Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufmann

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: Sci-fi, space opera, YA

First published: 2016

Author: Jay Kristoff & Amie Kaufmann

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.

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.

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Okay, the first one was better. But this was still one heck of a book. It took me a little bit longer to get into it than with Illuminae. But I had a blast reading it.

I loved Hannah and Nik every bit as much as I loved Kady and Ezra. I loved how Hannah was so badass but in a different way from how Kady was badass. The writing was as funny and engaging as ever, and the book format was even cooler than the first one in my opinion because it had some really nice drawings in it. These books are a work of art and I’m referring to the actual, physical item as opposed to the story. The format is brilliant and I felt like the drawings in this one took that a step further than the first book.

The plot is where the first book was superior. I feel like this one was a bit less… thrillery. It was by no means lacking in action or slow paced. Some things were a bit predictable, but mostly I think the creepiness and tension in the first book was… well creepier and more tense. I don’t want to say much cause spoilers, but let’s just say it got the blood pumping more. I think part of that is because epic space chase is just more exciting than hostage situation even if they’re space hostages. But the other part is that, in this one, you had bad guys. Like you knew who you were fighting and why. Well, mostly why. But in the first one, the antagonists were not quite as tangible, which made it creepier and more exciting to read.

This is a rather short review, but it’s really hard to say anything without spoilers, but this was a solid middle book and much better than your average YA. The story continues in this instalment, I loved seeing how it tied into the first one and I look forward to reading the conclusion to the series.