This is the second book I've read by Rebecca J. Caffery and the first one 'Olympic Enemies' sadly did not live up to expectations, this one exceeded them.

I really enjoyed this story, Kian and Harper were incredibly frustrating at times but they were relatable and I got easily attached to both of them. I bought the romance and the connection and the writing and plot were solid. The pace was good and kept the story moving. I know basically nothing about F1 but was able to follow along with the story and the sport easily enough as it was laid out well and concisely.

Pole Position was a lot of fun, packed full of feeling and was just a great ride from start to finish. I really liked this one.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 I had never even heard of Formula 1 racing before two years ago and now you will be hard pressed to find a Sunday that it is not streaming in my house. I was beyond thrilled to get the chance to read this book! Kian Walker is the cream of the crop of the racing world and when his teammate and friend is out due to a broken leg, he is not thrilled with who he has to share the podium with- enter Harper James. Luckily, Kian’s got the most wonderfully supportive family that reminds him that he can power through and have a successful season. This was a delightfully fun and flirty read that will entertain readers who are seasoned Formula One fans or novices!

Review is posted to Goodreads and final review will be posted on Instagram ahead of the publication date!

This F1 romance had me hooked from start to finish! 🏎️🏳️‍🌈 Harper and Kian's rivals-to-lovers dynamic had me swooning, especially with the forbidden aspect of being teammates. Their opposite personalities made their connection even more intriguing.

But what stole my heart was the beautiful portrayal of queerness in the story. Harper and Kian's comfort in their identities, along with the support they received from their friends and team, was heartwarming. 🌈💕

The balance between on-track and off-track stories was perfect, and the racing scenes were thrilling! 🏁✨ And don't worry about the 'erotica' trope—it's just the right blend of spice and fluff. 😉

Despite the age gap, I couldn't help falling for both Kian and Harper and witnessing their growth throughout the book. And yes, I might've shed a tear or two at the end. 🥲

If you're into sports/F1 romance, this book is a must-read—even if you're not familiar with F1! 📚💖

This was so so so good! I devoured it. MM F1 romance, enemies to lovers, teammates, age gap, great chemistry and banter, dual POV. Brilliant. AND my first F1 romance! This is out in October, but you should definitely add it to your TBR! Thanks to @rjcafferyauthor + @netgalley + @onemorechapterhc for the ARC 😊

Pole Position was described as Red, White and Royal Blue meets Formula 1, which immediately seemed like a combination that was right up my street! This book is a very cute, fluffy, queer romance, and I enjoyed it for what it was. The characters were quite, I liked their stories and how they connected, and what Formula 1 content we got was enjoyable.

For me, the appeal of Pole Position was the Formula 1 setting, and it was nice to see little pockets of the sport scattered throughout the narrative. I was a bit disappointed not to see more of the story revolving around F1, and the mentions are quite limited. However, that does mean that the story is quite accessible to readers who don't know anything of the sport.

The story itself felt a little basic to me, and it was predictable in the way that all traditional romance books are. Boy meets boy, there's a bit of an enemies-to-loves vibe going on, and then there's a (spoiler alert) happily ever after. It was sweet and I enjoyed the build-up, but it didn't leave me with any oomph.

I think what really shines about this book is the drawing of the central characters: Kian and Harper. They are very different characters, but are equally well described, and had a lot of depth. The author clearly put a lot of time into creating their back-stories and making them endearing to the reader. The connection between them did feel a little forced at first - all the right components were there, but it seemed to go from 0 to 100 very quickly, and their relationship probably could have benefitted from more growth. I also would have really liked to have learnt a little more about the secondary characters too. They're all there and are just waiting to jump into the story, but they're kept at arms length. It's a shame, because the little glimpses we get of Anders, Johannes, and some of the other characters really elevate the story.

