What do you think?
Rate this book
T-Minus Two
It's the boldest conquest of our time—the colonization of Mars.
Of the thousands who clamored for a one-way ticket to the Red Planet, only a fraction remain in the running. Now they're converging on Hawaii's Big Island for a nail-biting competition to be the first to launch.
Mila Todorov has prepared for this moment throughout her young life. With her revolutionary propulsion design already built into the Mars vessel, she likes her chances—especially if she can team with her all-time idol, Major Jancey Beaumont, a former NASA astronaut whose last space mission made her a worldwide hero.
Jancey is desperate for a return to space, but the margin for error is razor-thin. Can she afford to gamble her destiny on a woman so distracting as Mila?
Of the thousands who clamored for a one-way ticket to the Red Planet, only a fraction remain in the running. Now they're converging on Hawaii's Big Island for a nail-biting competition to be the first to launch.
Mila Todorov has prepared for this moment throughout her young life. With her revolutionary propulsion design already built into the Mars vessel, she likes her chances—especially if she can team with her all-time idol, Major Jancey Beaumont, a former NASA astronaut whose last space mission made her a worldwide hero.
Jancey is desperate for a return to space, but the margin for error is razor-thin. Can she afford to gamble her destiny on a woman so distracting as Mila?
264 pages, Paperback
First published May 26, 2015
7 people are currently reading
374 people want to read
About the author
K.G. MacGregor
39 books332 followersA former teacher and market research consultant, KG MacGregor holds a PhD in journalism and mass communication. Infatuation with Xena: Warrior Princess fanfiction prompted her to try her own hand at storytelling in 2002. In 2005, she signed with Bella Books, which published the Goldie Award finalist Just This Once. Her sixth Bella novel, Out of Love, won the 2007 Lambda Literary Award for Women's Romance, and the 2008 Goldie Award in Lesbian Romance. In 2009, she picked up Goldies for Without Warning (Contemporary Romance) and Secrets So Deep (Romantic Suspense).
Other honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal Academy of Bards, the Alice B. Readers Appreciation Medal, and several Readers Choice Awards. An avid supporter of queer literature, KG currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Lambda Literary Foundation.
KG MacGregor divides her time between her homes in Miami and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. When she isn't writing, she's either on a hiking trail, a golf course, or if she's really lucky, a cruise ship.
Other honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Royal Academy of Bards, the Alice B. Readers Appreciation Medal, and several Readers Choice Awards. An avid supporter of queer literature, KG currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Lambda Literary Foundation.
KG MacGregor divides her time between her homes in Miami and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. When she isn't writing, she's either on a hiking trail, a golf course, or if she's really lucky, a cruise ship.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 24, 2015
Mila Todorov, a twenty-seven year old engineer has high hopes of being selected to be on the ship which will begin colonizing the planet Mars. At thirteen she idolized a young astronaut, Jancey Beaumont watching on TV as she circled the earth for over a year on a solo mission aboard her spacecraft. Mila vowed to one day be an astronaut just like her hero.
Now forty-three, Jancey is hoping she will be chosen for the Tenacity Project. These two women along with one hundred and fifty other astronauts, scientists and engineers are vying for the two coveted positions as the first settlers on the red planet. All prospective candidates have arrived in Hawaii to begin the testing which will help the selection committee choose who has the right stuff for this mission.
I really enjoyed reading T Minus Two.
I love when an author does her research. I have no idea how much interplanetary travel jargon was real or imagined but it all sounded believable enough to this reader. Things like propulsion systems, sustainable sources for food,water and the shelters needed to populate a planet added to the story and never felt like an info dump.
I loved how the determined and often over confident Mila gets flustered in the presence of her idol, Jancey. I also enjoyed watching her attempts to break down the barriers Beaumont had erected over years of failed relationships.
The pace of the book was excellent and the little bit of intrigue during the competition added enough tension to keep the reader guessing while we watched the romance between Mila and Jancey develop.
My inner geek enjoyed the science while my heart was busy rooting for the two women to achieve their goals. A pleasure to read.
