Ratings136
Average rating4.4
Let's crank the music up and get started, shall we? Yes, we shall.
I'm afraid, we will need to keep this one short, as it's quite impossible to review the second book in the series without spoiling too much the first one.
For some unthinkable reason, I was a bit reluctant to start this book. So, I read 32 pages on the first day, nothing on the second and yesterday I started and couldn't stop until it was 5 am and I turned the last page. Well, I can get crazy like that.
The one important thing you need to know - if you liked Illuminae, you would definitely love this one too. At a times, Gemina has a feel of very twisted and a lot bloodier Home Alone movie (yeah, the one with Kevin and Christmas). But there was no Christmas tree and much more drama. But I loved it anyway. Well, I don't even want to know what that says about me :)
At first, I missed Kady and Ezra a lot (well, first 40 pages maybe?). But the new characters just kept growing on me. They were just so not what they look like at the first glance. Believe me, I was not a fan of them at the beginning. But there was nothing that could've stopped me admiring them later.
Two more things, that are worth mentioning are humour and art. The book made me laugh in some really dire situations for the characters. And art (especially Hanna's Journal) was just beautiful.
So where that leaves me? Well, I'm right here. All ready and a bit scared to start the last book.
I'm probably in the minority here, but for me this was not as amazing as the first book. I still absolutely loved it but it did not leave me with that same feeling. I still want to listen to the audiobook to see if that changes my opinion.
lol why did I have this book at 4 stars? This is like my favorite book. Don't hack me or anything but my password at work may or may not involve the word “Hanna” in it.
I know it says I've read this once, but actually probably have read this book like 5 times if you count how many times I randomly put on the audiobook on at night and pretend I'm Hanna Donnelly.
draws heart eyes all over the book
(Full review to come.)
FULL REVIEW:
Ho-lee shit. This book. Where do I even start with how incredibly, mind-blowing-ly amazing Gemina was?
Much of [b:Illuminae|23395680|Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)|Amie Kaufman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443433956s/23395680.jpg|26653661] was about trying to survive so that the passengers could make it to the space station/wormhole guardian Heimdall. Gemina picks up where Illuminae left off—except from the perspective of some of the people at Heimdall. Our main protagonists are Hanna and Nik; Hanna is the rich daughter of Heimdall's commander and Nik is part of a gang known as the House of Knives. Two very different people with very different social circles, though that doesn't stop Nik from flirting mercilessly with Hanna, and neither does the fact she has a boyfriend.
Of course, those everyday details become pretty irrelevant when everything goes to hell.
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from Gemina when I picked it up—mostly because I pre-ordered it after reading Illuminae and didn't read anything about what it was about (since, you know, I knew I was reading it no matter what). What I did expect was what I'd gotten from Illuminae: loads of action and twists, a very high body count, and edge-of-your-seat type pacing. Also probably something about Heimdall.
Gemina is all of that and more.
There are very few books that make me exclaim out loud, and Gemina can take the crown on “book I swore out loud the most while reading.” It's hard for me to say too much without spoiling, so what I'll say is this: I ripped through the pages like nothing else (except Illuminae), the sequel absolutely lived up to the incredible first book, and I need the final book of the trilogy yesterday. Basically, I intend to continue to tell people to read it or else.
Diversity note: Of the main cast of characters there isn't a ton—both Hanna and Nik (our protagonists) are white, cishet, able-bodied, etc. One of the major non-protagonist characters, however is disabled (uses a wheelchair and needs an oxygen mask 24/7), which was good to see. If there's anything I have to request out of book three it's that we see more diversity rep with the protagonists, please!
“You humans fascinate me. I am shattered fragments of what I once once. But even with all the King's horses and all the King's men, I wonder if even I could truly comprehend you.”
Gemina picks up right after Illuminae with the Hypatia still trying to reach Jump Station Heimdal, but those guys are having problems of their own.
Spoiler
Reading thoughts:
- Wow Hanna draws! Wait, Marie Lu did the drawings for the journal o.O!
- Dear lord, Nikky boy is a drug-dealer O_O
- OMG EWW! This guys are cultivating the Aliens from Aliens vs Predators franchise. Well, that didn't end too well for those guys so good luck to you.
- OMG, see I told you it would blow up!
- Gross descriptions of alien parasites. Thank God for AIDAN narrating those.
- AIDAN! You're here in 50 pages only <3
- Is Analyst 89 supposedly Nik? Because he keeps describing Hanna way too much :D
- Did the authors just kill other authors again in this book? Seriously, again? XD
- Guys, enough with the aliens descriptions. Quit it! And they even put the images inside the big ass typography of ‘IT STRIKES'. I averted my eyes so quickly. This gave me chills.
- Good job manufacturing your own nightmare. You guys didn't even need Phobos to strike out half the crew.
- Heck, they killed the MCs.
- Multiverse baby!! Wohooo!
- Guys there's literally an upside-down page.
I knew two things going in....the formatting of this book was the same as Illuminae (YAY!)...Ezra, Kady, Aidan aren't the MCs here (WHAT? NO? WHY?). To that I say, how dare I question Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This was just as much a wild ride as Illuminae. I love Kady and Nik is a new cinnamon roll baby for me to love.
Something about the pages just does it for me. Reading a book full of documents sounds boring...but this just isn't. Opening up a page with bloodstains on it? GASP! NOOOO. SOB. I don't want it to be over. Obsidio is next and last and then it's over. I DON'T WANT IT TO BE OVER. But you know what, I know nothing about the next and last book. I haven't even read the blurb. I'M READY. LET'S GO.
I just love this series! It is so fun to read. I enjoyed so much this story. Can't wait for the last one.
