Member Reviews
3.75⭐️// Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Jenni Fletcher for the eArc!!!
- F1 driver x Sports psychology student (former downhill biker) 🏎️🧠🚵🏼♀️
- Fake Dating 💖
- Slow Burn 🔥
- Holiday together ☀️
- Single POV (hers)
Such a cute book!!! So easy to read and definitely not too complicated when it comes to the F1 aspect so would be great for someone who is just getting into F1 romances! 🏎️
(Wish we got Gio’s POV 😪)
—————————————————————————————
Maisie is your average uni student studying sports psychology, so when the opportunity arises, she accepts the offer to fake date Gio so she can research for an assignment. She is so ‘normal’ and relatable and I love that! She’s fun and sweet and I really liked her as a character. 🧼🚴🏻♀️
✨”When Ava first told me about the motorhomes, I assumed they were basically large caravans” ✨ (same girl)
✨”I look at my reflection in my phone and wonder if my appearance is all that’s necessary to hate me” ✨☹️☹️
—————————————————————————————
Giovanni is a formula 1 driver fighting to keep his seat, and due to his less than stellar reputation, he asks Maisie to fake date to make him look better in the public eye and encourage his team to keep him on. He is witty, charming, and overall a pretty darn good book bf 🙂↕️💖
✨”I look at Gio, but his gaze is fixed on my mouth”✨
✨”’Yes’. He lifts the necklace. ‘It’s a wheel. See the little spokes? I thought it was fitting for both of us. Bikes and cars.’”
✨”They can wait. This can’t.” He pushes me up against the wall and braces his forearms on either side of my head”✨
Lights Out by Jenni Fletcher is a delightful read that strikes a perfect balance between plot, chemistry, and banter. From the very first chapter, I was hooked and fully invested in Maisie and Gio’s journey as their fake-dating/forced-proximity dynamic unfolded.
I loved how the F1 racing world was brought to life—it felt like I was right there, caught up in the excitement and just as invested as the characters. Sometimes sports romances can include details that are boring and go straight over my head- but Fletcher does the complete opposite, making me feel like I've been a F1 fan all my life.
The romantic tension absolutely delivered, with all the heated looks and accidental touches that had me smiling like an idiot and wanting more. I loved the moments of friendship and banter, which really helped bring the story and its characters to life.
If you love a good sports romance with delightful chemistry, great characters and a good fake dating trope- then hurry up and add it to your tbr!
I haven't read an F1 romance before. I got through this really quickly.
I liked Maisie she was smart and stood up for herself.
It was a fun read. Maisie is a psychology student who meets Gio an F1 driver when she is making extra cash as waitress at an event.
Maisie is likeable and positive and has no idea who Gio is.
There is also more to Gio than just looks. There also wasn't too much technical detail which was good.
There was chemistry there was fun.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
F1’s resident bad boy Giovanni Bauer isn’t used to losing, but when his non-stop partying leaves his position on the team at risk, he needs to turn his reputation around - fast. Maisie Evans is a dedicated psychology student, desperate to break into Gio’s competitive world and reignite her dreams of a glittering sports career, but with no clue how to do it. When Gio and Maisie’s worlds collide, the answer to their problems seems a fake relationship. She gets to travel the world and brush shoulders with sports royalty, and he gets to fix his image by settling down.
Maisie has the heart of a thrill seeker. But after her accident, it’s on the back burner and she seeks her passions down other avenues. I really, really liked Maisie. I could see parts of myself in her - particularly with the way her mind works and processes things. I absolutely adored her positive attitude and her kind and supporting personality. She really deserves the world that girl. She has dealt with a lot in her past and I love how she relies on her best friend and is determined to do good in the world. The fact she is sassy and also entirely awkward at the same time was perfect for me. No one wants a perfect lead who can do everything right!
Gio is the bad boy of racing with his imperfect record and rollercoaster attitude. But he is a lot more than that. He is kind and giving. He has a massive heart and it is clear he wants the best for those he loves and cares for. I think Gio was a great character. There are so many layers and dynamics to him that were so interesting to read. He never felt boring to read. Sure he was a little unpredictable at times with his moods, but it added to his character. There was certainly never a dull moment with him around!
