https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6280546714

Brother's best friend girlies, get in here!

Cross the Line follows recent grad Willow. Willow finds herself unable to find work, so who comes to her rescue? Her older brother's best friend Dev, of course!

This book is a sweet summer read, perfect for romcom lovers. Excited to see what else this author has in store!

First off WOW! I am BLOWN AWAY! This book had hooked me from the first chapter. Thank you Net Galley for this ARC of my dreams. I laughed, squealed, and devoured it. I fell in love with Willow and Devs friendship, banter, and relationship immediately. The setting of the F1 world brings such a magic to the story!!!

Willow & Dev are magic. Read this book if you like:
Brothers best friend
Forbidden romance
F1 romance
Diverse characters
Indian weddings
Cast of side characters
A MIND BLOWING EPILOGUE
Banter banter banter!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you love any of these tropes check this one out:
- best friends sister
- friends to lovers
- secret dating
- F1

Originally I grabbed this one because I love the F1 show on Netflix with the behind the scenes drama. This book does have some F1 drama, but mainly focuses on 1 driver and his relationship with Willow, who happens to be his best friends sister. Really enjoyed this one and couldn't put it down!

I’ve read many of sports romcoms in my life but I’ve never tackled a F1 racing romcom. And I’m happy to report back that my first F1 romance was a success! Cross the Line follows Willow and Dev are childhood friends connected by her brother being best friends with Dev. One summer they shared a secret kiss, but decided to leave it in the past. However, the pair eventually cross paths again as Dev offers Willow a job as his social media manager in order to help revive his image and do some damage control.

I have to give it to Simone. Her writing hooked me from page 1 and next thing I knew I was done and it was way past my bedtime. One of my favorite things about this book is all diverse representation. As soon as I started reading at Willows character and her disability. I immediately texted my best friend and told her she had to read this. I literally screamed “omg willow is you!” We not only had disability representation, but we also had such diverse group of characters and Simone did a fabulous job of displaying different cultures.

My next favorite thing about this book is Willow and Dev’s relationship. I loved how we weren’t slapped in the face with the typical romcom insta-love. Instead the relationship took its time to develop. It was adorable and refreshing to see them together. Willow's unwavering support for Dev and his caring treatment of her made them such a perfect match.

The best part? NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP!! I can scream from the Heavens my love for Simone for this. I absolutely loathe when romcoms use this trope. But Simone heard us book girlies and gave us a healthy realistic relationship.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Let me start this review by saying that I had very high expectations for this book. Berkley romances rarely miss for me, and I am a huge F1 fan that is super excited to see the sport break into the traditional romance publishing space. So Berkley + F1 romance = high expectations!

This book was truly great. I loved the history between Dev and Willow and how it contributed to their chemistry. Their story leaned into some of my favorite trope: boy obsessed, best friend’s brother, forbidden, and forced proximity, just to name a few, and they were intertwined seamlessly. I loved the side plots and side characters, especially Dev and Willow’s brother’s friend group. I had such a fun time trying to place which of them (and the other drivers mentioned!) will get their own story if Simone Soltani writes more in this universe. Willow was a girl after my own heart: a macaron lover, so caring and compassionate, and not afraid to put a man in his place. I loved that Dev wasn’t already at the top of the sport and a championship winner, and instead we got to see his struggles on a mid-field team and trying to prove himself to the more successful teams. It added nuance and depth to his story as an F1 romance MMC!

this book was absolutely adorable!! I’m a huge F1 girlie and this was such a good mix of romance plot that also included a good amount of the f1 racing aspect! Willow & Dev’s relationship was just so fun & sweet! I loved both of the characters and I really enjoyed the writing! Overall a great debut and I will definitely be patiently waiting for book 2!

This started out a bit slow for me and I was definitely annoyed by the dozen times they mentioned her small stature but once it picked up, I really enjoyed this! I loved the diversity and chronic pain representation as they contributed to the story rather than just being something that was lightly mentioned for brownie points. Dev and Willow are so cute and obsessed with one another. I couldn't help my tears from how sweet he was, the various ways he showed that he cared about her, and the way he just KNEW her. I truly loved him so much.

The feelings and mutual attraction were there since the beginning but I'd still say this was a slow burn because it took a while for them to act on those feelings. And no third act breakup!!! This deserves all the love for that alone.

