Two Minute Review: Wanderlost by Jen Malone

Title: Wanderlost
Author: Jen Malone
Genre: contemporary
Series: N/A
Pages: 352
Published: May 31 2016
Source: publishers via edelweiss
Rating: 4/5

Not all those who wander are lost, but Aubree Sadler most definitely is on this novel’s whirlwind trip through Europe.

Aubree can’t think of a better place to be than in perfectly boring Ohio, and she’s ready for a relaxing summer. But when her older sister, Elizabeth, gets into real trouble, Aubree is talked into taking over Elizabeth’s summer job, leading a group of senior citizens on a bus tour through Europe.

Aubree doesn’t even make it to the first stop in Amsterdam before their perfect plan unravels, leaving her with no phone, no carefully prepared binder full of helpful facts, and an unexpected guest: the tour company owner’s son, Sam. Considering she’s pretending to be Elizabeth, she absolutely shouldn’t fall for him, but she can’t help it, especially with the most romantic European cities as the backdrop for their love story.

But her relationship with Sam is threatening to ruin her relationship with her sister, and she feels like she’s letting both of them down. Aubree knows this trip may show her who she really is—she just hopes she likes where she ends up.

If you loved Kirsten Hubbard Wanderlove a few years ago - like I definitely did -- this is the book you've been looking for to fill that bookish-themed-wanderlust hole in your reading. With its mix of far-off places and girls in disguise and just overall great characters, Wanderlost is a story that sucks you in. This book is a cute contemporary YA with a lot of great banter, charm to burn, and a ship you could sail around the world. It's a strong ship, is what I am saying. 

 If you're willing to overlook some kinda iffy setup (suspension of disbelief: engaged!) to get Aubree to Europe, this is a story that is pretty much built to entertain and to make you ship the romance. But! Yay! Malone doesn't hinge her entire story or Bree's entire arc on a new romance. There's also things happening like the sister relationship between Elizabeth and Bree that is nicely explored, and also the personal realizations Bree has independent of Sam or his input. Wanderlost starts out fun and light-hearted enough, but it and fake-Lizzie also really grow on you as you read. 

Sam and Bree are two characters that are terrific together. The author knows how to write great dialogue and thus the banter between the two is engaging, funny, and full of chemistry. Their interactions are genuine and often hilarious; Bree is a capable mess and Sam is a hot dork. It just works. It's fun to see them together, even if the path of their relationship is pretty easy to predict. It's still a really fun read getting there with these two and the group of eccentric seniors that accompany them.

Top Ten Reasons I Love ASoIaF

Top Ten Tuesday is all thanks to Broke and the Bookish!

 We all know I love fantasy. It's my favorite genre by far, and I also read more of it than any other. Last year, I read over 100 fantasy books alone. (And that's not including any paranormal fantasy or urban fantasy. Just pure epic/high/low/grimdark fantasy.) My love of fantasy can be traced back to the Hobbit and Alanna and Ella Enchanted but grew with long-running epics like the Wheel of Time or Malazan Book of the Fallen.

However, there is a favorite, even among my favorites. And it's pretty well-known, though a lot of you just know it by the title of the first book (Game of Thrones) but I like to call it A Song of Ice and Fire.

Yes, your favorite tv show is my all-time favorite book series. This Top Ten Tuesday is about the contents of the books only.  I've read it for over 15 years of my life and it's never wavered from the top spot. Made of five books so far with two more expected, it's a fantasy genre must-read.  Here's a few reasons why the book series is the best.

The lovely @heartlesslyn sent me this gorgeous leather-bound #asongoficeandfire box set for my birthday next week! 😍🐉📚• •#books #bookstagram #instabook #igreads #igbooks #reader #fantasy #georgerrmartin #grrm #asoiaf #gameofthrones #bibliophile #bookworm #epicfantasy #dragons #bookish #funkopop

A photo posted by Jessie Hall Wallace (@jypsyhowl) on Oct 30, 2015 at 9:02pm PDT

1. The deft and morally grey characterization

Sandor Clegane, Arya Stark, Jaime Lannister. Just three main characters that GRRM has crafted into vibrant, flawed, realistic beings that we love and hate, cheer on and disparage. However you may think of them individually, you cannot deny they are nuanced, complicated people. 

