From the get-go, I was captivated by Ada Lamarr, a gutsy salvager facing a life-or-death situation as her spaceship’s hull is breached, leaving her stranded with dwindling oxygen. But fear not, because enter Rian, the swoon-worthy scientist leading his own salvage mission to recover something from a crashed ship. Cue sparks flying and secrets swirling as Ada and Rian embark on a heart-pounding adventure in space.
What I loved most about this book was its perfect blend of action, suspense, and just a sprinkle of romance. Ada is the kind of protagonist I adore - fiercely independent, quick-witted, and with a heart of gold. And Rian? Well, let’s just say he’s the strong, silent type with a magnetic charm that’s impossible to resist.

But what really sets the story apart for me is Beth Revis’s masterful storytelling. Her writing is as sharp as a laser beam, propelling you through the story at warp speed while still leaving you breathless for more. And with this being just the first book in a series, I’m already counting down the days until I can dive back into this mesmerising universe.

"Full Speed to a Crash Landing" by Beth Revis delivers a high-octane adventure filled with sexy space heists and irresistible romantic tension.

Ada Lamarr finds herself in a precarious situation when she stumbles upon a spaceship wreck, only to realise her own ship is damaged and her air supply is dwindling. Just when all hope seems lost, a government salvage crew comes to her rescue, albeit begrudgingly. As Ada tags along on their classified mission, she becomes entangled with Rian White, the government agent in charge, whose suspicions about her intentions grow with each passing moment.

Revis masterfully blends action, romance, and intrigue in this exhilarating novella. Ada is a compelling protagonist whose wit and resourcefulness make her a force to be reckoned with, while Rian adds a layer of complexity with his charm and determination. As the story unfolds, readers are treated to a rollercoaster of twists and turns, keeping them on the edge of their seats until the very end.

"Full Speed to a Crash Landing" is a phenomenally fun read that sets the stage for an exciting trilogy. Revis introduces a cast of dynamic characters and a gripping plot that promises even more thrilling adventures to come. If you're a fan of space opera and heist stories with a dash of romance, this novella is sure to leave you eagerly awaiting the next installment.

I love sci-fi romance, and this novella might be a good entry point for newbies to the genre. I’m curious to see where the story goes after this.

However, while novellas are short, this one in particular is rushed. There’s not meat on the bones. The ending is abrupt. The novella feels more like a prequel to a book series after the fact, rather than something that could stand on its own.

This book is a fun romp. The "sexy space heist" tagline and cover art had me expecting more romance, and what I got was more like a Kristen Wiig SNL skit making bedroom eyes at everyone around her while ignoring the fact that she very much almost died, but that worked for me. The story has a divide in tone between the first a second halves, starting off quirky and cute (if not what I'd consider romantic), with a second half more focused on some emotional character development and plot twists galore. Like a lot of this book's qualities, the ending is either going to be frustrating for folks, or leave you excited for the rest of the trilogy to be out already.

My enjoyment of the story is higher than my star rating because I don't expect much to stick with me aside from having a good time reading it. I am definitely excited to pick up the next books in this novella trilogy when they are announced, and think the arc of the trilogy has potential to make it greater than the sum of its individual entries.

📣 fans of Ilona Andrews, check this one out!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 what would you run Full Speed to right now?

Give me all of the smirking, smart, swaggering female badasses, especially when they’re navigating treacherous situations & coming out on top.

Beth Revis’s novella Full Speed to a Crash Landing offers that with heroine Ada, a space looter who has to be rescued by a fellow ship at the beginning of the book.

On the ship is Rian White, an intriguing person Ada loves to play with & vice versa. They’re both masters at figuring out things out / thinking & acting on the fly, but only one of them can win & our protagonist Ada doesn’t reveal all of her cards to the reader, too.

FSTACL captivated me from beginning to end, concluding with a cliffie that makes me wonder what could happen in book 2. This sci fi nugget does have romantic elements but it’s not a romance, another reason I’m crossing my fingers regarding the follow-up.

I super enjoyed my time with this one & recommend it to any Ilona Andrews fan—Ada gives me some of that sweet Kate Daniels energy.

5 ⭐️. Out 08/06.

