Title: Double Apex
Author: Josie Juniper
Series: Frontrunners #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 1.00
Pub Date: October 8, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC and ALC copies from Forever and Hachette Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Icky • Outdated • Misogynistic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Phaedra Morgan is one of the best race engineers in Formula 1. She’s a math prodigy with dazzling skill, cutting wit, and no patience for matters of the heart. Of course, her job would be a lot easier if she didn’t keep butting heads with their team’s cocky and infuriatingly hot new driver.

Cosmin Ardelean is intense and committed, but as famous for his off-track romantic exploits as his on-track wizardry. Yet his devil-may-care façade conceals a haunted past. When the pair strikes up a secret—and thrillingly forbidden—“arrangement” to improve their communication and bond of trust, the heat of their attraction turns to something more...

But no secret stays hidden for long in the racing world, and soon things are spinning out of control. With everything on the line, will they be able to strip away all their defenses and go full throttle for a chance at love?

💭 T H O U G H T S

Double Apex came onto my radar via an Instagram post from the publisher where this title was a 'Read Now' on NetGalley for a limited amount of time. I was in a sports romance mood at the time and the premise sounded decent so I decided to give it a try. Terrible idea!

Where to even begin with this book...

The characters are very problematic. And insufferable. Phaedra's character in a poor representation of women in STEM. She is immature and treats people around her like absolute garbage, including her best friend. As for Cosmin, he is made out to be the hero, but his blatantly (and continual) sexual harassment is disturbing.

The chemistry wasn't believable. I honestly didn't buy it for one moment.

The dialogue is ridiculous. I am not even sure how some of it made it through the editing process. Like what kind of person asks someone if they are fertile while engaging in sexual activities? And if they do, I don't need to be reading about it.

There are also time jumps throughout that make the entire thing feel choppy and disconnected.

And the biggest issue of all - the lack of consent and blatant sexual harassment. Cosmin was clearly told by Phaedra that she wasn't interested and asked to stop making inappropriate jokes in the work place. Yet, he continues to do so. That's not okay and fuels stereotypes that continue to exist and people may think this type of behaviour is okay. IT. IS. NOT.

As for the audio narration, I really appreciated the dual narration. However, the male narrator's super thick accent affected the clarity of his parts. Sometimes his chapters seemed mumbled and other times it seemed like he was whispering, which really affected the flow. The female voice was robotic and although it didn't have for a good listening experience, I did find it suited the character.

Every once in awhile I finish a book which should have been a DNF, Double Apex is one such book. I'll admit the premise had so much potential, yet the execution fell entirely flat. I'll never be on board for such blatant disregard for workplace and consensual boundaries. The fact mainstream media continues to market these types of situations as 'cute' is beyond my comprehension and turns my stomach. That's a definite nope from me!

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• really awful characters

⚠️ CW: sexual content, grief, death, death of parent, terminal illness, cancer, cursing, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, sexual assault, trafficking, body shaming, sexual harassment

Dang, I have to DNF this one. It got physical in a fight and I’m just not down for that ever in a romance book between mains.

The F1 component was well done and enjoyable, But the FMC was truly awful.

Do I get to say I read Josie Juniper when she was an indie author? Because I did! And I was cheering from the sidelines as hints of Double Apex being picked up by a publisher were hinted at. (Huge congrats!) Now let me shout from the roof tops just how good it is!

As someone who has an automotive background, I have low-key been looking for a mechanic novel... but Juniper filled a void I didn't know I had with this Formula 1 engineer/driver romance! I mean, the cover alone made me swoon with those coveralls, if I'm being completely honest! Being one of the steamiest book I've ever read was the cherry on top... that car scene was next level hot and I'm a sucker for that piston reference!

Cosmin gives all those bad boy rough vibes that are just necessary sometimes; he's possessive and dominant and is the kind to take charge. Juniper writes STEM romances so Phaedra is a smarter than smart woman in a male dominated industry; she's fierce and tells the guys where to go when needed. In short I loved her!

I am not doing this book justice! As much as this book is filled with off the chart chemistry, tension and steamy scenes, it is equally filled with character depth and growth. Both main characters are dealing with heavy circumstances out of their control, creating a strong backbone for their romance to be set against. Real-world emotional conflicts organically create complications for their relationship, which only makes their HEA that much sweeter!

Do not even get me started with this audiobook narration! I can't even! Draga mea!!! I'm dead! Both Jonathan Lake and Mackenzie Cartwright are amazing but what I really noticed was how perfect the voices they created for the other character were. Like, this is one of the most seamless audiobook narrations I have ever heard. Plus, you know, Romanian accent and all that.

This book would make an incredible on-screen romance, so I'm just putting that out into the world!

