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

DNF -- the writing style just didn't work for me. I may try another book from this author in the future.

Offtrack is a fun F1 romance, perfect for fans of the sport!
As a light fan of F1, it was a fun read - with both main characters being drivers for F1, the majority of it took place during race weekends and I think it's best or more enjoyable if you know the rules/understand the sport.
I enjoyed seeing an Arab woman portrayed in a male dominated sport, and coming across those issues that are very prominent in F1 and male sports. I also appreciated that the FMC was an Arab woman as well and proud of it. I did find some parts of her first F1 championship a bit unbelievable but loved it as a woman and when reading a lighthearted romance.
Miguel was a fun MMC but I did find the romance a bit too insta love with little development/seeing them really falling for each other. I am also not a fan of unnecessary third act breakups and felt this one was quite unnecessary and I didn't enjoy the reasons for it.
Overall, an enjoyable, quick read, great for fans of F1.

DNF. The writing style seemed very weird to me. It was different to connect with the characters. It felt like so much was going on and I just couldn't get into it unfortunately

I was a huge fan! Racing books are having their moment and this one is definitely up to par with others. I think it hit the mark and I loved it.

The writing/editing/structure really hindered my ability to read this. I genuinely can’t stand when dialogue doesn’t have appropriate quotation marks. And there are tons of errors that I had to keep rereading sentences to figure out what is happening.

There are too many POVs, and the POVs themselves feel very stilted and odd. Like real people don’t talk or think like that.

I just couldn’t even get invested or follow the story because it needs a lot more editing and reworking. Sad because the premise seems exciting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

tropes:
- sports romance
- childhood friends
- he falls harder

As a huge formula one fan and a romance novel lover this book seemed like it was going to be right up my street, and there were lots of things that I did admire and appreciate within this novel.

I think the introduction of having a female in F1 is wonderful (it’s 2024 why is this not a thing) and other cultures were represented beautifully throughout the book. Despite there being a few discrepancies with the world of F1 it was overall a really interesting concept and different to any racing sports romance I had read before.

I noticed immediately when reading this book that its writing style was a “tell me, not show me” whereas I always prefer the opposite. Rather than showing me through the characters actions they would often explain each thing that was happening.

I did however, find quite a few issues whilst reading this book. Which did hinder my reading experience.

- the mmc was extremely unlike able and poorly developed in my opinion. The whole concept of his arranged marriage for 35% of the book was completely irrelevant and could be taking out and have more of a desired impact.
- Representing women and feminist movement is always important, but when the obligatory “I’m on my period” scene comes up, it’s just hyper predictable.
- This books pacing was a lot slower than I would like, there was unnecessarily long descriptions within the chapters that could have been cut down by quite a large chunk. This would have made the book flow better and make for a much more enjoyable reading experience.

Unfortunately, I tried. I LOVE the aspect of a F1 romance story, I can be a sucker for a good romance when it’s done right. Unfortunately this hit the mark for me. I struggled to get into the story and believe it.

2.75/5 - I enjoyed this book, characters were likeable and the setting of F1 was good but just found it a bit predictable and lacking in excitement.