This was a fun and fast-paced heist story. I blitzed through it after the heist and team were established. The team was well fleshed out and enjoyable—with enough tension—as a unit. I expected more conflict during the heist; there were only a few hiccups. Angel was not a lovable character. And I was surprised by the romance between the main characters. I didn’t buy it. I also didn’t see enough growth from Edie. Eight years in prison didn’t seem to change them much—maybe that’s the point, but it wasn’t enough growth for me. Overall, it was a great read and I’m glad I found it through NetGalley!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Made it to 10%, was getting interested in the story and the premise of Eddie getting out of prison after a job went wrong 8 years ago and what came next, but then they went ti visit act an old friend and started talking Pidgin-I’m sorry but having to decode what reads like pages and pages of typos totally took me out of it.

To start, I will say that I really enjoyed this cast of characters—they were incredibly well written (very show and not tell) and definitely entertaining. This was probably one of the first heist-style stories that I have ever read. And while I’m not sure this plot/trope is necessarily for me, I did enjoy this book as a story and would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for that heist style story!

I think the only thing I have to say about this book, is that for me, reading it actually felt a little less culturally impactful and, particularly given the way the character dialogue is written and the incorporation of Hawaiian Pidgin phrases (as evident from the title). I think that listening to a narrated copy would have potentially made a bigger impact on me as the reader. However, I did love how the Hawaiian culture was written into this book, and it has great representation, so I wouldn’t let the format deter you from reading by any means - just something to point out if you have options!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing the eARC for an honest review. (Rounded up from a 3.75)

Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto is not my typcial read. Once I started reading I could not get into the story and found it hard to finish.

3.5 stars.

The vibes in Hammajang Luck remind me of that Fast and Furious meme where Vin Diesel emphasizes that nothing's stronger than family. And while I'm a hater at heart, the way that this book presents that theme is actually pretty heartwarming and I ended up liking it.

TLDR; I came for the heist, but stayed for the cozy family vibes and Hawaiian community ties.

And I'll admit, as someone who works in a similar field (sadly, not black hat heist related), I really appreciated the attention to detail when it came to the heist portion. The physical security cracking and code breaking were right up my alley, and you could definitely tell that the author did research on all of this.

I also loved the family drama, and I'm saying this as a hater of sappy family dramas and sob stories. Edie, her sister, and Angel's relationships feel so real that I felt like I was a part of their family, like some cousin hanging out at the periphery waiting for the tea to spill.

The Hawaiian pidgin added another layer to the family dynamic and closeness I felt to the characters. While I spent my childhood on an island that's almost 7k miles away from Hawaii, the pidgin felt so familiar that I could easily feel myself among family members. It's details like this that'll always make me an advocate for representation and diversity in books and all media.

While the villain and the other characters that took part in the heist were ultimately forgettable, I honestly still had fun with this book. I'd recommend this for someone looking for a lighter futuristic read.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this arc.

This was such a fun and fast-paced sci-fi heist story. Edie is released from prison and immediately pulled into another job by the person who betrayed them. The characters are vibrant, the stakes feel real, and the story weaves in commentary on class disparity and capitalism.

The tension between Edie and Angel was great with their shared history and unresolved feelings. I wish their relationship had developed more naturally earlier in the story, but it was still an engaging part of the book.

The heist itself was clever, full of risks, and packed with twists. It reminded me of Ocean’s Eleven in a futuristic, cyberpunk setting. Although I wanted to spend more time getting to know some of the side characters, this was a thrilling and heartfelt read.

This is a perfect pick for anyone who loves ensemble adventures and queer representation in science fiction. I am excited to see what Makana Yamamoto writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley & Harper Voyager for the review copy! 🖤

First read of 2025 and I was not disappointed! Giving this a 4.5 out of 5. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

At its core, this is a queer-normative sci-fi heist against capitalism and I love it! The characters in the crew are each nuanced and you honestly are rooting for them to succeed. In some ways I wish there was more clear/explicit confirmation of individuals identities, because bi erasure and saying the words helps with visibility, but given how clearly enmeshed queerness is to the story and the world building a lot can be assumed.

My main critique is the romance between Angel and Edie, because while they have a lot of history going back to their childhood, in my opinion Angel SERIOUSLY did Edie wrong in several places and never expressed remorse or even explained themselves to Edie until they were forced to. I wish ye physical part of their relationship started earlier in the novel and then allowed us to see them progress back to trusting each other, because as is it felt a bit rushed. But we also don't see a lot of what happened behind the scenes.

Overall FANTASTIC read.

Gods I loved this book. One of the best books I've read this year with the cast of characters encompassing so many identities and the use of pidgin in the book made it that much more real to me. The stakes were high, the jokes were hilarious and I think so many folks will fall in love with the characters like I did! All the stars!

This ended up being a really fun heist novel, with lots of double crossing and complicated emotions (ie dealing with being on a heist with the person who landed you in future jail the first time around and the fact that you're still in love with her), and the feel goodness of taking on a major shitty corporation and getting away with it. Debut novel, and recommended for a great bright read this winter.

Such a fun read! A queer space heist that deals with gentrification, betrayal, and class disparity. Edie is released from prison after a job gone wrong, and is immediately pulled back into one last heist- by the person who got them sent away in the first place. This book quickly grabs your attention as you meet all the players for the heist, and slowly learn more about Edie and Angel’s past. The characters are all really interesting with their different skills and motivations for taking on a risky job. And I loved getting into Edie’s head as they grapple with teaming up with the person who cost them eight years of their life- but when there are no other options, is there really a choice? I really liked this book, can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

Makana Yamamoto's Hammajang Luck is an awe inspiring sci-fi heist, but more importantly a treatise on identity and family. Overwhelmingly enjoyed!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager | Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

Cyberpunk Ocean’s Eleven-esque space heist?! Yes.
Edie has just been released early after an eight year stint in prison only to be brought home by the one person who put them there. Angel Huang was like a sister growing up but now could not be anymore of a stranger. Angel has one last job that would set Edie and their family for several lifetimes. Drowning in debt, a sister expecting her third child, and a niece undergoing cancer treatment, how can Edie say no?
How could you not love this beautiful cast of characters? They were so easy to root for and love. The light banter was fun and matched the fast-paced plot. The friends-to-enemies-to-lovers was so well done and didn’t feel rushed at all. I loved it all and couldn’t put it down!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for the ebook arc!

This book is a great classic heist story, made even better by being set in a futuristic space station. The stakes are high as a great cast of characters attempt to steal from a tech CEO in what should be the last job of their lives. The main character is fresh out of prison and has to team up with a person from their past to pull it off, even though they hate each other's guts.

The plot moves pretty fast in this book. The main cast has about eight characters, and we go through all of their backstories and about half have fleshed out character arcs. In my opinion this is the selling point of the book, I can see it being pretty big with fans of things like Six of Crows, and similar books with group adventures.

The only downfall of this book is that it feels a little short. Like I said, most of the characters get plotlines, but I thought that more time could be spent getting to know them. However, this is mostly nitpicky, and I still had a great time while reading.

This was exactly my brand of fun sci-fi adventures, and I'm really excited to see what the author puts out next.

I enjoyed the heist parts of this. Edie has just gotten out of prison, and a person from her past is ready to recruit her for a heist so that Edie won't ever have to work again. Angel, the blast from the past, is the mastermind behind the whole thing, and between her and Edie they start recruiting the other members they will need to pull this off. Grifters, thieves, a hacker, and Edie our resident runner.

I loved Edie's relationship with their sister, niece, and nephew. I also really enjoyed the antagonistic relationship between Edie and Angel. You find out why early on and can tell there are more emotions under the surface, so each interaction is pretty entertaining. At a bit over halfway through their relationship shifts, and it wasn't something I was rooting for. Their relationship is definitely a bit on the toxic side.

I also think this was a bit longer than it needed to be, there were some parts in the middle that I found myself zoning out for a bit.
I think where this book really shines is the heist itself, it reminds me of Oceans 11 a bit and I found that part super enjoyable, and Edie and their relationship with their family, old friends, and new.

I really wanted to like this but unfortunately 42% in and I was just not connecting with the characters or the plot.

I don’t think it’s a bad book, just not one for me.

If you are a heist aficionado, you will find a fair bit to like in this one. Set on Kepler station, it centers around Edie, back from serving time in prison for a botched theft attempt 8 years earlier. The catch is that they are released with the help of their (former?) friend Angel, the one that set them up to fall for the previous heist. And is being very cagey about a new job she wants Edie to join her on.

A lot of the set up reminds me of the Oceans movies, or the TV show Leverage. Angel assembles hitters, hackers, grifters and thieves while she dons the cape of mastermind. And simmering behind everything is the relationship between Angel and Edie. Are they friends? More? Less?

The heist part is excellent and moves as a good pace. It was the relationship between Angel and Edie that I had a hard time latching into. For so much of the story, Angel is set apart and her motivations do not feel clear or solid. The connection between her and Edie also feels abstract until it isn’t. Edie is our guide through the whole thing, and their connections to family and home on Kepler are solid and a good counterpoint to the unfolding heist. The LGBTQIA representation is also a high point for the overall story as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review! It is really difficult to write a satisfying heist story— because while of course you want the protagonists to win, you don’t want that win to be so easily gained. “Hammajang Luck” walked that line perfectly. There was just enough detail about heist planning that the reader could understand what the plan was, without going overboard. And, the characters encountered plenty of issues along the way. Ultimately, I think these characters provide wish-fulfillment for a lot of folks— to rob and ruin the life of an evil tech billionaire. And by god if it wasn’t satisfying to read. Like much sci-fi, the story itself is a reflection, a mirror, of our current reality, and takes this role seriously (while also not taking itself *too* seriously). Really my only issues with this novel were that the beginning was a bit rough (common for standalone sci-fi/fantasy) and that I sometimes had a hard time understanding the Pidgin— but I don’t believe either of these are reason enough to deduct a star from the rating. If you like sci-fi heists in space, you will love “Hammajang Luck.”

I liked Edie as a character and I wish that we got to know more about the other characters. I don't know that I wanted them to actually end up with Angel, she seemed kind of toxic but if they are happy I guess I'm fine with it.

I received an arc through netgalley.

This book is marketed as a cyberpunk sci-fi heist novel, and it definitely is that. I found the story to be interesting enough to finish the book, but I wasn't hooked or feeling suspenseful like a heist novel usually would inspire. I liked the overall themes, loved the ace/lesbian representation, and most of the characters were enjoyable. My biggest grievance was that I want heists to be action packed and suspenseful, but this one read more like a Lifetime or Hallmark movie. Everything goes smoothly essentially the whole time and everyone is one big happy family at the end. I just found it to be a bit boring. There were so many interesting sub-plots that I would have loved to see the author dive into more, but unfortunately the main story line was just kind of meh for me personally. It's not a bad book by any means, just not necessarily for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars.

I’m not a massive sci-fi reader, but I liked the idea of the Hawaiian culture and setting in this context. However, my lack of investment in the genre, plus the snail’s-pacing of the book ‘meant my attention flagged. The characters were also not particularly interesting.