Overall, I enjoyed Pole Position. It's a cute queer romance that has some really fun nods to Formula 1. I really wanted to love it, and all the elements were there; the story, the characters, and the tropes were all there. It just didn't quite have the oomph that I would have wanted to see in the connection between the characters, and in the secondary storylines and characters. There was nothing really wrong with the book, but it just didn't blow me away. I think there's probably a lot of readers out there who would enjoy this one a lot! I'd read more from the author as well, as I think all the potential is there!

I was so excited for Pole Position but unfortunately it fell flat for me. The writing was hard to get into and I didn’t connect with the MCs straight away.. in fact reading the first few chapters were a bit of a chore. I’ll definitely try and read this though again in the future for a different perspective but it just wasn’t for me.

As an avid formula one fan this book had absolutely everything I was looking for. Formula One drama, drama in general, spice, enemies to lovers, everythingN I couldn’t recommend this enough, I absolutely loved it from start to finish!!

I love a good combination of sports romance and MM romance. I liked the F1 racing aspect of the story and it was not too much. Kian and Harper’s romance was sweet and passionate. I loved Kian’s character, I think he was amazing and quite real life-like and relatable. Compared to him Harper felt a bit childish, but when he cared and was affectionate it was sweet. I hope this book becomes part of a book series, because the potencial is in there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of the book.

A F1 racing MM sports romance sounded like so much fun when I started this book. Unfortunately, the writing and the story just weren’t for me. The writing style was a lot of telling, and not enough scenes where the reader was shown the characters actions in those moments.
The research that went into F1 felt really basic, especially when F2 was constantly called “lower level” instead of by any name. The tone and vocabulary of the characters in contrast to their lengthy internal monologues felt disjointed. Even the pacing of the story was full of starts and stops.
When the story starts we are introduced to Kian and Harper. Kian is the veteran driver and is very set in his ways and routines. Considering half the book is told in his POV, he does not mention anything relating to a sexual interest in his counterpart and until a few pages before their first sexual encounter, he read as an asexual character. Him suddenly announcing he was Bi felt forced and awkward. There really was never any romance between Kian and Harper, and when the story tried to go down that path, it felt forced. They weren’t even able to talk to each other about what each of them was comfortable with doing in intimate moments.
Harper is described as being this party boy who can’t handle a relationship due to major abandonment issues. He becomes distraught when someone threatens blackmail over scandalous photos of him. So what does Kian do, he kisses him and then the next scene they’re cuddly on an airplane and they just kind of gloss over what was happening in his life. It felt like a chapter was missing between those two scenes.
I honestly didn’t like the character Kian. He was selfish and repetitive. I get it, you feel bad about not being there to help your sister with your sick mom, but you make a lot of money so instead of whining about it every other chapter, pay for a live in nurse to help your sister out and provide some respite care.
The crash scene could have been this big moment for their relationship development, but it fell flat.
Hopefully this book resonates better with other readers. The tone, the grammar, and even the punctuation, was not for me.

I was super excited for this as a fan of F1 and it didn't disappoint! This was a super cute, fluffy romance when Harper, an F1 rookie, joins grumpy Kian's racing team - this was sort of rivals to lovers and I was HERE for it.

Kian is at the peak of his career, fighting retirement rumours when playboy Harper steps in to be his team-mate, replacing his best friend. Harper is a very likeable character at first, he's fun and a rookie who idolises Kian. This is where the slow-burn starts as there is so much angst (and yet so much pining!!) as walls are broken down between the pair; the real turning point in their relationship comes when Harper gets sick and Kian steps in to take care of him. starting when Kian takes care of Harper when he is sick. I faltered in my love for Harper's character when he started being very non-commital towards Kian, blowing hot and cold, but rest assured, there is a HEA and it's perfect for this pair!

I you loved Red, White and Royal Blue (or if you just like a fun sports romance!!) make sure to add this to your TBR.

