thank you netgalley for giving me an eARC of this book

so, this book is pitched as RWRB x F1 and as someone who didn't like RWRB i really enjoyed this one so take this as a big compliment!
I really liked the characters, Kian and Harper both had a precise personality and their actions always made sense. I liked how they tried to communicate and be close to each other through the book. The spice was well balanced with their cuddly moments and I really enjoyed it.
The epilogue was my fav part T.T

Kian stole my hear i will always remember him dearly <3

But i felt that we got so tiny focus on F1, i would have loved to know more about it. Also the Johannes situation was left unsaid and i hope this is just a clue that there will be a book 2.

red, white & royal blue meets formula 1.

please tell me why i, the least sportiest person on the planet, love learning about the intricacies of different sports through romance books? we can only hope they’re factually correct, because i’d honestly have no way of knowing if they’re not.

i found pole position a speedy (hah) read, with a good balance of humour and exploration of more hard-hitting topics. the two main love interests were great, although i wish we’d seen a bit more on page relationship development between them. when they were no longer ‘enemies,’ there seemed to be a lack of emphasis on the friendship part of their relationship which meant it felt lacking at times.

nevertheless, kian and harper were very charming together and i enjoyed seeing the complexities of their personal struggles here, especially as men in sport!

if you’re a lover of enemies to lovers, and sports romance, this is definitely a safe bet for you.

Thank you netgalley for this free arc in exchange for an honest review.

4 Stars ⭐

This book was advertised as Red White and Royal Blue meets F1 and that certainly delivered. This book follows 2 f1 drivers slowly falling for eachother. I liked how there wasnt an awakrd coming out scene. Both characters knew what they wanted and liked. There are also cameos from well known drivers.

If you want an easy to read f1 book during the off season this is definitely up there on my list of recommendations

3.5, rounded up.

I know less than nothing about F1, but if you tell me a book is rivals to lovers? I'm in. And I'm so glad I picked this one up.

I love a messy little guy, and Harper is very that. He grew on me very quickly, and I looked forward to his chapters and what ridiculous thing he would try to convince himself of next. I loved him being confident in his racing abilities but absolutely clueless in every other aspect of his life. It made me so relatable, and watching his confidence grow as the book went on was so lovely.

And Kian's grumpy to Harper's sunshine was just so damn cute. I loved him from the first page, and enjoyed him learning to let go a little and let the cocky little rookie in.

I don't know, I just really enjoyed this one. It was a fun, fast and engaging read that had me pretending to understand how races work and rooting for these guys to crush it on the track.

Thanks for the copy of Pole Position!! I was initially interested in this book because of the F1 meets Red White and Royal blue reference. I love a good sports romance and this is one of the first racing/ F1 stories I’ve seen. I enjoyed that aspect and thought it was a fun, easy and enjoyable read.

Oh, well, if you're looking for real enemies-to-lovers romance, or at least rivals-to-lovers, look no further. These two are so mean to each other and competitive as hell. And, not gonna lie, they both are a tad dickish, especially Kian, didn't like him at all at the beginning of the story, though later came to love him and empathize with him. Harper is another story, he was a little bit harder nut to crack, however, when it happened I found him soft and gooey inside. What I loved most about this story is F1 setting, it had everything - racing, technicians, qualifiers, record-breaking laps, podiums and so on, everything you need from a romance about F1 drivers. And most importantly, this F1 world was queer-friendly, loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Thanks to One More Chapter for the opportunity to review this book!
LGBTQIA+ and F1? YES!
I have to start off by saying that the characters weren't my besties but the overall story line was adorable and very speedy (pun intended)
I enjoyed this read and i think if you like F1 this will be your tea!

Overall very nice, good dialogues, and great story!

I’d just finished the Boys of Tommen series (which I loved), but I definitely needed something a bit more light-hearted and this was perfect!

Both of the main characters are just really likeable, fun to read about, and their relationship just felt realistic. There’s no blown out of proportion drama so it was so nice to read. I also really liked that it wasn’t focusing purely on the romance - that you was also able to keep up with the F1 side of things as well, like what’s happening during the races, in the paddock and behind-the-scenes each weekend 🏎️

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I think it’d be a perfect book for the Summer or a nice replacement for when the race isn’t on that weekend 😉

DNF 36% - I wanted to love this book. I have been on a roll with MM sports romances and was excited to read an F1 romance. But these characters were unbearable. Harper is supposed to be 25 but it feels like he's 20. He's incredibly childish and I feel no chemistry between him and Kian. I thought that as the book went on I would learn more about him and he would grow on me but he kept failing to do so. The age gap makes this worse because 25 and 33 is not bad at all but a 33 year old with someone acting like a teenager feels yucky. Rivials to lovers is sometimes a hard trope to do well, it's sometimes hit or miss for me and here it was a miss.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK - One More Chapter for this ARC e-copy of Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery.