Read it!

Thank you NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Hachette Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

Alright, I have to say I really enjoyed this one! And was pleasantly surprised for a debut!

Double Apex was my first F1 romance and I loved that part of it. Outside of reading, I am a fairly new but big fan of Formula One, so I found it exciting and kept me hooked.

As a first impression, the characters both raised some rather big red flags for me. 🚩 Phaedra, our FMC, is a badass race engineer, which I loved, but she also came off as immature and mean. Cosmin is a hotshot race car driver who would probably be a nightmare for HR! There were a number of readers who had a hard time getting past his unwelcome and inappropriate actions and comments.

In the end, I give 4/5 stars as I was able to push past those things and ended up really enjoying Double Apex. The banter was great, the romance was steamy, and I enjoyed seeing Phaedra and Cosmin's relationship grow.

Thank you Forever Pub & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

DNF @ 44%, believe me when I say that I would TRY to make it at least 50% and then I would DNF but I’ve had it with this FMC. I’m so fucking annoyed with this book.

Where do I start?

- home girl wants to be different SO fucking bad, I’m not like other girls headass. There was this one scene where she mentions wearing her converse with a “nice outfit” and ALL I could think was okay Demi Lovato, “I can wear my converse with my dress but baby that’s just me.” GIRL BYE???

- she likes to call her “best friend” dumb. Honestly, I was so glad when her friend dropped her because homegirl NEEDS to be humbled.

- HOMEGIRL WAS CONSTANTLY TRYING TO PUT THE MMC DOWN FOR HIS ENGLISH????? SHUT UP YOU DUMB BITCH

- OH ANOTHER THING THAT PISSED ME OFF? Okay, the fmc is dealing with a lot right ( I wish I could feel for her but she was actually insufferable so I literally didn’t care) the mmc finds her crying by herself in bed, so he comes in and tries to comfort/talk to her BECAUSE SHES CRYING RIGHT, HES TRYING TO BE A DECENT HUMAN BEING. She just starts to undress him and touch him and he’s like stop??? And SHE DOESNT STOP LOL. IS THAT NOT.. omfg I just kept thinking well if it was a guy who did that I mean we would be setting his ass on fire right? RIGHT?

OH AND THE KICKER?? THE FINAL STRAW THAT MADE ME CLOSE THIS FUCKING BOOK AND NEVER LOOK BACK? The FMC pretty much told the mmc to get more rest to take care of “her product”.. the next day while at the tracks, someone made a comment on how she’s cold, the mmc said homegirl was bloodless, I mean is he wrong? Lol no, but apparently that was enough for the fmc to one text the mmc “open your fucking door” barge into his hotel room and started HITTING HIM. LIKE ACTUALLY THROWING A FULL ASS TANTRUM. When he tried to de-escalate, he grabbed her and in that ACCIDENTLLY hit her thigh, when he noticed that happened he immediately put her down and started to apologize and fmc decided that was the appropriate time to throw HIS ABUSE IN HIS FUCKING FACE. (The mmc used to get abused by his uncle) SHE FUCKING TELLS HIM “THATS RIGHT HIT ME THATS WHAT YOU DO RIGHT? YOURE JUST LIKE YOUR UNCLE” AFTERRRRR SHE WENT IN THERE GUNS BLAZING HITTING HIMMMMMM.


Respectfully, get this book out of my face. I’m actually so heated right now.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love F1 and love F1 romance, so this book should have been right up my alley, but this was not it.

DNF @ 18%

I had the urge to DNF several times before I did but I kept reading in hopes of feeling engaged. From the start of the book, I felt a disconnect but could not pinpoint if it was the writing style or something else, but I kept reading to give it a fair shot. But the more I continued the more I felt the disconnect.

Two of the major things that really irked me and could not get past were:
- Phaedra’s inner and judgemental thoughts on the woman (2012 Girl) that Cosmin was with at the bar
- The conversation about the separate women's gym

Honestly, Phaedra was giving pick-me vibes and I just could not keep reading, even though I am intrigued by the potential Natalia and Klaus storyline.

I really wanted to like this one more than I did. I am not a big racing fan but did find everything having to do with the racing very interesting. The tension between Cosmin and Phaedra didn't really work for me. He seemed very kind to her character so the animosity was confusing. The pacing of the book and the romance especially was all over the place. I enjoyed the little bit that we got between Phaedra and her father. Cosmin's backstory was very sad. I would highly recommend checking trigger warnings before reading. I liked the hints we got about Natalia and Klaus and would be interested in reading their story in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This sports and workplace romance with enemies-to-lovers vibes pairs race engineer Phaedra Morgan with her Formula 1 team’s hot, new driver, Cosmin Ardelean. Between the team’s no fraternization policy and her being the owner’s daughter, their attraction has “forbidden” written all over it.