June 25, 2015
KG Macgregor is on a roll. The last four releases of hers I've read have all been very entertaining and surprisingly memorable. There is a reason I don't like to read vanilla romances. It's that they tend to be quite forgettable and the characters and plots run into one another after a while. This author has managed to avoid that trap by surrounding her romances with a wider issue or plot that is reasonably well-researched, relatively interesting and seamlessly integrated with the romance. Its a tried and tested formula, of course, but the characterizations are distinctive enough that they don't feel like rubber stamps or give you deja vu while reading (unlike, for example, the other leading romance writer who is also an institution ;) ).
Anyway, on to the book review. The plot is a little different this time. Somewhat futuristic. But not by much. It's not exactly sci-fi, so no worries for non-geek romance lovers. A private company is actively recruiting people for a one-way mission to Mars--in pairs of two per mission. Because of the long traveling time and ultra-compressed living quarters, the chosen pair have to be both competent, complementary and completely compatible. The competition is impossibly tough, so everyone is forced to be at the top of their game. As part of the selection process, the company has designed a reality-tv-like multi-stage contest testing every aspect of the contestants' skills and probability of success by subjecting them to all kinds of scenarios they may encounter up on Mars.
Mila, a young, ambitious and highly intelligent scientist is one of the candidates. She'd fallen hard for a female colleague of her mother almost 20 years her senior. But after years of trying, the woman just can't bring herself to be publicly seen with another woman. Mila hopes blasting off to Mars over a hundred million miles away is one good way to forget her barely requited love. But when she finds out her all-time crush and hero, astronaut Jancey Beaumont, is one of the candidates for the trip, she is at once disheartened at the formidable competition and exhilarated that she might actually get a chance to be paired with her. Unfortunately, Jancey has her own ambitions. Uniquely qualified because of her past performance and experience, Jancey can't jeopardize her chances by pairing with the totally unknown, and not to mention, highly distracting Mila.
The development of the romance and intimate scenes are as well done as can be expected of a book of this length and depth (read:short and not very deep, lol). Mila wears her heart on her sleeve, so we sort of get a running commentary on how she's feeling romantically, lol. Jancey is more mysterious and harder to fathom, hiding behind a cool, professional exterior. The whole book has a reality-tv vibe to it. We readers are the like the tv audience peering into the private lives of these would-be astronauts as they go about their daily sequestration.
Much of the book's page-turning appeal has to do with the contest itself--with just the right amount of detail without boring the intended audience, and the right amount of suspense to keep up the level of tension. The bit of drama near the end is needed to inject some surprise and angst into the whole proceedings. Though the way it was executed wasn't very logical or believable. Those are just my afterthoughts, though. I was too thoroughly engrossed in the resulting angst and drama to even care about the whys and wherefores. In other words, its okay. I forgive the author for that little ommission. I had a rollicking good time.
4.7 stars
Anyway, on to the book review. The plot is a little different this time. Somewhat futuristic. But not by much. It's not exactly sci-fi, so no worries for non-geek romance lovers. A private company is actively recruiting people for a one-way mission to Mars--in pairs of two per mission. Because of the long traveling time and ultra-compressed living quarters, the chosen pair have to be both competent, complementary and completely compatible. The competition is impossibly tough, so everyone is forced to be at the top of their game. As part of the selection process, the company has designed a reality-tv-like multi-stage contest testing every aspect of the contestants' skills and probability of success by subjecting them to all kinds of scenarios they may encounter up on Mars.
Mila, a young, ambitious and highly intelligent scientist is one of the candidates. She'd fallen hard for a female colleague of her mother almost 20 years her senior. But after years of trying, the woman just can't bring herself to be publicly seen with another woman. Mila hopes blasting off to Mars over a hundred million miles away is one good way to forget her barely requited love. But when she finds out her all-time crush and hero, astronaut Jancey Beaumont, is one of the candidates for the trip, she is at once disheartened at the formidable competition and exhilarated that she might actually get a chance to be paired with her. Unfortunately, Jancey has her own ambitions. Uniquely qualified because of her past performance and experience, Jancey can't jeopardize her chances by pairing with the totally unknown, and not to mention, highly distracting Mila.
