Cross the Line is a fun sports romance. It was my first F1 book and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. I don’t know much about the sport, but I was fascinated by the team/driver dynamics and the competition. I found myself absorbed in the racing scenes.

I also found myself totally invested in Dev & Willow as the main characters. I wanted them to succeed in their careers and find a way to be together. Willow has had a crush on Dev since they were kids. He is her brother Oakley’s best friend, and they all grew up together, but Dev didn’t know about her feelings until a year ago when they shared a drunken kiss.

Fast forward a year later and Dev needs some help repairing his image after an issue with his form social media manager. Willow has recently graduated college and is looking for a job in sports media, so they agree to help each other out. Their attraction is obvious, and they start flirting, but agree to keep it professional because of Oakley and Willow’s career.

These two pine and lust after each other HARD! The buildup to when they finally give in, along with Dev’s races, kept me completely engaged. After that, the book felt a little slow and disjointed to me. There were several situations set up to possibly be the main conflict, but none of them felt fully developed even though they were all resolved.

The wedding scenes with Dev’s family were some of my favorites (his sister gets married near the end of the book). His mom does some not so subtle matchmaking and I thought it was adorable and funny. Their friend groups are also amazing. I hope the series continues with one or more of them getting books.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will read more from this author.

Love the diverse backgrounds & as a wife of a race team owner this was an interesting read. However, I didn’t love the first 10ish chapters with Dev constantly saying he needed action…. Cringe. But it did get better as the story progressed.

3.75 stars

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC!

Cross The Line by Simone Soltani is a fun sports romance centered around Formula 1 driver, Dev, and his best friend’s sister, Willow. After hiring Willow to manage his social media, Dev and her find it difficult to keep their relationship professional as their feelings for one another grow into something more heated.

This dual POV romance was an exciting peek into Formula 1 and a sweet story of childhood friends becoming something more. It’s a quick read that had me nervous for Dev and Willow while also patiently waiting for them to give into their true feelings! Soltani did a great job exploring and explaining Formula 1- I knew nothing about F1 going into this read, but I still understood what was happening perfectly fine. I’m a sucker for a heartfelt friend group with good banter, and we had two in this book! The characters were all so incredibly well done. It felt a little drawn out in some parts, but since it’s a fast read, I didn’t mind at all. Definitely pick this one up if you want to get into F1 or if you just love the “she fell first, he fell harder” trope!

Thanks, again, Berkeley & NetGalley for this ARC!

My first F1 romance! Cross the Line is a childhood friends to lovers story that follows Willow and Dev. After sharing a secret kiss in the past, these two come together again after Dev offers Willow a job as his social media manager.

Some elements I enjoyed;

- Brother's best friend longing/ I've always had a crush on you hehe
- Forced proximity/workplace romance
- Sneaking around!
- Chronic illness rep
- No third act break-up
- Slow burn

3.5 rounded to 4.

Thank you so much to Berkley publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

Maybe it’s because this is my first F1 Romance read but this was such a breath of fresh air as far as sports romances go for me. It was fun and cute read that’s perfect to read while poolside this summer. Dev was an absolute gem of a hero that falls into the cinnamon roll category without being bland or annoying and Willow was a fun and well developed heroine. I’m excited to see upcoming titles from Simone Soltani!

Thank you to Berkley for the e-ARC and finished copy!

I’m not going to lie… I don’t know a lot about F1. But this sure had me wanting to jump on a bandwagon. I was so invested. I loved Devs relationships and dynamics with the other racers (minus Nathaniel). I also really appreciated that the author didn’t drag out or make us wait until the end of the book to see what had happened between Dev and Willow previously. Having that context made the book so much better and more enjoyable.
I had never heard of Willows condition before so that was very interesting to read about. I was semi expecting her to get hurt and then a big blow up moment with Dev. But I think the way it all happened is what was right for their story. I also loved their banter. Some of the best I’ve read recently. It had me cackling out loud while reading in public.
Overall a really amazing story and I hope not the last! I’d love to read about Reid and the rest of the guys.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this Arc
All thoughts are my own.

I wanted to love this. The premise sounded like so much fun and I adored the different take on a sports romance. That said, this fell a bit flat for me. All of the characters seemed young and immature, I didn't love how the brother's best friend trope played out, there were some inconsistencies with the character development, and I'd be SO curious how an actual social media manager feels about how some things were depicted.

