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Mars Adventure Romance #1
Mars Ho!
What would you do for a one-way trip to Mars?
Lori Ridgway entered the Mars Ho reality show for the chance to be one of the first corporate-sponsored colonists on Mars. But she didn’t anticipate the chaotic, meat-market atmosphere that has candidates competing on everything from flirting to life-and-death in the airlock.
She certainly didn’t expect Mark Lauren—handsome, intelligent, one of the strongest competitors, and an infuriating stickler for the rules.
As rivals and potential partners on Mars, can Mark and Lori pull together to survive the competition? Or will mistrust, manufactured drama, and an endless supply of unpalatable protein paste keep them apart?
Mars Ho! is the first book in the spicy M.A.R.S. sci-fi romance series.
Lori Ridgway entered the Mars Ho reality show for the chance to be one of the first corporate-sponsored colonists on Mars. But she didn’t anticipate the chaotic, meat-market atmosphere that has candidates competing on everything from flirting to life-and-death in the airlock.
She certainly didn’t expect Mark Lauren—handsome, intelligent, one of the strongest competitors, and an infuriating stickler for the rules.
As rivals and potential partners on Mars, can Mark and Lori pull together to survive the competition? Or will mistrust, manufactured drama, and an endless supply of unpalatable protein paste keep them apart?
Mars Ho! is the first book in the spicy M.A.R.S. sci-fi romance series.
- GenresScience Fiction
298 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2017
8 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Willis
14 books48 followersJennifer Willis loves tales of magickal mayhem, unlikely adventure, and playful intrigue.
She is the author of that Haunted Coast paranormal cozy mystery series, the Norse-themed Rune Witch urban fantasy series, and the MARS science fiction romance books. Her “Why We Look Up” column for Sky & Telescope launched in October 2021. She is also the writer behind the (sadly discontinued) Northwest Love Stories feature in The Oregonian and has a byline in the British Fantasy Award-winning Women Destroy Science Fiction from Lightspeed, named one of NPR’s best books in 2014.
An amateur backyard astronomer and avid collector of backpacks, she lives in Oregon with her dude, a giant dog, and a cranky cat.
For more information: Jennifer-Willis.com
She is the author of that Haunted Coast paranormal cozy mystery series, the Norse-themed Rune Witch urban fantasy series, and the MARS science fiction romance books. Her “Why We Look Up” column for Sky & Telescope launched in October 2021. She is also the writer behind the (sadly discontinued) Northwest Love Stories feature in The Oregonian and has a byline in the British Fantasy Award-winning Women Destroy Science Fiction from Lightspeed, named one of NPR’s best books in 2014.
An amateur backyard astronomer and avid collector of backpacks, she lives in Oregon with her dude, a giant dog, and a cranky cat.
For more information: Jennifer-Willis.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 29, 2019
Mars Ho! is the latest reality tv series, pitting 30-some carefully chosen contestants against each other for 8 coveted spots to the the first colonists on Mars -- all sponsored by leading marketing brands. The story is slightly campy, a little spicy, and all too possible in this day and age of insanity for television ratings. It still makes a fun book, and I was entertained. Kudos to the author!
June 4, 2017
I enjoyed reading this unusual science fiction romance, based around the idea of a reality show to choose the best candidates to send candidates on a one-way trip to colonise Mars.
I liked the way Mark and Lori initially meet, and how they coped with all the challenges they faced, both created by the reality show and those that occurred to them personally.
I also liked the way all the characters were individuals, with their own quirks and habits, and that the story kept you going, wondering what was going to happen next.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this story, and would happily read more by this author, even though the copy I received was an ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review, so still contained various typos and errors. However, those did not detract too much from my enjoyment of the story.
Would I recommend this story to others? Yes, as long as you like science fiction and romance, I think you'd enjoy it. I know that I certainly did.
I liked the way Mark and Lori initially meet, and how they coped with all the challenges they faced, both created by the reality show and those that occurred to them personally.
I also liked the way all the characters were individuals, with their own quirks and habits, and that the story kept you going, wondering what was going to happen next.
All in all, I enjoyed reading this story, and would happily read more by this author, even though the copy I received was an ARC, in exchange for a fair and honest review, so still contained various typos and errors. However, those did not detract too much from my enjoyment of the story.
Would I recommend this story to others? Yes, as long as you like science fiction and romance, I think you'd enjoy it. I know that I certainly did.
July 9, 2017
Action. Adventure. Intrigue. Danger. Space. Romance. This book has it all and then some. Such an entertaining read from start to finish. Loved the variety of characters the author, Jennifer Willis, managed to put together for her starring cast, each with their own individuality and strengths and weaknesses. This is a voluntary review of an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.
September 24, 2017
Mars Ho! (Mars Adventure Romance Book 1)
Author: Jennifer Willis
Publisher: Amazon
Page count: 304pp
Release date: 1st June 2017
Reviewer: Theresa Derwin
The premise is simple; Big Brother for a Mars Mission.
Applying to join the first manned colony to Mars there are over twenty finalists who make it into a fake Mars biodome in Arizona, which doubles as the Martian land for the contestants.
Amongst the group who move into the "house" are Lori, who has dreamed of going into space, and Mars, since childhood, Mark, apparently aloof but handsome USA version of a Bear Grylls, the annoying already married couple, the Blocks and April, who is pretty much a genius but hides a secret that may get her kicked out from the competition.
Make no bones about it, this is SF Romance, and I picked it up for fun. But what I grew to really enjoy about is the intentional critique of diversity issues (straight binary (male or female) heterosexuals only allowed) who are predominantly white USA residents. But behind this facade for starters, is a person who is asexual. Yet the idea behind the programme is to populate Mars.
