1.5/5 stars

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me, I really hoped this book would be more enjoyable than it was for me. I liked the plot, and Darien’s backstory was engaging with his journey through grief and the stages of healing, but as for his and Shantal’s relationship, I just couldn’t get into it, or connect with their characters individually. Overall I thought the plot was great, but the lack of connection with the characters or their “chemistry” put me off a bit.

I love Esha Patel!! & I love a F1 romance!
I am so very grateful to receive an ARC for this. Even though I wasn’t able to finish before the archive date I’m excited to buy and finish it.
The chemistry was fire. 🔥

I really needed to read a F1 romance and this seemed to be the one I picked up, I think I gave the first one 3 stars. But I enjoyed this one so much more. Again I don’t know if I was just more in the mood to read an F1 romance but this was amazing. I really loved that this was set in Brazil. This is grumpy sunshine, forced proximity slow burn romance. This follows Darien and Shantal. I just loved their characters so much, the grief they are both experiencing throughout is so well written.

Thank you for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a cute book. But it was not quite what I was hoping for. The main characters were cute together but the story was a little dull.

I unfortunately found this just okay! I liked the characters, getting to know Darien a bit more and meeting Shantal. I just didn’t feel any connection between them which sucks as I loved all the racing and setting and descriptions. It wasn’t a bad book by any means, I just couldn’t quite click with the main characters romance storyline!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for review! I ate this book up as I am a fan of F1 romances, and enjoyed the author's first novel. A fun, quick easy read set in the F1 world!

I really wanted to gel with this book as I have loved other formula 1 books. Unfortunately it was not for me.

DIVERSE MCs! (again)

Formula 1
Found family
Grumpy sunshine
Dual POV
Slow burn
Interconnected standalone

The Formula 1 boys are back. I enjoyed Darien and Shantal’s story more than the first book Offtrack. Sweet with a few laughs and depth. Book has enough romance and racing though chemistry felt a little off at moments. Third act breakup didn’t feel necessary in this one, hopefully the next one is the series will go without. That being said I will continue the series.

Much needed break from hockey romances (hides lol)

4.5⭐️ | 2🌶️

WHAT TO EXPECT:
• He’s an F1 driver x She’s a woman in STEM
• Grumpy x Sunshine
• Slow burn
• Found Family
• Diverse characters
• He falls first, she falls harder

REVIEW:
Formula 1 meets slow-burn romance in Overdrive! It’s a story packed with high stakes, emotional depth, and a dash of spice.

Darien, a talented F1 driver, is under immense pressure to deliver this season, not just for his career but to preserve his country’s future in racing. Enter Shantal, a brilliant sports-simulation programmer flown to Brazil to test her cutting-edge technology with his team. Both are navigating personal loss and professional challenges, but their connection proves to be the ultimate game-changer.

What sets this book apart is its character development. The author takes the time to introduce Shantal and Darien individually before their worlds collide, which makes their chemistry all the more believable. Shantal is a standout protagonist- intelligent, resilient, and refreshingly confident in a male-dominated space. Her Indo-Guyanese heritage and cultural depth add a rich layer to her character, making her journey truly compelling. Meanwhile, Darien is a golden retriever in human form- loyal, charming, and just the right amount of flawed.

The F1 backdrop isn’t just a gimmick, it’s integral to the story. From nail-biting race sequences to the intricacies of team dynamics, the sport feels alive on the page! The romance evolves naturally amidst the adrenaline, and though the spice is minimal, it’s perfectly balanced with the emotional beats.

Whether you’re an F1 fan or a romance enthusiast, Overdrive hits all the right notes. It’s heartfelt, exciting, and impossible to put down- a must-read for everyone!

I was really excited to read this one - but it just didn't hit the mark.

It felt rushed and incomplete. The characters and their motivations were confusing and sometimes contradictary. It was hard to really feel for them or their romance when everything felt so surface level.

The F1 world also just felt so unrealistic. The fact that drivers would be expected to show a random new employee around a city... just no. I love a good f1/sports/celebrity romance but it has to feel somewhat realistic. This one felt a little too wattpad-y. At times there was a lot of detail around the F1 world then suddenly it would skip all the action and time-jump you forward with no context.

There were definitely glimpses of greatness. I felt like we were given small glimpses into our characters minds. It needed a little more time to build out their motivations and more importantly build on their relationship. It didn't really make sense to me.

It's a shame, but I think romance lovers would still like this. The F1 fangirl in me prevented me getting to into this one.

you know how there are some books that actually feel so much more than just a book because the emotions, the connection that is shown between the characters is so deep and real that you actually feel the pain that the characters go through in the book and you celebrate them getting together as if you have fallen in love with a man who cherishes every step you take and giggle on everyone they even have the darcy like touch. Overdrive was one such book for me. I am an F1 fan and this book, the detailing Esha has put in this book is so amazing that you just get into it because you want to know more about stuff. I actually felt the pain every time one of the characters was going through something and I just wanted to hug them tight.

