How to Steal a Galaxy
2024
The second Chaotic Orbits novella finds Ada Lamarr working an undercover job at a lavish charity gala on Rigel-Earth, a planet whose wealthy residents have essentially turned it into a gated community and are widely resented across the galaxy for it. Rian has separately volunteered to work the same gala, betting the rare items up for auction will draw Ada out so he can catch her in the act, not realizing what she’s actually after. The book leans into their slow-burn, adversarial dynamic more than it advances the larger plot, and not much gets resolved on either the heist or the romance front by the end.
Like the first book, the world-building and characterization stay pretty broad, and I found myself wondering why this trilogy is being told as three novellas instead of one full book. I also went in expecting more actual space and ended up stuck at a museum for most of it, which wasn’t quite the galaxy-hopping romp I wanted. Still, it’s the kind of flimsy junk food read that makes you want more junk food, and despite the meh factor, I’m already planning to pick up the third one.
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