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The Bachelor Diaries #1
Bachelor on Mars
She's a mechanical engineer undercover as a contestant. He's a geologist trying to keep his research station afloat. Then comes the alien invasion...
Mechanical engineer Margaret Carson’s biggest dream is fulfilled when she gets to test her new rover on Mars, but of course there is a catch. She must fill in for a contestant on the reality TV show Mars Bachelor and get voted off before she can run her trials. But when she arrives on Mars, the owner of the research station, Jack Boyle, is attacked by an alien ship. She and Jack must combine forces to save the cast members and themselves. As the clock ticks down, will they survive? And if they do, will one of them give up their career for the other?
Mechanical engineer Margaret Carson’s biggest dream is fulfilled when she gets to test her new rover on Mars, but of course there is a catch. She must fill in for a contestant on the reality TV show Mars Bachelor and get voted off before she can run her trials. But when she arrives on Mars, the owner of the research station, Jack Boyle, is attacked by an alien ship. She and Jack must combine forces to save the cast members and themselves. As the clock ticks down, will they survive? And if they do, will one of them give up their career for the other?
179 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 28, 2021
30 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Wyndfield
32 books28 followersLeigh Wyndfield lives in rural Virginia with her fat cat named Ayra, two lovable rescue puppies, six chickens, and the best guy in the world. A city girl at heart, she’s embracing the mysteries of growing blueberries and waking up to bunnies running from foxes in her front yard. Traveling and working a day job round out her time – oh and running for exercise (a slow, painful process she’s been told is good for her, although that’s hard to believe since it never once has been fun). She writes romance fiction that is out of this world.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 3, 2022
1.5 stars. A good book, premise and characters when well done will have a reader suspend their disbelief and happily go on any ride the author wishes to take them on. No idea is too far fetched. No character too exotic.
This book had a lot of promise. The concept, at least in the blurb, sounded rather clever. But the application, that left a lot to be desired.
Other than the human race can now travel to Mars via shuttle in under 3 weeks, it doesn't seem like there has been one iota of change or improvement to society. The wrench is still the master tool of a mechanic. Women still wear fake eyelashes and lots of makeup to attract a man. And the Bachelor TV show has not changed a jot. Group dates. Rose ceremonies. Pash sessions. contestants seemingly whole hearted believing true love is on offer - every. single. contestant -
The only thing different is the location; Mars - and even that doesn't turn out all that interesting or special for the Bachelor or the contestants - or for that matter the author, who kind of gives up on the concept at the 50 % mark and never really returns to it. (so much fiun could have been had with this concept and choosing instead to go with the mystery raider element was just sad, and that fizzled as well when the author all but solved it off page and every one dismisses the HIGE discovery behind it rather casually and just goes on with their lives)
the romance never takes off, Margaret is hard to like. Boyle is even harder to like. Yet somehow the author insists upon some sort of weird attraction developing, and hot times ensue. Sorry, I needed connection points. And for Boyle to respect Margaret and her smarts - he says he does late in the book but its done so begrudgingly no one believes it.
no likeable characters - not a one. A wasted premise. A wasted red herring premise that goes no where. A lack lustre romance.
This book had a lot of promise. The concept, at least in the blurb, sounded rather clever. But the application, that left a lot to be desired.
Other than the human race can now travel to Mars via shuttle in under 3 weeks, it doesn't seem like there has been one iota of change or improvement to society. The wrench is still the master tool of a mechanic. Women still wear fake eyelashes and lots of makeup to attract a man. And the Bachelor TV show has not changed a jot. Group dates. Rose ceremonies. Pash sessions. contestants seemingly whole hearted believing true love is on offer - every. single. contestant -
The only thing different is the location; Mars - and even that doesn't turn out all that interesting or special for the Bachelor or the contestants - or for that matter the author, who kind of gives up on the concept at the 50 % mark and never really returns to it. (so much fiun could have been had with this concept and choosing instead to go with the mystery raider element was just sad, and that fizzled as well when the author all but solved it off page and every one dismisses the HIGE discovery behind it rather casually and just goes on with their lives)
the romance never takes off, Margaret is hard to like. Boyle is even harder to like. Yet somehow the author insists upon some sort of weird attraction developing, and hot times ensue. Sorry, I needed connection points. And for Boyle to respect Margaret and her smarts - he says he does late in the book but its done so begrudgingly no one believes it.
no likeable characters - not a one. A wasted premise. A wasted red herring premise that goes no where. A lack lustre romance.
