this book was much better than i expected. i first read when it was self published and i enjoyed it way more this time round. the romance was just *chefs kiss
i honestly can’t wait to read more of the authors work tbh, as i found the writing style to be lovely

2.25/5 stars! This book is bland soup. You know when you're sick and all you want is a big bowl of chicken noodle goodness, with thick chunks of chicken and spices with that overpowering aroma of yumminess!?! And then your delivery of Campell's chicken noodle spice-less nothing arrives ... that is how it felt reading this book. It's ok. It will work in a sinch, but there's nothing that sets it apart and makes it special.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

2⭑

- grumpy x sunshine
- workplace romance
- motorsport romance
- third person
- dual POV

Bloodstream is about Faith, a motorsport social media influencer who is hired by one of the biggest racing teams to help manage their own social media accounts. There she meets grumpy driver, Julian, who appears a bit distant to begin with but as it’s Faith’s job to capture behind the scenes moments of Julian and the other drivers, she slowly starts to get to know him better.

Let’s start with what I did like about this book:

I really enjoyed the motorsport aspect of the story and was a fan of the social media storyline given that I too, tend to stalk motoracing Instagram and tiktok accounts.

I really loved the found family that the drivers and some of the staff have together. There were some lovely group scenes where you can tell that they all love and respect each other and it created a wonderful friend group.

On to what I didn’t enjoy about the book:

I wasn’t a huge fan of the way this book was written in terms of when the author changed the characters POV - it would literally go from Faith’s POV straight into Julian’s in the next paragraph with no clear chapter break indicating a change in point of view. It started to get a bit confusing because the book is also written in third person (which I don’t mind) but that meant you started reading a sentence and didn’t know straight away that it was in a different person’s perspective.

I also didn’t like that there was instant lust from day one. I prefer a slowwww build up but the two main characters were acknowledging in their inner monologues how much they like each other after only knowing each other for a few days.

I do tend to be quite picky when it comes to the speed of relationship developments in romance books so my dislike about this part, is very much a me thing.

Lastly, the mmc has a bit of a secret that doesn’t get shared until closer to the end and I just thought the secret was kinda random and plucked out of thin air. There were never any small hints while in his POV and I think there were plenty of times that there could have been some small foreshadow moments to make the secret seem more believable to the reader once it’s revealed.

Thank you NetGalley and Michael Joseph Penguin for sending me an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Bloodstream by Emilee Carter ARC review

5/5 ⭐️

This book!!!! I loved this book with the females working in motorsports element. Faith was a great FMC I really enjoyed reading her story a seeing her confidence within herself grow throughout the book.
I loved Julien as an MMC even if I did want to tell him to cop on and stop being such a fool at times. I could tell what Julien’s past was from very early on in the book but that didn’t ruin or take away from the storyline.
Bea was a pain in the ass for the first half of the book but I’m glad she was able to redeem herself in the second half.
For a debut novel from this author this was brilliant. I look forward to seeing what comes next from this author and will defiantly be on the lookout. I wouldn’t have any problem if she decides to continue with this universe and make it a series.

Read this if you like:
- motorsport romance
- Grumpy x sunshine
- Found family
- Workplace romance
- World travel
- Open door spicy scenes

This book is available on amazon and in the works for just £5/€7.50. Run don’t walk to get your copy!

The dedication is lovely: “For anyone who go has never really felt like they belong. You’ll find your place.”

It’s a fictional book based on a motorsport where the team drivers share driving the same car, which was an interesting premise. I think fans of f1 may enjoy the motorsport aspect of the book.

As Faith is recruited for head of social media for a revamp, there was a lot of focus on this. I enjoyed the behind the scenes personal level that. It allowed me to feel like I was in the team.

I did enjoy the found family trope in this book. But it did all happen so quickly!

I liked the discussions of females in motorsports and addressing the lack of representation in the teams.

Sadly a few downfalls for me:
No discussion of safe sex. Big no no! And I felt the spice was slightly rushed.
Third person is never my favourite but switching to points of voice in third person mid page was slightly confusing.
Lots of genZ references!
I kind of predicted Julien’s hidden secret but it was the thing that kept me reading. I wanted to find out what it was.

I haven’t fully written this author off though as it’s a debut novel and there potential in the other characters with some further development 😌

✨My Thoughts✨

Viral motorsport podcaster Faith has got her dream job as the social media manager for an elite motorsport team, it’s her big break but can she handle it ?.

I just adored that motorsport had been Faiths lifeline when she was growing up and her only source of joy, now she’s finally hit jackpot and living the life of her dreams and “found her true family”.

It was a great read and the romance element was lit but maybe wanted a little more spice but that’s just my personal tastes.

Oh and I need to read more motorsport books asap!.

Happy Release Date!!

This book was good. There was a few plot twists that I didn’t see coming which was fun, but the trope of the plot twist just wasn’t for me! The characters were written well, I really felt connected to them all and liked everyone’s personalities. I wanted a little bit more action, and perhaps a few more conclusions, but overall not bad... I thought that it was a little slow to begin with, but it does get better and picks up the face to be a really enjoyable read!

With thanks to Penguin Random House & Netgalley for the ARC

This was interesting, engaging and so hot. But, read at your own peril because stories like these might ignite a real-life love for F1 car races or maybe just for their drivers?

2.5 stars. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the e-arc.

I read the indie version of this book and I can honestly say I feel like the author has been done a bit dirty here. I didn’t understand what sport the indie version was about and I would still rate it higher.

