I was so so excited about this book because while I'm not a huge F1 one fan I do love brothers best friend romances and I do love stories that don't have a 0815 setting which this book definitely doesn't have.
However, the romance - which is the biggest part of this book - wasn't for me. Mostly because I found it pretty boring because there wasn't actually anything that was forcing the two main characters apart. They were attracted to each other from the beginning, they knew they liked each other and that the other one liked them back, they were only worried about her brother, which honestly, was a little bit stupid because you're all adults, what's the big deal? That nothing was forcing them apart and still they were acting as if they couldn't possibly ever be together made me so irrationaly irritated at the characters after a while that it really impacted my reading experience, I was so annoyed most of the time.
With that said, I had nothing against the writing itself and I will probably give this author another chance when she publishes more books. I think this was more of a me problem because as far as I've seen so far this book gets pretty great reviews.

This was cute, and I did like the romance, because it was very clear from the start how much these characters care about each other, which was very sweet. This book is also at least 100 pages too long though, and it took me ages to read. It feels way too slow-paced for a sweet romance novel, and I just wish it had all been more condensed, because at times it felt like we were going nowhere with the story. A lot of it is no plot, just vibes, and the vibes were nice at times, but also a little boring at other times.

Dev is a F1 pilot and he needs to restore his reputation. He hires his sister’s best friend, Willow, for his social media.
This book has so much potential. But it wasn’t it. No chemistry between the characters and no big twist during the F1 season.
The epilogue was way too long and why put an accident here ?

DFN @ 36%

look, I tried, I really tried, but I’ve been reading this for a week and I still haven’t reached 50% 🫠 I’m happy that so many people have loved this and if you want to read it, then go ahead and do it. I can’t say it’s a bad book, it’s just not for me. I’m not in the mood for it and I’m not connecting with the characters. I couldn’t care less about them and their romance. Which sucks, because I really wanted to love this.

thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc copy of the book.

This was so sweet, lovely and I totally adored Dev and Willow. As a marketing girl, I loved Willow. Both of the characters felt fully fleshed out. Their forbidden romance and internal conflict worked really well. I wish their arcs were pushed slightly further but overall they really worked as I was deeply invested. I can't wait for the next book in this series!

Trying to remain fair to the author cause from the 50% I read I thought it was incredibly well written and charming.

But the romanticising of a crash threw me off. The MMC crashes his car because he’s distracted…because he kissed his mates sister.

Now, my stepdad raced in F3 for many years when he was younger and had to pack it in because of a crash that almost killed him, this was extremely uncomfortable to read and unfortunately lived rent free in my head when I tried to push on.

I get it’s fiction but incidents where a human life is put at risk due to extreme circumstances is NOT romantic.

4.5⭐️

first off - the biggest thank you to panmacmillan and netgalley for this arc 🤭 i had the best time reading it

this was my first formula one romance and i think i am now addicted. the rush and the tension was unreal and i don’t think i will recover.

dev and willow were perfection. the portrayal of willow’s illness was so beautifully written. the past of the two’s friendship was honestly amazing - and i recently read a childhood friend to lovers and didn’t find myself interested or attached to the characters - but this? PERFECTION.

how we watched dev know to treat her body and when she gets tired, before we even got to the full blown romance? i died inside. gushed. giggled. swooned. you name it

dev is what i can only picture as pure golden retriever. he is the epitome of the perfect man i think. kind, caring, sexy, funny, but the biggest soppiest romantic ever. ugh.

i thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this book, from the formula one to the big indian wedding. i loved how in depth it got yet wasn’t overpowering with the descriptions.

safe to say this was a beautifully written romance that has me grasping for more.

I have most definitely found a new love for F1 romances. This was so so so much more than I was expecting to read. I loved the chemistry between the characters. They were literally sparking from page one of the book.

And can we PLEASE just appreciate our golden retriever MMC, Dev. Lord, why can’t men like that exist in real life? Open, honest with their feelings and happy to show their girl (and the world) that? I just wanted to pull him out of the book and make him real.

Let me start off by saying I am a white girl. So I have no idea about the acuracy of the black & brown representation. But I know the author had proofreaders in this demographic and is multicultural herself. So that gives me faith! It felt well done to me, but what do I know. I just wanted to point out it had this representation and I learned a lot of new words! (Jaanu for instance 🥹)

I do however have chronic pain due to hypermobility. And I LOVE the representation in this book. It is so casual, not a plotpoint. It influences her feelings and decisions. It is part of her but not all of her. This representation felt super authentic (makes sense, it's own-voices!) and I am so glad this story exists.

I already almost cried at the dedication: "For anyone pushing through the pain every single day."
I felt that, so hard! Thank you Simone Soltani for giving us hypermobile girlies a lovestory with someone who knows our struggles. From wearing heels to feeling like a burden. This book really hit home for me. And it made me want to watch F1 lolll. I was never into the sport but it seems actually fun!