All that said, I had a decent time reading this. I think there are a ton of people who will absolutely love this one, it just wasn't totally for me.

3.5 stars

cross the line is a sports romance featuring f1, brother's best friend and diverse backgrounds!! i absolutely loved the representation here especially the south asian representation since i feel like it's rarely displayed in books. willow and dev were such cute characters with more than obvious chemistry from the beginning!!

an unpopular opinion but i do not like brothers best friend but i continue to read it hopes of books such as this one that can remind me why i did at one point!! it didn't feel completely predictable as i think the brother didn't play a huge factor in this like normally and with no third-act i really was able to enjoy this!!

however, i personally wasn't a huge fan of dev's behavior at the beginning and although their prior interactions do play a role in this it somehow felt more insta-lusty while at the same time being a slow burn.

overall, i really enjoyed it and binged it in one day so if that's not telling idk what is!!
thank you to netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

3.25 ⭐

What to expect:
• Sports romance (F1) 🏎️
• Childhood friends to lovers
• Brother's best friend
• Fun summer read

I really liked the sports element of this book. I’ve only read a couple F1 romances before this one, but I would say this book definitely had a seemingly realistic portrayal of it.
The characters in this book were really fun and cute! I’m a sucker for a social media manager FMC. And the representation was great! Both MCs were POC, along with a large amount of the side characters (which led to some discussion about representation in F1, love it!!), and the FMC (Willow) has chronic joint pain.
There were a lot of secondary characters to keep up with, but I can see some really interesting stories brewing with them and I’m excited to hopefully read more about them in the future. I definitely think I’ll like this series more as it goes on and develops.
I liked beginning of the book more than the second half. I wasn’t the biggest fan of how the brother’s best friend trope turned out — it felt a bit immature because they were so worried about him finding out, and I didn’t love people going over Willow’s head to ask her brother’s permission for things. Bit weird.
The plot got slower in the second half and I kept waiting for something big to happen, but nothing really did (besides Dev’s sister’s wedding, which was cute, but obvs not too high stakes). There was a mention of another conflict (workplace related) that had a lot higher stakes but that kind of fell away.
Overall, this is not my favorite book, but I can see a lot of potential for the series. It's a fun, low stakes, summery read and I would recommend it for fans of sports romance — I’m looking forward to seeing what this author writes next!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley and for this ARC

Where have F1 romances been all my life?! I need more immediately! This was such a fun book full of edge-of-your-seat excitement, fantastic chemistry, great characters, multiple locations, dual POVs, and no third act breakups. This was such a breath of fresh air in the sports romance world. I need more by this author immediately.

DNF. Nothing about this book was keeping me hooked in. After forcing myself to continue on, I decided to call it quits. I didn't really care for the main characters. I was hoping there would have been more chemistry between Dev and Willow. I also thought the whole "I can't date you because of Oakley" was dramatic. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

It's the era for Formula 1 romances and I'm here for it. And we're kicking it off with Cross the Line.

I definitely liked the first half more than the second half. There was definitely a ton of push or pull and it became a little redundant for me. I did love their friendship and thought that shone through very clearly. But got really frustrated when they tried to keep things a secret from her brother. That's probably my biggest pet peeve with dating the sibling's best friend. They're all adults and everyone just needs to deal.

I really loved the F1 aspect! With being a fan myself, I was pretty happy how the sport was written in.

Overall, not too bad of a read, it went a little slow for me and took some time for me to get into. But I enjoyed the author's writing and looking forward to more.

DNF at 35%…I couldn’t continue on with this book. Both mani characters are extremely immature. Also can’t see the chemistry between them. This barely contains any F1. Writing is extremely bland and boring.

3.5, rounding up to 4 Stars!

The "Cross the Line" book cover is what immediately drew me in to wanting to read it! I honestly didn't know much about F1 racing and this book inspired me to want to learn more about the sport. Dev is our leading man. He's an F1 racer and needs to fix his social image. He hires his best friend's little sister, Willow, to complete the task. They are both attracted to each other, but they don't want her brother, Oakley, to find out due to a previous bad shakeup in Dev and Oakley's friend group.