I am not a big sports romance person, but I have been getting into reading them more this year. So when this one came along, I saw that it had the wonderful fake dating trope and I knew I needed to dig in! The plot is pretty good! It flows wonderfully from one event to the next and never feels clunky or boring. The fact that it goes into enough detail about Formula 1 so that we can understand it but not be burdened with too much knowledge was perfect. It all confuses me to be honest, but this has the perfect amount of background information! The characters were great. I liked that the main focus was on our lead pairing but that we got plenty of interactions with the rest of the cast. I think they were all well fleshed out and engaging to read! The romance was so sweet and so fluffy, I practically wanted to kick me feet and swoon! The chemistry between our cuties was so so adorable and I wanted to see more and more. I did appreciate that there was angst and bumps in the road because no relationship - real or not - is smooth sailing. It helped to add further depth to the story. The light spicy moments also heightened the chemistry as well. They were so tender and sweet and perfection! That ending was everything I needed and more! I could not have asked for anything better!
Overall, Lights Out is a F1 romance I highly, HIGHLY recommend!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Thank you again to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this book. Due to scheduling, this review will be available on my blog on 9th December. It is available now on Goodreads.
Listen, I rarely read straight romance (sorry not sorry) and have never in my life picked up an F1 romance before, but this author is so good at what she does that I was loving it from start to finish. The drama, the feels! Nice and swoony, with an impulsive and moody hot love interest, and yet the female MC has clear boundaries and won't let any man disrespect her.
This was sexy and dramatic without being toxic, and I love that.
I'm also majorly impressed with the writing - it's mostly dialogue and quick action, and the author doesn't waste much time on world-building. On top of that the style is kind of simple and not super detailed or flowery, but it all comes together in a way that makes for such an entertaining, quality romance.
Lights Out is a Formula 1 fake dating romance, which follows Giovanni, who is an F1 driver with a string of bad publicity and Maisie, a student and soap seller.
The two meet when Maisie joins her friend Ava catering an event, where Maisie meets Gio by accident. After the meeting where Maisie tells him about her friend Ava’s F1 podcast, he makes a plan to meet with Maisie again.
I love a good fake dating romance, it’s my favourite trope, and I also like Formula 1, so putting these two together in a book, I had high expectations, which were mostly met! I liked seeing Maisie and Gio’s relationship grow from a fake relationship to a real one, though I wish they did get to know eachother a bit better. I loved the drama that came with the whole F1 scene, and how it impacted both their actual relationship and their fake one.
Whilst I’m not a massive fan of a third act break up, Maisie did make some good points with having to grow by herself too.
Overall, I thought this was a really nice romance, a great read for when you want something a bit softer and a bit fuzzy and heartwarming but still with enough drama to keep you entertained the whole way though.
I am giving Lights Out 4 stars, and I am looking forward to reading Falling Fast, the next F1 book from Jenni Fletcher!
lights out was such a fun, wild ride that I had the best time reading! everything about this book was appealing, with the f1 background and the meet-cute I was instantly hooked.
plot ―୨୧⋆ ˚ the plot and whole premise of this book was so so enjoyable to read and I loved the balance of race detail, actual relationship events and communications and media posts. it made this book feel like such a breeze to read and I really could not put it down. I felt like this was well-paced albeit a little bit fast in some places especially towards the end, which felt a little bit rushed. other than that, I absolutely loved reading this book. I could not help myself but read chapter after chapter!
maisie + gio ―୨୧⋆ ˚ I loved the progression of maisie and gio's relationship and it felt real, raw and natural ! it was so easy to relate to and understand maisie and I really enjoyed her as a character. although I loved the progression of the relationship and maisie's character I feel a duel pov would have uplifted this a bit - just a peek into gio's thoughts would have been so so fun to read.
overall, I had so much fun reading this book and the issues I had with this book were not a deal breaker for me and definitely more personal preference! I will definitely look out for new romance books from Fletcher in the future !
thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
*Thank you SO much Puffin Books for this review copy*
I read this book in about two days. I was addicted, could not and would not stop. It was such an easy and fun read! The chemistry and banter between Gio and Maisie was 1000/10. I loved both characters’ stories separately and together. The side characters were cute, the f1 world was so entertaining and I just loved it.