The development of the romance and intimate scenes are as well done as can be expected of a book of this length and depth (read:short and not very deep, lol). Mila wears her heart on her sleeve, so we sort of get a running commentary on how she's feeling romantically, lol. Jancey is more mysterious and harder to fathom, hiding behind a cool, professional exterior. The whole book has a reality-tv vibe to it. We readers are the like the tv audience peering into the private lives of these would-be astronauts as they go about their daily sequestration.
Much of the book's page-turning appeal has to do with the contest itself--with just the right amount of detail without boring the intended audience, and the right amount of suspense to keep up the level of tension. The bit of drama near the end is needed to inject some surprise and angst into the whole proceedings. Though the way it was executed wasn't very logical or believable. Those are just my afterthoughts, though. I was too thoroughly engrossed in the resulting angst and drama to even care about the whys and wherefores. In other words, its okay. I forgive the author for that little ommission. I had a rollicking good time.
4.7 stars
July 8, 2017
What a wonderful gem of a book this was. While, this is only my fourth book read by MacGregor, all have been wonderful. To me, MacGregor's writing does for Bella, what Radclyffe does for Bold Strokes Books. Both authors deserve their place in lesfic fans hearts.
I honestly enjoyed every minute of this book. While it's not overly exciting, it's never boring. You are so drawn in, rooting for the two mains, hoping they will be Mars bound. And the romance was great. While very slow to start, it progressed at a more normal pace which made it more realistic. By the time the character get together, their intimate scenes are pretty steamy, since they had so much sexual tension built up. MacGregor sure knows how to write romance!
My only complaint is I wanted more. Another 200 pages or a second book about their Mars adventures would have been great. I would happily take another journey with these two characters.
I would recommend this to romance and or sci-fi fans. You do not have to like sci-fi, so don't let that scare you away.
I honestly enjoyed every minute of this book. While it's not overly exciting, it's never boring. You are so drawn in, rooting for the two mains, hoping they will be Mars bound. And the romance was great. While very slow to start, it progressed at a more normal pace which made it more realistic. By the time the character get together, their intimate scenes are pretty steamy, since they had so much sexual tension built up. MacGregor sure knows how to write romance!
My only complaint is I wanted more. Another 200 pages or a second book about their Mars adventures would have been great. I would happily take another journey with these two characters.
I would recommend this to romance and or sci-fi fans. You do not have to like sci-fi, so don't let that scare you away.
February 2, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this. I love the concept of what it would take to colonise another planet and overcome the complications of environment, personalities, politics and technology. I don't understand all the technology necessary but this was plausibly sciencey (enough for me anyway). Novels like Red Mars and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress might have an edge on the socio/political aspect as well as the science but they never have the lesbian romance. I'm partial to the f/f romance and to have it interwoven with sci-fi is a win for me.
October 19, 2015
This book was a wealth of information. KG MacGregor blew my mind with the details. The book was like nothing I had ever read before in lesbian romance genre. It was wonderful and refreshing.
The book starts introducing us to Mila Tordov. Mila is a 27 year old, super smart engineer/scientist that has her heart set on going to Mars. This is her life dream since she was a young girl. She is persistent and unflappable. If you look up the term dogged determination you would find a write up about Mila Tordov. She is a fascinating character, the author made her so believable, and so multi-dimensional. Nothing is cooler that smart woman with a ton a self confidence, and Mila has it in spades.
Our other female lead is Jancey Beaumont. Jancey is a former NASA astronaut, that basically did some pretty heroic stuff on a former space mission while she circled the Earth for a year. She is famous, and Mila's childhood hero. Jancey is 43 and she is prickly! She only wants one thing in life, a mission to Mars. I will say Jancey took quite some time to grow on me, way longer than Mila.
This book's awesomeness is based in the details. It is so detail oriented, a goof like me who avoids science at all costs, was mesmerized. I wanted to go to space (I actually think space sounds horrendous, but for the course of T-Minus Two I was into it). The processes that the Mars mission applicants go through, fascinating!
