A nice easy F1 romance with good nods to F1 as a whole and just a nice read to start the bank holiday off! The details were clearly well researched and made the difference to the plot. Great to see a female as the focus of the F1.

first of all, thank you netgalley for the arc! i think this book has potential, however all the POVs make the story confusing and the F1 parts are always over before you think it has started. the chemistry between Mig and Diana was also not present in my opinion. overall, this was not my type of romance book.

'Take a look.'
'At us?'
'At how goddamn good we look together.'

Oh how I love the world of Formula 1.

Off track is a Dual POV sports romance that focuses on Diana (Diyana) and Miguel, two drivers at the top of their game, competing for the F1 world championship. Miguel De La Fuente is hoping that this season will be the season he finally takes home the World Championship, and live up to the legendary De La Fuente name. Diana is in her rookie season, and is hoping that she can prove to everyone that she deserves to be on the track just as much as her 19 other male counterparts. They are drawn to each other, and as the pressure mounts, they find solace in each other. But can any relationship survive the breakneck, cutthroat world of Formula 1?

This book is an ode to women who have to constantly prove they deserve to be in the room in male dominated fields, and given the current feeling many spectators have seen towards women in F1 recently, it seemed like an essentail read. Every women has identified with Diana's internal struggle before, even without being a F1 driver. But one of the things that really made it stand out was that the struggles Diana faced, and Paula for that matter faced as women in F1, was that it was never made out to bea case of 'oh the men have it so easy'. It highlighted the struggles and the worries that men in F1 feel on a daily basis, without overshadowing the sturggles that women face.

I loved Diana as a character, and her development, going from 'I just need to smile and nod and do whatever they ask', to 'actually, none of the other drivers are being asked to do this, so why am I?'. It really interested me how subtle the change was over the course of the book, but as Diana's perspective of the Formula 1 world began to shift, so did the attitude towards her of those around her, it was so well done that it was something I hadn't realised happening until near the end of the book. I was happy when she was happy, I was sad when she was sad, she was such a relatable character. We could all do with being a little more Diana.

Miguel was an interesting read. He defintley remided me of some of the current drivers on the grid, but in the best ways possible. The cheekiness and boyishness, cut with the ruthless way he drives, and the way he thinks and overthinks made him such an interesting character to read, and I really enjoyed the chapters being in his head. Seeing him change and come to terms with the way people in his life will react to him, and the way he holds himself was one of the best character developments I've read for a while. The difference between his way of thinking of the grid and Diana's way of thinking was so fascinating to read, as they both had different expectations, as Miguel had more years race experience.

The side characters were fun to read about, and they always added soemthing to story, whether it was Miguel realising all the things Diana was having to deal with as a rookie, and as the only female on the grid, from the press to the other drivers, or Diana learning that they can be friendly off the track, but a single overtake could change the dynamic in a realtionship. The changes in Nic especially from moving from one racing team to another is so well done and shows the difference in mentality when you're racing for a top team and when you are the top driver in that team.

This book was equally character and story driven, and the politics of Formula 1 made the book so enjoyable, that I really struggled putting it down. The only rhing that stopped it being a five stars was the one little bit at the end with a small time jump, and then following the next page with another time jump. I personally would have happily read another book covering the events, but thats just me. 4.5 stars. One of my favourites that I've read so far this year.

Thanks to NetGalley, Esha Patel, and Avon Books UK, for the opportunity to read this early copy. All thoughts are my own.

This was a proper behind the scenes, smell the petrol fumes, see the political warts and understand the deals done and the contracts fudged book. F1 is how off in chauvinistic glory from behind the curtain. Diyana fights for her place driving, her parents give their all to support her and following the challenges, the photo shoots, the pit stops go right and wrong are interesting. The book threw so many people and names and teams and back room poeople that I struggled to stay on top of what was going on, to top it off a few nicknames were thrown in. The idea is great, the detail amazing, the plot didn’t quite work for me though.

DNF @ 37%

This was honestly just not for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters. It was very heavy on the sport of it all, which was fine, but there was one part about the "tyres" not being "screwed on right" that really just gave me the ??? I'm not actually a massive F1 fan, but I am a car girlie and those are the details you just have to get right, in my opinion. That could just be me being too picky but I just wasn't invested enough in the story to continue.

This is a very very very very very generous 2.25 - 2.5 star rating from me. When I saw this book I was fully committed to dive further into my sport romance era, but damn.
I wanted to DNF twice. Once at 30% and then again at 80%.

