I normally avoid books that advertise themselves as "x popular book meets y popular book", because I don't enjoy that marketing tactic, but I'm happy I took a spin (heh) with this one. The cover is what sold me initially, because it looks great, and the book ended up mostly entertaining me during the time I spent with it.

The romance was fun. It's not quite an enemies to lovers situation if that's what you're signing up for, but it does teeter right on the edge of it. It's more of a reluctant co-workers to lovers than anything.

It was a pretty fast and fairly short read, which didn't give me as much time as I wanted with the characters. The main characters were enjoyable, though slightly one dimensional. I think they could have been fleshed out a bit more if the book gave them a little more room to breathe and spread their wings.

Overall, I enjoyed the quick time I spent with the book but it left me wanting more overall. That's the tough part about books that advertise themselves as being similar to something specific, it builds an expectation in your brain that is usually not met. Still, if you're looking for something quick with a rather unique setting/world then I recommend this one for you as long as you're not expecting it to reinvent the wheel (heh)

Kian Walker is the reigning world F1 champion but when his teammate breaks his leg and is replaced by F2 driver Harper James, Kian is thrown through a loop. Kian has always found Harper to be an immature, undisciplined playboy and Harper lives up to his reputation. A bout of food poisoning has Kian seeing a different side of Harper and then sharing a motorhome leads to a fling. Kian is in it for the long run, but commitment-shy Harper must figure out if he can handle a real relationship.

I love F1 so I was excited to try a romance set in this world. The book was a lot heavier than I was expecting, but still an easy read that I read essentially in one afternoon. I liked both Harper and Kian. They are opposites, but I would not call them grumpy/sunshine. I loved that the book was dual POV because both sides of the relationship was needed for the story to be compelling. I didn’t mind the miscommunication as it fit their characters. I absolutely loved that both characters were comfortable in their queerness (Kian is bi and Harper is gay) and that homophobia wasn’t a source of conflict, which typically isn’t the case in a sports romance. I would happily read another book set in this world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! Loved the relationship dynamic Kian and Harper and how they vexed one another. Not the spiciest book on the bookshelf but the story had me hooked from the start.

For fans of mlm romance, karting, and HEA romances

I think a teammate's sports romance is always fun! I particularly liked how opposite Kian and Harper were. I don't think they would ever have come to appreciate each other without being forced to spend so much time together.

This one was a pretty slow burn and it was a little frustrating to watch them misunderstand their feelings and make mistakes. However, I also thought it was realistic based on how different they were and their different experiences with relationships and family.

My only complaint is that there was one scene where they ended up making out and were headed towards more when Harper was very drunk and it was even stated that he was too drunk to consent. I wish that it had at least been addressed later.

Overall if you enjoy an MM romance and don't mind men being a bit bad with feelings (mostly in an amusing way) you'll really enjoy this one. I don't know much about racing but I did think the competition and team aspect of this one was fun!

Kian Walker has always been the golden boy of motorsport. The four-time Championship winner has racing in his DNA – his father was a legend on the track, just don’t let him catch you comparing the two. As reckless and unreliable at home as he was behind the wheel, there’s nothing Kian wants less than to be just like his dad.

Enter Harper James. This year’s rookie called up to compete with the big boys – and Kian’s new teammate. Cocky, hot-headed and with a reputation for breaking as many hearts as he does new track records, Harper’s the opposite of Kian in every way. But when the season starts, there’s no getting away from him.

Fun story about Formula 1 which I have not read before. If you love Formula 1 romances this one is definetly for you.
Unfortunetly, I struggled a bit with some parts and felt the lack of chemestry between the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

Seriously if I had a dollar for every time i’ve signed up to read a sports romance without actually reading the blurb, i’d be rich.
Nonetheless, I had mixed feelings with this book. This was my first MM book so it was a bit harder to get into for me, but at times I really did enjoy it. Other times, not so much.

