Aurora's Angel

by Emily Noon

A broken-winged angel trying to get home. Her escort a nocturnal huntress with a bloody past. It will be a dangerous journey – monsters are everywhere and the truly dangerous ones hide in plain sight.
Alone since her father’s brutal murder, Aurora has spent years hunting his killers. Battle-weary she’s ready to start over where no one knows who or what she is – she just has one last mission. Everything is going to plan until she discovers the beautiful winged girl caged underground. Her decision to rescue Evie and to help her get home safely, despite avians being infamous for selling out shapeshifters like Aurora to cutters and black-market flesh dealers, will put her on a perilous path.
As the women travel together their attraction grows but Aurora is guarding her lonely heart almost as much as her dangerous secrets and Evie is struggling to accept how important Aurora has become to her.
When their enemies conspire to kill them, they may be each other’s only hope. Aurora is powerful but she’s also emotionally scarred and it will be up to Evie to save her from herself and to fight for them – or innocent people will die along with the guilty ones and Aurora will disappear from Evie’s life forever.
Genre: Fantasy / Romance; 228,000 words

Genres: Fantasy, Lesbian, Romance, LGBT, Queer, Audiobook, Paranormal

642 pages, ebook

First published August 1, 2019

About the author

Emily always loved reading fantasy, especially if the plot included a romance between strong characters. After years of secretly creating magical worlds, she decided to take a chance and let her creations loose on the unsuspecting world. To her delight her debut novel, Aurora's Angel, won a Lambda Literary Award.

32nd Lambda Awards:
https://www.lambdaliterary.org/awards...
Vanity Fair exclusive on Lambda Winners:
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020...
Oprah exclusive on Lambda Finalists:
https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainmen...

Reviews

[Lex Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I’m almost at a loss of what to say because I’m worried I won’t do this book justice. I have wanted to read this book for a while. I had purchased it almost a year ago but never seemed to have enough time to read this. This is a large book and is almost three times the size many lesfic books normally are so I knew it was a time commitment. When I was asked to review this book for https://lezreviewbooks.com it gave me the push I needed to finally read this. I’m so mad at myself for waiting so long. What was I thinking?! This was everything I love in a good fantasy book and I would give it 6 stars if I could.

While the author calls this a dark fantasy book, I actually feel it is more high fantasy with a mix of urban fantasy-romance. While there are some parts that are dark and violent, I find a lot of dark fantasy books to be depressing and this book is not depressing. Some parts are sad yes but many books have some sadness. In fact, I would say what this book really is, what this book is really about, is good old ROMANCE. This is a romance wrapped in a fantasy setting and I loved it. It’s funny but before I read this book I was reminded that this was a finalist to win a LAMBDA award this year. That is pretty impressive and when I finished this book I went to look up the finalists for best fantasy/spec-fic. But guess what? This book was not there. It was not sitting next to The Priory of the Orange Tree (but what a battle between these two books that would have been!) like I expected. Instead this book is sitting next to Jae, Ullrich, Hale and others for BEST ROMANCE! I could not help but smile because LAMBDA was right; call this whatever type of fantasy you want because what this really is, is an epic romance.

All that talk about awards and I didn’t even get to mention that this is Noon’s debut. That makes this book all the sweeter really. When you are reading a new author for the first time and you know you are reading something really special, that is just such a great feeling. Noon is extremely talented and not only is this the best fantasy book I have read in a while, it’s my favorite book I have read all year. It has been a long time since I have read a fantasy book where the heart really is the romance. This was sweet, steamy, and passionate and everything I want in my romances.

While this is a romance, don’t worry there is plenty of action to keep you entertained. The book does start a little slow, and there is traveling like in most fantasy books, but once the story gets going it is a grand adventure. This is a world where shifters and humans live. There is a portal to Earth so that is how humans have mixed into this shifter world. What that means is that there are animal shifters such as wolves, tigers, winged shifters and last but not least Dragons!! You put dragons in just about any book and the geek in me cannot wait to get her hands on it. I loved this world that Noon created. A mix of old and new and it worked well for me.