3.5/5

This book was cute and a nice, quick read. I didn’t even realize how quickly I blew through this book until it was done, and I wanted more! The MMCs, Kian and Harper, was a pairing that I didn’t think was going to work, but it somehow did to my surprise. Although at times they were a bit immature for their ages, especially Kian. I forgot he was supposed to be in his 30’s a lot, and the actions between the two of them frustrated me sometimes. The pacing at the end felt very rushed too, and things just randomly resolved perfectly, which was weird to me. Aside from this, Caffrey did a beautiful job of navigating the loss of a parent and how Kian and his family navigated the challenges that came with it. I love F1, so this book was a delight to read aside from when the MMCs made me want to rip my hair out.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️2.5/5

Whoo boy. Let me first start by stating that this was a trek to get through. But I have a lot of thoughts that need to get pet down.

First and foremost though, thank you to One More Chapter for the ARC copy through NetGalley. I can’t thank you enough even to be selected for this opportunity.

We will start with the positives:

The Characters: The characters were well fleshed out, having their inner struggles and identities. I also did like the pro-recovery for mental health and self-sabotage for Harper, which is what I am currently going through myself. I also like seeing some of the characters grow as people.

The F1 Speak: I am not familiar with F1 Racing. I thought it would be like NASCAR, but it has different aspects. The author made it super easy to understand and follow along for people not familiar or acquainted.

But now, the negatives:

The Pacing: The Pacing of the story was all over the place and puzzling. When one thing was happening, it jumped to a completely different thing the next chapter. It gave my brain a bit of whiplash and was confusing. Especially towards the end when I thought it ended perfectly. Personally, it should have ended at the funeral.

But the true ending was more awkward and rushed to show that their relationship was still messy.

Plot Holes: So. Many. Plot holes.

We glossed over some back stories and plot points that needed to be there.

For Example, Johannes, he was still in love with him. They hinted at ‘ they didn’t know’ but they knew. The reader knew too.. It should have been addressed but it never was.


The ‘Relationship’ Itself: Harper and Kien did not have any chemistry nor did they have anything in common. They both just wanted steam and just kept hurting each other. There was no communication nor was there any passion to even be together. It only looked like they were just blowing off steam by having sex and trauma bonding. Especially when Harper flew to be at the funeral without permission.

The Outdated Gay Terms: From what I could gather, it seems like the author is a cis straight woman. I felt like she was fetishizing the gay experience with terms like ‘twink’, ‘bottom’, and ‘top’.

It is kind of insulting to the men-loving men community since there are way better words that could have been used. Furthermore, having the main gay/bisexual characters only think about sex puts the LGBTQ community as just about having sex constantly and not a sense of self. How it can change F1 Racing as a whole.

Having this book compared to Red, White, and Royal Blue is insulting. Especially when the book was written by a nonbinary queer person.


It was a try…but it fell flat on its face.

It took me a bit to get into this one but then it hooked me. I am currently obsessed with Formula 1 so this was majorly up my alley. The chemistry was top notch!! Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this book. I have never watched F1, and I usually don’t love sports romances, but I liked the cover of this book and thought I would give it a try. When I then did pick it up, I really couldn’t put it down. “Pole position” was such a fast-paced book with the perfect amount of slow burn built up to the relationship. I really liked the multiple POV, so we got close to both characters and their back stories. It was a very wholesome read and the sport aspect of the book didn’t feel overwhelming but was the perfect amount for the plot. Overall, a great read if you need a quick fast-paced queer romance book where you will feel a lot of different emotions.

An F1 romance, but make it queer. That’s exactly what this book gave. As a seasoned Formula 1 fan, I loved that this story mixed real details of the sport into the romance.

Kian Walker, the champion veteran, and Harper James, the rookie playboy, made for a great pair of main characters. Both were messy in their own ways, and nothing is better in a book than a pair of messy characters that have to work through it to ultimately gain their happily every after.

This story ran the gamut of emotions which made the characters more real. Life is messy and so are feelings. Kian struggled with his age and should he or should he not retire, while also coping with a dying parent and the guilt of not being there. Harper struggled with abandonment issues and coping through unhealthy mechanisms. The age gap trope was prevalent and could be seen in the ways these teammates handled their life experiences.