The only thing negative I can say about this book is the romance between the two leads fell short to me. I felt like it wasn't developed enough. I would have liked more dialogue that made me feel like the romance wasn't mostly just a one-sided crush on Mila's part.
T-Minus Two is a wonderful novel. KG MacGregor outdid herself.
The book starts introducing us to Mila Tordov. Mila is a 27 year old, super smart engineer/scientist that has her heart set on going to Mars. This is her life dream since she was a young girl. She is persistent and unflappable. If you look up the term dogged determination you would find a write up about Mila Tordov. She is a fascinating character, the author made her so believable, and so multi-dimensional. Nothing is cooler that smart woman with a ton a self confidence, and Mila has it in spades.
Our other female lead is Jancey Beaumont. Jancey is a former NASA astronaut, that basically did some pretty heroic stuff on a former space mission while she circled the Earth for a year. She is famous, and Mila's childhood hero. Jancey is 43 and she is prickly! She only wants one thing in life, a mission to Mars. I will say Jancey took quite some time to grow on me, way longer than Mila.
This book's awesomeness is based in the details. It is so detail oriented, a goof like me who avoids science at all costs, was mesmerized. I wanted to go to space (I actually think space sounds horrendous, but for the course of T-Minus Two I was into it). The processes that the Mars mission applicants go through, fascinating!
The only thing negative I can say about this book is the romance between the two leads fell short to me. I felt like it wasn't developed enough. I would have liked more dialogue that made me feel like the romance wasn't mostly just a one-sided crush on Mila's part.
T-Minus Two is a wonderful novel. KG MacGregor outdid herself.
September 13, 2015
Wow, what a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon!
I wonder what it must be like to have such passion about something, particularly your job, to want to pack up and leave everything behind - family, friends and life as you know it - to go and colonize another planet. That's what our leading ladies are vying for - the chance to be the first humans to call Mars 'home'.
I really enjoyed Mila and Jancey's story and I didn't realize how quickly I was flying through the pages until I'd reached 'the end'. Any book that draws me in so completely, and makes me lose track of time, deserves a 5 star rating.
I hope we get a sequel...
I wonder what it must be like to have such passion about something, particularly your job, to want to pack up and leave everything behind - family, friends and life as you know it - to go and colonize another planet. That's what our leading ladies are vying for - the chance to be the first humans to call Mars 'home'.
I really enjoyed Mila and Jancey's story and I didn't realize how quickly I was flying through the pages until I'd reached 'the end'. Any book that draws me in so completely, and makes me lose track of time, deserves a 5 star rating.
I hope we get a sequel...
December 23, 2015
Definitely not science fiction !!! I was Leary to read this because it sounded like science fiction. I'm glad I saw a posting from the author pointing out that it wasn't! It's a story of a group of people competing to be the first to go to Mars. It is set a little in the future, but no time travel or aliens! The interaction of the characters and the challenges they have to overcome to become a team worthy of going to Mars are well written. I was sucked in and could stop reading!
April 7, 2019
Intriguing read. Tenacity Project is an appropriate name because to be a part you have to be tenacious. Jancey Beaumont is a perfect candidate and example. Jancey is forty-three but still has the drive to be a part of the project. Mila Todorov, young but determined to be part of the mission with jancey. As the story unfolds, the reader is taken on a ride through space travel preparation, friendship, hardwork, relationship, sabotage, and various others encounters and issues.
December 26, 2015
Pretty solid story -- I liked the science aspects, I liked the characters, including some of the secondary ones, and through it was telegraphed way in advance that they were sabotaged, I enjoyed the "twist". What I didn't enjoy so much was the romance -- the inevitability aspects, the worship by Mila, the scene at the airport. I wish it had developed more as a traditional romance where they are both strangers who encounter each other and slowly build up to falling in love. Mila's worship approach to relationships seems neither healthy nor desirable. Luckily the romance takes a little bit of a back seat to the story which is pretty interesting.
