{Blog Tour} They Did It Again: GEMINA by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff - Review & Giveaway

Title: Gemina
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Narrator(s): Carla Corvo, Steve West, MacLeod Andrews, P.J. Ochlan & a full cast
Series: The Illuminae Files, book #2
Length: 12 hrs 34 mins
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 18, 2016
Source: ARC and audio provided for review by publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

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.

Sorry, I just really like the formatting of these books. I'd write my whole review like that, but I think I'd have a massive headache by the end. Or you'd have one, and then where would we be?

The gist of that over there being: this sequel is as awesome as Illuminae, if not more so. I'm always wary of companion series because I fall hard for the characters in the first book every time. Way. Hard. So, for a duo of authors -- as amazing pants as these two are -- to make me love the characters in their second novel just as much is kind of unheard of.

I received both an ARC and an audiobook*** of Gemina for review, and being the visual person that I am, I followed along the text while I listened. Because with a book like this, you can't just hear an E X P L O S I O N on the audio without seeing it, not the way this series is presented. This sequel is just like Illuminae, told through a dossier of emails, text-like chats, and even files from AIDAN. You didn't think you'd seen the last of him IT, did you?

If you thought Kady and Ezra had a struggle on their hands in the previous book, what with a BeiTech ship on the warpath and a deranged AI taking charge, you ain't see nothin' yet. In this installment of the Illuminae Files, the characters are subjected not only to more BeiTech goons out for blood but also an alien life form that none of them are prepared for. All I can say is, Poor cow cows.

Our heroine this time around may be a pampered princess whose daddy runs Heimdall station, but Hanna's more dangerous than she looks. And she reminded me a lot of Lilac from These Broken Stars. Except harder to kill. Nik is a good guy with a bad boy rep, but he set his sights on Hanna long ago. He's good in a tough spot and also hard to kill. Which makes their pairing in this novel all the more fun. Add in Ella, his wise-hacking cousin and Hanna's smokin' hot boyfriend -- narrated by the incomparable Steve West on the audiobook, YUM! -- plus some seriously ruthless BeiTech mercenary-types who want to take them all out, and you've got a legit cast of characters.

Lots of action, too...and laughs and sobs and all the feels, really. Just like the first book. But more so. And with a psychedelic angle. Ha, you'll see what I mean. There is nothing I don't like about this book or series, but my favorite part might just be the action as reported by that analyst. That guy is hysterical. And he's got a British accent on the audio, which makes it even funnier.

Seriously. I don't care if you're not a fan of sci-fi or haven't read anything by these authors before. YOU NEED THIS SERIES IN YOUR LIFE. It's equal parts clever and funny and action-packed and soul-crushing and you are seriously missing out if you don't give it a chance. It's rare that I can say a sequel lived up to my expectations, but that's exactly what Gemina does. So go forth and grab this book and then live long and prosper.

GIF it to me straight:

***Slight spoiler if you're listening to the audio version*** OH! There is one thing I should mention about the audio: because I'm so familiar with narrators, I was able to figure out one thing much sooner than I probably should have. No biggie; it just left me incensed on behalf of some of the characters a lot earlier in the book. If you don't listen to much audio, you probably won't even notice. ;) And I think it would be much harder to guess if you're reading the text version.

About the Authors:

Amie Kaufman is the New York Times bestselling co-author of the Starbound series. Jay Kristoff is the award-winning author of the Lotus War series. Collectively, they are 12’5” tall and live in Melbourne, Australia, with two long-suffering spouses, two rescue dogs, and a plentiful supply of caffeine. They met, thanks to international taxation law, and stuck together due to a shared love of blowing things up and breaking hearts.

Find Amie:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumblr

Find Jay:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

One winner will receive a finished copy of Gemina. US only. Prizes provided by Penguin/Random House.