After I finished the book, I went back to read the synopsis just to make sure and yes, it does say “enemies to lovers romance”. Unfortunately, this book is by any means not an enemies-to-lovers, not even a rivals-to-lovers, story. And calling this a romance is kind of a stretch in my humble opinion.

The pacing might have been my biggest issue, because it made zero sense to me, whether it was from chapter to chapter or even within a chapter. Would have loved some time (and location) indicators.

As much sense Miguel and Diana may make as a couple, they very barely spent any time together until they suddenly were a couple. There was a lot (and when I say a lot, I really mean a lot) of focus on the F1 part, which the F1 girlies might appreciate. But it did come at the cost of the romance part of the story.
Up until 60%, the two leads barely had any moments to connect and liking each other was communicated through looks, shy smiles and blushing.

What I didn’t understand was Jatziry’s character. She was barely there, spoke maybe 5 sentences and really didn’t add anything valuable to the subplot or Miguel’s character arc. I feel like this space could have been used to develop a relationship with Diana or any other character for that matter.

The 3rd-act-break up was pure audacity, really. Smh.

What I did appreciate was the really well portrayed international level F1 has as well as the sexism and misogyny Diana faced, being the only female driver in F1. However, while the approach in the book was probably the more realistic one, I wish there would have been more confrontation on that front.

The author profile is a 10/10 though.

(I did read some reviews mentioning the writing and the multiple povs. The writing for me was fine, by any means not bad or horrible. And the version I read had only two povs: Miguel and Diana.)

Thank you Avon for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 30%

This book is not reader-friendly for those not already familiar with the rules and culture of F1. Multiple time jumps make it hard to follow along with the story. I felt like I was playing catch-up the whole book and was unable to connect with the story. I might suggest it for a reader who already has background knowledge and an investment in f1, but otherwise it's a skip for me.

3/5
this was an enjoyable read, not the best F1 romance ive read, i thought the slowburn was indeed quite... slow but other than that its super quick and easy, light read!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!

Diana Zahrani is the newest F1 racer, despite many obstacles, her biggest being female. Miguel de la Fuente is at the top of the charts and doesn’t initially take any rookies seriously, he has his hands full with his own engagement and racing. However, Diana’s natural charm and strong work ethic begin to have Miguel seeing her in different eyes. When his engagement falls apart, he realizes the feelings he’s been avoiding are for non-other than his rival -Diana but he is unsure how she feels about him. The two begin to get closer but once word gets out Diana has to choose between Miguel and their blooming relationship or her career in F1.

Finally. A book with a FMC who isn’t weak. Diana is a badass, she took everything thrown her way and roller with it or changed the narrative. The characters are so diverse but are accepting of each other’s differences, it was nice to see. Miguel flying Diana’s parents out to the US race had me ready to cry.

I will be honest, I’ve only read one other F1 romance book from a big author and hated it, so I was hesitant about requesting this one but it did not disappoint.

The plot got a little slow at times, but having finished the book, I see why it all was necessary. I’m looking forward to reading more of Esha Patel’s writing.

I really enjoyed the F1 aspect of this. As a big fan of F1, it's nice to see decent take on it as other F1 Romances I've read in the past have fell flat for me and don't seem to do the Formula 1 side justice. I liked seeing Diana's character and all the races. She was strong and carried good representation both for POC and also being a woman in a male dominated world.

That said, I don't think this should be marketed as an enemies to lovers romance. It read more as a friends to lovers to me as Miguel and Diana hit it off pretty much straight away and got along with each other. I didn't really see an enemy dynamic between them. I also preffered them as friends and didn't see much chemistry or spark between them.

Overall though, as a fictional F1 book with a romance subplot, I liked this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC :)

I’ve only read few car romance books. This was decent edition to those. Had fun time reading this. Would recommend this.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

I am a huge F1 girly. I’ve watched all of Drive to Survive and I watch as many races as I can every season, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. While the premise is something I really liked and it definitely drew me in, I didn’t mesh well with the writing style. The writing style kind of distracted me from the details of the story which had so so so much potential! I wanted to root for Miguel and Diana but again I found myself distracted from them. There were too many POVs for me to enjoy thoroughly enjoy the book. That isn’t saying that no one would enjoy this book. I see a lot of merit in the story, and I think if you like multiple POVs then you might really like reading Offtrack. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Offtrack
By: Esha Patel
Review Score: 3 3/4 stars

Why Was This Book “Just Ok”?
The F1/actual racing part of the book was really well done. The rest of the story, however, felt a bit disjointed.