Things I loved:
- Standing up to the rethoric Black women's natural hair is 'unprofessional'
- Knowing you are different from other kids even though you don't yet have a diagnosis
- Being able to mold and change your dream so it works with your body/health
- Replacing negative selftalk with positive compliments. Naming the things you DO like about yourself
- Commenting about the racist western beautystandards (like noses needing to be small and straight)
- Condemning STD shaming
- Baking keeps her calm, but she sucks at it, lol! Especially macarons
- I loveddddd the macarons thoughout the story. So sweet!
- The Big Box O'Pills (all her medication to manage the pain and joint issues in a glitter labeled shoebox!)
- Dev listening to Bollywood music and absolutely loves it
- Matchmaking aunties
- Little tricks & movements the guys have learned to not dislocate/subluxate one of Willows joints. Little ways they make life easier for her
- Advocating for your needs and comfort in the bedroom to prevent pain and injury
- He runs a bath for her to reduce muscle tension and pain 🥹🥰
- Struggeling with heels because dislocating an ankle or hip is even easier. But wanting to wear them anyway from time to time because it makes you feel pretty.


Scenario I loved:
Willow is being bothered by some dude. She says no but he won't listen. So she tells him she's here with her boyfriend and Dev comes to her aid. The dude recognizes Dev and apologizes for going after his girl (they were not together at this point, Dev was just being a good friend and protecting her) and he says to the dude 'its fine'. But immediately after he leaves he tells Willow: " 'Before you yell at me'—I hold up both hands—'I know it's not fine, and if I didn't have to be careful about getting caught doing stupid stuff, I would have beat that motherfucker's face in.' "
(Not a fan of the punching bit, but the sentiment behind it I can appreciate!)

He is super annoyed men wont take no for an anwser. And women have to make up excuses about fake boyfriends in order to stay safe. I loved how the author pointed this out!

A quote about feeling like you are not enough, like you are not wanted and desireable that really stuck with me:
"It's also why Dev's comment about being unwanted struck me so hard. Because I know what it's like to not be wanted. From jobs to Jeremy to being the fragile-jointed younger sister who couldn't do anything without getting hurt. I know what it's like to be shoved to the side and what it's like to feel pushed out."

Another thing that I was really glad was included in the book is being scared to commit to a relationship. Because you have a health issue. You might feel less desireable. You might feel like a burden or partypooper. These feelings are very real and alive in many people with chronic illnesses. I am glad this book adressed those things:
" 'I'm scared, Chantal,' I whisper. Being with Dev in any form means opening myself up to another chance at heartbreak. I can't imagine he'd ever cheat like Jeremy did, but I also can't imagine being his forever first choice. Now that his reputation is repaired, he can have any woman he wants,so why would he settle for me? I'm fragile and weak, practically held together with glue and stretched-out rubber bands. Some days I can barely keep up with the breakneck pace of following the team around the world, and it's nothing short of a miracle that I haven't fallen completely behind or gotten scriously hurt. Someone should slap a sticker on my forehead that says handle with care. Would he really be up for tolerating that? And for how long? "

So. TL;DR
This book is amazing. The lovestory is super sweet and realistic. It has brother's-best-friend, forced proximity, chronic illness rep, chronic pain rep, interracial and multicultural relationship, F1, Bollywood references, terms of endearment (Jaanu anyone??), MACARONS and just a whole lot of love. 100% recommend!

Dev is an up and coming Formula 1 star with a bad reputation (although not in the way you think...). Willow wants to break into sports marketing, so overhauling Dev's image could be the exact break she needs ... Except that she is his best friend's sister, and they've already shared one kiss that they shouldn't have...

This is a sweet slow burn romance, but it was just a bit too slow for me. The book dragged a bit in the middle, which made the whole thing longer than it needed to be. Otherwise it was a cute read!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I loved everything about this book! Straight from the first page I got hooked into the story. It flowed well and the pacing was perfect. I really loved the dynamic between Willow and Dev (and his character had just the right amount of characteristics of my favourite real life F1 drivers). Highly recommend!

It’s rare that I finish a book like this and want more but I really do hope Soltani turns this into a series because I loved this world and it’s characters!

Willow and Dev’s romance was very endearing and although some of the F1 references/storylines were a little cheesy I still really enjoyed this!

I liked this book and the characters but I felt like the romance was really rushed and the characters were already gonna fall in love. I think there was too much smut in the book and the writer should have added that there would be because the smut was very unnecessary and just made me think the characters were only together too smash.
I did enjoy the plot though because if your into romance mixed with sports you would love this 😀
Thank you netgallery.co.uk for letting me read this book. I rate it 7/10

Simone Soltani is going to be an author to watch, I feel it. This was one of the best brothers best friends/best friends sibling romances i've ever read. It was so romantic, the representation was great an the pining! This was enjoyable from start to finish and I can't wait to read more by her.

