Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff review

With Illuminae gaining so much hype at the end of last year, its no wonder that so many people were insanely excited about its sequel, Gemina being released, myself included.  I couldn't wait to see where the story was headed and to return to a format I loved, and so it wasn't long after the release of Gemina that I finally picked it up after anticipating it for so long.  And this one certainly lived up to expectations. 

One of the most unique and talked about aspects of Illuminae was it's completely unique format that saw the entire story written through messages, camera footage as well as in many other formats, so it was no surprise that Gemina continued and somehow improved on this further.  Not only does this make the story even more addicting and engaging than it already is, but it also seemed to make it all seem that little bit more realistic and immersive, as you feel as if you are in the action rather than being told it.

Unlike Illuminae, this book instead follows two main characters, Hanna and Nik, who are on board the Hypatia when it is invaded by a Beitech squad who take the ship hostage.  Like Kady and Ezra in the first book, somehow once again I loved both of these characters, with Hanna being the smart and strong commander's daughter and Nik being the morally grey character who slowly reveals his true kind nature.  I also really enjoyed watching the relationship and bond between them slowly grow as they became closer and closer, and found it added just the right amount of romance to the story without it ever being too much or overpowering in any way at all.  

But as much as I loved the new main characters introduced in this book, I also loved our new side characters, as well as seeing some old faces crop up again too.  One of my favourite secondary characters had to be Ella, who provided some of the best humour of the book whilst also giving us the amazing bond she shared with Nik.  I also adored how strong a character she was for how much she went through and how she never gave up even when almost everyone else did.  Surprisingly, I also really enjoyed seeing more of the antagonists in this book, as we often got to see things from their point of view as well as Hanna and Nik's.  And let's not forget the amazing reunion we got with some of our favourites from book one, with Kady, Ezra and even possibly the coolest computer ever, AIDAN, all making a welcome appearance as well.  

But what good is a book without a pretty damn amazing plot?  Thankfully, Gemina had exactly that.  I loved almost every aspect of this plot, from the key storyline of the invasion of the ship to some of the others that slowly weaved their way throughout the book as well, such as the deadly creatures.  I also really enjoyed seeing how the plot developed as more became revealed as the book went on, this not only keeping me reading as I wanted to know what was going to happen next, but also making the story unpredictable and full of some great plot twists.

One aspect of the plot though that I adore more than the rest has to be the continued storyline from Illuminae, that this time sees Beitech attempt to remove any witnesses of the attack on Keneza.  For someone who doesn't read a lot of sci-fi at all, for some reason I adore the idea of this almost war and battle in space against this huge co-operation, which is why I loved seeing how the storyline of this book fit into and continued the one in Illuminae.  I really liked how this one, whilst still having its own individual plot, still managed to tie into the overall story in the most perfect way.  

Overall, I think its safe to say this was a pretty damn amazing book and sequel.  It gave me everything I loved in Illuminae and more, and while Illuminae will always hold a special place in my heart, this one definitely meet and exceeded any expectations I had.  Now, I just have to patiently wait until next year to read the next installment in this phenomenal series!

Favourite:

Character: Nik
Scene: Hanna and Kali fight in the grav-rail car

Quote: 'It's not about what I say, right?  It's what I do that matters here.'

Relate a:

Song: Halo by King No One

Other Book: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Rating:

4.75/5

Have you read Gemina - what did you think?