Book: Gemina
Author: Kay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
My Rating: 4 dramatic stars
Hey bookworms! It’s almost Christmas! I hope y’all get lots of books to add to your ever growing TBR (to be read) lists. I thought I’d review an audiobook my husband and I listened to together on a road trip recently. It’s the second in a series called The Illuminae Files.
Gemina picks up right at the end of Illuminae, on Jump Station Heimdall, with different characters, but the same bad guys (BeiTech). Hanna, the station captain’s daughter, and Nik a son of the House of Knives crime family are the unlikely pair standing between Heimdall station and it’s ultimate doom at the hands of BeiTech AND some unexpected alien predators (because, why not?)
I think this book manages to escape that middle of the trilogy lull because of the change in location and new cast of characters. There are references to the events of the first book, so the reader knows where they’re at in the timeline of the story. I appreciated this, but I also found it slightly confusing. This could also be because we took a year long break between books one and two.
I loved the premise of Gemina! A space station invasion, alien predators loose and on the hunt, plus some young adult drama. One of my favorite things about the first book, Illuminae, was the banter between characters, and that was certainly a highlight of Gemina as well. I think this book was just as humorous as the first, but I also think this book was a little darker. There are some pretty gut wrenching deaths on the page. For the most part I loved them, but I was pretty disappointed that we didn’t get to see any of the cast from the first book until the very end. I missed Kady and Ezra, they’re still my favorites.
I absolutely loved how the authors gave us two separate stories and weaved them together seamlessly leading into the last book. The story telling is brilliantly done. Each character has their own unique voice (literally in the audiobook narrated by a full cast). If you’re into action/sci-fi I highly recommend this trilogy as physical books or audiobooks. Hopefully, we won’t wait another year before we finish the trilogy!
Krystle Goodman is a crazy cat lady, who loves to drink exorbitant amounts of coffee, and read a shocking amount of books. She lives in Benton with her husband Josh, her son Roman, and their two cats Roxanne and Abby. When she isn’t reading, you’ll find her cooking, painting, or watching true crime shows. Watch for Krystle’s book reviews every other Friday. Send fanmail to: [email protected]
See more of Krystle’s reviews at www.mysaline.com/krystle.