{Blog Tour} Gemina (Book 2: The Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Posted by Donna
Release Date: October 13th, 2016
Finished Date: October 9th, 2016

Publishers: Rock the Boat 
Genre: YA, Sci-fi
Source: For Review
Format: ARC

Pages: 672
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo 

 

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that critics are calling “out-of-this-world awesome.” 

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.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

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.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

The Review: Gemina is the highly awaited sequel to Amie Kaufman’s & Jay Kristoff’s YA sci-fi series The Illuminae Files and for me Gemina was so much better than Illuminae. I loved Illuminae but I loved Gemina even more so, well done Amie & Jay! 

At the end of Illuminae we see the survivors of the Hypatia heading towards the people on Jump Station Heimdall. They will be with them within a matter of days and of course they will be telling them know about the Kerenza invasion. Now Gemina starts right after Illuminae ends and shows us what is happening at the space station through a new set of characters. Both Gemina’s and Illuminae’s stories are tangled all up together because ultimately they all have the same enemy and if they want to defeat them then they’re going to need to work together. 

I know some people aren’t fan of when each book is about new set of characters but I really love it and Gemina was definitely better for it. Even though Kady & Ezra’s stories aren’t over they are involved in Hanna and Nik’s so even though we’ve come to love them we still get to see them but, it’s just through Hanna and Nik’s eyes. 

Now Hanna and Nik are great character and I really did love getting to know them. They’re both strong characters with different backgrounds but somehow they just work together. The banter from their conversations was simply hilarious at times. As a reader I felt like I was their listening to their conversations and it was so much fun. Their stories are completely different especially with the dangers that surround them on the space station that their stories aren’t dull for one minute. I found their story more intense and felt it had a lot more action and generally just felt like a stronger story. Maybe that’s because Illuminae was the opening story and now with Gemina the story is much more developed. Also Ella was a great secondary character. She’s so much fun and brings so many laugh-out-loud moments but it wasn’t all LOL moments and there was some pretty intense and sad scenes that left me in shreds while reading. And there is one MAJOR character from Illuminae that for some reason I was very happy to see in Gemina – I’ll say no more! 

The end of the story is left on a cliffhanger – sorry people – but although there is some conclusion to some parts of the story, the major ones unfortunately are left waiting until the release of final book in the series. I don’t know about you but I’m excited to see what comes next. I’m looking forward to getting to know the new characters. 

In all, for me Gemina was a much stronger book and definitely my favourite out of the two books so far. 

Thank you to Rock the Boat for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review. 

{Review} Illuminae: The Illuminae Files: Book 1 by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Posted by Donna
Release Date: October 22nd, 2016
Finished Date: August 28th, 2016

Publishers: Rock the Boat
Genre: YA, Sci- Fi 
Source: For Review
Format: ARC

Pages: 599
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo 

 

The year is 2575 and two mega-corporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice covered speck.  Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it.  With enemy fire raining down on them Ezra and Kady have to make their escape on the evacuating fleet.  But their troubles are just beginning.  A deadly plague has broken out on one of the space ships and it is mutating with terrifying results.  Their ships protection is seriously flawed.   No one will say what is going on. 

As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth its clear only one person can help her. Ezra. And the only problem with that is they split up before all this trouble started and she isn’t supposed to be talking to him.

A fantastically original, heart-stopping adventure where everything is definitely more dangerous than it seems.

The Review: Illuminae is a gripping and fast paced YA sci-fi story written in a truly unique and fascinating way. You can dive into Kady and Ezra’s story following the aftermath of their planet being invaded through hacked documents including interviews, emails, military documents, medical reports, illustrations and many more interesting ways.

When I started Illuminae I didn’t know what to expect and I must admit for the first 100 pages I didn’t know if the was the type of novel that could keep me interested in the story. But it did and I honestly flew through the pages as quickly as possible to find out how it ends. Now you’d think a 599 page book would take a while to get through but it doesn’t. It’s a really quick read with some many unique ways of telling the story that I was blown away by the details in this book. I have no idea how long it must have taken to create a book like this but as a reader, it’s definitely a book I won’t be forgetting for a long time and it most definitely stands out from the crowd of other YA sci-fi stories out there.

Kady and Ezra’s story is what drew me into the story to start with and without their story I know I definitely would have lost interested. But these two characters were fantastic! Most of their communications are through emails during the book story and I really enjoyed it. If anything it intensifies their relationship and their banters and as a reader I didn’t feel like I missed anything by that. I actually really enjoyed how their story was told.

The plot of the story was full of suspense and a great page turner. I for one can’t wait to see what happens next in the series – even if it is a different set of characters – I know some of you don’t like that - but I can’t wait. I do hope Kady and Ezra pop up at some point though.  

Thank you to Rock the Boat for giving me the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.