This book has also got me back into f1 romances, thank you Jenni Fletcher x
Thank you NetGalley for this arc! I think this was a really cute and heartwarming romance and I did enjoy reading it. According to my watch, i finished this in 3 and a half hours.
I enjoyed the story line and there was a big plot twist towards the end that really angered me. When you read this you'll see what i mean. I did enjoy reading it as i did devour it but I feel like I was just there to see how it ended not really the characters itself. I really do love maisie and gio but i didn't feel a deep connection with either and like it didn't make me feel the way some other books do.
However, that being said, it's good for those who want an intro to sports romances! Thank you again NetGalley for the arc and Jenni Fletcher for writing this!
I absolutely loved this book I couldn’t put it down the fast pace the romance and the F1 aspect was amazing it felt like I was in an episode of drive to survive,the character development was amazing
It has been a while since I stepped out of fantasy and this was the perfect book for it!!
Fake relationship?!!! YES PLEASE
I loved the chemistry between the two, Gio was a really fun character and I loved seeing him grow. I dont know anything about formula 1 so this was a treat!!
Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Random House for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review
I found this a very cute and easy read, the characters had good chemistry and dynamic between them both. I enjoyed the pace of this book, although I felt it could have been more to it.
If you are looking for an easy F1 romance read, without needing too much F1 knowledge then this will be the book for you.
Our fmc, Maisie Evans is a uni student studying sports psychology, not at all interested in Formula 1, and just wants to improve her grades over the summer. She has a sporting past in mountain biking but after an accident never touches a bike again and still has PTSD.
Giovanni Bauer is Formula 1 resident bad-boy, fresh from F2 Gio is quite the pr nightmare and is in desperate need of a fix for his reputation before he loses his seat and spinsters. He wants to be the youngest world champion and has a racing legend as a dad
Insert fake dating/ pr relationship to rehab Gio’s image, we all know where this is going to end.
First of all I’m shocked that the author isn’t a massive f1 fan cause she really did a good job of accurately representing the sport, which is not something all f1 romances do well! Well done her husband she acknowledged at the end of the book. It’s why so many female f1 fans who read, get anxious about reading f1 romance. So if that sounds like you, just know you are in safe hands with this book. She makes changes to the calendar but so does fia so that’s not an issue.
Bad-boys of F1 feel like such a thing of the past so that is probably the most unrealistic part of the book, but how else would we get the perfect PR relationship set up! If I HAD to liken Gio to a current driver maybe like an italian max from his mad max days.
Our fmc does a lot of over intellectualising her feelings which is kind of annoying but also probably realistic.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Jenni Fletcher for sending me an ARC of Lights Out. Can’t wait for book 2.
Lights Out is the high octane romance I never knew I needed!
This sizzling tale takes us deep into the glamorous yet chaotic world of Formula One, where fast cars and even faster hearts collide!
Meet Giovanni Bauer, F1's resident bad boy with a reputation that could fill a pit stop. With his party animal antics threatening to derail his career, Gio needs a plan…and fast.
Enter Maisie Evans, a driven psychology student with her eyes set on a sports career but no clear route to the finish line. Talk about a mismatch made in racing heaven!
When their paths intersect, these two realise a fake relationship could be just the ticket to solving their problems. Maisie gets to jet-set around the globe, rubbing elbows with sports royalty, while Gio aims to clean up his image by “settling down.” But, spoiler alert: sparks are flying faster than those race cars, and their staged romance might just veer off course into something a whole lot steamier!
Jenni Fletcher has crafted a delightful rollercoaster ride of emotions, banter, and unexpected chemistry. The pacing is as thrilling as the race itself, and you’ll be on the edge of your seat wondering if these two will crash and burn or cross the finish line together!
If you’re a fan of romantic comedies that make your heart race and your cheeks blush, Lights Out is a must read.
I really enjoyed this book. Its a funny Romcom and had me hooked from the beginning. I loved Maisie and Gio.
The only issue that I had with it is that its very similar to 'The Proposal' and other 'fake' girlfriend stories.
