Spoilers ahead!!! And stay tuned at the end for my take on Betraskan Luka Cakes!
Thing is, impossible always comes with a price.
Goldenboy Tyler Jones has spent the past few years working harder than anyone to become the best alpha at Aurora Academy in the hopes of having his first pick of squad members when he officially joins the Aurora Legion. But on the night before the Draft, he finds himself rescuing the sole survivor of a ship that mysteriously disappeared over 200 years ago. Unfortunately for Tyler, he misses the Draft and is stuck with the kids no one else wanted.
Dealing with his delinquent crew isn't even the worst of it. He soon has bigger problems when Aurora-- the girl he rescued-- stows away on his ship claiming the government is after her. When she starts shooting people across rooms and blasting enemies into goo in her sleep, the gang realizes they might have stumbled upon something bigger than they could have ever imagined.
And my last thought before I pass out completely?... It's that I'm gonna miss the Draft.
Hi, YEAH, I totally loved this book. I am DYING for the second one (which thankfully came out this month). I've been so head over heels for all of my fantasy novels lately that I've ignored my love of science fiction. I've never been a big space nerd, but oh man I might become one. The authors have such a brilliant way of talking about a lot of stuff I know NOTHING about (space, science, ships, etc.) but putting it in such a reader friendly way. Between each chapter they have a little info section that gives you all the details in a fun, spunky way. As if your phone was speaking to you (like Siri but with a legit personality). I highly recommend this book, and yes, mom, I'm gonna make sure you read it! Don't read on if you don't want spoilers.
"They've got no faces," she hisses desperately. "And they're going to wipe all this away, they're going to make it clean, they're going to paint it black."
First I wanna talk about the plot-- though in general it's basically your average alien race wanting to take over and destroy the universe-- I found it to be done in a super interesting way. Basically it's this sort of plant species that can inhabit other creatures and drag them into their hive mind. Anyone who is touched by their pollen becomes one of them. So in a way it almost has that sort of zombie apocalypse vibe, as well. What I especially loved about it was the imagery-- people, alive or dead, with flowers and cacti coming out of their eyes and ears, moss covering parts of their body, vines curling around their limbs. It's dark and twisted but also kind of beautiful, in a way? There's nothing more disturbing than something that could be both revolting and lovely at the same time. All I could think about while reading this book was how badly I wanted to draw the infected.
But my whole life, I've been on the outside looking in. A problem. A burden. An aberration. Just like her. And it's taught me to be sure of one thing. Us outsiders gotta stick together.
Okay, the real meat of the book for me: CHARACTERS. Holy crap, I loved this bunch SO much. I know I love most characters that I read about, but something about this group was just so perfect. I haven't met a group this unique probably ever and I still have yet to decide who my favorite character is. We've got Tyler (the Alpha), the smart blonde hottie who leads our ridiculous circus. He's always got a plan, always keeps his cool, and he's always got faith that things will work out. Though his type is typically someone I wouldn't like in real life, I had a major soft spot for him. He's a great friend and a fearless leader. We've got Scarlett (the Face), his twin sister and apparently the smoothest talker in the galaxy. She's a super hot ginger, very sarcastic, and can convince anyone to do literally anything. Big secret, though, she's also the "mom friend" of the group who makes sure everyone is okay at all times because she genuinely cares about them. We've got Cat (the Ace), our badass tomboy pilot. She's got a pixie cut and is covered in tattoos and totally has a crush on Tyler, but we don't talk about that. She can get you anywhere you need to be and can shoot down anyone who gets in her way with perfect accuracy. We've got Kal (the Tank), a big and scary (hot) warrior alien from Syldra, a planet no longer (still kinda happening) at war with Terra. He's crazy tall and buff and has pretty silver hair in five braids, and no matter how hard he fights, there's never a hair out of place. He could beat you in a fight before you even realized a brawl had begun. He may not understand a lot of social cues, but don't let that fool you, he's not a bad dude. Bred as a warrior, every day is a battle between his true self and the beast within him. We've got Finian (the Gearhead), a Betraskan teen with white skin, white hair and fully black eyes. Due to some health issues