Gemina (The Illuminae Files, #2) by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff, Marie Lu
Genres: Sci-Fi (YA)
Pages: 608
Goodreads
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.
I wanted to have a bit more fun with this review, so this isn’t structured or written the same way as the others. It’s more ranty. So, let’s jump in!
When I started the book:
When I finished the book:
Until this review, that is.
I know people love this series so far, but guys, I just cannot get on board. Before writing this I took a look at my review of Illuminae. I knew I didn’t like it but I needed a reminder about why – and it was basically the same crap I didn’t like in this one. So, come join me for another ranting book chat (not review, because I don’t think this is constructive at all).
First of all, the story was basically the same damn thing as Illuminae but somehow, somehow, less entertaining.
- Assault fleet countdown to kill everyone? CHECK.
- Something taking control of the station and killing people? CHECK.
- Some weird infestation inside killing people? CHECK.
- A romance with a twist at the end? CHECK.
- A typical “I kick ass” female protagonist? CHECK.
- A missing parent (or two)? CHECK.
Yet, there was less going on than Illuminae. A lot of this story just felt like filler. A whole lotta filler. For example, there is a character who has a mystery friend that they talk to in messages. No relation to the plot. No point to the messages whatsoever. Maybe it was for character development, but it didn’t work. So, these pages were literally worthless to the story.
The story didn’t even pick up until the end, then it just felt rushed. I understood what was happening, but there was so much science-talk that it could easily get confusing. And then it just…ends. I’m so disappointed by that ending. It was not satisfying at all to View Spoiler »
Let’s address that kick-ass female protagonist. Basically, she’s a copy of Kady but a little less tech smart (so they conveniently add another female who is tech smart to guide her through everything…yeah…okay). She wasn’t even that bad, I just never connected with her and that is mainly because of the format. I have no problem with the format of the storytelling, it’s that there is nothing that really connects you to any of the characters. They introduce a journal of Hanna’s in the beginning — that was a place they had the potential to really put you inside the mind of Hanna. Instead, it’s completely forgotten about halfway through the book and you only get about 3 pages of it to begin with.
Which sucks for people who, like me, were looking forward Marie Lu’s sketch contributions. I was looking forward to them so much that I didn’t read the ARC I got of this book because I didn’t want to miss out on the awesomeness. Yeah…don’t get your hopes up.
The romance was okay. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t impressive either. It was your typical princess & bad boy romance. The bad boy was the typical bad boy: has a criminal past but WAIT! It’s not what you think it is! AND OH LOOK! Another plot twist! Throw in a dash of ex-drama and BAM. Typical romance.
….sigh….
Yet, after disliking Illuminae, and this ranting post, I’ll probably put myself through the third book because now I’m invested. Crossing my fingers that it is not a regurgitation of book 1 or 2.
| Rating Report | |
|---|---|
| Plot | |
| Characters | |
| Writing | |
| World Building | |
| Romance | |
| Overall: | 1.5 / 5 |
22 Comments
Finally someone who didn’t really like Illuminae. I’ve seen so many raving review, but I just couldn’t get into the first book.
hahah I honestly don’t know ANYONE who doesn’t love it. BUT now I know you didn’t so yay! We’re in an exclusive club!
I think this is the first not so positive review I’ve seen. Thanks for sharing your thoughts…I am still on the fence about starting this series!
I don’t know too many people that dislike it either – maybe like 2? It’s a pretty easy read (even though it looks huge) so if you want to give it a try at least it won’t be too daunting!
I haven’t read this yet, but I didn’t LOVE the first book. I thought it was perfectly okay, but not the OMG that everyone else felt it to be. I was very excited to read it because I LOVE books that have a different format to them…. but while I was reading it I kept thinking about all the other books I’ve read that were so much better. It’s a cool idea, but I don’t think it’s the best story. But I am going to read Gemina just to see if I change my mind.
Exactly! I didn’t hate the first one but I also was just kind of “meh” about it. Nothing really stood out to me. Also, I agree. I’m reading a book right now with a similar format but I’m enjoying it. I think it’s because I feel 100% more connected to the characters than I did with Illuminae/Gemina. That’s so important!
Although I love the covers and the idea behind these books, I haven’t read them mostly because your reviews keep putting me off. To be clear, I’m not blaming you, I just trust your judgement. I don’t understand the hype behind some of the books lately.. BUT I ridiculously love and appreciate how honest this not-review was XDXD
Yeah, whatever, you’re blaming me. Go away.
jk 😀 Seriously, though, I honestly don’t get the hype. They’re not TERRIBLE but I just don’t care at all about the characters, which is important. I don’t know. MERP.
Also, thank you! xD
Oh boo. I still need to read Illuminae but I had been seeing good things about this one. i do hate when a second book feels the same as the first. Sorry these weren’t good for you!
Most people love these books & they’re an easy read, so give it a try! You might like it 🙂
I love this Book Chat. Sometimes it’s fun to change up the way you review a book. I started to read Illuminae shortly after it released, but i wasn’t in the right book place to read more than the first few pages. I think I will stop telling myself and others, I want to read these…because, I don’t think I ever will.
Exactly 🙂 I was getting bored of the paragraph/structured review & knew I wouldn’t be able to review this in a constructive way hahahah. Yeah….sometimes situations like that could be just because of our moods, but if you didn’t get into the story, I don’t recommend reading it. Book 2 is pretty darn identical to it haha
I still haven’t read Illuminae regardless of the love for it,so I admit it’s shocking to see a review that wasn’t in love with the book. :)Thanks for the candid thoughts. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you.
I’m definitely in the minority with my thoughts on this series hahah
Yeah enough with all the hype already. I mean I liked Illuminae- but I didn’t love it all to pieces. And AIDAN irritated me so much- I was so over that. This is also the second review I’ve seen that said it’s basically the same book. I’ve been looking forward to the space station element of this one, but I’m sort of bracing myself for disappointment if the plot mirrors the first one so much.
It sounds like this got churned out to keep the momentum up from the first one and maybe that was a warning sign. And not a bad boy romance! Oh I’ve missed those…
Anyway thanks for the honest review, it’s good to know this. I’ll still read it but I’m not as rah rah about it.
It’s SO similar. They just mixed up a few things, like the addition of the tech smart girl to help out the protagonist instead of having the protagonist being tech smart herself. They just removed a skill and put it into a new character – and that’s all that character was. So, it is pretty disappointing in that sense. It was a recycled book.
Hopefully book 3 isn’t like that.
Oh my god THANK YOU for this review! I actually adored Illuminae but I was really unimpressed with Gemina. It was literally the exact same as Illuminae but with different characters and a different Big Bad. And the big twist? Yeah, I knew that was going to happen too because IT IS THE SAME THING as Illuminae! I never worried about the main characters. At all. Seriously so disappointing. :/ Great review (rant)!
Tracy @ Cornerfolds
Your comment is basically a summary of how I felt about Gemina. HOPEFULLY book 3 is better!?? HOPEFULLY it’s not the same thing…..haha
This book is my entire life (I haven’t stopped thinking about it and now I’m listening to the audiobook haha), but I definitely noticed the similarities with Illuminae. It definitely seemed to follow the same formula. Sorry you didn’t enjoy it! I love the format of this review though! It was fun to read and honest. I hope the third book will be better for you!
hehe I WISH I got into it. I so wanted a good space story. But I actually like Starflight better. Honestly, it mainly has to do with not feeling connected to the characters. The story is okay, I get a little lost sometimes, but for the most part its decent. I just don’t give a crap about the characters haha
I’ve been meaning to read Starflight for so long, haha. Hopefully I can get to it early next year!
I actually really liked Illuminae, but because you didn’t love either it or Gemina, I thought I’d ask you about my HUGE problem with that second book.
*** SPOILER WARNING *****
For those who haven’t read Gemina, PLEASE do not read the rest of this post! It relates directly to the last third of the book.
I don’t expect authors or plots to be perfect, but I do expect them to keep consistent with whatever rules they set up. Here, the idea is to “fix” the crossed wires between the two universes by sending back whatever got transferred between them in the first accident, right? Great — aside from the fact that Nik dies in a pool of his own blood. Hannah supposedly saves the two universes by sending Nik’s body back in the same shuttle (and with the same corsage!) at the same time HER Nik comes back through the wormhole. BUT: a third of Nik is just pooling on the floor of the train, still in the wrong universe!
This honestly bugged me so badly that it kept me from enjoying the rest of the book (which has all of the other problems you noted, too). Did you (or anyone else who’s read the book) notice this? Did it bug you?