This review is spoiler-free.
After following what my lovely peer bloggers told me, which was, to sum it up in a few words “just read Illuminae right now”, and, well, loving it despite all odds, I had to order Gemina as soon as I could and devour it right away. I was lucky enough to do a buddy-read of this rollercoaster with my friend Kat, and I couldn’t be happier about it, because when I needed to scream or fangirl or be scared or a mix of all of these things, well, she was there. And believe me, there was a LOT of this.
AN ORIGINAL FORMATTING STILL SERVING THE STORY WELL
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Following in Illuminae‘s footsteps, Gemina still manages to pull you into one crazy story using a very unique formatting, made of footage description, graphics and online chats between the protagonists. Once again, if it took me a couple of pages to get into the story – read, get used again to the way this story is told -, once I was in, I was engrossed. Meaning, I couldn’t stop reading. Where Illuminae managed a great tour de force by telling us a real story, with great characters, events you can feel happening almost as if they are around you, and make your heart beating out of anticipation… well, Gemina managed to do all of the same things. What I found really interesting here was the addition of some drawings by one of the main characters, Hanna. I thought they gave a whole other dimension to the story and the characters, and I was always eagerly waiting for these graphic parts of the story, which I think were missing from Illuminae.
NEW LOVABLE CHARACTERS
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There are links between Illuminae and Gemina, obviously, since it’s a sequel, but this book is another story, another spaceship, and a whole lot of other drama happening. The biggest change here though is the characters. If we can find some links between characters from the first book into this second book, we are mainly following completely different characters. This took some getting used to as well. I slowly fell in love with Kady and Ezra in the first book, and was a bit wary to meet new characters I wouldn’t get attached to just as much. Or so I feared, but I’m glad to say I was wrong. Hanna and Nik, the two main characters here, are different from our previous heroes. Obviously Hanna was one bad-ass commandant’s daughter, but I need to talk about Nik here the most, because, well, erm, I kind of loved him. He was so flawed, yet he’s the one that grew on me the most whenever I come to think about this book now, weeks later after having read it. Even if he makes mistakes, he is so genuine and always manages to bring a smile on our faces even though we are reading some big, big, big chilling drama happening.
DARK, GRIPPING, UNSTOPPABLE.
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I can’t review this without saying too much about the story and revealing some plot points, so I’m going to stay concise and say once again how remarkable this series is. These books are kind of outside of my comfort zone, yet they manage to pull me into this crazy world, and make me feel all the things. And believe me, there are so many different things happening here. Plot twists, hearts breaking and stopping. I couldn’t stop reading, and the 600+ pages of this book went by in a blur where I was a confused mess and couldn’t stop thinking about it when I was not reading. If some parts of this book bothered me – sometimes it got a bit repetitive, and I had a hard time getting into this as always, mainly because it just feels so different -, reading Illuminae and Gemina is an experience any lover of sci-fi, hell, any lover of reading should try for himself. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, because I know it’s not. But it’s incredible to see how and what authors can do with words in a book to take us into a story, the unusual way.
Final rating: 4 drops!
Did you read Gemina? Did you enjoy it? Do you want to read this series?
Share your thoughts in comments!
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff, Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2), Published by Knopf Books For Young Readers, October 18th 2016.
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.
mikaela says
I actually read it earlier this week and loved it! I absolutely loved Hanna and Nik (especially Nik, who is probably one of my new book boyfriends), and Ella, also. I actually preferred this plot to Illuminae’s, just because I find the science behind it so interesting.
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it as well! Nik is such a good character, I understand your love for him ahah 🙂 Can’t wait to read the next book 😀
Anette Reads says
I was on the fence about Illuminae and I wasn’t sure if I’d read Gemina, but knowing it’s about a different set of characters is quite interesting, because (SPOILER FOR EVERYONE WHO HASN’T READ ILLUMINAE) I’m still a bit salty that Ezra ended up being alive hahaha. I liked that plot twist and then it just didn’t happen, boo. I’ll probably end up reading this eventually!
