Thank you NetGalley and Harper360 for the e-ARC of Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery.

Pole Position is an F1 M/M enemies-to-lovers sports romance featuring Kian, an experienced and seasoned F1 champion, and Harper, a cocky rookie eager to prove himself. The two start off on the wrong foot, but can’t deny their attraction to each other. While their chemistry is undeniable, I felt their transition from enemies to lovers happened too quickly, without the slow burn I was expecting.

The secondary characters were a highlight, each adding depth to the story. I also appreciated the inclusion of F1 terminology and race action, though as a very casual F1 viewer, I can’t speak to the accuracy. Still, it was engaging enough to spark my interest in the sport.

Trigger warnings include absent parents, alcoholism, abandonment, and the death of a parent.

As a religious F1 race watcher, I was excited about the prospect of a teammate romance. I enjoyed the banter, the interactions, the exploration of competitors on different teams, and the friendships that can be broken during that separation. I wish more time was spent around the races or garages, but I really enjoyed the enemies to lovers!

I absolutely adored Kian and Harper’s relationship, even though there were moments when I wanted to snatch Harper by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. Honestly, half the time, I was ready to jump into the pages, grab a chair, and smash it right over his thick skull. Don’t get me wrong—he’s painfully realistic, especially for someone like me who knows all too well what it means to be a commitment-phobe with abandonment issues (solidarity high five). But lord, Harper could be such an insufferable jerk. Kian? That man had the patience of a saint, and quite frankly, he deserved a partner who could match that energy.

And while I really liked Harper’s character arc, my biggest gripe? The lack of a good grovel. Come on! After all the emotional chaos he put Kian through, I needed a proper grovel moment—a real, soul-wrenching apology with tears, flowers, and maybe a public declaration of love. Where’s the drama in romance without a little over-the-top redemption? Still, Kian? Absolute perfection. The way he carried all that anxiety, guilt, and fear so tightly wound made him feel like the most relatable character. Watching him find a love that both grounded him and allowed him to breathe was the true joy of this story.

Surprisingly, I didn’t mind the push-and-pull dynamic or the miscommunication between them. Normally, that trope would irritate me to no end, but here, I was eating up every ounce of the drama. “Pole Position” struck an impressive balance between delivering messy, chaotic romance and tackling heavier, emotional themes that really resonated. There were chapters where I was just wrecked, crying through the pain of it all, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Still, my critique lies in how Harper’s growth felt a bit rushed, and some parts of their conflict were wrapped up a little too neatly for my taste. For a story this emotionally raw, I wanted more time to sit with the resolution. Despite that, it was a wild ride of a book, and if you’re ready for emotional highs, lows, and everything in between, it’s well worth the read.

The MM twist on a Formula One romance was a refreshing take, and in some ways, it felt more authentic to the sport. However, the actual F1 elements were glossed over, leaving the setting feeling underdeveloped. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic had potential, but the "enemies" aspect wasn’t fully explained, making the tension feel forced. While the characters were charming, they lacked depth, and the rushed pacing left the story arc feeling a bit underdeveloped. Overall, it’s a cute read, but I couldn’t help wishing for more detail and emotion to bring both the romance and the racing world to life.

I’ve read quite a few F1 romances, but this was my first where the main couple was gay, and I really enjoyed the relationship between Kian and Harper! That said, there were a couple of things that took me out of the story.

First, the relationship itself felt a little weird at times. I get that there’s an age gap, but their behavior sometimes made them seem more like teenagers than men in their 30s. And honestly, the main conflict between them? It could’ve been resolved in half the book, no question.

Second, as a big F1 fan, the way the sport was portrayed really threw me off. I wish the teams had either been all real or all fictional—not this messy mix of both. And don’t even get me started on calling it “championship racing” instead of F1. It just didn’t sit right with me!

Still, I appreciated the romance overall, even if these things pulled me out of the story now and then.

3.5 ⭐️
F1 romances are my favorite type of sports romance, so I was super excited for this, especially since I have yet to read an MM one. With that being said there were some inaccuracies in regards to the sporting aspects and I didn’t love how there was a mix of real and fake teams/drivers as both of these things kind of took me out of the story. As for the romance aspect of the story, for the most part I enjoyed it. I love a good enemies to lovers, but did feel like the switch was a little rushed in this case. I prefer more tension and a gradual shift. I did enjoy seeing the characters grow and evolve both individually and together though. I think they ended up having a sweet relationship, were well suited, and had a fun dynamic. Overall I had a fun time reading this book and if you’re looking for a cute and easy read, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Thank you to Harper 360 for the ARC of Pole Position in exchange for an honest review!

