Galaxy Grifter by A. Zaykova follows the adventures of Levi, a smarmy grifter who will do anything to get his spaceship, the Caerus, back, and Vera, a talented programmer who gets caught up in the storm centered around Levi’s shenanigans.

Levi has put his ship up as loan collateral and needs a big payout to get it back. Through his scheming, he manages to obtain what he believes are plans for specialized engine technology. With the possible payout of selling this information to the highest bidder, he may be able to get his ship back, but he has no way of decoding it. Enter Vera, located on the run-down asteroid Blackjack, who possesses a decoder to translate the data. But Vera wants in on the payout because she and her brother are indebted to the local gang, trying to keep their bar up and running after the loss of their parents.  Without giving too much away, what follows are multiple double-crosses, on both sides, that lead to gang trouble, government trouble, and traipsing all over the known galaxy trying to find the truth.

The characters are the strong points of this book. I appreciated that he never got a forced redemption arc for Levi. He is a scoundrel all through the book, from beginning to end, and you learn to love hating him. Vera is portrayed as intelligent, as well as having a basic good nature and a sense of family. Even though the side characters may be over-the-top caricatures in their villainy, I didn’t find it too much.

However, while the setup and character dynamics are strong, the plot didn’t land quite as well for me. Despite a series of high-stakes situations and double-crosses, I never really felt the emotional pull or romantic tension that seemed to be hinted at. The chemistry between Levi and Vera felt a bit flat, more functional than compelling. And the ending, which hinted at massive consequences, fizzled out instead of going out with a bang. After all that build-up, I was left saying, “Is that it?” which is never the reaction you want at the finale.

Still, Galaxy Grifter has its moments and would likely appeal to fans of space capers who enjoy colorful characters more than high-stakes payoffs. It’s a fun ride, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing.

Thank you to the publisher Orbit, the author A. Zaykova, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own