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A review by mea9an
Gemina by Jay Kristoff, Amie Kaufman
5.0
Gemina is a companion novel to [b:Illuminae|23395680|Illuminae (The Illuminae Files, #1)|Amie Kaufman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1443433956s/23395680.jpg|26653661], following two new protagonists, Hanna and Niklas. Nik is a part of a drug ring called the House of Knives, currently run by his uncle. Hanna is the daughter of the Heimdall Station commander, who is a frequent customer of Nik's. Sexual tension aside, these two aren't exactly what anyone would call friends. In fact, Hanna has broken Nik's arm, but when you're forced to bow down to an evil space super-villain, your chances of avoiding each other are slim. Thrown together in a whirlwind of an adventure, Hanna and Nik have to save the space station with only the two of them, and Nik's tech-savy cousin, Ella.
I actually ended up liking this book more than the first one! Nik and Hanna had really funny playful banter and it wasn't like how Katy and Ezra were already together at one point, these two were about as close as a monkey and an ocean! Even with that huge difference, I still felt that their relationship was real. They had playful flirting throughout the book, but still focused on the mission at hand.
The characters really drove this story along, too. I'm all about having great characters in a book, most of the time, I prefer the characters to a plot.
I loved Nik and Ella's relationship. Nik was sort of the badass, but still a good guy. Not like the trope version of the bad boy with the good heart, but like an actual good guy. He was worried about Hanna and Ella, almost recklessly forgetting about his own mental/physical health. He made sure they were both doing okay. It was beautiful. Nik was just all around my favorite character. He had a hard life, lived through it, and still makes mistakes. He wasn't perfect, but that's what made him perfect. *Insert Heart-eyes emoji*
Hanna was what every author should strive to write. A real badass girl. She didn't need anyone's help in fighting, she wasn't good with computers, she was smart, but not techy. She was the epitome of a well-written female character. She didn't have eyes that changed color, does that annoy anyone else or is it just me? She didn't have an excuse for everything, she just genuinely was a badass. A+ in my book.
The romance took a backseat in this book and let the action run its course. Every-so-often it peaked out and showed itself, but it never got in the way of the action of the book. Gemina has a lot of great fight scenes, each with different characters, some funny, others a little more gory. If you're someone that doesn't like gore, this series is not for you! It gets a little bit intense.
Gemina was a great read, and is perfect for sci-fi lovers and those who enjoy an action packed book. All while still having a little bit of a romance peaking through the cracks.
I can't wait for the next book to come out! I'm so excited. I hope the next cover is GREEN!