The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: Gemina

Series: Illuminae Files #2

Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Epistolary

Rating: 4 stars

Review:

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 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. – summary from Goodreads

Gemina was a unique, twisty addition to the Illuminae Files that deepens the story and adds new perspectives and characters!

This is a direct sequel to Illuminae and continues building the case against BeiTech.

This was a wonderful sequel! I was a little hesitant to go into this book because it primarily focused on two new characters from Ezra and Kady, and I notoriously struggle with this. However, these new characters were amazing and getting this perspective really deepened the narrative.

Our new protagonists are Nik, Hanna, and Ella. I loved them all, especially Nik. He is a wonderful addition to the cast of characters. He also has an interesting backstory, which drew me to him, along with the fact that he has a sarcastic personality.

This book takes place in the span of twenty-four to forty-eight hours. We finally figure out what is going on with Heimdall, after wondering about it during the course of the first book. Heimdall is now in not so great a spot and it’s up to Hanna, Nik, and Ella to save them.

There is quite a bit of action that takes place in this book. Sometimes it made me a little uncomfortable, but it stuck true to the realities of war. Also a few innuendos, but nothing too terrible.

Again, I think the authors do a really good job of showing that people that are traditionally viewed as one dimensional are human. For example, the soldiers that we don’t like because they are doing horrible things, I still felt for a little because they were portrayed as human. One of the moments that drove this home was when Ella’s dad died. Ella and Nik are part of a universal gang, and her dad is one of the leaders. But she still mourned him, and it showed that even people that do something bad are still people. I just think that is a nice and interesting inclusion to these books.

I loved Nik and Hanna’s relationship. They had such nice banter, and I loved how they cared for each other. I especially liked how much Nik cared for her. They also worked really nice together and didn’t hold the other back.

Nik’s relationship with Ella was also really sweet and caring. It’s nice to see strong men still be kind. Sometimes, cliches override this in media, and messages like these aren’t included.

The first book had a really diverse cast, with a lot of side characters. This book didn’t really have that. It was mostly the soldiers radio transmissions, Nik, Ella, and Hanna’s perspectives. I think this fits this part of the story more, but I am hopeful of getting more perspectives in the next book.

Gemina also really hit a grove in providing emotional moments. Illuminae also did a really good job there, but I think in this book there was more of a balance between everything.

I still love the format of these books! It’s so unique and it allows us to see so many different perspectives and see things in a new light.

I will say there were a number of things in this book that were very unrealistic. I know this entire series is unrealistic, but this one pushed the line a little bit.

Gemina is a continuation of Illuminae where we finally learn what happened to Heimdall. With new characters, action, romance, and new developments, this deepens the story in unique ways!