Furious by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos is a gripping and emotionally charged exploration of anger, identity, and the journey toward self-acceptance. From my perspective, the authors' writing is powerful and evocative, deftly capturing the intensity of the characters' emotions while delving into the complexities of their experiences. The dual perspectives offer a rich narrative, allowing me to connect deeply with both protagonists as they navigate their struggles and confront their inner demons.

I appreciated how the novel tackles themes of rage and vulnerability with honesty, illustrating how anger can be both a destructive and transformative force. The pacing is well-executed, with tension building throughout, keeping me engaged and eager to see how the characters would find resolution. There were moments when the dialogue felt a bit heavy-handed, but the depth of the character development more than compensates for any minor flaws.

Overall, Furious is a compelling and thought-provoking read that left me reflecting on the power of emotions and the importance of understanding oneself. It’s an excellent choice for readers who enjoy character-driven stories that tackle difficult topics with nuance and authenticity.

fun queer high-octane romance that's filled with racing, but takes its time to bring us the luscious plot of the story.

Yeah…this wasn’t it. In theory, this would be the perfect book for me. A queer love story AND they race cars!? whatever you want to call this book, it wasn’t true love. if we are 70% through the book and you’re still lying to the person you’re falling in love with (instantly, might i add) then it’s not my kinda story!

First things first - I’m not a Fast and the Furious fan. Just needed to put that out there because despite that being a consistent element throughout the story, I still really enjoyed this! A part of me thinks it may have worked better as a New Adult novel rather than YA, but I did love that being YA gave it the freedom to explore themes so synonymous with adolescence - love, growth and heartbreak.

Overall this was a really beautiful queer coming of age story and it’s one I’ll definitely recommend!

First I have to say this cover is absolutely stunning I am truly obsessed with it! Now onto the book itself what a journey! I love seeing flawed characters learn and grow and that’s a major theme I noticed when reading. I highly recommend you give this book a read!

Oh I REALLY loved this!! Please please read this if you love YA or are 20 and under. This would have been my whole personality if I read it at 17. I LOVE seeing car girls and motorcycle girls being represented!!! There are beautiful bits of family and grief tied into this story. If you had your gay awakening while watching Disney’s Motorcrossed this is a MUST READ. This managed to be so fun and free and special while dealing with heavy topics and the swirling feeling of being a teenager. Highly recommend!!

Review 5/5 or 9.43/10

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Characters-10
I enjoyed Jojo and El in this story. They had different backstories, but there was a connection because they were both a part of male-dominated industries. They also bonded over The Fast & the Furious, specifically Letty Ortiz, and I loved that. They were both in a small town and had dreams of leaving and starting life on their own with college. The supporting characters in this book were great as well, I loved Jojo’s Grandmother the most. The characters kept me reading this book because I wanted to see the friendships and the relationships built throughout the story. \Writing-10 I loved the writing in this book. This was my first book by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos. I loved how there were two points of view as I felt that was the best way to tell the story. I felt the writing style was perfect for this because the style was easy to read. There were fun scenes where the characters were having a good time and enjoying the moment. Furious also had some more intense scenes which I enjoyed reading because the characters were learning. Plot-9 with I went into this not knowing much about F1 or Bikes. I loved how the story progressed here. We started with El and Jojo meeting, and then we saw the relationship blossom throughout the story. I loved how there were multiple elements to the story. The mystery was great, and the race elements were fun to see. The story developed at a great pace for me, and I could see the progression of the story. Enjoyment-9 I enjoyed this one a lot! I thought the characters were wonderful, and I loved the personalities they had. The story was fun, and I will definitely read more from these authors.

Writing-10

I loved the writing in this book. This was my first book by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos. I loved how there were two points of view as I felt that was the best way to tell the story. I felt the writing style was perfect for this because the style was easy to read. There were fun scenes where the characters were having a good time and enjoying the moment. Furious also had some more intense scenes which I enjoyed reading because the characters were learning.

Plot-9

I went into this not knowing much about F1 or Bikes. I loved how the story progressed here. We started with El and Jojo meeting, and then we saw the relationship blossom throughout the story. I loved how there were multiple elements to the story. The mystery was great, and the race elements were fun to see. The story developed at a great pace for me, and I could see the progression of the story.

