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

Aurora's End by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman
Series: The Aurora Cycle #3
Published by Knopf (11.2.2021)
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: Audiobook, 512 pages
Length: 15 hours, 5 minutes
Narrator: Donnabella Mortel, Erin Spencer, Johnathan McClain, Jonathan Todd Ross, Kim Mai Guest, Lincoln Hoppe, Steve West
Source: I own it

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 were 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 te4am has one last chance to rewrite thirs. 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.

My thoughts

While we fight, there is hope.

What a BEAUTIFUL ending to an amazing series!!

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an eARC of this book before its release (thanks, Christy!!), but I never got around to reviewing it because I was wedding planning. I had pre-ordered the audiobook because the Aurora Cycle audiobooks are some of my faves, so when it came out I listened to it as a re-read!

Aurora Burning left all our beloved characters in mortal peril, so I was thrilled to dive back into this world and see what happens. And it starts with pure chaos! The time loops were crazy! Even though the same things kept happening over and over again, it never felt repetitive or boring. The time loop scenes were done very well! I feel like not many authors could have pulled that off.

I AM SO HAPPY FIN AND SCARLETT ARE FINALLY TOGETHER. Jeez, took freakin’ long enough. And they are the cutest! I love how they are the most unlikely couple but work so well together. I ship them so hard!

ZILA. Omfggg. We got some of her backstory in the last book, which just made you love her to pieces. I don’t want to say much without a spoiler tag because I don’t want to give anything away. View Spoiler »Buuut I am SO HAPPY she found her place and her person!! I adored her and Nari together – it was such a sweet romance. They’re both very practical – Zila is analytical and Nari is pretty rigid – so it was great to see them both warm to each other. I was SOBBING when Zila stayed behind with Nari! I love so much that she found her happy ending. (Also the fact that she noticed “she is not tall” after telling us that Scarlett was not her type in the second book, because she was too tall, IS THE. CUTEST. THING. EVER.)

Speaking of sobbing, Tyler being forced to kill Cat was ROUUUUUGHHHH. Like holy shit dude. I kept hoping beyond hope that somehow Cat would be saved when the Ra’haam was defeated, so for her to go out like that broke. my. fucking. heart. She deserved so much better.

One more thing while I’m still in the spoiler tag – SAEDII AND TYLER HAD A DAUGHTER BE STILL MY HEART. I love them together so much and it’s freaking BEAUTIFUL that they had a daughter and named her after Saedii and Kal’s mother. And the Syldrathi saying “I shall see you in the stars” …just *puppy eyes* « Hide Spoiler

THE PEN!!! AHHHH I FINALLY KNOW WHAT THE PEN IS FOR. I was waiting for the profound moment where it was revealed that the pen was actually important. My hubby thought I was crazy because “it’s just a pen, Jessi” but I knew. I KNEW. No way in hell would the rest of Squad 312 get all these badass useful gifts and my baby Fin just gets a plain ole’ pen. Nope.

This is what family is, I realize. To never be alone.

That ending hit me RIGHT in the feels!! I fucking LOVE Squad 312 to pieces and the sense of found family that this book has is so poignant. It was a bittersweet ending and I cried a lot! I’m sad to say goodbye to this series, but I love the way things ended!

Side note: They really should have listened to Magellan.

Overall Assessment

Plot: 5/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World-building: 5/5
Pace: 5/5
Feels: 5/5
Narration: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall rating: 5/5

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