2. The subtle and not-so-subtle historical inspirations

Be it the War of the Roses, the Hundred Years' War, or the Black Dinner and more, GRRM is an author that looks to history for clues for how to plot his fantasy stories. Seeing the parallels between fiction and fact appeals very much to the history major in me.

3. The dense and detailed worldbuilding

Imagining Westeros is an easy task for anyone that has read the books. GRRM is a wordy man and that's the benefit of crafting this realistic world. With his five books, he has definitely created a viable, envisionable world, even before HBO made their amazing intro.

4. The hidden clues, theories, and conspiracies

If you look closely and if you're detail-oriented and/or prone to rereading, there's an immense amount of foreshadowing and information to be found in the five published books. Noticing even small specific references, like even "Dunk the lunk, thick as a castle wall" is important for several reasons. Once you learn the truth of R+L=J, there's always another theory to find. Southron Ambitions, for one.

5. The fearless storytelling

No matter what you can say about this series, it is unafraid to take risks. It kills off supposed main heroes, it maims people, it takes good people and shows their evil, shows the goodness of even of the worst. Good people die, bad people win. GRRM has said before that no one is safe in his world and it makes for truly unpredictable reading.

6. The nuanced political machinations

I love historical fiction with a good atmosphere of intrigue. A Song of Ice and Fire is 85% intriguing about thrones, heirs, and hairs and 15% dragons and magic for the first 2 books. Even after that, even when the fantasy elements start to loom larger over the story, it remains pivotal and rarely mishandled (the exception: the Kingsmoot plotline ffs let it diiiie).

7. The unexpected plot elements

George, as stated before, starts off with a pretty low fantasy medieval-England-esque story. There's a few prophecies, nothing too fantastical. Then dragons and the dead rising to murder the living. Then we have fire magic and demonbabies and resurrection (not just mindless snowzombies.) Now, time travel. A scifi element in a series that was first low then epic/high fantasy? I did not see it happening but it did and it is.

8. The ambitious scope and writing

I know the style of the novels is not for everyone, but I think GRRM can write well. I know it's dense and detailed method and there's a backstory for EVERYONE and each House has words and there's hints of so much more we don't know about so much. But GRRM keeps it balanced; he keeps all those ambitious plot threads moving (fooor the most part ahem Meereneese knot plotline) and me anxious to see what happens next to whom.

9. The ships

They are small. They are referenced and alluded to more than seen. But the ships that set sail from ASoIaF do not ever sink. Rhaegar and Lyanna are never seen on page, much less a ship explicit on the first read. However, if you're a devotee of reason #4... you can find the real story of the Targaryen prince and the wild Stark girl and it will give you many Feelings. (But don't ship San/San, ok? Just. Don't.)

10. The DRAGONS

Duh. Drogon and Viserion and Rhaegal are v v important to me and to Daenerys. I love the direwolves something fierce (esp you Nymeria, you she-beast) but the dragons are my favorites.

 There's also a time in Westerosi history where there were DRAGON WARS between TARGARYENS. It was called the Dance of Dragons and I want in novel form so bad I CAN TASTE IT.

There are some maaajor issues with the series, that I will not even attempt to deny. My fave is problematic and I know it, and I think the author does too.  I think GRRM is doing his best, as I am while waiting for the forever forthcoming Winds of Winter. If you're on the fence about the books, it's one definitely worth at least a try. The tv show is often excellent, but the books are gold-standard (and canon.) (Long live Grenn.)

Book Tour Review: By Helen's Hand by Amalia Carosella

Title: By Helen's Hand
Author: Amalia Carosella
Genre: historical fiction
Series: Helen of Sparta #2
Pages: 429
Published: May 10 2016
Source: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours for review
Rating:  4/5

With divine beauty comes dangerous power.

