Gemina, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Pages: 672

Publisher: Rock the Boat

Release Date: 20^th October 2016

Edition: UK proof, review copy

Other Titles by these Authors: Illuminae

Hanna Donnelly is the station captain’s pampered daughter and Nik Malikov is the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. Together they struggle with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, blissfully unaware that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed straight to Heimdall with the news of the Kerenza invasion.

Picking up about 5 minutes after Illuminae ends, Gemina is the electrifying sequel to one of the hottest reads of 2015.

Illuminae was one of my favourite books of 2015 so I was beyond excited to get my hands on Gemina. It didn’t disappoint.

I was really nervous that I wouldn’t enjoy this as much as I did book one because Kady and Ezra weren’t the focus of the story, and it did take a while for me to adjust to life on the Heimdall station and try to forget about what happened on the Hypatia enough to fully engage with the story. But it honestly didn’t take me long to become obsessed with Gemina.

The second instalment in this series is just as wacky as the first. It moves at break-neck speed, delivers a bucket-load of shocks and surprises and a hefty dose of heartbreak – I raced through this rather chunky book. I didn’t want to put it down and I'd spend all day eager to get back to it in the evening – that’s the mark of really being involved in a book for me and Gemina nailed it.

The only issue I really had with Gemina wasn’t to do with the story at all. I read a pretty early proof so a fair amount of the art was missing. It wasn’t stuff that meant I missed bits of the story, it was more the effect of reading a multi-media book like this. I didn’t get to see portraits of the characters, the maps or schematics which was a shame. It was surprising how much it launched you out of the flow of a story that is already so varied and unexpected!

With a cruel cliffhanger of an ending, I'm desperate for the final book in this series, but I’m also nowhere near ready for it to be over.

Thanks to Rock the Boat for the review copy.

Sophie