Not only was the world Noon created well done, but I loved the characters. Aurora is one of my favorite types. She is a complete badass, but with a heart of gold. I love characters like that and she is going on my favorite character list for sure. Her love interest is great too and while she is not the type of badass Aurora is, she has her strengths in her own way. Put the two characters together and they balanced out perfectly making a couple you have to root for.

If there was any doubt, I absolutely recommend this book. This book is epic in the best way possible. At almost 700 pages, you will get your monies worth and go on a grand adventure for love. I would especially recommend this to fans of Breaking Legacies and The One Who Eats Monsters. If you liked either of those books I think chances are very high you will love this too. While I was completely satisfied with the ending, I feel like Aurora’s life is just ready to start a new chapter. I sure hope Noon will consider another book in this world. This is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

[Diane (IF U'RE PRIVATE, PLEASE SKIP ME!!!) Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

**'Telling any kind of story can be challenging: you have to be specific about the topic and characters then maybe make your readers believe in the storyline..'

Entertaining read!
Might seems long but worth it -- because it's a very well-paced and written fairy tale story. Even very well developed main and supporting characters.
Recommended book!

[Jude Silberfeld-Grimaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abby Craden. That should almost be all I need to write because, honestly, who is going to complain about listening to Abby Craden for over twenty hours? Her narration is top-notch as usual, well-paced with wonderfully fitting and distinctive voices for each character. I do have a lot more to say about this story however, because wow…

Aurora lives a lonely life. The child of two old blood species that aren’t supposed to mix, she’s never been accepted by either. Her father, a tiger shifter, made sure she grew up surrounded by good people but when Aurora was eleven, her father was murdered and her whole world was torn apart. Feeling responsible for his death, she made a vow to get back every part of him his murderers – black market flesh smugglers – took away. Years later, she stumbles upon another cutter’s nest. Despite the painful memories it brings back, she makes her way in and frees the prisoners she finds. One of them is an Avian woman, Evie.

I cannot believe this is a debut novel, it’s so well-written and complex. The world-building is amazing, it feels at once foreign and familiar. While some parts are violent and dark, this story is definitely not depressing. Quite the opposite, it left me feeling warm and happy. This book is equal parts fantasy and romance, both excellent. There’s a perfect balance of tension-filled events and humour. Aurora has a quirky sense of humour once she lets herself show it, and Evie is delightfully sassy.

I’m a very character-driven reader, and I loved the characters in this book. Aurora is a beast shifter and everyone is terrified of her beast(s), even herself at times. She’s very intense and strangely relatable for such an extraordinary creature. She can be socially awkward whereas Evie is as outgoing as can be. They’re a perfect example of opposites attract, with Aurora as an introvert (either by nature or because of the life she’s had to live) and Evie as an extrovert, both kind, smart and sweet.

“Tomorrow is unwritten”, says Evie mid-book, and that’s very much who she is. Carpe diem and deal with things as they happen. It’s a brand new view of life for Aurora who has been bound by her vow since she was eleven. Evie isn’t scared of Aurora’s beast, only of hurting Aurora. She has a very endearing playful and teasing side. To be honest, I might be just a little bit in love with Evie.

This book could probably have been shorter, especially as the story takes place over a relatively brief period of time, but honestly, I was enjoying it so much, I was okay with it lasting. With a book of that length, you won’t be surprised to learn the romance is a slow-burn. Which entails loads of touching, looks that last longer than they should, hints on both parts. Very sweet but also very sexy. Evie and Aurora have fantastic chemistry, and their shapeshifting abilities only enhance it. There’s a certain area on Evie’s body that is particularly sensitive to touch, for example, and don’t get me started on Aurora’s sense of smell!

Books like this one are my favourites, stories you don’t want to see end, with the right mix of action and romance, depth and humour.

A slightly different version of this review can be read on Les Rêveur.

[Zaidawg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I must have read a different book than the other reviewers here because the one I read is entirely undeserved the praised heaped on it.

Aurora's Angel reads like bad Xena AU fanfiction. You have your two main characters: The tall dark and deadly one and the blonde chatty naive one. They walk everywhere and the bulk of the book is just them travelling from place to place. Of course our two mains fall hopelessly in love with each other even though there is literally zero chemistry or buildup.

