I got this on NetGalley because I loved the cover and the synopsis sounded great. However, there was a whole lot happening in this story and it was just not giving anything.

This was supposed to be a brother's best friend / forbidden romance in the F1 Racing world and it just wasn't that.

Here are my qualms:

1. Dev was supposed to be the playboy, "I've been in a five-way", that liked to get around. He wasn't.
2. It was stated in the book that Dev and Willow were not friends. Willow was just his best friend's annoying brother and was always around, but suddenly this man knew everything about her and had been in love with her since childhood? I thought you guys weren't even friends and didn't know each other.
3. Dev is supposed to be a really good racers and his team is making him look bad. Through the parts of the book that have to deal with racing it just sounds like he is a bad racer.
4. There are A LOT of scenes that just seem to be reiterating everything that had been read and gave no benefit to the actual story.
5. They really stop worrying about her brother, or anyone else finding out, five chapters in and picks back up at the end of the book.
6. At the beginning of the book, it makes it sound like the two had drunkily kissed. They weren't friends or have any connections to each other. Two chapters later Dev is like, I don't like I can stay away. What? Nothing happened to get to this point.
7. After starting to sleep together, Dev admits he love her (I thought they weren't even friends) and she says it back.
8. After saying the love each other, Willow is wondering what they are. This had already been covered before they slept with each other and I felt like it was unnecessary and annoying at this point.
9. There were a lot of characters mentioned but they didn't really seem to have any significance and it was hard to keep up with everyone.
10. Random characters appeared in a scene out of nowhere.

Overall, it seemed like the book turned into a completely different story about 25% into the book and it didn't continue to match with the beginning. There was a lot of reiteration that made me want to skim the book. This did not reach the expectations that I had and just was a completely different story than what I was expecting.

This was my first Formula 1 romance story and I loved it. Dev and Willow are so cute and adorable as they navigate their feelings. Willow was so sweet and Dev was so in love with Willow and made sure that she felt it. This is just a warm and fuzzy romance.

My two favorite things combined: romance novels and formula 1. I adored this! Dual POV, childhood friends to lovers, second chance, disability representation are all featured in this book. Dev and Willow grew up together and recently shared a fleeting moment that they quickly shut down. Now Willow has found herself working for Dev to help rescue his reputation. I really loved how thoughtful and respectful Dev was. Their relationship was so sweet and definitely strong due to their past, but I think it lacked a little in tension. I would have loved to see them have more small romantic moments leading up to them getting together.

I am very impressed with how knowledgeable the author is of the sport and how she made it her own! I also really loved the disability representation. Willow deals with hyper mobility which was thoughtfully woven into the story.

Overall, a delightful and entertaining read! Definitely recommend to the F1 girlies.

Thank you Berkley Romance for the ARC.

My first F1 Romance!

This had a very strong 1/3 of the book; the pacing was good, the tension between Willow & Dev was tasty, and the exploration of F1 scenes was very intriguing to someone like me who is brand new to it. Unfortunately, it went downhill after that.
As someone unfamiliar with F1, I would have liked a little more exposure to that world and a little more understanding. I found it lacking in that, and while you don't have to go into that as a writer entirely, I think the understanding that not everyone will have F1 knowledge going into reading this book.
This is also a slower-paced romance, not slow but not as steady as other romances, which I never love unless it is done well with chemistry or pacing; this was not the case in this book after the 1/3 mark. That's my cross to bare, personally.

However, it did have some tremendous vulnerable moments, good tension at times, no third-act break-up that I APPRECIATE so much and two main characters who are of Black & Indian heritage, plus a chronic illness rep.

I really liked Willow and Dev's dynamic - basically growing up together and knowing so much about each other. Their love and respect and friendship was obvious and lovely. Cross the Line fell a bit short for me when it came to the amount of plot outside of their conversations and thoughts about each other (thoughts that felt a bit repetitive throughout the majority of the book).

The pacing in this book was it's biggest downfall, but I know there is a huge audience for this book that will eat it up regardless. There is promise here, but I think I am not the ideal reader here. Cute, sweet, simple, and just left a little to be desired.

