This was cute but not one of my fave sports romances. I’ll admit I know NOTHING about Formula 1 so I don’t know if that affected my opinion. I think this book was too long! I like my romances to be under 400 pages and there were definitely sections that could’ve been cut down. There was so much back and forth about Dev being tortured that he liked Willow so much, it got tiring. And then once they did admit to their feelings, it still took awhile for anything to actually happen.

I will applaud the lack of a third act breakup though yayyyy! But also the ending kinda dragged, I never thought I’d be sick of extra fluff at the end but again, definitely a part that could’ve been trimmed.

I struggled with the characters in this one and just generally with the F1 aspect (that part is a me issue for sure!) It felt very long to me.

I did enjoy the brothers best friend trope and banter though!

I thought this was really cute! It was my first F1 romance and it def will not be my last. Good spice, fun characters and no third act breakup.

Def recommend for a fun Summer read

this was really cute but unfortunately fell a little flat for me. i really liked the characters and how close they all were but this felt way too quick to be realistic or believable. they were immediately in love and all over each other. from page one you basically know they have feelings for each other, which is fine, but they got together pretty much immediately and then i felt a little bored for a good chunk of the book. i did really appreciate that there was no 3rd act break up, that would have honestly just ruined this book entirely for me. i do think id continue reading these as i liked some of the other characters a lot more and im hoping the insta love trope won’t be as prevalent in the next book! all in all, the writing in this was good and i see so much potential for future books by this author. the tropes just didn’t work out for me in this one!

I had so much fun reading this book! I'm a huge F1 fan and it was so fun seeing little tidbits of inspiration from real life F1 drivers. I also loved the romance and the disability rep present in the book. It's always a huge win in my book to see that. Much love for Cross the Line, I hope we see more from the rest of the grid!

I love sports romances and I appreciate seeing books written in other sports besides hockey!!! I do not know much about F1 racing so it was cool getting some insight into the sport. From research I have done it seems that aspects in this story are very accurate. This book reminded me of Throttled by Lauren Asher so if you liked that story I think you will enjoy this book. This overall was cute, I was having a hard time buying into the romance between the two characters. I felt a bit bored honestly and could not get attached to the dialogue between the two. Overall this was a cute book, and I appreciated the representation in the story!. 3.5 stars!

Arc read: 4.3 ⭐️
Ok *cute*
Brothers best friend trope, but add it into the f1 racing world? Sold. I especially loved the diversity in the characters and overall friend group- diving a little more into Dev’s culture was so much fun!
In the beginning there was a touch too much emphasis on Willow wanting to get “permission” from her brother for things- but thankfully she grows out of that! I think it made sense for her age and history though. It was good to see her stand more confidently as an adult and be treated as such- so that’s was a nice development through the book!
I appreciated the chronic condition rep- it rang true to my lived experiences.

3.75 stars rounded up!! This book was so cute!

Cross the Line is a sports romance following F1 driver, Dev, and his best friends little sister, Willow. Willow is a recent graduate looking for a role in sports management and Dev needs a social media manager to help clean up his bad reputation. They agree to work together professionally but it’s hard for them to ignore their growing feelings and the kids they shared the year prior.

I really love a sports romance and f1 romances are always so much fun! Fictional sports have me on the edge of my seat all the time lol. I loved the disability rep and cultural diversity in this book. Dev and Willow honestly deserve the world. There were so many cute moments in this book.

I had some issues with the pacing. It felt slow at points. Sometimes it felt like the dual POV chapters would just recap what we already saw in the previous chapter which didn’t move the story forward.

Overall, I’d recommend to someone looking for a fun F1 summer romance!

I'm a sucker for a sport romance book but even more for a F1 romance book. I found the book at the beginning a little hard to get into, the way the pace flowed at the beginning was slow. Not necessarily an original plot, but with very original characters it made it very refreshing. I love the representation in the book. Makes the whole story relatable. A solid book overall I would love to see the next book. A solid 3.5 stars from me.

Though not the greatest fit for my store, Simone Soltani's Cross the Line is a wild ride! I've been foaming at the mouth for traditionally published Formula 1 romances, and this takes the cake. What a fun and steamy read!

I'm South Asian and I found the desi rep of the hero to frankly be hollow and not great. It's not terrible, but it's not good either. I can't speak to the accuracy of the F1 storyline but I liked it as a casual viewer. I'm really sad because the rest of the story was nice, but I kept getting distracted by representation issues.

I feel like I keep searching through so many anticipated releases, waiting for something that will break the reading slump. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't the one to do it. I just felt bored.

“My sunshine girl. My macaron-loving menace. Absolute love of my life.”

This is such a delightful book and a fun sports romance!

When a social media disaster threatens to ruin Dev’s career he needs someone in his corner to help him fix his failing image. He decides that Willow, his best friend’s little sister, is just the person for the job. She is a hard worker and has a talent for seeing the best in people. The only catch is that seven months earlier he kissed her and now he can’t seem to get her out of his mind.

Dev and Willow’s love and obsession for one another is so very sweet. She is the center of his universe but their romance is fraught with speed bumps. First off, she works for him and for that reason alone, they are determined to keep things professional. Plus, they are hiding their attraction from her brother who will likely not be thrilled with the match. Because of these challenges, the romance that develops between the two is a slow burn but one that you can’t help but be drawn to.