All in all, this was quite cute and I definitely recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this arc!

I hadn't read a romance featuring a Formula 1 driver before, so I was excited to dive into this one. It had the makings of a book that would be a hit for me. The "it's always been you" trope. The brother's best friend trope. The celebrity romance trope. So many good things to like about this book.

I enjoyed this book, but I would say two-thirds of was 3 stars for me. The middle third was 4 stars - it was exciting to see Willow and Dev finally act on their intense chemistry. But after they finally got together, it kind of fizzled out again.

I'm interested to read other books by this author in the future. I think she has the potential to write a really good book.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

I adored this book, it was so fun to read! Was my first ever book that was about F1, now I am obsessed 🤩
I need more F1 books in my life!
Their story was so cute and I am soo happy they got their happy ending! Also I LOVE the fact that there was no third act break up because I HATE that!!

Sexy, swoony, and keeps you hooked. The writing style is pretty flawless in how engaging it is, so I just wanted to keep reading. Soltani has created a fun romance with a lot of heat and swoons. Sure to be a TikTok favorite.

unfortunately not my cup of tea. as an avid f1 fan for a few years, i was excited to read a new f1 romance, especially with the diversity this one brings! to my dismay, this book wasn’t for me. here’s why:

overall the “conflict” was very low stakes and… didn’t make sense to me? both main characters mutually know about their feelings for each other yet let the fear of her older brother/his best friend finding out get in the way of their relationship. we’re all adults here, are we not?

I should have taken “Willow can fix me. I know she can.” as the red flag that it is. Dev was a sweet character, but NO MAN should rely on his significant other to “fix” them. Similarly with Willow, the repeated putting down of herself made me sad for her. Girl, stop calling yourself “fragile and weak”!

something I loved about the book was the diversity. Dev is half Indian half white and Willow is half black bald white. Not only did we attend a whole Indian wedding (slay), but the commentary of race within the context of f1 was appreciated.

if you’re a fan of “brothers best friend”, “childhood friends to lovers”, and the “coworkers” trope. this book may just be for you.

thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for the eARC

we have an formula one ROOOMAANNNCEE!!! this was so good, i had so much fun 🤭 i really enjoyed our fmc, willow - she was sweet, hardworking, and motivated to get our mmc dev back on track after a social media sh*tstorm. and dev??? my man is OBSESSED. he's with a midfield team looking to get a podium and have a better reputation.

i love how they've known each other for forever, we have a little bit of unrequited love - which i usually don't like - but it was done well.

the only reason it's not 5 stars is that epilogue was a bit interesting, i think it was too long? i think the pacing was a bit off for it and maybe with some reworking it would have been a 5 star. i have no idea if we're getting more or if this is a series but i loved chantal and i need her story!!!!

also- NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP!!!!! an absolute win in my book 🏁

"whatever you want jaanu, i'll give it all to you" <333

4.5 ⭐s!

This was my first F1 romance, and what a ride it was! I really enjoyed this one.

He is her brother's best friend, but also her childhood friend that she had (let's face it, still has) a crush on, but he falls harder 🤭 I mean… So much yes to all this! 🔥

What to expect:
- MMC, Dev, is South Asian, F1 driver, brother’s (of FMC) best friend
- FMC, Willow, is Black, living with chronic pain, fresh college grad who just earned her first job as -Dev’s social media manager.
- She’s had a crush on him for years, but he falls harder
- Secret Bollywood lover
- Dual POV
- Open door spice

My personal highlights:
- I loved Dev and Willow. From their chemistry, flirting, banter, to their adorableness together. And there was a lot of it. 🤭 I thought they were great characters.
- I love that this reads like a New Adult book to me. There’s a lot of professional growth that happens, and it’s really nice to see how these two smart young adults handle it in their respective fields.
- I also appreciate all the representation. I loved learning about different South Asian traditions from Dev and his family. And it was also encouraging to see a woman with a chronic illness (Willow) being a badass babe and kicking butt at her job.

Overall this was a really fun read. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from Soltani!

Thank you so much for the ARC!

Both main characters, Willow and Dev, shine in this one! I loved them individually and was positively screaming for them to finally get together because they complemented each other so well. Charming, vibrant, and wonderfully sensitive, I deeply enjoyed reading Cross the Line--what a fantastic sports romance.

