You'll Want To Read This Book Wednesday: Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff!!!

Hello there guys!

Today I have a new thing/meme/feature for the blog today! Inspired by Save the Date from The Perpetual Page Turner and Pre-Squee from Bewitched Bookworms, I decided to do my own to showcase those books that I get to read pretty ahead of time (mainly from BEA) and to call it You'll Want This Book Wednesday!!

And as the first book to showcase in this new feature here to substitute Waiting on Wednesday for me will be Gemina!

Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

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 read (maybe should I say devoured?) Gemina on my trip going back home from BEA 16. I had plans to save it from the long flight home from Atlanta to Madrid (I had a layover in Atlanta from Chicago), buuuut... I started reading as soon as I got to my gate at Midway. I have mentioned page 505 and my reaction to it on social media, so maybe let's just say that I think I managed to freak out both the flight assistant and my row mates with my demand of extra chocolate & alcoholic beverages after saying a rather loud "THE FUCK!"... 

The ARC does have quite a few pages with artwork to come, but it didn't bother me at all. It just gives me a bigger reason to re-read my finished copy as soon as it gets home! You can expect the same humour that Illuminae had and also the format we already know about, but it did not feel like a rehash of the same thing at all since the storyline is so very different. There's plenty of science to make you think but not too confusing.

Things don't start how you'd expect, and you find yourself surprised by some developments, which is always good! Not predictable storylines but enough winks here and there to the nerds that might get them too!

Simply, if you read and liked Illuminae, YOU NEED TO PREORDER GEMINA NOW!

Saturday Pages: Their Fractured Light & The Darkest Minds!!!

Hiya there guys!!

I'm having the weekend off and so far not many plans other than reading and binge watching something on Netflix (quite probably Daredevil, so I'll be up to date once the second season comes out). And maybe getting some sushi for dinner if I do some around the house chores too ;)

For this first Saturday Pages of the new year I have another two books that I read in 2015 but I had failed to review yet!


Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Starbound series has been a joy to my science fiction lover soul since I first got my hands on the first book, and now that I've read and loved the third and final one, my only complain is there I won't have any more of them to look forward to.

On Their Fractured Light not only we get alternating chapters of Gideon & Sofia's POV, but also there are some small... interludes I'd call them, with a different voice or voices that really do add some much to the story and bring the three books together in a rather unexpected way too!

Gideon and Sofia are a fantastic couple although their relationship ends up being complex and twisted due to their very own natures and their secrets. I really enjoyed how even lying to each other they found truths to hold on about each other, their own selves and what they really wanted to do and what risks were worth taking.

I was also very happy to see Flynn & Jubilee and Lilac & Tarver back! Getting them all as a big team, despite some hitches along the way was fantastic, because I loved having the other four back and they still didn't take away from Gideon & Sofia's spotlight!

There were some series twists and unexpected things dropped on us that really left me reeling and shocked and very very concerned for how my dears will save the day after the severly mind & heartwrenching twists were thrown into the story! I cannot say any more because big spoilers obviously, but wow... Amie & Meagan know how to throw things at you that both surprise you, break you and still make a lot of sense!

Quite simply put an amazing book and the perfect ending to this very beloved trilogy! Great characters, fantastic plot not only on this book but the overall for the whole trilogy! Irrestible science fiction, space opera style! Extremely deserving of 5 stars (with their respective star systems!).

My only complain? I don't think I'm ready to say goodbye to these characters!! I need more!! Maybe an extra epilogue? A novella? Something!!


The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved dystopian stories with an absolute passion till I got really burned on them, one of those problems of reading too much in the same genre, and so I have not read any dystopians and have been avoiding them for the past year. BUT, I had the whole series in my Kindle for quite a while and decided to read at least the first book to get myself acquainted with Alexandra Bracken's writing before diving into Passenger.

And soon enough I remembered why I used to love dystopian stories, why I rooted for their characters and why I was so hooked on them that I ended up burning myself up. The Darkest Minds is full of action, dangers, great characters and twisted plot that leave you breathless and a darkness and danger that cannot be discounted as something imagined and unprobable. Yes, mental powers are not likely to come after an illness, but the way the government and society reacted? Yep, not unlikely at all!

Ruby was an amazing character to root for, to worry about and to feel like smacking on the head on very rare occasions. Given her past and her fears, I could understand and forgive some of her less than stellar choices, thankfully rare as they were. I loved how she didn't want to be a leader or take risks at first, but she steps up when she knows she has to and when she needs to protect those she cares about.

I was very distraught about the ending because of the sacrificies that she makes, but since this is the first book in the trilogy, I'm both excited and scared to see what twists will come in the next books and to read about Ruby's journey!

Very much deserved 4 stars to the book that returned my love for dystopian books!


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Friday Reads: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff!!!!

Hello guys!!

