Obsidio

4.5 stars

Wow. What a great finish to a really fun series. I loved the first books, Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff and Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Aime Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I was very excited to see how the series concluded, but also sad because I didn’t want it to end. Hopefully these authors will conjure up another exciting series for us to read in the future.

Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik successfully defeated the soldiers sent to jump station Heimdall and were able to escape alive. Instead of being able to relax after a grueling battle, they find themselves with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. The ship is built for a lot less people and resources are scarce. They decide to go back to Kerenza but don’t know what awaits them there, if anything. Adding to their plight, the adults on Mao dismiss the contributions and abilities of our ragtag team, leaving them angry and frustrated.

Meanwhile, Kady’s cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza’s underground resistance. Her former boyfriend Rhys shows up on Kerenza as part of the BieTech invading force. Can Asha and Rhys learn to trust each other again, especially being on opposite sides of the conflict? The battle for Kerenza and the fate of its refugees appears bleak. The team is determined that even if none of them makes it out alive, however, BieTech’s atrocities will be revealed and the people responsible held accountable.

I really enjoyed this book series. Telling the story in different formats, including diary entries, emails, instant messages, surveillance footage summaries, medical reports, interviews and amazing illustrations really brought the story to life. I found myself anxiously turning the pages and holding my breath as the action unfolded. Despite the book being 615 pages, I read it in 2 days. Once you start, you won’t want to put it down. I highly recommend you read this book series.