Do I still recommend it?
Yes. I think, if you are a fan of F1, you will still find some enjoyment in reading this.

———————————————

Offtrack was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Avon Books UK. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

Release Date: 5/9/24

I am a big F1 fan, so I was super excited to read a book about a girl who starts racing in F1.

I loved that particular aspect of the story. Patel writes races really well, and I was fully engaged in that part of the story.

Where I struggled, and why this wasn’t quite a 4 star for me, was the rest of the story. It was hard at times to jump between Miguel and Diana. I am usually a fan of Dual Points of View, but it didn’t help me follow this book. I also didn’t love the backgrounds in general. It felt like parts were added in all of a sudden, and I would have to pause and wonder if I was missing information.

Finally, this book claims to be an “enemies to lovers” story, but I don’t really feel that these 2 were ever enemies. Rivals, definitely. But the enemy part wasn’t really there for me. This was also an incredubly slow burn in terms of romance. If you like F1 Books like The Dirty Air Series by Lauren Asher, this may not be for you.

I still did enjoy this story, and think others would too. I just didn’t love it.

#bookstagram #books #readingnow #boogiereadsbooks #fivekeyfeels #audiobooks #audiobook #fiction #arcreview #netgalley #boogiesbulletpoints #justokwednesday #offtrack #eshapatel #avonbooksuk

I know other reviews have pointed out issues with the writing style but I didn’t mind this!

I thought the romance was pretty believable too.

While I thought I was going to love this one as my first F1 romance, the number of POVs made it confusing. If this had been lowered I think it would have been a more cohesive read.

Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for the ARC

I am currently in my formula 1 romance era and I am not a little bit sorry about it. So when I saw this pop up on my NetGalley I was like I am going to have to give it a go. And then I was approved. I really enjoyed the way that this book was written and how it used the idea that people you have met can cause us to question everything we have held dear for years. Our priorities shift and these two really did that. I loved the way that they navigated a world that male dominated and after reading the note from the author I can tell why.. I felt the same way when it was said.
This book has banter f1 and opens up the idea that fate can happen even in contemporary romance novels I read this book in one sitting and I cannot wait to see what more this author does because I was enthralled by the writing the characters and how a certain show could be if it didn’t focus on all the drama iykyk. I am having great luck with f1 romances at the moment and I am excited about the amount we are getting because as a f1 girlie and a reader I feel I am in my element here.

I was drawn to the synopsis of this book. I had seen a few other F1 racing romance novels where the driver is always the male lead, so seeing a book where we have a female protagonist who becomes an F1 driver was very exciting. As expected, what follows did not come easy for Diyana. I appreciate the way this book tries to open up the conversation on some of the problems that female athletes may face in a typically male-dominated sport. In the book, Diyana has to deal with sexist comments, being belittled, and talked down to because of her gender. I would image this is a real thing that happens to many athletes. I liked that this was a central element in this book and integral to Diyana's characterisation. I also appreciate the author's knowledge of the sport, and the use of all the technical linguistics– obviously I can't say if it's "realistic" but it did immerse me in the story.

However, there were some things that I did not like. For one, the writing wasn't to my taste. I felt like there wasn't too many descriptions in some areas which made the reading feel a bit one-dimensional, and then other times there was long paragraphs of many descriptions which were unnecessary. I wasn't a fan of the multiple povs either and found myself skim reading a few paragraphs if I was uninterested.

The best part of this book was the f1 elements, I’m a big f1 fan so reading about it was fun. Everything Else fell short for me. I didn’t like the female main character, she kept doing things that made me angry and want to stop reading,

First of thank you to negalley for providing me with an arc of this book.

This is the first book I've read from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've loved F1 books but found there haven't been many I have enjoyed so I was excited to see there was a book that I haven't read yet.

I love the dynamic between Miguel and Diana, Miguel really believed in Diana and I loved the way theyre relationship developed through the book.

Diana is exactly what I love for in a FMC, she's strong, determined but also can be vulnerable when needed to be. Its rare to find a F1 book where there's a female racer so I really enjoyed this aspect.

The writing style wasn't my complete favourite, however I see real potential in this author and would love to read more from her.

Received via netgalley as an arc copy.

This book was cute, average and expected but it was cute. It had some funny moments, some sweet moments and if a comfortable read, but it wasn't fantastic, it's just OK. So if you are looking for an easy read, something light and Fluffy, this is a good choice.

This writing style was really hard to follow and I guess I don’t care enough about F1 like I thought! I was trying to expand my horizons and read about a new sport but I found myself skimming a lot.