This was certainly an enjoyable, easy read.
The characters were great, the storyline had a great pace throughout, with suspense, humour, drama and steamy moments too. This was certainly a book I enjoyed.

A Fast Woman was a fun book with much more heart than expected. CJ and Grady's chemistry just leap off the page and make you root for them despite their differences, the forced competition (they are fighting for a spot on a car racing team) and the emotional baggage they both bring to the relationship. I loved how natural it seemed from the start.

It does seem like there might be more to this story and I look forward to it. I am hoping for some more on Harper.

Complementary copy given for honest review and opinion.
I loved this book. It was perfect. The main characters were completely relatable. I wouldn’t change a thing.

The fast woman is a book about a woman C. J. Lomax has been driving, racing her whole life. Now thinking that she will finally get a full-time ride on the big boy’s circuit she finds out that she will be sharing half the ride with an Indy driver who was suspended for a year. Not happy she agrees to the terms.
Grady the Indy driver puts his foot in his mouth early in the story for he does not know the history of the family or of C.J. and some of the other drivers. Once he starts putting everything together and hears the back story about C.J. and her ex who died he begins to get a feel for what is going on besides racing.
This is really is what this book was about, yes there is plenty of action on the speedway and the author did a good job describing the racing and the talking from driver to spotter. But you see all of the backstories with C.J. and you also see how Mr. Merrick really has used his relationship with her and his own daughter Harper as a way to hinder their growth instead of letting them soar.
I will say that the woman that C.J. was at the beginning driving her Ducati and giving everyone hell, change partway through because she and Grady were dating. I had hoped she would have stayed the same. But the ending with her and Harper and the Aunt and what they did to Mr. Merrick was classic. Overall a good story with many different characters and they all work for the book.

It took me a little while to finish this book, the first I have read by this author.

A female racedriver? Sign me up. CJ delivers as the woman fighting for her spot in a male dominated world. She has to go up against Grady as they will both be competing for the same job and the same car. And when sparks fly it is not just hostile...

Overall I liked the writing and the storyline, but I never really warmed to CJ or Grady. I kept picking up the book and putting it down, hence the long while it took me to finish. When I am really into a story I normally race through it until I have finished it (sorry for the pun). In short: good writing, a bit meh characters but overall good storyline. If you are into racing, go for it!

What a thrilling ride! This was my first experience reading this author's work and I will definitely be coming back for more based on my enjoyment of this debut. I loved CJ's character -- it was so refreshing to read a female character who had determination, grit and focus in a male-dominated sport. The story flowed nicely and I definitely got caught up in the racing portions, so much so, that I was up late into the night reading because I just couldn't put it down. And as much as I loved CJ, I adored Grady -- he was everything CJ needed and more. This was a surprisingly fun and unique read and I can't wait to read Ms. Doran's next book -- maybe Harper's?! I can only wish! I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC for NetGalley.

Meh, unfortunately this was not for me. It wasn’t horrible, but I didn’t like either CJ or Grady, and because of that I wasn’t invested. I did finish it, but I ended up skimming a lot.

***3.5 Stars***

A Fast Woman is the first book in the Driven Women series by Laralyn Doran.

CJ is the only woman in Stock Car racing, and she’s not about to let the men and the big guns in the industry push her to the side or overlook her. She’s been the best since she was a little girl, and she’s going to continue being the best. She’s the top prospect driver for Merrick Motorsports and nothing is going to stand in her way, this time.

Once upon a time, Grady McBane was the best, and the one to beat. Until he found himself in the middle of public controversy and banned from open-wheel racing. But racing is in Grady’s blood and he’s not about to quit over a bruised ego and miscommunication. When he gets a call from Merrick Motorsports asking him to race Stock on their team, he can’t refuse. Stock may be the only way to achieve his dreams and he’s not about to let the dream of racing go so quickly.

Now CJ and Grady are in for the fight of their life. There’s only one spot for one racer on Merrick’s team…. They have one season to prove themselves. They have only one season to rightfully win the seat in that car and that’s all that matters….

Well that’s all that mattered…

Until fate steps in and takes their hearts on a little joy ride of her own….

My Thoughts:

When I first read the synopsis for A Fast Woman, I felt a thrill unlike any other. A woman dominating in a typical all male sport… HELL YEAH! I legit had grabby hands and needed this book on my kindle as soon as possible. Laralyn Doran being a new to me author was and is a happy bonus. As you all may know, or don’t know, this year I am making it my mission to experience as many new to me authors as I possibly can.

Enemies to lovers has quickly made a rise in my top trope chart. I love the playful banter and the emotion that tends to portray itself in novels with the enemies to lovers vibe. There’s a certain level of fragility that underlines these novels. There is also, at times, a forbidden vibe that comes along with this trope… My attention is instantly grabbed whenever the ‘Forbidden Romance’ label comes into play. What can I say, I’m a sucker for angsty moments.

Within the first few chapters of this novel I discovered Laralyn Doran has a way with words. She captured my ‘emotional’ attention from the start. CJ and Grady’s story was hard for me to put down. I stayed up way too late to finish this bad boy!

The more I saw of him, the more Grady’s character surprised me. The story goes, he was banned from his team for being a womanizing asshole. He got mixed up with a woman, who had played him in the worst way possible. Little did he know this woman was married to one of his biggest sponsors…… If that doesn’t tarnish a reputation, I have no clue what will. So at the start of this novel, he’s rated as the bad boy of racing. And in a way, I wanted to see that bad boy appeal a bit more. But this man is too nice and sweet to be a bad boy. In my mind, I pictured him more as the boy next door. I actually really loved his swoon and sweetheart vibes underneath all the sex appeal.

If we’re talking about rebellious characters, we’re talking about Charolette Jean ‘CJ’ Lomax! At the beginning of this novel, this woman was FIRE! She had the spitfire appeal that comes with an abundance of independence. I love when a heroine speaks her own mind and doesn’t let anyone stand in her way. This woman bulldozed her way to the top spot in Stock Car racing, she made a name for herself and a reputation as being the ‘not so sweetheart’ of racing. With all the publicity and the proof that she can make it as one of the best racers. I loved her feisty spirit throughout the first half of this novel.

I have to say, in my opinion, CJ lost a bit of her spark throughout the second half of the novel. I didn’t like the fact that she lost that spark as soon as she and Grady became involved romantically. I lost sight of the strong chemistry these two had between them in the first half of the novel. I lost that connection with all the back and forth, I want you but I shouldn’t want you, moments. I wanted these two to be the force that drives home the fact that women can still be strong and stand on their own whilst being in a relationship.

Another reasoning behind my rating…. This novel revolves around this huge competition between Grady and CJ. The winner gets the one seat on Merrick’s racing team…. That means there are two dreams and only one person is literally going to be left in the dust with their head hanging. Now, don’t get me wrong, I loved the fact that Grady stepped in and did what he did on the track to protect CJ. He literally put his life on the line to save her from a Talledega nightmare…. I felt a tad bit cheated on this ending. I needed a true competition between these two. I wanted CJ to come out as the true champion, not a champion by default. I guess when matters of the heart are concerned, CJ did come out as the true champion, she got the guy and a love that has the potential to last forever. What can I say? My selfish side has a way of showing sometimes.

Overall, The first half of A Fast Woman was spot on! I loved the vibes, the competitive nature, and the friendships. But the second half felt a bit rushed. I needed more from CJ and Grady’s relationship on all aspects. I can’t deny, though, the romance aspect had my heart fluttering and my soul smiling. Which made this review really fucking hard to write. There were facets I enjoyed and situations I found less enjoyable. I’m currently in a wishy washy state of mind.

The question of the hour is…. Do I recommend this novel?
I have to chalk my rating and review up to my own selfish needs. So yes, if you love racing, strong heroines, and an enemies to lovers vibe, I say go for it and check this book out.

This was a new author for me and the description pulled me in. The storyline was great and the characters - both the main ones and the supporting cast were really well written. The storyline had me hooked from the start and I was rooting for both CJ and Grady throughout, Their interactions initially were sharp and funny. I felt CJ was more developed as a character than Grady, maybe his back family drama may be explored in another book about Cal?
I will definitely be on the look out for more books by Laralyn Doran. It was a great read from start to finish.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book.

This book had been a heart stokr !! I loved it, the author brought me with her in her story and I've been eaten by it !!

Cj is a pilote, and a really good one, but she's a woman, and she's in a man's world !! She wants to show all these guys that she's better than them and know how to race !!
Grady come from a really good family and after messing up, he has to start from the beginning, so he found himself in competition with Cj to win a place in the team for the next season, but he didn't plan to fall for her !!
Their story was just incredible and I loved it, Cj has a past and even if she's a real badass, she's also a fragile woman, who don't show her emotions a lot, and I love that face of her personnality !!

I really enjoyed this book. This was a new author to me and I will definitely be reading more of her in the future. I was a little nervous in the beginning that they hero and heroine would be caricatures of a bitchy woman and a playboy guy but they both ended up being really well thought out characters with depth. I liked how their relationship developed. It felt natural. Sometimes the heros inner dialogue was a bit immature but he also had some beautiful words for the heroine and I appreciated him fighting for her. The conflict was well done. Oftentimes you can get frustrated with the characters for not just talking but this conflict had professional implications and was handled well. Can't wait for the next one!

I liked the story and the characters, I was intrigued by the blurb and the author was a new one to me!

Good book!! I definitely enjoyed reading this one! It was funny, had some slight suspense, a little drama and some heartache and heartbreak! Had a little steam to it too!! All around it had a great storyline and flowed nicely! I liked the race car aspects of it also! Definitely don't miss out on this book!Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!