Synopsis: Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.
Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.
When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.
But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.
Continuing on with the Illuminae series was a no brainer for me. I read the first book in around a day I think, and the sequel was no different. I know that I said this in my review of the first book, but I love the format that this series is written in. While some people might find it disjointed or distracting, I find that the different points of view with the combination of actual conversations in the first person and then 3rd person recounts of what happened really bring it to life for me. I found myself turning page after page and unable to put it down.
The characters and plot are again really great in this book. While it may seem at first super similar to Illuminae, Gemina has a couple things that really shine about it. While the first book focused on the stuggle of Kady and Ezra against AIDAN and a highly-contagious disease, Gemina focuses on two new characters, Hanna and Nik. First of all, I love these two characters. Kaufman and Kristoff have an incredible ability to create compelling backstories and always find the right time to divulge information so that you love the characters all the more. Ella, Nik’s cousin, also plays a big part in the novel, and together these three teens are struggling to survive against what is basically an execution squad from BeiTech (remember, those guys who blew up the planet in the first book?). So yeah, different type of danger, and different set of skills. Believe when I say that Hanna and Nik are quite deadly.
Also, something that this book really blew me away with was the illustrations? And guess what, they turn out to be by this other amazing author, Marie Lu! I couldn’t believe it. The use of pictures in these novels really attracts me (I love visuals!) and there was literally things beyond my imagination in this book. One of my favourite things, and something that really helped to build the suspense of the novel, was that there was always a page with the pictures of the BeiTech strike team that would come up every so often and (SPOILER) show you how many of the team were remaining. Those and the info graphics which would count down to like an explosion or something, in this book and the last, build the suspense to the nth degree. It’s wild. These really helped me keep track of where in the book we were, the peril of the situation, and literally kept my heart racing.
Overall, I adored this book. The combination of the heartfelt moments, the sad ones and the happy ones, as well as the suspense, the action and the characters, were what made this a 5/5 book for me.
I’m writing this review just as I’m about to start Obsidio, and boy oh boy am I not ready for this series to be over. I’m so glad that I started (so late to the party but better late than never) and I’m looking forward to seeing how the authors tie it all up.
Also, real question, how do two authors write one book? I would love to see their process!
Anyways, thats all for now ducks. I’ll be back with a review of Logic’s Supermarket really soon. But for now, I hope you’re all enjoying the week and summer!
See ya soon ducks!
~ Mon
Words, Pages, Books 