Aurora Blazing

Jessie Mihalik has created something truly wonderful with this series. Polaris Rising was excellent, but somehow this one was even better. Perhaps it's because I was already accustomed to the worlds Mihalik has built, with warring Houses and FTL drives and nanobots, but I think it's because of Bianca.

Bianca was experimented on by her abusive late husband (so glad he's dead) and has been left with the ability to mentally receive and decode any passing wireless transmissions. She's like a hacker leveled all the way up. This ability comes at a steep price, however. She deals with what is essentially chronic pain, her nanobots don't heal her as well anymore, and she's lost a huge amount of weight due to incapacitating nausea. Basically show more massive migraines and oh girl, I feel you.

Yet Bianca is also that woman who knows how to use social graces and relationships to gather information. She appears weak when it's to her advantage, but also escapes her father's order of house arrest, steals a ship, and travels the 'verse to buy intel and save her kidnapped brother. SHE IS EVERYTHING.

Her love interest, Security Director Ian Bishop, is also pretty great, but he's there in a supporting role. He never tries to fix Bianca, he's just there to help her out while also glowering at her for making him chase her around the 'verse instead of doing his job. He's been pining for her for YEARS and there's a lot of tension and a delicious slow burn.

I cannot recommend this series, and particularly this book, enough.

Please note that another Love in Panels reviewer, Amy, covered this book for us. Her review has content warnings and lives over here: www.loveinpanels.com/prose/aurora-blazing show less

3.7 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Lady Bianca von Hasenberg still emotionally and physically deals with the trauma her first marriage caused. Now a widow, she works to help other girls and women through her network of spies and her technological skills. When her brother Ferdinand and the von Hasenberg heir disappears, she won't be patted on the head and told to stay home by her father or their Director of Security, Ian Bishop.
Ian shut down Bianca's flirting when he was her bodyguard and even now as the Director of Security, he still doesn't think he is worthy of her, but he can't stop his protective feelings for her. Bianca show more manages to get information he needs and she won't take no for an answer when it comes to rescuing her brother. Ian needs to rescue the heir, keep his own secrets, and never let Bianca know how deep his feelings really go.

Softly, he asked, “Why do you have to fight me on everything?”

Second in the Consortium Rebellion series, Aurora Blazing stars Bianca von Hasenberg, the sister of the heroine from the first book, Polaris Rising. The first book gave us glimpses of Bianca as she helped her sister and a few glimpses at the tension between Bianca and the Director of Security Ian Bishop. The author makes good on the tension and slow burn she hinted at in the first. Polaris Rising was a debut and one of the complaints I had was about the story needing a lot of fat trimmed, Aurora Blazing had none of those problems, the author did a great job shoring up the story and fulfilling on the promise I found in the first.

The Consortium series, so far, follows two main characters threads, one has readers following one of the three major ruling houses, the von Hasenbergs. Aurora Blazing is told solely from Bianca von Hasenbergs' point of view. The second is about soldiers that were part of the Genesis Project (soldiers who were experimented on to create “super” soldiers), Ian Bishop is hinted at being tied into that. These two threads are swirled into plot threads that involve the three ruling houses conspiring, maneuvering, and possibly going to war with each other for power and resources. This creates a fun, absorbing, and intriguing space opera/scifi ride.

“I promise I won’t ever use any of your secrets against you,” I said quietly.

As I mentioned, the romance is a slow burn, as in you won't see the (soft) snap in the fraying rope between these two until around 50%; the space opera aspect controls more of the attention in this series with the romance being more of a very important secondary character. I loved the dynamic and tension between Bianca and Ian, I could feel the emotion bubbling underneath. For the most part, I enjoyed how the author didn't blatantly spell out Ian's emotions but towards the end of the story, when we're supposed to get the big payoff, I felt like things were rushed. The ending sex scenes also felt out of place, they felt graphic and jarring placed at the end because the preceding 90% of story had a different tone between the couple.

His gaze was scorching, his eyes hot with desire. “We are not done,” he said, his voice a low command.

Without Ian's point of view and more of a look into his background, I found Bianca to be the stronger of the two characters. Learning about her first marriage and how her health issues causes her to lie to her family, thus isolating her even further, was heartbreaking. It was immensely satisfying to watch her not gain emotional and mental strength from what was done to her but instead use the strength that she already had but had been a bit too young to mature to. The times she refused to back down because she knew she had the skills and know-how to get the information quicker than Ian made me cheer for her even harder.

I was engrossed in the first half of this story and while I was locked into the space opera plots, the romance was too rushed for a satisfying payoff. I would love if Bianca and Ian got a second book as I think their story definitely supports it and the series would benefit from it. I don't know if it is due to the first person pov structure but there were at times I felt like I was only getting half the story on some things, scenes felt left out, and more background was needed. Overall, though, I found this an amazing continuation of the series and the author has dangled threads (the leak in the von Hasenberg house, the war between the three houses, and Ferdinand and his romance with the daughter of an enemy house) that I'm fully on board and can't wait for the next in the series. show less

A non-stop action space opera, with a troubled and doughty heroine who has to do it herself, with a super-hunky superior warrior security chief trying to keep her safe in spite of herself. The inevitable sex scenes are far from the best I've read, mechanical and predictable and not over the edge at all.

I really enjoyed this read with characters who entertained me. When I started reading it felt almost like a regency romance but it soon turned into a pretty political SF novel with a main female character who thinks like a chess master.
Bianca is a widow who has moved back to her family home. Her family don't know how much harm her husband did her both physically and mentally. When her eldest brother goes missing she decides to hunt for him, if she doesn't find him she's going to be the heir and she really doesn't want this. The head of her father's security service is determined to get her to safety and home but they have to join forces to hunt for her brother (mostly because she pushes the issue) she's always had a prickly relationship show more with Ian but now she has to deal with feelings for him.
In some ways it's a good space opera and in other ways it's a romance.
I didn't realise going in that it was book 2 in a series but honestly I didn't feel like I missed much in terms of plot or circumstances by reading them out of order. Some of the sex did feel a little added in but I liked the characters and the development of the relationship. I also want to read the rest of the series. show less

MY GIRL BIANCA. Kicking (cyber) butt while getting the guy and teaching her rather awful father he's REALLY AWFUL.

Though not the worst (looking at you Silva Syndicate).

This picks up a bit of time after Loch & Ada's adventures in POLARIS RISING. While they're off being happily banished to APD Zero, Bianca has been trying to track down what the heck is going on with the Rockhursts.

There's a minor mystery here, about who was targeting the House and why, but largely the focus is on the hell Bianca endured at her atrocious husband's hands.

I loved Bianca in PR; favorite character hands down. She came in with her sly cutting words, killer heels and no nonsense attitude and it was love. And friends, she brings that same energy here and I loved show more her here as well. show less

The nice thing about this book is even though it is the second book in the trilogy you could read them out of order and the only thing you really spoil is the HEA in book one. The main POV character has changed and she has different strengths and weaknesses than her sister from the first book. Bianca is a widow and has moved back to her powerful family’s home and gathers intel for both herself and for her father to use to help the house in the current war with House Rockhurst. She is used to being dismissed but when her brother is kidnapped, and someone tried to kill her then all bets are off on what she will do to get him back. What I like about this series is even though the Houses are very political the siblings have banded show more together and not let anything get in the way of their love and loyalty to one another. Bianca is on the run and the head of house security is hot on her trail to get her back even as she has a plan to rescue her brother. Ada, the heroine from the first book does help Bianca she doesn’t feature that much in this book.

I enjoyed the book and the setting, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the third book.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss. show less

This is the second installment of the Consortium Rebellion trilogy. While I thoroughly enjoyed the action and romance as much as I did in the first book, I found myself getting irritated with some editing issues. Plot points are repeated that don't need to be repeated... readers of this series are smarter than that. I still heartily recommend continuing the series if you loved Polaris Rising and I am very much looking forward to reading the conclusion in May 2020.