Yep! It's February already. But ...
What did I read during the months of November and December?
Top Read
Gemina (
The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
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.
The Illuminae Files is a unique and engaging series told in an unusual narrative style: instead of standard prose, the story unravels through documents, interview transcripts, chat logs, etc. It's a future-set science fiction tale that involves insane AIs and corporate greed/conspiracies that have universe-spanning consequences. It's crazy and, quite literally, explosive.
The first book in the series was one of my top reads of 2015, so I had high hopes for this sequel.
Gemina didn't let me down. Although it lost some of the uniqueness of the reading experience—this being the second book and all—it was still a wild ride. I don't often like when authors switch main characters during the same series, but it works in
Gemina.
(And it doesn't hurt that Hanna and Nik are essentially Clarke and Bellamy from The 100, in both looks and personality.)
I'm really looking forward to the third (and final?) book in this series to come out later this year so that all of the threads that were woven throughout
Illuminae and
Gemina can come together. And so that I can read about more explosions.
Honorable mentions
A million universes. A million dangers. One destiny.
The fate of the multiverse rests in Marguerite Caine’s hands. Marguerite has been at the center of a cross-dimensional feud since she first traveled to another universe using her parents’ invention, the Firebird. Only now has she learned the true plans of the evil Triad Corporation—and that those plans could spell doom for dozens or hundreds of universes, each facing total annihilation.
Paul Markov has always been at Marguerite’s side, but Triad’s last attack has left him a changed man—angry and shadowed by tragedy. He struggles to overcome the damage done to him, but despite Marguerite’s efforts to help, Paul may never be the same again.
So it’s up to Marguerite alone to stop the destruction of the multiverse. Billions of lives are at stake. The risks have never been higher. And Triad has unleashed its ultimate weapon: another dimension’s Marguerite—wicked, psychologically twisted, and always one step ahead.
In the conclusion to Claudia Gray’s Firebird trilogy, fate and family will be questioned, loves will be won and lost, and the multiverse will be forever changed. It’s a battle of the Marguerites … and only one can win.
I hadn't read any of Claudia Gray's books until I started this trilogy, but it quickly made her one of my most favorite authors. This series, specifically, is filled with a ton of pulse-quickening action and some serious swoon. The world(s)—the series spans multiple alternate dimensions—Gray built for the
Firebird trilogy are rich and unique, and I loved being able to travel along with Marguerite on her journeys.
I definitely experienced TEABS
(i.e., the end of an awesome book syndrome) when I finished
A Million Worlds With You, regardless of the fact that I thought the ending was fitting and well done. I am sad I no longer get to revisit this series ... at least for the first time.
Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland and a favorite of the unmarried King, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, she wants to open a shop and create delectable pastries. But for her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for a woman who could be a queen.
At a royal ball where Cath is expected to receive the King’s marriage proposal, she meets handsome and mysterious Jest. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the King and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into a secret courtship.
Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.
Marissa Meyer is a total queen of retellings—her
Lunar Chronicles series takes the basic stories of familiar fairy tale characters including Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White and sets them in a futuristic scifi universe—so I was really excited to read
Heartless, her take on the Queen of Hearts from
Alice and Wonderland before she was the Queen of Hearts.
If you know the Queen of Hearts
' general story, you know that she's not a sympathetic, or even nice, character. Because of this,
Heartless is a bittersweet read; the novel tells the story of the events that led the Queen to become such a shrew, when she was actually quite lovely as a young woman.
Nemesis is a Diabolic. Created to protect a galactic Senator's daughter, Sidonia. The girl who has grown up by her side and who is as much as sister as a master. There's no one Nemesis wouldn't kill to keep her safe. But when the power-mad Emperor summons Sidonia to the galactic court as a hostage, there is only one way for Nemesis to protect Sidonia.
She must become her.
Now one of the galaxy's most dangerous weapons is masquerading in a world of corruption and Nemesis has to hide her true abilities or risk everything. As the Empire begins to fracture and rebellion looms closer, Nemesis learns that there is something stronger than her deadly force: the one thing she's been told she doesn't have - humanity. And, amidst all the danger, action and intrigue, her humanity might be the only thing that can save her, Sidonia and the entire Empire ...
The Diabolic is
(yet another—I sense a theme here) futuristic scifi novel with ideas that resonate strongly with today's world, specifically the theme of church vs. state. Reading about a future culture that has turned away from science and just sort of hopes for the best as far as technology is concerned is fascinating. I also always appreciate reading about main characters who realize that they're far more than meets the eye/far better than society makes them believe.
This book isn't for the faint of heart, however, as it has some pretty brutal scenes of both killing and attempted sexual assault. Thankfully, S.J. Kincaid doesn't throw these scenes in there simply for shock value.
And, side note: I didn't realize this book was the first in a trilogy, but looking at Goodreads, there are more books to come. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether you want to jump in from the start or wait until the series is complete.
Other reads
★★★★
The Fate of the Tearling (
The Queen of the Tearling #3) by Erika Johansen |
Sloppy Firsts (
Jessica Darling #1) by Megan McCafferty
★★★
All the Feels by Danika Stone |
The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett |
Plus One by Elizabeth Fama |
Teach Me to Forget by Erica M. Chapman
★★
Dial Em for Murder by Marni Bates |
My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier
If you've read any of these titles, I'd love to hear what you thought! And,
have you read anything lately that you'd recommend?
