Scan barcode
majabwds's review against another edition
4.0
Bianca and Ian trying to save the oldest brother of the family. Thrilling, fun with more than a splash of romance.
stacieh's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
tirralirra's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
heabooknerd's review against another edition
3.0
So, I've been conflicted on how to write this review because the second half of AURORA BLAZING really stalled out for me and was hard to finish. Some of this is likely due to my own mood but there were also some parts that didn't work as much for me. After a lot of agonizing thought on my part, I've decided to go with 3 stars, though it's definitely on the higher end of that rating.
But let's start with the good. I loved Bianca as our heroine - she's incredibly tough, smart, and resourceful. Her life has not been easy by any means and it's taken a lot of work to find her confidence and sense of self again after her husband's abuse. But all her struggles can't hold Bianca back especially when it comes to protecting her family. Loyalty and honor mean a lot to Bianca, almost to a fault, but I liked that her word meant so much to her when she's surrounded by House puppets that will gladly lie to your face and then stab you in the back.
So, the bad, and the reason for my conflict. First, the romance felt really rushed at the end. For the majority of the book Ian's motives are incredibly ambiguous. We as the reader know Ian's the hero, so we can assume he has feelings for Bianca, but that never comes across until the end when it feels like he does a complete 180 on his personality. I don't mind a slow burn romance but this didn't even feel like that because we know so little about Ian and it takes a long time before our hero and heroine are even spending time together on page.
My other issue is that the words and the story are there but I wasn't feeling the emotion behind those words. Part of this is because Bianca works so hard to maintain her public persona and to not let things rattle her, but this also means she never lets anything get to her. If Bianca's heart isn't pounding from the dangerous action scene, how is my heart supposed to be pounding? This made it hard to get invested in the action scenes so for me it felt like the second half of the book was dragging along.
I wish I could have liked AURORA BLAZING more because I loved the first one, but it just wasn't for me.
Content Warning: Bianca’s ex-husband experimented on her against her will and abused her; reference to a miscarriage
But let's start with the good. I loved Bianca as our heroine - she's incredibly tough, smart, and resourceful. Her life has not been easy by any means and it's taken a lot of work to find her confidence and sense of self again after her husband's abuse. But all her struggles can't hold Bianca back especially when it comes to protecting her family. Loyalty and honor mean a lot to Bianca, almost to a fault, but I liked that her word meant so much to her when she's surrounded by House puppets that will gladly lie to your face and then stab you in the back.
So, the bad, and the reason for my conflict. First, the romance felt really rushed at the end. For the majority of the book Ian's motives are incredibly ambiguous. We as the reader know Ian's the hero, so we can assume he has feelings for Bianca, but that never comes across until the end when it feels like he does a complete 180 on his personality. I don't mind a slow burn romance but this didn't even feel like that because we know so little about Ian and it takes a long time before our hero and heroine are even spending time together on page.
My other issue is that the words and the story are there but I wasn't feeling the emotion behind those words. Part of this is because Bianca works so hard to maintain her public persona and to not let things rattle her, but this also means she never lets anything get to her. If Bianca's heart isn't pounding from the dangerous action scene, how is my heart supposed to be pounding? This made it hard to get invested in the action scenes so for me it felt like the second half of the book was dragging along.
I wish I could have liked AURORA BLAZING more because I loved the first one, but it just wasn't for me.
Content Warning: Bianca’s ex-husband experimented on her against her will and abused her; reference to a miscarriage
manda_kaye's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hexgirls13's review
2.0
The first book was okay, the second was boring I DNF’d. The MCs don’t get a lot of dialogue together, I struggle with books written in this style.
jasonmark's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly good, but definitely more generic than the first book and not as good overall
stellabethb's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katyanaish's review against another edition
3.0
(Note that for some reason this is the only book in the series on KU. Not sure why, but just a heads up for folks considering the series.)
So, I liked this book, but not as much as the first one. It was a good story, the mystery / adventure played out well, but I didn't like the core couple. Ian (MMC) was an absolute dickhead - condescending, manipulative, and a bunch of other things that made me deeply dislike him. And the fact that Bianca (FMC) panted after him despite him constantly treating her as if she was a spoiled, empty-headed toddler (and lest you think I'm exaggerating, he actually CALLS HER an empty-headed princess to her face) made me think she's a moron with no self-respect. It also made it hard to believe her backstory of an abusive husband - - because why would she be so completely drawn to someone who belittles her and treats her like garbage?
