There comes a point in a series where you need to stop and ask yourself, is this good for my heart? And, why am I putting myself through this? The Illuminae series is really killing me but… People help…. I can’t put it down.

*If you have not read the first book Illuminae yet, I advise you to stop here. There will be spoilers for the first book.*

Ok, I warned you.

Turn it off now.

I’m going to spoil everything.

Ezra is alive.

There did it. Now you can’t be mad at me. You kept reading.

When I first heard that this book was being told through the eyes of new characters, I was immediately heartbroken. What about Kady Grant and Ezra Mason? You made me fall in love with them and now you’re stripping them from my life…! No worries. It’s all worth it. You’ll fall in love with Nik and Hanna in just the same manner. And trust me on this one…. You owe me because you kept reading… It’s worth the change. These new characters are well developed and even come with their own jar of snarkiness.

The change shouldn’t come as a surprise. During the entire first book, Heimdall station was mentioned only a billion and one times. Kady kept saying how she hoped her dad was fine. Comments on Heimdall’s safety and existence kept coming into question. So, it only seems plausible that Kaufman and Kristoff would want to tell the story of what happens on Heimdall. And not to give anything away, but both stories wrap up together at the end with a pretty bow.

And to the joy of all…. It’s still told in the lovely dossier style. This time, everything comes to light in the court trial for Frobisher. Yes! Take that evil lady who wants to kill her son.

*Again I warned you*

The only downside is that there are a lot more surveillance moments. I guess it isn’t a bad thing, I just wasn’t a super fan. Or maybe, I just wasn’t prepared for the change? Aidan isn’t on this ship and can’t monologue the whole event for me.

This book is anything short of brilliant. These two have a wide array of tricks up their sleeves and didn’t hold anything back. I just want for a moment to see into the minds of these two, discover how all these building pieces get put together.

The plot is well devised and, in some ways, surpasses the first book. The sci-fi twists are well placed and believable, not that they all have to be, we are talking about spaceships and jump stations, but I want to be able to go along with it. When you talk about switching bodies in dreams, then I need to pull the plug. I guess it’s my space upbringing that allows me to accept this stuff with more of an open mind.

Are you going to assume that I gave this book anything other than 5 stars? Better not. And it is all cemented after meeting these amazing people in person. The signing couldn’t have been any better in my dreams. The two just sat rattling off about life and writing to the point that the commentator could barely get a few questions out. We now know that Kaufman’s backup plan is to be a lighthouse keeper, which is impossible since they’re all automated now, so she better stick to writing.

And in case you haven’t heard, since only like 2 people in the audience knew to the shock of Kaufman and Kristoff, they are working on another series together. It’s supposed to be Guardians of the Galaxy meets Starfleet Academy. Essentially, the world needs saving and they are the only ones in the room to do it. The first book is set to be out next year, I already need to start a countdown.

Happy reading till next time.

Love Kait