Constance Fay follows up her debut novel Calamity with the second book in the Uncharted Hearts series, FIASCO. I would recommend that you read the books in order since the first book contains the heavy lifting on the world-building and initial back story of many important characters. The story is a sci-fi space romance that is a cross between Star Trek (exploring planets), Guardians of the Galaxy (everyone on the ship has a hidden backstory) and mafia romance (the galaxy is controlled by the five Families).
Cynbelline lives in a shady sector of a faraway planet where she collects bounties while hunting the serial kidnapper who killed her cousin many years ago. She is made an offer that she can't refuse to find the same kidnapper before the latest kidnap victim who is the daughter of a prominent family is killed. The catch is that she must work with the crew of the scouting ship Calamity that she interacted with in her last job when she was undercover to extract a cult member. Sparks fly between Cyn and gorgeous medic Micah and the two must determine if they can set aside the years of issues and learn to trust each other.
The author did a great job of world-building and continues with a fast-paced read and fun characters with a bit of heat in the relationships. Can't wait to see who is the focus of the third book in the series CHAOS due to be released in February 2025.
Equal parts steamy interstellar romance and sci-fi adventure, Constance Fay's FIASCO is a perfect wild romp amidst the stars.
Cynbelline Khaw is a woman of many names. She’s Generosity, a cultist who never quite fit in. She’s Bella, the daughter who failed to save her cousin’s life. And then there’s Cyn, the notorious bounty hunter who spaced a ship of slavers.
She’s exhausted, lonely, and on her very last legs—but then a new client offers her a job she can’t refuse: a bounty on the kidnapper who killed her cousin. All Cyn has to do is partner with the crew of the Calamity, a scouting vessel she encountered when she was living under a previous alias. One tiny little issue, she’s been given an additional bounty: deliver the oh-so-compelling medic, Micah Arora, to the treacherous Pierce Family or all her identities will be revealed, putting her estranged family in danger.
Hunting a kidnapper doesn’t usually mean accidentally taking your sexy new target to dinner at your parent’s house, a local mystic predicting you’ll have an increasingly large number of children, or being accompanied by a small flying lizard with a penchant for eating metal, but, as they field investigative hurdles both dangerous and preposterous, Cyn and Micah grow ever closer. When a violent confrontation reveals that everything Cyn thought about her past is wrong, she realizes that she has the power to change her future. The first part of that is making sure that Micah Arora is around to be a part of it.
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