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Uncharted Hearts #3
Chaos
Lore Olympus meets Winter's Orbit in this pulse-pounding romance between a space mercenary and a super soldier whose mind-control breaks when she touches him.
He's a mind controlled killing machine, until her touch frees him
Engineer Caro Ogunyemi thinks she has everything in control. Sure, she has a dark secret in her past and aim so bad that she can’t shoot the side of a spaceship when she’s right in front of it, but those are minor details in the life of a space mercenary. When Caro embarks on a solo mission infiltrating a prison planet that is run by the deadly Pierce family, she embraces the opportunity to prove she’s a hero.
It's there that Caro meets Leviathan, a super soldier with a chip in his head that turns him into a mindless killer. He’s drop dead gorgeous with an emphasis on drop dead, until she touches him and renders his chip inert. The danger begins when she lets him go.
In the heart of enemy territory, where love is at stake, life is treacherous and time is short, Caro and Leviathan must figure out how to recover his agency, protect her crew from Pierce’s sinister machinations, and stage a prison-break before Leviathan is lost to her―and himself―forever.
He's a mind controlled killing machine, until her touch frees him
Engineer Caro Ogunyemi thinks she has everything in control. Sure, she has a dark secret in her past and aim so bad that she can’t shoot the side of a spaceship when she’s right in front of it, but those are minor details in the life of a space mercenary. When Caro embarks on a solo mission infiltrating a prison planet that is run by the deadly Pierce family, she embraces the opportunity to prove she’s a hero.
It's there that Caro meets Leviathan, a super soldier with a chip in his head that turns him into a mindless killer. He’s drop dead gorgeous with an emphasis on drop dead, until she touches him and renders his chip inert. The danger begins when she lets him go.
In the heart of enemy territory, where love is at stake, life is treacherous and time is short, Caro and Leviathan must figure out how to recover his agency, protect her crew from Pierce’s sinister machinations, and stage a prison-break before Leviathan is lost to her―and himself―forever.
352 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2025
40 people are currently reading
403 people want to read
About the author
Constance Fay
5books128followersConstance 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
March 28, 2025
not my fav in the series but ngl this series still has me in a chokehold and idk why
March 14, 2025
The nitty-gritty: Humor, action and romance combine in this latest entry in Constance Fay's absurdly fun sci-fi series.
This is the third book in Constance Fay’s Uncharted Hearts series, and Chaos is another adrenaline-fueled story with lovable characters and plenty of humor. I did have a few issues with pacing and logistics this time, although Fay’s brand of humor is on point. Although you could read this as a standalone, I suggest reading the series in order, otherwise you’ll miss lots of character and plot development.
After the events in the last book, the crew of the Calamity is taking a well deserved break. It’s during this time that ship’s engineer Caro Ogunyemi gets a call from her old friend Ven, asking her if she’d be interested in helping him with a retrieval job. Unfortunately, the job involves infiltrating a luxury prison called Shikigami and extracting two soldiers who were sent there to rescue a prisoner. Victor and Victory, the brother/sister team who were tasked with the rescue mission, have gone radio silent, and Ven is worried about them.
Caro isn’t too keen on going to Shikigami because it’s run by Carmichael Pierce, head of the diabolical Pierce family. She did some work for them years ago but things turned sour, and now the Pierces are trying to find her. What better way to break into the prison that turn herself over to them? But once inside, Caro discovers what the prison is really doing. An intriguing prisoner named Leviathan has been augmented with a control chip that turns him into a mindless super soldier, part of Pierce’s Project Titan initiative. Caro is drawn to him, but Levi just wants to kill her. Now it’s up to Caro to rescue him, figure out how to disable his chip, and get them both to safety—along with Victor and Victory—before Carmichael Pierce can stop them.
“Chaos� is the perfect title for this book, because it’s literally chaos from start to finish. Not only that, but Caro herself is a bit on the chaotic side and sort of a mess, which is one reason I loved her so much. Most of the story is told from Caro’s first person point of view, although we do get a few chapters from Victory’s perspective too. These confused me at first, but I came to really enjoy her chapters. Caro is brash, messy, outspoken and doesn’t always think before she speaks. She’s also a brilliant engineer and hacker and can fix any kind of tech. She thinks on her feet, and in this story she has to because trying to escape a prison isn’t all that easy, turns out.
Something happens to Caro in the first pages of the story that is important when she gets to Shikigami, and I thought it was a very cool idea. It adds some complications to the plot and also helps with the brewing romance between the two main characters. And speaking of, I thought the romance was pretty well done, although there’s nothing slow burn about their attraction! The romance is fairly tame in this series, so readers looking for extra spicy scenes might be disappointed—but don’t worry, there are plenty of other elements in the story to love. We do get a hint of which couple might be the focus in the next book, and I hope I’m right because the story between these two was a lot of fun.
Fay’s dialog is still as funny as ever, and the humor in this series is one of the best things about it. The danger and action are off the charts, and there’s rarely any downtime for anyone in the story. Her characters are lots of fun too. I loved getting to know Caro more, and Victor and Victory are great additions to the cast. One of my favorite new characters in this book is an android named GR81 (who Caro calls “great one� lol), and he and Caro bond since GR81 has become sentient and now wants to make friends. There are some harrowing scenes involving these two that brought quite a bit of emotion to the story.
There were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. For some reason, I found the scenes inside the prison to be confusing at times. Maybe I just couldn’t grasp the layout of the prison, but trying to imagine where the characters were at any point had me scratching my head. It seemed like the characters were going around in circles and not really making much progress, especially since Caro and Levi finally escape, only to decide they both need to go back inside the prison for different reasons.
But aside from this, I had so much fun with Chaos. One of the big mysteries in the story revolves around Levi and who he really is (since they put the chip in his head he’s forgotten a lot about his previous life), and I like the way the answers are slowly revealed. I haven’t seen an announcement yet about the next book, but I’m hoping it’s on the horizon! I can tell Constance Fay still has lots of stories to tell about the crew of the Calamity.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
This is the third book in Constance Fay’s Uncharted Hearts series, and Chaos is another adrenaline-fueled story with lovable characters and plenty of humor. I did have a few issues with pacing and logistics this time, although Fay’s brand of humor is on point. Although you could read this as a standalone, I suggest reading the series in order, otherwise you’ll miss lots of character and plot development.
After the events in the last book, the crew of the Calamity is taking a well deserved break. It’s during this time that ship’s engineer Caro Ogunyemi gets a call from her old friend Ven, asking her if she’d be interested in helping him with a retrieval job. Unfortunately, the job involves infiltrating a luxury prison called Shikigami and extracting two soldiers who were sent there to rescue a prisoner. Victor and Victory, the brother/sister team who were tasked with the rescue mission, have gone radio silent, and Ven is worried about them.
Caro isn’t too keen on going to Shikigami because it’s run by Carmichael Pierce, head of the diabolical Pierce family. She did some work for them years ago but things turned sour, and now the Pierces are trying to find her. What better way to break into the prison that turn herself over to them? But once inside, Caro discovers what the prison is really doing. An intriguing prisoner named Leviathan has been augmented with a control chip that turns him into a mindless super soldier, part of Pierce’s Project Titan initiative. Caro is drawn to him, but Levi just wants to kill her. Now it’s up to Caro to rescue him, figure out how to disable his chip, and get them both to safety—along with Victor and Victory—before Carmichael Pierce can stop them.
“Chaos� is the perfect title for this book, because it’s literally chaos from start to finish. Not only that, but Caro herself is a bit on the chaotic side and sort of a mess, which is one reason I loved her so much. Most of the story is told from Caro’s first person point of view, although we do get a few chapters from Victory’s perspective too. These confused me at first, but I came to really enjoy her chapters. Caro is brash, messy, outspoken and doesn’t always think before she speaks. She’s also a brilliant engineer and hacker and can fix any kind of tech. She thinks on her feet, and in this story she has to because trying to escape a prison isn’t all that easy, turns out.
Something happens to Caro in the first pages of the story that is important when she gets to Shikigami, and I thought it was a very cool idea. It adds some complications to the plot and also helps with the brewing romance between the two main characters. And speaking of, I thought the romance was pretty well done, although there’s nothing slow burn about their attraction! The romance is fairly tame in this series, so readers looking for extra spicy scenes might be disappointed—but don’t worry, there are plenty of other elements in the story to love. We do get a hint of which couple might be the focus in the next book, and I hope I’m right because the story between these two was a lot of fun.
