In the first novella of the Chaotic Orbits series, Beth Revis brings a chaotic and alien new future to life where humans have left the now-uninhabitable Earth for new settlements elsewhere and scavengers roam the stars in search of their next haul. Ada Lamarr is no exception, though her scavenging trip went awry when her ship got damaged. Brought onboard a government salvage crew’s ship, the food and oxygen are enough to keep her happy, but Rian White, the government agent, does not want this stranger on their classified mission. As secrets are revealed and the nature of the mission becomes apparent, Rian and Ada keep each other on their toes until one of them gets ahead. The first installment in a set of three spicy space heists, Revis’s world is fascinating, complex and enjoyable, and the secrets in this novel keep readers on the edge of their seats. Ada and Rian’s personalities and their dynamic, complex relationship is particularly fascinating, and they dominate the novel with their banter, tension, and secrets. The only issue with this book is that it ended -- if the second and third novellas are like this one, readers are in for a fun, wild time!

Thank you to DAW and NetGalley for the ARC of this novella. I absolutely adored this. It was well paced, had twists and turns everywhere, and a protagonist I could not get enough of. I did not connect this world to that of Revis's Across the Universe until the acknowledgements made it clear but loved the connection. Ada is fantastic and smart and quirky and I wanted more of her immediately which helped since I also got approved for the next novella in the series. Read this ASAP! 5 stars.

A fun space romp full of sass, humor and even a cliffhanger! Ada is floating in space with only minutes left of oxygen. Reluctantly, the government ship Halifax takes her aboard. From there the story takes off. I love the main character. She has a lot of energy, confidence, and is full of personality. I really loved this story. As far as sci-fi goes, it's very accessible. The length, world building, pacing, and story are perfect fans of contemporary romance and fiction who are looking to dip into sci-fi. It reads so well and easily, it was a one evening read for me. I couldn't put it down. The ending has me eager to read the next in the series. I just want more!

Ada Lamarr is on the verge of dying when she is rescued by a scavenger team hunting from something special on the ship on a volcanic planet that went Full Speed to a Crash Landing( hard from DAW). It is obvious from hints from Beth Revis that there is a con going on, but the details are slowly leaked, making for a fun read. I really enjoyed this and look forward to the sequel promised in December.

The description of this book was amazing, but unfortunately I didn't feel like the execution delivered. It's decidedly not "high octane" for a good portion of the book, and the narration and writing style were too on-the-nose so that I predicted the twist far before it happened. The romance also fell flat for me, as I didn't buy the connection between the characters at all and the humor didn't land. That being said, the ideas were really interesting, and there were some really interesting and fun sci-fi elements thrown in that the author clearly researched and that intrigued me. But that wasn't enough to keep me hooked. Not sure if I could recommend or will be reading the second book.

Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the e-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I adored this so much! I can't wait to get into the next novella and find out what happens next because at this point I'm fully invested.

If you are just getting into sci-fi this is definitely a good starting point and/or test subject as it doesn't dive too far into the science aspect of everything. But it's also very interesting and the characters are the best part!

Thank you to the publisher for a copy!

Full Speed to a Crash Landing is the first book of a planned trilogy, the Chaotic Orbits series. It follows our Heroine Ada as she narrowly escapes death after her ship loses all power and communication; there also seems to be a three foot hole in the side of it. Still from the beginning it is understood that Ada is a bit on the dodgy side and shouldn’t be trusted, since she is up to something; we the reader have to follow along to discover. The big question is why she might want to be on the ship which rescued her and what is she up to.

“Surprised that clunker of yours has lasted as long as it did,” he adds.
“I can fix her, no worries,” I say.
“There’s a three-meter-wide hole in the side.”
“We all have our flaws.”

This was in short story format and with under 200 pages we have to fit a lot in, in a short time. What we get is a really fast paced story, with not a lot of time for character development and world building. Ada, running out of oxygen is rescued by the team coming to salvage the ship wreckage from a developing planet. She has been at the crash side for a few days salvaging already but there is more to it and she is up to something, but so are the people on the rescue ship. Rain is running some kind of classified mission and looking for some material that was on the crashed ship. With a little help from Ada, they should be able to get their hands on it. Ada definitely has designs of her own and spends quite a bit of time distracting Rain with her interest in him.

Ada was quirky and pretty funny. You are going to either love her or hate her; I don’t think there is a big in-between for her character. She has something to hide and the crew of the ship she was rescued by also has something to hide. It is all kind of teased out along the way until Ada’s true game is revealed at the end. The love interest part was very quick with not a lot of substance to it. I still can’t decide it it was just a distraction tactic by Ada or if there is really something more substantial there. I found the planet description that the ship crashed on fascinating, along with the different Earths and the culture of each. The interactions with the crew were really interesting but I kind of wanted more depth there.

The ending was not completely unexpected, but I still have some questions about the why of it all in the bigger picture. That will probably come with a few more explanations in the next book of the series.

This is for those of us who want a quick, lite, heist and intrigue type story. This will also require you to put aside some science/physics facts sometimes and just go with it. So if you are up for something without a ton of depth, this could be a fun story for you. I had a good time and my expectations from a short story are definitely different than those of a full length novel. I think if you go in like that you will have a good time.

***That’s how close life and death are. Not just here, in space or on a volatile planet. Everywhere. Everywhere in the universe, you’re one cracked O-ring away from total failure. And we all just go through each day, ignoring that. Pretending like we don’t see the cracks.***

ARC Review: Full Speed to a Crash Landing by Beth Revis

Quotes:
"I can fix her, no worries," I say.
"There's a three-meter-wide hole in the side."
"We all have our flaws."

"But that's the thing about tragedy,
It's hard to lie about."

"It's so, so hard to live.
And so, so easy to die."

"I shake my head. "Bravery's a choice, right? No one chooses to get sick like that. So, they're not brave. They're just surviving."
Because, I don't say, you have to look at it the other way. If they're brave for living, you're saying they're a coward for dying.
And that's not fair. They didn't choose that either."

"..there's something interesting about him that tells me he's the most interesting person aboard this ship. After me, obviously."

Review: Ada Lemarr (named after Ada Lovelace & Hedy Lamarr) is a scavenger who finds herself stranded with a damaged ship and, with about 30 minutes of oxygen left before being rescued by a government salvage ship. There's more to Ada than she wants to show. But She's also all about enjoying her meals and having some fun along the way. Rian is skeptical of her. But finds her to be so interesting and thrilling to be around.
I know this is described as a "Sexy Space Heist" I think there's a lot of good banter in here. It's not over-the-top. It feels natural.
One of my first sci-fi/romance reads.

I liked the balance of Ada. She's sarcastic and hilarious just enough while also being a character that can take something seriously.
A hard thing to balance. Beth Revis did a great job on making this fun but also with moments to make you think a little.
It's not just a romantic story. Which is understated. There's a lot of topics brought up along the way. Ada helps Rian and the crew on a mission to find something important. The first in a trilogy, and this was a short read. At just under 200 pages.
I am definitely interested in reading the rest of the trilogy. Need to see what what sort of trouble Ada gets herself into next.
I give this 4 stars. ⭐️
Thank you for reading


I'd like to thank @netgalley, @dawbooks, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this and receive an ARC of it.

Full Speed to a Crash Landing is the first novella in a funny sci-fi trilogy featuring heists and romantic tension. In this installment, the reader is in the head of Ada Lamarr, a scavenger who needs to get rescued by an intergalactic government vessel, currently in the middle of a top-secret mission. We know from the beginning that there is more to Ada's story and she needs to keep the government entities from finding out her true objective, but the reader doesn't know her mission or motivation for most of the 190 pages.
Most of the time I like Ada and I enjoyed the banter between her and Rian, but I will admit I did occasionally find her snark a tad annoying. I think that I would have enjoyed this more if either A) we got a POV from Rian or B) we were not in Ada's head at all. I understand that this is a set up for a trilogy, but I do wish we, the reader, understood more of the motivations of the characters by the end of this book. I love novellas and this was good, but I would have preferred that more of the world and the larger players could have been explained.
The last 10% of the book is very compelling and it is very important to read all of the footnotes. The ending did make me want to continue on in the series. I do recommend this novel and I had a fun time in this world, especially with the rest of the crew.
Thank you NetGalley and DAW publishing for a free copy of this eARC in return for an honest review.
#FullSpeedtoaCrashLanding #NetGalley

Ada is quickly running out of air and is rescued at the end of her air by a ship sent to recover the ship she has already started salvage on. Rian is on a classified mission and is very curious as how did this one-woman salvage operation find this ship and did she find what they came to get off this unstable planet. Ada seems so helpful with her high tech suit and agrees to grab the data they came to extract from the wreck. But of course Ada isn’t what she seems even though she has won over some of the crew. A good tight story and a great hook at the end about what is going on in this universe and you have to wonder if they will cross paths again.

Ada Lamarr is going to die. She's running out of air, her distress signal is going unanswered and it's looking dire.
Until a government ship finally responds and picks her up at the last minute.

