I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Calamity by Constance Fay Series: Uncharted Hearts #1
Published by Bramble on November 14 2023
Genres: Adult, Romance, Science fiction
Pages: 320
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Romance, humor and thrilling action combine in this fun sci-fi series opener.
“I know all about you, Temperance Reed, and you’re a calamity waiting to happen. It’s my job to mitigate the damage.”
Calamity is the first book published by Tor’s new Bramble imprint, which focuses on SFF romance, and judging by how much fun I had, I see a bright future for Bramble! Yes, romance is definitely a front-and-center element, but the plot and characters are just as strong. I got lots of Firefly vibes, and in fact the main character’s ship the Quest reminded me a lot of Serenity, so fans of the show—or anyone who loves the “misfit crew in space” set-up—will have a blast.
The story centers around Temperance “Temper” Reed and her survey ship the Quest and its crew. Temper is in dire need of a good paying job when she’s offered one by the powerful Escajeda Family. Their task is to survey the planet Herschel Two and scout for any signs of a valuable mineral called phydium, which is crucial for space travel. Because the Escajedas are a mining Family, the discovery of phydium would increase their power among the other Families. Temper agrees to the job, especially since the pay is double what she would normally make. But there’s a catch: the Escajeda scion insists that his son Arcadio go along with them as security. Temper isn’t stupid, and she knows there’s an ulterior motive behind Arcadio joining the crew, but she grudgingly agrees. Arcadio might be a distraction, though. He’s a muscled piece of eye candy, and Temper can’t ignore the sparks that fly when they meet. But a job is a job, and Temper needs the money.
Once they reach Herschel Two, the crew begins their search for the elusive phydium, but there are unexpected dangers on the planet. First, they run into a religious cult called the Children, who are not happy to see them. Later, they discover another group—members from a notoriously violent Family—and suddenly it seems very crowded. For an “officially” unoccupied planet, there are a lot of people on Herschel Two, probably all up to no good. Temper, Arcadio and their crew must avoid being captured and locate the phydium before someone gets hurt.
Constance Fay’s snappy writing style is perfect for the story, which is told from Temper’s first person perspective. I absolutely loved her character, a snarky, funny woman who is loyal to her friends and will dive head first into danger to protect those she loves. Temper has been banished from her family for betraying them, but trust me, she had some very good reasons for what she did. Now she wears a tear-shaped, glowing tattoo on her face that marks her as such, but she doesn’t regret anything she did, only that her slimy brother Frederick killed someone dear to her as retaliation. I enjoyed the other members of her crew—Itzel, Micah and Caro—although the author doesn’t delve too deep into their personalities, unfortunately (although there’s always the sequel for more character development).
Arcadio is your textbook romantic interest in some ways—extremely good looking, chiseled chin, dark penetrating eyes, bulging muscles—and romance fans won’t be disappointed by his chemistry with Temper, which the author wastes no time in getting to. Despite her status as ship’s captain, Temper doesn’t hide her attraction to Arcadio, and everyone on the ship knows the moment they hook up. What I loved about their growing relationship was that they didn’t play games with each other. Fay avoids some of the traps and tropes of the romance genre by leaving out problematic things like miscommunication, and it was refreshing to be around a couple who have the hots for each other and aren’t afraid to talk about it. In such a short book, you can only expect a couple of sex scenes, and I thought they were pretty mild compared to other spicy books (the sex is nowhere near the spice level of Fourth Wing, for example). Even when Temper discovers what Arcadio is up to, the drama between the two is pretty minimal, I’m happy to report.
And if you’re into action, there’s no shortage of it here! The plot is fast-paced and thrilling, the characters are in constant danger, and the author has lots of surprises in store for the reader. I loved the way she maneuvers the various factions on the planet around each other, which made for some interesting scenes. The planet itself has a big surprise, which I won’t spoil here, and Fay uses it to her advantage to create lots of tension and drama. One of my favorite scenes, which has a wonderful combination of humor and bloody action, takes place when Temper finds a borer (a machine used in mining) to get out of a sticky situation. I also enjoyed the tech used in the story. Most people from the higher echelon Families have “mods,” or modifications to their vision, appendages or even the way they process oxygen, but only the wealthy can afford them.