Enjoyment-9

I enjoyed this one a lot! I thought the characters were wonderful, and I loved the personalities they had. The story was fun, and I will definitely read more from these authors.

This was sadly a DNF for me, the story felt way too young, I think it might be my mistake because I went in expecting older characters, considering this was a story involving racing.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I really couldn't get enough of Jamie Pacton and Becca Podos' YA racing Sapphic romance. This book has it all, humor, love, grief, growth, and love.

Yes it is inspired by some very silly movies (Fast and the Furious series) where many outrageous things happen. But Furious has so many very realistic components to it. It has soft moments that stick with you long after you've read them.

This was my first book read by two authors, where they traded off chapters (POVs) and it was so well done. Jamie and Becca really are amazing authors in the own rights, but also work so well together.

Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos have teamed up to write one of the coolest YA sapphic novels of the year. Furious is a coming-of-age story about two girls who both seem to have lived lives beyond their young years.

Jojo lived her life in the fast lane and on the sideline of formula one tracks. Her mother was a well-known racer, and Jojo’s own skills meant she was on the same path to success. Until her mother was killed in a horrific crash. With her father banning any form of racing and moving her back to the small town he grew up in, Jojo keeps her goals close to her chest while working in her grandmother’s mechanic shop.

El was taught to ride motorcycles by her sister, who was a champion on the local motorcross circuit. Suddenly, she quits and disappears from El’s life. The occasional postcard had El certain she wanted to come home, and El took it onto herself to make it happen.
When Jojo offers to help El find her sister, the two embark on a journey of self-discovery, love, chasing dreams, and accepting what can’t be changed.
Written in first-person narrative, El and Jojo’s stories are both heartbreaking and satisfying. Their joint obsession with the Fast and Furious franchise is fun and adds another layer of relevancy to the overall story. There is a happy ending, which is what we all hope for, but this one is realistic and keeps with the theme of independence and friendships. Don’t miss this cute and clever book.

I have grown to love the books being published from Page Street YA! I was so excited when I first saw Furious announced because come on sapphic romance, racing, Mario cart, motorcycles, fast and furious?! I had to read this! I really enjoyed the two main characters and you get to see how they handle grief and it’s full of action!!!! It’s the perfect summer book to pick up and definitely easy to finish in a day or two. Totally recommend!

Slow start, then the story picks up. Deep exploration of all the different feelings we experience in our teenage years, beautifully written along the way. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

*3.5 stars*

This was a nice little YA read! I must confess by the time my request was approved I had forgotten it was YA and was disappointed to realise it wasn't an adult lesbian racing romance but it was still fun.

I really liked the discussions of the different kinds of grief when you lose someone because they've died and when you've lost them because they have left, it was well done without being too heavy for teenagers.

The romance could have used a little bit of work, but for a YA, it was pretty solid, these are kids you can't expect too much of a deep, well-developed emotional romance.

I also liked the emphasis on the importance of parents being honest with their kids, yes you want to protect them and Information should be age-appropriate but lying for protection so rarely works and causes a whole lot of pain to El.

I also liked the racing plot point because it was a pretty unique backdrop for a YA which made it a bit more interesting than a typical than a standard high school setting - I also LOVED that it was JoJo's mum who was the racer, not her dad.

Thank you for Netgally and Page Street Publishing for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this one! Read it in two sittings, and only bc it was super late and I couldn’t hold my eyes open anymore. The main characters felt real and believably teenaged, making bad choices for the right reasons and also bad choices for questionable reasons and figuring it out as they go along. As someone who doesn’t vibe with the F&F movies this was such a pleasant surprise. Truly the f/f romance that series deserves to inspire.

Furious is the definition of a summer read to me, a book that is easy to fly through very quickly and that while it has some difficult topics (grief, loss, family, hard truths, growing up, etc), is really cute at the same time. A good sapphic YA to add to the arsenal of books I love and will absolutely recommend to anybody looking for a good one. Admittedly, I have never seen a fast and furious movie (but have family members that love the movies so i'm sure eventually I will) but honestly while that wasn't why i picked up the book, the references were really fun and not overwhelming at all. It was cute to see something El and JoJo bond over it.