Fay’s dialog is still as funny as ever, and the humor in this series is one of the best things about it. The danger and action are off the charts, and there’s rarely any downtime for anyone in the story. Her characters are lots of fun too. I loved getting to know Caro more, and Victor and Victory are great additions to the cast. One of my favorite new characters in this book is an android named GR81 (who Caro calls “great one� lol), and he and Caro bond since GR81 has become sentient and now wants to make friends. There are some harrowing scenes involving these two that brought quite a bit of emotion to the story.
There were a few things that didn’t quite work for me. For some reason, I found the scenes inside the prison to be confusing at times. Maybe I just couldn’t grasp the layout of the prison, but trying to imagine where the characters were at any point had me scratching my head. It seemed like the characters were going around in circles and not really making much progress, especially since Caro and Levi finally escape, only to decide they both need to go back inside the prison for different reasons.
But aside from this, I had so much fun with Chaos. One of the big mysteries in the story revolves around Levi and who he really is (since they put the chip in his head he’s forgotten a lot about his previous life), and I like the way the answers are slowly revealed. I haven’t seen an announcement yet about the next book, but I’m hoping it’s on the horizon! I can tell Constance Fay still has lots of stories to tell about the crew of the Calamity.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
March 27, 2025
This series is so much fun, and I can't wait for more from this author 😭😭😭 I'm not normally a fan of insta-love, but it worked okay in this instance. I loved how Caro isn't your typical girl boss type of hero. My favorite part of this series is the crew dynamics...I love the crew so much and I think the addition of Victory and Victor will be really fun. Also sobbed over the ending...I didn't expect to get got that way. Can I please join the calamity crew?!
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December 23, 2024** THE VERSION OF THIS BOOK THAT I READ WAS AN ARC **
March 2, 2025
Caro Ogunyemi is an engineer on Calamity. She's on an away mission off ship to infiltrate a luxury prison. She meets supersoldier Leviathan, a gorgeous, strong man with a manufactured chip in his head unleashing his potential. The race is on to extract Leviathan and get off the prison planet.
Oof. While I liked book 1 (Calamity) and really enjoyed book 2 (Fiasco), Chaos didn't work for me. The challenge is that this series is written in first person present tense, and that means that if you don't enjoy being in the main character's head, it doesn't work. (I find this to be much more of a personal choice, to like or not like the POV character than when you are in third person.) We get two perspectives: Caro and mercenary teammate Victory. While this gives us unique perspective on the action, it gives us little additional perspective on the romance. Which leads me to argue that this isn't a romance novel. There is a romantic arc with an HEA, but it never feels like the central plot. Caro and Leviathan exchange a couple dozen words before they hook up, and without Levi's internal monologue I felt left in the dark about him being anything other than gorgeous, good at fighting, and good in bed. Lust, I believe, love, I didn't.
While this book wasn't for me, I think readers who enjoy first person POV and plot driven novels will! For the invested reader it will move quickly.
Thank you to Bramble for an eARC for review. Chaos is out 3/11/25.
Oof. While I liked book 1 (Calamity) and really enjoyed book 2 (Fiasco), Chaos didn't work for me. The challenge is that this series is written in first person present tense, and that means that if you don't enjoy being in the main character's head, it doesn't work. (I find this to be much more of a personal choice, to like or not like the POV character than when you are in third person.) We get two perspectives: Caro and mercenary teammate Victory. While this gives us unique perspective on the action, it gives us little additional perspective on the romance. Which leads me to argue that this isn't a romance novel. There is a romantic arc with an HEA, but it never feels like the central plot. Caro and Leviathan exchange a couple dozen words before they hook up, and without Levi's internal monologue I felt left in the dark about him being anything other than gorgeous, good at fighting, and good in bed. Lust, I believe, love, I didn't.
While this book wasn't for me, I think readers who enjoy first person POV and plot driven novels will! For the invested reader it will move quickly.
Thank you to Bramble for an eARC for review. Chaos is out 3/11/25.
March 18, 2025
It was only after I finished this that I realized almost the whole book took place in one location: a prison. If this was what Constance Fay was going for, it could have been so cool (like those "bottle episodes" of TV series), but I don't think it worked here. It's a little disappointing, considering I liked the first book in the series and loved the second.
I love Fay's writing: it's funny, wry and often unexpected, and all that is present in Chaos. It's also nonstop action, which covered up some sins of omission in terms of the relationship development between Caro, the FMC, and Leviathan, the MMC. Levi has been experimented on and is now an indestructible monster whose mind is controlled by the Pierce family's scientists. Caro, who was partially responsible for the technology behind the chip that's implanted in his brain, gets tricked into going on a mission to extract a pair of mercenary siblings from the prison where Leviathan is being held. She's more than happy to do it, though, because she sees a grainy pic of Leviathan and falls in immediate lust with this man mountain.
As I mentioned, the relationship between Caro and Leviathan is underdone, but the thing that baffled me most about the book was the single-location thing. I kept waiting for Caro, Victor, Victory and Leviathan to escape and continue the plot elsewhere, but they kept returning to the same locations within the prison. It made it feel like there was a lack of urgency or forward momentum to the book; at one point, Caro actually takes the time to shower and have a nap while she working on the escape plan. I do think this "bottle episode" could have worked much better if it had felt more claustrophobic and if the plotting had been different. As it is, the plot seemed like it was spinning its wheels.
I'll definitely read the next one, despite my lukewarm reaction to this one. Caro and Levi do get their HEA, but this series should definitely be read in order, because there is an overarching narrative.
I love Fay's writing: it's funny, wry and often unexpected, and all that is present in Chaos. It's also nonstop action, which covered up some sins of omission in terms of the relationship development between Caro, the FMC, and Leviathan, the MMC. Levi has been experimented on and is now an indestructible monster whose mind is controlled by the Pierce family's scientists. Caro, who was partially responsible for the technology behind the chip that's implanted in his brain, gets tricked into going on a mission to extract a pair of mercenary siblings from the prison where Leviathan is being held. She's more than happy to do it, though, because she sees a grainy pic of Leviathan and falls in immediate lust with this man mountain.
As I mentioned, the relationship between Caro and Leviathan is underdone, but the thing that baffled me most about the book was the single-location thing. I kept waiting for Caro, Victor, Victory and Leviathan to escape and continue the plot elsewhere, but they kept returning to the same locations within the prison. It made it feel like there was a lack of urgency or forward momentum to the book; at one point, Caro actually takes the time to shower and have a nap while she working on the escape plan. I do think this "bottle episode" could have worked much better if it had felt more claustrophobic and if the plotting had been different. As it is, the plot seemed like it was spinning its wheels.
I'll definitely read the next one, despite my lukewarm reaction to this one. Caro and Levi do get their HEA, but this series should definitely be read in order, because there is an overarching narrative.
March 13, 2025
This series is very fun, and I love a space adventure! As always, the characters are a huge highlight, and I enjoyed Caro's story, and the romance! I also really enjoyed the friendships, and getting a glimpse of the characters from past installments. There is alot of action, and for me personally, I maybe would have oddly liked a wee bit more downtime? But that is a personal preference and one that most people probably don't agree with. Anyway, this was very fun and very readable. Love the banter and the humor, as always. Idk if there will be more in this world, but I will gladly read them if so!
Bottom Line: Another fun installment with space shenanigans and very enjoyable characters.
Bottom Line: Another fun installment with space shenanigans and very enjoyable characters.
March 4, 2025
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I didn't realize "her touch heals him" was a trope on my bucket list, but consider my mind changed. I love being back with the crew. This Uncharted Hearts series keeps introducing us to new members of the crew and I'm here for it! Chaos forces Caro out of her depths. Not only is she roped into this heist meets rescue mission, a new development means she's without her technology. As a maybe genius, being robbed of her abilities forces Caro to figure out what her skills are. Chaos has plenty of high action scenes from prison breaks to chase scenes but it's balanced with plenty of humor (and some spice!).
I didn't realize "her touch heals him" was a trope on my bucket list, but consider my mind changed. I love being back with the crew. This Uncharted Hearts series keeps introducing us to new members of the crew and I'm here for it! Chaos forces Caro out of her depths. Not only is she roped into this heist meets rescue mission, a new development means she's without her technology. As a maybe genius, being robbed of her abilities forces Caro to figure out what her skills are. Chaos has plenty of high action scenes from prison breaks to chase scenes but it's balanced with plenty of humor (and some spice!).