Thank you to Berkley for this early review copy.

I really loved “Cross the Line”! It was a fun, romantic comedy and I really enjoyed the characters and the F1 race atmosphere,

I had never read a book featuring a race-car-driver-romantic-interest, and I found it so fun! Dev was such a perfect love interest. He was so sweet and protective, and also just really likeable! I have read too many romance novels where the male love interest is the biggest jerk and loser. Dev is absolutely a sweetie and he felt very trustworthy and reliable. I love how their romance took time to grow. The sexual tension drives their initial attraction, but the friendship they have drives their entire relationship.

I’m very impressed by this romance and I would highly recommend it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
🏎️ Formula 1 Romance
💕 Brother’s Best Friend
🫶🏻 Childhood Friends to Lovers
🌶️ Spice

Simone Soltani has created a Formula 1 Romance monster 🤭. Who knew racing could be so hot?

Cross The Line was a fun and adorable read! Friends to lovers one of my fav tropes because of all the tension and there was plenty of it 🥵.

I loved the light that was shown on chronic pain and how it can impact everyday life. Dev was super thoughtful with Willow about her illness which makes you love him even more.

Cross the Line kept me captivated, the characters made me laugh and the idea of Dev and Willow marathoning Bollywood movies makes me need a bonus chapter from Simone Soltani 🤣

So I’ll start by saying I don’t think this was the right read for me BUT this is going to be a great read for others! I loved the writing style and have several people I will be recommending this to!

~Willow & Dev~
Cross the Line–Simone Soltani
Release date: September 15th (will be on KU!)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

Tropes
~ Brother’s best friend
~ Childhood friends to lovers
~ Sport & workplace romance (F1 driver & social media manager)
~ Ethnically diverse characters (South Asian MMC & Black FMC)
~ FMC with a chronic illness (& it’s written PERFECTLY)
~Dual POV with open door 🌶️
~ No third act break up! (thank god)

When Dev’s last social media manager purposefully ruins his reputation, he needs some serious damage control QUICK. Thankfully, Dev’s best friend’s little sister, Willow, just graduated from college and needs a job. It just so happens that her experterice is in public relations. Dev decides that since Willow truly knows him and has since childhood, she would be the perfect person to fix his image. The problem? A drunken night a year prior led to Willow confessing her feelings for Dev and him ~almost~ kissing her. Little does Willow know, Dev just so happens to have feelings too.

As they travel the world together, their bond and feelings only intensify. When Willow and Dev agreed to work together, their deal was scheduled to end in August, just after his sister's wedding. With the wedding quickly approaching, and both realizing they don’t want this deal to end, can they manage to stay together? How will Willow’s brother react?

This book had me completely hooked from the very beginning! I'm a huge F1 fan, but it is also easy to understand for someone who has never watched it before. I have always loved the brother's best friend trope but this book took it one step further by making Dev the second best friend that Willow has fallen for, which made it even better. I was seriously giggling and kicking my feel the entire time ◡̈

As someone with a chronic illness, I loved to see this displayed, so accurately, in your book. I can’t wait to see this universe expand!

This is a super cute romance set in the formula 1 racing world. I love that the main characters knew each other basically forever but only recently realized they were in love. A little spice too!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

𝟹.𝟿 ͙͘͡★ !𝘕𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴!
⤷ 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗮 𝟭 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲🏎️❤️‍🔥
“𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘔𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘔𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸.”

ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇꜱ:
⊹ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ ᴛᴏ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀꜱ
⊹ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʜᴏᴏᴅ ꜰʀɪᴇɴᴅꜱ
⊹ ꜱᴘᴏʀᴛꜱ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ
⊹ ʜᴀᴘᴘɪʟʏ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ

The moment I read about willow-loving macarons, I fell in love. The moment I read about Dev watching Bollywood movies as comfort, I fell in love. I literally loved everything about this book—the writing, the fact that it was written in dual POV, the characters!! ESPECIALLY THE MAIN CHARACTERS AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! 

💌
“𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮𝘴." "𝘔𝘦?" 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧. "𝘞𝘩𝘺?
"𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘴."”
💌

!!𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆 & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗲𝗿𝗸𝗹𝗲𝘆 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 & 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄!!