Kian Walker is a four-time Championship winner and someone who’s dedicated his life to motorsports. The sport, and heavy mantle of his father’s prolific history with the sport, has come at great wins and losses. He’s given up time with his family, and he’s possibly on the cusp of retirement, despite being in his early 30s. Ensuring his last season is an eventful one, his new teammate is the hotshot rookie and bad decision factory, Harper James. Harper is enthusiastic, undisciplined, and a total mess, and now Kian and Harper have to make something of themselves to bring home a victory.

Romantic and deeply character driven, Pole Position is light on the motorsports and heavy on the heart. For the uninitiated (like me), “pole position” refers to the benefit of getting to start a race at the front of the grid, allowing advantage over fellow racers. The euphemism is well placed; despite being a legend in his career, Kian definitely doesn’t have much of a head start in his personal life. While Harper is experienced in men, he’s not very experienced in love, so the real question is: does starting behind mean it’s ever too late to catch up? The writing and dialogue are a delight, and the end is deeply affecting. It’s enemies-to-lovers. It’s kicked-puppy-to-happy-puppy. It’s slow negotiation of needs and wants and FEELINGS.

And while there are many victories here, the biggest is how much this one won my heart. Get on top of that podium.

It took my a little bit to get into the book, but when I did I felt like I couldn't put my kindle down. I loved the age gap between Kian and Harper. I didn't think I liked rivals to lovers, but I loved the realtionship between Kian and Harper. The way that Harper was able to get under Kian's skin at every turn was so funny to me. And they way that Kian slowly started to care for Kian was beautiful. The banter between the two of them, even when they were together, made me laugh so hard. They fit together perfectly.

Thank you Harper 360 for an ARC copy of this book! F1 racing romances were some of the first romances I remember picking up so they'll always have a place in my heart.

Getting this off my chest now, Harper James was so obnoxious at the beginning of the book, I almost DNF'd. I'm not sure if it's because Kian and I are similar ages so I felt his annoyance as if it was my own, but Caffery does an excellent job of portraying the feeling of being young and cocky through Harper.

Actual quotes from my notes I took:
"Ready to strangle Harper through the page."
"20% in, I know it's a rivals to lovers book but the reader shouldn't be a rival"
"Young arrogant stupid brash decisions"

All of that to say ---
SPOILER

Harper's growth and vulnerability is a breath of fresh air. I grew to love him by the end of the story and my favorite part about this book is that he's not suddenly over his past trauma by the end but that he's open and working through it in healthy ways.

I also ATE UP the scene and the following angst at 70%. I wouldn't call it true third act break up but it's a really good third act plot meltdown with parts of it having me tear up.

I will say, Kian's issues with his father felt like such a huge plot point especially with Harper being such a big fan of him as well but by the end of everything, it was just quickly brushed over as if it was an after thought which cheapened the plot a bit for me.

I also loved the portrayal of each character having healthy male best friend relationships. And the teasing of something going on in Johannes' life through out the whole book has me begging for a book two and hoping it's about Johannes!

4.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper 260 for this ARC. I have a guilty pleasure for sports romances and was excited to see this available. This was a really cute story and while I enjoyed it I wish I felt more of a connection/attraction between the two main characters. I was mainly annoyed with the both of them and didn't find the lead up to their getting together all that satisfying. Would still recommend if you like motorsports and romance! I will definitely keep an eye out for future Rebecca J. Caffery books in the future.

Imagine if you took the characters Roy Kent and Jamie Tartt, changed their names, made them gay and/or bi, and made them F1 drivers. That is essentially Pole Position. The banter is on point and the spice is HOT.

The relationships were fantastic, especially between Kian and his family, and Harper and his bestie.

There is a miscommunication trope but it can be seen as more of a self-sabotage and it worked in the story.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper 360 for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

Overall, I liked this book. Parts of it felt unfinished and forgotten, but the pace was good and once I got over the initial hump, it was a fun read as an F1 fan. I’m glad I got through the slow portions, but I’m a little let down by a few plot points that I feel were tied up roughly because they were forgotten about.

It felt authentic to current F1 without having to worry about being dated too quickly, but some parts felt a little forced.