The other thing that is starting to make this series struggle is their father. Look, he has abused his kids horribly, and they've all bonded over it. Why haven't they offed him? He sold one daughter into an abusive relationship. Another fled when he tried to do the same with her, and he actually LITERALLY put a bounty on her head (that was the FMC from book 1). He has tortured his children, he threatens them constantly, he has made it clear that he wants Ada (FMC from book 1) to have an "accident" and Bianca made it sound like he's pressuring her to help ... kill this guy already! WTF, seriously? He's not even good at his job, because Ada ran circles around him for 2 years. He couldn't figure out who had Ferdinand in this book, or even who set him up (Bianca did). What is he even good for, aside from being a looming monstrous asshole for the series? It's time for this guy to have an "accident". I frankly didn't understand why Ada didn't kill him in book 1, and now I REALLY don't understand why all the siblings haven't taken him out. It's cool that they banded together to help each other as children, but they're not children anymore. The monster can be deposed.
Also, the FMCs spend an inordinate amount of time feeling bad about killing people trying to kill them. I mean, in this book Bianca kills slavers that were trying to catch her...and she has to take a moment to grieve it and whinge about it being her fault. WTF, seriously. Yes, killing people should have a cost or you become a monster, but like, you're in a survival situation here, can you just not right now? This also leads to them leaving vicious enemies alive after a confrontation, which is frankly TSTL.
I do like the series, I like the story. I just think there's some spots of inconsistency (Bianca bitching about people trying to take her choices away and then literally doing that to Ada, for example) and I really didn't like either of these two leads.
So, I liked this book, but not as much as the first one. It was a good story, the mystery / adventure played out well, but I didn't like the core couple. Ian (MMC) was an absolute dickhead - condescending, manipulative, and a bunch of other things that made me deeply dislike him. And the fact that Bianca (FMC) panted after him despite him constantly treating her as if she was a spoiled, empty-headed toddler (and lest you think I'm exaggerating, he actually CALLS HER an empty-headed princess to her face) made me think she's a moron with no self-respect. It also made it hard to believe her backstory of an abusive husband -
Spoiler
a man she watched die when she could have helped, because while she hated him, she couldn't bring herself to take matters into her own hands... but at least sitting on her hands while he was trapped in a fatal situation finally got her out of itThe other thing that is starting to make this series struggle is their father. Look, he has abused his kids horribly, and they've all bonded over it. Why haven't they offed him? He sold one daughter into an abusive relationship. Another fled when he tried to do the same with her, and he actually LITERALLY put a bounty on her head (that was the FMC from book 1). He has tortured his children, he threatens them constantly, he has made it clear that he wants Ada (FMC from book 1) to have an "accident" and Bianca made it sound like he's pressuring her to help ... kill this guy already! WTF, seriously? He's not even good at his job, because Ada ran circles around him for 2 years. He couldn't figure out who had Ferdinand in this book, or even who set him up (Bianca did). What is he even good for, aside from being a looming monstrous asshole for the series? It's time for this guy to have an "accident". I frankly didn't understand why Ada didn't kill him in book 1, and now I REALLY don't understand why all the siblings haven't taken him out. It's cool that they banded together to help each other as children, but they're not children anymore. The monster can be deposed.
Also, the FMCs spend an inordinate amount of time feeling bad about killing people trying to kill them. I mean, in this book Bianca kills slavers that were trying to catch her...and she has to take a moment to grieve it and whinge about it being her fault. WTF, seriously. Yes, killing people should have a cost or you become a monster, but like, you're in a survival situation here, can you just not right now? This also leads to them leaving vicious enemies alive after a confrontation, which is frankly TSTL.
Spoiler
Not killing Riccardo is literally the dumbest way I can even imagine for her to handle the situation, for example.I do like the series, I like the story. I just think there's some spots of inconsistency (Bianca bitching about people trying to take her choices away and then literally doing that to Ada, for example) and I really didn't like either of these two leads.