Ana is a 26-year-old biochemist whose mother has raised her to be part of a private corporation's mission to colonize Mars. She's been training for it since she was 13. Part of her training included building a self-sufficient farmhouse. The problem is she needs someone to take care of it when she's gone if she doesn't want it to fall into dilapidation. 

Jolie, a student at the local university, answers her ad for a roommate in order to cut down on living expenses, quit her job, and make more time for her art. The two are immediately attracted to one another, but Ana can't tell Jolie anything about the upcoming mission. All Jolie knows is that Ana will be going away and soon. Is the chance at love, even if it's short-lived, worth it?

This story is set in a realistic near future, one where Earth is becoming less and less habitable, forcing humanity to turn to the next closest planet. Esther threads in details about what this future is like--automatic cars, screens everywhere, bracelets that let people take video calls. It's nothing earthshattering in terms of technology, but these details are enjoyable glimpses of the world, and Esther utilizes them well. If anything, I wanted more from the science. Ana is a biochemist and in charge of the colony's food supply. She mentions experiments but doesn't go in depth. I thought this aspect could have been explored more, but I did like what was there.

I felt like the writing could've been polished a bit more. I liked Jolie and Ana, but I didn't get enough of a sense of who they were outside their relationship. That's partly a constraint of the plot because the characters need to get together if Ana's upcoming departure is going to have emotional heft. I would've liked to see more of Jolie's life at the university and more of Ana's life in her terrarium and with her experiments. I would've been more accepting of it, I think, if the dialogue had felt more natural. It's sometimes stilted, and characters jump from one subject to another without Esther giving us their inner thoughts to make that jump. It was off just enough that it sometimes popped me out of the story.

I'm okay with endings being neatly tied up. However, where this one lost me was in the conflict that separates Jolie and Ana. Without giving much away, if Ana's job was so important, I would think there would be measures in place for replacements, maybe even an entire B-crew. In this way, the conflict felt a little too contrived for me to be worried about the fate of their relationship. 

Overall, this was a relaxing, breezy read, perfect for huddling up indoors when it's cold outside. I'd recommend it to readers who are romance fans. 

Thanks to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books, and Jane C. Esther for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Going back and forth between two and three stars.

I always enjoy being dropped in a world and having to find my way in it without too much/any explanation.

However, this being a romance and thus the ending being clear from the start, the Mars mission was a bit of an unfortunate plot. I would have enjoyed this more in a non-romance setting.

This was a sweet romance set in a dystopian future. Unfortunately the way we are headed this could very well happen so it was a downer in the sense that I look forward to books as an escape from my ordinary life.
Our two heroines were wonderful and this book is a great start by the author. I particularly enjoyed the tech advancements and how interested they were in nature, taking pleasure in the simple beauty of it rather than immersing themselves behind screens and tech.

Definitely recommend.

I liked everything about this book except the timing. At certain points it felt a little drawn out and then towards the ending it got more and more rushed. I still can’t believe that the ending was the ending... first I thought there is a page missing but I guess the author just decided to end the story abruptly. I think that is my main and only complaint about this story. 

The characters were were great and the futuristic snippets were well placed and not overpowering. Ana is a great character - she is smarty, sexy and is insecure, which makes her even more likable. Jolie is a bit too cocky but she fits with Ana and I can see how they fall in love and there is definitely chemistry between them. 

I would definitely recommend this book!!!

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2.5 for me. 12 chapters of pain and anguish are not very entertaining. At all. (That translates to roughly 40% of the novel) I can take it in small doses but nearly half the book? Come on. 

What she did right. Well the characters are really well written. The futuristic (not really sci fi) snippets are carefully placed and don't overwhelm the book. The secondary characters, specifically Karlee I could have just done without. She's a... nevermind. Didn't like her at all. Nova was all right though. (Jolie's bff) On Ana's side, there's basically her crew and her mom. And who doesn't know a mom like that out there. Bleh.

The author has potential though. Maybe she can write something that sorts out conflict a little faster than HALF THE FRIGGING BOOK. But we'll see.

Reading this book, there were so many little details that jumped out at me. I often found myself thinking "I love that".