Not being an F1 girlie myself—I know; I know; apparently I’ve been living under a rock—I found the races, the science behind them, and the sheer physicality of the sport fascinating. I liked those high-adrenaline moments of being dropped into the race with Phaedra behind the screens and Cosmin behind the wheel.

I’ve seen a lot of hatred for Cosmin in reviews, but I actually liked him. Do I approve of every action he makes while wearing the guise of his public persona? Of course not. Given his background story, do I understand why he crafted that persona? Yes. He’s cavalier on the surface but a softie underneath it all.

Phaedra is almost the textbook definition of high IQ but not EQ. She’s super smart—especially with numbers—but doesn’t always understand the ins and outs of relationships of the familial, friend, or romantic variety. To a certain degree, the book portrays this as being a result of her upbringing, growing up traveling the racing circuit with her father and having tutors instead of traditional schooling. Having some understanding of why she is the way she is doesn’t make it easy to watch how she treats other people, though.

I recommend checking content/trigger warnings before picking up this one.

3.5⭐️

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Forever. All review opinions are my own.

Phaedra, the brilliant engineer, and Cosmin, the hot shot race car driver, are a collision of brilliance and cockiness.

Lights Out & Away We Go!
Here’s what worked for me:
🏎️ STEM Rep — I loved that Phaedra is the best engineer on the team!

🏎️ Banter and Tension — I really enjoyed the banter between Phaedra and Cosmin and the tension. And the best part? Cosmin falls first and is attracted to her intelligence.

🏎️ The Forbidden Thrill — Phaedra and Cosmin dance on the edge, defy the rules and risk it all. The stakes are high.

🏎️ Engaging Plot — This book touches on some darker subjects which add depth and complexity. Yet, I craved just a tad more exploration of those topics.

The Pit Stop
Phaedra and Cosmin exhibit some red flag behaviors so I couldn’t fully love this one the way I wanted to.

Double Apex balances emotion and humor, navigating the twists of a tricky workplace romance. This heart-racing duo will give you quite a ride!

I received an early copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Publishing) for providing the ARC.

I wanted to like this book, but it really fell flat for me. While I generally enjoy F1 books, the main characters in this book didn't work well together. I love great banter, but it seemed like the author tried too hard to include it, and came up short. Phaedra is rude and abrasive, and honestly downright mean. I don't understand how someone with so much animosity could ever swing from that to falling in love with the same person. Cosmin is very direct and kind of pushy, so it's no wonder that Phaedra was getting so frustrated with him. Personally, it is not a vibe that generally works for me.

I'm sure some people will enjoy this book, but it wasn't it for me.

My thoughts: This was my first F1 romance and I’m not disappointed. I enjoyed learning the terms and picturing the race in my head. I used to go to the racetrack as a kid and watch it, never seeing the appeal, until I got older. Although I found the mmc Cosmin unlikeable because he can’t seem to understand no, I did like the fmc Phaedra. I didn’t really like them as a couple, it was giving me the same vibes as “oh boys are mean to you when they like you”. That dynamic may work for some people but it just makes me feel icky. Also the friendship between Phaedra and her best friend Natalia just didn’t sound so healthy. Going for someone’s insecurity when arguing can turn toxic fast in my opinion. The plot involving Phaedra’s sick dad, tugged at my heart strings. I can’t imagine the pain she must have felt. She’s strong for being able to work and be away from her dad , I would have never wanted to leave his side. I thought this book would go a different way so it doesn’t exactly meet my expectations but I still enjoyed it. The ending was swiftly executed but it was still a cute ending I’ll admit.

DNF….I don’t understand how this became a book. The female main character is extremely rude and immature. The male main character basically does sexual harassment and is way too much of a playboy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish this book and refuse to give a rating on social media.

5 chapters in and it’s putting me into a slump, I really want to like this book because I’m really loving F1 romance at the moment but I will have to soft dnf this for now

3.5 stars

I kinda enjoyed this romance but I can understand why I have seen some lower ratings and some DNFs. I think it is fair to say the FMC is written to be a bit unlikable. She is snarky in an often cruel way, she has anger issues, she's a bit of a misogynist, she's judgmental, she has trust issues, she thinks she's better/smarter than everyone, and she is at times a little violent. These things also don't change throughout the story either. In one of the last scenes she is calling another woman horrible names even if not out-loud. However, that happens often in these stories for the MMC so it's only fair I guess. If it were just about Phae, I'd give her 2-maybe 2.5-stars. I thought Cosmin was quite a good MMC and I really enjoyed his POV chapters. You could tell he liked all those things about Phae (though sometimes I was like ok man maybe reel in her jealousy by telling her the truth). And the story I mostly enjoyed (though the switch from I HATE YOU to kiss me felt sudden, and for her to think he is such a ladies man and didn't ask about STDs or a condom was concerning). The "practice love" part felt a little forced in to the story just to list it as a trope because it was barely mentioned twice and felt a little pointless. Also, this is an F1 romance with a lot about the racing which went over my head because I know nothing about F1 but it felt like it was probably correct/well-researched to me.

