I started rereading Cross the Line a couple days ago, and decided to hold off until I got access to the audiobook on NetGalley since I have already read the book and wanted to experience the characters brought to life!

Rating — ♾️

Cross the Line was my favourite book last year and it’s probably going to be my favourite book of this year too! I loved revisiting Dev and Willow’s love story and I will never get over just how well everything works together in this story. Simone’s writing is so special and absolutely incredible, I can’t not recommend it!

This book is truly for everyone, even if you’re not particularly into the romance genre (or F1) — if you want to get a foot in the door, Willow and Dev are the perfect guides. After Dev’s reputation is tarnished by a disgruntled employee, he enlists the help of his best friend’s sister Willow to help redeem his reputation. With both Dev and Willow determined to keep their relationship strictly professional they have to ignore what’s already between them.

Willow is one of my favourite FMCs ever in a romance, she’s an incredibly sweet and driven woman who has so much love for everyone around her (and macarons) — Not to mention she is an incredible example of disability rep and has Dev wrapped around her finger. Which brings me to Dev who also happens to be one of my favourite MMCs in a book EVER, Dev is understanding and respectful whilst also being absolutely hilarious (be prepared for some of his one liners) and the way he cares yet still believes in Willow’s capabilities makes me love him all the more.

A quick little read, I listened to the audio arc and flew through it. It was a light, fun F1 romance with diverse characters.

I didn’t vibe with the female narrator at all.

🏎 Cross the Line was on my 2024 TBR radar ever since I spotted it on GoodReads in 2023, so I am ✨thrilled✨ to have listened ahead of its publication day! My first ever F1 romance novel and it's fair to say that I am now o b s e s s e d! 🏎

It's a well-paced story told from Willow and Dev's POVs, both are to be protected at all costs 🫶🏻 I devoured this in one sitting today having only been approved this morning. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Simone Sultani and the Lights Out series ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Audiobook narration. I’m surprised that Nerissa Bradley has so few audiobooks to her name. I've never found an audiobook narrated by Vikas Adam, so this was an absolute joy to listen to. Auto-listen narrators, the pair of them! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you, Macmillan UK Audio + NetGalley for allowing me to listen to Cross the Line before it is published! Cross the Line is out on Thursday, 23rd May 2024 🏁 🛞🚦#CrossTheLine #NetGalley

Dev and Willow have known each other for ages seeing that Willow’s brother, Oakley, is best friends with Dev. One night a secret kiss happens between Dev and Willow and they both agree to forget it ever happened. Time passes, both living their own lives but when Oakley invites Willow to go to Monaco with him Dev appears back in her life. He’s a F1 racer facing some difficulties regarding his reputation and decides to hire Willow, whom is conveniently looking for a job in sports marketing but then soon it turns out by working closely together that the spark between them has never faded…

* I rated Cross the line 3,75 ⭐️

I really enjoyed Soltani’s writing and both the characters were absolute sweethearts, almost as sweet as those macarons Willow loves so much. The only thing that bothered me about Dev though was that in the beginning he multiple times complained about “not getting any action” but afterwards he got back into my good graces with how he treated Willow with such love and care. I feel like Dev is a great example of she falls first but he falls harder.
I however wasn’t a biggest fan of the F1 vibes. I knew getting into this book that it was going to be about F1 but I hadn’t read any of those before and now I know that I am not a F1 girlie. Which is fine, to each their own!
I also didn’t really like the epilogue and kind of felt that it was unnecessary. Normally the epilogue is like something calm and sweet but then there was the whole crash thing and I was literally stressed out until I read the very last page.

Overall; I will 100% be looking out for Soltani’s work in the future! 🫶🏻

I loved Devs’s character so so much, he seemed so wholesome and it was so clear how much he loved Willow from the start.

As a Formula One fan, I really feel like the sport was represented well in this book.

I loved how supportive Willow was of Dev, she was such a sweet character.

The only thing that wasnt so good about this book was the fact the ending felt dragged out, i feel like the book should have been shorter than it was.

Thank you to Simone Soltani and Netgalley for gifting me an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley for the audio arc of "Cross The Line"

Simone Soltani is easily my favourite debut author for the year!
This book is a combination of all my favourite things, Formula 1 and a great romance book.

I was lucky enough to get the e-arc of the book as well and I can confirm that the audiobook completely transforms the written work into a seamlessly beautiful movie-like experience.

The plot is a 10/10, beautifully written and thoroughly captivating, I truly could not stop listening. I love when romance books have interesting plots outside of the main romance and this book definitely has it. I was so interested in Dev's F1 career and Willow's debut in F1 marketing. I loved that all aspects of this book was enjoyable and attention gripping.

The characters are also a 10/10, each character felt like a real person and was flushed out so well! It can be for so many characters to feel genuine and realistic and yet Simone Soltani did just that.

Needless to say I'm obsessed and I cannot wait to read more from Simone Soltani in the future.