Challenge Corner discussion

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.

Pages 1-145
(view spoiler)[What the actual heck. This book is crazy and I’m liking it even more than the 1st. It’s been a while since I read the 1st one but I‘m keeping up okay so that’s good. The worm freatures have me wanting to puke but I’ll forgive it because Holy Moly. This book. Omg. (hide spoiler)]

Pages 146-284

(view spoiler)[What the actual hecking heck.

1. This is NASTY
2. This is CREEPY
3. OH MY GOOODDDD

I love their combination of terror and humor. They have it down so perfectly. One minute you’re shaking in fear and the next you’re reading the funniest quote but you just nervously laugh bc everything’s morbid and everyone’s gunna die but it’s too glorious and funny to ignore???? IDGI BUT I LOVE IT. (hide spoiler)]

Hmm, not sure how to tell you where I am. I'm listening to the audio and my hard copy doesn't have page numbers.

22% - (view spoiler)[ So the cow just exploded and whatever is inside is loose. I expect a high level of chaos in what is to come. (hide spoiler)]
49% - (view spoiler)[ Oh crap, so Jackson is Rapier. That sucks, though I'm not terribly surprised that Mr. Perfect is involved. (hide spoiler)]
76% - Oh snap! (view spoiler)[ Nick is dead, but he isn't dead in the mirror reality that must have been created when he took that rod of H-stuff through the wormhole (remember the technician saying that in past accidents with the technology there was that station that disappeared for 6 months and reappeared without thinking any time had passed -- ooo, I love this stuff!). The questions are - if Nick is dead in Hanna's reality and Hanna is dead in Nick's, 1) how else did the timelines differ and who else is dead/alive, and 2) how do they merge the timelines so these two lovebirds can be reunited and get "glad you aren't really dead" kisses? (hide spoiler)]

Sierra wrote: "Pages 146-284

I love their combination of terror and humor. They have it down so perfectly. One minute you’re s..."

I totally agree! I'm sickened and laughing and weeping all at the same time. So good!

Finished - (view spoiler)[ Uh, yeah! I want to know how they got back to civilization! Maybe there is another ship with a portable wormhole out there. For a minute there I thought that some timey-whimey stuff happened at the end, but it turnout out that Sam did what he did. Good for him. He redeemed himself a little.

It's funny, I liked Nik and his cuz very much, but I actually didn't like Hannah all that much especially at the beginning when she was just a party girl. She turned out to be a BADASS though! I'd love to see what would happen if she got her hands on Leeann personally. Speaking of, I wonder if we will finally get her backstory in the final book?? I'd like to put it all together. (hide spoiler)]

This was so good! I want to jump right into Obsidio. Are you game for one more??

Jennifer wrote: "Finished - Uh, yeah! I want to know how they got back to civilization! Maybe there is another ship with a portable wormhole out there. For a minute there I thought that some timey-whimey stuff hap..."

Yes! I already got it from the library! I’ll probably finish Gemina tomorrow so I can start Obsidio on friday! Feel free to start a little sooner than me tho if you want to! i’ll read it pretty quickly.

Pages 285-471
(view spoiler)[AAAAAH THIS IS CRAZY. I’ve been dying to read it all week but lfie got crazy and I was so annoyed I was only able to read in 10 minute streaks. 😭 I love Nik and Hannah so much. I’m so mad at Jackson. I LOVE ELLA SOOOOOO MUCH. The creatures are so gross and horrific. A solid 4 stars from me so far but could be open to changing it to 5 if it ends really well 👀 (hide spoiler)]

Sierra, there is a separate thread for Obsidio

Jennifer wrote: "Sierra, there is a separate thread for Obsidio"

Perfect! i’ll start reading Obsidio tomorrow when I finish this one!

End
(view spoiler)[ OH MY GOSH!!!!! What the HECK was that, I’m in shock. I can’t wait to read the next book and find out what happened! I love that they ended it like that tho omg. That was one of the best climaxes I’ve ever read, if not THE best..... Also I’m glad Rapier redeemed himself. That was......awful omg (hide spoiler)]

Reading today! (for the third time lol)

I'm on audio, so these are approx
25% (view spoiler)[ I love the cast for the audiobook :) Poor Hannah and Ella, both just lost their only parent. They are both badass though and I appreciate how Ella keeps going even though she probably wants to break down (hide spoiler)]
50% (view spoiler)[ I'm glad Hannah knew Jackson was a bad guy and didn't sacrifice herself for him. So sad that Cerberus killed all those people though, geez. (hide spoiler)]
75% (view spoiler)[ Crazy that Nik died, but Hannah died too! Alternate universes woah. The first time I read this, I totally cried. (hide spoiler)]
finished (view spoiler)[ Ah the ending is so crazy! I love these books so much, Now we get to see how it all ends. I do feel a little bad for Rapier (aka Jackson) but he did a lot of bad things, so maybe this makes up for it in the afterlife? (hide spoiler)]