This is a scheduled post because right now I'm in Copenhagen on a rather improptu trip with Paula Stokes! I've no clue what I'll be doing but probably wandering around, seeing the sights and frowning at the signs written in Danish!

But I really wanted to set up this week's Friday Reads so I could have my review before publishing date, because I read this one so early on (I have no bloody self control at all...) and I didn't want to end up getting tangled up with something else and post my review after release date!

I have read many great books this year, MANY five stars but this one for sure will be in my TOP TEN list of the year!!



Illuminae by Amie Kaufman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Yup, loved this one to pieces!! I was supremely excited for this one and was one of my BEA priorities (it was the second ARC I grabbed, right after Truthwitch) but at the same time I had no idea this format of storytelling was gonna work as brilliantly as it did for me!

As you might have already heard before, Illuminae is not your usual kind of book. There's not regular narrative here, because it's all comprised my memos, e-mails, internal communications, IMs, transcriptions of camera footage and some lists and many many amazing graphics all over the place!

It's quite an unique way of telling a story, but one that works beyond brilliantly, and I think that a science fiction story lends itself to it perfectly!

I feared I wouldn't connect with the main characters with this format of storytelling but that fear was quickly dispel as I simply came to adore Kady and Ezra within the first few pages! I was rooting for them to get back together (not a spoiler), to see what will happen with the ships, how will they survive a confrontation with the pursuing ships (that had a certain BSG feel to it, the only survivors fleeing and trying to stay alive).

Illuminae simply felt like classic brilliant science fiction to me: with humour, tension, a bigger world that we can see at first but that it's there and seeps through the pages, strong human relationships and characters, small and big questions being presented for our consideration, full of food for thought and plenty of action and tension!

It IS a big book, but I devoured it in one sitting with barely any stops for food & bathroom breaks, and those only when I couldn't ignore my bladder or my stomach any longer! A big word of warning: this book WILL BE LIKE THE BIGGEST ROLLERCOASTER IN EXISTENCE FOR YOUR EMOTIONS. You have been warned!!

Now I need the finished copy, the next book and I'm gonna suffer the crushing book hangover this one is sure to give me! Well played Mrs Kaufman & Mr Kristoff, well played!! All the supernovas for this book!! Yeah, stars are not enough for Illumiane, it needs to be rated in supernovas!!



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Friday Reads: This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner!!!

Hello guys!

Friday is here! And although today it's once again not a typical Friday for me, well typical for me as a nurse, but not for the rest of people with more usual working times. I'm once again working this weekend and I'm hoping it will be decent working weekend and not one of those mad ones.

For this week's Friday Reads I have one of my most awaited books from last year, one that I didn't get until earlier this month because I preordered a signed (and personalized!) copy on Books of Wonder, but as soon as it arrived I dived right into it!



This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Last year I read and loved These Broken Stars and so I was extremely excited for the second book in this companion novels series. So as soon as I got my hands on my copy, and once I got back from work, reading started and I didn't stop till I finished, sleep be damned!

This Shattered World takes place in Avon, a planet that is still undergoing terraforming and development, that is behind on schedule and that has the very explosive combination of unhappy natives and an outpost of the military there to try and keep the peace.

Our characters, Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac, are in different sides of the conflict, with different opinions, motivations and goals in life. You could say that the only thing they have in common is being in the same bar, in the same planet, at the same time. Flynn is a pacifist part of a rebel group and Jubilee is known as "Stonefaced" Chase and has a reputation for being tough and quite simply kick arse!

Flynn is not a man of action but he ends up taking on Jubilee, kidnapping her and starting a load of trouble for them both. They start from opposite sides, and by spending time together, fighting, debating and lost in the wilderness, they find that they might understand each other more than they would have every expected. And they find themselves on the same side trying to stop a disaster of planetary dimensions.

Jubilee is a tough girl, a soldier that founds her purpose and a reason to go on after some tragedies in her past, and she's so dedicated, that she's got a reputation that precedes her and makes her the biggest target for the rebels. She made think of Zoe from Firefly and I was rooting for her and her kick arse self from page one! The banter with Flynn, that starts like flirting, changes to hostility and mistrust and ends up in understanding and something more was simply fantastic! I loved how their relationship progressed, with a slow burn and loads of chemistry all over!

I won't be saying all that much about the plot, or when & where do Lilac and Tarver come into this because it's a slippery slope with spoilers, but all I can say it's that we learn more about certain "others" that we already met and it makes me loath and fear even more Lilac's dad. And I'm even more worried about what will happen on book 3!

Another fantastic space opera that appeals to me in the same way that Star Wars and Firefly did, very much deserving of 4.5 stars!

I'm simply in love with all the Irish refences in the book when it comes to the rebels, the language, the legends, the independence fight, their underdogs feel... I'm a lover of all things Irish, so this one simply was a treat on itself.



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Waiting On Wednesday #70!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!