The plot of the novel is...OK. It's nothing innovative and could easily be trimmed down without losing anything of consequence, but it's not the worst. The problems stem from the characters and writing.

Aurora is the perfectest powerfullest being to ever walk the world and every other character loves her even though she thinks they all hate her. She never gets called out for anything she does that may be wrong and in fact, Evie just lectures every body else about how Aurora is obviously correct, and they are horrible for ever doubting her. Other than telling other characters off, Evie is just useless. She only exists for Aurora to rescue and fall in love with.

As for the writing, it's not terrible for a first draft, but really needed an editor. The author has no idea how to use commas, the "reveal" about Aurora's 2nd beast's identity was obvious from the very page it's shown she has two beasts, and relies heavily on the narration telling us things instead of showing it.

Then there's the dialogue which is so stiff and unnatural, I had to read it in 10 minutes chunks to get through it. Oh, and the detailed torture scene which is presented as the right thing for the "hero" to do.

The only reason I finished this book is because the high ratings on here had me convinced that there had to be some huge twist or something that made the book awesome, but it just completely fell flat all the way through.

[gloria .☆ﾟ. · Rating 5 out of 5]

➥ 5 Stars *:･ﾟ✧

Aurora moaned and when she spoke her voice was low and husky. “Evie, you’re playing a dangerous game.”
“Am I?” She wrapped her arms around Aurora’s neck and whispered in her ear, “Kiss me.”

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━

"Beyond incredible" pretty much covers it but gosh, I love these two. I'm so blown away by this author, she's already made it to my favourite authors list with only having published one book so far! I admit this book was originally slightly out of my comfort zone, paranormal/shapeshifter romances are not my forte, but this was an absolute delight.

The writing was firm and functional, sort of like Lee Winter's if you like her writing too. Not overly flowery, but impactful - I liked how the writing reflected the gravity of the stakes.

This is a true slowburn, and we watch Aurora (h) and Evie (h) grow fonder of eachother while on a journey together, which I personally love in romance. They're both sensible, strong, smart women, who dealt with every hurl life threw at them with vigour, and had eachother's back along the way. Aurora I found particularly charming, she reminds me of Ellie from tlou. She's serious, strong and protective. But also funny...

When Aurora fell silent Evie slid her hands sideways and up to caress her breasts.
She grabbed Evie’s hands and gasped, “Evie! What are you doing?”
“I am not afraid of you.”
“Yes, I can tell. If anything, I’m the one who’s a little afraid of you, especially right now, but that doesn’t explain why you did that.”

Every single aspect of this book was clearly thought-out with careful care and consideration, and it's a craft you can only admire, it's just such a solid book.

Evie has wings, and the way in which Noon entwined that with her characterisation was everything. Her wings were used to shield, to show affection, for privacy, and for expressing unease or nervousness. It was really beautifully done, and I can see why Noon would want to keep writing in the pnr genre considering her glowing competence in writing its elements.

Evie stepped away from their gear to stand next to Aurora and unfurled a wing so it hugged her back. "You really don't have to find me another room, Astrid. We'll manage."

In short, this book is a cluster of overwhelming excellence - can't wait for the next Noon book.

━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━

[Pin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really loved this great book and encourage everyone to give it a try. Once I started, I just could not put it down.
5 stars

[elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing is infuriating. IT’S SO WORDY. It’s like reading a Wattpad book written by a 13-year-old. What’s more ridiculous is the amount of good reviews I’m seeing in here. Are we even reading the same book?

[JulesGP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aurora is a beast shapeshifter who everyone respects and many fear. She is haunted by a bloody past which keeps her forever on the move in Nordarra. Although she is being trophy hunted because of the type of shifter she is, Aurora is also tracking down the people who are responsible for taking what mattered most in life to her. When she rescues a caged avian shifter, Evie, the world tilts for both of them.

I want to say one thing and that’ll be it. I don’t think a writer can fake enthusiasm. Diligent readers can tell if a book is formulaic and has no real spark. When you find a book where the words and characters shimmer with life because the author behind them is bristling with energy, desperately needing to tell the tale, then you’ve found something special. Aurora’s Angel is one of those books. How could anyone not recognize the ridiculous amounts of joy and sadness that jump off the page, the stuff readers seek out every time we hit Chapter 1 of a brand new book? Read it for the adventure or for the love story. There’s hot sex here, fantastic creatures, phenomenal places, wonderful secondary characters, but also violence so be warned.

Abby Craden (sigh).

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is my 100th review on goodreads so before I start this review I want to thank the little community of queer fiction readers I've found here. I've read fiction my entire life and that changed primarily to lesbian fiction the last few years. I never thought anyone could care about my thoughts on books, and when I made this account just to help keep track of what I've read I didn't anticipate actually writing reviews. But after being particularly moved by a few books I decided to start, and found people that care about my thoughts. And I really like reading other people's reviews too. I've come to really enjoy reading and talking about books with others here. This has been a really great experience writing on goodreads for the last year and I'm looking forward to many more. If you're a part of that, thank you so much and I am grateful to you!

Now with all that said let's jump into the review. I'm far from the first person to write about Aurora's Angel- it literally won a Lambda award and in my opinion 100% rightly so. This book is wonderful!

This book follows Aurora and Evie. Aurora is a shapeshifter- primarily of a tiger. When she discovers Evie, an avian (person with wings) imprisoned in a mine, she frees her, but Evie becomes injured in the process. So they travel together for a while to finish a quest of Aurora's and to bring Evie safely home and grow close in this process. But many obstacles come along the way- particularly the kind of people who hunt shapeshifters like Aurora and Evie.

This book was incredible. And it was also LONG. But despite its length, it didnt feel at all drawn out. There was quality content in every section of this book and it never felt like it was lengthy for the sake of itself.

The emotional writing in this book is fantastic. The pull and angst Aurora and Evie feel towards each other is so great- then when they admit feelings to themselves but can't to each other it's heartwrenching- and that makes the reconciliation so fulfilling. I spent probably the last third of this book tearing up on and off because of their relationship.

There is also a lot of plot to this book too, as you would expect of a book this length. But I was super into it. The world Noon built in the world of Nordarra seemed very fleshed out and built well and that ties into the plot of the book of the struggles with human hunters verses the shapeshifters. There is a bit of a mystery to this book too and a bit of action scenes too. I was super into it.

This jumps automatically to one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read. I wanted more and more of this book and this world as I read this. I loved it. I couldn't ask for a better book for a 100th review. 5/5

[Frank Van Meer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure how to review this book, because I don't want to be too negative. But there are two main parts of the story that bothered me intensly.

First off: the book starts with a bang. Aurora has infiltrated in a mine, when she discovers a horrible laboratory hidden inside it, with two wolf shapeshifters on the brink of death and the beautiful avian Evie. She rescues all of them, but the escape after Aurora destroys the facility goes awry, as Evie is shot down by artillery (yes, artillery!). Aurora, while she distrusts avians, helps her get away, which is followed by 21 chapters of tedium. I will get to that soon.

This is one of those books that has 21st century technology in a fantasy setting, and this book makes the same mistake all the others made: none of it is explained of how it got there. It's kind off shoe-horned in, with the possible intention to spice things up, but it doesn't work. People wear jeans, drive Jeeps, have trucks, freezers, hot and cold water and firearms. All of this is "explained" by some portal that connects both worlds, but that's all we get. If you're not really going to use it, why even bother adding it in your story? It doesn't make it better.

About the 21 chapters of tedium. Twenty-one chapters of traipsing through the woods, with Evie following Aurora as she goes about her business. Sure, Evie uses that time to pry into Aurora's many secrets, but at around the 50% mark I started skipping entire sections, and I never had the idea I missed out on anything. At some point the two women fall in love, and we're back to the "I found my mate" trope common in all shapeshifter romances.

The story finally picks up again in chapter 24, where Evie is finally delivered at home and immediately is thrown into a web of treachery and deceit.

So, I'm giving it 4 stars for chapter 1-3 and 24- End. All the other chapters get a solid 1 star.

