Rush by Saskia Roy is a deeply unsettling yet compelling exploration of a dark “romance” that delves into themes of manipulation, abuse, and emotional uncertainty. This is not an easy read by any means, and I strongly recommend checking the trigger warnings before diving in.

That being said, the writing itself is exceptional. I found Saskia Roy’s prose to be immersive and well-crafted, which made it easier to stay engaged with such a challenging story.

While some reviews criticize the book for its premise, I think that judgment misses the point. Yes, Nico is a deeply flawed and often despicable character, and his actions are undeniably reprehensible—but that’s precisely the book’s strength. It doesn’t shy away from portraying the darkest corners of human behavior and the internal battles that can lead us to make choices against our own best interests.

Admittedly, there were moments when the story pushed me to my emotional limits and made me uncomfortable, but I believe that’s what good literature should do. It should challenge you, make you ask questions, and evoke strong emotions.

Overall, Rush is a difficult but worthwhile read. The story and its execution left a lasting impression on me, and for that, I rated it 4 stars.

I'm really sorry to say that I didn't get on with this book at all, so it's a 2 stars from me. I won't be writing a longer review or posting it anywhere.

Honestly, I didn't hate this!
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley earlier this year after reading the description where it is described as NOT a romance, but a heady mix of desire and obsession. That sounded fun and toxic - a weird combination, but we all know we love that in a book! I also loved that it was set in a world I knew nothing about - Formula 1 racing. I have this strange thing where I love to read about worlds that are so completely different from my own, but are still real - not like fantasy (although I do currently love that!), but like video games (like [book:Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow|58784475]) and cave diving (like [book:Windwalker|20519436]).
I didn't pick it up immediately though, then when I came back to it right after it was published, the reviews were less than favourable, so I put it off further. I'm not going to claim it was my favourite, groundbreaking or amazing. But it wasn't bad! It was a fun ride, a little bit Fifty Shades of Grey without going too far. It explores some themes of toxic (non-)relationships which I know many will absolutely not like reading about, but the way it's portrayed seems pretty realistic to me.
I'd put this down as a quick read that's pretty lightweight, although with a few heavier parts thrown in for good measure.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

Really sorry, didn't enjoy at all. Felt very flat and uninspiring, felt this didn't have much depth to it and the story wasn't very well written. WOuld be great as a first draft with a lot of work put into it

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

i’m sorry i really didn’t like this book, i didn’t like either MC and the story was just lacking completely, the plot just wasn’t there. There was no communication and all the MCs did was have sex it just wasn’t good.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy of this arc

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book nor did I feel as though my views and this book aligned and I had to dnf

I came into this book with high expectations but this book was not what I thought. Probably wouldn’t recommend it to a friend as I didn’t really enjoy reading it myself.

Please check out Goodreads before downloading this book - I will from now on read reviews on any and all ARCs before requesting from netgalley. This book needs content warnings.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exact an honest review

This book should have trigger warnings. I personally was uncomfortable with a few of the scenes & I don’t have any trauma but this book has more than several triggering parts to the story.

I’m surprised I even finished the book to be honest as it was ironically Rushed as named, it was unrealistic and unromantic and definitely can’t be classed as a love story in my opinion.

I’ll be brutally honestly and say that when I finished i couldnt understand or see the point of why this was written.

Not something I’ll be recommending to anyone and if I see anything else by this author I’m afraid to say I’ll be steering clear of it.

1 star

This was a big no for me. I love reading romance stories but this went too close to the edge for my liking. I'm always up for a spicy book but there needs to be a connection between the characters, just reading pages and pages of sex scenes does not make for a good story.

This book is well-written, so I reviewed it despite its questionable content. It deals with a series of toxic interactions between a struggling scriptwriter and Formula One Motor champion that is disturbing to read. Whilst the setting is glamorous, what happens to Lena is not, and she comes across as a victim rather than a survivor of a toxic relationship. It's not a read I can recommend.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This book was awful and reads like it was written by a man who thinks women are only good for sex. Lena is absolutely pathetic as a character, she allows a stranger to fuck her at a party without a word and then follows him from LA to Miami like a stalker where he tells her to fuck off.

Of course she's heartbroken but then she allows him back into her life, and he fucks someone in front of her while she's trapped on a balcony before he leaves her on an island!! This guy is an absolutely awful main character with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He even crashes his car and puts himself in hospital in order to manipulate her into coming back to him - and she does!! She goes running back, but at least she had some sense to keep her apartment and job so she wasn't completely reliant on him.

The ending was the worst I've ever read in a romance novel. Nico cheats on Lena with her best friend, and she finds this out by walking on them. Then he starts smashing up the house, including his F1 World Championship trophy before forcing himself on her. She allows him to start touching her but when she says the safe word, he doesn't stop and just rapes her until he finishes inside her before finally realising what he's done.

I would not recommend this book to anybody, not even to use as a doorstop. It's only good quality is the cover is pretty.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This one is really hard to review, I have seen others review it and note all their comments, but I must say that it certainly kept me captivated throughout, despite the less than ideal scenes portrayed.
Lena is a complex character, she is blinded by lust, by the famous man who shows her some attention and by passion, what starts off as slightly toxic takes a bigger turn and I spent the whole book shouting at her to change her feelings/mind.
I enjoyed the F1 aspect, but my gosh Nico was a horrible human!

Rush by Saskia Roy

I was really excited when this book was announced and when netgalley approved me for an advanced copy, but I'm afraid this book just wasn't for me.

I love spice in my books but I felt that there wasn't much of a plot and it just didn't flow for me. Having checked out other reviews, it looks like I'm not the only one. There was a twist at the end that I didn't see coming but as I couldn't connect with either of the characters I just didn't really care. I'm sorry.

However, I appreciated that the author tried to do something different and I think that this book will be a marmite book. People will either love or hate it.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read the authors work.

I would not categorise this book as a romance at all. The way that the author flirted with consent lines throughout had me feeling extremely uncomfortable, especially when it was during the smut scenes which supposedly she'd wanted the readers to get into? Nico was a walking red flag, and I kept waiting for Lena to say enough and she just kept going back. The escalation of their love for one another was alarming - they didn't have any real conversations or touching moments, just went from being angry with the other to having sex. I finished this book out of pure curiosity as to whether there would be a turn around, and finished it feeling pretty unsatisfied.

Lena Aden came to Los Angeles to make it big as a writer. Five years later, she’s still chasing the dream and wondering if it’s time to start over.
Nico Laurent is the Formula 1 World Champion – and the most desirable bachelor in the world. He’s used to getting any woman he wants, and he’s decided he wants Lena.

I enjoyed the read and the erotica works well too. It’s well-written and the pacing is good. It’s not for the faint-hearted as the sex sessions are quite graphic so probably not for everyone.

This book was a grave disappointment for me. I've found it hard to find the words to actually review this book. The cover screams romance to me however this is not a romance novel at all. Reading this book felt like reading a porn script. It lacks a real story and seems to be all about sex. This is a Dark Erotica novel if you can call it a novel, seemed to be more of a screenplay. It should definitely come with an age rating/Trigger Warnings. The only F1 feeling I got from this book was the speed in which the pace of this book goes from one thing to the next.
I have gave this 2 stars purely for the Erotica otherwise it would be 1.

I understood what this book was trying to do but I think it missed the mark.

Lena Aden is almost thirty, living in LA trying to make it as a screenwriter. When she attends a party with her model roommate Johanna, she bumps into Nico Laurent, current F1 champion. This is not a romance and from their first meeting, you get that. It is very much about control.

I have read plenty of dark romances where the male main characters are morally grey but this felt like a cheap imitation. Not only were the things that Nico did horrendous but I felt as though a lot of it was written for shock factor. It felt disjointed and although we got a little glimpse of a backstory, it wasn't enough.

I felt as though there was a lack of conclusion at the end also. Not one for me.

This was an unbelievably awful, misogynistic, and down right disgusting book.
I will from now on read reviews on any and all ARCs before requesting from netgalley. Shame on all who allowed this book to be published.