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Hahaha wow you are cruel a bit, do you know that? 😛 (ILLUMINAE SPOILER) I was relieved that he was alive to be honest, but you’re right, I mean, if he wasn’t, it’d have broken my heart but it would have been a crazy plot twist as well. I can’t wait for you to read it, I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Anette Reads says
I KNOW but yeah, that’s exactly it, I was so impressed by that plot twist because it was so gutsy and brave to kill him, I was like “woah, I didn’t except THAT, that’s so cool and creepy and heartbreaking” BUT THEN… >:(
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Oh yeah I agree with you. It would have been CRAZY if that actually happened haha. Well… who knows maybe bad bad things will happen again in the other books haha
Ellen says
I keep seeing posts about Illuminae and Gemina but never thought much about them, although I might check them out now! 🙂
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Ohh well I’m glad if I managed to make you curious about the story 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy it if you ever try and read it 😀
booksareallyouneed says
I am yet to read Illuminae but I am so excited to- it sounds brilliant, as does Gemina!
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Ohh well I can’t wait for you to read both books! It is brilliant, so unique 🙂
ravenblake99 says
It was really an awesome sequel! I loved every aspect of it and that lolli pop song was freaking hilarious! 😀
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Hahaha oh yes, that song was SO funny haha, relieved a bit of the pressure while reading this rollercoaster of a book! Thank you! 🙂
Beth (Reading Every Night) says
Brilliant review for this book Marie, and I am so so glad to see you enjoyed Gemina as well! <3 😀 I remember when I first saw that Gemina featured different characters to Illuminae I was worried I wouldn't love Hanna and Nik as much as Kady and Ezra but I really did, especially Nik who I pretty much loved from the beginning, and the story was certainly addictive as well with all the twists and turns.
Now there's just the long wait to go for the third book in the series! :/
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Thank you so, so much Beth! I agree with you, I was so nervous about meeting new characters, I’m so glad I ended up loving them as well. Oh yes, the wait is going to be so long for the next book…. :/
Beth (Reading Every Night) says
That’s all right Marie! 😀 I think when you spend one book with certain characters you just want to stay with them for the rest of the series, but I enjoyed the glimpses we got of Kady and Ezra in this book.
I can’t wait to find out more information about Illuminae, #3. It’s got to be one of my most anticipated book releases now!
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Ohhh yes me too! I feel like it’s going to surprise us again, even more! 🙂
Beth (Reading Every Night) says
I think it will, as the last book in the series it has a lot to live up to! 😀
Time for tales and tea says
I totally agree with you! Illuminae and Gemina were both amazing reads! Now we have to wait… But hopefully not too long
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
So glad you agree! 🙂 I can’t wait for the next book 🙂
Donna says
Fantastic review Sweechie 🙂 I still haven’t even bought the books, haha, but it’s a relief to know that even it takes a few pages, the format ends up being a force of the book. I admit I’m still on the fence because of that.
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
I understand, and that’s why it took me a while to actually want to read this series as well. When I held it in my hands I thought, “what is that and how am I going to read that?!”. But I was surprised at how I got into the story and how much I enjoyed it. I hope you will just as well 🙂 Thank you my sweechie!! <3
Angel @BookHearts Forever says
I wanted to read Gemina for so long.I have read Illuminae and absolutely loved it.Great revew,Marie 🙂
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Ohhh well I am so impatient for you to read Gemina, it’s such a good sequel! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts about this. Thank you!! 🙂
Lashaan and Trang (Bookidote) says
You gave the same rating as me yayy! 😀 HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT PARALLEL UNIVERSE PLOT THOO SOOO COOOLL – Trang
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
YAAAY! 😀 It was SO COOL and unique and had my head spin for a long, LONG time, especially towards the end with Nik and Hanna and AHHH.