*edit: typo

[Gaby LezReviewBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this wlw fantasy audiobook was an incredible tour de force. First, I have to say that, for some bizarre reason, we missed this book’s release last year as it should have made into our list of best books of the year. Apologies for the omission.

Aurora is a powerful shape-shifter seeking revenge for her father’s death. Physically strong but emotionally scarred, she finds Evie locked in a cage, a beautiful winged woman who looks like an angel. Both women will embark on a dangerous journey to get Evie home safely, a path in which they will face many dangers and will bond them forever…

Fantasy books aren’t normally my cup of tea but I’m always willing to make exceptions, especially if there is a good romance. In this case, the love story is absolutely outstanding and at the forefront of the plot so much so that this should be considered in the romance more than the fantasy category. Don’t take my word for it, it won a Lambda Literary Award in Lesbian Romance competing against some of the heavyweights of the genre like Jae, M. Ullrich, and Erin Zak.

This isn’t a short book, at 642 pages, 20+ hours of audio, there is a lot of world-building, characters’ growth, chemistry buildup, romance, action, and adventure. Despite its extension, it keeps the reader/listener entertained, moved and at the edge of their seats throughout the whole story. It has the perfect balance between action, adventure, fantasy and romance.

The plot itself is at moments quite dark. I have to warn readers of possible triggers in the form of extreme violence and discussions of sexual abuse. I’m not a fan of these elements in a story but they were all necessary to the plot to show the characters’ temperaments and explain their actions completely.

The love story counterbalances the violence in the most beautiful and sensual way. At times it seems borrowed from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in an opposites-attract love that defies all misconceptions and is able to see a person for who they are in essence. Aurora and Evie are so different but, at the same time, they are both loyal and caring. Their connection is believable and deep.

I’ve listened to the audiobook narrated by Abby Craden who did an incredible job. What a tour de force narration for this epic book. The voices, the chemistry, the action scenes, the emotional moments… Everything was perfect. Ms. Craden’s narration did true justice to this story. Due to the extension and quality of both the written word and the audio, this is great value for your money. 5+ stars.

Length 20 hours, 40 minutes.

Audiobook generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

See all my reviews at www.lezreviewbooks.com

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just phenomenal, I've listened to it three times over the last year or so and I love it just as much each time ❤️ I know I can’t write a review to do it justice, but I’ll gush about how much I love it for a bit anyway.

First off, please listen to the audiobook. Abby Craden and this book were made for each other! And honestly, who doesn’t want to listen to Abby for 22 hours, am I right? She brings Aurora and Evie to life in the best way, with perfect voices and tons of emotion. Flawless!

This is a looooooong book. I’m not sure how many pages, but given that the standard romance audiobook is like 8-10 hours, this one sitting at 22 should give you an idea. Noon takes her sweet time, really developing each character with thorough backstories (particularly Aurora – the woman has baggage!), deep and emotional relationships with family/friends, and absolutely beautiful chemistry between Evie and Aurora. What starts as an unsteady alliance based on mutual need turns into a beautiful friendship and more, and I love that Noon didn’t rush it – the bulk of their journey together happens over about a week, but because everything is written so expansively (every scene, every conversation), it feels like way longer. The bond they form over such a short time honestly feels so genuine that it doesn’t inspire me to make a U-Haul joke. Oh, and things get rather spicy between these ladies... repeatedly ! 🔥🔥🔥

I love the world-building and am really hoping to see more stories from Nordarra – about Aurora and Evie, as well as a few of the side characters that had me intrigued! I can’t believe this was Noon’s debut novel, what an impressive first showing! I think the amount of detail given about the world was just perfect – enough to give you a good idea of how things worked and keep you intrigued, but it never felt like I was inundated with too much information. I love the idea of the shifter world with different kinds of shifters, shifter cultures, and magic - and how the human world has tainted it. I feel like the author has set up a finely crafted world with so much potential to build and expand upon it and a lot of stories to tell within it.

