Offtrack is a fun F1 romance, perfect for fans of the sport!
As a light fan of F1, it was a fun read - with both main characters being drivers for F1, the majority of it took place during race weekends and I think it's best or more enjoyable if you know the rules/understand the sport.
I enjoyed seeing an Arab woman portrayed in a male dominated sport, and coming across those issues that are very prominent in F1 and male sports. I also appreciated that the FMC was an Arab woman as well and proud of it. I did find some parts of her first F1 championship a bit unbelievable but loved it as a woman and when reading a lighthearted romance.
Miguel was a fun MMC but I did find the romance a bit too insta love with little development/seeing them really falling for each other. I am also not a fan of unnecessary third act breakups and felt this one was quite unnecessary and I didn't enjoy the reasons for it.
Overall, an enjoyable, quick read, great for fans of F1.

DNF. The writing style seemed very weird to me. It was different to connect with the characters. It felt like so much was going on and I just couldn't get into it unfortunately

I was a huge fan! Racing books are having their moment and this one is definitely up to par with others. I think it hit the mark and I loved it.

The writing/editing/structure really hindered my ability to read this. I genuinely can’t stand when dialogue doesn’t have appropriate quotation marks. And there are tons of errors that I had to keep rereading sentences to figure out what is happening.

There are too many POVs, and the POVs themselves feel very stilted and odd. Like real people don’t talk or think like that.

I just couldn’t even get invested or follow the story because it needs a lot more editing and reworking. Sad because the premise seems exciting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

tropes:
- sports romance
- childhood friends
- he falls harder

As a huge formula one fan and a romance novel lover this book seemed like it was going to be right up my street, and there were lots of things that I did admire and appreciate within this novel.

I think the introduction of having a female in F1 is wonderful (it’s 2024 why is this not a thing) and other cultures were represented beautifully throughout the book. Despite there being a few discrepancies with the world of F1 it was overall a really interesting concept and different to any racing sports romance I had read before.

I noticed immediately when reading this book that its writing style was a “tell me, not show me” whereas I always prefer the opposite. Rather than showing me through the characters actions they would often explain each thing that was happening.

I did however, find quite a few issues whilst reading this book. Which did hinder my reading experience.

- the mmc was extremely unlike able and poorly developed in my opinion. The whole concept of his arranged marriage for 35% of the book was completely irrelevant and could be taking out and have more of a desired impact.
- Representing women and feminist movement is always important, but when the obligatory “I’m on my period” scene comes up, it’s just hyper predictable.
- This books pacing was a lot slower than I would like, there was unnecessarily long descriptions within the chapters that could have been cut down by quite a large chunk. This would have made the book flow better and make for a much more enjoyable reading experience.

Unfortunately, I tried. I LOVE the aspect of a F1 romance story, I can be a sucker for a good romance when it’s done right. Unfortunately this hit the mark for me. I struggled to get into the story and believe it.

2.75/5 - I enjoyed this book, characters were likeable and the setting of F1 was good but just found it a bit predictable and lacking in excitement.

I really enjoyed the racing & F1 parts of this book, but other than that it was just alright.
The multiple POVs took me in and out of the book and the writing style isn’t for me personally.

So cute! Diana is the F1's first female driver and Miguel is the fiesty champion that she is up against all season. The enemies -to-friends-to-lovers trope was so well done!

I'm not knowledgeable about racing at all, but the book had just enough detail to let me know what was going on. Diana's character was able to embody femininity AND badassery in the same character! The romance was super sweet, not too spicy.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A good idea but not quite for me. There are a few inaccuracies and time jumps that threw me a little. I also wouldn’t say that this is really an ‘enemies to lovers’ romance. While it wasn’t for me, I’d defo recommend others give it a go.

DNF & 14%, thank you netgalley and avon books for the chance to read. Unfortunately the writing was all over the place for me and I was struggling to follow the story.

Such a shame; I was waiting for my next F1 read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Offtrack. I have been a F1 fan for over 20 years. If you overlook all the obvious F1 accuracy flaws then it is a very nice romance story. I really enjoyed the book at face value. I found the FMC and MMC to be very loveable characters. I enjoyed the dynamic and interactions between the two characters. The main F1 inaccuracy for me is that a rookie who is challenging for the WDC would not have her contract renewed. The book loses a star there for me for definite! Overall, an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review

Going into this book I thought I was going to like it as I love Formula 1 and I love romances however I ended up not liking this at all. First of all, this is a personal grip with it and if you aren't a fan of F1 it won't bother you, it wasn't realistic. Diana is an F2 champion and the only female F2 champion and you're telling me that no F1 driver has heard of her, when on the grid she's the best driver ever getting podium and win after podium and win and even winning the championship at the end IN HER ROOKIE YEAR it's almost shrugged off even to the point when she doesn't get kept on by her team at the end of the year when if this was real life her contract would have been extended half-way through the seaso </spoiler>.

