I have often said I am not a fan of romance as an ingredient of my reading choices, but in the case of Calamity I choose to make an exception: for starters, this book received a very positive review from Tammy at Books, Bones and Buffy, and experience taught me that I can always count on her recommendations, and then in her review she used the magic words “Firefly vibes”, which never fail to attract my attention, so I decided to take the proverbial plunge and give this book a chance, and now I’m glad I did.

Temperance “Temper” Reed is the ostracized member of one of the ruling Families that govern this version of the universe and she’s now part of the crew running the scout ship Quest, eking out a precarious existence on the fringes of explored space. When the ship’s captain, who was her secret lover, chooses to abandon the crew to elope with the intern, Temper decides to buy him out and carry on, but it’s easier said than done: the ship is far from new and needs costly repairs, so when the powerful Escajeda family offers the Quest a mission that looks as lucrative as it is shady, she has no other choice but to accept.

There is one condition though, Arcadio Escajeda, the second in line for the family’s rule, will accompany them as added security - and observer. Temper does bristle under this imposition, but only up to a point, because Arcadio is a perfect human specimen who manages to make her hormones act up just as strongly as her annoyance. As the mission progresses and its true objective becomes clear, Temper and the crew will have to deal with aggressive troops from a rival Family and a local group of religious fanatics, while Temper must also battle with her growing attraction to Arcadio, who keeps showing great competence and an unconventional readiness to go out of his way to help them survive.

If I had to use only one word to describe Calamity, without doubt it would be FUN: the balance between the intriguing background, the almost non-stop action and the characterization turns this story into a fast-paced adventure, one that’s imbued with enough humor to effectively counterbalance the inevitable tropes that pepper the narrative. This humor is what made the romance element palatable for me, because the insta-lust plaguing Temper from her first sight of Arcadio is offset by her constant, self-deprecating attitude toward her own impulses: the way she critically observes her reactions turned the inner monologues into amusing asides instead of the annoying navel-gazing that usually plagues this kind of storytelling, and the Greek-chorus-like observations of the other members of the crew added a further layer of playfulness to what might have otherwise been a predictable enemies-to-lovers journey.

The background is an interesting one, a space-faring society ruled by competing Families that look more like crime syndicates than anything else, one where strife can turn deadly as the various groups battle to gain the highest rankings which assure the best margins of profit. Life in a Family sounds like a harrowing kind of existence, one where the slightest deviation from “norm” can lead to banishment - as it happened to Temper: it’s a condition made manifest by a permanent face tattoo that renders the affected individual a persona non grata in the volume of space controlled by the Family of origin and therefore limits their freedom of action. Piece by piece we are made privy to the reason for Temper’s banishment, and the revelation adds several layers to her personality and turns her into a captivating character whose self-mocking humor is the most endearing quality.

The same cannot be said about Arcadio, who gains little depth besides his willingness in helping out the crew of the Quest and his role as the focus for Temper’s attraction, while the rest of the ship’s crew gets a far better treatment and the three of them - Caro, Itzel and Micah - each get some intriguing background story and an important role as the humorous counterpoint to Temper’s growing attachment to their “guest”.

I can honestly say I had a good time with Calamity, and quite appreciated its no-frills entertainment value: it’s refreshing to let oneself enjoy a so-called popcorn read now and then, one that’s able to make us smile, or laugh, while presenting an engaging story that flows smoothly from beginning to end. ( )

A fine space opera romp with intriguing characters, lots of slow-building heat between the two main characters, plus major and minor baddies. Temperance, banished from her heritage and much of the galaxy for trying to do the right thing is guilty, but of having iron clad loyalty to her crew, not the treachery her evil brother would have everyone believe. When she risks everything to buy out the guy who two-timed her, she's faced with the challenge of how to pay the loan, not to mention repairs needed to keep her ship operational. Enter a deal that's accompanied by the devil, or so it seems when her contract comes with Arcadio, hulking and intimidating son of the Escajeda Family, one of five that are big dogs among those running the galaxy.
Neither the mission, nor Arcadio are what they seem. Unraveling that, staying alive, and navigating the ever-growing sexual tension between her and this intimidating man is more than enough for Temperance, but when they arrive on the planet they're supposed to survey, things get a lot more complex...And that's all to the good for anyone reading this book. ( )

Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble/Tor Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: November 14, 2023

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this Sci-Fi Romance....Sci-ance....Roman-Fi? Anway....banter, light sci-fi/space setting, found family, enemies to lovers...a lot of my favorite stuff! I am so excited that this is the first in the series (though totally stands on it's own, so I'm wondering who is next) and I get more of these characters! This kept me really engaged the whole time and there was a bunch of action too. ( )

This has more romance than I'm used to in my sci-fi, which is the point rather of Bramble, Tor's new romance imprint so perhaps that's on me and I shouldn't complain. Conceptually, I'm in favor of those two genres having a subgenre of thier own but this felt half-assed on both fronts: the world-building is generic, the sex scenes flat. It's not badly written and the pacing and plot are competent enough so its readable, but not memorable in any way. Also the cover is terrible; its monochromatically ugly and it does not reflect any scene in the book. Its the first in a series and the cast of characters are diverse and interesting so I wiil be curious to see where this goes.

Thank you to Tor Books who were kind enough to send me this copy for review. ( )

After being banished out of the wealthy Fifteen Families, Temperance Reed has had to make her living scouting planets. Not only trying to keep herself afloat but her crew and ship as well which is becoming more and more difficult as she's technically persona non grata within the Fifteen Families. When she's offered a job that will allow her to pay down her debts, there's no way she can turn it down, even if it means working for the dangerous Escajeda family - one of the elite Five - and allowing their second child, Arcadio Escajeda to tag along making sure there are no mistakes.

Temperace and Arcadio are immediately at odds with one another and Temperance knows there's more to this mission than she's led to believe. Despite this sparks fly whenever they're near each other. Temperance has been through some pretty difficult missions, but losing her heart just might be the most difficult yet.

I was so excited when Tor announced their new imprint Bramble. I'm a huge romance fan and I like sci-fi. I feel like there was never enough of the two together. I'm really excited for this. Also, one of the first things I read about this book was comparing it with fans who like Ilona Andrews. Huge shoes to fill as Ilona Andrews are, I can confidently say, my favorite authors. So this book had a lot of big expectations to live up to.

And I super happy to say it lived up to every single one of them!

I felt like there was such a good balance between the science fiction and the romance and even the action/adventure. One was not sacrificed for the other. They were all equal partners in the story which is not something I typically find in any of my books. Usually something takes center stage, but Constance Fay did such a great job of making sure that all the elements worked well together.

Right off the bat, I loved the rag-tag group and the found family that Temperance has built with her crew. You can see the loyalty, trust, and history they have together. They felt like the people who will always get a job done, you just don't know how they'll get that job done. They lay a path of calamity (ha ha) and craziness in their wake.

Then we have Temperance and Arcadio. They're both struggling to be in charge, and grappling - in Temperance's case - with wanting the full story of the mission. They both have preconceived ideas about the other, and seeing them pull those layers away was magical. I liked Constance Fay was able to balance this growing attraction between the two, but still not fully put to rest the possibility that he may be setting them all up for betrayal. Usually, I would want these trust issues handled before I wanted to see a couple get together, but Constance Fay actually made me not mind that Arcadio's alliances were questionable.

I liked that the main story of this book seems to be tied up nicely by the end, but we're still left with overarching story threads about the wider universe to contend with. I'm looking forward to exploring more. As well as learning more about other characters and continuing the adventures.

Hand down, one of my favorite reads this year. Met all expectations and left me ready for the next adventure! ( )