Since I've been getting into F1 past two years and I enjoy sports romances a lot, I was super excited when I heard about this new release I was seeing all over my Instagram feed.

Although I didn't have much of expectations going into it, I can't help but feel a bit let down by it. My main problem with the story was so many inaccuracies with whole motor sport in general and situations which were literally impossible (having 10+ seconds pit stop and only losing 2 spots, just to name an example). I understand that someone who isn't directly involved with sport can't know every little detail of it, but some basic knowledge could've been easily researched, and those mistakes avoided,

Yes, this is romance story, and it isn't really that serious, but if you plan to focus more than 70% on the races, with little to no interaction between main characters than you need to do that right (at least to some extent),

I've seen a lot of criticism about romance essentially being backstory to chronicling race season and I have to agree, even though I didn't have a problem with it and enjoyed racing at the heart of it all. But if you're getting into this solely for romance, you might be left a bit disappointed and wanting more (even though it kind of pays out in the end, kind of).

The worse part of it all was <spoiler> that Diana even thought about giving up racing for a man, which was so completely out of characters and kind of insulting to whole racing and sportsmanship mentality (Miguel as well if I am not mistaken) and at one point she didn't want to overtake other drivers because they were nice???? I was baffled to say the least. </spoiler>

One thing I really "enjoyed" reading about (more like I was furious because it is very much a reality) was whole struggle of woman being a part of such a male dominated sport and space. I felt it opened a lot of topics for discussion and showed (I am sure just a part) of the deep problem of sexism in paddocks (and outside of them). On top of it all, Diana is POC, so the race plays an important role in making her life and job even harder and I think it was important that it was addressed as well (although only on surface level).

All in all, it was an okay read, filled with exhilarating racing (maybe inaccurate, but full of tension and speed) and behind the scenes of racing championship (definitely reminiscent of "Drive to Survive").

2.5/5 stars

First off, there are so many POVs in this book! It reminds me of Lauren Conrad’s LA Candy. The story is alone is cute, I really enjoyed the race parts the most.

I feel like this could have been so much more, female representation in a male dominated sport was so nice to see! However the chemistry between Diana and Miguel just fell really flat for me.

Whilst I finished this book I don't feel like it'll be something I reread again.

A must have for every romace and motorsports lover, especially who love strong female leads and something different.

DNF at 17%

I really wanted to love this as a book lover and F1 fan but it just fell flat. Made me cringe and I found it so hard to get into.

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a Nascar girly, not an F1 girly, but we don't have any novels that I can find for our little corner of motorsports, so I'll take what I can get.

That being said, I'm kinda conflicted about this one. As a romance novel, it didn't do it for me. There was no romantic chemistry between Diana and Miguel, so I feel like this would have worked a lot better just with them as friends. As a book about a female in a male dominated sport, I think it was a little closer to the mark. I think Patel managed to put to words what it's like to be 1) pandered to as a minority in anything 2) the way people will say everything little rude thing and paint it as "just the way things are" and 3) how even when the people around you know what's being said about you is wrong, they don't always speak up.

I was entertained by the story. But, like I said, I'm not super familiar with F1 so if there are any inconsistencies, I wouldn't know about them. I did feel like some of the F1 specific terms or ideas could maybe have been explained a little bit. Motorsports aren't new to me, but I did find it hard to follow since a lot of the turns of phrase used seemed to be ones that you gotta be immersed in the sport to know what's being talked about.

This F1 romance was filled with high paced races, competitive drivers and a kickass woman who defies every expectation.
The romance being an underlying subplot was something I appreciated in this story. The main focus was on the culture surrounding F1 and the race dynamics on and off the track. Misogyny and sexism in the sport and in the world were dealt with really well and shows the extent that women face in competitive sports like F1 and in Eastern cultures.
I enjoyed the ending of the book and the epilogue as it shows that women can have a career in sports but also be happy in their home lives.

However, I found it hard to want to continue reading the story in the first half of the book. It didn’t quite keep my attention but it did get a lot better. The writing style was a little hard to follow.
Apart of me also wishes that the romance was reserved more, that she didn’t consider giving up her dreams for someone else’s and it’s only because he allows her that she feels able to do so. The entire story was about a strong woman who breaks the glass ceiling in F1 and deals with every criticism and sexist notion and uses that to fuel her but her drive is tainted by a man.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

I am a huge F1 fan so when I requested this, I thought I am going to love this. But I think something just didn’t match. Possibly the writing style. However, I enjoyed the story a bit. I didn’t love it but it was an Okay book. Im sure that other people will enjoy it more. This one was just not for me I think. Diana Zahedan is the rookie F1 driver and she’s female. Miguel is at the top of his game and doesn’t really pay attention to rookies. Miguel begins to see Diana in a different light and the two get closer. They are cute characters and it was a cute relationship.

I was excited to read a romance novel that follows racing. But there were just some issues that made it hard for me to read. First, there were too many POV’s for me. Next, I just didn’t get the chemistry between the characters. It felt very artificial to me. And last, I just couldn’t get into the story. It was more a chore to read than enjoyment. Just not for me.

The writing style just wasn’t for me but the content of the book was entertaining. they had a fun dynamic bc of rivals and lovers and was good pacing, but it was just a bit hard to read sometimes with the writing style and the multiple povs.

This race driving and utterly compelling story is one of those books which grabs your attention from the very beginning. The author has really got into her characters minds and explored the different emotions.

This is very F1 heavy which I probably should have realised before reading. It’s not necessarily a bad thing but I was expecting it to be more romance based and unfortunately, I don’t know very much about F1. I’d say if you’re an F1 lover, then this is definitely for you.

I love a good enemies to lovers trope and it was interesting to see it in the world of racing with danger, fast pace and tension build up!

If you're fully into F1 racing then this book is great for you, however if you're coming here for the romance aspect of this book, you won't get much of it. This book seems to focus a lot on F1 and not much of relationship building. The writing wasn't to my taste. I do appreciate the realistic elements of what the main female, Diana, has to deal with in this male-dominated sport i.e sexist comments and being belittled. But because this was advertised as rivals-to-lovers and a romance, and I didn't get that, unfortunately this was a low rating for me.

Diana Zahrani is Formula One’s first female racing driver. All the other drivers are told to race carefully around her, and leave her to her real job: being a pretty face and good advertising for a hypermasculine sport. But Diana’s not worked this hard her whole life just to be a mascot.

World Championship favorite Miguel de la Fuente is not taking any rookie seriously, let alone a woman. With his first championship win looming, all he has to do is stay focused – and make sure Diana stays out of his way.

Unfortunately I had to DNF this book at 54%. I really wanted to like this book with it being so different from other F1 based romances, but for me there wasn't enough of a story or progression with these 2 characters. When being half way through the book I expected some sort of progression but they were still just friends. No sort of feelings had occurred up until this point other than caring for each other.
The book is also advertised as 'Enemies to lovers', I didn't really see any of this, 'Friends to lovers' would describe this book better!

I had high hopes for this book as I do love a good F1 romance & F1 but it just wasn’t for me.
I do have to applaud the author for using the correct terminology for the sport and it felt true to life how they described the races and environment.

This book was a solid 3 stars. I love f1 and I loved the idea of a book featuring Diana, a female f1 driver! I enjoyed the racing aspects overall and there were some pretty great moments throughout the novel between her and Miguel. I struggled with the buildup of the relationship though- The romance was just ok for me! Overall, I would love to continue to read any stories set in the world of f1 and Esha did a great job setting the stage!

The only thing I can say about this book is that it proves the author is a Charles Leclerc fan, not an F1 fan. We can tell the difference...

I struggled to finish this book and I will not be reading anything else by this author.

The characterization fell flat and the plot took way too long to get going and it simply felt like I was reading wannabe performative litfic rather than a romance novel.

DTS but book version and a dash of romance. It was a good one!!
The book follows two F1 drivers: Miguel and Diana and their journey falling in love with each other. All the other drivers were a blast to have around and I loved reading about their camaraderie.
I loved the premise of this book. Especially how Diana was able to break through all the barriers and become a very successful F1 driver. Though I do wish there was more romance in the romance. Some more stolen moments and cute gestures would have made my heart melt more. That’s me just being picky though, because Miguel was honestly dream man at times.
I enjoyed the book while it lasted and will be back for any future ones!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This one was so cute they had a sweet banter! I loved that it was a slow burn and show it progress over their hatred for each other