I loved the dual pov and the fact that there is no third act break up. I thought that the writing was effortless and I was hooked right from the start! I will admit that I know nothing about Formula 1 racing but I very much enjoyed the attention to detail and how I was able to learn all about the ins and outs of this world as I read along! I also appreciate the representation of Willow’s disability. The care with which Simone Soltani approached this storyline was just flawless.

Overall, I thought this book was very fun and I would definitely recommend adding it to your summer reading lists!

🏎️❤️

4.5⭐️

I love F1 books, so I was excited for a chance to early read this book. It didn’t disappoint, this has quickly become a favorite F1 book of mine.

Dev is Willow’s brother’s best friend, so they’ve known each other since they were kids. They shared one kiss that they’ve since kept secret, not wanting Willow’s brother to find out. They haven’t seen or spoke to each other since, but eventually cross paths again. Dev is having a hard time with his public appearance, a nasty rumor being the cause. He hired Willow as his social media manager, in order to help him revive his reputation and image. With feelings from that first kiss popping up, can they keep it just professional?

I loved the diversity of the characters, the representation for chronic illness, it was written so well. If you enjoy sports romance, brothers best friend and childhood friends to lovers, you’ll love this book!

This was such a fun read, I’m so happy I had the opportunity to early read this. Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Publishing and Simone Soltani, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've never read a Formula 1 book before so I was super excited to dive into this story as I love sports romances and love reading something I've never read before. Needless to say I was hooked from the very first page. Dev and Willow were absolute perfection. Childhood friends to lovers and brothers best friend along with forbidden romance, yes please! I was all here for it and then some! I loved them together, watching their love bloom and evolve as the story went on. I really appreciate that there was no third act breakup too. Plenty of racing, friends and family and of course romance to go around in this book. Highly recommend.

Cross the line by Soltani is okay. It wasn’t the best sports romance I have read but it was enjoyable. For readers who like sports romance novels.

This book was so cute! This was my first F1 romance and it definitely will not be my last! I don’t normally love brother’s best friend but I liked the way this one was done. The tension was so so good! I also really liked that they were so aware of one another because they’ve known each other since childhood. All the little things they did for each other were perfect! I do think this was maybe a little bit long, but I still really enjoyed it!

The writing of this one didn't work for me so I have put it down for now. I will probably pick it up again because the troupe of brothers best friend is one that I love and a competent woman who works hard and knows what she is doing. I am hoping this is the begining of a trend of books written about racing by authors who know and love the sport.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 // 🌶️🌶️.5 I really did overall enjoy this romance! The reason for not a full 4 or more was because I did find the beginning and a couple other moments to be slow. However I love a man that absolutely is smitten with the girl he thinks he can’t have. I also felt that the author did a great job with the F1 world and not just being a typical “he’s the best in the world.” The reader really went through the characters ups and downs. I will be recommending this to all of my F1 loving book besties.

I've never read an F1 sports romance book before and honestly, before this, I probably wouldn't have considered racecar driving a sport (due to my ignorance lol). I loved the chronic illness rep. Willow has EDS (a connective tissue disorder). I can't speak to the accuracy of the rep, but as an outsider, it seemed well done and well balanced. There is also multiracial rep, with Dev half white/half Indian (Gujarati) and Willow half white/half Black. Both Dev and Willow have white dads. Dev experiences a few instances of racism and microaggressions at his company (which proudly only employs American born drivers with red, white, and blue uniforms. Ah don't you just love nationalism /s). I loved Dev's mom, Neha Aunty, and her subtle scheming/matchmaking. I would have liked to see more of Willow's parents. We only meet her dad when he silently waves at Dev from his computer, and we never meet her mom. We get the sense that Willow hates being home in San Diego with her parents, but I'm not really sure if we're ever told why?? I might have missed or forgotten that detail since it took me so long to get through this one (it could be because they treat her as fragile, but she also never talks about them so I have no idea what their relationship is like?). I loved Dev's best friends, Chava and Mark (it took me a bit to warm up to Mark, but he definitely redeemed himself). I wish we had seen more of Oakley (Willow's brother) and his relationship with both Willow and Dev.

I think the book could have been 50-100 pages shorter. I have a hard time reading romances over 400 pages, because they tend to drag on and get repetitive. Some of the scenes could have definitely been cut down or out, like <spoiler>the car accident at the end/that was foreshadowed at the beginning?? idk it seemed unnecessary, and the beginning made it seem like Dev got in a crash because he was distracted by his relationship with Willow?? But in reality they were already together at that point, and her brother already accepted their relationship soooo it really only sped up Dev's transfer to another company but did nothing else for the plot.</spoiler> I also thought the "conflict" of telling Oakley was overblown. That "forbidden" romance conflict is part of why I don't really like brother's best friend romance books, BUT I was glad Oakley didn't get all macho man and spew all that "I need to protect my sister" bullshit. <spoiler>He admits to feeling protective over Willow, but he doesn't stop them from pursuing their feelings</spoiler> Sooooo thankfully that means no third act breakup!

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the ARC of this book! All thoughts are my own.