So what book am I absolutely dying and oh my goodness it-doesn't-matter-when-it-will-arrive-it-won't-be-soon-enough this week? This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner!!!

Goodreads Summary:


"The second installment in the epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.

Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war."




Why am I eagerly awaiting This Shattered World? Well, last year I absolutely ADOREEED These Broken Stars, the first book in the Starbound trilogy of companion novels, and after reading a small sample, I'm so excited about this book!!


What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?

Mark This Book Monday: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner!!!

Welcome to this Xmas week edition of Mark This Book Monday! For starters I'm sharing the review of what can be the most awaited book of the year for me and thankfully one that didn't disappoint at all!


These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If I had to pick my most awaited book of 2013, These Broken Stars would be it. Since I discovered it early in the year I fell in love with its cover, a clear case of lust at first sight but I was wary cause I had been deceived before by pretty covers. Then I read the blurb and I knew I could really like this book, so I tried my best to get my hands on an ARC of this book without any luck. I preordered my copy from The Book Depository and it arrived a week after release day so I was about to blow a fuse I was so impatient to read it after all the 5 star reviews it had been getting from bloggers I follow & trust.

It arrived on a day off and that was just perfect, I spent my whole evening reading it. I devoured the book in one sitting, though I kept on closing the book now and then to savour the amazing writing (and gaze at the stunning cover, getting a harcover of this one was a brilliant idea, so worth it!).

The book starts with something that makes you think "Titanic in space" with the super luxury hyperspace starship Icarus, the jewel of the LaRoux corporation and the privileged girl meeting the low class boy. You can draw some parallels but it also start getting very different very soon.

Tarver is a condecorated war hero of 18 that is doing a publicity trip on board the Icarus and has to endure the vapidness and shallowness of it all. Lilac is the only daughter of the all powerful LaRoux magnate and she's an expert at wading the waters of society and she has her own baggage of secrets. Their first meeting has some sparks of attraction flying but it all goes crashing down on their second meeting, where Tarver learns who the girl he liked really is, and Lilac acts like she's supposed to and treats Tarver like he's below her.

Then all Hell breaks loose when the Icarus is wrenched out of hyperspace and a wild panic of people trying to get to scape pods throw (quite literally) Tarver & Lilac together much to their dismay. But right from the start we see that there's more to Lilac than the vapid socialite that she projects. They crash land on a planet that is a mystery and they start a journey together to try and reach the crash lading of the Icarus in the hopes to get rescued.

Both Lilac and Tarver aren't happy to be thrown together into the unknown like this and both are resentful about the treatment of each other and at first relay on their dislike of each other to deal with the unknown of the planet and situation. Lilac keeps getting frustrated about having to depend on Tarver and feeling useless, and Tarver keeps shifting between being irritated about having to haul a socialite across an unknown planet and being worried about how she's going to deal with the trek.

This book is one that relays heavily on character development, gorgeous evocative writing and a creepy mystery to keep you completely glued to the page. You can't wait to see how their relationship keeps on progressing from dislike to friendship and learning to work together to a romantic tension that makes you want to scream at the characters "kiss already, will you!?! You both are crazy about each other and make a great team!!".

There's so much progression on their relationship and so much character growth! I am in love with them both and their relationship, even though at times I wanted to smack Tarver for making it hard for Lilac with his forced pragmatism and I wanted to shake Lilac out of her "I hate feeling useless so I'm gonna throw a tantrum" moments.

The mystery that starts shortly after they start their trek through the planet has a bit of a paranormal streak but it ties very well with the science fiction background of the book too, and it's done in a way that is so creepy and disquieting! Nothing like thinking that you're going mad to scare the bejeesus out of me!

One big warning about this book, once you feel safe and think things are looking up and you are so happy for these two and are feeling all the feels and shipping them to confines of the Verse... BAM! This completely unexpected twist comes and totally leaves you a wreck of denial and tears. And then another twist comes and you just don't know what to think anymore!

Once I was done with the book I was so glad I was reading a physical copy cause hugging a book is much more satisfactory than hugging your eReader... and this book was one that deserved being hugged afterwards! I foresee a re-read not too far in the future. Very well deserved 5 stars for this one!



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Waiting On Wednesday #17!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine  that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner is the book I'm just dying to get my hands on this week! It's been for a while and after all the awesome reviews it's been getting as of late I-JUST-CANNOT-WAIT!!

Goodreads summary:

"It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.

Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.

Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?

Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it."


Why am I eagerly awaiting These Broken Stars? Well, first of all I must confess myself guilty of cover lust but really, ain't it just gorgeous?? The cover grabbed my attention and then when I read the synopsis I was hooked! Sci-fi, space, survival in a deserted planet!! I decided to go on a limb and preoder the cover way back then, and now after reading so many fantastic reviews all over the place from bloggers I trust, I'm just bursting to read it!!

What are you all (im)patiently awaiting this week?