Kian Walker, an elite F1 racer, is looking forward to taking home the championship yet again in this, his last season before retirement. It should go off without a hitch… that is, until Kian’s regular teammate breaks his leg, effectively disqualifying him from the racing season. Enter his unexpected replacement, Harper James. Seemingly arrogant, entitled, cocky, and utterly infuriating, he represents everything that Kian simply can’t stand for. But what if the tension between them turns into something else…?

The book follows dual first-person perspectives, alternating between Kian and Harper. As in most multi-perspective novels, some narrators are weaker than others. In this case, Harper’s chapters are leaps and bounds more entertaining than Kian’s, at least at first. It’s worth suffering through Kian’s early assholery to get Harper’s side of the story, though, if you’re set on reading this. Essentially, it’s as if Jamie Tartt and Roy Kent were F1 drivers—that’s the character dynamic here.

Pole Position is not a prose masterpiece by any means, but it’s serviceable for what it is: a contemporary sports romance novel. Are you looking for a flirty, steamy romance? Check. Descriptions and action-packed scenes of F1 racing? You got it. The book delivers on its basest promises, and I can’t issue a complaint to that department at all. I actually liked it better than RW&RB, the book marketing compared this one to. Overall, I enjoyed this story. If there was a sequel, whether about these characters or any others, I wouldn’t hesitate to read it.

☆ ☆ ☆ - GOOD

3.5 stars

I really appreciated the queer representation in this F1 romance, specifically because Formula 1 is a very heteronormative sport in the "real world." In a sport that is constantly letting down their non-male/cishet/white fans, Caffery was able to create an accepting and affirming community. Talk about escapism in this romance! I also really enjoyed the tension between Kian and Harper due to them being teammates, opposite personality types, and having an age gap.

I did find this book to be repetitive at times, and also struggled with the choices the characters made at some points. While I understand that Harper was the younger driver/character in this story - he tended to act out like a toddler rather than 25 year old professional - but real F1 fans know this is sometimes the norm with these grown men in the sport *cue a lance stroll complaining for no reason on the team radio* so I can't really complain too much about that.

Overall, this is a lovely read and I am super excited to see a M/M F1 romance hitting the traditional publishing scene!

This was pitched as "Formula 1 meets RWRB" which intrigued me, I've never read a story set in this world before. I can't speak to the accuracy but I thought the author did a good job with world building and making the reader feel the exhilaration of racing. The two main characters, Kian and Harper, have a dynamic that reminded me of Jamie Tartt and Roy Kent in Ted Lasso. Older, grumpy driver considering retirement and the younger party animal upstart driver who grew up idolizing him. Kian's grumpiness towards Harper was somewhat understandable but also came across as unprofessional and rude at times. In terms of their relationship the scenes where they opened up and gave each other comfort were lovely but there was a bit too much telling and not showing, it felt like we were missing a few key scenes as their love grew. And I kept expecting some kind of drama or betrayal from Johannes, why was he acting so shifty and weird? I'm assuming this is a set up for a sequel but I think novels should stand on their own so it was frustrating not to resolve that plotline. Overall this was an enjoyable and sexy romance but not without flaws. I would certainly read a sequel if one happens.

Okay, okay, okay... let's talk about f1 romance books! (But let's give it a gay twist).

In Pole Position we meet Kian and Harper, two f1 drivers (and team mates) that couldn't be more different... Kian is kind of like a "grandpa", he's been racing in f1 for so many years now and is tired not to be home for his sister, his mom and his niece and nephew. Whereas Harper is younger than him, and it's his first year in f1 (and he's team mates with his hero!), he's the party boy, always with a scandal on his back and he's the one that drives the PR team nuts! so... what will happen when these two have to share a space? It could go down (pun intended) sooooo quickly ;)

First, I would like to thank netgalley for giving me an arc beause they've really made my month.

I have read many f1 romances at this point, but I'd never read one where the main couple were gay and I really enjoyed the relationship between Kian and Harper. However, there were some things that took me out of the story at times. First, the relationship was weird at times. I know there's the age gap and all that stuff but sometimes I felt that they weren't behaving as 30 something men but as 15 year olds... And the main problem with their relationship could've been solved in less than half a book, I'm sorry. The second thing that I didn't enjoy had to do with f1. As a huge f1 fan I would've loved if all the teams were real teams or if they all were made up, but not the mix, I'm sorry, it is a huge mess... and I don't get why they refer to that racing as championship racing like????? Idk. Didn't like that.

To sum up, if you liked Red, White and Royal Blue... SIMILAR VIBES!!!! Totally up your alley. I really enjoyed Harper and Kian's love story up to some extent and, all in all, it was an enjoyable read.

FORMULA ONE MEETS RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE


ARE YOU KIDDING ME THIS IS SO CUTE

Meet Harper and Kian and their story.

There’s a few flaws in this book however the gist of it overall is a sweet book.

