Incredibly thankful to have had the chance to read Ride With Me before its release.

I wish this book was the first installment of the series as I enjoyed this so much more than Cross The Line.

It’s packed with that witty, addictive chemistry that has you wanting to scream into a pillow from contentment.

With humour, sports and romance at its heart, it could do no wrong. Sprinkle it with a woman that dominates in all aspects of her life and a gentlemen in the streets, you have yourself a Simone Soltani plot.

I do wish the general flow of the book was less predictable to the point I felt like I had read the big ending before somewhere. Despite that, the final chapter ties up all loose ends with a plot twist.

This author’s writing is great, so I really enjoyed reading this book—but there were some things that bothered me, and I’m not sure how to rate it.

Stella and Thomas met at a party in Vegas. Since it was Vegas, instead of drunkenly hooking up, they drunkenly got married. They decided to stay married for a year for PR reasons and to appear together in public.

Thomas was absolutely perfect. He was all in from the beginning, and it was very sweet.

Stella was tricky. She was smart, confident, successful, and objectively a badass. She would have been very easy to love if it weren’t for the way she treated Thomas.

I understand that she had been hurt in the past and was wary of commitment, but her constant push and pull was exhausting. She kept jeopardizing their relationship with her ridiculous rules and barriers, and I just wanted to smack her over the head with my Kindle. Thomas deserved so much better!

That said, I definitely see potential, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


3,5 stars

This book was the accidental marriage/fake marriage done perfectly. I adored Thomas and Stella from the start and found their chemistry and love story really believable. It didn’t feel rushed and the slow burn was impeccable. I disliked nothing about this book. From the side characters to the lack of third act breakup (which is always a win for me) I was truly hooked from page 1! Thomas and Stella’s development with each other and themselves was lovely to read. Although I did see a couple of plot lines coming a mile off it was so well written it didn’t even matter! Super excited for the rest of this series!

HELLO?!? Marriage of convenience & fierce F1 competition this book was made for the girlies and we ATE!!

I adored Cross The Line so jumped at the chance to read this one early!

Stella is a world renowned baked whose world had been flipped upside down by being jilted at the Altar. After moping for a healthy two weeks she finds her world flipped on its head when she meets the most stunning man at a bachelorette party!! Oh did I mention she accidentally married him and he’s an F1 driver!!! When they have to try and piece together the night before the story unravels into such a fun web of chaos I loved it! THE TENSION I was actually screaming at my kindle this was so cute!!

Tropes included:
- Sport romance: Formula 1 🏎️
- Marriage of convenience 💍
- Slow burn 🔥
- Dual POV 📖
- Black American FMC/ White British MMC ✨

Simone has definitely upped her game with Ride With Me! 🏎️
A F1 romance with a fake marriage and a slow burn? YES PLEASE! ❤️‍🔥

I've rarely read books with the marriage of convenience trope, but I enjoyed every second of Stella and Thomas' story. I especially loved the chapters where they first met—I completely forgot about the world around me and was just fully immersed. I think I read about 45% of the book in one go! 🫣

Honestly, I don't have anything bad to say about this book. I loved the writing, the pacing, the way the F1 and business storylines were interwoven ('cause Stella is a girl boss 💪🏻), the chemistry between the two MCs, the supportive best friends... ah, I loved it so much! To me, this was a properly done romance novel—the kind I don’t come across very often anymore because so many plots feel similar these days.

If you don’t know already, there will be three (yes, THREEEEEE) more books in the Lights Out series, and I’ll be racing to read every single one! 🏎️🏁🔥

Ce livre ne sort qu'au mois de mai mais j'ai eu la possibilité de le lire en avance!
Second tome de la série Lights Out de Simone Soltani qui se déroule dans le monde de la formule 1, j'ai passé un agréable moment en compagnie de Thomas et Stella ! Cette fois-ci, l'autrice nous offre une romance un pilote de formule 1 détesté de tous et la pâtissière que tout le monde adore... Rien ne les destinait à se rencontrer mais une soirée arrosée et un mariage à Vegas, ils doivent faire face aux retombées médiatique...
J'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé cette histoire qui est addictive à souhait et qui nous donne des papillons dans le ventre du fait du caractère surprotecteur de Thomas envers Stella! J'ai beaucoup aimé leur relation, son évolution et le fait qu'ils soient l'un pour l'autre dans n'importe quelle situation! J'ai aussi apprécié le fait que nous n'ayons pas de crise des 80%, cela est vraiment rafraichissant! J'ai beaucoup aimé le fait de revoir les personnages du tome précèdent!
En bref, un excellent second tome et j'ai vraiment hâte d'avoir la suite!
Ps : le premier tome de cette série sort le 7 mai chez j'ai lu!

I adored ‘’Cross the Line’’ as it was the first F1 romance that had F1 portrayed correctly and in a very interesting way. I also adored the characters and the writing. Thus, when I saw ‘’Ride With Me’’ I needed to read it ASAP. Honestly, it didn’t disappoint. It was again very well written, addictive and full of tension and romance. I have enjoyed every minute of it.

The story follows F1 driver Thomas Maxwell Brown, a British heartthrob who currently does not have that good of a press with F1 fans and Stella Margaux, a successful world-renowned bakery chain owner, who is picking up the pieces after being left at the altar. They meet in Las Vegas, during a bachelorette/bachelor party of their friends, and instantly feel the connection. However, after waking up in the morning, they realised they got married. Soon they both realise that a fake marriage might not be such a bad idea, for Stella to get her ex-fiancé back and for Thomas to score some brownie points from the F1 fans and his family.

For me, this book was a breath of fresh air this year as I was looking for a romance that had that chemistry between the characters, that tension and yearning, but did not have smut scenes every couple of pages. Honestly, for me, this book was like an OG romance that I would read, giggle and root for the couple. Also, it was nice to finally read a short and sweet romance book that isn’t long. I felt that this story had just enough plot, tension, smut, love and progression. The only downside of this book was the lack of F1, since the first book had so much F1 and I was expecting a similar amount since it is technically marketed as F1 romance.

I adored the strong female main character too. It was one of the few books that I read where the female main character was super strong, career-driven and didn’t need a man to hold her hand to help find or sort herself out. It was very refreshing to see.

Overall: Fun, full of tension, short and sweet, but at the same time very accurate F1 romance that I loved. Simona Soltani knows how to write a perfect romance story. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I highly enjoyed this author’s first release ‘Cross the Line’ so I was super excited about reading this one however I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

I really liked both main characters, the side characters and the general idea for the plot. I also liked the accidental marriage in vegas to needing to stay married for convenience.

However, I wasn’t a fan of the pacing of this book. The writing had a very slow pace and at some points dragged. The main characters meet cute lasted a lot longer than I think was needed, which made me feel like the rest of the story felt rushed. There were times in the book that weeks had passed between chapters, so it was difficult to truly see the relationship development between the main characters. It felt we were being told about their development rather than shown.

And as a formula 1 fan, I have to admit I was left disappointed at the lack of f1 in this book.

I still really enjoyed this authors first book and still somewhat liked this one so i will definitely continue to read her further work.

Thank you to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of this book! 📕 where to start. I devoured this book! As a big F1 fan I enjoyed reading about that but it also not taking over the story. I loved the banter and chemistry between the two characters and also how the sexy scenes aren’t every 3 pages! What a joy this was. Big fan of this series and can’t wait for more!

I love Thomas Maxwell Brown a whole lot. I also love Stella Margaux. God, this was just a good read. I loved Crossed the Line and this is such a superb follow up and I’m a little annoyed I didn’t get to it sooner.

We start with a combined hen/stag do that leads to drunk wedding and a couple hoping to ‘fake it’ for the sake of their reputations. But what we see if Thomas being such a simp for Stella literally from the beginning and waiting for her to let go of the past and her idiot ex.

Thomas is down so hard for Stella that he is pretty much swoon worthy the entire book. It was such a thrill to see them admit their feelings for one another and let themselves be happy.

Simone is now an auto buy author for me, that’s for sure.

I will start off by saying that Cross The Line was my first F1-romance and I absolutely loved it, hence why I was literally screaming when I was approved to read Ride With Me. The fake marriage trope is such a hit or miss for me and more often than not, I found it a bit boring, cringe and too predictable. This was NOT and I repeat NOT the case for Ride with Me. I had the best time reading this book and I loved the dynamics between the two main characters. It had a bit less F1-scenes and was more oriented towards the romance development and character building, which I really enjoyed. Oh and the spice.. OMG! Didn't expect to be faced with such a spicy scene that early in the book but HOT DAMN.
Finished this book in the middle of the night after the Sabrina Carpenter concert and it did NOT disappoint! Can't wait for it to hit stores so I can get a copy and add it to my shelves.

One of my most anticipated reads of the year… turned out to be a little disappointing.
While i absolutely loved listening to the first book in the series, i feel that reading Ride with me made me quite bored multiple times.
The plot is perfect, the f1 driver x bakery chain owner is divine, but the connection between the maine characters took off to the maldives i guess, cause i couldn’t find it anywhere, there was no anticipating to read their scenes, at one point i just wanted to finish the book.
But i loved the comes from Dave and Willow.
It’s not a bad book but it s also not the greatest.
Overall if you’re looking for a beginner formula 1 book to read then I would recommend it, maybe you’ll be luckier than me and enjoy the book in its entirety

Thank you to the publisher for the arc

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and let me tell you—I was not disappointed! 🤭 Simone Soltani seriously knows how to write a fun, accurate F1 romance, which is so hard to find. You can just tell she actually gets the sport, and I love how effortlessly that knowledge is woven into the story.

Now, let’s talk about Stella and Thomas because whew. The chemistry?? Off the charts. I loved them together so much! They both had strong, distinct personalities that made them feel like real people, and watching their relationship unfold was just so satisfying. It starts off awkward (as expected for a fake marriage situation), but their attraction and feelings for each other grow in such a believable way.

And Thomas?? My sweet angel baby. I have zero notes. He’s soft, sweet, a little insecure in the most relatable way, but also has this slight attitude with others—except when it comes to Stella, and then he’s just melting. And the jewelry comment?! I was down BAD. He knew Stella like the back of his hand and wasn’t letting her go. He’s officially on my book boyfriend list, no question.

Stella was also amazing. She had so much going on—trying to move on from heartbreak, building her business empire, and just figuring herself out. Even when she was struggling, she was still kind and supportive to those around her, which made her so easy to root for. I loved how she and Thomas really balanced each other out and actually supported each other. Their relationship just felt so real.

Now, let’s get into the slow burn. And oh boy, was it a slow burn. I love a good slow-burn romance (Mariana Zapata owns my soul), but this? At 90% we were still questioning if it was real. The setup had me waiting on the edge of my seat for so long that by the time something finally happened, it almost didn’t even matter anymore. Like, come on, just kiss already!

And then…the third-act drama. Oh my GOD, Stella. I was eating this UP until the last third, and then she dragged out the conflict and her inner turmoil to the ends of the earth. Like yes, girl, be realistic in real life, but this is a romance, and you’re ruining everything!! 😭 The concept of the conflict wasn’t even bad, but the lack of communication was infuriating. Yes, I get that her phone wasn’t working, but Thomas just sitting there not knowing? Stella not calling ahead or waiting as long as she did? Yeah, not my favorite. I was screaming at my book.

Pacing-wise, things felt a little off. The first 30-40% covers just a few days, while the rest of the book skips through months. It made things feel a little insta-lovey, which I don’t usually love. I also wish they had at least known of each other before getting married—like, give me one prior conversation to make it feel a little more natural. Their “friendship” phase was nice, but I feel like it robbed us of some of those cute, flirty moments I needed.

On the plus side, I loved some of the side character arcs—especially the mini redemption one. And can we please get a Lorenzo book?? I feel like that would be so much fun. I also wish we got more family drama (Figgy, I’m looking at you 👀), and I expected way more tension with Thomas’s brother and the whole company situation. It had so much potential but kinda got brushed aside.

But honestly? Despite my gripes, I ate this book up. It was fun, fast-paced, and just so addictive. Even when things frustrated me, I still couldn’t put it down. Simone Soltani has such an effortless writing style, and I can’t wait to read more from her! Huge thanks to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan, and Simone Soltani for the ARC.

Now excuse me while I go daydream about Thomas some more. 😌✨

Screaming, crying, throwing up. I do not have the words to describe the emotions this book evoked. A new hole was torn in my heart every time I picked this book up and the tension had my blood pressure through the roof. This book absolutely deserved the title of “most anticipated release of 2025” from me because OH MY GOD! No spoilers because I need from now (March 15th) until release day to process what happened. So grateful for the ARC, but also keeping THAT quite for two months is gonna be hard.

This balanced out Cross the Line so well. It wasn’t that spicy and what spice there was was well placed and felt like it had a purpose rather than just being there for the sake of it. I had such a fun time reading. It felt so different to other marriage of convenience books. The pining!! The twists!!

I’m so glad I didn’t have to wait until the end of May to read this, but not having a physical copy in my hands until the end of May may end me.

I was sadly disappointed by this book. Billed as an F1 romance I just don't think there was enough F1 in the book to justify this. There's only one race weekend in the book (and one in the epilogue), and it takes half the book to get there. Yes, there it is set during the off season and there is some behind the scenes chapters and the gala, but I wanted more racing.
On the other hand, stella was a great, well-written, independent women, and Thomas was the perfect gentleman. I enjoyed watching their relationship evolve through the book.
Soltani is a great writer, and her characters always have such depth but I can't help but be disappointed by the misleading blurb.

This was a highly anticipated release for me as I read Cross The Line last year and loved it and, as someone who really likes F1, I was excited to see where else the series would go. I'm pleased to say it lived up to my expectations!

This book follows Stella and Thomas, both of whom are going through difficult times in terms of their reputations. When they accidentally get married in Vegas, they make a deal that could help them both improve their image. I loved the accidental marriage of convenience and it was execso well in this book. All the times Thomas referred to Stella as 'my wife' were just wonderful! The progression of their relationship from strangers to friends to eventual lovers was developed so well throughout the book and seeing them navigate this while also being husband and wife was sweet, funny, and realistic.

The characters themselves also felt very realistic. Stella was both confident and vulnerable and the combination of these was portrayed very well and you could see how her experiences had shaped her as a person. Thomas was also such an amazing character. You could see how he truly cared for Stella and he was such a loving and caring partner.

I was a bit disappointed with the third act conflict as, after all the growth that the characters had shown, I didn't really like how it played out. It wasn't awful though and I can see why the main thing was needed for the plot, it was just the execution I didn't love. I do also wish we git to see more of the side plots develop throughout the book as they seemed to just be quickly resolved at the end and felt a bit rushed.

Overall, though, this was a sweet and funny F1 romance and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

The slowest of slow burns, that started out with such heat and passion, it had me blushing!

I enjoyed Cross the Line by Soltani, and I loved this one a lot too. Truly a top notch romance, the chemistry between the characters was off the charts and their relationship progressed in such a satisfying way. The accidental marriage of convenience was delicious, and all the "my wife" moments had me swooning.

I could have done without Stella running off without communicating with Thomas towards the end, but I guess I understand the reasoning behind it based on her past experiences.

The partial London and Cotswolds setting was my favourite, I really love reading about England from an American perspective when it's done in such a fun and respectful way.

Oh wow! I cannot wait for others to fall in love with Thomas (and Stella) the way I did!

An absolutely stunning sequel to Cross The Line.

My thanks to Simone, their publishing team and Netgalley for the chance to read this arc!

4.5 stars

I read the first book in the series last year and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to jump into this one — and as an F1 fan, I have to say, this was such a fun ride.

Stella is still reeling from being left at the altar, and Thomas is trying to avoid his own PR mess when they end up at the same party in Vegas. One wild night (and a lot of drinks) later, they’re married — and decide to stay that way, at least for now. What I loved most was how easy they were together. The chemistry was there right away, but their respect and support for each other made me root for them even more. Thomas might just be the ultimate green flag, and Stella’s mix of confidence and vulnerability made her feel real. The F1 parts added a nice touch without ever feeling too technical, and I really liked how the sport naturally fit into the story without taking over. It felt like the perfect balance.

4/5 stars — if you love F1, marriage of convenience, and two people falling for each other hard, this one’s for you.

Read this book for:
🧁Marriage of Convenience
🏁Obssessed MMC x Independent FMC
🧁F1 Driver x Entrepreneur (bakery)
🏁Slow Burn
🧁Forced Proximity
🏁Both Millionaires

Synopsis
Stella Baldwin’s luck has officially hit rock bottom—or so she thought. Left at the altar and humiliated online, she reluctantly tags along to Vegas for a bachelorette party that only makes her heartache worse. Enter Thomas Maxwell-Brown, a scandal-ridden F1 driver looking to escape his troubles for the night. One drunken mistake later, they wake up married. Their impulsive vows might just be the key to fixing their lives, but as sparks fly, their convenient arrangement becomes anything but simple. Could this reckless decision be exactly what they both needed?

My Thoughts
This book is the second installment in the Lights Out series, and I have to say—it was a pleasant surprise! So far, this is my favorite book in the series.
Stella Baldwin was left at the altar, having completely lost herself in her past relationship. So when she finds herself in Las Vegas for her cousin’s joint bachelor and bachelorette party, she decides it’s time to rediscover the fun, confident version of herself. She wants to let loose, embrace the moment, and prove to herself that she still has it.

Thomas Maxwell-Brown, on the other hand, isn’t exactly thrilled to be there. The only reason he’s attending is because Ron—the groom—is a friend of his brother’s, and since his brother had to bow out due to his wife’s pregnancy, Thomas was roped into filling in. But the moment he steps onto the party bus, his mood shifts. He immediately notices a stunning woman in a white dress, legs for miles, exuding effortless confidence. She could easily be a model.
Their first stop is a casino, where Stella sits with her back to the bar, scanning the crowd for some harmless flirting. That’s when she unknowingly hooks Thomas. Drawn to her, he strikes up a conversation, and from that moment on, they’re inseparable. Even as the night unfolds—with activities that range from a strip club to an extravagant eight-course dinner—they remain wrapped up in each other. The drinks are flowing, the chemistry is undeniable, and one thing leads to another. Before they know it, they’re waking up in Las Vegas, married. Drunk. Married.

Now, they have two choices: stay married or get an annulment. On paper, the obvious decision would be to part ways. But in reality, things are more complicated. Stella is already reeling from her very public heartbreak, with a viral video of her drunkenly ranting about men making waves online. Meanwhile, Thomas is dealing with his own PR nightmare—a video of him wishing death upon his Formula 1 teammate, who later ended up paralyzed from the waist down due to reckless driving. Neither of them can afford another scandal. So, they agree to stay together.
And honestly? I love them together.

Thomas is exactly what Stella needs—someone who allows her to be herself without judgment, who lifts her up when she needs support. Their relationship is built on mutual respect, care, and understanding. The way they prioritize each other and encourage personal growth is beautiful to watch. The slow burn is just right, and Thomas? He’s a walking green flag. I love that Stella not only finds love but also discovers an even stronger version of herself. She gets the closure she deserves, and it’s so satisfying to witness.

Another highlight was Willow’s involvement in their love story, which added even more depth to their journey. The friendships in this book were also a standout, especially the interactions with Mika—they were some of my favorite moments!
There aren’t any hints about a third book yet, but if there is one, I’ll be more than happy to continue reading this series.

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.