Please Note: I received an advance copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
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 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.
Review:
The end of a book series comes with mixed feelings. We want to finally have all the character's problems resolved, but we're also sorry to see them go. I have really enjoyed the Aurora Chronicles, but Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. It has been a really fun series filled with diverse characters and lots of humor. Listening to the audiobooks as been (mostly) delightful, as the voice actors who narrate are wonderfully expressive. As I listened to the final book in the series, Aurora's End, I again loved the humor, the characters, and how it is wrapped up. I was a little mixed about some of the sound quality of the audiobook. Also, although this is an action series, the battle scenes go on for far too long. This actually slowed the book down. But, even with these caveats, I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a worthy finale to the series.
What I Liked:
Characters:
With six main characters, it would seem difficult to give each of them their due. The book focused mostly on Tyler, Scarlett, Zila, and Fin. I liked this because the other books were more centered on Aurora and Cal. We learned so much more about how Zila thinks and why she is so reserved, in particular. Zila is one of my favorite characters, and it was great to see her come out of her shell. And there are major developments int the relationship between Scarlett and Fin! Tyler shows a side of himself that is quite unexpected. But as the story continues, one can see how this came to be.
Book Series Recap:
I so appreciate that then beginning of the book has a recap of what happened in the two previous books! When you have book series, I often find that I need to re-read the previous books so I won't be lost when I read the next one. But, the authors bring the reader up to date on what happened so you can jump into the action without thinking, "who was that person again", or "Why are they at that place"? It makes the experience so much better. I wish more authors would do this.
Story:
The story takes place over multiple timelines. I think the authors did a wonderful job of keeping everything logical, so it was easy to follow. Without giving too much away, the story shows some of the characters at different ages, and it's fun to see how they changed as they got older.
What I Was Mixed About:
Audiobook Quality:
While I enjoyed the overall quality of the audio narration, for some reason one of the voice actors sounded like they recorded their lines in a closet. When Steve West (who plays Cal) spoke there were strange echos that were not part of the story. Just the quality of the sounds made it clear to me that he recorded his part separately from the other actors. Hearing Cal was something I was really look forward to. But with the sound quality so off, it was all I could focus on.
What I Didn't Like:
Story: & Pacing:
The story meandered around with various battles, again and again and again. Part of that was built into the structure of the book. But beyond that, there were too many epic "Final" battles. Some editing would have given the book a faster pace, which is what this novel needed.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Release Date: November 9th, 2021
Authors: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Audiobook Publisher: Listening Library
Audiobook Narrators: Kim Mai Guest, Jonathan McClain, Lincoln Hoppe, Donnabella Mortel, Jonathan Todd Ross, Erin Spencer, Steve West
Audiobook Length: 15 hours, 6 Minutes
Print Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Book Length: 512 Pages
Source: Penguin Audio
Format: Audiobook
Recommendation: Even though the novel meandered around, there was still the signature humor and humanity in each character. A worthy end to the sereis.
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