All in all, this is an epic fantasy adventure that is really more of a romance. There’s a ton of action and adventure, lots of traveling, plenty of interesting characters to meet, and a compelling plot…but when you get right down to it, it’s an enchanting af romance and I wouldn’t have it any other way! This book always makes the list when I’m spouting favourites, and though I hate to pick any one single book that I love the most, if I really had to, this would probably be it ❤️

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emily Noon’s writing paired with an Abby Craden’s narration is an experience I’m not sure I will recover from. 20 hours of this amazing world full adventure, mystery, romance, action, yet I still want more.
Noon’s writing is absolutely breathtaking.

[Guerunche · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare when I love an audiobook so much that I need to sing (in this case, scream) its praises, but this is certainly one. Wow, Wow, WOW! This has it all - adventure, incredible world building and character development and a swoon-worthy, sexy romance. That's in addition to giving us one of the greatest characters in lesfic in Aurora - a gorgeous yet menacingly powerful shapeshifter huntress that has a heart of gold for those she loves. I've never had a crush on a character like I do on her. Well - maybe Audrey from EJ Noyes' Turbulence, but I digress. At 20 hours and 40 minutes long, this is an investment of time but I swear when it was over I wanted more!
I don't normally seek out paranormal works but so glad I decided to give this one a try or I would really have missed out on one of the best audiobook experiences I've ever had. This is a slow burn romance for the ages - between Aurora and Evie Aguilar, the beautiful heir apparent to a house of winged Avian angels. I will need to buy the physical book now (the cover featuring Evie is gorgeous) but I can tell you that having Abby Craden narrate this story made the listening absolutely delicious. This is going on my Abby's Greatest Hits shelf and is most certainly one of my favorite audiobooks of all time. If I could give this more than five stars I would. This book deservedly won the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Romance. Put this at the top of your reading/listening list, folks. You'll be so glad you did! 

[Sapphic Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I hope that you will wear the necklace occasionally and remember me kindly.”

4.5

Finished! 545 pages later, and I'm so impressed—I can't believe this was a debut novel!

I'll keep it short and sweet—Emily Noon is an exceptional author, and it's no surprise this book has racked up so many glowing reviews and awards.

Evie and Aurora's relationship was such a highlight for me. It was heartfelt, all-encompassing, and beautifully written. The characters and world-building were absolutely next level, incredibly detailed and immersive. I found myself completely absorbed from start to finish. Sure, there were a few moments where the story felt like it dragged a tad, but those were rare.

Even though fantasy books aren’t usually my go-to, I’m so glad I gave this one a chance. I would highly recommend it to any sapphic romance lover.

One important thing to mention—there are a few mentions of child SA that happened off page. That was an uncomfortable subject to come across out of nowhere and a content warning at the start of the book would have been appreciated.

[Netgyrl (Laura) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time I have enjoyed this book. The first time I read it, this time I listened to the wonderful Abby Craden read it to me. She made the experience even better. Love, love, love this book!

ok... one nitpick... Evie most definitely has FEATHERS. Why does the chick on the cover have butterfly style wings? I mean, it is pretty but it ain't right.

[Para (wanderer) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 13%, much, much earlier than I usually DNF, but the dialogue is so awkward and stiff and unnatural and full of infodump it's like nails on a chalkboard. I just can't get past it. Plus Evie sounds extremely immature (even though she's supposed to be an adult) and bratty, which made my irritation even worse. That might get better, but I hate the writing too much to find out.

[K.J .]