Overall, it was a great story that played the long game and left our main characters with a happily ever after they both deserved.

2.5 stars

2.5 ˖⁺‧✮

it was my first time reading book by Rebecca and i didn’t have any expectations. i was just going with it

i liked the idea of the book🤷🏼‍♀️ in a way. it was fun to read, but all characters were annoying.

i still can’t really understand why Kian hated Harper so much at the beginning. and then harper started hating kian? too much hate and not really any tension.

i’m not an author, and i don’t like writing stuff like this, but story was just not it.

i’ll still try to read another book by Rebecca and will continue following her progress!

Pole Position was a fun palette cleanser with witty commentary and steamy romance. Kian Walker is a four-time championship F1 driver and might just be in the final season of his career. When his teammate and best friend ends up injured and out for the season, Harper James, the new, hot and cocky rookie, is brought up to the big leagues. Harper is known for his scandalous online presence and his reputation for breaking hearts and Kian couldn't be any more annoyed with his new teammate. However, as tensions rise and both men are forced into a friendship, feelings escalate to a new level for both Kian and Harper.

Contemporary romances can go one of two ways for me. I'll either blush and giggle or sigh and yawn. Pole Position was a cozy read that helped me out of a reading slump. While there were moments where I giggled and blushed at the witty banter or the steamy romance I still felt like I was missing a lot of Kian and Harper's growing relationship. The plot overall was well developed and flowed well but had a few missing plot points that were either easily skipped over or not addressed enough. I loved how there was no form of homophobia in this LGBTQ+ novel because sometimes when reading LGBTQ+ novels we want to escape the homophobia even if it is unrealistic. Much of the commentary was unserious but I enjoyed how some serious topics were discussed, like parental loss or past trauma. The spice was fun and brought more feelings into the book but it wasn't overwhelming which helped make it more enjoyable for people who wanted more plot and not a lot of spice but could make it disappointing to those who wanted more spice and romantic scenes. I would've liked the author to have built up the relationship[ a bit more so most of the book wouldn't be about them struggling in their relationship. Overall, I would recommend this to someone who wants a queer, cozy and easy read.

Racing books are the hottest topic right now and this one is up there. It was a great read and felt like it belongs. It had great character progression and connection and felt like the story moved with great pace. I really enjoyed it and hope that it does well for the author.

✰3.5 stars✰ rounded up

Enemies-ish to lovers plus Formula 1? Get me all over that. I think this book had a lot of potential, that unfortunately fell a little flat in the actual carry through.

Kian is a long-time F1 champion who is suddenly saddled with Harper, the rookie, who is a little bit of a hot mess express.
They butt heads immediately and it's very high tension between them for a while.

Where this story fell off for me a little bit was how certain character development moments felt like they happened really late and almost off page. There were things that were vaguely mentioned one second and then a few chapters later addressed as an offhanded comment and I kept thinking "that would have probably been useful moment to grow this character and relate to them more?"
It also fell off with how it felt like for every step forward, Kian and Harper would take two steps back not long after. It felt wishy washy in a way that made their connection hard to develop for me because it felt like it just wasn't growing on page.

Normally when I'm reading a book I can't wait to get home after working all day and pick it up, and there were just several days this week that I didn't want to pick this one up at all because I wasn't enjoying it as much as I hoped. Not to say that I didn't, because I did enjoy certain aspects of this book, and I do think that it has the potential to be enjoyed thoroughly by some readers. Overall, it was a quick read with a fun plot concept.
So, I still am giving this a 3.5 because I think I was attached to what I wanted it to be more than what it was, and in the end we ended up with happily ever after.

I really enjoyed the energy that Rebecca was able to capture in the F1 realm. This brought a lot to the story while also painting the picture of the emotions of the characters. I found myself rooting hardcore for the characters as if they were real life people. I heard that this was "Red, White, and Royal Blue" meets F1, and it definitely is. So all my F1 girlies, go check this one out!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Rebecca J. Caffery, and HarperCollins UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.