Review: Aurora Burning

Aurora Burning 
Rating: 4/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review! 

First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well. 

Aurora Rising was a nice little surprise for me, I'd been sent an ARC by the publisher and even though Sci-Fi isn't my usual thing I fancied picking it up and giving it a shot. I ended up really enjoying myself reading it and highly anticipating the sequel, Aurora Burning. In fact I was kind of procrastinating from reading Aurora Burning because I was so excited for it and knew I'd binge through it in no time! 

Aurora Burning follows much the same kind of formula as the first book. There's a nice action packed opening before the whole Kuzco 'yeah that's me' kind of thing like I mentioned in my review of Aurora Rising. I do love how it's addressed and acknowledged in the narrative so I'll give it a pass for being kind of, exactly the same. There's also the multiple POV's, the slices of information on the world although from what I could tell a lot of them were the same as from the previous book but don't quote me on that because I'm not 100% sure as I didn't have time for a re-read! I just got that eery sense that I'd already read them. The humour and snark of the previous book is also present in abundance throughout Aurora Burning, as is the action scenes, fast pace and slight ridiculousness that sometimes pops up. 

However, this time around I feel like we get a lot more emotion than there was in the previous book, to go with the new characters that we're introduced to and we finally get some more background and insight into the characters. Zila in particular was much appreciated by me as I kind of always forgot she was there in the previous book and I felt like out of all the characters we got to know her the least. With the absence of one character, Zila certainly takes the spotlight a lot more in this book. Not only do we come to understand her thanks to a very cleverly written chapter, but she also has a lot more to do in this book! Before she kind of felt like an additional crew member to bulk out numbers and I couldn't quite figure out what her purpose was so I was excited to see her take on more of a role and learn more about her. It was also nice to see her relaxing and becoming more comfortable with the others! 

As you'd expect from the cover of Aurora Burning, our cover man Kal takes more of a focus in this book. I felt like we saw a lot less of Tyler than we did in the previous book and all eyes were on Kal as we went deeper into his character's background and there were some brilliant twists with him that I usually figured out about 2 seconds before the reveal! I also loved getting a deeper look at the Syldrathi and the split between them with the Unbroken opposing pretty much everyone. 

Aurora Burning picks up smoothly from where we left off with a burst of action to pull you in as we get to grips with the current situation our crew have found themselves in. Once again, I liked that we didn't hang around and jumped straight into things. Quickly being introduced to the 8476343 problems they have to face. One of which is new character Saedii who's badass, a little bit scary and yet still kind of awesome. 

I have to say, Finian further cemented his place as my favourite character in this entire series! I love he and his narrative and I loved getting to see one of my ships develop further in this book. I feel like Finian had more depth in this book, as did Scarlett actually! The two of them really remind me of my Teen Wolf OTP Stydia! Speaking of OTP's, I feel like Saedii and Tyler are going to become a thing next book and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. I've been holding out hope for Cat and that hope hasn't entirely died so I'm not sure if I can get behind Tyler X Saedii. 

I have to say, Kal was my biggest disappointment in this book. He was super intriguing in the first book with his 'enemy within' and that internal struggle and then we get plenty more intriguing information about him in this book...but somehow he ended up just being relegated to being the love interest. He stopped being a character all of his own and really just became like one entity with Aurora and I felt like the entire point of him this book was to be Aurora's love interest. It was really disappointing and I felt like his potential was never really explored which made the ending all the more frustrating. 

On the subject of Aurora and Kal, I never fully got on board with their romance in the first book, it seemed very insta-love and didn't have much depth to it but I figured it would be expanded upon in this book. However, there's a little plot device in this book that allows months to pass for the two of them in the blink of an eye and I was side-eyeing it immensely. It sped up the romance but I still didn't fully buy it because we didn't get to see a lot of it and it seemed like it was there to make things more wrenching and emotional towards the end but it just...fell a little flat to be honest. 

There are still some plot twists that are pulled out to surprise you that leave you gasping and ramp up towards the end fantastically. I also particularly thought that the final chapter was clever as we snap quickly between POVs and it added to the building rhythm of the finale, keeping you speeding towards the end and amping up the tension before the absolutely horrific cliffhanger ending. Was that really necessary!? 

I can't say whether I enjoyed this more than Aurora Rising, I think I might have enjoyed the previous book a little bit more. Aurora Burning is much like Aurora Rising in that it isn't entirely perfect, there are a few things that niggled at me, but it was still a fast and enjoyable read that you could have fun reading! I look forward to having that cliffhanger resolved in the next book and I'm once again, probably foolishly, holding out hope for a certain character! Although I think I've now finally lost hope for Cat.  

Review: Star Wars Catalyst

Star Wars Catalyst 
Rating: 4/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Lauded Star Wars author James Luceno returns to pen an intense tale of ambition and betrayal that sets the stage for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. War is tearing the galaxy apart. For years the Republic and the Separatists have battled across the stars, each building more and more deadly technology in an attempt to win the war. As a member of Chancellor Palpatine's top secret Death Star project, Orson Krennic is determined to develop a superweapon before their enemies can. And an old friend of Krennic's, the brilliant scientist Galen Erso, could be the key. Galen's energy-focused research has captured the attention of both Krennic and his foes, making the scientist a crucial pawn in the galactic conflict. But after Krennic rescues Galen, his wife, Lyra, and their young daughter, Jyn, from Separatist kidnappers, the Erso family is deeply in Krennic's debt. Krennic then offers Galen an extraordinary opportunity: to continue his scientific studies with every resource put utterly at his disposal. While Galen and Lyra believe that his energy research will be used purely in altruistic ways, Krennic has other plans that will finally make the Death Star a reality. Trapped in their benefactor's tightening grasp, the Ersos must untangle Krennic's web of deception to save themselves and the galaxy itself. 