Who doesn’t love a ripped shapeshifting butch tigress with hidden magical abilities and a sassy avian shapeshifter with wings of shimmery gold? Actually, I don’t want to know who doesn’t, because it would be a really short list.
Emily Noon built the fantasy world in Aurora’s Angel without the need to make us sit in a chair while we listen to a long-winded back story. So many fantasy novels spend the entire first chapter telling us all about some parchment with a map and the wood panelling in the room and the black lines on the map and the pipe that the person holding the map is smoking and that’s all you get for 3000 words. Here is some more good stuff: There are really intense baddies in this novel who commit unspeakable acts of violence. Emily describes the atrocities in enough detail to not become a Jeffrey Deaver novel, but ensures we appreciate the light and goodness that is Aurora and Evie and the people who support them. One of the aspects I liked the most was the humour. It is scattered throughout the novel at obvious points but also, surprisingly, at moments of tension where it’s used to deflect the stress of the event.
The dialogue becomes strangely formal and stilted in patches. It’s like Emily Noon lost the cadence of the conversations between the MCs, but then suddenly reset herself, and so we zip along beautifully again.
Oh my. It’s an entire laboratory of chemistry. It’s a romance, so, as readers, we know that the MCs are getting together eventually, and when they do, Aurora and Evie are incendiary.
In the first third of the book, there’s no heat. Except the mini campfires that Aurora creates each night. Then, it’s “I like you a lot, you like me a lot, we both like sex a lot…so?” and, well…gosh.
Thoroughly enjoyable. I fell into the world that Emily Noon created, and it was amazing to hang out with Aurora and Evie for a while. Although Aurora initially scared the crap out of me. She’s a shapeshifting tiger magical beast person, for God’s sake. Somewhat intimidating.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a ride this story took me on. I had to listen to the audio book version because well ... Abby Craden... and I was hooked after the first five minutes. This is only the second shape shifter story I’ve read, and I was totally engrossed and wanted to know what would happen to Aurora and Evie on their journey. There was so much drama between the different shape shifter communities, the cutters, bounty hunters and more, that you don’t really notice the length of the story. In fact, I wanted the romance between Aurora and Evie to continue well past the 20 hours of narration, it was that good!

4.7 well-deserved stars.

[MaxDisaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars without question.

This was simply awesome.
Great characters who had amazing chemistry, a fascinating world full of shape-shifters and magic, a well-constructed storyline with just enough action to keep it lively ...

edit November 2025: still no complaints whatsoever

[Corrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aurora’s Angel by Emily Noon was a very ambitious fantasy romance that started with a bang. The scenes in the mine where beast shifter Aurora discovers and rescues captured avian Evie were very promising. It was when Evie started to travel with Aurora that the plot slowed down into many domestic scenes between the two. Too many domestic scenes.

The magic was used as a convenient tool to overcome any difficulties in their path. No real challenges there. The pacing of this adventure suffered because of the author’s need to have Aurora and Evie doing all kinds of fluffy stuff together. The world building confused me. There were a lot of 21st century conveniences that made no sense in a fantasy setting. A portal to Earth is there, but how it works or why it’s there is never explained. The seemingly unencumbered travel between the two realms of people, shifters (including their magic) and items bothered me.

Aurora’s Angel was 20 hours long with an entertaining beginning and end. Sadly, the middle was way to uneventful to make this a 5 star read.

Note: I think Aurora was a very unfortunate name to use on a main character, not even a seasoned pro like Abby Craden could get it out of her mouth elegantly.

Available as audiobook on Scribd.

f/f

Themes: shifters, old bloods, cutters, avians, too much domestic filler stalled the plot and made it boring.

3.4 Stars

[Georgie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️ Argh, this book is everything my fantasy loving confused queer teenage heart yearned unknowingly for all those years ago. Aurora’s Angel is phenomenal. My only complaint is that it is 545 pages / 20h40m too short! My fantasy loving sapphic beast has been awoken and I want more of Aurora, Evie and Nordana.

I experienced this by audiobook, and I am certain Abby Craden’s brilliant narration made it even better.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aurora's Angel is a brilliant epic love story set in a fantasy world ripe with all manner of beasts, shifters, and humans precariously coexisting amidst ancient magic and primal instincts. The main characters are beautifully drawn with distinct but equally bad-ass personalities. They have hearts of gold, and they love and fight hard through their respective adversities. They journey across a physical landscape that can be treacherous, both from difficult terrain and a variety of dangerous foes. They discover themselves and each other on their way to their physical and metaphorical homes. I am blown away at this being Emily Noon's debut novel. It is so well thought out with strong character development (including the supporting characters), world-building, and lore. The writing style makes this world and these characters real and approachable. I am so in love with Aurora and Evie and their adventures. There are dark elements that may be difficult, but they are not for naught. Aurora has a tragic backstory, and Evie is facing a betrayal. These are important challenges to their shared and individual journeys. Their dialogue is fantastic. Their fierce love for one another is fire. Their intimate scenes are spicey and beautiful. The mix of human characteristics and animal instincts are mingled in a fascinating amalgam. I am hungry for more of Aurora and Evie's world, and as soon as I finished reading the eBook, I purchased the hardcopy for my library.
There are very few typos and a need for more commas.
This story was so immersive that I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this 5-star read!