My least favourite part of the book was the writing, I hated how it was mostly telling us rather than showing us, for example, there is a secondary character who is the best friend of the male main character and who starts to change in personality after getting a seat in a top team however we don't see any of this and only know about it because it was told to us when the MMC was confronting him. It was disjointed and frustrating at times and i was pulled out of the book constantly.

First things first, I love Formula 1 and I love a good self insert fanfiction. So pretty much any book that has a female lead and sort of involves F1, sign me up. Offtrack felt like an episode of Drive to Survive in the best possible way. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I did enjoy this and really appreciated the internal monologue about the struggles women face in a male dominated sport while also not taking away the strength men need to have in the sport as well. A lovely read and can't wait to read more by Esha Patel. Thank you for allowing me to read this!

I couldn’t get enough of Offtrack and what we see happen within this story here. I was so hooked into the writing so easily, and the romance is very well done too.

I personally found this book hard to get through. It took me over two weeks to read, and I’m normally a 1-2 day girlie.
It just felt long.

However, I really enjoyed the formula one theme, I’d especially recommend this to anyone who really enjoyed ‘drive to survive’. I’ve not read many ‘racing romance’ books so it was refreshing in that respect.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys formula one and anything in that realm. Many thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved the premise of this book, I think it has so much potential, but the writing style wasn't for me. I wasn't able to connect to the characters and the romance subplot felt very flat.

🌟🌟🌟🌟.5 stars
“joonam, sometimes the universe has not written that for us. It is not in our fate. […] I want you to hold on tight and fight for those moments of beauty. You have to make your own destiny”

okay where do I start?? This was so so good! I am not a Formula 1 fan, and to be honest I don’t understand it at all, and yet this novel had me hooked!! It was written very well and fully explained the whole concept in a way which was easy to understand.

Miguel and Diana are both hugely loveable and very cute characters and I adored their relationship throughout - from childhood friends to rivals to lovers! Diana’s character is such a strong independent women and it was awesome to read her story, especially in a men dominant sporting world.
basically, this was just so cute and I loved it 😄🏎️

I really loved how Formula 1 was portrayed in this book, especially since I'm a big fan of the sport. Diana's character and how the races were depicted stood out to me; she was strong and represented people of color and women admirably in a male-dominated field.

However, I think labeling this book as an "enemies to lovers" romance is misleading. The relationship between Miguel and Diana felt more like a natural progression from friendship to romance, with no real animosity between them. Personally, I found their dynamic more engaging when they were depicted as friends, lacking the romantic chemistry I expected.

What really took away from my enjoyment of the book was the writing quality. The transitions between scenes felt sudden and disjointed, and the numerous typos and editing mistakes were distracting. While I understand this was an advanced reader copy, I struggled with the overall writing style, which felt like mediocre fan fiction.

In summary, while the book has a promising premise, I hope to see significant improvements in editing before its official release. That said, as a fictional F1 story with a romantic subplot, I did find it enjoyable. The idea of a female driver breaking barriers in a traditionally male-dominated sport resonated with me, especially given her background in a place where women historically haven't had the chance to drive. If you're looking for a Formula 1-themed read, this book might scratch that itch, but expect some flaws in its execution.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Esha Patel and Avon Books UK for providing the eARC in exchange for a review, but all thoughts are my own*

I absolutely love the concept of a female driver in a male dominated sport. Especially one who comes from a place where women historically haven’t been allowed to drive. That element was really successful for me.

The romance between Diyana and Miguel was okay, but doesn’t really take off until 60% in. There are reasons for that, which I wasn’t crazy about but could see why the author went that route.

What really didn’t work for me in this book was the writing. I felt like the transitions between conversations and events in this book left much to be desired. There were also a lot of typos and editing errors, but given this was an arc, I can forgive that. The overall writing in this book felt very mediocre fan fiction though, which I struggled with.

Overall an okay book with a promising concept. I’m hoping there are some solid edits before it officially releases on May. If you’re looking for an F1 read, this will scratch the itch!