Helen believed she could escape her destiny and save her people from utter destruction. After defying her family and betraying her intended husband, she found peace with her beloved Theseus, the king of Athens and son of Poseidon.

But peace did not last long. Cruelly separated from Theseus by the gods, and uncertain whether he will live or die, Helen is forced to return to Sparta. In order to avoid marriage to Menelaus, a powerful prince unhinged by desire, Helen assembles an array of suitors to compete for her hand. As the men circle like vultures, Helen dreams again of war—and of a strange prince, meant to steal her away. Every step she takes to protect herself and her people seems to bring destruction nearer. Without Theseus’s strength to support her, can Helen thwart the gods and stop her nightmare from coming to pass?

I was a big fan of Carosella's historical debut last year, and I am an even bigger one upon finishing her intricate and original duology about Helen of Sparta. With a keen eye for detail and a mind for remembering and adapting ancient mythology, Carosella's grasp on the story is profound and far-reaching. This version of Helen's life remains unique, and entirely of Carosella's creation and fertile imagination. Deftly picking up the threads of Helen's story where Helen of Sparta left off not even a year ago, this sequel and finale is just as intricate, detailed, and well-rendered as its predecessor.

Helen's story is one that has been told for generations and yet Carosella manages to eke out a new plotline and some unexpected twists and turns to keep readers paying attention. The inventiveness of Carosella's adaption of such a well-known mythological figure definitely makes By Helen's Hand a memorable and original read, even for voracious historical fiction readers. Far more than in any other version of her life, Carosella's Helen is an active and engaged character in her own fate. She is not a woman content to be stolen, to be someone's prize, but is instead someone who seeks to exert some small amount of control and happiness in her own life. The end may be foretold by her Gods and their wills, but this is not a woman who does what she is told meekly or without subversion.

Told through possibly a few too many viewpoints, it is Helen's voice and perspective that stand out through a read of Carosella's newest novel. Like I said before for book one, Helen is the motivating force that drives this 430-page novel. She has the most POV chapters and this allows her to shape the story the most, as well.  She is the center on which everything pivots and Carosella handles her characterization evenly and deftly. Some of the other POV voices just don't appear often enough to make much of an impact as narrators. The fact that all perspectives but Helen's are in third person (to her first-person) helps to foster the impression that this is Helen in control of her story, with just a few voices to bring in atmosphere, detail, and other settings. 

The ending for By Helen's Hand is an unexpected one, and yet still fits within the confines of Carosella's own version of Helen's tumultuous life and within previously espoused mythological versions of her legend. I loved the fact that Amalia Carosella reached for these lesser-known inspirations to conclude her Helen's story. It kept the ending from feeling too predicted/known and boring. It definitely was a creative and novel approach for a conclusion; the risks the author took throughout these two novels have made the story indelibly her own and I like that her flair included the finale.

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, May 16
Tour Kick Off at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, May 17
Review at The Reading Queen

Wednesday, May 18
Review at Book Lovers Paradise

Thursday, May 19
Review at 100 Pages a Day

Monday, May 23
Review at Creating Herstory

Tuesday, May 24
Review at Book Nerd

Wednesday, May 25
Review at Let Them Read Books

Thursday, May 26
Review at Helen’s Daughter

Wednesday, June 1
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Friday, June 3
Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Monday, June 6
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Wednesday, June 8
Interview at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Thursday, June 16
Review at Impressions In Ink

Friday, June 17
Review at Layered Pages

Monday, June 20
Review at Just One More Chapter

Wednesday, June 22
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, June 24
Tour Wrap Up at Passages to the Past

 

Two Minute Reviews: Heroine Complex by Sarah Kuhn

Title: Heroine Complex
Author: Sarah Kuhn
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Untitled #1
Pages: 368
Published: Expected July 5th, 2016
Source: ARC via NetGalley
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Being a superheroine is hard. Working for one is even harder.