March 19, 2025
Freaking awesome romantic sci fi adventure
It's March 18, 2025, and it feels like the world is burning. I found Chaos on KU yesterday and immediately started this eagerly awaited third book. And the world went away for a while. Caro is fun and kind and a loveable narrator. Victory gets her turn at narration with a great look at her and Victor, as well as a possible hint at a future pair-up. There are cute, weird, fuzzy creatures. I loved GR81's snark. Bad stuff happens; there is graphic violence. The story is thrilling and inventive and kept me up until 6am. I also cried a lot at the end, first sad and then happy tears. This series is wonderful.
It's March 18, 2025, and it feels like the world is burning. I found Chaos on KU yesterday and immediately started this eagerly awaited third book. And the world went away for a while. Caro is fun and kind and a loveable narrator. Victory gets her turn at narration with a great look at her and Victor, as well as a possible hint at a future pair-up. There are cute, weird, fuzzy creatures. I loved GR81's snark. Bad stuff happens; there is graphic violence. The story is thrilling and inventive and kept me up until 6am. I also cried a lot at the end, first sad and then happy tears. This series is wonderful.
April 1, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor/Bramble for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: March 11, 2025
4.25 stars
Another fun installment in the Uncharted Hearts series. Each can be read as a stand-alone as they focus on a different character but there is a common thread running through. This is a sci-fi romance (or science friction as the author put it) which is a lot of fun. A lot of great banter in this one which I love.
Pub Date: March 11, 2025
4.25 stars
Another fun installment in the Uncharted Hearts series. Each can be read as a stand-alone as they focus on a different character but there is a common thread running through. This is a sci-fi romance (or science friction as the author put it) which is a lot of fun. A lot of great banter in this one which I love.
November 10, 2024
Ms. Fay’s writing continues to captivate, and with each book, she seems to reach new galaxies. This latest installment is, without a doubt, my favorite of the series so far.
In this book, we finally uncover the secrets that Caro has fought so hard to keep hidden.
Fiercely loyal to those she considers family, she’s faced with a crisis: two of her own are in trouble. And at long last, we get to see Victor and Victory in action—and they do not disappoint! To save the twins, Caro has no choice but to confront her past, even if that means getting herself arrested in the process. Caro’s inner monologue is every bit as hilarious and engaging as I’d hoped, delivering moments of laughter even amid the tension. Her unorthodox prison rescue leads her to some surprising revelations, as old mistakes return to haunt her. Leviathan, for one, is the kind of haunting many wouldn’t mind!
The romance between Caro and Levi feels especially moving in this book. Levi falls first for his “angel,� and Caro’s unique position allows her to help him rediscover himself after a past mission left his mind in pieces. Caro and Levi’s relationship feels deeply authentic because they’re both damaged, but they face it all together, and that mutual resilience makes their love story one of my favorite aspects of the book.
The chapters from Victory’s perspective add such a rich layer to the story—she’s every bit as sassy and sharp as the other “gals� on the team, and her voice is a fantastic addition.I also loved the GR81 storyline; it brought humor and humanity to Caro and her team, even while they face some pretty dark situations.
All in all, this story is an outstanding addition to the series, and I’m already hoping for more books to come!
Follow me for more Book reviews, recommendations and releases dates on all social media via the link in my bio.
Genre: Sci-fi Romance
Relationship(s): M/F
Romance: Slow Burn 🔥🔥
POV: Multiple, first person
Platform: ARC via NetGalley
Length: 315 pages
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶�
Darkness: 🖤
Series/Standalone: Uncharted Hearts, book three
Cliffhanger: No
Themes/Tropes: Forced Proximity, He falls first, Space Travel, Cyborg
Check Triggers⚠️: Yes
In this book, we finally uncover the secrets that Caro has fought so hard to keep hidden.
Fiercely loyal to those she considers family, she’s faced with a crisis: two of her own are in trouble. And at long last, we get to see Victor and Victory in action—and they do not disappoint! To save the twins, Caro has no choice but to confront her past, even if that means getting herself arrested in the process. Caro’s inner monologue is every bit as hilarious and engaging as I’d hoped, delivering moments of laughter even amid the tension. Her unorthodox prison rescue leads her to some surprising revelations, as old mistakes return to haunt her. Leviathan, for one, is the kind of haunting many wouldn’t mind!
The romance between Caro and Levi feels especially moving in this book. Levi falls first for his “angel,� and Caro’s unique position allows her to help him rediscover himself after a past mission left his mind in pieces. Caro and Levi’s relationship feels deeply authentic because they’re both damaged, but they face it all together, and that mutual resilience makes their love story one of my favorite aspects of the book.
The chapters from Victory’s perspective add such a rich layer to the story—she’s every bit as sassy and sharp as the other “gals� on the team, and her voice is a fantastic addition.I also loved the GR81 storyline; it brought humor and humanity to Caro and her team, even while they face some pretty dark situations.
All in all, this story is an outstanding addition to the series, and I’m already hoping for more books to come!
Follow me for more Book reviews, recommendations and releases dates on all social media via the link in my bio.
Genre: Sci-fi Romance
Relationship(s): M/F
Romance: Slow Burn 🔥🔥
POV: Multiple, first person
Platform: ARC via NetGalley
Length: 315 pages
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶�
Darkness: 🖤
Series/Standalone: Uncharted Hearts, book three
Cliffhanger: No
Themes/Tropes: Forced Proximity, He falls first, Space Travel, Cyborg
Check Triggers⚠️: Yes
March 14, 2025
First of all, consider the title to be a hint. In fact, consider the individual titles of ALL of the books in the Uncharted Hearts series to be ginormous hints. Just as there were so many calamities in Calamity that the ship was ultimately named for the phenomenon, and the operation in Fiasco turned out to be a complete one of those, so too the ‘rescue mission� that ace tinkerer Caro is bamboozled/emotionally manipulated into results in complete and utter chaos.
Which does not mean that Caro doesn’t, in the end, get the job done. Because she absolutely does. She just doesn’t get that job done in anything like the way she thought she would. Then again, the job isn’t remotely like what she was sold/told it was, either.
She thinks she’s rescuing two of her crewmates from a job gone wrong. And she does in the end. But they might not have even needed rescuing if she hadn’t concocted a truly lame plan to turn herself in to the rich, rapacious megacorp family that she’s been on the run from for years.
They should welcome her back, right? To pick up her old, truly ethically disgusting chip hacking job right where she left off when she ran away when her gorge rose past her naivete. So, Caro is still more than a bit naive. But she’s a whole lot better at hacking than she used to be.
Or she would be if she could get the tools to work for her � which they suddenly aren’t. Which is where the chaos enters into the picture. When she discovers that her old work has been repurposed to hack the mind of a man who looks like all of her hottest dreams in one gorgeous package, the chaos of the whole situation enters her heart as well.
Now she has more people to rescue than she planned on � and some of them aren’t aware enough to be aware that they need rescuing until Caro and her glitchy ability to glitch whatever she touches glitches them � and for once and always in a really, really, really good way.
Which provides a whole ‘nother avenue for that pesky chaos to enter the picture.
In the end, Caro’s success hinges on the one thing she absolutely never would have counted on in a million years. That the result of one of the terrible ethical lapses she fell into when she was young and dumb coming back, not to haunt her but to help her, in the form of her very own Murderbot.
Escape Rating B+: As Caro herself says, very late in the story, “Comparisons are toxic�. Which is something I wish she’d said a whole lot sooner, as it’s a truth that I REALLY needed to keep in mind while reading this third book in the Uncharted Hearts series.
Because, much as Caro herself did, I couldn’t stop comparing Caro to the protagonists of the previous entries in this series, Temper and Cyn. And Caro kept coming up wanting in my mind � just as much as she did in her own.
At the same time, this was a really compelling read, filled with plenty of the titular chaos, a plot that careened from one high-stakes, high-tension crisis to the next, injected with just the right amount of romance and sexytimes to grease the story into a fast and furious adventure.
But, but, but the plot hinged on Caro’s complete and utterly infuriating obliviousness to the macguffin that was literally just under her skin the whole time. That everything is going to hinge on the weird bugs and their even weirder bites that Caro is exposed to in the opening scenes is so screamingly obvious to the reader and this reader at least wanted to scream at Caro in return until she caught on. Which she eventually did but DAMN that took a frustratingly long time.
