DNF at 35%

I love F1 and I think because of that the teammate relationship made me really uncomfortable as this is something that I don’t think would ever be allowed in the sport.

This was an enjoyable read set within Formula one. Following Golden Boy, Kian Walker and the newcomer bad boy Harper James growing closer as the season continues. I loved the characters and learning about their pasts. Although, I felt this was a great read I felt the pacing was a little off as it did feel a little slow at times.

2.5⭐
"Pole Position" by Rebecca J. Caffery initially caught my attention with its intriguing premise, but unfortunately, it failed to live up to its potential. Although the main character, Harper, showed some promise, the inconsistent treatment he received from other characters, particularly best friend Johannes, undermined the overall narrative. The writing style created a sense of detachment, relying excessively on telling rather than showing. The romance between Harper and Kian felt rushed and lacked authenticity, with abrupt shifts in tone and pacing. Their connection seemed forced and unconvincing, lacking genuine chemistry and compatibility. "Pole Position" ultimately disappoints with its inconsistent character dynamics and underdeveloped romantic elements.

Received via netgalley as an arc copy

This book is sweet and Fluffy with some deeper moments, it was an enjoyable read and I would consider reading more if this develops into a series.

It didn't blow me away, it didn't let me down, it was just a comfortable short read to pass time

I received this book as an eARC from HarperCollins UK through NetGalley and this review is based on my own opinion.

tw: 18+ content, loss of a parent, panic/anxiety attacks

This book was everything, it's gonna be my new obession and it's one of my favorite reads of 2024.

For me it has the perfect amount of on track and off track stories and the racing chapters were so exciting and well written.

I was a bit on guard when I saw 'erotica' as a trope but it wasn't much more than some heavier spicy scenes and it was in perfect combination with fluffy scenes.

Normally a bigger age gap isn't really my thing but during the story I fell in love with both Kian and Harper and the growth that the both of them showed throughout the book.
I might have cried a bit at the end 🫣

Would really recommend this if you like sports/f1 romance, you can even easily understand it if haven't watched F1.

I really love any sports romance book, but especially one that features Formula 1 racing because there aren't enough of them! I was really excited for this book because the driver who has been racing for a long time falling for the rookie driver? What an awesome premise! I do think the book didn't live up to my expectations like I thought it would because one minute they hated each other and the next minute, they were so in love and I think that's unrealistic. I also do NOT like the fact that the first time these two are together intimately, one of them is really drunk and I think consent can't be given so I really didn't like this part. I loved the banter between them, and of course, all of the Formula 1 aspects of the book; the author did this so well! The cover is also super cute and reminds me of real drivers who race, so it drew me in. I know this isn't a debut novel, but it sort of read like one and I just wish I loved it more, but I didn't.

Thank you to NetGalley, One More Chapter/Harper Collins, and Rebecca J. Caffery for the eARC of this book.

I received this book as an eARC from HarperCollins UK through NetGalley and this review is based on my own opinion.

tw: 18+ content, loss of a parent, panic/anxiety attacks

This book was everything, it's gonna be my new obession and it's one of my favorite reads of 2024.

For me it has the perfect amount of on track and off track stories and the racing chapters were so exciting and well written.

I was a bit on guard when I saw 'erotica' as a trope but it wasn't much more than some heavier spicy scenes and it was in perfect combination with fluffy scenes.

Normally a bigger age gap isn't really my thing but during the story I fell in love with both Kian and Harper and the growth that the both of them showed throughout the book.
I might have cried a bit at the end 🫣

Would really recommend this if you like sports/f1 romance, you can even easily understand it if haven't watched F1.

This book was the perfect response to my previously unanswered requests for a solid F1 romance. It was cute while having the perfect level of character growth and drama. And the racing background was so believable and well informed! I loved this one and am hopeful that the ending hints at a future installment to come?

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the ARC!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: June 6, 2024

A queer F1 rivals to lovers romance? I hit request on this so fast, I think I took P1!

Impressed with the depiction of F1 in this book—the vibe, the schedule, the driver and team dynamics, the process, the drama—it takes an active role in this book instead of it just being about two guys who happen to be F1 drivers.

