Book Review - Gemina, The Illuminae Files, Book 2

GEMINA

THE ILLUMINAE FILES, BOOK TWO

AMIE KAUFMAN, JAY KRISTOFF

DESCRIPTION:

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 is 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.

REVIEW:

After spending two sleepless nights reading Illuminae, I was worried the second book wouldn’t hold my attention as well. I was wrong. The second book in The Illuminae Files trilogy did not disappoint. Kauffman and Kristoff are masters of their craft, and they managed to weave another terrifying tale with two new characters—and it had me captivated (a difficult feat, honestly.) Don’t worry, surviving characters from book one made it into this book, too, which made it even more difficult for me to decide which was my favorite.

As much as I adored Kady and Ezra, I was equally smitten with the dynamic between Hannah and Nik. Through the entire book, we learn so much about these characters (can I just interject that Hanna Donnelly is the most butt-kicking female lead I have ever read and that Nik is the epitome of the misunderstood bad news bad boy with a heart of gold?) that I flinched whenever they were in danger, holding my breath until it was over. And just like in the first book, BeiTech Industries operatives take violence to a whole new level.

FAVORITE CHARACTER: Nik Malikov (because he makes me laugh and cry at the same time)

LEAST FAVORITE CHARACTER: LeAnn Frobisher, BeiTech because… murderous psychopaths?

LANGUAGE: Redacted cussing, multiple uses of God as an expletive

GRAPHIC VIOLENCE: High… yeah, there’s a lot of death and it written in detail

HEAT RATING: Low (kissing, nothing obscene)

RATING: 5/5