August 14, 2016
It reminded me of my teenage years and the reason behind the choice of my career perhaps because the writer did a pretty good job in research including the locations of the space stations and the character personalities....
I can't really comment about the romance but in terms of subject research, flow, and having smart conversations that goes well with supporting & main characters (that geeks usually do yet high level for general audience), the writer did a pretty good job. It is as realistic as it can get. Romance is little mellow but that's usual for this genre.
I can't really comment about the romance but in terms of subject research, flow, and having smart conversations that goes well with supporting & main characters (that geeks usually do yet high level for general audience), the writer did a pretty good job. It is as realistic as it can get. Romance is little mellow but that's usual for this genre.
October 27, 2021
MacGregor has a good imagination to think up this storyline. I enjoyed it very much, really liked the training and testing both MCs went through.
December 22, 2016
As much as I wanted to enjoy a book about two female astronauts preparing for a mission to Mars, this was not to be. I couldn't really engage with the characters, and Mila's subversiveness bothered me a great deal.
December 28, 2015
I love this author, and at first glance had decided to pass on reading this book but Bella's Christmas book sale changed my mind. I am not a fan of most sci-fi type novels, and when reading the synopsis it sounded like that kind of book. Fortunately for me it was not, and it was a book I really enjoyed. I did not put it down once I started (ice storm helped) and read it quickly. For $6.99 it was a bargain and I recommend picking it up if you get the chance.
December 27, 2015
Great book! I love it, especially since the Mars journey is actually making progress in real life (go go Nasa, go go SpaceX, make it happen!), and to see a lesfic version of this as it is written here is even more enjoyable. Easy, fluffy and fun read with minimal angst, love it and wish there was more! :)
May 20, 2015
Detailed score: 2.5 rounded up to 3
I am very conscious, in writing this review, that I'm one of the first to post a review on this novel. So, it is with a heavy heart that I have to say that I was really disappointed by this book.
The first third of the novel rips along, introducing the Tenacity Project [wealthy private backers want to send two people to begin a colony on Mars. The premise of the book as a competition / test to discover the candidates best for the job] and the main protagonists:
Mila Torodov, 27, brilliant engineery person who built key bit of the Mars rocket but with no space experience. Has had crush on other protagonist since she was 13
Jancey Beaumont, 46 world famous astronaut & expert in building sustainable life in hostile environments famous for her daring, single handed rescue of 2 cosmonauts from their stricken vessel some years hence.
Grace (for Jancey) and Vio (for Mila) are introduced as their significant support people but these characters are pretty one dimensional (Grace less so than Vio) and really only serve to move the plot forward for the main protagonists.
The storytelling is split between the two leads - which worked well - each of the leads had a distinctive voice and it was clear who was speaking/thinking at all times (a trap where many less professionally edited lesfic novels fall down). Overall it was well edited and well paced will few dull moments. If anything, it's too short [more on this in a sec].
So for the first third of the novel I was buckling in for the ride (pun intended) and enjoyed the initial 'I'm green and in awe of you but also feisty and determined to win your respect' vs 'you have a lot to learn young whipper snapper. I may secretly think you're very attractive but theres NO WAY I'm going go there because you're too young and naiive for the likes of me PS I'm a bit insecure about how much older I am than you' interaction between the two leads.
So the novel was all set up - and I was hooked. Ready to sit back, relax and enjoy watching the two leads be put through their paces and be given the opportunity to prove themselves / grow as people / recognise that each other is their soul mate / have hot rocket sex / shove it to da man etc etc
And then...it all came back to earth with a bang.
The author introduces a ridiculous 'evil protagonist' type element to the novel. If this element had been done well then maybe, maybe I would have bought it. But it wasn't. And given this storyline was a key theme through the rest of the book, the fact that I didn't 'buy it' and, beyond that, found it outright unbelievable and frustrating really bought me out of the book and, quite frankly, was quite the downer. Instead of thinking 'Mila/Jancey look ouuut!!' I was thinking 'pfft. Like that would ever happen really. It was like a professional opera suddenly transformed into an amateur pantomime complete with 'look behind you' screams. It just didn't gel - in fact I'd go as far as to say it was insulting to the reader.