as a youngling, he's got a mechanical exosuit that helps his body move and function smoothly. But don't feel bad for him, with his smart mouth and quick comebacks he'll have you irritated before you can even say his full name. We've got Zila (the Brains), a small girl with dark brown skin, long black curls, and stylish gold hoop earrings. She's probably the smartest person in the galaxy, but she scares the living daylights out of just about everyone. With her sociopathic tendencies, her preference for silence, and her urge to shoot pretty much anything (just to see what will happen), she makes most people just a little uneasy. And finally our 200 year old stowaway, Aurora: having grown up on Earth, she studied cartography in the hopes of joining her father on the Octavia settlement in space, until she woke up two centuries later aboard a ship filled with strangers and aliens. Now she's found out that not only was she the only survivor, no one has ever heard of the Octavia settlement-- as if any evidence of it has been completely destroyed. Not only that, but she also seems to have strange new powers coursing through her that she has zero control over. The poor thing has to come to terms with whoever she has become, as well as the knowledge that everyone she ever loved is long dead.
I look around the bridge at my crew. Squad 312. This pack of losers and discipline cases and sociopaths, these misfits nobody in the whole of Aurora Academy wanted to get paired with. And I realize the magnitude of what we just pulled off.
Can you see how wonderfully this book was written if I'm able to give you all of that information on each of those characters after one read of this book? I swear, Kristoff and Kaufman made them each so detailed and interesting that it would be impossible NOT to know and understand each character immediately. The only person who's a bit hard to figure out is Aurora, and guess what? THAT'S PART OF THE POINT! She also doesn't quite understand herself! Ugh! I can't even articulate how much I loved this bunch. I think the method of multiple POVs is the best way to understand characters because you learn about how they see the world and their opinions on everything, but you also get to see the other characters from their eyes. Things like seeing the way Scarlett treats people and how it makes them feel, seeing why everyone admires Tyler and would follow him anywhere, seeing the way people react and interact with those who are harder to get along with like Kal, Zila and Fin. If I really had to choose a favorite cadet, it would probably be Zila or Fin. They're both so fun to read about and they are definitely the funniest of the bunch.
"Do moons choose the planets they orbit? Do planets choose their stars? Who am I to deny gravity, Aurora? When you shine brighter than any constellation in the sky?"
It would be foolish if I didn't mention the romances within this book. I love a good slow-burn and I can tell that the authors do too. First, the most clear connection is between Aurora and Kal. When he first sees her, Kal experiences what is called "the Pull" which on his planet is basically like finding your soulmate. It's super cute cause we know but Aurora has no freakin clue, especially because Kal is extremely distant with her-- he doesn't want her to feel obligated to like him back since humans don't experience the Pull as the Syldrathi do. I really like him because he's thoughtful and quiet, but when Aurora finally asks him what's going on, he's completely honest with her and doesn't try to hold his feelings in. It was really refreshing to read-- so many characters lie to hide the depth of their affection and it always turns into a hundred different miscommunications... Speaking of hiding your affection: Tyler and Cat. They've been best friends since kindergarten and have clearly liked each other ever since. They even hooked up while drunk once, but Tyler put a stop to it real quick because he didn't want to jeopardize his future as a squad leader (because he thinks an Alpha shouldn't be romantically involved with their Ace). Only at the end of the book do we get to see how much Tyler cares for her, and honestly I'm expecting a VERY happy reunion between the two of them at the end of the next book (I have to stay positive and speak it into existence). I think Finian and Scarlett might be on their way to some sort of relationship because she's the only one who really sees and understands him. But she's like that with everyone, so the feelings might be exclusive to his side of the equation. Honestly, Fin is the chaotic bisexual I've been searching for in literature and I am so happy to have found him. There is truly nothing more entertaining than being inside his head. As for Zila, she is perfect and doesn't need anyone and I love her. I will date Zila. She might shoot me but that's a risk I am willing to take. Thank you.
