Review of Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik

I originally found the first title in this series, Polaris Rising, mentioned on an e-book forum a while back, bought it and loved it.   So I was happy to be given a review copy of Aurora Blazing to review for my blog. 

Although I mostly read mysteries, I also appreciate a good space opera and/or a good romance from time to time, and Aurora Blazing is a fun combination of both.   In its continuation of the storyline from the protagonist of the first book to her sister, and with the developing relationship between Bianca and Ian, it’s like a romance.   And there are some steamy scenes, although to be honest, I skipped some of the steamy stuff, as I do with most romances…

The setting, however, is a nicely imagined world that is more built-out than in the first book.  There are lots of spaceships and fun gadgets, some Houses spread across a bunch of planets to fight a war, and a nice cast of characters.  I enjoyed watching Bianca develop her inner strength and make a silver lining out of the nasty stuff her now-dead former husband had done to her.   I also liked watching her back-and-forth with Ian.   And I especially “liked” the villainous new Silva Syndicate – at least I think they are new, since I don’t remember them from the first book.   With everything that is going on, there are more than enough high-jinx and adventures to merit a space opera badge for Aurora Blazing as well as a romance badge.

All-in-all, I enjoyed this book just as much, or maybe even a bit more, than its predecessor.   And I am now very much looking forward to reading the third in the series.    One little heads-up – if you haven’t read Polaris Rising, I think you can still enjoy Aurora Blazing, but I think you will enjoy it more if you read the first one first.  And finally, my thanks to the publisher, Harper Voyager, and to Edelweiss, for the review copy. 

Buy: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Kobo US | Kobo UK | Kobo Canada