I may have been able to overlook this poorly-executed side-story if I had bought the way the romance played out...but I didn't.
Mila inconsistently vacillated between being capable and feisty to being annoyingly sycophantic towards Janey. One minute she was asserting herself as being just as capable as Janey - able to be equal in the relationship - to being ridiculously 'I will follow wherever you may go' like a brainless half-wit.
[I also didn't particularly like her that much -- I mean one of her interests was 'difficult to appreciate Bulgarian music' for heaven sake -- how is the reader meant to resonate with that?? Plus we don't really learn what makes her tick emotionally apart from space and her long standing Janey crush]
Janey on the other hand just came across as emotionally repressed and I didn't get enough of the emotional growth journey she needed to go to believe that she would actually let Mila in and fall for her -- let alone be happy to live with her on Mars for all eternity.
Because I didn't really like or believe in either of the leads, I found it difficult to buy into the supposed chemistry between the two. So when they finally got together it just left me cold.
Multiple opportunities to grow the romance were missed in favour of less interesting/necessary storylines.
It was almost like the book needed to be longer - it was so busy describing the Tenacity projects, and the tests that the characters were undergoing, plus laying clues for the sabotage plot, that it ran out of room to develop the romance...which is a bit of a problem for a lesbian romance novel. The three different storylines -- the romance, the evil/mystery sabotage plot and the wider excitement around the tenacity project and the upcoming trip -- never quite come come together and are never fully developed:
I was left feeling frustrated and short-changed --particularly, I think, because the book really had potential. So, yes. A reluctant 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 from me :(
I am very conscious, in writing this review, that I'm one of the first to post a review on this novel. So, it is with a heavy heart that I have to say that I was really disappointed by this book.
The first third of the novel rips along, introducing the Tenacity Project [wealthy private backers want to send two people to begin a colony on Mars. The premise of the book as a competition / test to discover the candidates best for the job] and the main protagonists:
Mila Torodov, 27, brilliant engineery person who built key bit of the Mars rocket but with no space experience. Has had crush on other protagonist since she was 13
Jancey Beaumont, 46 world famous astronaut & expert in building sustainable life in hostile environments famous for her daring, single handed rescue of 2 cosmonauts from their stricken vessel some years hence.
Grace (for Jancey) and Vio (for Mila) are introduced as their significant support people but these characters are pretty one dimensional (Grace less so than Vio) and really only serve to move the plot forward for the main protagonists.
The storytelling is split between the two leads - which worked well - each of the leads had a distinctive voice and it was clear who was speaking/thinking at all times (a trap where many less professionally edited lesfic novels fall down). Overall it was well edited and well paced will few dull moments. If anything, it's too short [more on this in a sec].
So for the first third of the novel I was buckling in for the ride (pun intended) and enjoyed the initial 'I'm green and in awe of you but also feisty and determined to win your respect' vs 'you have a lot to learn young whipper snapper. I may secretly think you're very attractive but theres NO WAY I'm going go there because you're too young and naiive for the likes of me PS I'm a bit insecure about how much older I am than you' interaction between the two leads.
So the novel was all set up - and I was hooked. Ready to sit back, relax and enjoy watching the two leads be put through their paces and be given the opportunity to prove themselves / grow as people / recognise that each other is their soul mate / have hot rocket sex / shove it to da man etc etc
And then...it all came back to earth with a bang.
The author introduces a ridiculous 'evil protagonist' type element to the novel. If this element had been done well then maybe, maybe I would have bought it. But it wasn't. And given this storyline was a key theme through the rest of the book, the fact that I didn't 'buy it' and, beyond that, found it outright unbelievable and frustrating really bought me out of the book and, quite frankly, was quite the downer. Instead of thinking 'Mila/Jancey look ouuut!!' I was thinking 'pfft. Like that would ever happen really. It was like a professional opera suddenly transformed into an amateur pantomime complete with 'look behind you' screams. It just didn't gel - in fact I'd go as far as to say it was insulting to the reader.
