Posts Tagged: Amie Kaufman

Monday, September 19, 2016

Review: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Posted by 12 Comments

I received this book for free from Knopf Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay KristoffGemina by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files #2
Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on October 18th, 2016
Genres: Adventure, Sci-Fi, YA
Source: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
four-stars

The highly anticipated sequel to the instant New York Timesbestseller 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 Illuminaecontinues 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 theHypatia 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 have a weird thing about sequels that aren’t about the main characters from the first book but since Illuminae was the bomb.com, I was still pretty excited for Gemina. I didn’t love it as much as Illuminae but that’s also probably because I missed the sh██ out of Kady and Ezra. I MISSED THEM SO SO MUCH because they are so wonderful together and I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS FOR THEM.

As a result of the mentioned weird thing I have, it took me a lot longer to warm up to Nik and Hanna but when I finally did, I was able to appreciate the fact that they were wonderfully well-rounded characters who were pretty darn easy to like. They are both funny and sarcastic like Kady and Ezra were but they also feel completely different from the pair in terms of their personalities. Hanna is a serious kick a██ and Nik is a criminal mastermind (sorta).

If you are a fan of opposites attract/hate to love sort of romance, their relationship will probably be kryptonite for you. I definitely enjoyed watching their relationship bloom as they came to understand one another while working together under desperate circumstances.

For others like me who have a hard time wrapping their minds around the fact that Kady and Ezra are no longer our main kiddos, they do make a cameo and Kady is name dropped a bunch so they aren’t completely forgotten about. Hanna and Nik’s story also works perfectly alongside Kady and Ezra’s and it’s so interesting to see all the ways in which they connect. I HAZ some questions though and I guess I’ll just have to wait until book 3 to get all the goody answers.

The sci-fic elements in this book are actually a lot more interesting than the ones in Illuminae. For me, Illuminae was a little more space opera and Gemina is a little bit more sci fic because more black holes/wormholes involved. Also some really f███ing cool s███ that I cannot elaborate one because spoilers (like actual major spoilers) but just beware of page 505 and make sure you have tissues on hand.

Most people know the BIG news by now that Marie Lu has a hand in some of the illustrations in this book and while those weren’t included in the ARC, you can see a couple here and they look absolutely GORGEOUS. I cannot wait to have a final copy in my hands so I can flip through and see all the amazing things I missed out on.

I do want to mention that it might be helpful to flip through Illuminae before diving into Gemina because the timeline stuff confused me at first and it took a while (and lots of flipping through Illuminae) to jog up my memory and have pieces fall into place.

So pick this s███ up, kids. Especially if you loved Illuminae because s███ really hits the fan in this one and I am READY to read book 3. GIVE IT TO ME NOWWWWW.

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

A Letter to Kady (Illuminae) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Posted by on 10/21/2015 • 11 Comments

I’m excited to have the Illuminae tour stop by the blog today with a fun guest post! I’ve got both Amie and Jay here today with a letter to their main character, Kady! Also don’t forget to enter to win before you go! Before we get to that, let’s see what this book is all about:

Guest post by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

A Letter to Kady

Dear Kady,

Okay, first up, we’re sorry. WE’RE SORRY. Please don’t delete our back-up files, remotely active our car alarms or plaster our embarrassing baby photos all over the internet. We know you know how. And okay, maybe you’d be justified. We put you through some stuff in Illuminae. We can acknowledge that.

We’re particularly sorry about…

Inspirations for This Shattered World & Giveaway!

Inspirations for This Shattered World & Giveaway!

Posted by on 12/16/2014 • 27 Comments

[Banner Image Credit: Amie Kaufman Facebook Page] I was a huge fan of These Broken Stars when I read it a few months ago, and I’m really excited to have the blog tour for this second book stop by the blog today. I’ve got both authors over here talking about the inspiration behind Starbound! Here’s a bit of info on this book first:

Guest Post by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

What Inspires Us The question “how do you come up with your ideas” is hands down the most frequent question we stumble across when talking to readers. As much as we’d love to say “from the corner mart,” the real answer is that inspiration comes from everywhere. It comes from…

Let’s Role-Play! A Guest Post by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Let’s Role-Play! A Guest Post by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Posted by on 11/20/2013 • 40 Comments

Have you read this book yet? If not you’re definitely missing out! You can find my full review here if you missed it but it’s a awesome read! I’m excited to have the wonderful ladies behind this great novel on the blog for a fun guest post on how they created these characters together! First, in case you live under a rock and missed what this book was all about:

Guest Post by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Let It Play Out: Role-playing scenes to establish characters

One of the challenges in any story is ensuring that every character her their own very definitive point of view. They need opinions, a backstory, goals and their own personal motivation to do whatever they’re going to do…

Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Posted by on 11/15/2013 • 33 Comments

Guys! This is not a story about a girl flying in space in a dress! That’s only in the first chapter. I swear!

Actually, most of this book is a survival story. After a crash land on an anonymous planet, Tarver and Lilac have to find a way to get along and stay alive amongst the wild animals and Lilac’s questionable state of mind. It’s not a fast paced read, but rather a slow trek on this mysterious planet full of whispers, visions, ghosts, and other bizarre happenings. This is what keeps it completely enthralling. You get that constant need to read just one more chapter to try and get some answers as to what exactly is happening in this weird place. Is Lilac going insane, or are the voices…