The novel is set in what seems to be the relatively near future, without specific dates. It involves, science, speculative thoughts, and an slightly positive view of a possible future. Although the world is continuing to fall apart, people are more open minded at least.

I enjoyed the novel, and the romance at its centre. However, there were a number of points where conflict seemed to be resolved too quickly - too simply. Within the space of a few pages turmoil turned to acceptance. This took away from the potency of the story as a whole. Never the less it was an enjoyable story to read. I look forward to more from this author.

3 3/4 Stars. This was a nice romantic read from a new author. I would put this more in the futuristic category, not sci-fi. I enjoyed this read and am impressed that it was a debut book. If Esther keeps writing like this, I think she’ll do pretty well.

In the year 2060, the Earth is dying and colonizing Mars is more important than ever. Biochemist Ana, had been training since she was a child to live in a colony on Mars. Now 25, Ana knows her turn will come very soon. Due to her scientific background and practicing for Mars, she has built an interesting house which produces its own fresh food. She puts an ad out for a roommate who will keep up the house when she is in training. When the beautiful Jolie answers her ad, Ana realizes things are about to become very complicated.

As I mentioned above, this is a futuristic romance, with romance being at the heart of this book. I know some people don’t love sci-fi, so don’t let that put you off since I wouldn’t really classify this as sci-fi anyway. This is a book that is for romance fans.

The main characters are both very likeable, especially Ana. We see a lot of docs and cops in lesfic, but not many scientists and I really enjoyed her character. The main characters are not perfect, they make mistakes, but I think that’s what makes them more connectable to us as readers.

The romance is where the book shines, which is good since it’s the main point of the book. While the characters got together pretty quickly, it worked for me. I absolutely believed their connection to each other. The chemistry is absolutely there and the sex scenes were good.

There were a few small issues I had with the book. There is one small storyline this is put into the book that never really amounts to anything. It was to add a little danger and I guess affect the timeline, but I think Esther should have just kept it out. It was not needed. Also, a few choices the characters made, I questioned, but I will leave this part out due to spoilers. Also, I would have loved the ending to be just a little longer. I wanted more. My point, just a few small changes and I would have rated this even higher. That’s why I think Esther could do well as an author. She is pretty good already and I think with more experience she will only keep improving.

This was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to romance fans. I will absolutely keep my eye out for Esther in the future.

I’ve seen the future, and the future is bright for this author.

Ana Mitchel, a biochemist, is part of a one-way mission to Mars. But when she asks Jolie, a local art student, to be her roommate and look after her home while she's away, the two are irresistibly drawn to one another. Will their love be enough, or will duty win out?

I’m not into full on science-fi, futuristic books, but this book although set in the future a little after 2060, it was done in a way that it was all the technology we know today, just fast forwarded a little bit. It meant that I could totally lose myself in the story and picture everything realistically. I loved it. Really well done, really brilliantly done. 

This romance had it all, it was so sweet and so darn sexy. My god love is the most powerful thing in the world. In the universe. Its books like these the bowl me over with the power that love and romance has to bring happiness into peoples lives. These are the books that make me want to write romance, and support lesfic, because it so good and can make people so happy to escape for a little while and see that happily ever after is possible. It was gorgeous, but it was also real. The women had flaws, they made mistakes along the way, but true love always finds a way.

Also the author used the gorgeous setting to her advantage, it was whimsical and romantic and had my clutching my heart and swooning. The river, the tree where Jolie drew, the apple orchard, the shooting stars. So gorgeous, totally worked. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for ladies in science, especially biochem and biomed. Surprisingly, it rarely happens in romance. It so refreshing and so inspiring to see myself in a book! 

I look forward to reading whatever comes next for this author! Happy writing!

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has been quite interesting, the plot is about a presumably near future, although it can't be determined exactly, but is not difficult to believe in the technological breakthroughs that appear, neither the environmental issues that our world seems to head. So within its certain realism, the story developes to show that feelings still will be  paramount then. And I like this optimistic view of our future.  In regard of the story itself, my only complain is its rushed ending. After so much analizing along the book about the situation in wich both main characters are into, the conclusion is so succint. But eventually the book has been enjoyable and easy to read. Pretty recomendable.