I struggled with Harper’s character so much at the beginning, I almost DNF—it wasn’t realistic to me that a driver of this caliber would be so undisciplined and reckless when given such a coveted chance. There was surprisingly substantial character growth for a steamy open-door read though, and I’m glad I continued on.

Maybe not the best writing it could be, but sometimes I can overlook that in the name of fun, and this was a classic race to the finish steamy romcom. It’s not without some issues (hookups when one person is inebriated, seemingly fujoshi-geared, the lack of closure with Johannes storyline—unless he’s getting his own book, because we all know he was hooking up with Jackson, right?!), but a great mindless easy read!

I have really mixed feelings about this book. I really wanted to love the story, particularly as an F1 fan - but at times it felt like it reinforced some unfortunate stereotypes and the “will they / won’t they” aspects of the enemies to lovers romance got a bit old. It was really well researched and the atmosphere was really great, but the prose and dialogue often got in the way of a good story - lots of telling heather than showing.

Kian Walker is the seasoned professional, while his new teammate is rookie, and playboy Harper James. At times I found their relationship really difficult, as Harper came across as really juvenile and a bit of therapy (and some communication skills) would’ve solved a lot of issues early. BUT I thought Harper’s character growth was really profound and I feel like his character had the most satisfying arc.

The author has done a great job at creating the F1 atmosphere, sprinkling in enough important info so the reader understands what’s happening and understands the lifestyle, but doesn’t get you too bogged down in the technical information, which I appreciated.

There were some interesting sub plots that I would’ve seen fleshed out, like Johannes’ breakup and Kian’s dad, Tyler - we don’t even get to see Kian explain to Harper about why he dislikes his dad, and I feel like that would’ve been a really powerful part of the story.

I think this story had a lot of potential but missed the mark for me. However if you are wanting a f1 x red, white and royal blue crossover - with:
☑️ slow burn
☑️ forced proximity
☑️ super star x rookie
☑️ age gap
☑️ mm

Thank you to Rebecca J Caffery, One More Chapter (Harper Colins) and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book to review.

This was such a a cute rom com! Rivals to lovers doesn't get much better than this. The banter was so entertaining and the romance was really sweet too. There is some spice, but it is a good slow burn and nicely written. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys MM romance and romantic comedies! I know nothing about racing, but had fun reading about it and it was easy to understand.

3.25/3.5⭐️

tropes: golden boy x rookie, teammates, rivals to lovers, forced proximity, age gap, formula one, secret relationship, dual pov

firstly thank you for the arc! i requested this because im a sucker for an f1 romance & this one sounded like something id enjoy. i did really enjoy it but definitely found myself more sucked into the second half of the story than the first. it was an emotional rollercoaster but i loved the sweet ending that kian & harper got! & reading their relationships with all the side characters, especially kian & his sisters family was so sweet! i loved the formula one vibes and loved that it was set in different parts of the world 🌎 both mcs grew on me throughout the book and definitely made me connect to them more as the story progressed, i wasn’t harpers biggest fan initially but he won me over for sure!!

overall it was a very cute and enjoyable read & im so grateful for the arc❣️🏎️

DNF at 15%. I really wanted to like this book. I loved the idea of a F1 romance, and I liked that it was a similar concept to RW&RB (MM enemies to lovers).
What I didn’t like:
-it promotes the sexual fetishism of gay men (especially written by a non-male author)
-it promotes a LGBTQ+ man lusting after an assumed straight male
-it promotes sexual fantasies of an unknown/unreciprocated sexual orientation/preference
If the tables were turned and this was about a straight man fantasizing and displaying a fetish for queer women, this book would immediately be considered NOT okay.

This was a sports romance that manages to balance both elements throughout the entire book, which is so rare! I appreciated that F1 was part of the story, and not just a character trait. Nothing is worse than picking up a sports romance to find the sports component to be barely present. It only look a few chapters and I was immediately invested in the characters, both as individuals and their relationships. I was rooting for them the entire time, and wish I could keep reading to see beyond the epilogue!