El and JoJo are really easy to like and fun characters, and great narrators. They were most of the reason that this was so easy to read. Both were in kind of a similar spot. Both had lost someone, even if in not the same ways, and both needed an escape from things happening in their personal lives, someone to lean on and someone to encourage them to go for it. It being whatever they were fearful of at the moment, racing and the F1 academy for Jo and finding El's sister and why she left in the first place while also breaking out of her "good girl" mold for El. Jo's struggle with grief over losing her mom was very real and very messy and she didn't always get it right because of that but I will say she owned her shit and figured it out anyways. Even if her mom died racing, the very thing JoJo was determined to make a career out of, I liked that she never once shied away from it. She knew it wasn't what her mom would want and made it her goal to honor her, I just really admired it. I like to think that her dad went back into the racing scene eventually too after sorting through his own separate battle with grief. He's one of the rare few actual good parents in YA books and I actually liked him a lot lol. Wish we had seen more out of Grandma Jolene too, she was such an ICON my god. El started this book, as harsh as it sounds, very naive and in the dark about a lot that happened to her sister and it was hard to see her learn the truth and deal with the fact that maybe her sister wasn't who she thought she was. It's hard to take someone off that pedestal when previously you thought so highly of them, and sometimes still do even after the harsh truths. Though I wish we had learned more of Max's story from HER herself instead of mostly second hand because I got the feel that we weren't gonna truly understand her and her motives unless it came directly from her. It also just irritated me that instead of just talking to her like the adult they seemed to want her to act like, El's parents just hid so much from her. But they did kind of own up to it so I can forgive it just a bit.

It's clear that there was a lot of love and thought that went into writing this story and bringing Dell's Hollow and these girls to life. Overall it felt really cozy but also like a warm summer day read like I said at the beginning. I also adore the cover, it fits the story really well. Thank you to Netgalley and the authors for the ARC copy, All opinions have been my own!

A YA sapphic romance that takes place in Appalachia, is full of Fast & Furious references, F1 Racing, Horses, Motorcycles & Mario Kart?? ✨Sold!✨

This was such a great coming of age story. Furious follows Jojo & El who are both coming of age and grieving how things used to be. Brought together by chance, they embark on an adventure full of mystery, fast cars, healing and the love of the open road!

🏎️ F1 Racing
🌄 Appalachia
🐎 Horses
📖 YA Sapphic Romance
🗺️ Roadtrip
🎥 Fast & Furious
⏳ Coming of Age
🎮 Mario Kart
❤️‍🩹 Grief & Healing
🏍️ Motorcycles
🏁 Competition

This was my first book by Jamie Pacton & Rebecca Podos and I really enjoyed it! Very excited to dive into their backlist!

Thank you so much TBR & Beyond Tours & Page Street YA for the gifted copy!

This was such a cute read and I really need to finish watching all the Fast and Furious movies (so I can then rewatch them). If you’re not a fan there are a lot of references and talk of the movies and characters, so, sorry if you’re one of those who dislike constant pop culture references. I don’t, I really like them and I don’t think they spoil or date the book (I love the older references, especially with technology).

I was drawn to the book because a) Jamie Pacton and b) Fast and Furious. And I’m glad to say it delivered! I haven’t read anything from Podos and I’ve only read Pacton’s fantasies – but I’m pretty sure I could see Pacton in the characters. JoJo and El were so cute – alone and with each other. I thought it was cute that they would both go on tangents about bikes and cars respectively and you could feel the other girl is like “Yeah, I have no idea what you mean but you’re cute!”.

I appreciated JoJo’s grief storyline. Her mom had passed away recently and grief is such a difficult thing to work through. I liked that it wasn’t so well-managed here but there’s hope that it would and sometimes, that’s all that’s needed. El doesn’t have grief per se, but she’s working through her sister’s disappearance, which is sort of grief because it’s about losing a loved one (albeit not actually).

It’s a very fast-paced book, which is always nice. You could easily read this in one sitting or throughout a day. The plot is fairly simple and because it’s so fast-paced the plot flies through too. I now and then wanted the plot to be more – more twists, characters having to choose a different path – but this is contemporary, not fantasy! Contemporary’s allowed to be straight-forward and plain. Just like a sprint in a race (all my knowledge is from Need for Speed games haha). The characters did occasionally make stupid decisions or say things without thinking but they’re teenagers!! Let teens do these things!! I think of this often when people complain about teen characters being annoying – like teens… are annoying. And they should be allowed to be annoying!

