This lovely story about Kian and Harpers rivalry turned romance is truly heart warming. The 'will they, won't they' aspect keeps you guessing til the end and the storyline isn't always obvious. There are some sexy moments and also some humour. I would definitely recommend this for a romantic and light hearted read.

BOOK REVIEW - POLE POSITION by Rebecca J. Caffery

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you, NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and Rebecca J. Caffery, for providing an eARC of Pole Position for review.

Well, that was a thrilling ride! As a bit of a fan of Olympic Enemies, I was excited to get into this one. From the opening pages, the chemistry between Kian and Harper was brewing. Their rivalry-turned-romance, a slow-burning fire that crackles with tension, was so good.

Given my old flame love for F1, I really enjoyed how well the Formula 1 aspects were written. Kian is fiery, and Harper is damn well determined, and that always makes for good racing. Overall, I recommend Pole Position to anyone looking for a fun queer take on F1's.

Pole Position is a romance set in the world of Formula One racing. You've got Kian, the disciplined, well-established champion racer looking to have one more record-breaking season before he contemplates retirement. And then there's also Harper, the cocky rookie with a less-than-stellar reputation and a troubled past. What on earth could happen when they find themselves on the same team?

I love a sports romance and truly enjoyed learning a few things about Formula One racing (and then spending more time on the internet learning more). Even with an uneven start, I did enjoy this quite a bit, but I think it will benefit from more editing and maybe a bit more development of Kian's character. While much of the relationship conflict was understandable, it was entirely and frustratingly one-sided. That being said, I will 100% read the next romance that this one sets up.

Thank you to One More Chapter for providing an early copy in exchange for an honest review!

As a major F1 fan, this book was everything I needed! I think it had the perfect balance of racing and romance (and it kept the sport as accurate as possible!). It touches on some really important mental health aspects that can come with the sport, such as imposter syndrome and the extreme pressures these drivers face.

I really loved both Kian and Harper as characters, they balanced each other out really well. It's so refreshing to have a 'grumpy' character that's not completely annoying!

I cannot wait for this book to come out, and I'm sure the F1 community and beyond will love it!

Thank you to @NetGalley for letting me read the advanced ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This book was good! I loved the formula one racing romace. The tension and angst was great however some plots and characters were just left hanging, and not wrapped up. I loved the banter between the two main characters and the forced proximity trope! I would like to read more from this author. This book was a cute light read.

Thank you One More Chapter and NetGalley for the eARC of Pole Position! All opinions in this review are my own.

Within the first few pages, I knew Pole Position was going to become a favorite. I love that Kian has been in the sport for awhile and is near the end of his career. I also love the hate to love relationship and forced proximity between Kian and Harper. Their relationship and its development is easily one of my all-time favorites and I truly can't express how much I loved this book!

Caffery strikes a careful balance by rewarding F1 fans without alienating people new to the sport. There aren't paragraphs explaining the sport so you can enjoy this romance without needing the racing background. However, for fans of the sport, there are enough racing details included to give you some on-track action too!

While I'm upset I have to wait until next year for the US physical copy to come out, I'm already looking forward to rereading! Also, based on how open Johannes's story is left, I hope this means we are getting a sequel!

When I told people I was reading a drag racing romance, they were not thinking of literal motor racing. I love that. A mix of Formula 1, rivals to lovers, forced proximity, tidy/messy. It’s a recipe for a really great time.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect when starting POLE POSITION, but I really did end up enjoying it all.

Harper and Kian had such a fun dynamic even though it could get beyond frustrating. It’s hard for me to read enemies/rivals to lovers because I’m just like UGHHHH STOP BEING MEAN TO EACH OTHER AND KISS!!!! But the tension between Kian and Harper was delicious, especially as they tried to deny all that spicy tension simmering between them.

I also learned a lot about motor racing that I wasn’t aware of. Don’t get me wrong, the book isn’t super plot-driven, but it IS a sports romance. I thought there was a very nice blend between the romance and the actual sport.

POLE POSITION gets pretty emotional!!! I teared up quite a few times. Rebecca Caffery did an exceptional job at creating real, flawed characters.