Once she does figure out what’s going on and starts to USE both the ‘glitch� and the prodigious brains she always brings to the table the story kicks into high gear. But I did want to grab her and shake her for quite a while.
Moving right along � just as the story eventually did � there is still a LOT to love in Chaos and in the entire Uncharted Hearts series, starting with an utterly chaotic prison break scene that is straight out of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie � or at least it is if you swap a combination of the Incredible Hulk and the Winter Soldier for Peter Quinn � which might, come to think of it, have been an upgrade to the movie. (Your intergalactic mileage may vary.)
But seriously, the hulk that Caro calls Levi and gives her heart � as well as her very willing body � to is just the kind of scarred and wounded hero that this series redeems every time � even as he reclaims the better parts of himself and redeems the heroine as well.
On the surface � and after that initial bobble of cluelessness � the story in Chaos is a whole lot of science fiction romance adventure and excitement. But there’s more if you think about it for a bit. The ‘verse of the Uncharted Hearts series is often likened to Firefly, and that’s a description that still very much works three books in.
The thing about the comparison to Firefly that’s definitely held up and flown away with in Uncharted Hearts, is that the ‘verse in Firefly is really, really FUBAR’d, and so is the universe of Uncharted Hearts. The individual entries in this series, at least so far, absolutely show the plucky underdogs of the Calamity poking the evil, rapacious, megacorps in the collective eye with a big sharp stick and getting away with it � for now.
But those megacorps are truly evil examples of the old adage about power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely � and they really do rule their ‘verse. I hope that the crew of the Calamity can somehow manage to acquire a big enough ‘stick� to poke them all where it will really, really hurt � no matter how unlikely that seems in anything like our reality.
I certainly intend to follow any continuing adventures of Temper and company � and this book absolutely does read as though there will BE more � to find out!
Originally published at
Which does not mean that Caro doesn’t, in the end, get the job done. Because she absolutely does. She just doesn’t get that job done in anything like the way she thought she would. Then again, the job isn’t remotely like what she was sold/told it was, either.
She thinks she’s rescuing two of her crewmates from a job gone wrong. And she does in the end. But they might not have even needed rescuing if she hadn’t concocted a truly lame plan to turn herself in to the rich, rapacious megacorp family that she’s been on the run from for years.
They should welcome her back, right? To pick up her old, truly ethically disgusting chip hacking job right where she left off when she ran away when her gorge rose past her naivete. So, Caro is still more than a bit naive. But she’s a whole lot better at hacking than she used to be.
Or she would be if she could get the tools to work for her � which they suddenly aren’t. Which is where the chaos enters into the picture. When she discovers that her old work has been repurposed to hack the mind of a man who looks like all of her hottest dreams in one gorgeous package, the chaos of the whole situation enters her heart as well.
Now she has more people to rescue than she planned on � and some of them aren’t aware enough to be aware that they need rescuing until Caro and her glitchy ability to glitch whatever she touches glitches them � and for once and always in a really, really, really good way.
Which provides a whole ‘nother avenue for that pesky chaos to enter the picture.
In the end, Caro’s success hinges on the one thing she absolutely never would have counted on in a million years. That the result of one of the terrible ethical lapses she fell into when she was young and dumb coming back, not to haunt her but to help her, in the form of her very own Murderbot.
Escape Rating B+: As Caro herself says, very late in the story, “Comparisons are toxic�. Which is something I wish she’d said a whole lot sooner, as it’s a truth that I REALLY needed to keep in mind while reading this third book in the Uncharted Hearts series.
Because, much as Caro herself did, I couldn’t stop comparing Caro to the protagonists of the previous entries in this series, Temper and Cyn. And Caro kept coming up wanting in my mind � just as much as she did in her own.
At the same time, this was a really compelling read, filled with plenty of the titular chaos, a plot that careened from one high-stakes, high-tension crisis to the next, injected with just the right amount of romance and sexytimes to grease the story into a fast and furious adventure.
But, but, but the plot hinged on Caro’s complete and utterly infuriating obliviousness to the macguffin that was literally just under her skin the whole time. That everything is going to hinge on the weird bugs and their even weirder bites that Caro is exposed to in the opening scenes is so screamingly obvious to the reader and this reader at least wanted to scream at Caro in return until she caught on. Which she eventually did but DAMN that took a frustratingly long time.
Once she does figure out what’s going on and starts to USE both the ‘glitch� and the prodigious brains she always brings to the table the story kicks into high gear. But I did want to grab her and shake her for quite a while.
Moving right along � just as the story eventually did � there is still a LOT to love in Chaos and in the entire Uncharted Hearts series, starting with an utterly chaotic prison break scene that is straight out of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie � or at least it is if you swap a combination of the Incredible Hulk and the Winter Soldier for Peter Quinn � which might, come to think of it, have been an upgrade to the movie. (Your intergalactic mileage may vary.)
But seriously, the hulk that Caro calls Levi and gives her heart � as well as her very willing body � to is just the kind of scarred and wounded hero that this series redeems every time � even as he reclaims the better parts of himself and redeems the heroine as well.
On the surface � and after that initial bobble of cluelessness � the story in Chaos is a whole lot of science fiction romance adventure and excitement. But there’s more if you think about it for a bit. The ‘verse of the Uncharted Hearts series is often likened to Firefly, and that’s a description that still very much works three books in.
The thing about the comparison to Firefly that’s definitely held up and flown away with in Uncharted Hearts, is that the ‘verse in Firefly is really, really FUBAR’d, and so is the universe of Uncharted Hearts. The individual entries in this series, at least so far, absolutely show the plucky underdogs of the Calamity poking the evil, rapacious, megacorps in the collective eye with a big sharp stick and getting away with it � for now.
But those megacorps are truly evil examples of the old adage about power corrupting and absolute power corrupting absolutely � and they really do rule their ‘verse. I hope that the crew of the Calamity can somehow manage to acquire a big enough ‘stick� to poke them all where it will really, really hurt � no matter how unlikely that seems in anything like our reality.
I certainly intend to follow any continuing adventures of Temper and company � and this book absolutely does read as though there will BE more � to find out!
Originally published at
March 8, 2025
3.5 - ⭐⭐� 💫
“I think I’ve made it clear. I don’t think you’re a monster. You’re an angel, fearsome and powerful and sacred.�
Chaos is the third instalment in the adult sci-fi romance series, Uncharted Hearts. Each novel is an interconnected standalone so they follow separate couples. Written in dual third person POV, we follow Caro, a brilliant engineer sent on a rescue mission and Leviathan, a powerful super soldier forced into compliance by a brain altering chip. When these two meet during Caro's undercover mission, they realize something...her touch renders his chip inert and the connection between them in palpable. Together these two find themselves working together to uncover the machinations happening in this prison...and a way to save Leviathan. Even with enemies all around them, love may be worth fighting for.
I loved the dynamic of Leviathan and Caro in this book!
Caro is not someone known for fighting but she has plenty of other skills to help by. She is brilliant but holds some guilt about how her work before contributed to all this.
Leviathan is really only just starting to learn himself in this book. I felt so much for his loss of control but I admired his confidence in the choices he makes going forward. He refuses to be weakened by what he has been through but he fears the extent of what he can do. He has a way with words when it comes to romance but he does play into a martyr complex just a bit though.
We also have an additional POV, Victory, who is a friend of Caro's that is working undercover at the prison she is sneaking into. She is kickbutt and knows her way around. I feel like her story is what we will be seeing next and it has me INTRIGUED.
This book does contain spice. I would place it at 2 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. There are two spice scenes throughout this book, with both being in the second half. While there is an immediate connection felt by the characters it takes them a while to find safety to feel safe enough to engage in spice. I really enjoyed this element of "does Leviathan remember how to engage in spice?" (don't worry, he remembers QUICK). I found it was passionate and spicy.
In terms of the story I was admittedly lost for quite a bit of it. This story is less dialogue and more focused on escape and navigating paths forward. The sequencing as the move throughout the complex and did this was not something I could visualize and thus I was getting lost. There was enough dialogue that I felt good about the relationships of the characters and where they were going but I don't have a strong grasp of the overarching story. I adored the GR81 and how much personality was infused within him. I loved Caro and Leviathan's dynamic, and I had fun with all the characters. I felt these relationships are what kept me reading as I wanted to see things go through. There is risk, action, fighting, and more. The ending had such a good nod to a character and we see old characters from the series. I do wish we had more time of Caro and Leviathan being together at the end (I am a sucker for an extended epilogue).