This book will take you on a journey all over. - from Monaco, to San Diego, to New York, and to several other places. I *LOVED* the character diversity and learning about Dev's culture (his mom is from India and his dad is white). I also really enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives and seeing them grow individually as they both overcame big issues in their professions.

One of my favorite parts of the story is an interaction with Willow and Mark (Dev and Oakley's friend). Without spilling the tea about what exactly happened, all I want to comment about it is that the moment felt heartfelt and genuine.

A few things I didn't like-
1. At first I wasn't really feeling Dev. There were parts towards the beginning of the book written in his POV where he kept talking about how easy it was to get laid. The part where he said he could find relief for his "needs" by paying a high class escort was a turnoff. The way his character was portrayed in the beginning of the book just didn't seem to match who he really was.
2. At 416 pages it was way too long, some parts felt like they dragged on.

1.5-2 Spice Level
Sports Romance
Brother's Best Friend
Childhood Friends
Happily Ever After

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

Cute fun and flirty, it had some drama and some romance. Everything I love in a summer read! Seeing Willow and Dev fight their attraction for each other and losing in the end was delicious!

Cross the Line was a sweet love story that had a lot of fun plays on common tropes like "the brother's best friend" trope. I enjoyed the subversions to common interpretations of certain tropes, which helped tailor the story to the particular characters and their circumstances. There is a reason that Willow's brother might be wary of one of his friend's dating his sister, namely her past relationship with his now former friend that ended badly. Both Willow and Dev are personally aware of that and that makes them both hesitant to pursue a romantic relationship. On top of that, they have a new professional relationship, in that Willow is Dev's new social media manager. That position is arguably more precarious than the fact that Dev is her brother's best friend.

This leaves the narrative open for them to develop their relationship as friends outside of just knowing each other through Willow's brother and them growing up together. Their relationship is very sweet, though I feel like it feels more friendly and despite the "forbidden" aspect I felt like their relationship was comfortable and their tension was resolved pretty neatly. I am glad that the narrative keeps going with that tone and doesn't have them be driven apart in a third act breakup, as that wouldn't fit their characters in my opinion.

I also enjoyed how Willow's disability was integrated into the story. I felt it was worked into her character in an authentic and relatable way, and I liked how it also affected her relationships with other characters and not just herself. Overall I enjoyed Cross the Line very much, found it very cohesive and enjoyed the characters, though at times the way that the narrative jumped around because of the nature of Dev and Willow's jobs sometimes made it hard to keep track of everything.

4.25⭐️
This was so good!! The best combination of two of my fav things: romance and F1! This book was so sweet and cute bc who doesn’t love a man down bad!! It had a dash of forbiddances with brother’s best friend!

I loved how Willow and Dev’s relationship started out as friends from childhood and as she started working with him and getting closer with him it developed into something more and a mutual love between the both of them!! I was giggling and swooning!! I also loved all the F1 references because I understood them all haha so it made it that much more enjoyable but overall I loved them and this book!

Cross The Line was a solid F1 romance and really everything I expected! As a big Formula 1 fan, I appreciated the smaller details that could be picked up throughout the story relating to the sport and I feel like Simone Soltani did a great job not making the sports element feel less important than the romance. I also enjoyed the characters and the diversity included! They felt lovable for the most part but slightly annoying at times. For me, this didn’t seem like a major stand out book but more of what a typical romance is. I liked that the couple didn’t break up near the end of the book, but the whole “keeping a relationship a secret from her brother” plot line felt dragged out and frustrating. Overall, I felt like this was a solid book with some great moments that made up for the more predicable ones!

Fantastic debut!! I'm so happy this got picked up to be traditionally published right as it was originally releasing.
I had so much damn fun reading about Willow and Dev. The give and take of their relationship. All around an absolutely fantastic read.

All the F1 girlies are going to love this one!!

Newly graduated Willow needs a job and her brother’s best friend, Dev, needs to rebrand his image after his social media manager spreads a rumor on his socials. Seems like it would be easy to work together right? But after a kiss that turns Dev’s world upside down, he can’t take his mind off Willow.

The way that Dev will do anything for Willow melts my heart!! These sunshiney characters are just so sweet, but don’t worry there’s also spice 🥵

🩷Brother’s best friend
🖤Forced proximity
🩷Boss X employee
🖤 Diverse characters
🩷F1 romance
🖤Disability rep

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️