This was nothing but fabulous. The worldbuilding unfolded seamlessly, the characters were a delight, the action amusing and add in a little burgeoning romance... everything a series opener should be.

I was initially drawn to it by the title and cover, and after reading the blurb I was really interested. It's a little unusual read for me, but I love space and romance, so it should be a perfect match, right?

Totally! I loved it! This was such a fun read. It's fast-paced and very entertaining. I love the heist aspect, and for me, what brings the story to another level is the details and "facts" of space ships and the world buildning (how the new earth's came about, what's left of the original one etc). The cliffhanger made me go 🤭🤯 and I will most definitely read the other parts of the trilogy.

Thanks to @netgalley for this e-arc and to @bethrevis for writing it.

This was absolutely fantastic. I loved the characters and getting to see them interact. This bite-sized story was full speed from the first to last page--and I flew through it at mach 5. A space heist, a romance--need I say more? I'm bummed this wasn't longer because I'm going absolutely feral and gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for another scrap of this world and this story.

This book was Full Speed from start to finish and took me on a wild space romp that had me giggling and kicking my feet. I love Ada and thoroughly enjoy her interactions with the crew, especially Rian. And I can' wait to see how their relationship will move forward! The story is fast-paced, and I flew through it not putting it down for one moment.

This is a great first book to this series, and I can't wait to read the next one!!!

A space heist with a romantic arc? Say less!

Ada Lamarr is about to run out of oxygen, unless her distress signal is answered. When the Hendricks picks her up, it’s almost too late. But as a lone scavenger she’s used to surviving on very little.

When super attractive Rian White (government agent) interrogates her about why she was poking around a highly controversial shipwreck, she must keep her interests hidden, both for what’s on the ship and for Rian himself 👀

Four hours of audio, 192 pages, and perfectly done! Excellent tension, twisty reveals, and an exquisite set up for another book! Well done, Beth!

It’s pretty clear – at least to the reader – from the opening pages of Full Speed to a Crash Landing that Ada Lamarr’s ‘Mayday’ isn’t exactly on the up and up. Even if her little spaceship does have a real, honest-to-larceny hole blown in its side – taking her airlock not merely offline but blown out into little bitsies in the surrounding black of space.

That hole is unequivocally real and true – although every other single thing about Ada’s story sounds like a fake and a lie – even the parts that aren’t either of those things. The government agent in charge of the Halifax, the much bigger and better funded ship that has dawdled to her rescue is certain that Ada has got something going on on the down low that necessitated her ship’s presence in this particular sector in orbit over this particular tectonically active (extremely active) baby planet.

He’s sure that both Ada and his ship are after the same quarry, the cargo ship that crash landed, very badly and in multiple pieces, on that earthquake-ridden and volcano prone little planetoid.

Agent Rian White knows what his crew is after, but he’s less than certain about Ada’s stake in this particular game. Only that he’s absolutely positive that she has one.

But he’s so bewitched, bothered and bewildered by the seemingly open but utterly devious smuggler that he doesn’t figure out that she’s already stolen everything she planned on until after she warps away with the contents of a much-sought-after and destructively secured datadrive, the key to opening it – and, quite possibly, his heart.

Unfortunately for Ada, she’s all too aware that he has hers – and that it’s the one thing she never expected to lose – let alone to a government agent who is too good and too good-looking for his own – or certainly her own – good.

Escape Rating A-: This one is pure, sheer, unadulterated fun. It just hits on so many levels in a way that keeps both the reader and the characters delightfully guessing every step of the way. Because we know from the beginning that Ada Lamarr is, as that old saying goes, no better than she ought to be. We know she’s an unreliable narrator because she teases us – along with government agent Rian White, with her secrets and plans and wheels-within-wheels plot even as she’s running out of oxygen and wondering if perhaps she went just a bit too far with her opening gambit.

At least until it works – and gives her one up on the stick up her ass captain of the Halifax. Who is NOT really in charge and is absolutely not Rian White – whose ass is delectable and absolutely does not have a stick up it. (And I’ll leave the rest of the possible salacious jokes and puns right here no matter how tempting they are. Ada has several thoughts in that direction but absolutely does not go there in this first book in the Chaotic Orbits trilogy – no matter how much she wants to.)

On the surface, this is very much a wheels-within-wheels long game kind of caper plot. Ada clearly has a hidden agenda from the off – even if she doesn’t reveal the full extent of it even inside the privacy of her own head. Rian sees the wheels spinning, even if he can’t see what they’re spinning around and about, Ada sees his wheels spinning and is attracted by his obvious intelligence. They’re both clearly playing with each other on multiple levels and that’s already fun.