Cross the Line is actually my first ever F1 romance and I’m happy to say it was a success! All the tropes in this book called to me: brothers best friend, forced proximity, dual pov, interracial couple and sports romance being the main ones. I loved the slow burn of Willow and Dev’s developing relationship and how they cared and treated each other. In my opinion, I think the chronic illness rep with Willow’s hyper mobility and Dev’s F1 racing were done well.. I honestly learned a lot about both topics. I enjoyed Dev’s humor, along with how supportive Willow was and there’s some great side characters too. I always appreciate when there’s no third act breakup and this was just the cutest romance and I’d happily read whatever Simone Soltani writes next!

I wish I could say I liked this but I didn't. From the few reviews I've seen, people RAVED about this which was what led me to request it to read. And I was so disappointed.

This was SO boring. I couldn't help but skim most of the way through the book. Every chapter they rehash their thoughts from the last. Like.. how many times are you going to tell us that you think it's a bad idea (And yet do it anyway?) you really are your own worst enemy. Their chapters are long, redundant, and repetitive. From like 15%-80% it's the SAME THINGS over and over like a spin cycle. FROM BOTH OF THEM!!!! Like do y'all have any personality aside from thinking about how bad it'd be to be close to each other??

I stand by my opinion that this book would have served a whole lot better if it wasn't the brother's best friend trope. Personally there's barely any page time of Dev and Oakley (what a dumb name) for me to believe they're so close that would threaten Willow getting close to Dev? And their whole "prologue" with the kiss and background with Jeremy... Snooze. Also, childhood friends to lovers? WHERE? This had none of that magic.

The relationship itself I was NOT feeling. At all. there were no sparks, no electricity, no tug. I put myself through this hell and for what? I literally felt nothing between Willow and Dev and individually, they were so bland and, again, boring. Their dialogue was choppy and unnatural. It didn't feel like two people who have known each other their whole lives were talking, even if in their head, they said as much. Something along the lines of "Oh, we went back to our natural talking..." but it didn't feel natural at all. It felt soooo forced. And at that point I'm wondering why pretend like he's your brother's best friend when you both talk like strangers?

There are also so many sentences that nobody would really say. Dev says a lot like "oh, i really just needed you" or "i wouldn't have done any of this without you" which are supposed to be the cute moments that you see annotated online, but those are literally it, the end purpose of those sentences. They felt SO FORCED.

overall, safe to say I'm super disappointed because the cover was cute and the premise was promising. I love a brother's best friend trope but not in this case. It was such a letdown.

I genuinely don’t think that this was book was really for publication. This was going to be the first F1 romance that I got into but it felt juvenile and underwritten.

I’ve been on an F1 romance kick lately so of course, when I came across Cross the Line, I was IMMEDIATELY intrigued. As a Black woman, seeing characters who look like me on the cover was an amazing experience and I’m incredibly happy that this diversity was beautiful represented throughout the story.
There was so much representation portrayed so naturally in their story, from both characters coming from a diverse background to the disability rep, I was incredibly happy with Simone’s writing. I love that she doesn’t shy away from showing the characters’ cultures. Every single time I saw that warm brown skin description it made me so happy.

I genuinely loved how Willow’s disability was handled with such care in this story as well. She suffers from hyper mobility and as a result has to spend time being extra careful to avoid injuring herself, and yet, there’s never a moment where anyone treats her as less than capable, a burden, or as someone who cannot take care of themselves. She had people around her who were incredibly caring and understood her and her needs in a way that felt special, especially in the case of Dev remembering the ways to help her from their time spent together in childhood.

Dev and Willow’s relationship was honestly one of the sweetest things I’ve read and I loved every single minute of it. They were two characters who had a glimpse of what could be if they went for what they wanted and this was a story of them finding the courage to set fear aside in order to experience a love that so very clearly deserved. They were very real in a way that was never too much, and just enough to really keep us as readers invested in their happiness. It’s very rare in my experience to read a sunshine x sunshine romance, and the way this was done had me immediately wanting to know what’s next for the cast of characters we met throughout the book.