I was a little unclear on how the Families worked, though, and I suspect it’s because there just wasn’t time to explain everything. If you’re in one of the top Five Families, you have it made, but the author also mentions “top Ten” and “top Fifty” so it was a little confusing. I also wanted to get to know the side characters more. The little we learn about Itzel was fascinating, and I think she could be a fantastic character with a little more page time.
Fay cleverly ties up all her loose ends, including a running joke about how lame the crew thinks the name “Quest” is for a ship. We also meet a mysterious character who will end up being one half of the romantic paring in the sequel (yes, I’ve already read the synopsis for the second book, Fiasco!) The story has a typical “happily ever after” ending, but that’s what you expect when you read romance, right? Overall, this was such a great series opener, and I can’t wait to read the next book.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
This sounds like it has a good mix of everything. I’ve read a couple of books with romance plot lines recently and was surprised how much I enjoyed them, so I can see this being one I might be tempted to check out too 😀
It’s worth checking out!
I was already on-board when you mentioned Firefly, but this story looks intriguing on its own – even the romance, which for me is quite surprising… This one goes straight to the top of my “wanted” list!
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Maddalena@spaceandsorcery recently posted…MUSIC MONDAY – SciFi Month Edition @SciFiMonth
It was a lot of fun, and the romance is balanced nicely by everything else:-)
This sounds delightful! I’m glad to see Bramble is off to a successful start and will definitely be adding this to my resding list
It was the perfect choice to launch the imprint:-)
This does sound lovely and a happily ever after ending is not to be sniffed at.
Lynn :d
Exactly, I think I need more happily ever afters:-)
I’m a bit torn by this one. “Extremely good looking, chiseled chin, dark penetrating eyes, bulging muscles” is exactly the sort of romance I most often don’t enjoy. But the Firefly and Serenity vibes draw me in. Regardless of whether I ever try it, I’m very glad to see how much you enjoyed it.
Happy Thanksgiving, Tammy!
Well it’s definitely got the romance tropes going on:-) But you’re right, it’s hard to resist Firefly.
Great review! I think I’d love this and I need to read more scifi.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…Thrifty Thursday: Security Edition @JanieCrouch #TomCampbell @pfiala @RoseDioroVO @troyduran @kayleacross #ThriftyThursday #Challenge #Giveaway
You would enjoy this, Anne. It’s such a well balanced story.
Glad you ended up enjoying this one! I haven’t decided if I’ll continue with the series, but it was an enjoyable, light sci-fi read.
I think it came along at the right time for me:-)
Yes! I had been hoping this would be as good as it sounded!
Me too, I was so happy when I started reading:-)
Eeeeek I loved Firefly!! So this book already gets bonus points from me just for those vibes. Also, the way I giggled when I read “muscled piece of eye candy” hahaha 😀 This honestly sounds like a great read. I love science fiction, I love romance and I love humor as well as action. Can’t go wrong there!
I think you’d love it!
I enjoy a bit of romance with my sci fi and I’m glad to hear that the spice level isn’t too extreme – I’ll be looking out for this one. Thank you for sharing, Tammy:)).
This was a fun one, definitely worth reading:-)
I really enjoyed this one too, hard to believe it’s a debut! It was so fast-paced and well balanced, I had so much fun.
Yes, it was so well balanced!
How can I not read it after your excellent review, Tammy! Going to check it out.
Laura Thomas recently posted…Grounds For Murder ~ A Coffee & Cream Cafe Mystery by Lea Gregory
Thanks Laura! I hope you get to read it:-)
Honestly can I just cosign your whole review? I agree so much about Bramble, I am SO thrilled for it, especially based on this one. I agree that it was definitely romance but also definitely not JUST romance, which was something I’d worried about a bit going in. I love the misfit crew thing, and this one did not disappoint! So glad you enjoyed it too!
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…November 2023 Wrap-Up Round-Up
Oh yay, I’ve been reading about Bramble and waiting for some reviews from their first releases. This one definitely appeals to me and needs to go on my TBR!
Love the cover and I’m excited for the Bramble imprint as well! This one does sound like one I should add to my TBR. Great review!
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