Evie Tanaka is the put-upon personal assistant to Aveda Jupiter, her childhood best friend and San Francisco's most beloved superheroine. She's great at her job—blending into the background, handling her boss's epic diva tantrums, and getting demon blood out of leather pants.

Unfortunately, she's not nearly as together when it comes to running her own life, standing up for herself, or raising her tempestuous teenage sister, Bea.

But everything changes when Evie's forced to pose as her glamorous boss for one night, and her darkest comes out: she has powers, too. Now it's up to her to contend with murderous cupcakes, nosy gossip bloggers, and supernatural karaoke battles—all while juggling unexpected romance and Aveda's increasingly outrageous demands. And when a larger threat emerges, Evie must finally take charge and become a superheroine in her own right... or see her city fall to a full-on demonic invasion.

Superheroes are a massive property right now, and something I really like seeing is the lives of the people around the heroes. Eight years ago, demons attacked San Francisco and after the ensuing earthquake, people began developing super powers. Most of the supers are exceptionally minor. A store owner who can adjust the temperature with his mind. A police office with a psychic GPS. These people are content to live their lives and use their powers in small ways. Not so for Aveda Jupiter, who has dreamed of being a superheroine since her childhood watching The Heroic Trio in the Chinese theater. Her "powers", (the saddest telekinesis ever,) are secondary to the fact that she trains harder than anyone else to punch, kick, and elbow demons back to hell.  She makes herself super, with the help of Lucy, her trainer; Nate, her live-in scientist; and of course, Evie, her personal assistant.

Evie was best friends with Annie before the powers. She's always let her run a little roughshod over her life, but things have gotten down right outrageous now that Aveda's a hero. So when Aveda goes down with a broken ankle and begs Evie to take her place at a few scheduled appearances, Evie caves. And accidentally reveals her own, much flashier and much more hidden powers to the NorCal area.

I really enjoyed Heroine Complex. It reminded me a lot of Mur Lafferty's Shambling Guides series in tone and style. I love that both Annie and Evie are Asian-American characters with different backgrounds and temperaments but their Asianness is very much a part of both girls. The main romance is hot and fun and I'm always happy to see two geeks get it on. Evie's relationship with Bea, her sister is realistic, (in a world of superheroes,) and has a lot of poignant touches.

But even though it's fun and funny, it's not a great story. The villain is a mess. There's way too much going on in the final acts and some plots, like the cryptic stones, don't come together. The beta romance is also a bit nothing. It also reads a bit over long with the tension between Evie and Annie stretching too thin. Still, there's more to recommend Heroine Complex than not. 

Review: Saint's Blood by Sebastien de Castell

Title: Saint's Blood 
Author: Sebastien de Castell
Genre: fantasy
Series: Greatcoats #3
Pages: 576
Published: April 2016
Source: publishers via NetGalley
Rating: 5/5

How do you kill a Saint?

Falcio, Kest, and Brasti are about to find out, because someone has figured out a way to do it and they've started with a friend.

The Dukes were already looking for ways out of their agreement to put Aline on the throne, but with the Saints turning up dead, rumours are spreading that the Gods themselves oppose her ascension. Now churches are looking to protect themselves by bringing back the military orders of religious soldiers, assassins, and (especially) Inquisitors - a move that could turn the country into a theocracy. The only way Falcio can put a stop to it is by finding the murderer. He has only one clue: a terrifying iron mask which makes the Saints vulnerable by driving them mad. But even if he can find the killer, he'll still have to face him in battle.

And that may be a duel that no swordsman, no matter how skilled, can hope to win.

This is a creative series has evolved to become so much fun to read as a fantasy genre enthusiast.  It's Dumas with magic; it's the Three Musketeers with more fatalism and better one-liners. Each new jaunt into Sebastien de Castell's French-inspired world of Tristia has only improved on the one that came before it. Traitor's Blade was a good if imperfect beginning for Falcio and Co., Knight's Shadow was a dense and cleverly complicated sequel, and Saint's Blood is the best of the series yet, speaking both character-wise and plot-wise. In this planned series of only four books, Castell has so far crafted three well-wrought and carefully developed novels.

The heart of these books has always been the three Greatcoats, the trio of Falcio, Kest, and Brasti. Falcio val Mond is the first-person narrator, but here in the third act his primary cohorts step even more into the fore. The swordsman of the group, Kest has had unique struggles since the first book and his situation is still a tenuous and uncertain one. His personality is still stoic and far less chatty than either of the others, but after three books it's hard not to see his distinct personality and voice among his recitations of stats and protectiveness towards his brothers-in-arms. Brasti, the third leg of this deadly tripod, similarly experiences a lot of growth over the course of three novels. Even moreso than Falcio, Brasti is great for banter and a one-liner. His talents aren't limited to snark, but also showcase his underlying noble, if not moral, nature. Together or apart, they're a fantastic trio and they are never boring.

The three central troubadour-judges aren't the only well-drawn characters to be found in Saint's Blood. This has been a very male-dominated story (think of, besides Falcio and Co: the King, nearly all the male Dukes, the majority of the villains, all the Knights, etc.) but de Castell has definitely integrated more women into all kinds of key roles. Heir-apparent Aline is more active than ever, as is Greatcoat Valiana acting as her regent and protector to prepare her for the throne. Ethalia, once the victim of an unfortunate fantasy genre trope, has also become a well-developed and nuanced character. When they meet up with protagonists, it's a group that compliments one another and they also, at times, challenge one another. 

There's a lot of creativity to be found throughout this series, and Saint's Blood is another example of Sebastien de Castell's unique brand of fantasy. His approach to the genre is fresh and layered; his plots are intricate and unpredictable. His characters aren't stereotypes and evolve over the course of each book. And, happily for me, his worldbuilding has started to fill in the existing gaps and provide some solid answers. Now that we are three books in, with magic and religion becoming ever more prevalent in the characters' lives, there's more information provided about how Tristia functions as a country and as a religious people.  

Closely following the events in the two books before it, Saint's Blood does not miss a step or waste any time and momentum. Sebastien de Castell's newest offering is also his best. It's an involved and intricate story but one that is hard to put down. New antagonists enter the scene for Kest, Falcio, Brasti, and everyone to contend with, but also help contribute the overall threat waiting in the wings with series big bad Trin. With only one book left in the Greatcoats' arc, it will be a hard wait to see how Aline's play for her father's throne ends with the forthcoming Tyrant's Throne. 

Book Tour Review: Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman

Title: Girls on Fire
Author: Robin Wasserman
Genre: general
Series: N/A
Pages: 368
Published: May 17 2016
Source: TLC Book Tours for review
Rating: 2.75/5

Girls on Fire tells the story of Hannah and Lacey and their obsessive teenage female friendship so passionately violent it bloodies the very sunset its protagonists insist on riding into, together, at any cost. Opening with a suicide whose aftermath brings good girl Hannah together with the town's bad girl, Lacey, the two bring their combined wills to bear on the community in which they live; unconcerned by the mounting discomfort that their lust for chaos and rebellion causes the inhabitants of their parochial small town, they think they are invulnerable.

But Lacey has a secret, about life before her better half, and it's a secret that will change everything...

Mostly known for her darker/horror YA novels like The Waking Dark and The Book of Blood and Shadow, Robin Wasserman has tried her hand at adult lit with her newest, Girls on Fire... and it often feels like the work of a completely different author. Girls on Fire is a brash, loud, angry, chaotic, and jumbled story of Hannah and Lacey, two girls drawn together in a small town during the early 90s. With echoes of a 10-years younger and more Satanic Thelma and Louise, Wasserman's newest book isn't one afraid to go down dark paths. It's got a lot of voice -- be it in Lacey or Dex/Hannah's POV -- and personality, but it also can feel thin at times; too little plot over too many pages, or too much going on with not enough substance.

