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

Will the rookie steal his championship… and his heart?

Kian Walker has been racing professionally in Formula 1 for almost 15 years. His teammate is out for the season due to an injury, and Harper James is called up from the lower leagues. Harper has a bad-boy image attached to him for his partying and playboy ways. This gets the two off on a bad foot because Harper reminds Kian of his father and Harper thinks Kian is stuck up and boring. This, coupled with rumors of his upcoming retirement and a gravely ill mother that his twin sister is taking care of, has pushed Kian to the end of his rope.

Nowadays, I feel Formula 1 is everywhere. It has always been a popular sport, but it has now reached epic proportions. You don’t need any prior knowledge of the sport to read this book. The author gives good explanations about the nuances of team relationships, positions, and format of the races. Kian and Harper’s team is a fictional, but it is the top of the top. Since this is a romance book, you definitely need to suspend a bit of reality because Kian is first or second in pretty much every race. (Edit: Since writing this post, my friend who is very into F1 racing has taught me that this is indeed possible for one racer to dominate an entire season.)

Most of the conflict arises between Kian and Harper rather than the Formula 1 season. A case of opposites attract mixed with enemies/rivals to lovers, Kian and Harper bring the perfect spice layered with trauma. For the most part, the book is lighthearted with a splash of low angst. It’s the perfect slump-buster.

If you need to find me, I’ll be searching for more Formula 1 books.

#netgalley #poleposition #harpercollinsuk #onemorechapter

Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery is a queer Formula 1 romance. This is the story of Kian and Harper.
 
Kian is well established in the F1 world and one of the best drivers in the league. He is a golden boy, and a lot of people compare him to his dad who was also an F1 champion, but that puts a lot of pressure on him he doesn’t want. He is a very understanding, organized and passionate person and I liked him a lot.
 
Harper is a new F1 driver, and he is living his life party and scandals included. After another driver gets injured, it’s his chance to prove his potential and he becomes the teammate of Kian. Harper is definitely a bit unhinged and very vital and that loosens up the plot a bit and I liked that.
 
I absolutely love F1 romance, and this story brings something new to the table as I’ve never read a story with two teammates. It brings a whole new insight perspective and I really liked that. At first, Kian and Harper have this rivalry going on, but they spend a lot of time in close quarters and slowly get to know each other. The romance is definitely slow burn, but that made me appreciate the story more. Kian and Harper are such a cute couple, and I really enjoyed their story.
 
Overall, if you also like F1 romances, Pole Position is a must-read. 4,5 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

Thank you for sharing Pole Position with me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and it was a lovely read. The story was perfect for fans of F1 and romance readers. It was the perfect combination.

This was my first F1 romance, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I'm not a fan of racing, but this book made me consider changing that.
The tropes were all things that I love: forced proximity, mental health representation, found family, one bed. The really enjoyed the development of both MCs and the fact it was an even split between relationship and their careers. I've read a lot of romance sports romance books and find that sometimes a lot of them mention the sport a couple times, but you never actually experience the MC playing that sport. The balance Caffery put into this book was great.

This was my first Rebecca Caffery book and I'm excited to see what else she has to offer.

This takes grumpy vs sunshine and opposite attracts to the highest levels. It follows the story of teammates Kian and Harper, who have to work together to salvage their team’s season on track.

I love the dual POV and the fact that we have access to the characters’ thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Both characters were annoying at the start of the book with their immaturity and lack of understanding in dealing with their emotions.

I love the F1 aspect of the plot. I know nothing about the sports but this has converted me. I enjoyed the pacing and how the author carried us along.

I enjoyed the spice as well but it wasn’t as much as I’d liked.

If you love Formula 1, opposite attracts and the dreaded miscommunication trope then you will love this.

Formula 1 meet Red, White, Royal Blue in this new queer sports romance by Rebecca J. Caffery. Never have I ever read a motorsports romance before, so I was excited to see what this book would bring. What will Pole Position have in store for it's readers?

Even though I don't know much about formula 1, I do know Rebecca J. Caffery made this book stay very true to the sport. The drivers fly all over the world to race. Even though all the drivers are fictional, except for Alonso, you could really see which teams are the top teams.

This book is an awesome enemies to lovers book with forced proximity. Kian and Harper are really each other opposites, so I would say this book features an opposites attract trope as well. I loved to see the two of them grow closer together, especially during the European part of the season.

Rebecca J. Caffery has a really nice writing style. She cleary knows a lot about the sports, but also about how to write a romance book. I loved the slow burn in the story and I feel like the pace was really perfect for this story. In addition, this book also features an emotional element with Kian's mum, who suffers from parkinson's disease. For me the last chapters felt like they were really cut off, since time suddenly jumps ahead two years in just pages. Even though I really loved this book, the ending was a bit disappointing for me writing style wise.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

I really love Red, White, and Royal Blue so was immediately interested, and setting the book within the F1 was something a bit different.

While I'm a big romance reader, I don't usually gravitate towards sports romances, but I appreciate the much needed queer representation. However, the romance felt rushed and lacking in chemistry, and some of the plot holes needed smoothing out to fix this.

I think this book definitely fills a gap, and I hope it finds readers it'll resonate, I just don't think it was for me.

This book is very accurate when it says it's for fans of Red, White & Royal Blue. It features that same quirky humour and down to earth characters that fans of that book will love.
This book took such a rich and vibrant driving culture, something that is very relevant in mainstream media at the moment, and wove a soft romance story around it. The author didn't pretend like the reader didn't know anything about racing, but also didn't assume that the person was an expert. Things were explained in such a way that newbies like myself understood what was going on, but alumni to the topic wouldn't feel like they were having their hand held throughout the book.
Harper was a fun and complex character and I liked that not all his cards were on the table from the first chapter. I really had no idea what we were going to get from him or where we were going to go.
Kian was a little bit more of an open book - but to the reader and not to Harper. We knew more of his backstory from the get go. But I think this was such a great articulation of this world. Kian is famous so the media (and therefore the audience) knows a lot more about him, while Harper is a little newer and we only know what we see in the beginning. It was a very smart move on the author to position it like this.
My only grievance with the book is all the storylines that seemed to drop halfway through the book and never get any form of completion. From the topic of revenge porn that seemed to suddenly pop up and then completely disappear (kind of bothered this wasn't taken more seriously in the book), to Kian's father seemingly coming into the story for the sole purpose of saying something homophobic to Harper and then completely disappearing again (was his whole plot device just to make Harper look like a good guy?) and left me wondering where he'd gone and why he was such a big plot point if he were simply going to be dumped at the end, and the big one where Kian spent the entire book claiming he didn't want to retire only to suddenly decide he was ready to retire and it was shrugged off as nothing.
I'm guessing they were setting up characters like Johannes as a future series, but I honestly thought he was a villain for most of the book! Kian was suspicious of him and then things started happening every time Harper went out with him and I honestly thought he'd been told to sabotage Harper and that's why he was reacting pretty poorly to everything.
Even though I just had a mini whine about some of these things, I really enjoyed this book and I think it was excellent and a lot of fun. I'd call it an absolute banger of a popcorn read!

4⭐️
Kian is paired with a new, cocky rookie. I love F1 so much. So, I was so excited to read this and it was so good. Grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity, Great plot, I really enjoyed reading this. Kian is kind and amazing to everyone but Harper. Harper I felt was misunderstood and was just excited to be around his idol. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.