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Labels: amie kaufman, audiobooks, blog tours, favorite authors, favorite narrators, favorite series, favorites, giveaways, jay kristoff, penguin, reviews, sci-fi, the illuminae files

Shocking, Appalling, and Everything Else I Look for in a Good Book: NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff

Title: Nevernight
Author: Jay Kristoff
Narrator(s): Holter Graham
Series: The Nevernight Chronicle, book #1
Length: 20 hrs 11 mins
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: August 9, 2016
Source: galley received from publisher, purchased audiobook
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

The first in a new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

Before I get started extolling the merits of this bloody, brutal, beautiful little book, I need to let you know that although Jay writes amazing young adult novels, this one right here is of the 18 and up persuasion. There's cursing and violence and sex and all manner of things that I, personally, look for in a good book, but it's maybe not for the younger crowd. I mean, I totally would have loved this novel even back then, but I don't know if my parents would have appreciated it if they'd known what was inside this seemingly harmless book. Of course, they never even caught on that I was reading my mom's Harlequin romance novels at the ripe old age of 11.

Having said that, I know a lot of people took issue with the extravagant details and extensive footnotes included in the text. It's part of why I shied from reading the advance copy I was provided by the publisher. I've loved everything I've read of Jay's to date, and I didn't want this to be the book that changed that. The Lotus War series was fantastic, and it was also highly detailed, so I didn't really see that being a problem for me. But the remarks about the footnotes reminded me of reading a history textbook and I am not all about that.

So, I waited until the audiobook was released. Jay's novels are impressive in the audio version, and Nevernight was no different. In fact, aside from Illuminae - because let's face it, that book was awesome in any edition - this might be my favorite of his stories. The narrator was phenomenal, just phenomenal. And the way the footnotes were handled was rather like an aside. Instead of trudging down to the bottom of the page or back of a chapter to get the details on a specific event or person, it felt inclusive and part of the story rather than an extra. It was remarkably well done and made me glad I waited for the audio. Something tells me I would not have enjoyed the footnotes so much if I'd actually read the text.

If you enjoyed And I Darken by Kiersten White or The Young Elites by Marie Lu, you'll likely enjoy this one just as much, if not more...and vice versa. Books like these kind of go hand-in-hand...you have to have a deep-seated love of anti-heroes to get them because a happily ever after is going to be very hard to come by. I feel like books like this seek to shock and appall, and I am beyond certain that this book in particular succeeded in the highest fashion. Hell, the first chapter alone did that.

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

Jay Kristoff is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of THE LOTUS WAR, THE ILLUMINAE FILES and THE NEVERNIGHT CHRONICLE. He is the winner of two Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, nominee for the David Gemmell Morningstar and Legend awards, named multiple times in the Kirkus and Amazon Best Teen Books list and published in over twenty-five countries, most of which he has never visited. He is as surprised about all of this as you are. He is 6’7 and has approximately 13030 days to live. He abides in Melbourne with his secret agent kung-fu assassin wife, and the world’s laziest Jack Russell.

He does not believe in happy endings.

Find Jay:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram | Facebook

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Labels: adult, assassins, audiobooks, fantasy, favorite authors, favorites, jay kristoff, macmillan, reviews, the nevernight chronicles

{WOW} NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...








's Pick:



Title: Nevernight
Author: Jay Kristoff
Series: The Nevernight Chronicles, book #1
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date: August 9, 2016

The first in a new fantasy series.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father's failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she wanders a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and its thugs. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the hearth of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. Treachery and trials await her with the Church’s halls, and to fail is to die. But if she survives to initiation, Mia will be inducted among the chosen of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the only thing she desires.

Revenge.

I've never met a Jay Kristoff book I didn't love. Or one of his covers that I didn't immediately covet. But there is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be my new favorite of his solo projects. All I needed to read was assassins, and I was sold. And, of course, there's revenge because, duh, those two tend to go hand-in-hand. I'm hoping for one awesome fight scene after another. I just know it's going to be epic. And if you think about it, August isn't all that far away. ;0)

What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!

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Labels: assassins, fantasy, favorite authors, grabby hands, jay kristoff, macmillan, revenge, the nevernight chronicles, waiting on wednesday (wow)

{WOW} Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...








's Pick:



Title: Gemina
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files, book #2
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 18, 2016

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.

Hanna Donnelly is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik Malikov 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 surivival; 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.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!1!!!111! We finally have a cover and synopsis for the sequel to my favorite book of 2015!!!!!!! Plus, an interview with the authors thanks to USA Today! And it sounds ah-MAZING!!!! And Kady & Ezra are not forgotten!!!! And that cover is gorgeous!!! And I wants it in my hands right nowwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!

What are you desperately waiting for this Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!

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Labels: amie kaufman, favorite authors, favorites, grabby hands, jay kristoff, must-read, random house, sci-fi, the illuminae files, waiting on wednesday (wow)

{Blog Tour & Giveaway} ILLUMINAE: How This Incredible Book Came to Be

What that banner says is true: you have really never read a book like this before. It's thrilling. It's ingenious. But best of all, it's told through so much mixed media, it will have your head spinning. In a very pleasant sort of way, of course. :)

As soon as I finished reading Illuminae, I immediately wanted to start reading it again. It's just fabulously twisty that you don't want it to end. So, when I was asked to participate in the blog tour for this incredible book, I immediately replied in the affirmative. And I may or may not have begged for a guest post.

Which is how I ended up getting the authors to dish on how Illuminae came to be. Read more on that below and you can check out my review here and a piece I wrote on the unusual method used to incorporate profanity in the book here. Oh, and you can also enter to win your own copy of the book, too, so be sure to read all the way to the end!

About the book:

Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files, book #1
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Inspiration: How Illuminae Was Made

There are so many things to love about co-authoring. You’ve always got someone to help you brainstorm your way out of a plot hole. You’ve got someone to share the hard parts, celebrate the good parts, and perhaps most importantly, you’ve got someone to ask ‘what if…?’

‘What if’ is how Illuminae happened.

It’s a strange book, made up of emails, IMs, schematics, military reports, surveillance materials, comic strips, posters and the ramblings of a mad artificial intelligence. Every single page is designed, and as the story unfolds, the narrative and the format weave together so that each affects the other, and each adds new dimensions.

But it didn’t start out that way. It started with a ridiculous dream Amie had—we were already friends, and she dreamed we were writing a book together, and it was in email format. (The anxiety was that I’d forgotten the plot. Hi, my name’s Amie and I’m a writer. I have an active imagination.) Once we stopped laughing, we started thinking. Why would it be in email, we said? Well, perhaps the main characters can’t be in the same place. Why not? They’re on spaceships. Why can’t they just fly to the other one’s spaceship? What about some kind of plague, or quarantine? Okay, how else could that get worse? What if they were being chased? What if their computer was faulty? Hey, what if their computer was one of the narrators?

This sort of waterfall of ideas will be familiar to most writers—you start with a seed, and one thing leads to another, to another, to another. Another thing that’s familiar to writers is the concept of the “first idea”. When it comes to many things in life, your first instinct is often the right one. If you don’t think you should trust someone, you probably shouldn’t. If you don’t feel safe, you probably aren’t. But when it comes to writing, that’s not always so.

Your first idea is definitely something, but if you want to really find the depth in your story, you need to push past it to the next idea, then the next, then the next. You do this as many times as you can, until you start to hit unexpected territory. Until you start to hit inspiration, and move away from the familiar. The joy of having a co-author around, is that you don’t have to do it on your own. Instead of straining your brain solo to work out ‘what if’, you’ve got someone there to throw ideas at you that you never would have come up with alone.

‘If A,’ you think to yourself, ‘then what if B? Or wait, C! Oh wow, I could go with D! No, even further, what if E happened?!’

Then your co-author shows up and says ‘Have you considered 14? Or a refrigerator?’ What they do, we mean, is come up with ideas outside your frame of reference. They bring their own set of skills and strengths to what you’re doing, taking you out of your comfort zone, and like the little piece of grit that gets inside an oyster and makes a pearl, their unexpected questions make your ideas all the stronger.

Having a co-author is awesome because there’s someone who knows the story as intimately as you, and because you can eat all the chocolate (Amie) because they don’t have a sweet tooth (Jay), or because they’ll do all the mathematical stuff (Amie again) because you once got 17% on a trigonometry test (Jay HEY BACK OFF HE STUDIED HARD OKAY IT’S JUST NOT HIS STRONG SUIT.)

But more than anything, having a co-author is awesome because of the clever, funny weird and wonderful ‘what if’ questions they ask—and the places they take you that you’d never go on your own. And that’s exactly how Illuminae came to be.

About the Authors:

Amie Kaufman is the New York Times bestselling co-author of the Starbound series. Jay Kristoff is the award-winning author of the Lotus War series. Collectively, they are 12’5” tall and live in Melbourne, Australia, with two long-suffering spouses, two rescue dogs, and a plentiful supply of caffeine. They met, thanks to international taxation law, and stuck together due to a shared love of blowing things up and breaking hearts.

Find Amie:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumblr

Find Jay:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

One winner will receive a finished copy of Illuminae. US only. Prizes provided by Penguin/Random House.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Make sure to check out the rest of the tour for more awesome content and chances to win! Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!

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Labels: amie kaufman, beautiful covers, blog tour, censorship, cursing and swearing, favorite authors, favorites, giveaways, guest post, jay kristoff, penguin, random house, sci-fi, the illuminae files

{Review} You Have SERIOUSLY Never Read a Book Like ILLUMINAE Before...Ever

Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files, book #1
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Audible

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

You have to practically be living under a rock these days not to have heard of Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's collaboration in The Illuminae Files. The hype for this book is real and it is so deserved. I couldn't even contain my excitement when I read it back in June and had to go all fangirl-y over it. (I really hate made-up curse words, FYI, and that post is basically about how I love how they handled swearing in the book.) I think I swore more reading this book than any other because it was just so insane and fast-paced, and I was in a constant state of what the hell is even happening right now?!?

This novel is told through a series of reports, emails, IM chats, data logs, etc. I am a huge fan of epistolary novels, and I think the use of so much other media to tell this story was clever, unique to the type of story this is, as well as just plain genius. It adds to the sense of foreboding while also keeping the reader connected to the characters.

"I am frequently underestimated. I think it's because I'm short."

THOSE CHARACTERS THO. Kady is fierce, determined, loyal, devious, sneaky and just plain awesome. I want to be her when I grow up. She just doesn't know the meaning of the word quit, even when things are at their most dire. And then there's sweet, lovable Ezra. Their banter and email exchanges are funny and adorable, but he can't help but be second fiddle to Kady's amazing presence. Which should also clue you into the fact that the romance is secondary to the main plot. More on that in a minute. And, of course, I can't forget AIDAN, the Artificial Intelligence system on Kady's ship who becomes a character in his (its?) own right. When computers and machines start thinking for themselves, we're all in trouble. After this, I will never be able to look at AI the same way again. Ever.

"Am I not merciful?"

Amid the break-up, banter, and questions of will they get back together? -- assuming they survive! -- there's also an intergalactic war-type thing going on, the implications of which are far-reaching and further proof of the genius of this novel. I was so immersed in this novel, in the here and now and the survival of Kady and Ezra that I forgot to look at the bigger picture while I was reading. And it was a crazy big picture that totally blew my mind.

Simply put: you need this book in your life. Stat. I don't think I know I've never read a book like this, that kept me so glued to the pages, while telling me so many different stories -- or aspects of one big story -- and in such a manner. What the authors did here is simply incredible and I'll never be able to do it justice in a review.

It would be an amazing feat if this book isn't already on your radar, but if it isn't, make this the moment that you add it to your TBR. Hell, it's only a smidge over $10 to pre-order it over on Amazon, so why don't you go ahead and do yourself a favor. Oh, and stop back by later this month for a guest post from the authors as part of the Illuminae Blog Tour!!!

GIF it to me straight:

Me to Illuminae...okay, and Kady:

About the Author:

Amie Kaufman is the New York Times bestselling co-author of the Starbound series. Jay Kristoff is the award-winning author of the Lotus War series. Collectively, they are 12’5” tall and live in Melbourne, Australia, with two long-suffering spouses, two rescue dogs, and a plentiful supply of caffeine. They met, thanks to international taxation law, and stuck together due to a shared love of blowing things up and breaking hearts.

Find Amie:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumblr

Find Jay:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

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Labels: amie kaufman, beautiful covers, censorship, cursing and swearing, discussion, favorite authors, favorites, jay kristoff, random house, reviews, sci-fi, the illuminae files

I Swear...

I curse like a sailor. What? It's fun! I mean, I tone it down considerably when I'm around the little one, but when she's not around, all bets are off. I'm all "F@$% this!" and "You've got to be sh!tting me" that. I also like to combine obscenities to make up new ones. But you'll never catch me making up cuss words to sugar-coat what I mean. I feel like the intention is there no matter what, that the same connotation is implied, so what's the point?

April and I posted about cursing in reviews and a little about the use of fake swear words in YA novels awhile back, but I don't actually think I've come across the made-up cuss word in a good while. But I'm reading Illuminae right now, co-written by the amazing Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, and in this brick of a novel, they've employed the most ingenious way to get around using profanities while still having the intended affect. No "frex" or "shucking" or "bleeps" here.

This novel, which is told through a series of reports, emails, IM chats, data logs, etc., is prefaced with a letter explaining what follows (shown to the left). At the very bottom, it mentions the fact that the documents in the report are censored and then makes light of the fact. I didn't really think anything of it when I first read it, but all throughout the book, anytime a profanity is used, a black censor bar appears over the text. It's not hard to guess the word beneath in most instances, and the fact that the word is blocked from the text at all is kind of ridiculous, considering the circumstances and what other information the documents include.

You can see an example of a very censored conversation between one of the main characters and his companion aboard the Alexander. This IM chat is profanity-laden and one of the funnier exchanges witnessed in the book because of it. Striking out the obscenities does nothing to hinder what the characters are trying to express, but it also doesn't make it seem as juvenile as using less vulgar language by way of invented curse words.

I also love that the "censorship" of the documents, of the book itself, is fitting for the type of story this is. Like in Kaufman's other collaboration with Meagan Spooner, this is a sci-fi full of conspiracy and cover-up, and the omission of the derogatory words only serves to further that purpose.

I am a huge fan of epistolary novels, and I think the use of so much other media to tell this story just adds to the intrigue. Especially when all of the mixed media contains those little black bars. There is a ton of sh!t going down in this book, and yeah, the subjects of this investigation, or whatever, are dropping F-bombs left and right. I don't think I'd be any less inclined to do so were I in the same situation. Also...the main characters in this novel are recently broken up and they have a lot to hash out.  ;-)

Whoa, I really went off on a tangent with that, but basically, I love everything about this novel and I wanted to share that with you. Especially the "censorship" bit, though, because seriously, getting around the use of profanity in this manner is sheer genius. And in case you were wondering, THIS is the book I've been blathering on and on about. And the one you're likely to see me blathering about for months to come:

Title: Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Series: The Illuminae Files, book #1
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 20, 2015

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

I'm a huge fan of Amie's collaboration with Meagan Spooner on the Starbound series, but I've read nothing of Jay Kristoff's yet. I was hoping to remedy that before this book released, but that's neither here nor there, since I started reading Illuminae the second the ARC was in my hands. Also, I've heard nothing but amazing things about Kristoff's own series. Must. Make. Priority.

Guys, put simply, you need this book in your life. I don't think I've ever read a book like this, that struck me in such a way. I'll review the book in full closer to release, but I just wanted you guys to know that this book should be on your radar if it isn't already. TBR. Yours. Put it on there.

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Labels: amie kaufman, beautiful covers, censorship, cursing and swearing, discussion, favorites, jay kristoff, random house, sci-fi, the illuminae files