CWs: dangerous situations, reference to death.

[ID: Jess is wearing a white floral dress & holds the ebook in a field.]

I really like Ada as the main character — she fits well in the story and I love that she's clearly an unreliable narrator. Nonetheless, she's not someone I would like to spend time with in real life. She's greedy, somewhat brags about how great her suit is and honestly, I would find her annoying. Fortunately, she's just a character and I had a great time reading her story.

Although the book is quite short, I think the length is done quite well. It's a proper story that has been given the time it needs, not more, not less. It starts well and keeps its pace. I like how things slowly get revealed and develop until the end — when it will all make sense.

My biggest criticism is the romance. The cover suggests that it's an important part of the plot, but in my opinion, it felt unnecessary — it didn't add anything. Also, I didn't see a good reason why Ada would be attracted to the guy. I know some people love the whole enemies-to-lovers trope where the male love interest is a broody man and she's somehow still attracted to him, but I generally don't like it and this was not the exception.

Thank you NetGalley and DAW for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I'm really excited about novellas becoming more common in sci-fi fiction. There's something so great about trying a story that isn't going to be a huge investment. The thing that really made this story interesting to me was the world--or universe--building of the story. I'm hoping the characters will become fleshed out in the further stories. I'm interested to see where the plot goes. Overall, it was a fun, fast sci-fi adventure.

This novella overflows with nonstop action, twists and turns, and a bit of flirtation as Ada Lamarr tries to pull off a seriously huge, seriously dangerous heist. I can't wait for the next book!

This was a strong start in the Chaotic Orbits series, it had that space heist feel that I was hoping for and enjoyed the overall feel of this. The characters were everything that I was looking for and thought the overall feel worked in this world. I enjoyed how good the writing was and that Beth Revis wrote this perfectly. I’m excited to read more in this series and can’t wait for more.

I'm familiar with Beth Revis - I loved Across the Universe back when I read it several years ago - so I was really excited to see a new space-related book from her. I really love the concept of Full Speed to a Crash Landing, which gave me major Firefly vibes mixed with Zenon, but unfortunately this fell flat for me.

There's nothing inherently wrong with the story. I think it's very clear what it is and does exactly what it's supposed to. I especially respect that it was written in a female rage-fueled bender (for lack of a better word). But - you can tell that this wasn't a fully fleshed out idea. I know it's a series (though I didn't realize it before I read it), but I think even a book in a series needs SOME sort of conclusion. This was very go on girl, give us nothing! I don't know. It's probably a personal preference, but I don't think a book should end leaving you with more questions than answers, even if it's supposed to be a cliffhanger. There are some series that are really good at doing this (The Lunar Chronicles comes to mind) and it doesn't make you feel like you wasted your time reading something with no ending.

That being said, I do think I'll pick up the sequels from the library if only to feel closure.

5 star!

It blows my mind how much the author was able to fit into this Novella!

This story is such a roller coaster of emotions in less than 200 pages! Parts of this book had me on the edge of my seat with anxiety, others had me almost in tears, and some had me laughing so hard I actually had tears.

I absolutely love the writing style and how I could actually hear Ada's voice telling the story in my head. I feel like I grew to know every character in a short amount of time because of how well their personalities are written. You come to understand and care for each of them.

There are some secrets thought the story and just when you think you've learned them, the author turns it around and has you completely confused again in the best way! It perfectly sets up and has you begging for the second Novella!

I could not put this book down and I am eagerly waiting for the next addition to this trilogy!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and DAW for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Great story—couldn’t put it down! Can’t wait for the next book.

Loved it!

Loved the characters. Loved the plot. Love this author.

Another great book by a great author. I can’t wait to read the next book.

So good I’ll probably read it again! I would recommend the author to others as well.

“And maybe there will be someone like me, millions and millions of years from now, who finds something from us, who will know that even if the universe is silent, it wasn’t always.”

Oooh this was a delight. In parts it was very reminiscent of the Wayfarers series (which is one of my favourite series ever) although it was much more fast paced. I loved Ada as a protagonist, she had just the right level of snarkiness and bluster. For a novella, there was a lot of development and plot packed in there and the pace really picked up towards the end, where I was reading and just going !!!!

