Unfortunately, DNF at 43%

I just couldn't get into this book and this story. I wasn't invested in the main character and the plot. I picked this book up and put it down over the course of a few months before I decided I just couldn't finish it. I might listen to the audiobook one day to get through it, and maybe change my mind based on that, but for now it's a DNF.

That being said, I really appreciated the representation in this book.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this ARC ahead of release. I absolutely loved every minute of the adventure. It was engaging & unique, and I instantly had to preorder a physical copy for my shelves!

Hammajang Luck is a queer cyberpunk heist story that features Hawaiian culture and queer characters on a level that I absolutely ate up. After the comps I've seen to Gideon the Ninth and Six of Crows, I was honestly really worried that it wouldn't live up to the hype for me and while I get the complaints that I've seen for it, this was absolutely a book for me.

First off, the cyberpunk vibes in this story mixed with the Hawaiian culture were immaculate. There is a lot of Hawaiian pidgin in this that I had to go look up but I absolutely did not mind because it made me feel immersed in the culture of the story. There is a found family around Edie that was honestly so compelling and heartwarming. I loved seeing them get to be part of their sister's family again and be the auntie that they hadn't been able to be in prison. And having to reckon with whether Edie's own ambition will lead to Edie going back to prison and missing yet more time with that family. And how Edie feels like they have to do more to belong and to make things better without recognizing that they already belong. That identity and fitting in was just so well done.

The romance with Angel is definitely on the toxic side but honestly, in a way that definitely made me feel the Locked Tomb vibes. There is a lot between Angel and Edie that's unresolved and they don't always handle that responsibly but I did like seeing them explore what forgiveness and understanding looks like.

And again, I loved how much this story focused on the neighborhood and queer communities that often get pushed out by wealthier, more corporate groups. It had all of the little guy vs giant corporation cyberpunk vibes that I always want but with diverse perspectives. And I adored the banter and the conversations between the characters, even when I sometimes found the teenagers as obnoxious as Edie did.

I will admit that the heist elements leave a bit to be desired. If you've seen Ocean's Eleven or any heist, there won't be a lot of surprises here. And the threat of anything going wrong is often quickly solved by the characters. But honestly, I loved the characters and the cyberpunk vibes so much that it didn't impact my enjoyment for the heist elements to be standard.

Your mileage may vary if you pick this up for the heist element, but Hammajang Luck is doing everything I want to see more cyberpunk do and focused on perspectives that I want to see more from. I loved Edie and the found family that formed around them and I'll happily pick up anything else Yamamoto writes.

It was a big miss for me. I think the premise is promising, yet delivery was extremely boring. The conversations between characters were dragging and not very informative. At the same time, it was like taking Hawaii, telling me it is on a different planet and doing it in a one setting sentence, leaving it out all together in terms of worldbuilding. Like it was obvious. I wanted to like it so badly.

A bunch of queer Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders plan a heist to takedown a corrupt tech company in outer space? Obviously I'm into it! When Edie gets early parol after eight years imprisoned on an ice planet, the last person they wants to see is Angel, the ex-childhood friend and partner-in-crime who turned them in. But Angel's waiting for Edie with a plan for one last heist they can't resist. Full of quirky characters and fast-paced action, it's a thrillingly wild ride.

After 8 years in prison, Edie gets released on early parole, only to find the person responsible for their release is the same person who ratted them out on their last job - Angel. To make matters worse, Angel's got one last job she wants Edie's help with. Worried about their sister working two jobs while pregnant and their niece's medical debt, it's hard for Edie to say no to a 125 billion credit payout.

Okay, I really wanted to love this one but I felt a little let down. The heist part of the book felt very well researched and plotted, but there were other parts of the story I just didn't love.

My main issue was with the romance in this one. I'm all for a good enemies to lovers but Edie and Angel were just hostile to each other most of the time, and it didn't feel like there was any natural chemistry. They also didn't act on any supposed feelings until more than 70% of the way into the book.

My other complaint about this one is it's branded as a heist in space but other than a comment about not wanting to set off explosives on a space station, the setting felt like it could be any city on Earth.

I did, however, love the incorporation of Edie's strong ties to her family and the Hawaiian cultural influence throughout the book.

Read if you like:
LGBTQ+ Rep
Strong family bonds
Hawaiian culture
High stakes
Heist
Enemies to lovers

Thanks to HarperVoyager for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a fun heist story! Loved the butch and femme lesbian representation along with Haiwaiian Pidgin English within the dialogue. The story was formulaic, but I cared about these characters and wanted the best for them. Edie and Angel's romance was a little toxic, but I was glad they figured out their messiness at the end. I would recommend this for fantasy readers looking for a heist story in space with butch and femme lesbians.

Hammajang Luck is a sci-fi heist story that I was eager to read after seeing its synopsis compared to the Ocean's movie series, which is one of my favorite movie series. I love heist stories, so naturally I immediately requested it . I’m happy to say that I enjoyed the book a lot. It was fast-paced, and the heist part was so much fun to read. The story not only focuses on the heist, but the author also explores deeper themes throughout the narrative. Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys futuristic heist stories with a found family aspect. Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super fun space heist featuring a diverse cast of characters. Edie begins the book in prison, but is quickly released early and finds that the person who betrayed them is responsible for their release. Angel is bringing a new crew together for a job, that if successful, would give them all more money than they could ever need.
This book is a great example of how to do the found family trope really well. The way Yamamoto brought together so many diverse characters and developed the relationships between them in a way that was natural was definitely a highlight of the book and a testament to Yamamoto's writing skill.
There was so much representation in this book including LGBTQ rep in a couple different forms (lesbian, trans, non binary) to BIPOC characters (primary and secondary).
Yamamoto really kept me on the edge of my seat and I was left guessing up to the last minute with how the heist would fare!

It took me longer than I expected to get through such a short book. Overall, I enjoyed it, I just don’t feel like I was captured by any one specific character.
However, I loved the diverse cast of characters. It very much felt like a mix of Oceans 8, with the heist plot of Artemis by Andy Weir on a space station.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Often, books that feature casts of multicultural, queer, and trans characters spend quite a lot of time reckoning with identity and discrimination (and to be clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that). This book takes a different tack—nobody’s identity is targeted or even all that remarkable in the context of the story, focusing instead on pure fun and cool future tech. The result is a quick-paced caper, complete with a carefully selected crew of specialists with big personalities, an impossibly difficult job, a rich jerk who deserves to get ripped off, and big scary consequences if the specialists fail. But of course, they’re not going to fail—that’s the point of a story like these. We’re hanging on to see just how they manage to win, and in that regard, Hammajang Luck pays off spectacularly. Character competence is an underrated literary joy, and there’s a lot of it in the solutions the Hammajang crew come up with for their assorted space caper problems. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any twists, because there are a few spectacular ones. But the pacing is so good and the people so engaging that you’re lulled into not expecting them.

It’s a space heist firmly grounded in real Hawaiian culture, with a cast of characters made up of fully embodied queer and multicultural Hawaiian people. If that sounds interesting to you, there’s nothing else to tell you but to enjoy this book.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

i really enjoyed this debut, sci-fi heist novel, despite the too timely economic and climate commentary... i especially enjoyed the immense cultural appreciation and love for hawai’i. the cast of characters were all fantastic as well!

i’m certainly looking forward to makana yamamoto’s next book!

Fast paced futuristic thriller about a tech heist by a gang of mostly LGBTQ+ thieves, grifters, acrobats and tech wizards from a nasty greedy corrupt CEO. Somewhat reminiscent of the Oceans 11 movie plots but set on another planet in a future where cybernetics, gene therapy and modding are the norm.

This is a really interesting story with lots of action, but I personally couldn’t really connect with the characters.

This book was something really special. I love a heist novel, especially one in space but this book had a lot of different things to offer as well. There is a lot of queer characters and a lot of Hawaiian influence. Edie has been through a lot, and wants to do what is right for their family and friends, but this heist could change everything for the better and they seemingly have no choice. They have to work with a person they loved in the past, who betrayed them and then made better for herself. Edie having to go through the motions of trusting Angel, while also definitely not believing everything she is told. There is a ragtag crew around them to help with the heist and the obvious villain in Joyce Atlas. The other part I really enjoyed was the family dynamic. Edie cares a lot of her sister and her niece and nephew, they want to 'go straight' for them, but they are in desperate need for money and this is the best way to get them all safe and happy. Overall, I really liked this book and was happy I was able to read it, as I'm not sure I would have just picked it up on its own.

One more heist, just one more to get back on their feet and figure out how to move on from their past and their time in prison.

I love a good heist book, but I really wanted to smack Edie for choosing to do One Last Job. I swear, there's no such thing as one last job. And they just got out of prison after 8 years and being ratted out by Angel. But ow they chose to do another job with the person who has already stabbed them in the back? Sure, Angel got them out of prison like 6 months early or such, but it's not out of kindness and clearly Angel has more pull than Edie can fathom if she could get Edie out.

I will admit, Edie has a hard time finding a job once out of prison. They seem to be on some sort of space station type world where they are no longer on "old Earth". With this being said, there s someone who seems to have blacklisted Edie from being able to get a job on the station, and they are struggling to help support their sister and family. The one thing they know how to do is be part of a heist team.

I feel the main points of the story were balanced pretty well and Edie is a good character having to go through some really tough things and make tough choices for themself and their family.

I did enjoy this book and highly recommend it. I was just frustrated with the choices the main character and characters were making along the way. The plot is good and of course, trust no one.

A super fun adventure that I greatly enjoyed! Characters were fun, the space was well-written, and it was fast-paced and compelling.

If you like heist movies of all kinds you will love this. Our mc comes out of prison and gets sicked right into a major heist with an old friend and a great array of characters. The first half was a little slow just because there was a lot of recruiting and setup but Edies character is so likable that this really didn't bother me. Would highly recommend. Thanks Netgalley for the early copy.

A heist story in space. The world was interesting, but the "space" part didn't really add anything to the story. It could have taken place in any class stratified city that's experiencing gentrification and has sewers/catacombs. Body modifications were the other science fiction element, but they didn't add anything to the story other than to make you hate the man they were going to rob.

Family was an important element of the story, but it was bypassed to be convenient to the plot. Edie asked one relative about a job and all her neighbors. She was able to take shifts at the shop where her sister was working, but no one else was willing to pay her under the table? I find that hard to believe with all the family that showed up for her.

The heist was fine. The buildup and the interaction of the crew was more interesting than the heist itself (which probably could have benefited from more science fiction elements). Except for Angel. Angel was one of those heroines from an action movie; uptight at the beginning and by the end she's let her hair down and acts like a normal person. I didn't like her or her relationship with Edie.

This explosive debut by Yamamoto has all the trappings of a fun sci-fi romp: found family, awkward ex drama, and, of course, a plan to rob the nearest tech trillionaire. Steeped in love for Hawai'i, Hammajang Luck is a perfect read for the new year. The perfect blend of cyberpunk and heist movie, while the story may not be wholly original, the setting and characters make up for any drag in the plot. Our protagnonist, Edie, is compelling as a focal character, and their relationship to those around them is what truly cemented this novel as a great read for the opening of the year.