Overall, I had fun!
Thank you Bramble for this arc!
“I think I’ve made it clear. I don’t think you’re a monster. You’re an angel, fearsome and powerful and sacred.�
Chaos is the third instalment in the adult sci-fi romance series, Uncharted Hearts. Each novel is an interconnected standalone so they follow separate couples. Written in dual third person POV, we follow Caro, a brilliant engineer sent on a rescue mission and Leviathan, a powerful super soldier forced into compliance by a brain altering chip. When these two meet during Caro's undercover mission, they realize something...her touch renders his chip inert and the connection between them in palpable. Together these two find themselves working together to uncover the machinations happening in this prison...and a way to save Leviathan. Even with enemies all around them, love may be worth fighting for.
I loved the dynamic of Leviathan and Caro in this book!
Caro is not someone known for fighting but she has plenty of other skills to help by. She is brilliant but holds some guilt about how her work before contributed to all this.
Leviathan is really only just starting to learn himself in this book. I felt so much for his loss of control but I admired his confidence in the choices he makes going forward. He refuses to be weakened by what he has been through but he fears the extent of what he can do. He has a way with words when it comes to romance but he does play into a martyr complex just a bit though.
We also have an additional POV, Victory, who is a friend of Caro's that is working undercover at the prison she is sneaking into. She is kickbutt and knows her way around. I feel like her story is what we will be seeing next and it has me INTRIGUED.
This book does contain spice. I would place it at 2 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. There are two spice scenes throughout this book, with both being in the second half. While there is an immediate connection felt by the characters it takes them a while to find safety to feel safe enough to engage in spice. I really enjoyed this element of "does Leviathan remember how to engage in spice?" (don't worry, he remembers QUICK). I found it was passionate and spicy.
In terms of the story I was admittedly lost for quite a bit of it. This story is less dialogue and more focused on escape and navigating paths forward. The sequencing as the move throughout the complex and did this was not something I could visualize and thus I was getting lost. There was enough dialogue that I felt good about the relationships of the characters and where they were going but I don't have a strong grasp of the overarching story. I adored the GR81 and how much personality was infused within him. I loved Caro and Leviathan's dynamic, and I had fun with all the characters. I felt these relationships are what kept me reading as I wanted to see things go through. There is risk, action, fighting, and more. The ending had such a good nod to a character and we see old characters from the series. I do wish we had more time of Caro and Leviathan being together at the end (I am a sucker for an extended epilogue).
Overall, I had fun!
Thank you Bramble for this arc!
January 22, 2025
Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of Chaos by Constance Fey in exchange for an honest review.
Book Three of the Uncharted Hearts series focuses on Caro Ogunyemi, engineer of the ship. At the start of the book, she's scouting an uninhabited planet where she's set upon by nightmarish insects. This will be important later. But for now, she's recovering from that misadventure when she gets a call from her former boss, a lying jackass, who explains that he roped two of Caro's shipmates into a side mission for him and now he's worried they've been captured. Caro, in the first of a series of incredibly bad decisions, believes him despite his history of dishonest and selfish behavior, and immediately commits to a solo rescue mission. It doesn't hurt that he's sent her a vid clip of a large, handsome prisoner that Caro immediately imprints on like a teenager pining for the latest heartthrob.
The mission is to break into the ritzy, spa/prison for the ultra wealthy inmates where her twin shipmates Victor and Victory have gone undercover. Caro, like everyone else on the blasted ship, has a Past and Dark Secrets. Hers happens to be that she once worked for the Family that runs the prison. When she discovered their illegal and unethical medical experiments, she sabotaged the operation and went on the lam. So for the current mission, she decides the best way to break into the prison is to just... present herself to the Family she once sabotaged and act like she wants her old job back.
Once inside, she plans to use her sophisticated tech skills to find her shipmates, free the handsome man from the vid clip, and run away again. It does not occur to her that anything might go wrong. The poor judgement continues from there. The reader is told ad nauseum that Caro is a genius (except when making bad decisions), cowardly (except when she's throwing herself into situations she's not equipped to handle), and a terrible, clumsy fighter (except when she needs to be good at it.) The story relies heavily on the reader suspending disbelief and agreeing that every one of her bad choices will work out the way the story says they do.
This is not all to say it's a terrible book. It's actually very entertaining. The world-building is interesting, the side characters are fun (GR81, you're the best!), and if you can suspend all that disbelief, it's an exciting story. The fight scenes are thrilling. It even seems to set up the next book, a couple who are arguably more compelling than Caro and Levi. It's just that this is the weakest link in a fun, sci-fi romance series.
Recommended for readers who enjoy fun, space-opera romances, for folks who like a good fight scene with blasters, and readers who enjoy sassy AI characters.
Book Three of the Uncharted Hearts series focuses on Caro Ogunyemi, engineer of the ship. At the start of the book, she's scouting an uninhabited planet where she's set upon by nightmarish insects. This will be important later. But for now, she's recovering from that misadventure when she gets a call from her former boss, a lying jackass, who explains that he roped two of Caro's shipmates into a side mission for him and now he's worried they've been captured. Caro, in the first of a series of incredibly bad decisions, believes him despite his history of dishonest and selfish behavior, and immediately commits to a solo rescue mission. It doesn't hurt that he's sent her a vid clip of a large, handsome prisoner that Caro immediately imprints on like a teenager pining for the latest heartthrob.
The mission is to break into the ritzy, spa/prison for the ultra wealthy inmates where her twin shipmates Victor and Victory have gone undercover. Caro, like everyone else on the blasted ship, has a Past and Dark Secrets. Hers happens to be that she once worked for the Family that runs the prison. When she discovered their illegal and unethical medical experiments, she sabotaged the operation and went on the lam. So for the current mission, she decides the best way to break into the prison is to just... present herself to the Family she once sabotaged and act like she wants her old job back.
Once inside, she plans to use her sophisticated tech skills to find her shipmates, free the handsome man from the vid clip, and run away again. It does not occur to her that anything might go wrong. The poor judgement continues from there. The reader is told ad nauseum that Caro is a genius (except when making bad decisions), cowardly (except when she's throwing herself into situations she's not equipped to handle), and a terrible, clumsy fighter (except when she needs to be good at it.) The story relies heavily on the reader suspending disbelief and agreeing that every one of her bad choices will work out the way the story says they do.
This is not all to say it's a terrible book. It's actually very entertaining. The world-building is interesting, the side characters are fun (GR81, you're the best!), and if you can suspend all that disbelief, it's an exciting story. The fight scenes are thrilling. It even seems to set up the next book, a couple who are arguably more compelling than Caro and Levi. It's just that this is the weakest link in a fun, sci-fi romance series.
Recommended for readers who enjoy fun, space-opera romances, for folks who like a good fight scene with blasters, and readers who enjoy sassy AI characters.
November 10, 2024
This is my second read from Constance Fay and I am in love.
Chaos is an exhilarating sci-fi romance that takes readers on a wild ride through a galaxy of danger, wit, and unexpected connections. Caro, a quick-witted and tenacious engineer with something to prove to her crew of space mercenaries, is determined to earn their respect. She takes a solo mission to rescue two other mercenaries and a prisoner. They are in prison, conducting human experiments to make super soldiers. Caro must escape the prison and get people off the planet.
Caro's brilliance and humor make her a delightful character. She is not built for danger and adventure but proves your brain can be as powerful as a blaster. Her first encounter with the prisoner, Leviathan, is terrifying as he has a mind control chip, and she barely escapes him in a prisoner maze, think lab rat. To her shock, Caro's alien bug infection disables technology and the chip controlling Leviathan. This break restores his free will. When she touches him, the spark between them is undeniable. The romance between Caro and Leviathan is endearing and nicely woven into a high-stakes narrative. Caro and Leviathan's story offers plenty of laughs, nail-biting tension, and moments of warmth and vulnerability. The author creates fierce female characters and a blend of action and heart. I can't wait to hear more from the crew of the Calamity.
I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing, Bramble.
Chaos is an exhilarating sci-fi romance that takes readers on a wild ride through a galaxy of danger, wit, and unexpected connections. Caro, a quick-witted and tenacious engineer with something to prove to her crew of space mercenaries, is determined to earn their respect. She takes a solo mission to rescue two other mercenaries and a prisoner. They are in prison, conducting human experiments to make super soldiers. Caro must escape the prison and get people off the planet.