Jillian Lopez says
Oh my gosh, great review Marie! <3 I love how you worded it out! The Illuminae book is so thick and heavy that I actually got intimidated to buy it, but I've been wanting to read it though. I just never had the opportunity to. I agree that the contents are very original and creative. I find the online chats and the images unique and interesting, although I kind of prefer prose a lot more. I'm happy that you liked this one and that there are so many great parts of this book — it makes me so so excited. Thank you for sharing and amazing review <3
Jillian @ JIllian’s Books
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Oh thank you so, so much Jill! I understand your feeling, when I first got it into my hands I got scared because it was so much bigger than I imagined ahah. The formatting is different and even if I love prose more just as well, this was a unique reading experience. I hope you’ll be able to read this soon 🙂
Kat Impossible says
Really great review Marie! You already know that I agree on everything and I was really happy we could read this together. Speaking of buddy reads, Cristina is currently catching up on the Firebird series, so if you are up for it, reading A Million Worlds With You could become a 4-way-read with you, Cátia, Cristina and me. I’ve never done a buddy read with so many people to be honest hahaha
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
4 ??? Wow…this is going to be A LOT of fun, I’ve never read with so many people either hahaha but I’d love to! I’m going to try and order the book from Book Depository this week then 😀
Kat Impossible says
Cristina is still in the first book, so it’s all good. 😉 but starting it in the next month maybe would be awesome.
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Yeah it would be great for sure, well I’m up for it 😀
Cyn @ Bookmunchies says
I’m always happy to see people loving Gemina! Hanna and Nik were definitely awesome. And yes, so hard to review without spoiling stuff. There’s just so much craziness happening in the book!
Awesome review (:
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Oh yes, definitely….so many crazy stuff, I wouldn’t even know where to begin, haha 🙂 Thank you so much!! 🙂
theorangutanlibrarian says
I’m so excited to read this book!! And I’m actually really excited by the prospect of new characters! Can’t wait to pick this up!!
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Ohh well that’s great then if you’re excited, you might even love it more than I did haha, Hanna and Nik are AMAZING <3
theorangutanlibrarian says
haha thank you!!! Ahh that’s awesome to hear!!! <3
Lauren @ Wonderless Reviews says
I’m soooo revealed to hear you enjoyed this!! I was super worried I’d hyped it up too much ? I definitely agree that it got a bit repetitive at times, but I was so caught up in the world and characters I didn’t mind too much! Great review, Marie!!
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Haha oh no you didn’t, it was just as crazy as you described it haha. Thank you so, so much for recommending this series to me, I’m so glad I read it, and I can’t wait for the next book 😀
Sarah says
Glad to hear how much you enjoyed this. I haven’t read this series yet but everyone seems to love it so much. Great review!
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Thank you, Sarah! I hope you’ll read this soon and love it 🙂
jessicasblog45 says
I have this book and their first book on my list.
Marie @ drizzleandhurricanebooks says
Oh I’m glad to hear it, I hope you’ll enjoy it! 🙂
Debbie says
I haven’t read it yet. I need to get my hands on a copy soon. But then again, now I can easily move on to the next book, but after I would have read Gemina, I can’t move on to the next one anymore for 9 months. 9 months!
What color do you think the last book would be? I have been thinking about this ever since I finished Illuminae 🙂
Marie says
I can’t wait for you to read it, I hope you will love it – it was one crazy ride for sure ahah, but yes, the wait for the next book is just TOO long! Oh I have absolutely NO idea, for some reason I want to go with green? But I don’t know hahaha. What do you think? 🙂
Debbie says
Maybe purple, if the two stories will come together in the last one. Or yellow because that is also a primary color. But I like the idea of green as well. Maybe I have thought about this too much XD
Marie says
Hahaha, well…nothing wrong with that, I guess we have to do something while we wait 😛
Debbie says
Haha, yes that is the worst part, waiting, I am not really good at that 😛
Marie says
Haha, me neither…Well we’ll wait together ahah 🙂
J.K. Fontillas says
I love your reviews!
Marie says
Oh thank you so much! 🙂
Caitlin says
I’ve been wanting to read Gemina but I had a billion other books to read so I never picked it up. I’ll definitely have to buy it!
Marie says
Ah, the endless TBR problem ahah, I get it 🙂 I hope you’ll be able to read it soon 😀
AlaaKhalid says
I didn’t read Gemina yet but i thought that it look interested , I will try to read it as soon as possible!??
Marie says
Ohh, I hope you’ll be able to read it soon, it’s worth it in my opinion 😀
Ilsen Leon says
I’ve read Illuminae and I did really enjoy it! I haven’t read Gemina but I have it on my shelf! I really want to get to it eventually!
Marie says
OH I hope you’ll be able to read it soon and that you will enjoy it 😀