Tag Archives: Amie Kaufman

Book Review: Gemina by Amie Kaufman And Jay Kristoff

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Book: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Published January 2018 by Ember|659 pages

Where I Got It: I own the paperback

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Series: The Illuminae Files #2

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Times bestseller that critics are calling “out-of-this-world awesome.”

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 ABSOLUTELY LOVED GEMINA!  How is it possible to love the sequel even more than the original?  I don’t know but somehow, I did.

I just loved the story and how it’s going on both at the same time as- and right after- the events of Illuminae.  I loved Hanna a lot, and she reminded me of Kady in a lot of ways.  I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t sure about this book.  Sequels always make me a little nervous, and I wasn’t sure if it was going to live up to the expectations set by Illuminae.  But it really exceeded expectations!

I was also a little hesitant because I got attached to Kady and Ezra (but I was particularly attached to Kady) and I wasn’t sure about a book focusing on two new characters.  Again, I had nothing to worry about because I loved Hanna and Nik, and I was glad to see both Kady and Ezra show up.

And Aidan too!  How I managed to be fond of a crazy A.I. system, I don’t know, but I was glad that Aidan is back.  Granted, it’s in a slightly different form, but it was nice to see Aidan.

We also have the video surveillance guy back, and though we don’t know anything about him, I’m glad he’s back, watching surveillance videos and giving random commentary about what’s going on.

Like Illuminae, this is a really visual book!  While the placement of some of the text was still annoying to read, it wasn’t as annoying, and I think it’s because I was expecting it with this book.  Also, the multiverse stuff was really cool, and I liked seeing Universe A and Universe B side by side.  I liked seeing the comparison between the two, and how different but similar they are.

I also liked that instead of a deadly, PTSD-appearing virus, we have this parasitic alien-like creature.  It was creepy and horrifying but also really different and really cool.  I love that there was basically a Wikipedia-type page about it.  Obviously, not Wikipedia but a fictional version of it.  I just like how familiar the documents are- and yet, some of them are just so completely random.  I also love how they come together to tell the story, and I really can’t imagine this series being told any other way.  This is definitely a book you want to read in print!

5 stars.  I loved Gemina, and if for some reason, you haven’t read this series, I highly recommend it!  It’s a great story!

Book Review: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman And Jay Kristoff

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Book: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Published April 2017 by Ember|608 pages

Where I Got It: I own the paperback

Series: The Illuminae Files #1

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the worst thing she’d ever been through. That was before her planet was invaded. Now, with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra are forced to fight their way onto one of the evacuating craft, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But the warship could be the least of their problems. 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 biggest threat; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady plunges into a web of data hacking to get to the truth, it’s clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: Ezra.

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.

I really liked Illuminae and I’m glad I gave it another chance!  I tried reading it a few years ago, and had trouble getting through it because of the format.  I mostly gave it another chance because I had to read an epistolary novel of my choice for my final English essay, and of course, none of the books on the list given caught my interest.  I’m really glad we could pick a novel of our choice, and for some reason, I had my heart set on Illuminae.

I had an easier time with it this time around, and I don’t know if maybe I was in the mood for it, or if it was because I had to finish it in order to write my essay and do a video about it.

Random side note: based on the videos I watched (and I didn’t watch all of them), I was apparently the only one who didn’t pick a book from the list.

Back to the book, though.  I really liked it!  So much that I immediately bought Gemina and Obsidio, because I need to know what happens next.

It was interesting, because there are things we know that Kady doesn’t, and I was glad for her when she finds out that Ezra is alive.  I liked seeing all of the documents, and something I mentioned in both my essay and presentation was how the different documents came together to tell a much larger story, and how we were able to take a step back and see things more objectively because the type of documents used didn’t necessarily allow us to know what the characters were thinking at all times.

Kady’s interactions with Aidan really got to me though, and was easily the most beautifully written parts of the book.  I really loved Aidan, and I never would have expected that A.I. would be one of my favorite parts of the book!

I also liked how visual the book was!  Granted, trying to read some of the text was really frustrating because I had to turn the book into some really strange positions.  But we have Starry Night!  A heart!  Kady and Ezra together!  Kady by herself!  That was really cool to see.  So while some of the text placement was really frustrating to read, it also drew your attention to the page.  It is was like, what’s going on here?  What do they want us to draw our attention to?

This is a book that I think is best read in print, and it’s because of how visual it is.  I mean, you could go with the audio book, but I feel like you’re going to lose a lot by doing that.  I can’t begin to imagine the amount of work that went into designing each page, especially with all of the blueprints and schematics.  I commend not just Kaufman and Kristoff, but everyone who worked on the book for writing both a cool story and making it look really cool.

4 stars.  I didn’t love it, and I don’t know why, but I still really liked Illuminae.  I am really glad I gave it another chance!

Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman And Meagan Spooner

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Book: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman And Meagan Spooner

Published December 2013 by Disney Hyperion|384 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Starbound #1

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive – alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth. 

The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

I feel like I’ve seen this cover a lot, and I randomly decided to read this book one day.  Because of the cover, which is really cool.  Also, I finished Hunted by Meagan Spooner recently, and I really liked it, so I wanted to check out some of her other books.  This seemed like a good choice, and it really was!

I liked it, and the planet they land on is really creepy and deserted.  I thought Lilac and Tarver were an interesting pairing, and while she was lucky to have crashed on a random planet with Tarver, he probably wished he was with someone else.  At least for a while, but Lilac does prove herself.  I found Lilac to be much more interesting than Tarver, and there were times where I wanted more of Lilac and less of Tarver.  He was a lot more bland than I would have liked.

Something I thought was interesting was how everything was wrapped up pretty well.  I mean, this is the first book in a trilogy, so it’s not the last we’ve heard of this world.  But it makes me wonder what’s going to happen in the next two books.  Part of me feels like their story is over, which makes me especially curious as to how their story will play out in the next book.  I was not expecting their story to be so resolved at the end of the book, I really wasn’t.  Maybe Tarver will be less bland in the books to come.

The planet they crash on is super-weird, and the fact that it was essentially abandoned was also weird.  I wanted to know more about why people were sent there, and what their life was like on that planet before things went bad.  Why would Lilac’s dad be involved with setting up on life on this planet?  So he could have more power and control? That seems likely, considering Lilac’s monologue at the end of the book, but I’m still curious about what’s really going on with him.  I have the feeling he’s up to something, and that something is not good.

4 stars.  I really liked These Broken Stars, and I think it’s a good read-alike for Across The Universe by Beth Revis.