Fast Love by Kerry Lockhart had well-developed characters and a plot that was engaging. This was a delight to read. I highly recommend!

**Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the e-ARC. All opinions expressed are voluntary and my own.**

I really tried to connect with the characters and like the book, but I wasn't able to. I did love the cover and the description of the book, but it did not fulfill the promise.

This was an enjoyable read with lovely characters and a fun premise that I had not as of yet ventured in to. Great debut from Kerry!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Kerry Lockhart for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this but sadly I just didn’t. The story didn’t keep me coming back for more and I didn’t connect to the characters or feel the chemistry I usually do.

I also felt some of the chapters ended quite abruptly and just skipped over to something new so it wasn’t as cohesive either.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This rom-com was so fun to read. It's full of quick wit and silly, delightful banter, lots of slapstick scenarios, and an instant attraction between the main characters. There's also a great storyline with family secrets, deceit, and secondary characters that try to steal the story. I really look forward to reading more by Kerry Lockhart.

A great debut from this author. I really enjoyed the storyline and fresh take in this genre! I love a good queer love story and look forward to reading more in this series!

I liked the premise, but I had a hard time connecting to the characters. They weren’t really well developed and I struggled with the not-cheating-cheating aspect part. The subplots were fine, but not fully integrated with the story to me. The family dynamics were interesting, but I needed more background. The romance was very sexual and less connection, which is fine, but not usually what I prefer. Overall it was a decent read, but not in my preferred wheelhouse.

DNFed at 22%/beginning of Chapter 7

Julia Shaw is a historical romance author and Bobbi Yoshida-Barnes is a stock car driver. Julia and Bobbi first have an encounter in an airport bar before they meet again at their siblings’ wedding party. Julia doesn’t think her sister should go through with the wedding, Bobbi needs the wedding to go on so her racing sponsorship continues.

This book just wasn’t for me! I’m a big Formula 1 fan and was super interested in reading a fun sapphic racing related story, maybe we get some more racing aspects later however I couldn’t see myself continuing with this. I wasn’t enjoying either main character or their respective friends and especially didn’t like the previous relationship backstories for our main characters. Julia is engaged - albeit unhappily - when she first meets Bobbi and she doesn’t seem to have any hint of breaking that off even though she acknowledges that she misses being treated better. Additionally, we see a brief potential flirtation between Julia’s sister (also engaged and about to be married) have some major flirting with a lawn care man at her own party.

I loved the cute cover and premise of this sapphic stock car racer romance. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’m the right reader for this book. I’m too Southern Californian, prefer a deeper connection between romantic couples, and the author’s sense of humor didn’t click with my own.

The opening was a struggle because of my familiarity with both LAX and Molly Malone’s Irish Pub. Several characters leaving LAX—an airport that has plenty of bars in it—without their luggage to hit up a bar they’d be stuck in traffic for ages to reach made no sense to me, especially during hours when that bar is closed. Their luggage would have been stolen or confiscated by the time they returned to pick it up.

However, that probably won’t bother non-Angelenos.

Despite the rough start, I attempted to push through, but ultimately ended up not finishing 17% of the way in at Chapter 6. Neither of the protagonists were likable to me, and their attraction seemed superficial and purely lust-based. I prefer romances where the interest goes beyond just physical appearances.

I also prefer whimsical, clever wordplay fueled humor like Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Christopher Moore. This book’s humor was closer to that of Amy Schumer, so fans of her and similar comedians may enjoy it more than I did.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Victory Editing for the ARC

While I did want to like this book, I ended up stopping a quarter of the way through. The MC's Bobbi and Julia had good chemistry and the banter between the characters was witty, but the flow of the writing was too chaotic for me to be able to follow.

Fast Love by Kerry Lockhart is an adult romcom about Bobbi, a racecar driver who recently broke up with her cheating ex, and Julia, a writer who’s engaged but not in love. The two of them have a brief meet cute at an airport and sparks fly only for them to meet properly the next day when they discover their respective siblings are marrying each other. Unfortunately, Julia wants to stop the wedding for the good of her sister and Bobbi needs it to go off without a hitch.

This book was not for me. I didn’t enjoy the writing at all, for multiple reasons. For one thing, there were so many comments degrading certain types of women for no reason– for example, when Bobbi and Julia first meet, Bobbi sarcastically asks if Julia has watched Pretty Woman too many times to which Julia becomes annoyed and responds, “Are you saying I’m the type of woman to sit around filing my nails, streaming rom-coms, and reading romance novels on my Kindle?” I’m sorry but last time I checked, nothing about those assumptions would be insulting. I especially found the belittling of reading romance novels to be ironic coming from a character who is a romance author. Later on, a side character describes a woman he dislikes as smelling like hair dye and goes on to add, “Yeah, ya know, plastic.” I thought we left the unnecessary bashing of femininity in the 2000s so the many comments like these really rubbed me the wrong way.

I also had an issue with the dialogue, which all came off as very unnatural. Whether it was between Julia and Bobbi, Julia and her best friend, Sandy, or any other combination of characters, practically every line spoken was trying so hard to be quippy, amusing banter that it did the complete opposite and just felt awkward.

As for the romance, I didn’t feel a connection between Bobbi and Julia at all. They locked eyes and immediately fell for each other. There was no development or emotional connection; it felt like nothing more than physical lust. This wasn’t helped by the fact that it felt like every other sentence for at least the first 20% of the book included one of them describing how hot and sexy the other one was. Bobbi also commented excessively on how tiny Julia was which didn’t bother me the first couple times but quickly became irritating when it didn’t let up.

The characters themselves were okay. I didn’t dislike any of them but they felt like caricatures. Bobbi was cool, collected, and confident and Julia was a frazzled spitfire. I felt like I knew nothing about their interests or personalities outside of those vague traits and their careers. The side characters were even more one-dimensional. Sandy especially didn’t feel like a real person to me. He was there to offer snarky commentary to Julia when it suited the plot and beyond that he was nothing.

I can see how the plot of this book might be appealing to certain people. If you're into car racing you might enjoy Bobbi’s story, as certain aspects of her career– especially misogyny in the workplace– were discussed a bit. There were also wedding hijinks and family drama on both Bobbi’s and Julia’s sides for people who enjoy familial relationships in books– Bobbi had issues with her selfish, overbearing father and Julia’s mother seemed to care more about money and appearances than anything else.

Overall, I wouldn’t say this book was inherently bad. If the synopsis appeals to you and you’re looking for a short, lighthearted, unserious sapphic romance, then maybe give it a chance. However, I think there are many books out there that share similar elements with far better execution and I personally don’t think this one is worth the read.

Cute, fun, and enjoyable read. I enjoyed the wit and banter between the two main characters. Nothing bad to say about it, I always enjoy a good rom com.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I fell fast and hard for this book. Lockhart writes a chaotic romcom. This worked for me but would prob be difficult for orderly readers. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, Keen Jean Books LLC, and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

this was probably one of the most chaotic book I've ever read. For once, I'm still confused over the timeline of this book and it doesn't help that it's been a while since I finished it but from my very blurry memories, they fell in love really quickly which I always find a bit unbelievable. Now it was nice to see women in car racing since it seems to be a very male dominated field and their romance was pretty funny. I also had a lot of fun with Julia's parents plot line which was quite entertaining. Other than that, it was a fun book but nothing extraordinary. 3 stars.

3.5 stars, but I can't round it to 4

Bobbi, a racer, fresh out of relationships, meets Julia, a "teacher" who is secretly a novel writer, with a very complicated family and fiancee, in a bar, and then at Bobbi's brother's and Julia's sister's wedding. Sparks fly, and complications grow.
As complications grew, complications to follow and understand the plot and all the characters and situations grew. It got better in the middle of the book, but there was always something incoming. Is this book good? It's fine, but just that. It has funny moments, and most or all characters have interesting personalities, I will give it that, yet I lacked the personality and character development of leads - Julia and Bobbi, they were somewhat on the same "development" level as everyone else. Additionally, timing and plot are a bit of chaos - most activities happen in the span of 2-3 days, but it feels like at least a week went by. Just as the name of the book - fast love, like really fast love. Julia's parents' storyline was fun to hear. It was unexpected and suited to the chaos of the situation. What was out of place, and I can't believe I'm saying that, but the love scene in the end felt unnecessary.
I'm still a bit lost on what to make of this book. Should you check this book? Maybe. Is it great? No. Is it fine? Yes. Will you lose something if you don't read it? Only parents' story, other than that - no.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to get into this book but I ended up giving up about 20% in. There were things I liked that kept me reading for awhile ie. the humor and the quirky side characters, especially Sandy. However, I found the writing style confusing and had a hard time making sense of who was speaking and from what pov.

I would say this author has potential and this book would benefit from some additional editing.

Campy and fun but too far out from what I usually read so it was harder for me to get into.
I really wanted to love it but I just couldn't seem to connect with the characters.

I wish I had liked this book more, but unfortunately it missed the mark for me. There are makings of a really interesting, great story - I loved the female race car driver aspect, and that is what originally drew me into the story. For me, the book lacked a flow, and there were moments I lost whose storyline I was following, and which characters were speaking. I'm not a fan of "triangle" love stories, especially when the other relationship is still going on well into the middle of the book. There are sweet moments, as well as depth and personal growth. There is potential here! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this very funny book

a stock car racer
a wedding and a romance novelist

what could go wrong

julia shaw is off to her sisters hasty wedding in L.A
stock car driver, Bobbi Yoshida-Barnes is also at the airport where these two meet and have a brief enjoyable few moments

neither realising they are heading to the same wedding

when finally arriving at their destination julia realises this wedding is all as it not seems and decides to take drastic action for everyone sakes

this would have to be the funniest book i have read in ages and the dynamics of the characters in the book made for an interesting read

the sumo wrestling had me in stitches and there are so many lighthearted and funny moments that this is a must read for everyone

looking forward to seeing what else this author brings out in the future