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's ridiculously excited for Rogue One!? I have a friend who worked on it, doing something techy with editing, and I was so insanely jealous because hello getting to watch the raw footage! Who among us wouldn't sell a spare internal organ to get to work on Star Wars? I love the original Star Wars trilogy, the prequel trilogy not so much. Sometimes I pretend it doesn't exist, I might try re-watching them another day, but the originals are my ultimate favourites! I loved Episode Seven, probably because it was quite similar to A New Hope! I've been so curious about Rogue One, it's set before A New Hope, and all the trailers look so damn good, and this book has made me even more excited for it! 

I love how all of these books fill in gaps in the Star Wars universe and give you more in depth looks at the films, and this one sets up Rogue One for us nicely. It introduces us to Jyn, gives us her backstory, her parents story, gives us the political climate, what's been going on, and if you've seen the trailer......the scene with Young Jyn in the field type place, with her dad...that now makes so much sense. I'm 99% sure I know what that's all about now! This won't spoil the film for you, and you don't need to read it before you see it, but if you do read it, I think it'll flesh out the film more and give you a better understanding of everything, you get a better feel for the characters and the events! 

Catalyst is hugely character driven, the book focuses on Galen Erso and his family, as well as Galen's relationship with Krennic. Who I totally hated. So much. You read about Galen and how stoked he is about his work but you also have Krennic's POV so you know what he's up to and what's really going and I really loved that effect. I think my favourite characters was Lyra however, and I'm not at all worried about her lack of presence in the Rogue One trailer, (someone tell me she's there and I missed her!). I loved how she was questioning Krennic, I loved how well she and Galen worked together, I loved how they complemented each other personality wise. 

I liked that we got to see how Galen came to be working for the "bad guys" as it where. I liked seeing how you could end up working for the wrong side, thinking you where doing the right thing, and I enjoyed watching Galen's thought process on it but I also love how he immediately believed Lyra and heard her out. I'm so intrigued to see what Jyn will be like, right at the end we get her POV and it's made me so excited to see what she's like. I've got kind of an idea of what she may be like, but yeah! I'm loving getting excited for Rogue One and going in to it with this additional information! 

Lagoon

Lagoon
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr and the publisher!

Three people where wandering the beach when something crashes in to the ocean off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria. Adaora, a marine biologist, Anthony, a rapper, and Agu, a soldier. All are different, all have a unique gift, and all have been chosen. They have to save their country and the world itself from...itself, when an alien race makes itself known, and all the creatures in the sea start to...change, and decide they've had enough with humans destroying their habitat. When the aliens arrive on shore, Lagos starts to tear itself apart, everyone suspects everyone else of being one of....them. Will humanity be able to accept them? Will Lagos survive?

Holy wooooww! I wasn't too sure what to expect from Lagoon, I was intrigued by the synopsis, but I really didn't know what to expect and as soon as I started reading I was fully sucked in to the story and engrossed the entire way through. Lagoon is fast paced, engaging, and really makes you think, what would you do or feel in the same situation? Lagoon expertly switches from different points of view, our three main special characters, other characters a couple of times, a creature here and there, which was brilliant as you then saw how we, humanity, just casually swats them like flies with our technology and inventions, not even on purpose but without realizing. Aaaannd a couple of points of view from people saying their experience of what happened when the aliens came. Which was fantastically done and showed how it affected so many different people and just gave the story some added intrigue and an interesting break from the narrative.

The prose was truly beautiful, and poetic and propelled the story forward with the appropriate amount of action, intrigue and a fantastically smooth flow! There where so many elements combined, I got a strong sense of Nigerian mythology, which I'd really like to know more about now! Agu's powers reminiscent of a superhero, the aliens where an obvious element! But they where really cool aliens! Lagoon was so unique, combining the mythology with superhero powers and aliens and human nature and behaviour. The aliens where very unique, with how they can change, and the sea creatures and everything.

Lagoon is a true science-fiction novel, it's political and philosophical with plenty of action and I want to say there was a tiny smidge of a quest with getting to the President! The characters where all colourful and full of life! I enjoyed all of them, they where such a diverse group, each with different personalities and walks of life, and I really enjoyed reading about them, each made you feel a range of emotions, particularly a certain Oke who I really, REALLY wanted to smack in the face! They where all so engaging and just eeeeee well written characters!

I thought the plot was unique, well written and well thought out, it was intricate, with lots of different elements as mentioned, and I enjoyed trying to work out what was going to happen next, I mean I could never tell where the story was going or what was going to happen, when everyone else had doubts about what the aliens wanted, and if they actually did come in peace, I had doubts too and started to think "oh crap....they're evil!" but then they weren't and it was a real rollercoaster ride. To me, the story seemed to just flow naturally, and it seemed quite organic!

The setting should also be mentioned because it was so vividly written that I actually felt like I was there with the characters, I feel like I've been to Lagos now and it was such an atmospheric setting!

Lagoon is a truly fantastic read, for me it was thought provoking and a rollercoaster, it was so unique and a real look at humanity, I mean the reaction to the alien invasion? I'd love to see people wouldn't totally destroy themselves and get all paranoid, but let's be honest, that's exactly how we'd react! I'm going to be keeping an eye on Okorafor's future books  because I really loved this and I can't wait to see what she does next!