I often have trouble with the enemies to lovers trope because the chracters can be SO MEAN to each other, and I can't imagine anyone forgiving that and falling in love in real life. This book was exactly that. The two men disliked each other so strongly to start with and treated each other so crappy, it doesn't seem realistic that they would fall in love. However, it was kinda funny how despite disliking each other they were attracted to each other and annoyed by that attraction.

I enjoyed the look into F1 racing, it's not a sport I'm familiar with. I'll also say I enjoyed the last 20% of the story much more than the first 80%. It dragged and the writing was repetitive. I was like, "they hate each other, I get it!!"

While it didn't quite land for me, I'd still recommend this book for readers of queer and/or sports romances.

Described as Red, White and Royal Blue meets Formula 1 - I knew I had to read this one and I ATE this up. Kian's teammate gets injured so they have to call someone else up...and its the last person Kian expected or wants to have around. Harper’s reputation is less than stellar, making headlines for all the wrong reasons, while Kian is the experienced good guy.

Read if you like:
- grumpy sunshine
- age gap
- forced proximity
- found family
- LGBTQIA+

I know nothing about F1 so I couldn't tell you if its realistic or not but I loved getting to read about a different sport. Also, sometimes its really nice to read a book about LGBTQIA+ characters without there being so much HATE.

Overall, I really enjoyed this. Once I picked it up I didn't want to put it down and basically read it in a day. I am hoping we're going to get a book about Harper's friend!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader. All thoughts are my own.

Rating: ★★★★
Started: 02 May 24
Finished: 14 May 24

POSSIBLE SPOILERS:

I loved the concept.
I also really liked that there were openly queer people in F1 because you don’t normally see that happen and I thought it was a great way to normalise queer people in these jobs.

Really liked the side characters, but I still have so many questions about Johannes and what was going on with him behind the scenes.

I really liked Kian as a character, he has a really great heart. His relationship with his sister and her family as well made me melt. I wouldn’t of minded reading more about their family.

Harper I was a bit unsure of. I think him doing what he was doing was on brand for his age and status but I also really liked Kian and didn’t want to see him hurt, so that left me unsure on if I liked Harper or not. I did really enjoy reading about his destructiveness from the trauma he’s been through in his life. It was written and portrayed really well to show it’s not always all sunshine and rainbows. I think that’s what I liked most about his character, was that he was flawed and he did try to work on himself to help himself be a better person for who he wanted to be.

I so wish there was a bit more romance between the two characters so I didn’t feel like he found out something bad happened in Kian’s life and then bam he was all in for a relationship. I wish there was just a little bit more build up between them, not just us finding it out through dialog with secondary characters.

Overall, the writing was good and I enjoyed reading about a queer couple in F1.

Thank you One More Chapter, Rebecca J. Caffery and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC of Pole Position in exchange for an honest review.

.Rivals/enemies to lovers
.Motor sports
.Age gap (8 years)
.Hurt/comfort
.Opposites attract

I read the blurb and it called to me, but I never expected to have such a great time with it. I devoured it in under two days, it was so much fun! I think I need to start picking up more books set in the motorsport industry. Could this replace my love for hockey romance now?

I've always liked F1 from afar. I wouldn't necessarily watch a race, but I appreciate the engineering behind it, the absolute skill of the drivers, and even the danger. And this book captured all of that perfectly.

Both Harper and Kian were very well developed characters. They each have their own pasts and presents to deal with, apart from being in a highly competitive sport. Despite being total opposites, they complement each other so well. The chemistry was there, the spice was hot, but what I loved most was all the cuddling and snuggling. They were so sweet and affectionate.

I do wish there wasn't so much miscommunication, but I understand it's part of Harper's trauma affecting the relationship. Elise's character made me want to cry for her; she shoulders so much. Maybe it's the big sister in me that empathised with her hard.

This author is completely new to me, and I will definitely read more from her in the future. I hope we get more books in this world. I'd love a story about Johannes, maybe even a book about Jackson. Or better yet, the two together? If it ever happens, I’m in!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
I absolutely love it! i think it will win Book of the Month for me!

Formula 1 + mm romance + enemies to lovers + coworker + messy vs tidy? I meeeean! What could I need more?

By chapter 2 I was completely hooked and I finished it in two days (just because of work (otherwise I would have finished in one sitting).

What sucked me in were mainly the characters. Harper was so all over the place and I loved his energy, but also 'Kian, the caretaker, was worth swooning over.

The plot was entretaining and I loved the F! aspect of it, but also all the back stories were well developed.
Maybe I would have liked a conversation between the two about Kian´s father, since in the beginning of the book Hartper idolizes him. But other then that I don´t really have any critiques.

It was light, it was fun, it was deep, it had angst, spice, and so many things more!
Loved it!

early DNF. The writing style was immature for the age of the characters, and I would have expected there to be SOME explanation of f1 terms and positions given. Apparently, if you aren’t already versed in f1, this book isn’t for you.