Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, IIlluminae, Stop! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite series for you.

“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.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Once again, an incredible story. One of my favorite aspects of the story was the inclusion of Hanna Donnelly’s journals, illustrated by Marie Lu. Written in the same dossier format as Illuminae, fans of this series will be eager to see how our favorite characters from the first book fit in with the new ones. With more surprising twists and turns, readers will be clamouring for the end to see what happens next. This book does end with a bit of a cliffhanger to lead off the third book in the series, due out in 2017.

Visit Amie Kaufman’s website.

Visit Jay Kristoff’s website.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (Illuminae Files book 1)

“First, survive. Then tell the truth.”

“This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Even though this is a “hefty” book, readers will not be able to it down until the end to see how Kady and Ezra’s story turns out. Written in a unique style, I was afraid that I would be lost or easily bored. Definitely not the case. It turned out to be one of my favorite reads of the year. A sci-fi mystery with with an underlying twist of rebudding romance, readers will be left hanging for The Iluuminae Files book 2.

Visit Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s websites.