25% (view spoiler)[
Like the first book in this series, I have trouble following the story sometimes. The format just makes it difficult to know what is going on. I wasn't sure what was happening until the ship was taken over by Falk and his crew. Things are making sense now, so hopefully I can follow this one better than the first book. (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[
I am liking this book more than the last one. I don't actually recall too well what happened in the first book. I am following this one a lot better. I recall liking the characters a bit more in Illuminae, but I don't mind these three. (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[
I sometimes feel like Ella, Nik, and Hanna joke around too much for their current situation. If this was actually happening in real life I am not sure there would be this light-hearted. I do actually enjoy their banter because it makes the book more interesting and at times funny, but it just seems unrealistic. (hide spoiler)]

100% (view spoiler)[
So I ended up really liking this book. I was able to follow it a lot better than the first one, so that definitely gave this one bonus points. I probably would've liked the first one too if I could follow it, but it just got confusing in spots. At first I wasn't a huge fan of Hanna and Nik, but they grew on me. I definitely want to read the third book now! 3.5/5 (hide spoiler)]

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RESTARTING MARCH 9TH, 2022

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19% (view spoiler)[ Why do the parents always have to die?! Hanna and Ella's dads are gone and I feel horrible for them. And there's no time to mourn because space pirates are killing people on board. (hide spoiler)]

Ella makes me laugh! "Just us terrorists posing as fifteen year-old girls. Oh, did I say that out loud? Foiled!"

37% (view spoiler)[ The story about Nik's dog makes me so sad. Why are there so many sad parts?! At least the story about Nik's grandma getting revenge was kind of funny (hide spoiler)]

48% (view spoiler)[ And now those people got flushed out to space. So. Much. Death.

I did like Hanna fooling the team and making that sugar bomb. (hide spoiler)]

70% (view spoiler)[ Nik no!!!!!!!!! Ella no!!!!! (hide spoiler)]

100% (view spoiler)[ I love how Hanna interrupts the trial like a badass. Power move there.

The whole two universes thing is crazy and for a while it's so sad because Nik is dead and Ella is dead and it's all awful. Thank goodness they all made it out. (hide spoiler)]

Started this one tonight.

Thru page 130
(view spoiler)[
Poor cows. I feel bad that they're used as hosts for the parasites.

It doesn't take long for the BeiTech mercs to start wrecking the joint. I feel bad for Hanna who doesn't know yet about her dad.
(hide spoiler)]

Thru page 250
(view spoiler)[
Jesus, Nik's dad is terrible. His poor dog.

I liked the plan the trio has come up with. The mercs are definitely underestimating these three and it's going to come back to bite them.
(hide spoiler)]

Thru page 342
(view spoiler)[
That sugar bomb was a great idea. Terrible about the people in the Habitat sector though. But Hanna and Ella's plan for helping everyone else is a good one.
(hide spoiler)]

Thru page 504
(view spoiler)[
The parasite getting Ella is the freaking worst.

Also, Nik dying sucks.
(hide spoiler)]

Finished
(view spoiler)[
The two universes thing was a wild idea that was used very well in this book. Also, I loved AIDAN being back and his sass.
(hide spoiler)]

This was just as good the second time around and now I need to finally get to the last book.

Melanie wrote: "Finished

The two universes thing was a wild idea that was used very well in this book. Also, I loved AIDAN being back and his sass.


This was just as good the second time around and now I need to..."

AIDAN is the best

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RESTARTING JANUARY 28TH, 2024


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Beginning to p. 172: This took me a bit to get into, but I am all in now! (view spoiler)[I wasn't expecting to have completely different narrators or a different setting for this one so it took me a minute to get used to this new scenario...I wanted Kady and Ezra darn it! However, Nik and Hannah are growing on me and the situation on Heimdall has my full interest now. I think this one is going to be a heartbreaker just like Illuminae was. I both need to keep reading to find out what is going on and I dread turning the page because I know there is a whole lot of ugly in store for me! (hide spoiler)]

p. 173-350: (view spoiler)[The twists are just as good as in Illuminae!! Jackson?!?!?!?!?! is the mole?!?!?!?!?! Poor Hannah! Seriously, what?? At least the possibility of a love triangle is gone now cause obviously #TeamNik, but seriously...Although, if the authors had kept him a good guy and he died, Nik would have always seemed like the consolation prize, so now at least that dilemma is gone. Just the whole, how to stay alive part to worry about now. Also, these authors have seriously concerning imaginations with the whole "how dust is made" process. That was disturbing!! (hide spoiler)]

p. 351-578: I meant to stop at 75% but blew right through it...whoops! (view spoiler)[Parallel universes?? Nik is alive in one of them?? My goodness, the tension is insane and I have no idea how things are going to get wrapped up neatly in the next 15% of the book but I sure hope that my heart gets a break...this section was brutal!! I'd write more but I have to know what happens so back to reading I go... (hide spoiler)]

p. 579 - End: (view spoiler)[Whoa...that was definitely some ending!! I don't even know quite what to think - the first ending scenario when Jackson killed everyone I think my eyes about fell out of my head I was so surprised...then I realized that couldn't have really happened, could it? (I was mostly convinced it couldn't) so I kept reading and whew...mind blown. Loved it!! (hide spoiler)]

Berra, When you are ready, I would love to buddy read Obsidio...just let me know!