4.5/5

This was such a sweet F1 romance, brother’s best friend & no third act break up! It’s a slow burn that I think was done really well I was routing for them the whole time! I also loved seeing the Asian influence in this book!

Thank you to Pan Macmillian, Bookbreakuk and Netgalley for this ARC to read.

I'm loving the F1 romances recently, so I was very excited to read this ARC. I was especially interested in this book because how diverse the cast was, and I think the book is done so well, the writing is fantastic.

What to expect:

Diverse heritage characters
🏎 South East Asian culture ref
🏎 Hypermobilty rep
🏎 F1 romance
🏎 Brothers Best Friend/Forbidden romance
🏎 Workplace romance
🏎 She falls first/he falls harder

Firstly as a girl of hypermobilty myself, I was so thrilled to read a book that represents a small group of adults that carry the illness on to adulthood. Even though my condition is so minor compared to Willows, the same rules apply. Trying to look after my body is super hard and I'm so glad it's highlighted here. The illness didn't rule Willow, she took measures to prevent injury, but the writer didn't gloss over the illness either.

I loved learning more about southern Asian cultures, and Devs love for Bollywood films as his comfort is so wholesome. I loved Oakley and Devs friendship group, the support the boys had for each other was so lovely, it was nice to read about a non toxic group of guys supporting each other.
The book touched on racist micro aggressions the Dev had to face in a nearly all white American sports team, and I think it is done amazingly well. To highlight that the actions to not have to be loud but little everyday slights, that can have a huge impact.

The best bit about this book was no 3rd act breakup! We had the slow burn in the beginning, and I'm so glad the book was written this way. It did initially start off a little slow for me bit the second half of the book I read in one sitting.
Definitely one of the best F1 romances I've read, it's nice to read about a F1 character that isn't toxic.

Highly recommend this has a multi dimensional sports romance, with alot of representation and issues throughout the book that are handled so well.

4.25/4.5 stars!

I'll be sharing on my Instagram very soon!

ADORABLE. Willow and dev's relationship was the sweetest thing. This was such a fun book!

This book had me completely hooked from the very beginning! I'm not a huge F1 fan, and this was easy to understand for someone who has never watched it before. I have always loved the brother's best friend trope but this book took it one step further by making Dev the second best friend that Willow has fallen for, which made it even better. I was seriously giggling and kicking my feet the entire time!

2.5 stars
As soon as I read the blurb this became one of my anticipated reads and when I saw this on Netgalley I had to tried to get it and I did but unfortunately it wasn't a fave.
Wrecked by Lauren Asher is one of my favorite books, so when I saw this was also PR girl/ F1 racer and POC main characters, I was sold! unfortunately, this didn't work for me.
I've been watching F1 since I was a little kid, and that part -the races- I liked in this book but the rest? I struggled so hard.
The romance felt rushed, and it needed more breathing time, more slow burn. Everything happened too fast, and it didn't feel real. And in a romance book that's very important, at least for me.
the side characters were okay.
The writing style was okay, too, and although it does feel like a first book from the author, I'm actually excited to read more from them because they have a lot of potential.
Overall, this was not fully my favorite, but I can see a lot of people falling in love with these characters.

thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story was so warm and cute! I really liked the writing style of this debut novel. It was very smoothly written, there were no big dramas that felt forced, but it all fit perfectly in the plot. It was also hilarious in parts. I laughed, loved, and I was excited to see how the friends to lovers romance would evolve.

The romance was build up really believable, and I was rooting for our couple from the first pages. If you love cliché romance sentences, you've hit the jackpot with this book - in the best sense. It's got everything.
Dev was such a green flag guy, with drive and ambition. And I loved that our FMC Willow was such a relatable disability rep who worked smartly for her goals.
A big plus was the fact that the book didn't have a third act break up and all the contrived drama that goes with it.
A main theme in this book was the friendship between Dev and his friends, including his best friend which also is Willows brother and how the dynamics would shift while getting older and becoming romantically involved.

It was also interesting to see into the world of Formula 1, including all the build up to the races, the team intern structures and beyond.
This provided a good subplot that perfectly complemented the main romance plot.

A perfect feelgood book. Would love to read another one in this universe, maybe with another driver?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Cross the Line' by Simone Soltani.

If I had a shot for everytime an STD was mentioned, I would probably be heavily drunk right now. Dev and Willow honestly have one of the healthiest and sweetest relationships in this genre of racing romances and I admired that a lot. If it wasn't for the fact that certain areas just made me cringe for no reason and put me off, this certainly would have been a 4 star in my book.