately I found that both books had the same problem; the beginning was too long and too drawn out. I was tempted to DNF Bone Crier's Moon, but I'm glad that I stuck with it because the second half of the book was fantastic and the ending left me excited for the sequel. However, the disappointing start the sequel, Bone Crier's Dawn, made finishing the series a bit of a challenge. 

Empire of the Vampire may just be the read of October that has stuck with me the most. Although it is an intimidating read due to its large size its more than worth it. I was unsure if I would be able to follow the story due to the way that it is told but I was hooked by the second chapter. I forgot I was reading and couldn't put it down. I finished this beast of a book in three days and I'm desperate for more. I have so many questions, and will be eagerly awaiting the sequel to this amazing and devastating story. I haven't read Nevernight yet but it has climbed up my tbr since reading Empire of the Vampire. I haven't read a great deal of adult fantasy, I always stick to YA with a little bit of NA, but Empire of the Vampire has encouraged me to branch out and I hope to find some more adult fantasy books that are as captivating as this one. I gave Empire of the Vampire a 5 star rating and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I put it down. 

Brigid Kemmerer's Defy the Night was a really pleasant surprise. I loved A Curse so Dark and Lonely, but was disappointed by the third book in the trilogy so I wasn't sure what to expect with Defy the Night. I have seen this book on tiktok a lot lately and now having read it I completely understand the hype around it. The story is just so captivating! It's fast paced, has many lovable characters, without being too many that its easy to lose track, and the plot is incredibly interesting. I rated Defy the Night 4 stars. I am excited for the sequel, but I hope I hope does not follow the pattern of A Curse so Dark and Lonely, with the sequel being a disappointment and not up to the standard of the first book. 

Jennifer L. Armentrout's From Blood and Ash series has been a recent discovery for me, one that I enjoyed for more than I expected to, so naturally I was excited to read A Shadow in the Ember. I enjoyed this a lot, but not as much as From Blood and Ash. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews for A Shadow in the Ember, and a lot more criticism than From Blood and Ash received. Personally, I thought A Shadow in the Ember was a fantastic read and I will be reading it again. I understand why this has criticism, particularly the criticism that it has a lot of similarities with From Blood and Ash, but I think that may be necessary to the stories. When reading A Shadow in the Ember, I think it's important not to try too hard to link it to From Blood and Ash, and to read it as its own story. I'm excited for the next books in both series and I'm sure that as readers we will get a clearer picture of the link between the books soon and how the characters histories intertwine. I really liked the characters in A Shadow in the Ember, and I think fans of From Blood and Ash are likely to enjoy it. A Shadow in the Ember is not a perfect book, but it is enjoyable. I rated it 5 stars, mostly because of my love for the series it is prequel to, but perhaps a more accurate rating would be 4 stars. 

After almost six years of waiting I received my copy of The Silver Tracks, the next book in Cornelia Funke's Mirrorworld series, two weeks early. I can't put into words just how excited I was to read this book and how happy I was to finally have it in my hands! I tried to pace myself with this book, I really did, but I had it finished in two days. Like all of Cornelia Funke's novels, I was hooked from the start and sucked into a story that I really did not want to leave. Being the fourth book in the Mirrorworld series, and having waited so long for it, I wasn't expecting it to be one of the best books in the series, but it is. Every book in this series has been incredible and I am excited for the next book, sadly the final book, in the series. I gave The Silver Tracks a 5 star rating. The Mirrorworld series is a great YA fantasy series that many readers will enjoy. 

The final book of the month was my one and only reread this month; Aurora Rising. I made myself a challenge this month to read more books on my tbr than rereads as a majority of my reading for the last few months has been rereads. I was very successful this month with Aurora Rising being my only reread. I love the Aurora Cycle books and I finally have my hands on the final book of the trilogy. The characters in this trilogy are just hilarious and I am very invested in their stories. I will be starting November with a reread of Aurora Burning before moving onto Aurora's end. I rated Aurora Rising 5 stars.  

Of the 10 books I read this month the one that I would recommend the most is Once Upon a Broken Heart. The book is a really fun and interesting read and I think that its great for fans of both YA fantasy and YA romance. 

Welcome!

 Hello! 

My name is Lindsey, I am 24 years old and I live in the UK. I love to read, especially YA books. I have created this blog to post book reviews and to connect with other readers.