Hey readers,

How have you been feeling with all this ‘January doom and gloom’ that everyone claims exists?
I always have actually loved the winter and the lack of daylight, it just feels more- cozy.

So for this weeks blog post I want to talk about a book I mentioned I was reading in last weeks Book Haul- Gemina.

Following Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman’s Iluminae, Gemina is the second book in the trilogy. The story follows Hannah, the captain’s ‘pampered’ daughter who loves to draw and punch things and Nik, a tattooed ex-con who has a really good heart. We follow them on an edge-of-your-seat journey as they race against an alien infestation, a ship wide invasion and the pulling and pushing of time and space.

Ok people, I feel a moral obligation to let it be known to the public that this book is AWESOME! It was very good, like very very good.

The Characters

Kaufman and Kristoff must be secret part time superheroes on the side when they are not writing books because only humans possessing extraordinary powers could create a cast of characters that felt so real and likeable. After hearing the premise of the book I didn’t think I would like Hannah Donnelly very much at all: ‘pampered’ just made me think of an annoying brat who would be a general inconvenience to the plot. But she was not. Hannah was kickass and she never apologised for who she was. I don’t think I have ever liked a fictional character as much as this one. Nik, her costar, I could write a thesis on. He was just SO fascinating and perfect. But I think I’ll let you see that for yourself when you read the book.

The Format

I said this in my review for Iluminae and I’ll say it again- I thought I was going to have a horrible time reading this book. You see, Gemina isn’t like normal stories, aside from it’s amazing-ness its also individual in the way its told: Through file reports and talk channels, doodles and radio comms, we learn of Hannah and Nik’s story through an interwoven dossier of memories. It makes it feel authentic. It makes it feel interesting. It makes me love this book even more.

The Plot

I will not say a lot because, well spoilers. But I will say if you are looking for a finely-crafted, intelligent and honest piece of sci-fi literature then this book is for you.

My Rating

I give this story a 10 out of 5 stars because I haven’t, in such a long long time, been so genuinely excited to sit down and read a book. I’ll recommend this to everyone, for all of time.

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth.