REVIEW: GEMINA BY JAY KRISTOFF AND AMIE KAUFMAN.

Title: Gemina
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff; Marie Lu (Illustrator)!!!!!!
Series: The Illuminae Files #2
Edition: Paperback
Publication: October 18th 2016 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: ARC provided by the publisher
Pages: 608
Genre: Sci-Fi

Synopsis:
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.

Once again told through a compelling dossier of emails, IMs, classified files, transcripts, and schematics, Gemina raises the stakes of the Illuminae Files, hurling readers into an enthralling new story that will leave them breathless.

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I have finished re-reading Illuminae in preparation for Gemina and I was just as heartbroken. Gemina is set in Jump Station Heimdall and we have a fresh set of characters to follow. It kicks off I believe 5 minutes after Illuminae (according to Jay's blog post) but Gemina felt independent from Illuminae. It felt more like a companion novel to me which didn't really affect my undying love for this series. But if you want to re-read Illuminae, you go ahead! We all need to remember the beginning of this after all.

A shocking revelation Jay and Amie made a few weeks ago was Marie Lu illustrated the journal entries in Gemina! HELLO MARIE FREAKING LU! WELCOME TO HEIMDALL! One downside of reading an advance reader's copy is you go blind with the illustrations. The ARC doesn't have these yet so it is really a bummer. One upside though is I got to read it before the release date and damn, I sometimes wish I have the courage to hate the authors *stares laser beams at Jay and Amie* because they are just plain cruel to my already bruised heart.

Gemina, Gemina. Oh my Gemina. It isn't just your regular sequel or companion. I mean, Illuminae made me expect things, in Gemina I was given something else. Way better something else. A perfect something else. The story might have been slow in the beginning and there are the parts where I struggled to connect with the main characters and I was legit unsure how I am going to accept the House of Knives gang thingy, but I can guarantee that it just gets freaking awesome! You know that feeling when you are so anxious or excited about something you get hyper and sweaty and sometimes you just can't help but scream? My pillow was the second victim of my Gemina experience (first victim was my heart), I used it to muffle my screams, I punched it, choked it (LOL), punched it again, hugged it, wet it with my tears and wrestled it! Gemina hit right in the gut! So many bloody things happened and there are creepy things lurking around ULK! LEGIT GOOSEBUMPS PEOPLE! I cannot even read those pages with creepy ugly things because I was so scared something would leap out off of the pages and attack me! It was seriously intense. Brutally creepy is the best way to put it. I was on edge the entire time.

I honestly liked Kady and Ezra in Illuminae than Hannah and Nik in Gemina. So much difference between these duos but they are both equally amazing. Kady and Ezra did so much for Hypatia with the help of others while Hanna and Nik pretty much became independent most of the time. The latter fought adults who were you know, professional in what they do and I just didn't believe that they would be able to defeat them easily. I am not questioning their wits or capabilities or age but there's like YEARS of experience between the two groups so I didn't quite grasp it. This isn't just your typical high school bullies you are going against but an interstellar corporation who have nukes, drones and assassins. You know what I mean? But that didn't make me love it less.

Aside from the illustrations, I fell in love with Gemina deeper because of how it is narrated. The story is all a mystery to me and then the entire narration of the book is yet another mystery. Mystery-ception? Like, how they thought of doing it like that - the entire story of Gemina is presented as an evidence against BeiTech. I MEAN IT BLOWS MY MIND BY JUST THINKING HOW FANTASTIC AND BEAUTIFULLY UNIQUE THIS BOOK IS. AND JAY KRISTOFF MENTIONED IN HIS BLOG POST THAT THE SURVIVORS IN ILLUMINAE WOULD APPEAR IN GEMINA --- AAAAAAAH GUYS, IT FELT LIKE A HUGE CROSSOVER AND I WAS SHAKING THE ENTIRE TIME! I WAS WAITING FOR THEM TO APPEAR AND THE PAGES ARE SO BEAUTIFUL I CANNOT BREATHE A SINGLE MOLECULE OF AIR THUS 5 STARS INSTEAD OF 4 AND WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKERY IS GEMINA LIKE WHAT REALLY IS GEMINA OMG MAJOR SHOCK-INDUCING

Gemina is highly thrilling and full of abhorrent creatures that would keep you awake at night. Brilliant as ever and full of plot twists you wouldn't see coming (AKA MIND SHATTERING), Gemina proves equal to the magnificence of its predecessor. Legit hands down one of the best sci-fi series to ever hit shelves.

Thank you so much for the ARC, Penguin Random House!!

"Patience and Silence had one beautiful daughter. And her name was Vengeance."