Hey lovelies!

Today I am going to be sharing with you a book review of one of my recent reads which is Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman!

Although, I was hesitant about reading this book because I’m not the hugest fan of sci-fi, I was convinced to by these main four reasons:

1. I had heard such fantastic things and some of the people that I look to for reviews had all given it either four or five stars which meant I knew it was a fantastic read!

2. I wanted to read it before the Gemina book launch in Melbourne because I wanted to be able to go and tell the authors how much I loved the book and get it signed and all that fun stuff! And for those wondering, I did end up finishing it before the launch (on the day of the launch to be exact).

3. I also really wanted to read it because Amie and Jay are both Australian authors and I love reading books from local authors (especially since they live in Melbourne!) and I feel like we should all be reading and fangirling and sharing because #ozya is awesome!

4. Lastly, I wanted to read this book because of the format. It is a book that is written in various types of multimedia such as chats, reports, internet searches, maps, diagrams, radio communications and more! The format was really attractive and new to me which is also what reall interested me in the book!

But anyway, let’s get into the review!

About the book. 

{ WRITING }

The writing of this book wasn’t very ‘normal’ (for the lack of a better word) because it was told through these various media formats however, it had a very good flow to it and really enhanced the plot and characters.

It was quite fast paced (although some bits were also very dry and confusing) and really built up tension and urgency. Towards the more action filled parts, I felt myself hanging onto every word, yet still flipping the pages faster than usual because I was so eager to see what would happen next!

The book was also really funny and I liked how the authors worked to include some humour and silly moments into the book to add a little more fun and engagement to the book! I was laughing at the banter between the characters and how deadpan the humour was because of the formatting.

The fact that the entire story was written in multimedia formats would have been something I would think too hard to achieve however, Jay and Amie managed it wonderfully! It was so seamlessly done and didn’t feel clunky or awkward at all!

{ IDEA }

As mentioned before, I will be the first to say I am not a sci-fi person. I get really confused with the lingo and the whole concept of outer space is fascinating but not really my cup of tea!

While I did like the idea of this book, I can’t say it was a mover and a shaker. It was unlike anything I’ve read before (presumably because I don’t read sci-fi) and I have never heard of a book similar to this one! It was a very interesting concept and not one I could dream up even in my wildest dreams!

That, coupled with the romance, humour, mystery and formatting of this book made it so wholly unique!

{ PLOT }

The plot was so fast paced and action packed that it was absolutely a thrill ride. (Basically like sitting on a rollercoaster that goes up and up and up and then suddenly….falls down!). I found myself really enamoured with the story after hitting about half way through.

There was a lot going on, all the time! It was impossible to trust anyone and it was so confusing trying to tell the good guys from the bad guys!

The criticism I do have for this book, however is that it wasn’t very clear. (Which is mainly what stopped me giving it five stars!). I was not at all enjoying the book in the very beginning because I had no idea what was going on, it was quite dry, there were too many names and too much lingo being tossed around and I was sorely tempted to put it down! (The only thing that stopped me was how highly people spoke of it!).

Until I was half way through the book, I was so confused about the characters, the situations these characters were in, where they were, what had happened to them and all of that.

There were just too many characters and too much going on at points of the book and at other points, there was barely any action!

{ CHARACTERS }

The characters in this book were so well written and life like! You would think that with a book in this format, you wouldn’t be able to connect with the characters but that is so untrue! The characters were so easy to laugh with and to cry over!

Kady is such a badass, strong, funny character and she really lit up the book with her quiet optimism, loyalty and hilarious quips! She was such an awesome protagonist and held her head high even in the worst of situations. I liked how smart and determined she was throughout the book!

Ezra is another super character because he’s so funny and enjoyable to read from the perspective of! He is really loyal and I loved his relationship with Kady!

But the character that I want to talk the most about it…AIDAN!

AIDAN (the artificial intelligence system) I think is one of the best villains in the history of villains! I liked how he was shown to be a conflicted character as he juggled what he was programmed to do and his almost ‘human’ emotions of anger, want and love. He tries to do the right thing, by himself, by those he ‘cares about’ and by what he was programmed to do and that is what makes him such a fantastic villain! What he was doing was absolutely terrible yet a part of you can’t help but sympathise with him as well!

{ FINALLY }

Woo! This has been such a huge review, even though I promised myself I wouldn’t overdo it! I really enjoyed Illuminae and thought it was such an action-packed, funny book and unlike anything I’ve read before! But the fact that it was so confusing at times really made me lose interest in some parts of it, which is unfortunate!

Nonetheless, I am very excited for the next book, which is Gemina and to see where the story goes next!

OVERALL RATING:

Have you read Illuminae? And if so, what did you think?