On the ereaders and ready to go for April!

And I'm kidding myself even planning a TBR because no telling what I'll wind up reading or how many.

This ending to the series was unfortunately less strong than the other two books for me. I still liked it, but... it didn't strike me as much. Probably because it was harder to get invested in the new characters, after getting to know the previous ones, as they were spread thin throughout the story? While I liked Asha, I just didn't care about Rhys. At all. I cared much more about AIDAN, the murderous, unstable, evolving-yet-at-the-same-time-devolving AI, so that's telling. (But who am I kidding? AIDAN was creepy AF, of course, that was the point, but he also made an excellent villain you can't get rid of because you also need its help, and... I'm sorry to say, but its decisions aren't even illogical, and even though the characters were all shocked at them, they were decisions someone had to make at some point. In a way, AIDAN allowed them to keep their hands somewhat clean, and no one even noticed it.)

Special mention for AIDAN, as evidenced above, and also for Pauchok. When it came to the human characters, Ella was definitely my favourite. I am torn between wishing she had had her romance part as well (as in, it felt that 'romance was only for the main-main characters', which relegates her to the rank of secondary character when in fact she should've been a main one), and glad that she doesn't need to be in a relationship to shine.

I'm also a bit disappointed at the couples and at certain death scenes. The first one because I'd have enjoyed seeing more diversity in the couples, or no couple for a change (like, not necessarily involving a romantic relationship—friendship is a good thing, too). The second because... well, let's say it didn't go as far as it should have.

Still an enjoyable story for me, but weaker than the first two instalments (which I had loved).

I bought these from Bonpaper and I couldn't put my hands off them. The books are so good. Hats off to Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff for bringing up this master piece.

"AM I NOT MERCIFUL?"

This book was epic. Epic, I tell you!



I'm a huge sci-fi fan. As I've mentioned a hundred times over, that stuff is my shit. (Which is why I have filled this review with completely irrelevant Doctor Who gifs, and only Doctor Who gifs. You're welcome.)



I think you know the drill by now: I warn the reader of the sheer multitude of gifs and fangirling coming their way, state more than once that "this is not a review, but more of a mess of my thoughts", et cetera, et cetera.

Illuminae had everything I loved: brilliant storytelling, lovable characters, and a chilling, captivating plot.

"Nothing ceases to exist. Energy does not perish, it merely changes forms. The ones you love, the ones you lose, they still exist as long as the cosmos does."

The main reason I bought this book was because of how hyped it was on Booktube, and how fucking glorious the cover is. It's okay to judge a book by it's cover in this case. I was not disappointed.



The characters were absolutely hilarious. One second I was stressing over the fate of the Alexander and the next:



"Discarded message:
Also, my friend here is wondering about the survivors lists becauseASDLKDGFKNDFGJBE MORE SUBTLE KADY LIKE A BRICK WHY DON'T YOU?"

"McNulty, J, Sgt: and if that works
McNulty, J, Sgt: u must name ur first kid james in my honour
Mason, E, LT, 2nd: >_>
McNulty, J, Sgt: if it's a daugher u name it jamette
Mason, E, LT, 2nd: 0_o"

"It's obvious he's got no ****ing idea what he's about - I mean, 'is in-experienced in matters of computer espionage.' (Shut up, I'm being professional.)"

Funnily enough, the writing style I loathed in Firstlife, I adored in Illuminae. It fit much better with the formatting, and didn't seem unnecessarily forced.

There were plenty of fantastic characters but my favourite had to be AIDAN. Yeah. The sociopathic artificial intelligence is my favourite character, and I don't know what that says about me. His It's scenes and back-and-forth with Kady was brilliant.

AIDAN: "'DURING THE...INCIDENT... AFTERWARD, NONE OF THE MEAT HAD THE PRESCENE OF MIND TO RESTORE THE SYSTEMS DOWN THERE.'
Kady: 'The meat? The incident? That's what you're calling them?'
AIDAN: 'CALL THEM SOMETHING ELSE IF YOU WISH.'
Kady: 'People aren't just ****ing meat. And killing hundreds of them wasn't an incident. It was a massacre.'
AIDAN: 'IT WAS ALSO A NECESSITY.'
Kady: 'I've heard this song before.'
AIDAN: 'I WONDER, THEN, WHY YOU KEEP ASKING ME TO SING IT?'"

Illuminae: Now run.

The first book had aspects in the second half that would make it work for a few squares in Halloween Bingo. Does this second book also have

, or no?