Dex and Lacey's story is Robin Wasserman's take on an all-consuming, toxic, and blurred-lines female friendship. It's a relationship full of nuance and evolution but it can also feel overwrought and like the author was visibly and not subtly trying to distance herself from her YA roots. Girls on Fire goes for shock value and surprise and it sort-of works, sometimes. I've no issue with sex or other adult themes but this is a book that sometimes crossed from "adult" to "cheesy" when that definitely was not the intention. I've read Wasserman's previous books and found them uniquely and smartly creepy, but found little of that subtlety here. For all that I wasn't entirely keen on how the plot progressed through the book, it's undeniable that Girls on Fire is at least an unpredictable and memorable read. 

My main issue with this book lies with how hard the narrative tries to be compelling and deep and also with how the inciting incident of the novel (Craig's death) is ultimately resolved. Both of these tie into key elements of the resolution so it left me unsatisfied by the ending. The first issue pops up more noticeably in the second half of the book, when all the poor cliches seem to roll out. It's not enough that Lacey has a broken home, no her stepdad is the literal worst, so on and so forth. In trying to make Lacey's homelife and poverty resonate, Wasserman seemingly overcorrected. Secondly, the actual act in which Craig died? Made me laugh, doubletake and then laugh again. I stopped reading the book because it was so jarring, I was taken right out of the story.

The best part of Girls on Fire was the inner life and narration of one half of the book's leading duo: Hannah/Dex. Even moreso than the ringleader Lacey, though each/both may be an unreliable narrator, Hannah has a voice that does seem to connect easily with readers and draw them into the twisted story. Lacey's characterization may have veered towards cliche at times, but Hannah's does not. She is the highlight and the strongest element of Girls on Fire. Even as other characters dominate the story and manipulate each other, Hannah's evolution is riveting and interesting to watch. It wasn't exactly my preferred cup of tea this time, but you can't say that Girls of Fire is boring book or that Robin Wasserman doesn't have a great, twisted imagination.

TBR Planning: June 2016

I have a pretty good variety semi-planned for the next month. Last month I skipped around from contemporary to science fiction to fantasy back to historical fiction. I love bouncing between genres and age ranges because it keeps me from noticing tropes or getting fatigued on a favorite. So I plan to to do the same in June.

Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine (The Great Library #2)

In Ink and Bone, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine introduced a world where knowledge is power, and power corrupts absolutely. Now, she continues the story of those who dare to defy the Great Library—and rewrite history…

With an iron fist, The Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.

Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower and doomed to a life apart.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess’s home isn’t safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or the Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control…

I enjoyed Caine's long-running teenage vampire books until I wore myself out on the sheer number of them (I made it about 9 or so books in) but I love her new Great Library series even more, with none of the reservations I had for Morganville and its characters. This series is so much fun and so creative; Ink and Bone was one of my favorite books of all 2015. and one I definitely pushed on a lot of friends. I was beyond thrilled to get this from Penguin to read and review.   


By Helen's Hand by Amalia Carosella (Helen of Sparta #2) - the second in a series about the early life of Helen (usually of Troy), Carosella envisions a full and rich inner and outer life for one of mythology's most infamous women. Book one was an impressive beginning and I've been patiently waiting for the continuance of Helen's story ever since.

Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer (Terra Ignota #1) - I had not heard anything about this scifi debut until Meg was talking about it while in line for Sabaa Tahir at BEA last month. I missed the signing so I was lucky enough to get a review copy sent to me (thank you, Ksenia and Tor!!).  It's a futuristic uptopia about the birth of a revolution, using an 18-centurry writing style. It's inventive and ambitious but I am excited to see how it goes.


Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (Illuminae Files #2)

  

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 know I know this is not out for months and I should wait and WHO CARES IT'S GEMINA  AND I KNOW IT'S GONNA HURT AND I NEED IT IN MY EYES.