Again, I can understand this being a polarizing book but I didn't hate it. I would be interested in reading more of this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

3.5 stars. I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoy sports romances and was excited to read my first F1 romance. I thought the characters were both flawed and showed some growth as the book went on. It was a little tough to get to that point though because I found both characters unlikeable at times. I wasn’t vibing with either of them until over halfway through. Their banter and chemistry together was great. I was happy with the amount of spice. I wanted more from the romance though and the book as a whole felt a little unfinished. I would recommend specifically to people who like F1 and could appreciate that aspect of it.

I was very intrigued by this premise! I love a sports romance, especially one with a feisty leading lady. Big thanks to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC.

Unfortunately, this book missed the mark for me. I struggled to get invested in the characters. While the conflicts were very real, it felt like they were glossed over a bit. I think I just wanted more from it.

This was a SIZZLING dual POV, forbidden workplace romance debut set in the fast-paced world of FI racing that is absolutely perfect for fans of Lauren Asher or Cross the lines by Simone Soltani. I couldn't get enough of Phaedra and Cosmin as the try to fight the sizzling chemistry and attraction between them as they work as track engineer and race car driver. Steamy, full of heart and unputdownable, I loved this and can't wait for more by this new romance author!! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

(2.5 Stars) A book set in the world of Formula 1 racing sounded great. And I love a good STEM representing, female MC, in Phaedra Morgan. She is a math prodigy and engineer for the racing team. But the book lost a lot of interest for me with Cosmin Ardelean as the European driver. He is the hero type I loath. Self assured and confident that every woman wants him. He comes off as a privileged neanderthal. I hate when MMC’s think it is hot to continue to use nicknames and sexual comments when they are asked to stop. Yes, that is how characters were written decades ago but I don’t want to read that now. Boys will be boys of yesterday is now sexual harassment today. I can totally understand so many DNF’s.

I pushed on and it took till over the halfway point to find Cosmin sort of likable. I am someone who loves open door books the steamier the better. But because I didn’t care about the leads I didn’t enjoy when the dirty talk started and things got spicier. The story finishes at a decent place. If you like steamy books with caveman type male leads you will probably enjoy this. I doubt I will be looking for the sequel which features Phae’s best friend who is a journalist.

I received an ARC of this book, and unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. The main characters were both unlikable, and the interactions between them seemed problematic at best. The secondary characters also did not add positively to the story. This was a DNF early on, and it seems many other reviewers had similar feelings. The lack of character development, and overall maturity of the characters and their actions, really weighed on the story. It's unfortunate that it did not live up to such a great premise.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Admittedly, early on I wasn’t sure this book was going to be for me. Phaedra came across as mean and Cosmin as a man who took nothing serious and thought flirting with any woman who was breathing would get him through life. As the story unfolded, it became clear both had more to their characters than the surface level facades they presented.

I enjoy an intelligent woman excelling with her skills in a male-dominated field. Phaedra was smart and confident in her abilities, and she wasn’t willing to accept being condescended to by the men around her. She had an incredibly hard exterior that made her challenging, but she knew her value to the team. I didn’t love the way she spoke to/about/thought of other women at times though. It felt beneath her and her feelings about women being looked down on.

When things were good between Phaedra and Cosmin, they were really good. As they really got to know each other and found the emotional connection, I was invested in their respective walls coming down and masks coming off. When things were off however, I felt for sad them, but then it also got a bit repetitive and like they were going in circles on more than just the race track.

Speaking of race tracks, I really appreciated how much of a role the actual racing played throughout the book. It was not just a fad setting. It was genuinely important to the story that was being told and the dynamic of Phaedra and Cosmin’s relationship.

There were a lot of external factors in Phaedra and Cosmin’s lives that influenced their characters. The storyline with Phaedra’s dad was heart wrenching. Cosmin’s family backstory was tragic, but it also felt like something really major that got a bit shortchanged when it came to being fully developed. I understood what the goal was, but I felt like it was a very heavy choice to only incorporate sporadically.

Overall, I was ultimately glad I continued reading this one despite my early reservations. I enjoyed a great deal of it, and I am intrigued by what was set up for book 2 in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.