Double Apex by Josie Juniper is a spicy F1 romance, featuring Phaedra, a Formula 1 racing engineer and Cosmin, an incredibly cocky driver. It’s a spicy enemies-to-lover romance, narrated by Jonathan Lake and Mackenzie Cartwright. Both narrators delivered good performances, but unfortunately, this one just didn’t hold my attention. I feel like F1 romance is having its moment–but maybe *because* there are so many out there, this one just didn’t stand out. The characters’ connection didn’t feel completely genuine, and I felt like without that *spark,* the whole book fell flat.

Having said that, I know there will be plenty of readers out there who LOVE this book. To be fair, I did love the fact that Phaedra was a strong, intelligent woman in a very much male dominated field.

Thank you so much Hachette Audio for the advance listening copy.

This is a first time read of this offer for me and I absolutely adored her writing style. So many great moments spread throughout the entire novel not to mention very spicy romance scenes that really were excellently written. I cannot wait for book 2 of this new series And will certainly read more of her books now that I’ve read this one. I did listen to this audiobook and enjoyed the dual narration however, for some people, the main male characters accent is a little difficult to understand at times, especially when you speed up the listening speed. I did enjoy it very much especially the moments where he spoke in Romanian. Rowr!

my first racing genre romance book, didn't really get the racing stuff and not sure it is for me but I did like the two leads in this book

I really wanted to love this one, especially since F1 romances have been zooming to the top of my TBR lately. Unfortunately, Double Apex just didn’t hit the mark for me.

The premise had promise—a brilliant, no-nonsense race engineer paired with a cocky, haunted driver in a spicy enemies-to-lovers setup? Yes, please! But the execution fell flat. The biggest issue for me was the lack of connection in the love story. Phaedra and Cosmin’s relationship didn’t have the chemistry or spark I was hoping for, and without that, the romance felt more like a stalled engine than a thrilling race.

I also struggled to connect with the characters. While Phaedra’s brilliance as a race engineer and Cosmin’s wounded bad-boy persona had potential, their personalities didn’t mesh in a way that felt believable. Instead, some of their interactions veered into cringe territory, making parts of the story uncomfortable rather than enjoyable.

It’s always tough when a book doesn’t resonate, but I know some readers might enjoy the mix of spice and high-stakes drama in the F1 world. Sadly, this one wasn’t for me.

This is another book that was giving me the vibes of the Dirty Air series by Lauren Asher. I enjoyed the characters and racing elements but the plot fell a bit flat for my taste.

A romance about an F1 driver and their race engineer has all the room to be a fun, fast paced read. And that is very much how this read begins. Diving straight into the established disdain and banter between the two main characters, and building the tension and showcasing their history was fabulous. It created a very clear idea of who they were to each other, and their dynamic.

However, as the book progressed along with the blooming romance, I found the relationship to lack a honest connection, and found it hard to grasp any sort of tension or chemistry. However, the main characters in tandem were dealing with grief and complex childhood trauma, so maybe the distance and lack of affection is how this author has chosen to showcase those elements within a complicated romantic relationship.

I enjoyed Cosmin as our main male character. He was driven, funny, and remained as forthcoming as one could with their emotions without completely throwing self preservation out the window. Though that's not to say he doesn't have faults.

Phaedra however, was hard to connect too, hard to understand and even tricker to constantly justify her behaviour towards those around her. As we flicked between her inner and outer dialogue, she moved from acknowledging that she was about to say something unkind/shitty and then proceeded to say it regardless, maintaining the narrative of her inability to connect to others.

Their relationship followed the usual steps we find in forbidden romance books. But in amongst the shifting between 'can we be together'/ and 'it can't ever work', where longing and desperation typically builds, Phaedra came across as nonchalant but jealous, whereas Cosmin increasingly made plays to show Phaedra that he was still all in. This differing approach to their situation created a consistent disconnect between what each of them wanted, and again made the relationship feel one sided.

About halfway through the book there is a scene where Phaedra uses Cosmin's Childhood Trauma in a flippant and unexpected manner. Personally this scene was hard to overlook, and even harder to work out the purpose in terms of plot and/ or character development. For me this set a aloof tone that made it impossible to get back into the read in a positive way.

This personally wasn't for me, but hopefully it finds its audience.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t my cup of tea. I didn’t like either of the main characters and some scenes made me really uncomfortable. My rating is more for the narration (which was good) than for the story itself.

I'm not sure if it was the story or the narration that wasn't quite working for me on this one, but it didn't hit like I wanted it to. I found that I couldn't understand the male narration above a 1.5x speed very easily and it took me out of the story quite a bit. I also felt like I was set up to dislike his character, and by the time I realized he was the love interest I was already so invested in seeing the red flags I couldn't unsee them and get behind their relationship.

This was a whole series of ups and downs for me.

Started off really strong and then I was thrown off, then it would pick back up hit a stride and afterwards I’d get thrown off again. This had major pacing issues. A great plot, but disproportionate action and tension scene to scene.

I enjoyed the complexity of the characters- even though this meant I genuinely didn’t always like them. I loved that the struggles that impact the characters weren’t always revolving around the relationship and instead informed how the two leads dealt with each other.

In terms of spice this was pretty well done, but then occasionally there would be a line that would just be… a no.

As a whole, my takeaways here make this review feel pretty lukewarm. I did enjoy reading this though and, despite my handful of complaints, absolutely intend to read any further books in the series.

I enjoyed this one! The romance and tension between these two was so good and everything I wanted 😍 I also really liked the narrators, they had a lot of inflection in their reading which made it feel like I was experiencing it in person

As an audiobook I felt it was so hard to understand the male narrator. It kind of turned me off to this book quickly and I had trouble getting through it.

This one was a bit odd and a little confusing. Ask, not having a knowledge of Formula One left me in the dark. For F1 fans: they might love it.

The narration on this was good but the story, unfortunately, wasn't. The characters weren't that great and were hard to relate to. I didn't really enjoy watching their relationship form and grow since it all felt kind of forced. This story had so much potential based off of the blurb but it just wasn't a good fit.

I was significantly excited about Double Apex's premise since I grew up watching F1 with my dad. Unfortunately, this book was a disappointment for me. I couldn't connect to the MMC because of all the emotional and physical abuse and the workplace harassment. Both of the characters were unlikeable, and I couldn't care anymore.

I will not review this on my main bookstragram page since it has a low star rating.

Am I crazy for being up at 4 am to watch the rescheduled F1 qualifying? Maybe but it was worth it to see my boy Lando take pole. I thought it only fitting to share this F1 romance today.
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I enjoyed Phaedra and Cosmin. Loved that she’s a race engineer and a damn good one. Their relationship had a lot of speed bumps and curves. Enjoyed their banter. Cosmin was more Max than either of the Papaya Boys but I think that made the banter and angst go to a higher level. This was a fun read.
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If you enjoy F1, or even just a sports romance, I definitely recommend.
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Thanks to Hachette Audio and Forever Publishing for an ALC and eARC.

2.5 rounded to 3. Double Apex by Josie Juniper was a bit of a mixed experience for me, and I struggled to connect with the main characters. They both felt somewhat flat, and the chemistry between them came across as forced, even bordering on uncomfortable at times. I enjoyed MacKenzie Cartwright’s narration, which brought some life to the story, but Jonathan Lake's portrayal of Cosmin felt awkward and cringey—it might have been a choice to fit Cosmin's character, but it didn’t land for me. Phaedra’s relationship with her supposed best friend was confusing as well; she was inexplicably rude to her, making it hard to see why they were even friends. Despite these issues, the story did have some intriguing moments, and I appreciated the unique concept Juniper was trying to bring to life. Ultimately, though, the execution left me wanting a bit more depth and clarity in the character dynamics.

I was really intrigued with the premise of Double Apex, having not read any F1 fiction before. Unfortunately this one wasn’t my cup of tea. I struggled to connect with Phaedre and Cosmin who were both quite brash and sometimes abrasive. Their relationship development felt abrupt, and I had difficulty following their character development. The tension between these characters at times felt condescending and aggressive, rather than passionate.

I did find the F1 world interesting, particularly the experiences of a female engineer. to connect with the characters.

Cosmin’s narration in the audiobook had a strange breathy quality which made it hard to make out some of the dialogue. Overall though, the dual narration was great, and the accents and energy did elevate the characterisation and provide more insight as to their motivations.

While not quite for me, I can see this being an enjoyable read for lovers of F1 romance.

Thank you Hachette Audio for a copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

4 Stars

Do I know anything about racing or formula one? NOPE. Did I ever think I’d enjoy a cocky driver as a romantic lead? Also nope. BUT HERE I AM. Cosmin can GET IT DADDY. From the confident way he lulls our girl Phaedra into his bed and heart to the soft way he melts for her despite her reluctance. I was eating this up. And the steam? Oh, it twas fabulous. Especially when they hit Texas. Anyhoo, definitely recommend and I might be obsessed with a man I never saw coming.

OH OH OH and I got to listen to the audio. 10/10 worth it. Dual narration and the accent and Romanian for Cosmin’s voice actor was PERFECTION.

The content of the book was satisfactory for me, as I did not expect that much after reading the blurb. Though several issues strike me;
The female character was edgy without an obvious reason. Phaedra was bot the sunshine promised by the blurb and her behaviour or responses made my brows fly high in question marks.
I listened to the audiobook, where the male narrator (whose name I will add here) ruined my pov experience of Cosmin with his strange breath ins and outs and even stranger toning of his voice, which raised at the end of the sentence and became almost inaudible in the beginning or middle of the sentence. I could not wait for Cosmin’s pov to end.

Fans of F1 racing might really love this enemies to lovers tale, featuring a brilliant engineer and Eastern European race car driver who get sent on retreat together to work out their differences before it starts affecting their work performances. Their boss Kalie insists that Phaedra and Cosmin spend the weekend at his vacation home in Santorini, Greece (hardly a hardship) to put an end to their animosity and bond. Once there, they get along well, and presumably begin a torrid affair.

I loved the skilled narration—both Mackenzie Cartwright and Jonathan Lake excelled at delivering cheesy dialogue convincingly, They did a great portraying the characters of opposite genders in this dual point of view story, and nailed the accents.

Phaedra is a great, if mistrustful, character who takes bad ass bitch to the mean level; Cosmin’s womanizing, Neanderthal behavior and general flirtyness after being told to cut it out multiple times is played off as appealing, but codes as dated, unenlightened, and frankly, unwanted and nonconsensual. I get why the macho male dynamic has appeal for some readers, and understand this throwback behavior is a fun fantasy in some ways, but it wasn’t for me.

The racing details were spot on, the glitz of the sport reflected in high end fashion and destinations, and the writing solid. The back story hinted at for Cosmin’s sister turned my stomach, honestly; I put the brakes on this romance at 23% complete.