Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Published: October 18th 2016 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

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 Illuminaecontinues 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.

So, I finished Illuminae and HAD to order Gemina ASAP! It came two days later and I finished it within a few hours! It was highly addictive and I don’t know how I am supposed to adult without book 3!

Gemina is told from the Heimdall space station – which is where the Hypatia is headed after the events of the previous books. We are met with new problems from BeiTech and alien issues to boot! Like Illuminae, Gemina is set up like a case file/dossier – but I felt like it was told more through IM’s and surveillance footage with a few files in between, whereas Illuminae had a lot more files going on.

I love the fact that our MC’s are the most unlikely heroes there could be! Despite all the lessons, I wasn’t expecting Hanna to have actually listened to her dad during them and it was a breath of fresh air to have her being able to outthink the soldiers and people who were trained to do the job they were sent in to do. I also loved the fact that Nik was honourable despite his membership to the gang (family) and his story was a sad one! The voices of our MC’s didn’t meld together and it was so easy to tell them apart! I also loved the fact that they were also completely different from the voices in Illuminae!

I didn’t find it difficult to follow what was going on, despite having no idea about science, wormholes etc. It was extremely easy to follow and I also liked the fact that they put in a background to the bits that were a little different (like the alien species). The plot was quick paced and it had a lot going on which made me want to turn the pages and find out what was going to happen next… and I can I just say EW TO THE COWS!!!! So gross…

I enjoyed the character dynamic within this book – I loved watching the relationships change and grow as they began to get to know one another better because expectations and social stigmas began to shift and they began to appreciate one another in a way they would never have been able to do had the events never happened.

I loved the ending of this book and it’s definitely left me hanging for the next book! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!! All in all, I really enjoyed myself reading this book and I cannot wait for October! I gave this book 5/5 stars