Calamity by Constance Fay (ARC Review)

Title: Calamity
Author: Constance Fay
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Science Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Bramble
Published: November 14, 2023

A complimentary physical advanced reader copy of this book was kindly provided by Bramble in exchange for an honest review.

Bramble’s inaugural debut is equal parts steamy interstellar romance and sci-fi adventure, perfect for fans of Firefly and Ilona Andrews.

She’s got a ramshackle spaceship, a misfit crew, and a big problem with its sexy newest member…

Temperance Reed, banished from the wealthy and dangerous Fifteen Families, just wants to keep her crew together after their feckless captain ran off with the intern. But she’s drowning in debt and revolutionary new engine technology is about to make her beloved ship obsolete.

Enter Arcadio Escajeda. Second child of the terrifying Escajeda Family, he’s the thorn in Temper’s side as they’re sent off on a scouting mission on the backwater desert planet of Herschel 2. They throw sparks every time they meet but Temper’s suspicions of his ulterior motives only serve to fuel the flames between them.

Despite volcanic eruptions, secret cultists, and deadly galactic fighters, the greatest threat on this mission may be to Temper’s heart.

⤖ My Review ⬻

Constance Fay’s debut, Calamity, came across my radar at the perfect time! I was craving science fiction…but more specifically a quest, found family, and spicy romance combination wrapped in a science fiction bundle. And lucky for me, that’s exactly what Calamity was promising! It shouldn’t, therefore, surprise anyone that I dove into its pages as soon as my advanced reader copy arrived in the mail—I was beyond excited!

I loved the heroine, Temperance, right off the bat. While I wasn’t too sure about the first person point of view from her perspective at first, I grew to love it because of her entertaining commentary on things! I really enjoyed reading about her life and seeing the other characters through her eyes—especially the crew and her love interest.

Speaking of the love interest, I was as unsure about him as I was about the first person POV at first, but then he really grew on me. I’m not sure if this was intention, in some way to reflect how his relationship with Temperance and the rest of the crew developed over the course of the book, but it worked for me! I was also really happy about the chemistry between the romantic leads! Those who might have been following my reading journey with Calamity may have noticed that I took a bit of a break at around the 70% in mark. This wasn’t due to the story slowing down or anything like that (if anything, things were really ramping up).

I wanted to share this so that it doesn’t seem like the book lost my interest. Things at work just simply picked up and I didn’t have the energy to read anything unless it had a super simple plot, haha. I really, truly enjoyed Calamity and I need the next book in the series in my hands STAT. I’m really excited to see what other titles come out of the new Bramble imprint! I’m grateful to have had a chance to read the first Bramble release early!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Constance Fay writes space romance novels and genre fiction short stories. Her short fiction can be found in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Catscast podcast, and other publications. She has a background in medical device R&D and lives in Colorado with a cat who edits all her work first.