April, the genius, had created a matching database to tell her who to flirt with in order to make the journey to Mars. Only 8 finalists will make it. The double entendre of Mars Ho - as in Wayward Ho and 'Ho' I suppose an American term for 'tart' is again intentionally used to parody the plethora of reality shows. The 'host' Gary, is typical of the smiling white-toothed, tanned TV stud, the coffee is sponsored by particular companies, as are most of the products used by the group, in order to finance the mission, and amidst the romance, there's actually some really clever SF Parody and comedy.
Now, I'm no scientist, but for me, the technical aspects felt possible, such as the 3D food printer in which ingredients are added to make somewhat edible gloop, and the atmospheric stuff and science relative to Mars also felt plausible for the lay-person reader.
Lots of hiccups and accidents occur through the trials, some of them the kind of evil actions you would expect on TV executives desperate to get ratings. But these incidents or technical failures allow for a good dose of human drama.
One line that stood out for me, perhaps it's a quote, was "life lived beyond fear is a marvelous thing,” and that seems to be at the heart of the book in respect of love and missions to Mars.
Jennifer Willis' writing style is effectively emotional without turning it into mush, the parody elements were funny and the relationships believable.
Overall, 'Mars Ho' was an unexpected gem, and I'm definitely checking out more of her work, considering she has appeared in the 'Women Destroy Science Fiction' issue of Lightspeed, a magazine most SF Fans should be able to recognise as high quality.
August 11, 2017
Maybe 2.4 Goodreads, 2.9 Amazon. Too much juvenile behavior & thoughts for my taste
I found the concept of Mars-colonist finalists being chosen during an immersive, cut-off-from-the-world simulation an original premise for a story, and corporate sponsorship turning it into a drama-fied, brand-name-plastered reality show all too plausible. However, I found too many of the situations and characters (including half the time the leads) annoying for me to really enjoy it. I should have known: the only reality show I have any interest in watching is FaceOff, sometimes. There was much too much focus on high-school-type gossip, relationship angst and game-playing, and the distraction they cause — which could be disastrous in a true extraplanetary operation.
Not knowing which of the dangers were real, rather than staged, wound up (given my low level of caring about the participants) making me tend to dismiss most of them with an, "It's probably just another faked test scenario." And there were some bits I didn't understand, like why they were not supposed to discuss their individual skills and expertises with each other (though that's inconsistently maintained, with no apparent consequences). Since we only had their PoVs (limited third-person, split between the H & h), their ignorance of how/why the competitors were chosen becomes ours, which was frustrating. Even though at least a couple of the most irritating were eliminated early, I don't really feel that this bunch is Earth's best shot at colonizing a new planet.
Why was Lori given
Also, the "Mystery Couple"'s amorous activities repeatedly heard through the habitat's vents were dubious: why no words/identifiable voices before, during, or after, just the deed itself, if that's the way the acoustics work from their hideaway — and wouldn't they have found a different spot after hearing talk in the aftermath of the first time?
I don't think I'll continue with this series (even though they're actually on the way to Mars now), and probably not with this author, either. It wasn't terribly written, and there were hardly any errors (I only caught two missing two-letter prepositions, "make due" instead of "make do", and one should-be-parallel sentence construction that isn't), but there was just nothing special for me. Sorry, Ms. Willis.
ETA, re. "they're on the way to Mars now": I read the excerpt of book 2 in the back (it ends at 92%) after originally posting this review, and it's all about Hannah, so although it sounds like she will be in space, it won't be following the first colonists as I had expected.
I found the concept of Mars-colonist finalists being chosen during an immersive, cut-off-from-the-world simulation an original premise for a story, and corporate sponsorship turning it into a drama-fied, brand-name-plastered reality show all too plausible. However, I found too many of the situations and characters (including half the time the leads) annoying for me to really enjoy it. I should have known: the only reality show I have any interest in watching is FaceOff, sometimes. There was much too much focus on high-school-type gossip, relationship angst and game-playing, and the distraction they cause — which could be disastrous in a true extraplanetary operation.
Not knowing which of the dangers were real, rather than staged, wound up (given my low level of caring about the participants) making me tend to dismiss most of them with an, "It's probably just another faked test scenario." And there were some bits I didn't understand, like why they were not supposed to discuss their individual skills and expertises with each other (though that's inconsistently maintained, with no apparent consequences). Since we only had their PoVs (limited third-person, split between the H & h), their ignorance of how/why the competitors were chosen becomes ours, which was frustrating. Even though at least a couple of the most irritating were eliminated early, I don't really feel that this bunch is Earth's best shot at colonizing a new planet.
Why was Lori given
Also, the "Mystery Couple"'s amorous activities repeatedly heard through the habitat's vents were dubious: why no words/identifiable voices before, during, or after, just the deed itself, if that's the way the acoustics work from their hideaway — and wouldn't they have found a different spot after hearing talk in the aftermath of the first time?
I don't think I'll continue with this series (even though they're actually on the way to Mars now), and probably not with this author, either. It wasn't terribly written, and there were hardly any errors (I only caught two missing two-letter prepositions, "make due" instead of "make do", and one should-be-parallel sentence construction that isn't), but there was just nothing special for me. Sorry, Ms. Willis.
ETA, re. "they're on the way to Mars now": I read the excerpt of book 2 in the back (it ends at 92%) after originally posting this review, and it's all about Hannah, so although it sounds like she will be in space, it won't be following the first colonists as I had expected.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews