Monday, June 24, 2019

#AmReading YA

Today you are in for a special treat! My co-blogger KIERSTEN has written two fabulous reviews, AND they are not for contemporary books. (I told you it was a treat!)

Finale
Stephanie Garber
Series: Caraval #3
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
Welcome, welcome to Finale, the third and final book in Stephanie Garber’s #1 New York Times bestselling Caraval series!

A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.

It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.

With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.

Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time: only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.

Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…
First, a song to set the mood (because I feel like this song captures the essence of the book quite well):


Having loved the first two books in the series, I was very excited to dive into Finale to see how the aftermath of Legendary was resolved. A satisfying conclusion to the Caraval series, Finale is filled with magic, romance, and more!

While Caraval follows Scarlet's adventures through Caraval and Legendary follows Tella's journey through the next festival, Finale follows both heroines and their adventures to defeat the Fates. One of the things I really loved about Legendary was how the history of Caraval was explored, folding in the mythology of the Fates. Finale continues to flesh out this mythology, diving deeper into each of those archetypes.

Finale was filled with so many twists and turns. Every time I thought I knew what was going on, there was a huge revelation that changed everything. My only complaint would be that while I enjoyed everything that happened in the book, I wish it had been given a little more space to breathe.

Overall, Finale is filled with gloriously swoon-worthy romance, deeply enticing mystery, and darkly enticing magic, leaving the reader on the edge of their seat, constantly guessing, and enraptured from beginning to end.

Aurora Rising
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: The Aurora Cycle #1
Age/Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.

They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.
Here's, a song that sounds like what it would be like to travel through the Fold (brought to you by everyone's favorite punk dad Mark Hoppus and pop-punk superstar Alex Gaskarth):


It is no secret that I love The Illuminae Files - everything about that series was so much more spectacular than I ever expected it would be. The beginning of a new series from the dynamic duo of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, Aurora Rising did not let me down.

Honestly, I can barely even articulate how incredible Aurora Rising was. I am not much of a sci-fi fan, but Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff just cannot do wrong in my eyes. I had absolutely no idea what this book was about going into it except that it was ~S P A C E~, but it had me hooked immediately. I found myself absolutely flying through this book, finding excuses to just sneak a peak at a few more pages throughout the day at work. My train commute was suddenly TOO SHORT because I just needed more time to read this book. It was amazing and also absolutely crazytown.

Every character in Squad 312 was so interesting. The way all these wildly different personalities meshed together and bonded was truly delightful. I loved every moment of their bickering and banter. Also to be a lame nerd, I enjoyed seeing the squad go through the stages of team building: from reluctantly forming, to absolutely, viciously storming, to finally norming and performing. This is a squad I wish I could be a part of (though maybe with less d a n g e r).

This book was such a wild ride from start to finish, and I absolutely loved the format, with Magellan's snippets between chapters to give some additional (snarky) context. I would like more Magellan in book 2 to fill the AIDAN shaped hold in my heart.

In summation, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff can do no wrong in my eyes, so obviously I think you should read this (and also Illuminae if you're still sleeping on that). I think sci-fi can sometimes be hard to get into, but this dream team really knows how to make it accessible to a wider audience.

**ARCs received in exchange for honest reviews.


Have you ever made an unlikely friend?
Let us know in the comments!

31 comments:

  1. Finale sounds spectacular! I love that you got both characters in the book, along with twists, romance, mystery, and magic! I've heard so many great things about Aurora Rising. It's wonderful when you have an author(s) that you can depend on to give you a great story. The fact that the pages just flew buy,and had you reading whenever you had a spare moment, and sneaking in pages when you didn't, speaks volumes! Fantastic Reviews Kiersten!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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    1. They were both delightful! Definitely worth checking them out if you like those genres.

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  2. I am seeing some crazy buzz about Aurora Rising! It's great to see that it lives up to the hype!

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    1. It definitely did for me! It's always kind of scary going into a book with a lot of buzz but I'm glad this one came through.

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  3. I need to read Caraval still! I have the whole trilogy on my shelves! I am itching to read it so hopefully I can get to it next month!!

    ~Kendra @ Kendra Loves Books

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  4. I wasn't the biggest fan of Caraval, but I know the fandom for that series is huge. I'm glad that the ending delivered!

    I have Aurora Rising on hold at the library and I can't wait! I've heard such good things and you're right, Kaufman and Kristoff can't really do any wrong. :)

    Great reviews!

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    1. Yay! I hope your hold on Aurora Rising comes through soon and that you enjoy it as much as I did :)

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  5. Both series I've been meaning to pick up! So glad they were both fabulous!

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    1. Definitely pick them up if you have a chance! Maybe start with Caraval first since the whole series is out so you don't have to wait for the next one :)

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  6. I listened to and loved Auroa Rising. I cannot believe there are 3 books released in the Caraval series. I own the first one..as of yet unread.

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    1. That always seems to happen!! There are sooo many series I have at least one book in that I haven't read any.

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  7. aurora rising looks like a great read. enjoyed your five star review and it makes me want to read it even more.
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  8. Oh, I'm so excited to read Finale next month!!

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  9. I absolutely loved both of these too Kiersten, Finale a little more than Aurora Rising only because it took a while to get into Aurora Rising for me and I wasn't a fan of the big event that happened but loved the creepiness towards the end and can't wait for the next book! Such wonderful reviews Kiersten and thanks for sharing!

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    1. Oh yea the big event was super tragic, but I'm holding out hope for that character in future books!

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  10. Aurora Rising seems a good read! I added it on my TBR.

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    1. I hope you enjoy it if you get around to reading! :)

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  11. These both sound fantastic, which I'm happy to hear, since they are both on my summer reading list. :)

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  12. I'm reading Legendary right now and loving it. I'll get to Finale next month. Aurora Rising is on my TBR.

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    1. I'm glad you're loving Legendary! I was skeptical starting that one since I didn't like Tella very much in book 1, but she definitely grew on me throughout the series.

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  13. I haven't been loving the Caraval series, but since Finale is the last book, I might just read it anyway!

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  14. I really want to read the Garber series- I've been meaning to since the first book came out!

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  15. I so agree with you on Aurora Rising Sam!!!!

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  16. oh man I need to stop procrastinating reading the Caraval series!!! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it all!

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  17. Both of these are related to books I want to read! I do want to try the Caraval series since it seems to get such high praise from so many people. And equally as much, since I loved Illuminae, I also want to read Aurora Rising. So happy it could get the full five stars from you and that you loved it :D

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  18. I have read Caraval on Audio and have Legendary and now Finale waiting for me. I really enjoyed Caraval and can't wait to start the next two. In fact I should be doing those two soon as I can do them on the drive to and from school. I also have Aurora Rising waiting on my night stand! Great Reviews!

    Mary

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  19. I'm with you, Sam. I'm not the biggest space fan, but Kaufman and Kristoff do it righttttttttttt. I really enjoyed Aurora Rising. The crew really worked together, and I really liked Aurora so much. They just make it so easy to read! Wonderful reviews, Sam! :)

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