I also really enjoyed the unexpected sociopolitical and eco-fiction focus. The only thing I could take or leave was the romance, but that could equally be because the book would still have been a big hitter without it.

Thanks NetGalley, DAW and Beth Revis for the eARC!

This book is a fast read that keeps you hooked from the start. As someone who really enjoys books with unreliable narrators, Ada was particularly good. I know it was told she was in the description, but it was also super well done. You know Ada's lying through her teeth about a lot of things and she slowly lets the reader know some of them, but if you know unreliable narrators, you can guess some but some she's still holding close to her chest for the later books. I was a little curious as to why this scifi romance was a series of novellas but having read the first one, it makes perfect sense. The ending was exactly the right place to pause. I loved the Rian stuff at the end. I hope the footnotes are formatted better in the final copy.

All in all, 100% waiting for books 2 and 3!

Space Heist! Unreliable narrator!

This was a really interesting premise and I do love the characters and I understand that it's not meant to be a longer story...I wish it was, I'm not sure I get why it's going to be a trilogy...when we could have told the whole story up front instead of chunks. I feel like it rushed through development and characters that was great and are great but get stalled out due to the length of the story.

Also, the insta-lust was a touch much for something that barely had a chance to be developed.

Keeping in mind that this was a novella, I thought the pace of the book and character development was right on target. Even though we are in the main character's head most of the time, the big reveal at the end still came as a shock and left me interested in the next installment.

One thing that didn't work for me was the chemistry between the main character and her love interest, which at times felt forced, but given the length of the story, perhaps there was not enough time to explore this relationship more. I do feel that was a let-down as it was one of the marketing points of the book. Another part I struggled with was the world-building, as I felt a lot of information was thrown at the reader but nothing about the setting really stuck with me. I do wish I was more immersed in this world, which probably would've given me a better understanding as to what was going on behind all the secrecy.

Even though my confusion, I thought the end was a funny and intriguing set-up towards the sequel, and I'm very curious as to how the story progresses next.

This was a fast paced space adventure. I would’ve loved for it to be longer only because I wanted to get to know the characters better but this is the start of a series so hopefully we’ll learn more about them in future books. I’d recommend it if you like Becky Chambers Wayfarer series.

A ship's crashed on a protoplanet and if someone doesn't come rescue Ada's broken ship soon, she won't be any better off. When a government salvage ship finally answers her call, it's clear that both she and the crew of the ship know something about the crash.

I sometimes felt that too much of Ada's knowledge was being concealed from the reader even though she was the POV character. It became more clear what she was hiding in the end, but it was occasionally frustrating when it was obvious that there was information that Ada knew that I didn't.

This sci-fi with a romantic sub-plot felt like a fun set-up to a larger universe of stories. I'm excited to read home about Ada and Rian and to hopefully get some of my questions left by this novella answered.

4.5//I can't believe I now have to wait an indefinite amount of time for the sequel. This book drew my attention from the start--I felt like the unreliable narrator Ada was done very well and the story was interesting and fast paced. Looking forward to what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc!

This was a fun read! To be quite honest, I picked this up because of the “sexy space heist” line in the blurb and thought “Perfect! it’s sci-fi AND romance too?.” It was both but not in the way I was expecting. There were lots of moments where the MC’s actions implied romantic tension, so it’s KIND OF a romance book at this point of the series.

This book plays out like a short film or an episode from a sci-fi TV show which made it pretty and accessible for me to imagine the setting and how things were playing out.

It was told in the POV of the MC, Ada Lamarr, which kind of took me out at times because she can be a bit too much, considering the situation she was in. But towards the end, it all made sense why she was speaking and acting that way.

Prior to reading, I checked out the author’s page just to see which books they’ve written before. Noticed that most, if not all, were sci-fi books. Which made sense when I read this e-arc. It definitely read like the author knew what they were writing about that it didn’t feel like they were “flexing” their knowledge of space, ships, space suits, and the science of all these combined.

Despite it being a novella of just over 192 pages long, it had the right balance of intrigue, action, sociopolitical discussions, and twists. The ending alludes to a sequel and I’m glad this is a novella series because I can’t wait to read the next one and see how this pans out!