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March 22, 2021🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/22/2021)! 🎁
April 29, 2021
What a hoot of a romance!
If you are expecting something from the Heat series from this book, put that thought away. Every book in the Heat series is exceptional and full of emotion (and sometimes angst). Leigh Wyndfield writes emotion like few others. And that’s why The Bachelor on Mars was such a surprise. I mean that in a very good way. It’s fun. It’s light. It’s still a great romance. I loved it!
Margaret Carson has a dream. It’s to test her Mars rover. On Mars. Her dream is so big, she is willing to do anything. Well, almost anything. She won’t give in to her brother’s suggestion that she pull his bacon out of the fire by filling in and pretending to be a contestant on his show, The Bachelor. Or will she? He promises she’ll not only have time to test her rover, but she’ll also meet Dr. Jack Boyle, the scientific genius she’s secretly harbored a crush for. Before she can say E=MC-squared, she’s on a ship to Mars. Needless to say, nothing is as she expected—including the crush. Can you say rude?? Add in a scientist gone mad and aliens (yes! On Mars!), and you have one very entertaining book! Recommended!!
If you are expecting something from the Heat series from this book, put that thought away. Every book in the Heat series is exceptional and full of emotion (and sometimes angst). Leigh Wyndfield writes emotion like few others. And that’s why The Bachelor on Mars was such a surprise. I mean that in a very good way. It’s fun. It’s light. It’s still a great romance. I loved it!
Margaret Carson has a dream. It’s to test her Mars rover. On Mars. Her dream is so big, she is willing to do anything. Well, almost anything. She won’t give in to her brother’s suggestion that she pull his bacon out of the fire by filling in and pretending to be a contestant on his show, The Bachelor. Or will she? He promises she’ll not only have time to test her rover, but she’ll also meet Dr. Jack Boyle, the scientific genius she’s secretly harbored a crush for. Before she can say E=MC-squared, she’s on a ship to Mars. Needless to say, nothing is as she expected—including the crush. Can you say rude?? Add in a scientist gone mad and aliens (yes! On Mars!), and you have one very entertaining book! Recommended!!
November 2, 2022
This was perfectly readable but it was one of those books that once you finished it discontentment quickly settled in and a heap of irksome factors nibbled away at me.
It was both a clever and incredibly lazy offering.
Putting the Bachelor TV series on Mars - clever. Failing to make any kinds of update to the format (which I assume is set some what in the future - so I would think after 50 or so seasons there might have been one or two changes) seemed incredibly lazy. Group dates? Rose ceremonies?
And using it as a premise to get Margaret to Mars was reasonably clever. But then failing to use that aspect in any way shape or form smacked of a lack of creativity. Seriously, how hard would it have been to have the bachelor fall ill and the H have to step up??? That would have been clever. Doubly so if Margaret had to pretend to be less smart for him. (Can't even remember his name - Boyle? he was that one dimensional)
Which brings me to the characters. There is not an unselfish two dimensional character present. The bachelor women's insistence that true love is on offer smacked of a naivety that I couldn't shake. At least one or more should have been hoping to break out as a reality TV star.
And none of their reactions to anything tracked as being... real, within the confines of the fantasy setup. Your rocket blows up. People are dead. Other than mentioning the name of one rather casually we never even find out the identity of the others.
And the storyline / plot - the russians, chinese or aliens being behind it??? Then when we discover the big reveal - which is kind of resolved off page and considered no big deal - but it will change the course of humanity, typical these characters, they kind of shrug it off and focus on saving their TV ratings.
The romance was set to hum-drum. There was little to no reason either of these two should be attracted to one another - and if anything the fact that their looks/his muscles are the reason they think they have an attraction peeved me. i wanted him to want her for her gradually emerging smarts. I wanted her to want him as he showed more than one grumpy layer (which he does eventually but really badly and begrudgingly)
I wanted so much more creativity to the plot, characters and this world - there was potential here, it just wasn't realised. The only thing really going for it in my books was that it was free and short, so Didn't have to spend ages with these self involved narcissists.
