An interesting insight into Formula 1 Driving - not just driving around a track. Technology, skill with love thrown in

This is an okay romance read - it's probably a lot more fun and interesting if you're into F1/motorsports but it's a standard dislike-ish to love romance. The pacing felt quite off at times and I personally didn't gel with the characters but this isn't a *bad* book!

i usually love a formula 1 romance but i just didn’t love this. The pacing was off and I didn’t love how the storyline was so focussed on grief, not character development. I just couldn’t believe in their love. There were some really sweet moments though.

This book is the second in the series. I didn't read the first one before starting it and I don't recommend it. I think the story would have been more engaging if I had started with book one. With that said, I struggled to like the main characters and actually took a break from the book for a couple of months before continuing.

Things I liked: the setting. I loved the way she described being in Brazil, makes me want to go visit.

If you're looking for an F1 series, these are the books for you. And make sure to read them in order or you may struggle like I did.

This is a good book that gets you hooked from the first pages all about a F1 racing car driver called Darien who is eager to win the championship and is introduced to Shantal who works for a computer sim company and has been assigned to Darien to use the latest technology and a sim car to improve his chances.
The chemistry between them builds up and is exciting especially when Darien is involved in a accident which nearly ends his career but he manages to get back to racing with Shantals help and they fall in love but then fate steps in and pulls them apart and they have to fight to be together.
Thoroughly enjoyed the story full of action and the description of the racing is great would highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I really liked the plot of this book and the characters, I just wish the pacing was a bit better. I feel like the characters themselves were really interesting but I honestly did not see any chemistry between them until the end. The main focus was on grief and I think the author did a wonderful job on explaining that but I feel it took over the book instead of being part of the romance plot. This author has great potential and I would love to read future books.

Esha Patel had me hooked with Offtrack, her debut Formula 1 romance, but she upped the ante with her follow-up Overdrive. This book is deeper, hotter, and somehow even better! The romance is great, the writing style is easy to love, and the characters are so relatable! The representation is so beautiful and highly-appreciated and fans of Lauren Asher and should definitely check this one out!

Thank you, Esha Patel, NetGalley, and Avon Books, for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Where do I begin?

I enjoyed the first book in this series; however, this second instalment fell flat for me. Though the beginning was strong and engaging, I found that the story did not flow as smoothly as I had hoped. The romance felt disjointed, and the events were confusing and inconsistent. I also struggled with the Formula 1 aspect of the story, as the characters involved in racing seemed muddled.

Would I recommend this to others? No, although, if someone asked me for a f1 romance, I would say Esha Patel because I see the promise of the books. It just needs better execution.

My husband loves to watch racing so I've watched a lot of F1. It was so fun to enter the world of F1 in this wonderfully written romance! Darien and Shantal are the best and I loved their story! I hope we continue to see more racing romances!

Once again Esha Patel has written an incredible f1 romance.
I received an arc for Offtrack at a time when I was starting to get into f1 and it really helped get me excited for the sport. I was thrilled to receive the confirmation email for the arc for Overdrive!!

Since it was race day in Brazil I just had to post my review of this incredible book, that is mostly set in this city, today.

In this one we follow Darien, a Brazilian f1 driver, and Shantal, a Guyanan programmer working on improving the team's simulations.
Seeing the behind the scenes of practices and everything they do to get ready for races was really interesting.

I also loved seeing a woman in STEM in this type of environment. Not only that, but a woman working in something similar to what my job entails. I'm really grateful to authors that write women in professions normally represented by men.

Overall, a slow burn, heartwarming book with a lot of emotions in the exciting world of Formula 1.
I highly recommend giving these books a go.

Having read a few other F1 romances around the same time as Offtrack, it hadn’t been my favourite but I was still intrigued to read Patel’s latest offering and I was so much more impressed!

The characters felt a lot more engaged and developed and the actual F1 content felt a lot less forced and cheesy as well!

Of course there were still some aspects that were quite unbelievable in the world of F1 but it’s fiction so I don’t mind letting that slide!

I would definitely be interested to read more of Patel’s F1 world!

Overdrive by Esha Patel is the second book in the Offtrack series featuring F1 sports players and their romance story. I enjoyed reading the first book and it was a smooth read with equally good characters.

With the second book everything felt flat and very forcedfit.When Shantal and Darien meet, the romance also felt very forced and did not seem natural at all. I did not enjoy reading this book as much as I did the first one. Darien is the F1 rider whereas Shantal works for the high tech company which provides support to these drives during their races.