Caro's brilliance and humor make her a delightful character. She is not built for danger and adventure but proves your brain can be as powerful as a blaster. Her first encounter with the prisoner, Leviathan, is terrifying as he has a mind control chip, and she barely escapes him in a prisoner maze, think lab rat. To her shock, Caro's alien bug infection disables technology and the chip controlling Leviathan. This break restores his free will. When she touches him, the spark between them is undeniable. The romance between Caro and Leviathan is endearing and nicely woven into a high-stakes narrative. Caro and Leviathan's story offers plenty of laughs, nail-biting tension, and moments of warmth and vulnerability. The author creates fierce female characters and a blend of action and heart. I can't wait to hear more from the crew of the Calamity.
I received an ARC ebook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing, Bramble.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 11, 2025
💫 Chaos ARC Review 💫
Thank you so much to Constance Fay and Tor Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Chaos is a sci-fi romance and book three in the Uncharted Hearts series. Caro is an engineer who loves order and control in every situation. When she takes on a solo mission to infiltrate a prison planet, she sees this as an opportunity to prove herself to her crew. But the unexpected happens in her mission when she meets Leviathan…will they be able to survive long enough to figure out their attraction to each other?
This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed Caro - she was a strong, intelligent character and I liked her growth in this book. Leviathan was such a complex character and I enjoyed learning his story as well. Their story was a little insta-love, but it made sense for these characters. This is such a fun world and I loved the cameos of characters from previous books
Overall this was a five star read! I really liked the characters and the story! I can’t wait for more books in this world! This book definitely has some triggering moments, so please check if you’re sensitive. This book was a bit of a slow burn, but had some fun spicy moments once it got there, so overall two flames for spice
If you’re a fan of sci-fi romance with strong characters, unique world building and fun banter, then absolutely pick up this series! Even though this can technically be read as a standalone, I’d recommend reading the first two books prior so you get the most out of the series.
Thank you so much to Constance Fay and Tor Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this book!
Chaos is a sci-fi romance and book three in the Uncharted Hearts series. Caro is an engineer who loves order and control in every situation. When she takes on a solo mission to infiltrate a prison planet, she sees this as an opportunity to prove herself to her crew. But the unexpected happens in her mission when she meets Leviathan…will they be able to survive long enough to figure out their attraction to each other?
This was such a fun read! I really enjoyed Caro - she was a strong, intelligent character and I liked her growth in this book. Leviathan was such a complex character and I enjoyed learning his story as well. Their story was a little insta-love, but it made sense for these characters. This is such a fun world and I loved the cameos of characters from previous books
Overall this was a five star read! I really liked the characters and the story! I can’t wait for more books in this world! This book definitely has some triggering moments, so please check if you’re sensitive. This book was a bit of a slow burn, but had some fun spicy moments once it got there, so overall two flames for spice
If you’re a fan of sci-fi romance with strong characters, unique world building and fun banter, then absolutely pick up this series! Even though this can technically be read as a standalone, I’d recommend reading the first two books prior so you get the most out of the series.
March 19, 2025
A super fun sci romp filled with humor, adventure, tension and mayhem as Cora, the brilliant engineer of the spaceship The Calamity goes on a solo mission to rescue two mercenary twins the crew has befriended who have gone silent on a prison planet run by the nefarious elite Pierce family.
Victor and Victory were sent to retrieve a highly valued tech chip, which they’ve been unable to do as it’s been embedded in the brain of an experimental test subject. The Pierces are trying to build completely controllable human soldiers, with chip-control as well as hugely augmented physics. Their experimentation has gone awry, and things have spiraled out of control.
Cora leaps into action, relying on her tech expertise, only to realize upon arriving on the planet that in a prior mission she had been bitten by a bug that has left her killing any tech she touches. Comic touches also abound as she searches the prison to find the twins, as the denizens of the prison are mostly badly behaved elite family members, and the prison mostly contains them in a constant spa treatments environment.
Add into the mix a passionate romance that unexpectedly sweeps Cora off her feet (literally), the first instance of true consciousness and independent thinking by an AI, and predatory animals that haunt the planet’s woods, and the action never slows down.
A great addition to this delightful series by Fay. Next adventure please!!
Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.
Victor and Victory were sent to retrieve a highly valued tech chip, which they’ve been unable to do as it’s been embedded in the brain of an experimental test subject. The Pierces are trying to build completely controllable human soldiers, with chip-control as well as hugely augmented physics. Their experimentation has gone awry, and things have spiraled out of control.
Cora leaps into action, relying on her tech expertise, only to realize upon arriving on the planet that in a prior mission she had been bitten by a bug that has left her killing any tech she touches. Comic touches also abound as she searches the prison to find the twins, as the denizens of the prison are mostly badly behaved elite family members, and the prison mostly contains them in a constant spa treatments environment.
Add into the mix a passionate romance that unexpectedly sweeps Cora off her feet (literally), the first instance of true consciousness and independent thinking by an AI, and predatory animals that haunt the planet’s woods, and the action never slows down.
A great addition to this delightful series by Fay. Next adventure please!!
Thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.
October 1, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Engineer Caro Ogunyemi goes on a solo mission to rescue a prisoner, Leviathan, from a super secret prison for wealthy families that run the galaxy. Caro's university thesis provided the framework to use chips to manipulate people into following orders. Caro has to make up a plan as she infiltrates the prison and tries to rescue Leviathan. This book can be read as a standalone. Fans of science-fiction romances will love this book.
I loved the premise and the first 50% of the book, but the ending didn't feel connected to the rest of the book. The supersoldier with amnesia was giving me Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier and Wolverine vibes. I loved it. I want to know if Fay named the main character Leviathan as an homage to The Expanse series by . Caro's intelligence as an engineer reminded me of Naomi Nagata from The Expanse. GR81 was a hilarious and heartwarming sentient robot. I enjoyed all of his scenes. Although I liked the Victory chapters, it felt like a device to propel the plot forward. Especially since the Victory chapters only made up about 5-10% of the book.
Engineer Caro Ogunyemi goes on a solo mission to rescue a prisoner, Leviathan, from a super secret prison for wealthy families that run the galaxy. Caro's university thesis provided the framework to use chips to manipulate people into following orders. Caro has to make up a plan as she infiltrates the prison and tries to rescue Leviathan. This book can be read as a standalone. Fans of science-fiction romances will love this book.
I loved the premise and the first 50% of the book, but the ending didn't feel connected to the rest of the book. The supersoldier with amnesia was giving me Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier and Wolverine vibes. I loved it. I want to know if Fay named the main character Leviathan as an homage to The Expanse series by . Caro's intelligence as an engineer reminded me of Naomi Nagata from The Expanse. GR81 was a hilarious and heartwarming sentient robot. I enjoyed all of his scenes. Although I liked the Victory chapters, it felt like a device to propel the plot forward. Especially since the Victory chapters only made up about 5-10% of the book.
November 20, 2024
Chaos is book 3 in the science fiction romance Uncharted Hearts series. This time we follow the spaceship Calamity engineer Caro when she is lured into a prison break style mission by a former captain to rescue two friends and a man being subjected to experimentation by a nefarious mafia style Family. Sparks start to fly when Cato meets her man to rescue and she is the only one who can reach the little humanity left inside.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. I am giving this book 3.5⭐️.
I really enjoy this book series and did enjoy this book. I enjoyed the relationship between Caro and Levi although the spice scenes between them were fairly tame. If you are not a fan of prison break stories then this won’t be a book for you as most of it is about not only breaking out of a rather fancy prison, but breaking back in and then breaking out again. I liked the ending and the setup for book 4 but I really feel like the biggest strength to this series is the found family aspect and when the entire crew of Calamity is together. Sadly that is missing from almost all of this book so this gets 3.5⭐️ from me.
I do already have a copy of this book preordered and will post about it on my social media (TikTok and YouTube) closer to its release date.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bramble for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review. I am giving this book 3.5⭐️.
I really enjoy this book series and did enjoy this book. I enjoyed the relationship between Caro and Levi although the spice scenes between them were fairly tame. If you are not a fan of prison break stories then this won’t be a book for you as most of it is about not only breaking out of a rather fancy prison, but breaking back in and then breaking out again. I liked the ending and the setup for book 4 but I really feel like the biggest strength to this series is the found family aspect and when the entire crew of Calamity is together. Sadly that is missing from almost all of this book so this gets 3.5⭐️ from me.