Let’s start with what I enjoyed:
- it’s ambiguous enough to pass as any motorsport, so it will work for fans of f1. This is about endurance racing and it’s explained and talked about a little, but I enjoyed that it could honestly be moulded into any sort of motorsport that you enjoy.
- the found family. I love all the other characters so much. Some of the character arcs are a little rushed but I can honestly say I love all of them, and I am DESPERATE for a LucieBrett book.
- the vibes. Just so good. Imagining being in faiths shoes is SO fun. This really is a book for the fans who want nothing more than a behind the scenes experience with their fav drivers. Think Lissie Macintosh-core.
- the work focus. I feel like it would’ve been really easy for the job to be put on the back burner but the focus was on the work a lot of the time - which again was SO fun.

Now for what didn’t work for me:
- some of the writing. This book felt like Emilie - as a woman - had written it, but that it had been edited by a man. This wasn’t all the time, but was a vibe I kept getting every so often.
- no safe sex. During the two sex scenes in this book there is absolutely no discussion of protection or birth control before they have sex. They’re just straight up raw dogging. It is SO easy to add that dialogue in. the spice was not written well either.
- POV. It was 3rd person but mid chapter wouldn’t have a page break, and would just skip to following the other MC.
- too many Gen Z references. The boss of the entire racing company hires her to do social media and yet calls zoom calls “zoomies” and tiktok “tickytock”. Be so for real.
- the way she gets the job. She just gets a call offering her a job despite not having applied there, and the company not having any vacancies. This is like a managerial role too.
- inner monologue. Faith does this big long inner monologue about her mum and her childhood and then is like “oops I said all that out loud”. Silly. You’re a twenty something year old adult and that doesn’t happen.

I’m sad about this one because I feel like it could’ve been made into something fantastic. This really fell short for me. I will however absolutely read a LucieBrett book and actually I’d love a book about Bea, so I haven’t given up on this author by any means.

"Bloodstream" by Emilee Carter delivers a sizzling enemies-to-lovers racing romance with all the excitement of the track. Faith, the new social media manager for Revolution Racing, finds herself entangled with Julien Moretz, the World Champion with a fiercely guarded personal life. The chemistry between Faith and Julien is undeniable, making their journey through the racing season both thrilling and scandalous.

While the novel provides an enjoyable read, there's a sense that the plot construction could have offered more depth and complexity. The potential hinted at in the story and the striking cover design create anticipation for an even more engaging narrative. Despite this, fans of motorsport romances, especially those by Lauren Asher and Hannah Grace, will find "Bloodstream" a compelling addition to the genre.

2.75 ⭐️

I was excited to read this racing romance with a cover that gave me Hannah Grace vibes but for me it just fell flat.

I didn't feel the chemistry between Faith and Juliet nor did I buy the miraculous personality change of Bea.

I enjoyed the different locations and I haven't seen any other motorsport inspired books so it was nice change of theme but ultimately I was a bit bored by the end.

With thanks to Penguin Random House & Netgalley for the ARC

I really wanted to enjoy this book but unfortunately something didn't click with me. The premise of a racing romance with enemies to lovers sounds great and just what I'd like! But I didn't connect with the romance and main characters at all. I also didn't find it to be an enemies to lovers romance - there was little 'enemies' to it, it felt more insta love but with the mmc not excepting his feelings and being very up and down with them and how he was towards Faith.
I did enjoy the side characters and their banter though and thought the premise had promise. I wish I'd enjoyed the story more and been able to be invested in the romance.

This book was good. There was a few plot twists that I didn’t see coming which was fun, but the trope of the plot twist just wasn’t for me! The characters were written well, I really felt connected to them all and liked everyone’s personalities. I wanted a little bit more action, and perhaps a few more conclusions, but overall not bad!!

I was interested in this book, especially the F1 aspects as I believe there are not a lot of romances centered around this.
However, it wasn’t the most enjoyable book with the romance aspect often being confusing

I DNF This at 21%

I felt that the dialogue was stilted, emotion was non-existent, and the storyline felt unrealistic. Also, I couldn’t help but notice spelling mistakes and grammatical errors which dampened any enjoyment I could have had with this novel.

I was expecting to love this as the blurb had me really interested, unfortunately it just fell flat to me and i really disliked the characters.

3.5 stars -> 4

This was good, I liked the idea and it was the first racing romance I’ve read. Personally I actually enjoyed the progression until I realised I was 70% and nothing much had happened and the characters were still in the same position. I think this had the potential to be really good. I feel like a lot of the issues that arose could have been fixed simply with a bit more communication between everyone. I felt like the “plot twist” added at the 90% was just that, an extra add in. It felt a bit rushed and I don’t know how much it actually added to the story. I’m giving it 4 stars because I think some of the other reviews were EXTREMELY harsh and it’s poor etiquette to post 3 or below before publishing. Anyway. It was a good debut and the author has lots of potential, just needs a few tweaks! I received an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review 🩷

I liked the blurb and was hooked in by it. The book had a lot of promise and some really good elements to it. A slowish start but turned into a nice enough story. It has so much untapped potential and could be a really great book

It’s third person which I’m not a fan of but this was a good read really enjoyable the characters were great. Grumpy sunshine is always a fun trope one of my favourites

i am officially in my romance era <3 this story was absolutely perfect and so so entertaining. definitely grabbing a physical copy when it’s out <33