The pacing of the book was totally off. The slow burn romance between the two took ages to rekindle and actually it was kind of boring. At the same time it also felt very instalove to me because the chemistry was missing throughout the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Esha Patel, and Avon Books for the eARC of this book. I gave this 2.5 stars

Maybe because I’m an F1 fan I’m more critical of F1 books, but this was just missing something for me. Compared to other F1 books I’ve read I enjoyed this, but the pacing overall just felt really off.

I liked how the author spent a good amount of time at the beginning of the story letting us learn about the characters as individuals before blending them together. I also love that Shantal is a a sports-simulation programmer, but I would have loved to see her as an expert in F1. I’m excited that so many F1 books are being written and that more careers besides the drivers and influencers are being highlighted, but let’s highlight women in Motorsports at the top of the male dominated field.

I loved Shantal and Darien as individual characters going through their own struggles and together as a couple, but this romance went from slow burn to extreme passion in a nano second which made it seem unrealistic. I almost didn’t finish the book when Shantal made a certain decision, but the ending rounded things out nicely.

I am utterly confused how a book with such heavy themes of grief and loss felt so superficial. I found it impossible to connect with the characters. They felt immature despite the struggles they had experienced and there was no real character development or arc.

The pacing of this book was hard to handle. The author spent so much time on the characters individually before they interacted, that by the time we got to see them together I was bored and ready for the end. The author overwhelmed us with fairly irrelevant and mundane information that failed to add to the story.

slow burn needs tension and chemistry to cause the burn, otherwise its just a slow moving plot.

mildly offended at the casual ageism - since when is mid-forties too old for physical activity?

I’m usually able to come up with some positives even with a book I didn’t love but I’m struggling to find something redeeming in this one. Honestly this is my fault for not checking the reviews for the authors other books before requesting this one - this was not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The pacing was all off for the book. At some point it was moving fast other it was incredibly slow, and overall, the slow burn was just so slow. They only really had any chemistry at the end of the book, by which point any chemistry was just unbelievable because any trace of attraction was missing through the beginning of the book. Although there can be an appreciation for a different type of Formula 1 romance with the grief storyline, it was focused to much on the grief instead of any character development in Shantal learning to overcome it with the new opportunity presented in front of her. In terms of Formula 1 its ample scene which can be appreciated however terminology/ logistics could do with being checked because the description of some of the sim work wasn’t accurate at all. The way in which Shantal character is written is just to follow the it girl, stereotypical clueless girl in a world in which she works in is infuriating to read, how can someone work within a world and be so clueless about it.

after reading her first book, i was so happy to receive the next one!! she was cute, but nothing life changing! it was a quick and easy read for maybe someone looking to get into sports romance and i read it in like, one solid sitting.

I was really excited to start this, I absolutely adore a sports romance, but unfortunately I couldn’t get into this one. I struggled to connect with the characters and get a sense of chemistry between them. Which I suppose makes sense for the slow burn in this book, but I’m personally not a big fan of slow burns so this fell a bit short for me, especially due to the lack of chemistry.

One thing I think a lot of sports romance readers will enjoy in this book (specifically F1 fans) is how clearly you can tell the author knows a lot about the sport. It’s quite heavy on the way it works, which isn’t necessarily what I like to be the main plot, but like I say I know other readers will love!

I really tried to get into this but I DNF’d this 68% in, as I found myself struggling to pick it up and it just felt forced. Therefore I will rate it based on what I thought of the part I got up to!

Thank you so much to both NetGalley and Avon for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Right now is the moment for Formula 1 romances and I am not mad about it. I'm a huge F1 fan, so I knew right away that I would love this book. Darien is an F1 driver, with a lot riding on his driving this upcoming season. Shantal works for a company that uses data analysis and brand new tech to improve their performance. Close proximity, having to work together, and dealing with the stresses of the F1 season make for a wild ride between these two. The sparks are flying immediately, but these two are also dealing with grief and trying to navigate life after loss. I particularly love the way that the author develops each character individually before having them meet each other and begin their journey together. Shantal is such an amazing character to root for; she's so smart and confident. Darien is a great guy with a good heart, a seriously talented driver, and someone that others want to be around, but he is fighting his own battles and has to find a way to overcome them and balance it all. They were a perfect match for each other! The setting of the book is Brazil, and I really loved how the author took the time to research and develop all aspects of this book, including the representation. If you are a Formula 1 fan, or just are curious about it and want a book to get started with the sport, then this is the book for you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Esha Patel, and Avon Books for the eARC of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an eARC of Overdrive.
I was really looking forward to reading this book, however I sadly found it disappointing, it was a bit too much of a slow burn book for me which I really struggled to motivate myself to read, by the end I was forcing myself to finish this book.

I was unaware of the trigger warnings before downloading, and when I started to read the book I became aware of them and then decided that I would not be able to read the book. I hope that the book is a huge success and wish the author lots of luck!