This book was so much fun. Gio is an up and coming F1 driver with a reputation to salvage. Maisie needs a good cast study for her sports psychology assignment, so she agrees to be part of fake relationship with him in exchange for access to his team backstage.

Maisie was so relatable. She used to be a mountain biking champion, but she had a bad accident and was unable to get back on a bike again. She understands the urge to compete and to win, but unlike Gio, she isn't able to get back in the saddle.
I liked the glamorous locations and the high octane races. (I don't know anything about Formula One, but I found I could follow the competition aspects easily.) LOVED the bit where she has to wear heels so high that she needs to hold his arm to avoid falling over.
This was a fun and delightful book. I'll be looking out for the sequel.

’m usually very selective about the type of romance novels I enjoy. Typically they have to be historical in nature (unless they’re written by Ali Hazelwood of course who I have a soft spot for after the purely addictive quality of Love Hypothesis) but when one of your go-to historical romance novelists sets her first modern read in one of your favourite fandoms? If you love Formula 1 and you’ve enjoyed her other excellent novels like How To Lose an Earl in Ten Weeks and A Duke For Christmas (really, a seasonally themed romance I did not hate - it exists!!) Lights Out by @jennifletcherauthor is brilliant. Starting with the random meet-cute between a cocky F1 driver at risk of losing his seat, and a sports psychology student working as a catering waitress, it’s fun and not at all predictable in the way it visits beloved tropes - I raced through this in a single day on trains and in cafes in Birmingham, and my only question now is why do we have to wait until March for the sequel?!

Lights Out is available for pre-order and will be released on October 31st making it the perfect mid-week read as we hurtle towards Abu Dhabi adding another ‘will they won’t they’ to the big Max vs. Lando question of the real life season!

A MASSIVE thank you to @netgalley & @penguinukbooks for my advanced copy!

3.5 stars rounded up. A swift and sweet read, featuring main characters with instant chemistry and a varied supporting cast, all set against the frenetic backdrop of Formula One (and you don’t need to know anything about the sport, because Maisie is a novice and you learn as she does). Maisie and Gio are very young, early twenties, and it definitely shows in their interactions; it’s probably why their relationship feels quite immature overall, even if they do show plenty of reflection and growth through the course of the book. I like the author’s writing style and would be interested to see where the series goes next.

I’m a lover of F1 romance so I was really excited to read this! Firstly I loved Maisie, I thought she was a very relatable character with realistic insecurities. I did feel like the relationship buildup between her and Gio needed a bit more- it felt very much like 0-100 with not a lot of explanation or romance. I also really wish it was a bit longer! The ending felt a bit rushed and I’m sad we didn’t get to see more of Gio and Maisie together due to the speed in which they progressed then initially broke up. However it was a really easy read, I read it in 2 sittings! The more spicy scenes were well done, it wasn’t over the top and explicit but still gave you something worth reading! Overall I did enjoy this book, I was just hoping for a bit more!

I'm an F1 fan so I'm always apprehensive/excited about reading a romance in that circle. This plot felt a little strange (even for fiction) in F1 driver Gio asking a psychology student to be his fake girlfriend.
I found the relationship went from 0-100 and was then sprinkled through with outright rows between the two main characters, both of which didn't really feel like you'd come back from. It all just felt like a bit too much of a reach. However I loved the insertions of tweets and podcast excerpts between chapters!

Really sweet romance book with a few elements of spice. Both characters were believable and I read this in one sitting! Would highly recommend.

This was my first F1 romance and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Such a well paced and easy read. Full of friendship, supportive family and love🫶🏼

I love the podcast & essay updates in between chapters, a very refreshing touch.
I appreciated the accurate F1 knowledge in this book as it helps with realistic world building.

I love the career development with Maisie’s uni work and Gio’s career, both driven individuals.
Maisie‘s journey with her own psyche and her cycling is a really important milestone and a very mature topic in the book which can really be considered in real life. Understanding how your past trauma affects you and your negative emotions/actions and trying to learn how to be better.

I love the young and in love, slow burn vibes throughout this book, but also the mature topics that both characters deal with.

Ava is a rock for Maisie and she is a true friend, she supports her through everything and is someone everyone deserves to have in life. Maisie’s co-workers are also so sweet and protective of her, it’s lovely that she has such a great support network between school, friends and family.

The spice was very minimal and behind closed doors, but that didn’t bother me as the plot was well thought out so I was gripped with every chapter!

This was a quick read, started and finished it in the same day. First F1 romance for me and I didn't hate it. I actually really liked the chemistry and dynamic between Gio and Maisie. I loved how Fletcher portrayed their arguments. A lot of times, I feel like authors write out arguments how they wished arguments went - harsh and but fair and understanding, when really - and especially when you're young - arguments can be thoughtless, nasty and volatile. It made them feel a lot more authentic to me.

I liked the pacing, I liked the side characters and the conflict wasn't handled badly at all. This will definitely be a series I'll continue as they come out.

This was a very cute read but the plot definitely lacked something. I love the fake dating trope and was excited to see how it would be done in an F1 romance as I’ve recently gotten into this type of sports romance.

Unfortunately the MMC and FMC lacked the chemistry I was waiting for. They went from fake dating/barely seeing each, having massive rows and then bang, they have feelings for each other. I know it’s a romance, it’s not supposed to be fictional, but it just all felt a little far fetched. Also, how am I supposed to believe a uni student suddenly becomes the fake girlfriend of an F1 driver.

I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but onto the next one.

Amazing! First time reading F1 romance and I am hooked. This books is filled with family, friendship and love as well as touching on really important topics like councilling, anxiety and loss. Maisie and Gio have such depth to them and I was rooting for them always. Ava provides a soldi rock for maisie throughout the book and we all need a friend like her. I also love maisies professor, who supports and comforts her in one of her darkest times. I did find parts of the book a little "convenient". Almost like things happened just to make the plot move along. For example the conflict in Singapore felt slightly rushed. However, the plot, the romance and the book as a whole I loved. Will definitely be reading more by this author.

Fuck that was cute! I told myself I'd just read the first chapter before bed, but I finished it in one sitting and was up late instead. No regrets.
I'm a sucker for fake dating and they did it so well.

I would've loved to see Gio interact with Mia's family, or show more interest in her biking. Though I loved them watching bridgerton together and their date. It felt a bit one sided, but since we only have one POV, and we needed something to show us what he was like.. his family did that well. But their relationship still felt a bit shallow, and I felt like we kept being told they were similar instead of being shown it. Yes they each had their own shit to work out, but something was lacking to me.

I'm not sure how much the snippets of news in between chapters added to the overall feel, it seemed odd to me, and could've been used to further plot or explain things more.
We got extracts of her notes on Gio, but nothing on her actual paper, and I think that would've been a nice way to see her changing her views on the sport and her own issues. I thought her notes would come back to bite her if Gio misunderstood them, but again none of the snippets we read in-between chapters seemed to matter, so I'm not sure of the point.

Overall though, it was a fun read and well written. I'd definitely read it again!

You don't need any knowledge of F1 to enjoy the book, the basics are described, but none of it is vital to understand the book. Which I'm thankful for. Sometimes when I get niche or sports centered romances the technical jargon takes me out of the story or just makes it difficult to understand significant events, but that's not the case here.

Wow this was amazing!! I loved it I really am staring to get into F1 romances and this one really hit the spot!! Gives you just what you want in a romance..

Loved this fast paced YA racing story. It’s so nice to see a book for younger readers set in this genre. I highly enjoyed it and I know our younger readers will as well