It was both a clever and incredibly lazy offering.
Putting the Bachelor TV series on Mars - clever. Failing to make any kinds of update to the format (which I assume is set some what in the future - so I would think after 50 or so seasons there might have been one or two changes) seemed incredibly lazy. Group dates? Rose ceremonies?
And using it as a premise to get Margaret to Mars was reasonably clever. But then failing to use that aspect in any way shape or form smacked of a lack of creativity. Seriously, how hard would it have been to have the bachelor fall ill and the H have to step up??? That would have been clever. Doubly so if Margaret had to pretend to be less smart for him. (Can't even remember his name - Boyle? he was that one dimensional)
Which brings me to the characters. There is not an unselfish two dimensional character present. The bachelor women's insistence that true love is on offer smacked of a naivety that I couldn't shake. At least one or more should have been hoping to break out as a reality TV star.
And none of their reactions to anything tracked as being... real, within the confines of the fantasy setup. Your rocket blows up. People are dead. Other than mentioning the name of one rather casually we never even find out the identity of the others.
And the storyline / plot - the russians, chinese or aliens being behind it??? Then when we discover the big reveal - which is kind of resolved off page and considered no big deal - but it will change the course of humanity, typical these characters, they kind of shrug it off and focus on saving their TV ratings.
The romance was set to hum-drum. There was little to no reason either of these two should be attracted to one another - and if anything the fact that their looks/his muscles are the reason they think they have an attraction peeved me. i wanted him to want her for her gradually emerging smarts. I wanted her to want him as he showed more than one grumpy layer (which he does eventually but really badly and begrudgingly)
I wanted so much more creativity to the plot, characters and this world - there was potential here, it just wasn't realised. The only thing really going for it in my books was that it was free and short, so Didn't have to spend ages with these self involved narcissists.
February 21, 2021
This was a lot of fun, for fans of the book The Martian and the tv show, The Bachelor. The engineer heroine agrees to be on a reality dating show on Mars, in exchange for getting to test her Mars Rover for free. Many unexpected space emergencies take place, keeping the pacing humming and the geologist/space station manager busy. The reality show atmosphere and scenes against the very real stakes of Mars made for a super fun story.
The main pair were well matched, personality wise, though there wasn't much for sexual tension and when they jumped into bed together, it felt a little too fast. But I still enjoyed the story very much and the climax suspense sequence was great!
The main pair were well matched, personality wise, though there wasn't much for sexual tension and when they jumped into bed together, it felt a little too fast. But I still enjoyed the story very much and the climax suspense sequence was great!
October 4, 2022
This was cute and light - light both in tone and on science. The romance isn't terrible, the two mains actually seem to be attracted to each other and to retain their capability for thought while they're hot in the pants-regions.
I just couldn't quite accept the Big Twist, somehow. It felt too much like Deus ex Machina.
I just couldn't quite accept the Big Twist, somehow. It felt too much like Deus ex Machina.
November 17, 2021
This was a fun sci fi adventure. I did enjoy reading about "Goldie" and the committed bachelor on Mars.
December 9, 2021
Not the best character development, but still an interesting premise.
September 25, 2022
very amusing
A very fun book, a really amusing mix of romance, reality tv and sci-fi - it made me laugh out loud in spots, and kept me smiling all the way through
A very fun book, a really amusing mix of romance, reality tv and sci-fi - it made me laugh out loud in spots, and kept me smiling all the way through
Read
October 17, 2022A quick, light read. I would love to see the Sandra Bullock film version...
December 11, 2022
DNF 1% NOt ThE POnYTAIl and FAkE GLASSES she Is PROlLY So UGGhLYY.
January 7, 2023
It was cute but I felt like even for sci-fi it requires a level of suspension of belief that I wasn’t comfortable with. I finished it but not planning on reading the other books in the series.
October 4, 2022
Not wholly about being on "the Bachelor" on Mars but more about characters on the sidelines, exploring Mars. I would have enjoyed more details about what happens to the "bad guy" in the end. Satisfying overall.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews