The utter love I have for Offtrack is off the charts. The character growth, the friendship, the history behind womens rights in the Middle East, and the empathy of admiration for Diyana from Miguel is phenomenal. I laughed, my heart pitter pattered, and shed a few tears. I grew up watching F1 and you can absolutely tell that Esha Patel knows her F1.

✨ BOOK REVIEW
⭐️⭐️/5

This book had a lot of information about F1 racing. While some people may like having the additional information, I personally would have preferred less racing information and more romance.

I would say this wasn’t my favorite read.

link to review should be attached.

Rating: 3/5 stars
I usually love formula one books but I don’t know there was something about this I didn’t really love… I usually finish a book within 24 hours and this took me way longer than I usually do, I was expecting something a little bit more it was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I didn’t like the writing and the characters were just lacking in growth and personality in my opinion, character development could’ve been better I definitely think Diana and Miguel are better off as friends unfortunately. As much as I wanted to enjoy this and there were moments I did enjoy it I don’t think I’ll ever think about this book again I fear.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Publishing for giving me the chance to read this as an ARC for its upcoming print publishing.

As a Formula racing fan and sports romance lover, I absolutely adored this book. Miguel and Diana both have a passion and drive for the sport that is evident throughout and the author's love for the sport truly shines throughout.

Personally I enjoy slow burn romances that are plot-heavy so following them throughout their entire racing season and slowly seeing their relationship grow was very interesting to me. Diana's struggles with the sexism and discrimination in the sport was both inspiring and frustrating as it was all too relatable as a former athlete myself who often competed in co-ed leagues. I loved the message that a girl can do anything a boy can so long as she is willing to put in the effort.

My only complaint is in how Miguel seems to be an unreliable narrator at times, saying things about how he did not realize there were female drivers in F2 when Diana was the reigning champion at the time, because it seems like any F1 racer would know who the F2 champion was.

Overall this was an amazing book and I would love to buy a print copy especially if it comes out in a US edition.

I’m a huge F1 fan, I’ve been around racing & cars my whole life and grew up racing karts and wanted to move up, but F1 does not allow women to drive in F1. So, that being said I loved the idea of this story but I just couldn’t fall in love with it like I was hoping I would. It felt very fake, the issues other drives and people had with Diane being a woman in F1 felt wrong and so sexist. The higher ups in F1, mainly the MAN who owns F1, is the one who will never allow women into F1, it has nothing to do with the drivers or the teams.

Don’t forget the so-called romance. The fact that he was already engaged and blows that off to be with Diane felt wrong and forced. It is known that many drivers and people in the race world are cheaters because of the traveling, so I see the appeal of them being with each other cause they would always be around one another, but this just felt like a push that all men are like this.

Overall, I really wanted to like this but so many things were off and didn’t feel authentic. There are better F1 romance stories, but sadly this one fell flat.

As a longtime fan of F1 and a romance reader, this book was disappointing. I'm not sure this book should be marketed as a romance because the romantic element isn't in the forefront of the story, and the romance isn't developed enough.

I felt completely disconnected from the characters, the chemistry, and the plot as a whole. I also felt like the politics of the racing drivers was over-dramatized and beyond belief. I think F1 fans will be disappointed by the depiction of the sport in this piece; I was.

I also found the writing style difficult to follow. There were some scenes that I had to go back and reread because I felt like I missed some piece of context. I'm still confused about certain aspects of the story (Example: we never really got clarity on Miguel and Diana's history, but there were little comments throughout that made it sound like what happened in the past was VITAL to the main plot).

The longer I sit and process this story, the more questions I have that I don't believe were ever addressed. I think this story should go through some heavy developmental edits/rewrites before publication. I wanted to like this story so bad!

I love sports romances when the woman plays the sport as well, I’m really getting into dual sports romances but this one wasn’t for me. it fell flat in certain areas and I caught myself skimming. the concept is great, I love F1 stories I just couldn’t get into this one

Offtrack by Esha Patel was a good F1 romance that was enjoyable to read. I don't think it was anything groundbreaking or mind-blowing but it was fun. I think this will be a great title for romance readers looking for more F1 romances.

This was fun to read but required a lot of suspending reality. it was hard to get into the book because the characters were not very relatable and didn't feel like full people.

Offtrack by Esha Patel

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice: 1/5 🌶️

Thank you to HarperCollins360, Netgalley, and Esha Patel for access to this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Overall, this was a good read. There were certain parts of the book where it felt like the pacing wasn’t ideal. Moreover, the way that the MMC had a fiancée throughout the majority of the book and then she almost completely disappeared from the scene left something to be desired.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the friendship between the two lead characters and the highlight on various countries and settings was certainly interesting. The media conferences were one of my favorite parts of the book, as well as the focus on what it can be like to be a woman in a male dominated field. The romance aspect felt a bit lacking though.

I liked the race scenes the most. The relationship between Diana and Miguel though….I did not like that they knew each other as teenagers and both seemed to forget each other. Especially when they both seemed to really like each other. I feel like they would’ve remembered each other. I don’t think they’d be instantly stary eyed for each other but at least friendly.

Offtrack is a fun contemporary romance set in the fast-paced world of Formula 1 racing. Author Esha Patel had a hefty task of balancing a romance and a strong narrative about the difficulties women face in male-dominated sports, and for the most part, she was successful.
The story shifts perspectives between Miguel De la Fuente, a high-performing F1 racer from a family of drivers, and Diana Zahrani, a rookie, to F1, looking to prove herself in the just-beginning racing season. Readers are taken through the season as both characters face obstacles and fall for each other.
This is my first time reading an F1 romance, and I was pleasantly surprised! While sports romances tend to have similar themes, I appreciate the uniqueness F1 brought to the story with the different settings worldwide, the danger of the sport, and the unique focus level for driving. The sports aspects felt realistic, and it seems like Patel researched to help the story feel immersive and believable.
I liked both of the main characters, but I did have a favorite and that was Diana. Her experiences fighting sexism to live her dreams got me choked up at times and angry on her behalf at others. To me, this is a sign of a well-crafted character arc.
While a lot happens in the book, it is still a slow-burn romance. The juxtaposition of pacing of the overall story with the amount of plot we cover and the pace of the romance did feel jarring at times. This wasn’t a glaring issue, just a minor one for me.
My rating is 3.75/5 stars.
Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a free advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this novel a 3.5/5 stars! I really enjoyed their romance and the rising conflict in the later half of the book, however, the beginning felt kind of slow to me. The tension and dramatic elements of the story were very well written, and I would love to see more books from the rest of the team!

I'd say it's more of a 3.5/3.75 star! I have never read an F1 romance but I was pleasantly surprised! While this book wasn't perfect, I think overall it was a great plot with amazing romance! I loved the tension and wished we honestly had more of it! I found myself so involved when the racing scenes came into play and honestly loved that we got dual POV so I could see the races from both Miguel and Diana! I liked all the different characters too, but wish they were a bit more introduced or portrayed as close friends with Miguel so they seemed more prominent! There were times when there was Spanish or Spanish locations that I wish as an North American I knew what they were or what was being said, but about halfway through the book I actually stopped caring and started liking it as I felt it added more to the characters and I enjoyed reading a character who wasn't just American or English for once! I would definitely read another F1 romance!

**Spoilers below! **

The only issue I really had with the book is how Mig and Diana knew each other. I don't get how they don't remember each other if they meant that much to each other when they were younger.
Maybe if they hadn't known each others names but both had secret crushes or something it would've made more sense but they knew each others names and had pictures together so it just seemed a little forced when they "didn't remember" and then fell in love again. I also wish they would've made it a point for all their other friends to start calling Diana by Diyana since that is her name. It shouldn't be Americanized unless people don't know! ! don't know I feel like it was just a missed opportunity for Miguel to stand up and be like "her name is Diyana!" or "is Diyana okay?
Where is Diyana" and everyone else is like who? That would've been cool, but again my personal preference so I don't think it ruined the book at all, just would've made it even better! Other than that, I actually really liked it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Diana Zahrani has always wanted to join the ranks of F1 racers, and when the opportunity presents itself, she jumps on it. She enters the male-dominated sport with every intention of winning and showing everyone that she means business. What she doesn't account for, however, is driver Miguel de la Fuente. As the two battle for the world championship, sparks begin to fly, and not just on the track.

As someone who knows next to nothing about F1 racing, this was pretty enjoyable. I loved the diverse cast of characters and the fact that they each brought a little bit of their culture to the story. It made everyone seem much more real, and it made it so much easier to fall in love with them. The way that they all talked about their passion for driving and how they felt winning races tugged on my heartstrings more than a little. I was also pleasantly surprised with the portrayal of male vulnerability. These were definitely men written by a woman, and I loved it.

There were a couple of things that I didn't love about this book. As I said, I know next to nothing about F1 racing. By the end of the book, I was able to basically figure out what all of the terminology meant, but the beginning of the book was an absolute nightmare to get through. I was basically juggling google and my kindle the entire first 100 pages because Esha Patel just dropped new slang and terms without any kind of explanation. Also, and this may be an unpopular opinion, I didn't care for Miguel and Diana's relationship. They felt more like really good friends than romantic partners. I probably would have enjoyed their relationship more if it was more platonic.

Overall, this books gets 3.5⭐ from me. This is probably geared more towards people involved in the F1 world, but it was still very sweet.

I was so excited for this read, but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it. I thought it was a mood thing, so I took a break and tried again, but for a book about such an exciting sport, I found it a little boring. So much of the writing was inner monologue and exposition when I wanted more action and excitement.

I love you so fucking much and I am glad to have you in my life as my long distance desi friend 🥺🥺

OMG reading this book was like experiencing #drivetosurvive but just in text form, it takes a while to get a hang of all the characters since the premise of F1 often has a lot of side character but once you start recalling all the main/important side characters this book is something you won’t be able to put down…

The slow burn was burning and I was like please please please I won’t be able to take it anymore 😩😩

I loved the Rise of Diana in the F1 world 🏎️❤️ SHE IS THE QUEEN, THE “DANGER”

As someone who loves F1 books, the racing parts of this book were done incredibly well, by far the best scenes. Unfortunately I felt the plot just took too long to develop, and the characters had almost no growth.

Although not my favorite mostly given the writing style it was hard to follow at times, the book felt like it completely turned around at a point in the second half and I almost couldn't put it down.

First time reading an F1 romance, and this book really throws you to the races from the beginning. Enjoyed the POV changes, it was easy to keep track of and allowed you to feel both sides of a situation. Characters feel like real people, actually fleshed out a bit with family backgrounds, their own culture, and you can tell why they make choices. This book took me longer to finish than expected. Normally a romance book for me is read in one or two days, but this one took around a week of reading small parts at a time.
Would like to read others by this author, this book was a solid four star read.

Thank you to Esha Patel and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!

I was super excited to try another F1 romance book, but unfortunately this book missed the mark for me. To me, this read as a “Drive To Survive” book with a romance subplot that wasn’t great. I feel like if it was an F1 fiction book (with no romance), I might have rated it higher. And thats surprising from me, as all I tend to read is romance!

Formula 1 - I do appreciate how the author clearly is an F1 fan/researched F1 heavily, as a lot of the things relating the F1 were very accurate. I’ve read F1 books before where things about race weekend, engineering, etc were SO off, so this was a breath of fresh air.

Romance - The two MCs (Miguel & Diana) had zero chemistry in my eyes. By the halfway point of the book, the two have barely interacted aside from some stray touches & quick conversations. Not to mention, Miguel is betrothed to someone else, and the Diana spends more time flirting with a side character than Miguel? I feel like those two plot lines could’ve been nixed, which could potentially lead to the MCs meshing a bit more.

Writing Style - The writing style wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible. I was able to follow along pretty well, but some portions of the book were very random and I found myself skimming them because they had no impact on the plot. I also love short chapters when they are written well, but the shorter chapters (back to back to back) just felt a bit clunky and like we were jumping all over the place.