Had such a good time with Kian and Harper and I hope we get more books in this world because I’m curious about Johannes…

4,5 Stars, rounded up!

I absolutely devoured this book. I knew absolutely nothing about F1 going in, but I enjoyed it so much I was actually upset I missed a race the weekend I was reading because I really wanted to immerse myself in the world (and what better to get you into a new sport than a sports romance?).

This book follows Kian & Harper around the world during a season of F1. Kian was supposed to spend this season with his best friend Elijah, but after a last-minute injury, Harper takes Elijah's place. Kian knows everything he needs to about Harper (he has been in the news enough), and has no interest in anything. He's missing his best friend, but has to do with this overzealous rookie.

Harper has wanted nothing more than to make it into the big leagues, and less than 24 hours before they're boarding a plane to start the season, he gets called up. Not only has he made it, but his teammate is someone he's idolized growing up - Kian Walker. But Kian wants nothing to do with him, and it's clear from the minute he boards the jet.

After tensions rising, they're told they have to be friendly. Their team principal doesn't care if it's real or fake, but this hostility is no longer welcome. A fake friendship, a night caretaking a sick teammate, and a drunken confession, they find themselves even more intertwined in each others' lives.

I'll be real honest, I didn't love the characters in the beginning. They got on my nerves and I was worried it'd make me dislike the book. But there is quite a bit of character growth and I was glued to my kindle because I just wanted more of them! I loved seeing their dynamic and how they were able to complement each other after some time.

I was worried going in that I'd be lost since I know nothing about racing, but everything you really need to know to understand the book is in there.

I really, really enjoyed this book and how it did delve into some deeper topics like Kian's mom's Parkinson's Disease and Harper's childhood in foster care and how that's shaped him. I do wish we got a bit more about the characters and who they are away from the course, but I did enjoy the story and their connection!

Some tropes:
Rookie x Veteran
Teammates & Competitors
Opposites Attract
Fake friendship

Thank you #netgalley, the author and publishers for the ARC of this book. They gave it to me for an unbiased review.

4.5 stars rounded down to 4. This was fantastic. I have never read anything by this author and I will definitely in the future. This was so perfect in so many ways. Harper and Kians story was beautifully written. The struggles they have and how they communicated them and overcame to them get their HEA was perfect. Kian was such a royal dick in the beginning the Harper I wanted to jump in the pages and knock some sense u to him! The spice for this was 🌶️🌶️.5 if you’re wanting to know.

I really enjoyed the story of Kian and Harper. I hope there is a story about Harper’s bestie and I hope if there is I can read it first again and there are some visits for Harper and Kian so we can see how they are doing.

As a fan of F1 romances, I really enjoyed this book. I’m not gonna lie, in the first half I was somewhat annoyed at the way the characters were acting, but as the story progressed I started to like the characters more and more as their relationship progressed. It has the rivals to lovers trope with undeniable chemistry between the two main characters. I’ll also add that I really liked having the dual pov’s as it made it easier to understand the characters.

I wanted to love this and, while the story had some potential, it was let down in a lot of ways.

Between the 0 to 100 romance, the Americanisms coming from British characters, the plot holes that are never picked up and the countless moments where I was left thinking ‘yikes’ it just didn’t live up to what I expected.

The characters behave like teenagers for most of the book, despite us constantly being reminded how ‘old’ Kian is. They are immature and childish and, despite Kian repeatedly telling us he wants a lover, not just someone to have sex with, a lot of their interactions and ‘connections’ are purely lustful. Personally, a man telling me he had a hard on at a loved one’s funeral would put me off, thru perhaps that’s just me….

The title, cover and storyline definitely caught my attention. This was my first sports romance book and it didn't disappoint. I love the F1 sport and reading a romance mixed in with the sport was refreshing to read. I liked the range of characters which offered different storylines while still following the perspectives from both of the main characters of this book and their background stories that shape them. I'm glad I read this book and I'll definitely check out other books from this author.

A fun read for those in their F1 romance era and still all moony eyed over red white and royal blue 🤩. A forced proximity, age gap, enemies to lovers work place romance. When Harper joins Kian's F1 team as a replacement driver for someone out with an injury, the two immediately clash. With strict instructions from management to get it together and at least act like they like each other, they keep finding themselves thrown together and sparks start to fly. The found family aspect and a handful of the F1 side characters were quite clunky and didn't enhance the story as much as I would expect from a sports romance and the ending felt super rushed and a little unresolved, but overall this was a fun and quick read.


Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for the ARC in exchange for my review!

This book was wonderful. The pacing was well done and didn’t feel boring at any point. It kept us entertained and intrigued.
Kian and Harper were wonderful and I love the growth they made throughout the book. They compliment each other so well. I cried so hard during a particular chapter or two. But it was so well worth it.

Wishing you all a happy Monaco weekend with an F1 romance! This was described as Red, White and Royal Blue meets Formula 1 and it’s spot on! It was super hot and entertaining, even if you aren’t an F1 fan. While I loved the dynamic between Kian & Harper, I really enjoyed the side characters and I’m hoping for sequel for Johannes. It was a quick read that grabbed my attention quickly, but I didn’t love that it didn’t wrap up part of the plot with Kian’s dad. If you’re looking for a spicy read with not too heavy of a plot - this is perfect!

4.25⭐️ Thank you to HarperCollins UK for the ARC!!

This book was so sweet🫶🏻 I loved seeing the journey these two characters went through and I loved the see them through out their relationship! Some miscommunication was frustrating but it wasn’t to bad and the characters usually were able to talk things out! I thought this book had to perfect amount of spice while also have a pretty interesting plot !

I'll show you where to position your pole.

LOL I'm sorry, low hanging fruit, I know. But it had to be said.

Ever since the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year, I have been foaming at the mouth at the very idea of an F1 romance book and not only did the MM book gods answer my prayers by putting this book in my sights, Rebecca Caffery absolutely delivered.

I love when a sensible, ambitious, fastidious MC (Kian) is paired off with a character that is, essentially, chaos incarnate (Harper) and their entire groove veers completely off track (hehe, racing jokes). Better yet when that chaos goblin is a closeted superfan but a very out, cheeky stud.

Kian's subsequent dismissal of Harper's adorable attempts at friendship leads to a delicious rivalry and NOTHING breeds sexual tension quite like competitiveness. I will say, though, that I wish that fight for dominance translated to the bedroom just a little bit more. More on that later.

The balance between their relationship development versus the developments in the actual sport was spot on for me. I'd say it was like 50/50 and normally, I'd want more on the relationship side, but I actually really appreciated the focus on the racing; it's the core of who our MCs are and it made me that much more invested in their individual development as well.

I am an absolutely sucker for all the tropes and mini tropes Caffery chose to include: forced proximity, hurt/comfort (I salivate for all things nightmares/injury/illness), mental health, found family, only one bed motorhome. A LOT happens in this book - so much so that I think some key plot elements were either forgotten or glossed over...

∘₊✧─── possible spoilers ahead ───✧₊∘

Okay, time for some critiques cause I do have a few.

I think the thing that I desperately wanted (and expected) the most and didn't get was a higher spice level. Both overall and with particular scenes. For one, there's only one actual (read: anal) sex scene (which is fine cause that's totally preferential) but if you're only going to have the one, it should be REALLY good. The scene felt kind of quick? Idk, it just felt like there was a lot of lead up and sexual tension and when they FINALLY fuck, you want it to REALLY pack a punch. The particularities come in with the dynamic between them. There's a scene earlier on in the book where Harper implies that he sees something in Kian relating to what he's into sexually - the implication being that Kian is a boring gentleman in the streets but a dominant freak in the sheets. Enough of a freak that Kian is all paranoid and thinks something like "there's no way Harper knows, right?" THAT SCENE is a promise to the readers that there is fun stuff to come and sadly, we get NONE OF THAT. There's plenty of lower-tier sex scenes that are still very, very hot but even those don't fall in line with Kian's supposed hidden sexual deviance.