Overall I enjoyed the character growth and it was a quick read!

i was so so excited to read this but it ended up falling so flat. no one is more disappointed than me.

the romance itself was cute enough. i enjoyed the banter between kian and harper, and thought they were at least semi-healthy for most of the story. emphasis on SEMI because the miscommunication towards the end of the book was ridiculous. and because i wasn't really connected to either of the characters, the second the miscommunication started i was taken out of the story and literally was counting down pages until the book was over.

outside of that the sports aspect of this just didn't seem to make much sense? i'm not the biggest f1 girlie but i have watched some and even i could tell that some things were just off. harper was randomly promoted, had absolutely zero regard for his image, and didn't once get talked to about it? the way kian was treated by his bosses or whoever also just didn't really sit right with me. i understand that this is fiction but if you're gonna use a real-life sport then it should at least be somewhat realistic.

so yeah. unfortunately this was a let down for me. i can kinda see the appeal, especially if you're just getting into romance or reading in general or anything, because it was a really quick and easy read, but if you're looking for something that you'll actually get fully into and fall in love with then this is probably not it.

This book reads like a bully romance. If the roles were reversed, if Harper were the older man, or if Kian were a woman … this would read like a red flag race. Harper pushes his way into Kian’s personal space constantly, can’t seem to go five minutes without having to make someone pay attention to him. He constantly makes comments on Kian’s body even when it’s clear Kian wants little to nothing to do with him. Harper tries to take over the first interview, answering for Kian with all the self awareness of a toddler before he starts bashing Kian’s friend, the man Harper is replacing, a man who broke his leg.

This is all less than 40 pages into the book and I already know I don’t like Harper as a character, let alone as a person, and have no interest in reading a book where he is one of the romantic leads. This isn’t helped when, rather than raise Harper up, the book instead pushes Kian down to Harper’s level. The author’s hand is heavy as they manipulate the characters, making them feel more like plastic toys made to kiss rather than people coming together.

I know nothing about racing as a sport or a business so I can’t talk about how well researched, or how well handled those scenes were or were not. What I will do is review this based on the romance, the plot, the world building and the characters. l found the romance to be tepid and expected; the plot was fine, but the worldbuilding wasn’t there. I feel like I know even less about how racing works than I did before ever picking this book up. Other than having cars and going fast, there’s no effort to make the world or the people come to life.

The characters are flat and hollow with no reason for hooking other than “he’s hot” and “he’s in the same room. I’m sorry, but I had no fun with this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was one of my favorite MM romances I have read. The enemies to lovers was on point if felt the tension it was amazing

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved the main characters! They had great chemistry and worked so well together. I loved how the book just flowed. My first by this author but will not be my last!!!

you know, i really struggled to come to terms with how exactly i felt about this one. i loved the story, i thought kian and harper’s romance was cute and that the depictions of their struggles with it were very accurate and realistic, but the writing style wasn’t exactly for me which made it hard to truly love. i love an enemies to lovers story as much as the next guy, but it felt like that trope was taken too literally in them going straight from enemies to lovers and i wish we got some more of the friendship and building up to that end.

one thing i really enjoyed about this book, though, was the dialogue. harper and kian had great banter from the beginning and seeing the change in hostility throughout the book was so sweet up until the final pages. plus, rebecca caffery seamlessly incorporated some heavy topics that really enhanced their dynamic which i personally always enjoy in a romance book.

this was my first racing romance and it definitely piqued my interest for some more! at the end of the day i think this book just wasn’t a 100% match for me and that’s okay! i still enjoyed reading it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves f1, enemies to lovers, mlm romance, and a quick and fun read!

*thank you to netgalley and harper 360 for this e-book!*

This was a good enemies-to-lovers romance based around F1 racing between "rival" teammates. I think Kian and Harper's relationship was beautiful watch blossom into what you could tell was a healthy relationship in the end. Kian's relationship with his sister, mother, brother-in-law, and niece & nephew was amazing to see. The only thing that started to frustrate me as a reader towards the throughout the book especially the last 25% of the book was all of the miscommunication that could've been solved in a single conversation between Kian and Harper. Other than that, this this was pretty solid read.

This is the second book I've tried by this author, but the writing style just doesn't seem to work for me. I got halfway through this book, but I found myself zoning out a lot, so I decided to DNF. I do.think it'll be an easily accessible m/m sports romance for many people, but it couldn't hold my attention

I really wanted to love this book but I had more issues with it than not. I think it had the potential to be a really good story, but it needed more work. Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!