[Menestrella · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an epic journey! So glad I finally go to read this.

It was entertaining, heartfelt, it made me angry, it made me also laugh and made me all warm inside.

One of the best shapeshifters stories I have ever read.

I did want an epilogue... even after so many pages. I wanted to know more.

Aurora and Evie are badasses women.

[Victoria]

I was struggling to finish the final chapter because I love this too much😭

When I first read the blurb, I thought the book is dark and moody; Aurora seems like a broody, grumpy shape-shifter(just like almost every shape-shifter book), Evie seems fragile all the time. Everything in the blurb is just like a usual paranormal, shape-shifter book. But nope, everything is beyond my imagination and expectation!

The book is still dark, some details are even terrifying, but Emily has her sense of humor that delighting the whole book. What surprises me the most is that Evie is nothing like in the blurb; physically, she's not that strong, but definitely not fragile. She's brave, witty, sassy, and flirty(yup). Both MC are lovable, although I found some of the dialogue is stiff and too long, which made it unnatural, but still, it didn't bother me because the rest of it is perfect.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally awesome as all my GR friends have said. I finally finished the audio on my long car trip. I wish there were more books this great.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

See, this is why I can't trust GR reviews. This averages over 4 stars? This book? Really? Am I reading a different version than most people have read? Because this book was did not deliver a 4+ star reading experience.

On the one hand, I have a lot of respect for Emily Noon. I could not have written 500+ pages about nothing. On the other hand, only 100 of those pages had anything to do with a story, so this was a colossal waste of time.

I don't know the history behind this work or story. My guess is this has its roots in some kind of fan fiction because of the way the story meanders, showing overly cute (to the point of cringy) scenes between the main characters that do nothing to advance anything. What was the point of it all?

That question was finally answered at the 80% mark. Yes, it took an entire 80% of the novel for anything to happen that wasn't demonstrating how perfect Aurora was at everything and/or how hopeless and annoying Evie in equal measure.

There was enough in this world Emily Noon puts together that could lend itself to an interesting story: shape-shifters, turf wars, the attempt to extinct ancient beings. So why Noon seemed to not spend time revising her work and shaping that story is baffling. This novel could have been half the length and been infinitely better.

Obviously, I'm an outlier on this novel. And, admittedly, speculative fiction is not my preferred genre. But I think there are much better sapphic speculative works out there to read.

[Triet Ngo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure why the rating for this book was so high. I do think that the first couple of chapters were good....although you can tell right off the bat that one person in the duo is going to be annoyingly naive and/or annoying. But once you leave those first couple of chapters, there's literally so much long and unnatural dialogue explaining who this person is and their pasts. Which is fine but when there's so much and there's no other method like a flashback or some creative way to get all this epilogue in, you get bogged down on the details and you're waiting for shit to happen. At one point, I felt like there was just pages and pages of only long Shakespeare length dialogue talking their current situation. Instead of describing stuff in third person like "The winds raged on and toppled the can," it was like a character would go "wow the winds are so strong...It just toppled that can." Not a real quote but basically what reading this book felt like. Did I think the book needed to be like the entire lord of the rings trilogy length right off the bat? No. It felt so long--like the journey would never end and when I want the book to end quicker, that's not great.

[Ashlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was forced into reading this, told it was required reading for anyone who likes wlw. Happy to say I loved it and am so glad I "chose" to pick it up. It's going directly back into my TBR pile so I can read again or listen in the nearish future and pick up anything I may have missed in the first go round. The writing is amazing, the plot intriguing and the world building was so well done. Wolves, tigers, dragons oh my!

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars—Solid fantasy romance. Loved this world of shape shifters! A little more than half of the book is spent chemistry-building with a lot of dialogue. Not necessarily a bad thing, but there were times the conversation felt drawn out, and when the book is 600+ pages long, you feel that. Once it got to the action, though, oh yessss! Aurora is such a badass character!