Another huge plot hole for me was the whole thing with Kian's dad. NOT ONCE does Kian have an interaction with his dad - there's zero closure there. I get that Harper's part to play in telling Tyler not to come to the funeral was important, but when did Harper even realize that the dad was a piece of shit? His character goes from idolizing Tyler to suddenly telling him to fuck off at the airport and there should have been some type of conversation where Kian talks to Harper about why his dad is shit and is a trigger for him during interviews. Even if it's implied that it happens off-page, with how much Harper brings Tyler up to Kian alone, that was a conversation that needed to happen on page. And if there was never going to be any type of closure with Tyler's character, he shouldn't have made an appearance on page at all.

This isn't really a criticism per say, but I've seen a lot of people compare this book to Red, White, & Royal Blue - I think this is actually WAY more similar to Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. Kian is Oliver and Harper is Luc almost to a tee. I guess the criticism part comes in because it is slightly derivative (especially with their personality traits and Harper's negative portrayal in the media), but I think Caffery really went out of her way to make it her own so that critique doesn't hold much weight.

Lastly, the ending. The last 2-3ish chapters (including the epilogue) are primarily written in summaries. I feel like this is more common with authors who aren't quite sure how to end the book? So it comes off as very quick and choppy and just a tad bit cringey? I still love all the things that happened and I LOOOOVE how much Kian and Harper love each other, but those last few chapters just needed a bit of polishing.

But FOR THE RECORD, all of these critiques come from a place of deep love because I still VERY MUCH enjoyed reading this and I would honestly come back to it again to reread some of my favorite scenes. I will also be getting myself a physical copy, cause I need it in my grubby little hands.

✧While I received a free e-arc from NetGalley, all thoughts are my own.✧

This is the book I didn’t know I needed. The way my heart fluttered, my feet kicked, it was all so perfect. I am so grateful that I got to read this book and I cannot wait for others to get the chance to read it, too!

There seem to be several racing romances set to hit new release shelves this year. Pole Position is a queer F1 romance, and the blurb and cover caught my eye while putting together the New Release post. I don’t know much about this part of the sports world, but I decided to dive in anyway.

This is one of those books that while I read straight through in one sitting, I had some issues. Like totally disliking the two main characters for the first half of the book.

Let me back up.

Pole Position is an enemies to lovers, forced proximity, workplace romance set in the fast-paced Formula One racing world. The two main characters are Kian Walker, an experienced driver who has already won several world titles and is thinking of retirement at the ripe old age of 33, and Harper James, the younger, rookie driver who is finally getting his chance to compete at the highest level when Kian’s normal teammate breaks his leg.

These two are like oil and water, they do not like each other when they are first partnered. Lots and lots of sniping and rudeness and Kian being an uptight, judgmental dick and Harper acting like a child. This goes on for what felt like forever. I just could not figure out why they were so awful to each other. There was no real interaction between the two before they are thrown together, just Kian’s preconceived notions of Harper’s personality and public bad boy persona, and Harper getting more and more petty and rude as he is shut out. I kept thinking that Harper’s behavior was sure to get him sent right back down to a lower level and he would lose his shot at the big time and that Kian, as an experienced driver, should know better than to be so insulting to a team member.

So that’s like the first half of the book, then suddenly they are getting hot and heavy and sleeping together every night. There was some build up, some angst about wanting each other, but the turnaround felt kind of rushed. To me at least. The second half is full of drama of them trying to define what their relationship looks like. Harper has trust issues stemming from his childhood in foster care and comes close to blowing up the entire relationship. Eventually they figure it out. There is an HEA, and they do come out as a couple despite being teammates.

I did enjoy reading about the racing aspects of the book, and despite not watching the sport, I think the author explained it in a way I could understand. I’m curious to find out if this author has plans for more books set in this world. I might be interested in reading about Harper’s BFF and why he’s suddenly distant after that one-night stand.

3.5 Stars!
This was a very cute read! I adored the relationship between Kian and Harper. The first half was a bit slow for my liking but the last half was great! This is perfect for any F1 fans!