📚Furious
🖋️Authors: Jamie Pacton and Becca Podos
🗂️Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
📆Publication date: June 11
📝Pages: 289

•ARC REVIEW•

5/⭐️

📌Summary:
After years racing go karts and looking up to her mother, a celebrity Formula 1 racer, Jojo Emerson -Boyd should be starting her own racing career. But when she loses her mom in a tragic crash, Jojo’s future comes to a screeching halt. Now her dad won’t let her get a license, much less race. Instead, she’s stuck working at her grandmother’s mechanic shop in the sleepy small town of Dell’s Hollow.

But Jojo’s heart quickens when Motorcyle Girl Eliana “El” Blum shows up at the shop. El grew up on the motocross circuit sidelines, watching her sister and idol Maxine compete.
When El mysteriously loses all contact with Max, she’s determined to find her, with her first clue leading straight to the mechanic shop, and to Jojo.

United by fate, the two quickly bond over Mario Kart showdowns and the Fast & Furious films. As their friendship shifts into something more, they’ll have to confront both their
growing romance and the grief woven into their complicated families if they hope to chase down their dreams and make it across the finish line.

Content Warning: death of a parent, grief, trauma

📌Review:
This was such a wonderful read. I really liked the chemistry between Jojo and El, they are meant to be. There were scenes that were really touching and I found myself tearing up.

📌Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195862010
Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Furious

📌Author’s links:
https://www.jamiepacton.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jamiepacton/
https://www.rebeccapodos.com/
https://www.instagram.com/beccapodos/

📌Tour Schedule: https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2024/05/08/tour-schedule-furious-by-jamie-pacton-and-becca-podos/

#Furious #TBRBeyondTours #JamiePacton #BeccaPodos #books #bookstagram #book #booklover #reading #bookworm #bookstagrammer #read #bookish #booknerd #bookaddict #booksofinstagram #bibliophile #instabook #love #bookshelf #read #booksbooksbooks #bookaholic #libros #reader #bookphotography

I have a theory about this book.

The whole time I was reading it, there was something familiar about it that I couldn’t put my finger on. It was sweet, it was funny, the writing was mostly good (although it occasionally made me cringe). But there was something that I couldn’t quite describe that felt nostalgic and somehow also routine about it.

And then I realised.

This is a horse girl book.

The second I realised, it all made sense! If you substitute cars and bikes for horses, F1 racing for horse racing, the garage for stables, and so on, it’s a horse girl book but about sapphic car racing. And I love that! All the horse girl book tropes were there – the dead mom and the father who won’t let his daughter drive/ride because it’s how her mother died, for a start – and I love that it worked. It fully delivered the vibes, with an added dollop of sapphic romance on the side.

I really liked how unapologetically queer this book is, including queer people from different generations. While the main romance was a little bit too insta-love and whirlwind for my liking, it did make sense as two teenage girls who have their first serious relationship to have all those intense feelings very quickly.

And while I’m still holding out for the sapphic horse girl book of my dreams, for now this has filled the void, and will provide a much needed escapist adventure for many a reader.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

Living her life on the fast track towards a racing career, one girl will do everything she can to chase her dreams and the mysterious girl who has come into her life. Jojo Emerson-Boyd is the daughter of a celebrity NASCAR racer who died from a tragic accident. Jojo spends her days workng at her grandmother's auto shop in the small town of Dell's Hollow, just waiting to finally apply to the f1 academy and pursue her own dreams of being a racer. Then she meets motorcycle girl, Eliana "El" Blum, a tough-girl vibe girl who is looking for her sister Max. El has been following Max's clues and is determined to find her... and her first clue leads her straight to the auto shop where Jojo works. Jojo and El strike up a quick relationship and they both begin to investigate Max's disappearance together as they race towards every new clue.... yet from impromptu road trips, heists, street races, and their growing feelings for each other... can they find Max and when they find the truth can they overcome both their own grief and family dramas? This book was just a delight of a book to read, especially for anyone who enjoys Fast and Furious. I loved the homage to the franchise and the journey that both El and Jojo go on was such a fun one to read. I had so much fun with this book and would absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys fast cars, family drama, road trips, and relationships where you both can quote the fast and furious movies to each other.