This was just as fun as Calamity, the first book in the Uncharted Hearts series. Maybe more so.

The protagonist this time is Cyn Khaw, a down-on-her-luck bounty hunter with a brief cameo (under cover) in *Calamity* as the cultist Generosity. What she was up to in that book was the kind of side gig she has to take to pay the bills; her main focus has always been the pursuit of the serial kidnapper who abducted her younger cousin and murdered her when the family couldn’t raise the ransom. The action in this book kicks off when Estella Escajeda (sister of Arcadio from *Calamity*) shows up in her office, in true film noir femme fatale fashion. Her daughter has been kidnapped by the man Cyn has been hunting, and Estella wants Cyn to recover her daughter.

Cyn isn’t alone on this job. She’s joined on this job by the scout crew from *Calamity*. Temper and Arcadio are pretty minor players in this book; by far the most prominent member of the scout crew (from both the reader’s perspective and from Cyn’s perspective) (very much from Cyn’s perspective) is the medic Micah.

Complicating matters: in an earlier job Cyn committed the unforgivable sin of embarrassing a member of the prominent Pierce family (she really should have let him put pants on before she stunned him). Carmichael Pierce wants revenge on Cyn, but he’s willing to forego that … if she betrays Micah to him, as he’s a wanted outlaw in Pierce territory.

Further complicating matters: the job takes them to Cyn’s hometown, where she’s going to have to talk to her parents and won’t be able to keep the subject limited to her houseplants.

This story is just so much fun. The hunt for the kidnapper is exciting and unpredictable. The developing relationship between Cyn and Micah is fraught and tense and very entertaining to watch. And Cyn has a pet lizard that adopted her; a genetically engineered critter that eats metal (something to be carefully managed on a spaceship), breathes fire, will be able to fly when his wings come in, and is a completely useless coward.

This is pure entertainment. Highly recommended.

My blog5 s Brittany Smith267 321

insert that meme going around Twitter “holding my breath around her because if I smell her imma moan”5 s April Wheeler603 55

I received and ARC copy of this through NetGalley though all thoughts are my own.

Constance Fay is back with another adventurous scifi opera. In this one, Cyn is a bounty hunter who has been hunting a man that took her cousin years ago. She finally has a good lead and needs the help of the Calamity team to track him down on her home planet. However, that pesky medic and his sexy arms is constantly keeping tabs on her. can they resist each other?

this one was another fun and adventurous read. I really seeing the whole gang together and their dynamics. I think the beginning of this one was a little long winded in the the descriptions of things. The plot will be moving but then the author stops this momentum to describe a plot point and it kind of takes me out of story a bit. The whole book is a bit corny and cheesy but that's why i love her books. I still d Calamity more but this was another fun read and i'll be continuing on in the series.4 s Lexie217 142

Fiasco follows lone wolf bounty hunter Cyn Khaw as she attempts to track down a serial killer known as the Abyssal Abductor. She's been investigating him for her entire career, but a hot new lead from a powerful Family has Cyn teaming up with the crew of the Calamity in order to track him down and save his most recent victim. Unfortunately for Cyn, the trail leads right back to her home planet, which she's been pointedly avoiding since her own cousin was kidnapped and killed by the Abductor years ago.

I enjoyed our protagonist Cyn quite a bit. Watching her confront her past trauma and grow to trust again was a great journey. The mystery was fun, even if a bit obvious, and the crew of the Calamity is always a joy to follow.

My main issue with Fiasco is, unfortunately, the romance. With everything else happening, it felt our love interest Micah was firmly situated on the back-burner. As a result, there just wasn't much chemistry between him and Cyn. He spends the majority of this story just kinda hanging around and keeping an eye on her, and it's been long enough since I read the first installment in the series that the memory of them initially meeting has faded, so there's not much of foundation for their relationship to be found here. It all ends up feeling very insta-lovey, made even worse by the fact that Micah has no time to develop as his own character. I remember him having a bit of an amusing temper in Calamity, but in the book where he's meant to shine, his only notable characteristics seem to be his nice arms and being a protective medic. There's very little banter between him and Cyn in order for us to get to know him better, which is disappointing.

Overall, this was a fun and steamy sci-fi romp, which is always a good time, but I wish the romance had been able to develop more. The first book balanced the space shenanigans with the romance so well that this one just felt a bit lackluster in comparison. That said, the universe and cast of characters is still a lot of fun and I plan to continue to pick them up as Constance Fay puts them out.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor/Bramble for the e-ARC!2 s Shannon Miz1,286 1,067

4.5*

I quite enjoyed Calamity, and was looking forward to Fiasco- if a bit worriedly, as we were to be following a new main character this go around. I shan't have been worried; I daresay this installment was better than the first once I got back into it! This series is just so great. Yeah, it has tons of action and excitement, but it is also so freaking funny and full of heart, too. Sure, it has romance, but it also features all kinds of other relationships- family dynamics, friendships, personal growth, etc.

I adored Cyn as a character. She felt so authentic and flawed, and I just felt such a connection with her. She's also going to go through it during this book, but that makes her development that much more important. I loved meeting her family, too- they were so delightfully messed up, and who among us can't relate to that? I don't want to give too much away, because it is a space mystery, really. But I will say that this one was even better than its predecessor, which is saying something! I think having this book show a different point of view really gives us so much more information about the world, and even about the other characters from the first book, so bring on the next one! (I'll also add, if you are the impatient sort, these books end in a satisfying way, so you won't be stabby waiting for the next installment!)

Bottom Line: Loved the world and characters, and found the plot even more compelling than the first book.

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight000-for-review 2024 june-20242 s Meg1,449 59

Narrated by Paige Reisenfeld

Genre: sci-fi romance

Cynbelline Khaw has gone by many names to keep her family safe while she tracks a serial kidnapper who stole and murdered her cousin many years ago. Estella Escajeda approaches her with a mission she would knowingly do for free: Estella’s illegitimate daughter has been kidnapped as well, and she wants to keep the story under wraps. Cyn is the woman for the job. This lands her back with the Calamity crew - who she worked with prior under a different identity - with Estella’s brother Arcadio, ship captain Temperance, and the achingly handsome and mysterious medic Micah Arora.

I enjoyed Calamity. I *really* enjoyed Fiasco. I knew a little more of what to expect, and listened to the audiobook of this one and it worked really well for me in first-person present tense on audio. Cyn has so many identities, it's almost hard to keep track, but being in her head kept her inner-self cohesive to the reader. Micah is an excellent foil for Cyn's highly anxious psyche: as the medic on the Calamity, and is the strong silent deadly handsome type. Fiasco has a couple of major plot threads, all of which coalesce nicely for both the romance and SF adventure plot. Plus, there's pirates.

If you read Calamity first, you’ll get a better sense of the broader universe, with the major houses and the lay of the land (outer space and planets). That said, I do think you could pick up with Fiasco as well, as there is enough basic background worldbuilding present here and the novel focuses on the romance between Cyn and Micah and the current plots rather than a continuation of the previous plot.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Bramble for an ALC and eARC for review. Fiasco is out 6/4/24.
2 s April Clark28

3.75
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