Which gives the story a bit of lightness that brightens the world creation – because it’s equally clear that the way this particular SF world is set up is not all that light. And it’s a bit murky, at least at this early stage, whether Ada is on the side of the angels or on the side of the biggest paycheck. She’s undoubtedly morally gray, but one of the questions that we’re left with at the end is whether Rian White is even grayer, or not.

That the grayness revolves around a very interesting question adds a bit of depth to that world creation. Because this isn’t a case where the established government is evil in one way or another, the question is whether or not it can possibly be effective at fixing what’s been broken. Not a question of whether or not it’s on the side of the angels, but whether or not it has enough angels on its side to get the shit that needs to get done, done.

Between the caper aspects, the questions about which side is the righteous one in a universe going mad, and the possibility of romance – or at least eventual sexytimes – between its deceitful heroine and its play-mostly-by-the-rules hero, Full Speed to a Crash Landing fits right into the marvelous moment that science fiction romance is currently having.

So if you’ve fallen hard for Valerie Valdes’ Chilling Effect, Rachel Bach’s Fortune’s Pawn, Cat Rambo’s You Sexy Thing and/or Constance Fay’s marvelous Fiasco and Calamity, you’ll be as pleased as I am to know that the second book in the Chaotic Orbits trilogy, How to Steal a Galaxy, will be speeding our way in December. Rian White will be staking out an auction hoping it will attract Ada – while Ada plans to convince him to join her on the dark side – where the cookies are – by kidnapping him into her own questionably legal plans.

It should be a BLAST!

This book has everything I’m searching for: a heist, fast paced, thrilling, Rian White and a protagonist as quirky, smartass and badass like Ada Lamarr. And oh, an actual great worldbuilding of a dystopian world.

Although I’m not a big fan of science fiction, and admittedly, as this is set in space, some technical jargons flew over my head. Good thing was that, thanks to the easy to read writing, it didn’t really made me dizzy trying to figure out the technicalities. I think if anything, it just added more in building the world around the story.

We have the characters, Rian White and Ada Lamarr, and I’d start with Rian because even if I love him, I don’t love him as much as I love Ada and I might not stop talking about how much I adore her and Rian won’t get the spotlight he deserves. So anyway, there’s really not much yet of the romance part in this, I understand since it’s just slowly building up for the rest of the trilogy. But boy do they get the right spice, the right sparks between the two of them that will make you root and ship them. Rian was an opposite of everything Ada believes, and yet she adores him all the same. It’s not just about the physical attraction, it was a start, but more than anything, I think it’s how Rian really tries to listen to Ada. How he thinks and weights down everything she says, not knowing he had to filter out the lies and the half truths. And honestly, I’d love to get more backstory from him.

And then we have my girl, Ada. Her narration is entertaining enough that I can read it even without anything happening (or atleast you think so, because this girl always have something up in her sleeve). She was smart, flawed, and knows how to play her cards right. I love her here, and I loved her even more in the second book. She can step on me and I’ll thank her, and all I can say is that I wish I had her brain😂 What a smart, charming, witty and sexy one.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. It’s short and straightforward, and I think that’s the reason why I loved it more. It’s fast pace yet not too fast to feel like you’re running, it keeps the thrill and the mystery going.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for granting me this ARC!

This was such a quick space adventure and easy read. From the beginning I was intrigued with Ada’s character and then also by what her plans were. As the truth slowly unfolds you can tell she told Rian who she was from the start. I definitely want to find the 2 of these novellas and see what happens next for Rian and Ada.

** I also loved that the author based the character off of Ada Lovelace and Heddy Lamarr

4.25 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌘

This was such a fun little space heist.

The world building in such a short novella is impressive. The characters all feel important and unique in their own right. And I absolutely loved the witty banter mixed with some heavy topics.

This has action, a little drama and just a sprinkle of romance and I ate it up. I am absolutely strapped in for this series.

*Full Speed to a Crash Landing* is a fast-paced start to Beth Revis’s Chaotic Orbits trilogy, delivering a thrilling space heist filled with adventure, sharp dialogue, and a cliffhanger that will leave you eager for more.

The story follows Ada Lamarr, our narrator who I couldn't get enough of, and Rian White, a government employee who rescues her (his reports are included at the end - loved!). The novella depicts a future where Earth is near the end and space colonization is a vehicle for corporate greed. I can easily picture it being our future.

Personally, I would love to have seen this written from Rian's perspective rather than Ada's. It feels like we have too much information. However, Revis knows how to lull her readers into thinking they know what is going on and then BAM! I believe that is the case with this novella. There is time for development and shocking twists.