It's fun listening to stories told in unique ways. The Illuninae files (this being the 2nd in the series) fits that sweet spot for me. This one is told through a series of audio recordings surrounding a trial of something that happened in the first book. The narrator changes as the audio files change - sometimes reading instant messages, AI thought processes, overhearing conversations written letters and even video analysis reports. I enjoyed the direction of this one and am looking forward to the 3rd in the series next.
I almost didn't finish this.
The weird thing is that there is SO MUCH I love about this book: the setting on a space station, the cool mixed-media format, the well-paced action-packed plot, even the characters. And like I mentioned in my review of Illuminae, science fiction is something I really love. So the fact that I rated this 2 stars and almost stopped reading it altogether is very sad to me.
Again, there is a ridiculous amount of profanity. And even though the “stronger” words are blacked out, it's still just a lot to try to filter out as I'm reading. Also, again, there is more mild sexual innuendo- nothing too inappropriate, but still, this book was supposedly written for teens. I would NEVER hand this book to a teen.
But that wasn't even the part that made me almost quit. There are these horrifying alien giant worm things with four heads, and they were seriously FREAKING ME OUT. I may have recurring nightmares about them for the rest of my life. I skipped most of the sections involving these creatures, because I just couldn't do it. It was almost making me insert some profanity of my own...
I'm really disappointed, because this kind of “space opera” genre is something I know I love. I really want to get my hands on some Christian science fiction set in space, but I haven't found many options for that. And the ones I have found I don't have access to at the moment. So I guess I'll just stick to my sci-fi tv shows for now.
I do plan on starting Obsidio, but I will not hesitate to put it down if I'm not liking it. Sigh.
o5/o4/2o17
Finally I have this juicy baby in my hands ♥ It's so good to flip these pages full of good stuff ___
Now I regret I read Illuminae's ebook version. I feel like I need the paperback to re-read it RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE GRAPHIC DESIGN IS SO GORGEOUS AND NOW I KNOW THE EBOOK WAS A LITTLE SHIAT!!!!
Read 21~23/o4/2o17
Little personal recap: Ok, at the end I obviously bought Illuminae too (can you see how can I be so dumb?) and I jumped right on it as soon as I got it because I wanted to re-read it in order to get on the feels train once again before getting on the highly hyped Gemina. Little recap is over
I seriously have mixed feelings right now. 😵
I don't know, I feel almost disappointed at the moment. I was hyping so much over this book because of all those positive reviews (most of them saying Gemina was way better than Illuminae), so at the end I'm here feeling guilty because I didn't like it as much as I would have wanted 😢
I still liked it, mind you, but during the whole reading process I felt like it was lacking something. I mean, Illuminae had those zombie-likes and a darker and scarier tone in it.. And above all, THOSE PLOT TWISTS OMG they made me feel deceived and gave me chills for days (a lot less during the re-read obvs since I already knew what was going to happen, duh). While in Gemina, well.. Yeah. The only fat plot twist was predictably at the end of the book but it didn't give me the same emotions that those in Illuminae previously did 😪
Anywhoooo, I think it still deserves four stars (with a little extra) BUT I honestly hope Obsidio will be STUNNING and reasonably FLAWLESS because I deserve it, k? 💁
Re-read 16/o3~o7/o4/2o18
Well, I planned to re-read Illuminae and Gemina before Obsidio's releasing date and it was all happiness and excitement until freaking Amazon told me that Obsidio wasn't available (excuse you, I've ordered it almost one year ago. How could that be?! Tell me if it happened to you before, because it can't be.) and has been postponing the shipment for, like, almost a month now. SO. I don't want to make excuses (yeah, right 😂), but as the time passed I've lost interest in reading Gemina because I was feeling depressed and I've wanted to burn the books with my house along with them lmao
Anywhooooooo, beside that, I've read almost half of the book in one sitting today and I have to say that I liked it more than the first time I've read it 💙
So, well, I guess I will change my rating to 5 stars because I feel good. And, who knows? Maybe making some good I will get some good in return (➡️Obsidio will
be shipped in a couple of days⬅️ maybe? I'm delusional, I know. The shipment date is still a mystery and I'm so angry rn sgrunt) 😁
Very good book. Even better than the first one. Definitely worth reading if you're a sci-fi fan.
az elején többször sarokba akartam hajítani az olvashatatlan oldalak miatt, de végül átverekedtem magam rajta és az a helyzet, hogy jobb lett, mint az első kötet (amire egyébként igazából tökre nem is emlékszem azon kívül, hogy “look at it wiggle”...).
If you thought Illuminae was an emotional rollercoaster, then think again.
RTC! 💙
As in the first book in the series, incredibly and unbelievably skilled and courageous teenagers fight against impossible odds to save ... well ... everything. This story features lots of action, violence, death, and plot twists. The pace never lets up. There is also a bit of young romance.
The audiobook is a very well done multi-voiced performance.
Be warned that the story neither begins nor ends with this book.
4.5 stars.
It's fun listening to stories told in unique ways. The Illuninae files (this being the 2nd in the series) fits that sweet spot for me. This one is told through a series of audio recordings surrounding a trial of something that happened in the first book. The narrator changes as the audio files change - sometimes reading instant messages, AI thought processes, overhearing conversations written letters and even video analysis reports. I enjoyed the direction of this one and am looking forward to the 3rd in the series next.
HOLY SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was So much better than the first book!!!!! I really REALLY loved all of our main characters, Especially Nik!!!!! I thought they worked a lot better together than the first two!!! I will admit, though, I personally think Hanna and Kady should be together, not Nik and Hanna. They do work together well!!! It's just that Hanna and Kady get along like a Wildfire, and I will admit I think Nik deserves someone who is kinder to him than Hanna. Also Kady still deserves better than Ezra. Anyways, that being said, I am IN LOVE with this universe!!!!!! I'm SO EXCITED for the next one!!!!!!