I enjoyed reading this book! I thought this was one of the best renditions of the “I’m too damaged for you” trope that I’ve experienced. This was my first F1 romance and I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed that aspect of it, and F1 fans seem relatively please with the representation of the sport in this book.

Whatever is happening with Jo felt too intense to just leave hanging, especially for two and a half years if his story is going to pick up after this book’s epilogue!

This book had a surprising number of errors - grammar mistakes, typos, and continuity issues - for a traditionally published book. I do recognized that this was an ARC, so I hope those get fixed before publishing.

I was also surprised that this book was categorized as Erotica on NetGalley, as it was fairly tame. While there are open door scenes, there aren’t many and they aren’t very explicitly detailed.

as a huge f1 girly i was so excited for this!! i find f1 books quite scary because i worry they won’t come across as realistic but i actually really enjoyed this one! i loved the relationship, the struggles and the racing was so enjoyable to read! a solid book for sure!!

3.75⭐️

Tldr: a cute, sweet and sexy romance set to a backdrop of F1.

RW&RB meets F1??? Well sign me right up. As soon as I saw the description I wanted to read it, and I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover (I love it).

If you like grumpy x sunshine, snarky comments, enemies (ish) to lovers and forced proximity, all with a side of motorsports, then I'd give this a read!

We start off with the classic diametrically opposed personalities clashing with one another (see, enemy at first sight). Now I have to say, I loved Harper. I just wanted to give him a hug 😭 he was definitely a favourite from the start, I found his cockiness endearing and really enjoyed unravelling the layers of his character. He gave hyper puppy energy and I was here for it.
It took me a little while longer to warm up to Kian as I found him to be a bit abrasive at first, however I grew to really like him.
The pacing of them going from enemies to lovers was perhaps a bit off (read: fast), however, I found I really enjoyed the two of them together - they were just really cute and I really did like it.

I will say, whilst I generally really love the trope of enemies at first sight, but for some reason here it felt slightly flat? I think I would have liked more of a reason as to why Kian dislikes Harper so intently at the start of the book, it seemed like there was no real concrete reason, and this meant that Kian's dislike felt a little bit forced/cold. I think perhaps because it seemed to be born out of jealousy, I wasn't a massive fan of the reason behind the whole being enemies.

I did also struggle with some of the grammatical errors/spelling errors/typos when reading this. It was just a bit jarring and caused a bit of detachment for me.

Overall, this was a fun, sexy and easy to read romance and I enjoyed it! Thank you to NetGalley and ONE MORE CHAPTER for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This queer F1 romance delivered!

Kian Walker is on the cusp of retiring from Formula 1 and is looking forward to the season until his other driver and best friend Elijah suffers a season ending injury, which results in Harper James, a talented but party boy rookie driver. What follows is a season neither Kian or Harper envisaged!

Pole Position captured the rush of F1 (as far as I can tell) and the mix between the races, the preparation and training, and the lifestyle. What I liked was it wasn’t sordid but there were healthy doses of the realities facing drivers and families caught up in this world. As characters Kian tends towards the pursuit of normalcy, which grates on Harper with his ‘here for a good time’ and only one time, mentality. The rivals to lovers draw card was what attracted me, and kept me well and truly interested.

As far as MM romances go, it’s emotive and there’s a sense of frustration from Kian about Harper’s inability to commit, as well as some miscommunication from both of them, which is a repetitive source of friction. It’s light on the steam and reliant on connection which I think just needed a tad more oomph to get it over the finish line.

Really loved this though, and would absolutely recommend it.

I don’t know anything about F1 but I ate this book up I really enjoyed it

As someone who isn’t much into sports it’s easy to follow and the relationship is pretty cute!

Thank you for the ARC

This wasn’t it. I was so excited to read this because I’m a pretty big F1 fan, but the writing was so cringy at parts that it totally took me out of the story. The characters were bulky and the dialogue was clunky. I did like the family dynamic aspect, but it didn’t make up for the main romance being not it. I do think sports romance girlies may enjoy this so I would recommend this to them.