Gemina by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
My rating: 5/5 cats
i read this last week when i was sick in bed the day after halloween, needing a guaranteed fast, fun, escapist book to breeze through while huddled under the covers with a giant pot of halloween candy in easy reach.
best sick day ever.
this book may be even better than Illuminae, even though it is similar in many ways.
the same beautiful design and layout is back:
and this time there are some fun cartoony illustrations by Marie Lu
the same winky shout-outs are back
♥AIDAN♥ is back
and there is tons of overlap in terms of narrative elements, for example, the relationship in this book pretty much mirrors the kady/ezra relationship in Illuminae – an unlikely romance blossoming under extremely unusual and intense circumstances, in which the couple spend most of the book apart on their own separate missions. but that trick worked for me the first time and it worked for me here. hanna is also as badass as kady was, so she’s easy to root for with both fists raised.
the action in this book takes place immediately after the events aboard the Hypatia so excellently rendered in Illuminae. here, we are on the Heimdall, where the situation continues to unfold and it’s going to unfold with insane amounts of action and intrigue. and things with hungry, hungry mouths.
oh my god, SO GOOD!
there’s nothing i can do but gush. it’s funny and smart with some great new characters and several old favorites and the world-building and dirty dealings are fantastic, and this praise is coming from someone who is usually bored by books set in outer spaaaaace. this one is anything but boring. you don’t even have to have the flu to enjoy it, although i do recommend a giant cauldron of tiny candies by your side. but i recommend you have one of those on hand every day of the year.
but that ending?? NOOOOOOOOOO. it’s cliffhanger city, my friends.
it is going to be very painful to wait for the conclusion of this story. i love it so ██████ much
