I received a copy of this sneak peek from Trapeze Books through Netgalley. This is my honest review. 

I'm back to being me again and didn't read the synopsis before starting this sneak peek, and based on the title, I was expecting a book, probably romance, that involved phone calls between a soldier (Major Tom) and likely his significant other, the two of them separated by an ocean because of a deployment. That's not what this book is about at all. No, this book is about a man named Tom Major (who is also a Major like the military rank now I think), on a one-way trip to Mars to set it up for future settlement (it seems). 

Because this is a sneak peek, I only got a small taste of each of the main characters personalities. This story seems to be told from the perspectives of two characters, Major Tom and Gladys, an elderly woman in England who seems to suffer from Alzheimer's from the brief glimpse I got into her life. At first I was not sure how the two perspectives were connected aside from the fact that they're both British, but I've since come to the conclusion that they spend a lot of time talking on the phone during Tom's trip to Mars. 

I noticed that another reviewer said this book was "on par with A Man Called Ove" and while I cannot say for sure that that is an accurate assessment of the book as a whole, Tom definitely has some very Ove-like qualities to his personality, so I am inclined to believe them. I can definitely see how this story may play out in a somewhat similar fashion to A Man Called Ove as well. 

There was one line early on that made me giggle. There's a bit where Tom mentions that his training manuals indicate that his job on Mars will involve survival and a lot of potato farming, which I feel is a pretty clear reference to The Martian by Andy Weir. That made me wonder if the "training manual" in question is actually a copy of The Martian. From what I can gather about Tom's personality, that seems plausible. 

So would I buy this book? Yeah, probably. Although I'm not in a big hurry to continue reading it, so I'd be inclined to wait for a sale myself.

This was a sampler and I would like the read the full book.  The sampler caught my attention and I enjoyed reading it.

I actually really enjoyed the first three chapters of this novel. So much so that I will definitely be purchasing the book in its entirety so I can continue to read about Tom and about Gladys and discover how these two characters and their stories become interlaced together. Both characters' stories felt really sad for different reasons and I can only hope that somehow they manage to help each other out later in the novel.. I can't wait to read the remainder of this novel. A beautifully descriptive and well written three chapters.

I only read a sampler of this but enjoyed what I read and have now purchased the book so that I can read it and give it a proper review

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the sample of Calling Major Tom. It piqued my interest and I will be excited to see what the outcome will be. I can see that Gladys will provide lots of humor in this story.

Overall, an unreserved five star laugh out loud romp.

A brilliant start to the book with this sampler. I was instantly hooked. Different characters with interesting stories who are somehow intertwined. Really wanted to read more. A recommended read.

Excellent, quirky, and so so fun. What a great sampler. I look forward to reading the full book.

When one first meets Thomas he is viewed as a grumpy old man.  If one looked in a dictionary for the definition of curmudgeon, his name would be there. He is quite content with his own company - or at least he thinks so until new people enter his life.  Hold on to your hat, because life is going to change for Major Tom!  You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll regret reaching the end.

The sample introduces a book which is amusing and a little sad and extremely warmly written. Excited to read more!

Lovely tone, engaging characters, funny but flawed. Had tones of 'The Rosie Project' but totally new at the same time.

Great sample!  Can't wait to read the rest of it. :-)

Delighted to have have the opportunity to read this short sampler. And yet it's almost TOO short to entice me in any real capacity making it difficult to feel any connection to the characters. 

Although I could possibly see the cantankerous spaceman's role developing into something quite amusing, I really can't imagine anyone getting *that* swearily offensive to a twelve year old girl asking a perfectly innocent question about his momentous journey to Mars.

While a part of me was eager to learn what has made him so socially irritable and volunteer for what could theoretically be a one way trip, the remainder was not sufficiently moved by his actions to compel me to discover more. 

I've rated this 3 out of 5 for originality as the theme showed potential, even though it lacked the opportunity to shine. I believe this to due to the brevity of the sampler rather than the story itself, which from the summary sounded like something that would be right up my street.