I may have been able to overlook this poorly-executed side-story if I had bought the way the romance played out...but I didn't.
Mila inconsistently vacillated between being capable and feisty to being annoyingly sycophantic towards Janey. One minute she was asserting herself as being just as capable as Janey - able to be equal in the relationship - to being ridiculously 'I will follow wherever you may go' like a brainless half-wit.
[I also didn't particularly like her that much -- I mean one of her interests was 'difficult to appreciate Bulgarian music' for heaven sake -- how is the reader meant to resonate with that?? Plus we don't really learn what makes her tick emotionally apart from space and her long standing Janey crush]
Janey on the other hand just came across as emotionally repressed and I didn't get enough of the emotional growth journey she needed to go to believe that she would actually let Mila in and fall for her -- let alone be happy to live with her on Mars for all eternity.
Because I didn't really like or believe in either of the leads, I found it difficult to buy into the supposed chemistry between the two. So when they finally got together it just left me cold.
Multiple opportunities to grow the romance were missed in favour of less interesting/necessary storylines.
It was almost like the book needed to be longer - it was so busy describing the Tenacity projects, and the tests that the characters were undergoing, plus laying clues for the sabotage plot, that it ran out of room to develop the romance...which is a bit of a problem for a lesbian romance novel. The three different storylines -- the romance, the evil/mystery sabotage plot and the wider excitement around the tenacity project and the upcoming trip -- never quite come come together and are never fully developed:
I was left feeling frustrated and short-changed --particularly, I think, because the book really had potential. So, yes. A reluctant 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 from me :(
October 17, 2018
I need a sequel for this!!!!
June 14, 2015
I actually enjoyed the book a lot even though I have no interest or a lot of knowledge at all with space travel. The book did a good job in explaining and helping me picture it. I always find KG Macgregor's style of writing easy to read, easy to picture and very quickly grasp my attention with the first two chapters. I enjoyed reading the relationship & partnership between Mila Todorov and Major Jancey Beaumont, however, since most of the book is dedicated to explaining the Tenacity Project and the test, we don't get a lot of background of the two characters. I like the age difference between the two and how they both know exactly what they want. I love how Mila worshiped Jancey, but never lose her focus or intelligent because of it. Overall, a really great read.
April 15, 2023
A well balanced book…drama, romance, sci-fi, passion, intrigue…it’s all here! T-Minus Two is an in-depth and well researched journey to Mars. Mila and Jancey are absolutely delightful, both brilliant, driven, and singularly focused. Until they meet each other. Loved it! A sequel would be grand.
July 10, 2017
My favorite K G MacGregor book.
July 13, 2017
Fun fast read. Predictable but that's ok.
December 6, 2018
This was such an entertaining, well-researched novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
February 7, 2024
I loved this so disproportionately much.
September 14, 2016
Neat science fiction story about a private company sending a colony to Mars. In waves. First with unmmaned rockets filled with things like rovers, then in two person one-way missions.
The book is mostly concerned with the selection process. And the competition to be one of the few chosen to go to Mars. Several characters pop up, but the two most important are the two who alternate telling the story. A 27 year-old woman from Bulgaria named Mila Todorov, and a 40-something woman from the US named Jancey Beaumont. Both of whom, naturally considering the nature of the competition, are super intelligent. Both, also, initially annoyed me when I meet them, but they grew on me.
This is one of those that I am not sure if I cared more about the science fiction story or about the romance. Also one of those books wherein the sex scenes had a purpose and reason for being included. I do not specifically recall, now, if I liked those specific scenes, but I do know why and appreciate why they were included.
In terms of science fiction - if you like reading science fiction, then I'd recommend this book. It may or may not have more sex and lesbianism than a reader might be used to, but that shouldn't keep them away. Granted, it's one of those near-future, earth bound science fiction stories (though with the ultimate mission of going and colonizing Mars), so if you don't like those kind, well . . ..
In terms of romance - well, if you are only reading for the romance, you might be vaguely bored. The two women whose point of view the book follows meet almost immediately, but the romance part doesn't start until much further into the book. I'm not giving anything away by pointing out that Jancey is the reason Mila has devoted her life to positioning herself to get into space, that's part of her personality, nor that Jancey herself is much more focused on getting back to space than any romance. Again, part of her personality the reader learns almost immediately.
In terms of story/plot - Good solid story. It was interesting following the women in the competition, as various tests came up, and they meet them. A logical progression. And seeds were successfully planted throughout the story for the "conflict point" that ultimately sprang up.
I'd recommend the book if you like science fiction (ground based, but looking to the stars), lesbian fiction, lesbian romance (a romance occurs, but it's more of a science fiction book than a romance book), or . . hmm, some combination of science fiction and lesbians.
The book is mostly concerned with the selection process. And the competition to be one of the few chosen to go to Mars. Several characters pop up, but the two most important are the two who alternate telling the story. A 27 year-old woman from Bulgaria named Mila Todorov, and a 40-something woman from the US named Jancey Beaumont. Both of whom, naturally considering the nature of the competition, are super intelligent. Both, also, initially annoyed me when I meet them, but they grew on me.
This is one of those that I am not sure if I cared more about the science fiction story or about the romance. Also one of those books wherein the sex scenes had a purpose and reason for being included. I do not specifically recall, now, if I liked those specific scenes, but I do know why and appreciate why they were included.
In terms of science fiction - if you like reading science fiction, then I'd recommend this book. It may or may not have more sex and lesbianism than a reader might be used to, but that shouldn't keep them away. Granted, it's one of those near-future, earth bound science fiction stories (though with the ultimate mission of going and colonizing Mars), so if you don't like those kind, well . . ..
In terms of romance - well, if you are only reading for the romance, you might be vaguely bored. The two women whose point of view the book follows meet almost immediately, but the romance part doesn't start until much further into the book. I'm not giving anything away by pointing out that Jancey is the reason Mila has devoted her life to positioning herself to get into space, that's part of her personality, nor that Jancey herself is much more focused on getting back to space than any romance. Again, part of her personality the reader learns almost immediately.
In terms of story/plot - Good solid story. It was interesting following the women in the competition, as various tests came up, and they meet them. A logical progression. And seeds were successfully planted throughout the story for the "conflict point" that ultimately sprang up.
I'd recommend the book if you like science fiction (ground based, but looking to the stars), lesbian fiction, lesbian romance (a romance occurs, but it's more of a science fiction book than a romance book), or . . hmm, some combination of science fiction and lesbians.
January 25, 2016
Loved it!
Having experienced at the age on 20 when Neil Armstrong did the famous walk on the moon, this was an exciting story. I still remember when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. The fact that her being a lesbian kept integral parts if her life secret.
I'm glad McGregor wrote this story. Her character development was so precise that I felt like I was there with the characters. Well done!!!
Having experienced at the age on 20 when Neil Armstrong did the famous walk on the moon, this was an exciting story. I still remember when Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. The fact that her being a lesbian kept integral parts if her life secret.
I'm glad McGregor wrote this story. Her character development was so precise that I felt like I was there with the characters. Well done!!!
July 19, 2015
Exciting read
Page turner. This book full of emotion was also educative. Two passionate women focused on their goal to go to Mars figure out that their best chance to be successful is to go together?
Page turner. This book full of emotion was also educative. Two passionate women focused on their goal to go to Mars figure out that their best chance to be successful is to go together?
April 5, 2016
Wow! Great story!! I loved everything about it and could not put it down. Classic romance with great characters and a very compelling story line. Not only a question of will the girl get the girl, but will both the 'girls' earn the career defining jobs they've been striving for.
July 5, 2015
Enjoyed this a whole lot. Fascinating setting and plot, fun characters, bit of intrigue. All very satisfying for a summer read in the park.
August 23, 2015
I think this is the best one (so far) that I've read from K.G MacGregor...
April 11, 2017
Perfectly corny. Loved every minute.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews