Goldilox and the Three Weres: Release Day Review: Aurora Blazing by Jessie Mihalik

Aurora Blazing
(Consortium Rebellion #2)
Jessie Mihalik
Release: October 1, 2019
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Bianca von Hasenberg did her duty for High House von Hasenberg and ended up trapped in a terrible marriage. When her husband dies unexpectedly and leaves her a happy widow, she vows never to marry again. Instead, she uses her connections to save other young women. Information is power and Bianca has a network that would be the envy of the ’verse—if anyone knew about it.

After an attack, Bianca’s oldest brother, the House von Hasenberg heir, disappears from Earth without a trace. Determined to find him, Bianca leaves against orders. When she refuses to return, her father sends Ian Bishop, the director of House von Hasenberg security, to haul her home like a recalcitrant child.

Bianca leads Ian on a merry chase across the universe, but when their paths finally collide, she persuades him that they would be far more successful at finding her brother if they worked together. She will do anything to save her sibling, even if it means spending time alone on a small ship with the handsome, infuriating man who once broke her heart.

As clues lead them deep into rival House Rockhurst territory, Bianca must decide if she can trust Ian with the one piece of information that could destroy her completely. . .

Review:
I'll be honest. When I read the first book in this series, I enjoyed it but I wasn't convinced that I should pick up the next book. I'm so glad I decided to anyway because I loved the hell out of Aurora Blazing!

When I first read the synopsis, I was hit hard with the princess and her bodyguard vibes and that's what got me to pick up the book. Well, that and learning more about Ian Bishop. While I still caught some of those vibes, the actual story couldn't be further from that. It's full of political intrigue, spy games, kidnapping, space cartels, and romance. It was everything I could have wanted and more!

I absolutely loved Bianca! She's tough and kind of vulnerable at the same time. She's 25 and already a widow and she's happy about it. Her deceased husband was a piece of work that isolated Bianca and hurt her in unimaginable ways. She lives with the side effects of what he did to her like someone who has chronic illness. Bianca is smart and politically savvy. She's built up her own ring of unnoticeable spies in the House social scene that is unparalleled in her world. It made me happy that we got to see more of the House politics in action in this book. Bianca is a badass and I seriously loved everything about her! What I loved even more was her interactions with Ian Bishop.

Ian may be the head of House von Hasenberg security and good at his job but Bianca is running circles around him with the spymaster thing. I loved their game of cat and mouse! Their relationship is seriously a classic enemies-to-lovers scenario and I was all here for it! I also fell in love with Ian while reading this book. I wasn't sure I was going to after we met him those few times in the first book but he wasn't anything like I was expecting. I had trouble liking Loch in the first book and his character felt flat for me. I kind of feared that it would be the same with Ian in this book but it wasn't! He felt way more developed to me. I still wish we had gotten some of the story from his perspective but it it what it is.

The trouble those two get into in this book was something else and it kept me on my seat the whole time I was reading. One of the things I love about this series is the love and loyalty between the von Hasenberg siblings. Despite everything their jerk of a father did to try to tear them all apart, the siblings love each other and are there to protect one another against all of the heavy odds against them. Bianca is even more protective of her siblings (especially her sisters) because of all that has happened to her and it shows. She cares nothing about her own safety it will save one of her siblings from having to deal with the pain she has.

I loved everything about this book! The politics! The House social scene! The family dynamics! The romance! The crazy space adventure! It was all right up my alley. I'm so glad I decided to give this book a try. Aurora Blazing was one of my favorite books I've read this year. I'm now dying to get my hands on the next book. It's all about Catarina and a certain mercenary and I'm so ready for it!

ARC provided by the publisher via Edelweiss