I do already have a copy of this book preordered and will post about it on my social media (TikTok and YouTube) closer to its release date.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2025
I enjoyed the first two books in this sci-fi romance series as nonstop action plots with fun, sexy romances and fun, dubiously scientific elements. This one was my least favorite of the series, unfortunately.
Caro is a tech genius who decides after one brief meeting with a smarmy former boss that she needs to infiltrate a luxury prison to save a sexy, genetically modified prisoner/experiment subject. (Said former boss provided Caro with a "grainy video" of the sexy prisoner, and she basically fell in lust from a few frames of his tortured face...) She somehow manages to rescue him and expose the unethical experiments by the end of the book, despite her absolute ineptitude at basically every task, including the tech stuff she's supposed to be a genius at.
I found that the story really lagged, as we spend chapter after chapter in Caro's POV as she somehow justifies her too-stupid-to-live actions. This book highlighted for me that these books really, really need that nonstop action plot, because without it I found it difficult to be interested in what was happening in Caro's head. The romance also felt very surface level to me. Sooooo, this one was kind of a miss, and one I was pretty disappointed in since I'd enjoyed the other books in the series.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
Caro is a tech genius who decides after one brief meeting with a smarmy former boss that she needs to infiltrate a luxury prison to save a sexy, genetically modified prisoner/experiment subject. (Said former boss provided Caro with a "grainy video" of the sexy prisoner, and she basically fell in lust from a few frames of his tortured face...) She somehow manages to rescue him and expose the unethical experiments by the end of the book, despite her absolute ineptitude at basically every task, including the tech stuff she's supposed to be a genius at.
I found that the story really lagged, as we spend chapter after chapter in Caro's POV as she somehow justifies her too-stupid-to-live actions. This book highlighted for me that these books really, really need that nonstop action plot, because without it I found it difficult to be interested in what was happening in Caro's head. The romance also felt very surface level to me. Sooooo, this one was kind of a miss, and one I was pretty disappointed in since I'd enjoyed the other books in the series.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
March 7, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up.
Another fun entry in this series! Book 3 in the Uncharted Hearts series follows Calamity's engineer Caro Ogunyemi as she takes off on a rescue mission to infiltrate a luxury prison, help her two friends Victory and Victory steal some powerful technology, and rescue a man (Leviathan) who is being subject to mind control experiments. This has the signature wit and humor from Fay's first two books, full of witty banter and science innuendos. The plot has fun heist-style vibes and it's fun to meet Victor and Victory. (We even get a few chapters from Victory's point of view, which I enjoyed reading, but also felt like they somewhat detracted from Caro's story arc.) The science fiction part of this was full of fun adventures and done well, but I do feel like that came somewhat at the expense of the romance. I don't feel like Caro and Leviathan/Levi got enough page space to really develop their relationship the way we're suppose to believe they have by the end of the book. That being said, I was still thoroughly entertained by the book, and especially enjoyed GR81, the android character who appears about halfway through.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Another fun entry in this series! Book 3 in the Uncharted Hearts series follows Calamity's engineer Caro Ogunyemi as she takes off on a rescue mission to infiltrate a luxury prison, help her two friends Victory and Victory steal some powerful technology, and rescue a man (Leviathan) who is being subject to mind control experiments. This has the signature wit and humor from Fay's first two books, full of witty banter and science innuendos. The plot has fun heist-style vibes and it's fun to meet Victor and Victory. (We even get a few chapters from Victory's point of view, which I enjoyed reading, but also felt like they somewhat detracted from Caro's story arc.) The science fiction part of this was full of fun adventures and done well, but I do feel like that came somewhat at the expense of the romance. I don't feel like Caro and Leviathan/Levi got enough page space to really develop their relationship the way we're suppose to believe they have by the end of the book. That being said, I was still thoroughly entertained by the book, and especially enjoyed GR81, the android character who appears about halfway through.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 15, 2025
If the authors goal while writing this was to make the reader obsessed with an android names GR81, she has strongly succeeded.
Story wise, this wasn’t my favourite, however I love this world / series and Constance Fay’s writing style, and even thought I didn’t love the story, I couldn’t put this down. The felt like it was just a constant battle, which just didn’t my preference. And while I liked the love interest, things felt a bit insta-love to me.
I feel like if there’s a book 4, it has to be Victory & Donovan, right? I was a little bummed this book moved away from the Calamity crew a bit, but I really did enjoy reading about Caro’s new little crew she had in this book of Levi, Victor, Victory, and kinda-sorta Donovan and I feel like if there is going to be a book 4, it was introduced well.
When I read Fiasco, I felt like it was best to have read Calamity first vs reading it as a standalone. I think this one stands fine by itself, but of course it doesn’t hurt to read the other 2 first. I’m really glad I read this & I hope the series continues. Although I’m super bummed there’s no audiobook!! I LOVED the audiobooks for the first two books.
Story wise, this wasn’t my favourite, however I love this world / series and Constance Fay’s writing style, and even thought I didn’t love the story, I couldn’t put this down. The felt like it was just a constant battle, which just didn’t my preference. And while I liked the love interest, things felt a bit insta-love to me.
I feel like if there’s a book 4, it has to be Victory & Donovan, right? I was a little bummed this book moved away from the Calamity crew a bit, but I really did enjoy reading about Caro’s new little crew she had in this book of Levi, Victor, Victory, and kinda-sorta Donovan and I feel like if there is going to be a book 4, it was introduced well.
When I read Fiasco, I felt like it was best to have read Calamity first vs reading it as a standalone. I think this one stands fine by itself, but of course it doesn’t hurt to read the other 2 first. I’m really glad I read this & I hope the series continues. Although I’m super bummed there’s no audiobook!! I LOVED the audiobooks for the first two books.
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April 4, 2025I didn't like this quite as well as Calamity, and the ending of this I also liked less because it included what felt like a copout meant to play your emotions. I was frustrated by Caro and Levi's failure to communicate but appreciate the other characters called them out on it and it was cleared up quickly. I was hoping for something more inherent to her for the plot, but the reason she can help him is kind of silly. Caro bugged me sometimes as a total klutz who worried too often about her curviness, who failed to do any planning whatsoever, and who did stupid things that she should know better.
Victory's chapters felt too much like a tease for the next book, and didn't have enough payoff IMO.
Lore Olympus feels like a strange comp title for this. is also an odd pick when feels more emotionally akin to this.
Victory's chapters felt too much like a tease for the next book, and didn't have enough payoff IMO.
Lore Olympus feels like a strange comp title for this. is also an odd pick when feels more emotionally akin to this.
January 31, 2025
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
An imprisoned hero who’s been mind- & body-manipulated into a killer super-soldier.
A heroine who’s gonna save him & some others by battling space baddies with her tech pad.
& some smooching.
Chaos by Constance Fay is a mostly satisfactory installment in this series, serving up lots of plans & escape attempts & two people falling in love against all the odds.
Despite all the thrills, I had some problems reading it easily & quickly, although that might be a January thing (it’s been 7 years long, after all). My brain didn’t feel fully equipped to handle it all, not to mention that there are some weighty topics that get kind of glossed over at the end.
But if you like space romance with lots of twists & turns & master-planning against many villains, check out this series, especially book 1, which is my fave!
3⭐️. Out 03/11.
CWs: murder, attempted murder, manipulation, bodily mutation without consent
An imprisoned hero who’s been mind- & body-manipulated into a killer super-soldier.
A heroine who’s gonna save him & some others by battling space baddies with her tech pad.
& some smooching.
Chaos by Constance Fay is a mostly satisfactory installment in this series, serving up lots of plans & escape attempts & two people falling in love against all the odds.
Despite all the thrills, I had some problems reading it easily & quickly, although that might be a January thing (it’s been 7 years long, after all). My brain didn’t feel fully equipped to handle it all, not to mention that there are some weighty topics that get kind of glossed over at the end.
But if you like space romance with lots of twists & turns & master-planning against many villains, check out this series, especially book 1, which is my fave!
3⭐️. Out 03/11.
CWs: murder, attempted murder, manipulation, bodily mutation without consent
February 6, 2025
Thank you to Constance Fay, Bramble Romance, and NetGalley for the free book!
Supersoldiers in sci-fi romance? Always a win! Chaos completely delivered on action, humor, and heart. Caro was such an endearing protagonist—her intelligence was her greatest strength, and I loved how that played into her character. Leviathan was a fascinating mystery to unravel, and I especially enjoyed that he wasn’t the typical supersoldier archetype. It made him feel so unique and compelling!