In reality, I think the whole F1 experience in this book was a bit back and forth. It felt kind of felt like F1’s little sister because it wasn’t like consistent I guess? the teams being real teams and also fake named teams really threw me off too.

All in all, this book i’ll recommend to anyone that loves MM books. Some people say that it’s similar to Red, White, & Blue if you’ve read that. It focuses on a gay couple - with an age gap in F1 racing. I mean if you saw the cover, it would entice you to read it too huh? you get my drift haha

I overall really enjoyed this book. I was so excited when I read the premise; I've never read a queer race car driver romance before, and I ended up having a really good time reading this! The characters (particularly Harper) were a little difficult to like at times, mainly at the beginning, but they definitely grow on you as you read and as they grow as characters. The ending was satisfying and made sense with the storyline which is always a plus! Overall, a very enjoyable read and I would definitely be interested in future books that Caffery writes.

Fun, Fast read! This was a great example if Sports Romance with the mix of plot/Motorsports. If youre a fan of F1 then this is a must read!

A cute formulaic (see what I did there) F1 romance. The family back stories gave some unexpected depth I enjoyed.

I've only read a few queer romances and when I saw this one was set around the world of F1 I knew I had to read. I love an F1 romance and although this wasn't my favourite I still flew through this. A spicy romance full of intense hatred for each other due to there own individual issues running deep within each other. The main characters did annoy me in moments but I think that was all part of the troupe. Over all a great F1 romance and one I will be recommending to everyone to read.

When Kian and Harper get paired up for the season the sparks that flew were not expected. Harper is a playboy and Kian is the honourable family lad. Oh I wanted more from this but Harper was quite annoying and I wasn’t particularly keen on him. That said it’s a cute read and maybe if you’re more of an F1 fan this will appeal to you. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Overall really enjoyed my time reading this book. I liked learning a little bit about the racing and liked all the scenes where they were working and doing press. It was a lot of fun to read.
I wish we got to see a little more interaction with some of the other racers. We did get Johannes which I loved his character. Do I sense a book coming about him in the future??? I would have liked some of the interactions with the other racers we heard about.
I thought the characters had really good chemistry with each other (once they admitted their feelings). I loved the buildup of them denying their feelings. The forced proximity was so good!!
My complaint is that because he retired at the end of the season, the other guy is still racing. It feels like they are in two different parts of their lives and separated. I don’t know if it’s super believable to me they will stay together for the long haul. I wish that he didn’t retire, or he travelled on the road with them still in some way. They are happy for now so I shouldn’t care about fictional characters staying together 😂. I enjoyed the book and I definitely would recommend. I want to read more from this author.

As someone who has never watched a single F1 race and knows nothing about it I was worried I might get a bit lost in this books spot. But I am a big sucker for sports romances so I absolutely had to read it anyway! It helps that the cover is so beautiful because it immediately caught my eye.

I absolutely loved Pole Position! It's the perfect blend of disdain-to-lust-to-lovers that isnt rushed or instalove and you really feel the building connection between Kian and Harper. The dual-POV (another favorite of mine) gives the perfect amount of backstory and insight to each character and why they are they way they are and why they are WHO they are at this point in their lives. We learn through the story naturally why they butt heads, but also why they just work so well. Once they realize it too the relationship isnt just naturally flawless and I believe it felt more real because of it. Alongside the challenges of the sport they faces the challenges of one another and I enjoyed every lap of this story!

Honestly i really loved this book. I found it kind of slow in the beginning but once i got into this i really loved it. Loved the character development too. Would love to read more by this author.

If you love F1 then you are going to love this book!

This is the first book I have read by this author so I had no idea what to expect going in. I do have to say that I enjoyed myself a hell of a lot more than I thought I was going to since I'm not a fan of F1 (only ever watched it once) but the cover and the premise drew me in.