The second book in the F1 series by Esha Patel and this one follows a girl who9 is trying to test out her racing simulator on f1 drivers and the formula one driver who catches her eye. Shantal wants to test her racing simulator and who better to test it on than formula one drivers, and thats where we meet Darien, a passionate driver who is feeling the pressure to win this year's championship. I will have to say as a huge fan of formula one this book just wasn't it for me. I appreciate the author's knowledge of the sport but the actual romance feels nonexistent in these books. This is a series of standalone interconnected books but honestly I just couldn't care or remember any of the characters or plot lines. I really wish I could like it more but I just found it so boring to read. The characters don't really grow and there was instalove yet nothing really happened until 70% through the book. I just feel like this is a forgettable book that is slow and not really for formula girlies looking for an f1 romance.

first of all, thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for my review!! always such a wonderful opportunity!!

shantel and darien had a connection from the start, from the first day they met - and from working within a close proximity of each other, with the pressure of their jobs, this only grew!!

this was my first f1 romance, and despite being a slow burn (which i’m not always a top fan off) i think due to the environment it worked through the story and was written to nicely.

overall, i enjoyed reading this book and felt a connection with the characters!! bring on some more racing romances🫶🏼

Arc Review:

3.5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this and I’m glad that although it’s interconnected it also stands alone because I didn’t feel like I was missing context or relevance.

Shantal and Darien will be occupying my brain for the foreseeable future- such a well written pair of characters who are just so so well suited. The slow burn was impeccable and I’m so glad we got to experience their grief and hardships individually for a while before they started to share it with each other. It gave their characters so much more depth and as someone who has experienced grief some of the moments were heavy and hard and so painfully accurate. The only reason it loses some stars is because it was quite heavy at times (however wonderfully written). The ending was also so beautifully satisfying.

Overdrive is book two in the Offtrack series by Esha Patel.
This was such a good story and I truly enjoyed it.
A fun enemies-to-lovers romance.

This book is very much a story of grief and how to overcome it. How each person’s story of grief looks different. Darien and Shantal both have suffered losses in their lives and it has affected them in different ways.

I really enjoyed the flirty banter between the two MCs and how they came to work together to achieve a common goal. The focus was very much on the offtrack elements of the F1 world rather than the racing and the romance was again a sub-plot to the overarching story.

It was fun to read about the different cultures that the two characters were raised in and how those practices feed into their current lives.

I look forward to seeing whose story we’re going to get next!

🏎️F1 Romance
☀️Grumpy x Sunshine
🧪Cinnamon Roll F1 driver x Hard-to-Read STEM girlie
🌍Diverse MCs (Brazilian🇧🇷x Guyanese🇬🇾)
💗Great Big Bollywood slow burn
🔥 Fluff, Angst, Tears & Laughter
🫶🏻Healthy Love & Support Systems

This slow burn F1 romance is the second in a series (which I didn’t realise) but could be read alone. I enjoyed the story between the 2 main characters. However I found the F1 part of the book quite technical and didn’t understand some of it. All in all a good book

Firstly I want to say thank you to @netgalley and @eshapatelauthor for letting me ARC read the amazing book
From the first page I was hooked Darien and Shantal's story will forever be in my heart I laughed and cried (at the end) it was a slow burn but it was worth it in the end my favorite read this month

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - absolutely fabulous F1 romance with flirtatious banter and amazing characters

🏎️ Dual POV
🏁 Grumpy X Sunshine
🏎️ Diverse MC’s
🏁 Girl in STEM
🏎️ F1 Romance
🏁 Slow Burn
🏎️ All the feels

Esha Patel is an absolute queen and I love her and her books so damn much!! Not only is she the kindest most loveliest soul in the universe but her F1 romances hit all the feels and I had so much fun reading them!!
I absolutely loved offtrack and was so excited to read Overdrive and having the chance to ARC again for Esha made my heart so happy 🫶

Overdrive follows Darien and Shantel via dual pov through their absolutely hilarious romance! There is so many different factors in this book that come in to play when the romance develops and it added such a deeper level which I really enjoyed!

Shantel is a STEM queen in charge of an F1 Sim in Brazil and Darien is an F1 driver who gives every race is all and is determined to prove himself!!

Shantel’s character is my absolute favourite! she is so relatable and has so many layers to her character that I couldn’t help but admire and love her deeply!! She shows such strength throughout the book whilst grieving and starting a new adventure in a different country. She is such a guarded and fierce character but she has such a big heart once her walls come down 🥹

Darien is a golden retriever with such a cheeky character and so much love and fun to give. He is dedicated to his F1 racing career showing two different sides to his character throughout the book! Off track he is a fun character with an immature side but on track he is so focused and determined to prove his worth in the F1 world!

The romance between the two MC’s is so much fun. It may be slow burn but it is hilarious and adorable reading their characters fall for each other. Grumpy X Sunshine is one of my favourite tropes and Esha delivered this perfectly!

I absolutely love reading about F1 and the racing! It added such a great element to this romance and also I always learn so much about F1 in general! I am not a F1 watcher in real life but racing romances just hit different!

The writing style is amazing and allows the book to flow so well. And I have fallen in love with Brazil from the way Esha describes the scenes and allowed me to really picture it in my mind! It was such an immersive experience and I loved every minute 🥹

Thank you again to Esha and Avon for allowing me to ARC read this book!💛💚

In all honesty, I have struggled in almost the entire first half of the book.

First of all, I was lost with the sport itself. As someone who doesn’t know anything about Formula 1, in book 1 I still felt it was easy to follow the book and understand the sport storyline. This aspect was lost in this book which made it hard to enjoy.

In parallel the romance in the first part was lacking to me. It took a long time to feel the connection between the characters, it wasn’t until about half of the book that I was really in. Until then I had wondered if I should just DNF. At mid-point, I started to enjoy the book a lot more and thought it would be smooth until the end and the second half would redeem the book for me. Unfortunately, there had to be another twist around 80% which felt completely unnecessary and led to a pretty annoying third act drama, which honestly we could have done without.

The one thing I thought was very well done is the description of grief, and the associated guilt of being alive and if you can / how to move on. This felt really true and made Shantal a very relatable character.

*I received an ARC of this book, this is my honest opinion*