The prison planet of Shikigami was absolutely wild in the best way. The setting added a fun, chaotic energy to the story that made everything feel fresh and unpredictable. The humor, tension, and high stakes were perfectly balanced, keeping me hooked from start to finish.
I think I know who the next book will be about, and if I’m right, I am so ready for it! This series just keeps getting better, and I can’t wait for more. If you love sci-fi romance with strong heroines, mysterious supersoldiers, and high-stakes action, this is one to add to your TBR!
Supersoldiers in sci-fi romance? Always a win! Chaos completely delivered on action, humor, and heart. Caro was such an endearing protagonist—her intelligence was her greatest strength, and I loved how that played into her character. Leviathan was a fascinating mystery to unravel, and I especially enjoyed that he wasn’t the typical supersoldier archetype. It made him feel so unique and compelling!
The prison planet of Shikigami was absolutely wild in the best way. The setting added a fun, chaotic energy to the story that made everything feel fresh and unpredictable. The humor, tension, and high stakes were perfectly balanced, keeping me hooked from start to finish.
I think I know who the next book will be about, and if I’m right, I am so ready for it! This series just keeps getting better, and I can’t wait for more. If you love sci-fi romance with strong heroines, mysterious supersoldiers, and high-stakes action, this is one to add to your TBR!
March 5, 2025
I love a good heist/prison break story, so this sounded right up my alley. I had a really enjoyable time reading this and easily related to Caro’s inner monologue. Honestly her inner monologue was one of my favorite aspects of this story. The other thing I really loved was the android, GR81. There were so many great scenes involving GR81 and epic lines. I also found the heist/prison break plot to be well paced between amped up action scenes and slower scenes to take in and analyzer information. I do want to mention, though, that I felt this was heist/prison break first with the romance being a smaller subplot. If you’re going in expecting this to be romance forward, you’ll be disappointed. It’s also worth noting that you do not need to read the first two in the series in order to read this installment. With how much I enjoyed this, I plan to go back to the first two, but I wasn’t lost by any means reading this. I also really hope there are future books in the works featuring Victory/Dominic and Victor/Kaori. They had some great chemistry in the scenes they were in together.
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paperback and eARC courtesy of Bramble Romance
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paperback and eARC courtesy of Bramble Romance
January 15, 2025
I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. Chaos is, well, chaotic and full of action sequences and snark.
However, I didn’t enjoy Chaos as much as the first two. Caro is the least interesting of the Calamity crew to me, and she spends almost the entire book away from the rest of the team. She is known for her tech skills, but in this book she kills any tech she touches, which is ... convenient. She seems invincible in this book, which is kind of boring. Also she and her romantic partner fall in insta-love, she just from watching a video of him. And she makes some very very stupid decisions. There is a subplot with a sentient android that is � totally predictable.
This one felt way less original than the first two, and it could have used a good editor. I will keep reading the series; hopefully I will enjoy Itzel’s story as much as I enjoyed the first two books.
I real an advance reader copy from Netgalley.
However, I didn’t enjoy Chaos as much as the first two. Caro is the least interesting of the Calamity crew to me, and she spends almost the entire book away from the rest of the team. She is known for her tech skills, but in this book she kills any tech she touches, which is ... convenient. She seems invincible in this book, which is kind of boring. Also she and her romantic partner fall in insta-love, she just from watching a video of him. And she makes some very very stupid decisions. There is a subplot with a sentient android that is � totally predictable.
This one felt way less original than the first two, and it could have used a good editor. I will keep reading the series; hopefully I will enjoy Itzel’s story as much as I enjoyed the first two books.
I real an advance reader copy from Netgalley.
March 12, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley, Tor Bramble, and Ms. Fay for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.
I like Chaos better than Fiasco, although still not as much as Calamity - it's frequently hard to top book #1 of a series, IMHO. But I REALLY liked Chaos and I agree with another reviewer about the Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier vibes. The reader is required to suspend a certain amount of disbelief in Caro's competency and wild (read: impulsive and risky, at times) decisions paying off every time rather than crashing and burning, but therein lies A LOT of the fun. Caro is a really engaging character and it is so SO easy to root for her. *love* GR81 too; he's no ART (IYKYK!!!!) but he's in the neighborhood <3
I really hope there are more "uncharted hearts" in line for this series. I'll be lining up to read them as fast as Ms. Fay writes them. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I like Chaos better than Fiasco, although still not as much as Calamity - it's frequently hard to top book #1 of a series, IMHO. But I REALLY liked Chaos and I agree with another reviewer about the Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier vibes. The reader is required to suspend a certain amount of disbelief in Caro's competency and wild (read: impulsive and risky, at times) decisions paying off every time rather than crashing and burning, but therein lies A LOT of the fun. Caro is a really engaging character and it is so SO easy to root for her. *love* GR81 too; he's no ART (IYKYK!!!!) but he's in the neighborhood <3
I really hope there are more "uncharted hearts" in line for this series. I'll be lining up to read them as fast as Ms. Fay writes them. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
March 17, 2025
This is a fun, sci-fi jail-break romance that asks you to suspend logic, but not in the way you might think.
This is the third in the Uncharted Hearts series, and I've read the first two. So this can be read as a standalone or in order.
We're following a strong FMC who is a space mercenary and is hired to rescue a man from a high-security prison on a desolate planet. I like the creativity of the prison set-up which includes a mazerunner-like challenge to the death and plays with gravity during a chase scene.
The pacing in the first half was solid, but started to stutter near the end. The 'spicy' scenes were a bit cringe and I think Constance would benefit from reading more spice, including never having your FMC use the word 'penis' in foreplay.
My logic needed to be suspended for nothing to do with space travel - it was actually HR. lol. Like hiring practices and administration. Our FMC needs to get into the prison's top secret lab where they're doing human testing. So she gets herself arrested, with the plan that the billionaire who owns the prison will show up, and hire her and put her in his top secret lab.
If you're not upset about Palpatine from Star Wars having a desk, then maybe this won't both you either. But it bothers me.
Unfortunately I think this is where my relationship with the series will end.
This is the third in the Uncharted Hearts series, and I've read the first two. So this can be read as a standalone or in order.
We're following a strong FMC who is a space mercenary and is hired to rescue a man from a high-security prison on a desolate planet. I like the creativity of the prison set-up which includes a mazerunner-like challenge to the death and plays with gravity during a chase scene.
The pacing in the first half was solid, but started to stutter near the end. The 'spicy' scenes were a bit cringe and I think Constance would benefit from reading more spice, including never having your FMC use the word 'penis' in foreplay.
My logic needed to be suspended for nothing to do with space travel - it was actually HR. lol. Like hiring practices and administration. Our FMC needs to get into the prison's top secret lab where they're doing human testing. So she gets herself arrested, with the plan that the billionaire who owns the prison will show up, and hire her and put her in his top secret lab.
If you're not upset about Palpatine from Star Wars having a desk, then maybe this won't both you either. But it bothers me.
Unfortunately I think this is where my relationship with the series will end.
March 16, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC!
4.5 stars rounded up
Yeah I cried over a robot -- sorry, android -- and I'd do it again. This is probably my favourite or second favourite in the series so far, although I have high hopes for a Victory and Donovan book at some point. I always like sci-fi romance books that focus on the mechanic/engineer so I was already primed to like Chaos. And chaos it was, my big Thing about this book is I wish we had less time in the prison. It is a fun location but I was excited when the crew finally left and then we immediately went back. I just feel like there are more exciting things to see in the vastness of space. I also love Levi and would have liked to see more of his interpersonal workings, it felt like most of his Angst and Turmoil were off the page.
All that being said I very much enjoyed it and I'm excited for whatever comes next.
4.5 stars rounded up
Yeah I cried over a robot -- sorry, android -- and I'd do it again. This is probably my favourite or second favourite in the series so far, although I have high hopes for a Victory and Donovan book at some point. I always like sci-fi romance books that focus on the mechanic/engineer so I was already primed to like Chaos. And chaos it was, my big Thing about this book is I wish we had less time in the prison. It is a fun location but I was excited when the crew finally left and then we immediately went back. I just feel like there are more exciting things to see in the vastness of space. I also love Levi and would have liked to see more of his interpersonal workings, it felt like most of his Angst and Turmoil were off the page.
All that being said I very much enjoyed it and I'm excited for whatever comes next.
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