Kian and Harper were messy but very relatable. I quite liked how Harper's self-sabotage was very difficult to read but it was quite realistic. Someone with his background and insecurities IS going to react in a not so pretty way when something pushes him out of his comfort zone. I related to Kian quite a bit since he always had to be put together, never showing just how much weight he is carrying around on his shoulders.

This book was slightly longer than I liked, and there were quite a few important moments we did not see on page which felt extremely anti-climactic when finishing the book. Harper finding out Kian's dad is not as amazing as he thought he was, Harper's crush on Kian for YEARS before their meeting, the very abrupt change in Johannes's personality and there was little to no conversation about Kian walking in on Harper getting a blowjob in the motorhome they were SHARING at the time - after they had shown they liked each other. Overall, it was a very fun book but it would have been nice to see a lot of things rather than be told they happened or not have them included towards the end at all when they felt important at the start.

*4.5

I am a huge, huge fan of formula 1 so I was waiting for this book so much! And it lived up my expectations. It’s a good book. It’s funny and unpretentious and good. I liked it a lot. Love it! And I fell in love with the romance.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Damned lovely. This was my first F1 romance, and I feel like I totally need to read a dozen more now: who would have thought?

I didn't think "Pole Position" would manage to hook me as much as it did because I'm VERY, very picky with my contemporary romances; plus, I've become such a mood reader recentely. I shouldn't have worried though, because omg, I was absolutely ensnared from the very, very start: I managed to devour this book in two days, and I'm pretty sure I'll be thinking about it for the next two weeks, at least. Or, scratch that, till the next book is out. I'm already so damn excited for it.

"Pole Position" is the perfect mixture of lighthearted, fun, romance shenanigans (enemies-to-lovers, opposite attracts, age gap, a smidge of forbidden romance, hurt/comfort? CHECK) and heart-wrenching angst: I spent the last 30% of the book sobbing, swooning and screaming in frustration; rinse and repeat.

I adored Kian and Harper's relationship, although damn, I admit I spent half of the book wanting to jump into it to take a chair and smash it against Harper's head. Yeah, I know; he's a realistic character in a way that's very familiar to me (both of us are commitment-phobes with abandonment issues *high five*) but oh god, he could be such an insensitive jerk at times. Kian had the patience of a saint. I would have totally ended up loving him more IF ONLY he'd grovelled a smidge more too. Ugh, what does a girl have to do to get a good 'ol grovel fest romance around here?

I loved Kian though. He was the absolute best; and he was relatable too, in the way that he's so tightly wound and anxious and guilt-stricken all the time. I really felt for what he was going through, and despite my thoughts on Harper, I was so damn glad he'd finally found his perfect match with a person who made him feel both stronger and so much more lighter.
I adored their relationship, and surprisingly I didn't mind the push-and-pull and miscommunication between them: I was absolutely LIVING for the drama.

"Pole Position" was a damned fun book, but it also dealt with a whole lot of tough topics too: I spent many chapters just crying my eyes out, so be prepared.

All in all, despite some niggles, I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I can't wait to read book two to get more F1 shenanigans; also, Johannes is so intriguing: I cannot wait to discover what's been happening with him.

The concept/summary felt very promising, but it was a let down and I found myself strongly disliking some of the characters, which resulted in a DNF

It was fine. It felt rushed. They hated each other and then didn’t? It was a long book but I felt the characters weren’t fleshed out enough.

F1 and romance. What more can you want in a book? There were sparks flying everywhere and the tension was palpable.
The relationship between the two was really fun to read as it developed and the side characters relationships with the main couple were well fleshed out as well.
The timing across the whole racing season was nicely spaced making for a good flow.
My one minor negative point was a lot of information could occasionally be given all at once and I feel this sometimes detracted when it could have been revealed a bit more organically in conversations between characters rather than as an inner monologue.
But overall, a good F1 romance and I loved the grumpy x sunshine vibes.
Favourite Quote - I'd never considered arson before I found myself living in a motorhome with Harper James.
Favourite Character - Harper