I enjoyed the F1 theme and felt that the author wrote very descriptively.
I’ll have to be honest I’m not a massive fan of f1 but I really wanted to give this book ago. I read it so quickly. I really enjoyed it. I liked the main characters and their relationship. A good read
This was my first F1 romance read and I really enjoyed it!! I loved Gio and Maisie and thought they had amazing chemistry. Although they had their problems they always managed to sort them eventually. The fake dating trope is one of my faves so thats a win :) I loved how Maisie stood up for herself and I loved her friendship with Ava too. Big thank you to Netgalley and Jenni for letting me read this ARC.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Penguin Random House and Jenni Fletcher for sending me an ARC of Lights Out!
Giovanni Bauer is Formula 1's resident bad-boy, fresh from F2 Gio is quite the pr nightmare and is in desperate need of a fix for his reputation.
Maisie Evans is a uni student studying sports psychology, not at all interested in Formula 1, and just wants to improve her grades over the summer.
After a chance encounter and Gio being the determined man that he is, he does what he can to convince Maisie to help him. A fake relationship for the media, what could go wrong?
I absolutely devoured this book in one sitting, I think that says a lot about what kind of book this is. I've read a few F1 romances but this is my first where the FMC is a sports psychologist with no prior connection to driver and I really enjoyed the change, something new. I also liked the snippets in between the chapters, sort of giving the reader external information about what's going on that Maisie didn't know about or wasn't telling us.
The relationship between Maisie and Gio did feel a little bit rushed, would've loved to see his POV, but I'm not complaining at all I still enjoyed reading it. I really liked when they watched Bridgerton and went karting, wish we could've seen more of them 'being a couple' or just hanging out outside of F1.
Maisie's struggles were shown very well and her internal battles, loved her development throughout the story so proud of her!
I can't wait for the second instalment Falling Fast, following Ava's story!
If you're looking for a new fake dating, or want to try your first F1 romance I would definitely recommend Lights Out when it releases 31st October!
KEY TROPES:
- fake dating
- f1 romance
- sports romance
- friends to lovers
- mountain biker x f1 driver
I downloaded this earlier today and finished it tonight, I just needed to know!
Gio is so misunderstood, he comes from a loved but complicated family, I do feel like it could’ve been explored a bit more instead of it being just laid out in one page. I enjoyed the whole fake relationship, but it just felt a bit off in some places, just how he springs it upon her, he keeps appearing in random places where she is, it could be cute but I found it a bit too much.
I did love the fact that Maisie is her own heroine and she stands her ground (most of the time), but that she went though something so traumatic and still is how she is, I admire her and every person out there who is like her.
They are a bit toxic in my opinion, and I guess that’s how their relationship is perceived, but I’m not too sure I understood most of it. I loved every single F1 bit though.
Thank you to netgalley for sending me an ARC in exchange of an honest review!
This is a good book if you’re like me and only just starting your f1 romance books journey. I was a little bit worried going into it that it would have a lot of terms that i wouldn’t understand and that i’d have to google things all the time, but i quickly learnt that Maisie, the fmc is in the same boat as me, new to F1 world, so it was great to navigate this journey with her.
This was a very quick and easy read and i really enjoyed finding out more about racing, and i will definitely be reaching for more f1 romances!
However, because both Maisie and Gio are in their early twenties, i did find them quite immature, which affected how much I enjoyed their characters and this book. It was nice to see that there was some character development and both of them realised things about themselves and actively sought professional counselling, but i would have liked to see more of a development in that area.
I would also have loved to see Maisie’s relationship with her dad evolving and them discussing her trauma and everything she felt in more details. I felt like her trauma was a big thing, but when it actually came to her expressing her feelings to her dad, this was skimmed over.
I felt like Maisie and Gio’s relationship’s pace was a little off. I also felt like they barely spent any time together while they were fake dating to having big feelings for each other. But it might just be a personal preference, as im usually not a fan of relationships in books going from 0 to 100 very quickly.
Overall, im glad i read this book as it gave me a great insight into f1 world & f1 romances, and definitely encouraged me to read more of them. 🥰
Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Random House for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.