Serena’s Review: “Calamity”

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Book: “Calamity” by Constance Fay

Publishing Info: Bramble, November 2023

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: 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.

Review: I was so excited when I heard that Tor was rolling out a new imprint, Bramble, a smaller offshoot that would focus on romantic SFF. And this book is exactly why! While there is a whole subgenre now called “romantasy” due to the popularity of romantic fantasy fiction, there seems to be some strange hold out on the science fiction front. Where are my love stories in space? I mean, I get that “romantascific” doesn’t roll off the tongue in quite the same way, but c’mon! But here we are, a good example of just what we’re all missing out on by forgetting that romance can also happen in space.

Honestly, it’s pretty impressive that this book works at all. It’s trying to do a lot of things all at once, many of which are hard to accomplish well even on their own. We have Temper’s story, that of a captain coming into her own as a leader, but we also have that paired against a romance, something that too often ends up hindering the strength of its female member. Beyond that, the story is introducing us to an entire universe with its own political structures that definitely do play into the plot of the book. And lastly, this is the first book in a series, so the story must do a lot of heavy lifting to properly lay out the various crew members of the ship who are likely to feature in their own stories going forward. It’s like black magic (except that’s the wrong genre, sooo) that it all works, but it does!

So, in that order, let’s start with Temper. I really loved this main character! Seriously, she was checking all of the right boxes for me. She was a strong woman, but we also see her make mistakes, and her journey is one of both learning to trust those around her, but also letting others help her when she is prone to going-it-alone. The development of the romance was paced perfectly, neither falling into any insta-love/lust traps or being too drawn out to feel complete. Just when I was beginning to become concerned that her distrust was going to be played up one too many times, the story would swerve into moments of vulnerability and honesty. I also loved the fact that the natural chemistry between the two was first seen in their instant ability to work together as a team under high pressure situations, rather than on the romance front which came later. There was also all of the required quippiness that we love to see in a romance, but this levity also didn’t cut away from the deeper, more heartfelt moments.

For all that this is a romance, there was also a solid plot to this book with all of the requisite world-building that comes with it. I was honestly surprised by just how into the actual plot of the book I became. There was one action-packed scene after another, plus a lot of comedy gold interspersed within as we saw the team tackle the challenges before them. Which leads me to the last aspect of the book that truly impressed me: the crew themselves.

This book was billed as a read-alike for “Firefly.” Now, that’s a big claim to make and, honestly, one that has been tossed around quite a lot for science fiction new releases, mostly without any basis in reality. But I have to say, this is probably the first time where I truly feel like that comparison is warranted! This truly had the same level of group dynamics and chemistry for which “Firefly” was best known. I understood who all of these characters were individually, but I loved them best when they were interacting with each other. The book was also successful in making me very interested in all of their individual romances that are sure to come. I have a pretty good guess as to who the next couple will be (just checked Goodreads, and I see that it’s been updated since I originally read this book and, indeed, the next book is about this couple!) and I can’t wait to check out their story!

Overall, this was a blast of a book to read! It’s definitely not “hard” science fiction, but I was also surprised to find just how much excellent plotting and world-building went into a book that was being released from a romance imprint. I feel like that sounds like a backhand insult to romance, but, let’s be honest, the love story is the primary bit of romance novels, with the plot coming in sometimes as an after thought. But here, the balance is perfect between love story and, well, actual story. Definitely check this one out if you enjoy science fiction adventures and space opera with an emphasis on romance!

Rating 8: If comparisons to “Firefly” are ever warranted, this is it! A romp of an adventure paired with a swoon-worthy romance, I can’t wait to see what this crew gets up to next time!

Reader’s Advisory:

“Calamity” isn’t on any Goodreads lists yet, but it should be on Get Your Firefly Space Opera Fix.