I read Calamity, the first book in Constance Fay’s Uncharted Hearts sci-fi romance series, earlier this year, and enjoyed it so much I immediately pre-ordered book two. I was intrigued by the idea of finding out more about the ship’s quiet medic and his mysterious past, and looked forward to spending more time with the Calamity’s crew.
So of course I was super excited when Fiasco became available a few days ago. I started reading right away, and sped through the story quickly with a combo of the audiobook and the ebook (both great quality.)
Last night I was up past midnight devouring the high-stakes climax and sweet-yet-sexy conclusion. So today, I can whole-heartedly tell you this second book in the Uncharted Hearts series is worth your read!
In fact, I loved the slow burn romance and the general dynamic between the enemies-to-lovers couple even better than I liked the romance in Calamity! The love story between Temper and Arcadio in the first book of the series gets steamy fast, which is fun, but the slower-burn between bounty hunter Cyn Khaw and gangster-turned-medic Micah Arora in this second book allows for so much depth.
As a doctor, Micah is a natural caretaker, and even in the beginning when he distrusts Cyn, his medic instincts kick in. It’s sweet watching him take care of the exhausted bounty hunter, who’s too focused on her mission to take care of herself.
But even though he’s a caretaker, Micah is plenty tough in his own right. He may not be an alpha male (refreshing in a sci-fi romance market that’s dominated by them), but he’s strong and protective and deadly in a fight, due to his past as a gang member in Pierce territory. Combined with his competence and deadliness, Micah’s care-taking tendencies don’t diminish his sexiness as the love interest, they only enhance it.
Also enhancing his appeal, Micah has great arms. Arms that Cyn spends a lot of time thinking about even as she tries not to fall for him.
Despite the attraction Micah and Cyn share, Micah has a bounty on his head, and Cyn is a bounty hunter. When Cyn teams up with Micah and the crew of the Calamity to find Arcadio’s kidnapped niece, the Pierce family blackmails Cyn into agreeing to betray the ship’s medic upon completing the mission. But as Cyn gets to know Micah, her growing attraction and the realization that he’s not the bad guy the Pierce family makes him out to be tear at her heart.
I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out how Cyn would protect her family from Pierce without betraying the man she’s falling for.
But there’s a lot more to the plot than the usual “bounty hunter falls for their target” romance. Fiasco also offers a fun mystery as Cyn and the crew search for the kidnapped child, with elements that remind me of a film-noir-style detective story, as well as plenty of sci-fi action, adventure, and intriguing plot twists.
And since Cyn’s cousin was kidnapped and murdered by the same kidnapper who’s stolen Arcadio’s niece, this case is personal. Especially when a lead takes Cyn and the crew to Cyn’s home planet, the location of her cousin’s original kidnapping. The mission forces her face-t-face with the family she’s spent the last decade avoiding, and face-to-face with the truth about the crime that tore their once-idyllic world apart.
Again, there’s an element of sweetness and comedy within the midst of the action-adventure story as Cyn’s family, always pressuring her to settle down and pop out babies, invites Micah home to dinner. Also, the town mystic keeps predicting Cyn will have a higher and higher number of babies each time she sees Cyn and Micah together.
Beyond the romance, these small-town family dynamics of love and dysfunction are what really make Fiasco relatable. Cyn’s parents are multifaceted characters written with depth and humour, and the growth the family experiences as they unravel the mystery of the kidnapping that tore their family apart is beautiful to experience.
So is the trust that grows between Cyn and Micah, and the way Cyn confronts her fears in the end to save him.
I’m itching to preorder the next book in the Uncharted Hearts series, but I don’t see a release date for the next book. I’m wondering if Constance Fay’s trad-pub contract has come to an end, or whether she has another book coming and it’s simply too soon to announce.
I’ll update this post as soon as I find out if another book in the romantic and relatable Uncharted Hearts series is in the works!