Notable tropes:

-female friendships
-brother’s best friend
-workplace romance
-diverse ethnicity rep
-hyper-mobility rep
-a secret love of Bollywood films
-summer peach + vanilla, lavender +honey macarons (not a trope, but who doesn’t love something as sweet as this 🩵)

I love a good sports romance and I haven't ventured into the F1 territory yet, but this was just too underdeveloped and unserious for me. I was not buying into the fact that this guy's ruined reputation was attributed to his former team putting him up for a drug advertisement for chlamydia without his consent.

This was such a cute story. I loved the F1 aspects of the story (I’ve never read a F1 sports romance). Dev and Willow were so sweet together. I love Dev with all my heart and all the Bollywood references. The romance felt realistic and I liked how obsessed Dev was with willow by the end.

I received an ARC of Cross the Line from NetGalley and was so excited to read my first F1 romance! The book is a very slow burn, and not as spicy as I usually read but I liked the characters so much that I still really enjoyed it. It was also very fun theorizing which drivers were based on real F1 drivers (Zaid?). Overall I would recommend, this was a fun read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️
TROPES:
Brothers best friend
Friends-to-lovers
Light Forced proximity (they work together and travel but separate hotel rooms)
Strong FMC



——-SPOILERS AHEAD——-
My small complaints are with the “one month later” update, I didn’t really love it because it felt unnecessary, there wasn’t enough book left for us to see the effects of it.
I also wish there had been some form of confrontation with Buck or Nathaniel. But I also recognize that it probably wouldn’t have been realistic.

I've been begging anyone who will listen for an F1 romance for, literally, years. And I will say the author did a respectable job with the sport stuff. Unfortunately, there just wasn't much story happening between races.

i demand a dev in my life right now.
in all honesty, i came into this book with pretty high expectations (sue me) and best believe this was everything i wanted. dev and willow were EVERYTHING and their communication was making me giggle.
now you’re probably wondering, why only 4 stars if you loved it so so much? overall, loved the book but the pacing just felt a little off to me in moments and then ending felt a tad rushed. but that’s seriously my only complaint.
on top of all of this, F1 is officially back and this was such a fun way to be fully immersed in the season!

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

The main thing I enjoyed about this story was the characters. I am huge about strong characterization, I have a really hard time enjoying a book without it. So I was thrilled to start this book and immediately fall in love with all the characters. The two main characters, Dev and Willow, are relatable and super fun. It was such a pleasure reading as their relationship unfolded.

I really enjoyed this book! The tension, the banter, the passion, ugh! I thought the first part was a little slow and the constant push and pull of the characters was a bit repetitive. But once they spent some QUALITY time together (IYKYK) it sped on from there. I can definitely see myself reading more from this author. Thank you to Berkley & Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

If you are even a little interested in F1 and read romance at all, you'll have a great time with this book! I devoured it in an evening. The author clearly knows her stuff when it comes to Formula 1, the writing is solid, and I enjoyed the multicultural representation. I rarely read romance and almost never contemporary, but I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

I knew I was going to love this one. I wasn’t wrong either, that’s for sure. This was super cute, witty and had great chemistry!

Dev, an F1 driver needing reputation repair, collaborates with Willow, his childhood friend's sister seeking a sports marketing role. What could go wrong?
I love discovering new stories centered around the world of Formula 1. It's always refreshing to see each author's unique contribution, and Simone Soltani did an excellent job with her version.
The narrative strikes a balance, providing insights into Dev's life as a driver without inundating readers with excessive F1 technicalities. The storytelling is clear and engaging, offering a thrilling glimpse into Dev's strategies and maneuvers during each Grand Prix. Additionally, the depiction of Dev embracing his cultural roots adds a delightful layer to the overall experience. Willow is a charming protagonist, and I love the idea that she fought for her dreams even when they took a different path than she had in mind.
While I would have liked to see a bit more of the "forbidden romance" aspect of their relationship, I appreciate that everything was resolved in a mature manner.
Overall, a compelling read for F1 enthusiasts or fans of childhood friends to lovers, skillfully blending sports, romance, and personal growth.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the chance to review this book 💘