And somehow, they're all connected. And though it's frightening, I know I can't be frightened anymore. Everything that's happened, all I've become... I can't stop it. Instead, I have to muster the rage to master it.
A few IMPORTANT things that happened in this book (writing this so I can look back if it takes me a while to get my hands on the sequel); When they first discovered the plant species, it was growing inside bodies that were already dead; Fin owes his cousin Dariel several debts (this may end up being important, or it might not); The Eshraven are an ancient civilization (potentially the first) who were able to defeat Ra'haam (plants), and they left behind a weapon that can destroy it; Aurora is the trigger for the weapon; The mention of Kal's name was enough to start a bar fight, his family may have been of importance back on Syldra; Cat has been taken by Ra'haam and is now part of the whole, but that doesn't necessarily mean she is gone forever (or at least that's what I keep telling myself); As far as we know, the leaders of the Aurora Legion are on our side; We have a map of the other planets being targeted by Ra'haam; OH AND ONE OF THE PEOPLE INHABITED BY RA'HAAM IS AURORA'S DAD.
This defeat is a victory.
If you're a sucker for the "found family" trope then this is probably the best example I've ever read. What's nice too is that they're still working out how to be a group and function properly together. They took a major hit at the end losing Cat, but their journey has just begun. I am so beyond excited to read Aurora Burning, but alas, I have another book on my TBR that I must get through first. But it won't be long before I get my hands on it!
"We the Legion," he says. "We the light," Scarlett replies. "Burning bright against the night," we say in unison.
BETRASKAN LUKA CAKES
"Are those luka cakes?" "The very same," he nods, holding the box out for her to take one... I grab one too, just in case Dariel forgets to offer the box in my direction. The flaky pastry dissolves on my tongue, the slightly sweet, slightly sour ground luka nuts inside flooding my mouth with flavor. These things taste like home. But if I'm not careful, they're going to taste like homesickness instead.
So, obviously these aren't a real thing (unless Trask is a real planet and I'm a dummy). This seemed like the perfect opportunity to make my own personal version of something! Now since life is crazy and wild right now, I didn't have the chance to make this exactly how I wanted, so I generalized a bit. Basically, I just wanted to make a nice pastry with a nutty flavor. I only had walnuts in my pantry, so I figured that would have to do. Looking back on this quote now, I'm thinking a nice baklava would have potentially been the way to go (provided I had all the proper ingredients for it).
Anyway, moral of the story is that I went a bit rogue. I was inspired by Prague (from reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone last week) and decided to make authentic Czech kolaches. These are a yummy breakfast treat that can use almost any kind of filling, so I was understandably excited. Here's how mine came out:
Traditionally they are filled with a cream cheese mixture or fruit preserves-- but since I wanted to use my walnuts, I made some that were filled with cookie butter + toasted walnuts. Overall, I have to say the cream cheese ones were my favorite. Cooking the cookie butter made it harden a bit, but the flavor was still nice. The pastry was divine and the fillings added a perfect touch of sweetness. I've been devouring them for breakfast each day since. They're very easy to make (takes time but it's not hard at all), and in the end you get to pull off your own individual chunk! Kinda fun, yeah?
There's a bit of extra goodness crumbled on top called posipka, which the recipe I followed didn't include, so I will put a link to where I found info on it. I definitely think it was worthwhile to add on! (Although I halved the recipe cause I thought it sounded like way more than I needed!)
Kolaches Recipe: https://www.dessertfortwo.com/authentic-czech-kolaches/
Posipka Recipe included: https://toriavey.com/toris-kitchen/kolache/
If you didn't know, I bake something from a book every week and post live updates on my Instagram. Tune in to @picklesandpages every Wednesday to check it out!
NEXT READ: Crier's War by Nina Varela
Comments