REVIEWED BY Micky Barnard
Gemina by Amie KaufmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was the best buddy read in the all the history of buddy reads. That was down to the fabulousness of this book but also down to how we attacked the reading together. Slow in the week, followed by weekend gluttony. If there is a book to unleash your inner glutton on, GEMINA is it.
The formatting of book two was a slight cut above book one, with the most fantastic illustrations by Marie Lu. As with ILLUMINAE, the use of digital dialogue, pictures, unusual and creative illustrations enhanced the reading experience. Of course, the words and story itself are what truly makes the book. GEMINA immediately plunges you into your previous knowledge of the Hypatia, Kerenza and uses this to launch a new story focusing around Jump Station Heimdall. Heimdall is the residence of the Commander's daughter and 'princess' Hanna. This entitled prima dona is not stuck up and events cause Hanna to become a fighter outside of the dojo. Her old school buddy Nik, of crime family House of Knives is both her adversary and admirer but Hanna already has a love and romance in Jax who is a young officer in her father's command. What ensues is corruption, attack and larvae. Yes, I did say larvae and believe me, a significant portion of buddy chat was used to debrief on the larvae.
The character development in GEMINA was superb and there were some strong secondary characters that wowed me, such as Ella, the little spider and the cows!! The dialogue was witty and sarcastic, hitting lots of happy buttons for me. The plot twists were all unexpected and quite frankly took my breath away, which is where buddy reading was so helpful. The developing story was engaging, angsty and memorable. For me, this book pipped ILLUMINAE every so slightly in my affections. It's such a treat to have a second in series be so strong. I am highly anticipating book three and it can't come soon enough. Highly recommended in paper form for illustration and formatting purposes and enjoyment.
Reviewed for Jo&IsaLoveBooks Blog.
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