Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery is a F1 MM sports romance.

Initially I found the MCs to be quite annoying. Kian always cool calm and collected compared to his wild rambunctious new rookie teammate Harper. As the book progressed I was happy to see the theme of mental health and therapy pop up. It was nice to see the character development of Harper, albeit rather slow. However, I do wish there would have been some more type of closure between Kian and his Dad.

3.5 🌟

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this free E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: June 6, 2024

“Red, White, and Blue meets Formula 1”?! *add to cart* I was so excited for an MM F1 romance & this book did not disappoint! I almost DNF’d in the beginning due to the characters attitudes but I loved the character development and by the end I was routing for them!! While I felt like some plot points weren’t really wrapped up, I enjoyed the book overall (I NEED Johannes’ story!)

Read if you love:
🏎️ F1
👨‍❤️‍👨 Rivals to lovers
🖤 Mental health rep

I was really looking forward to this book and I had a lot of mixed feelings about it. There was some parts that I really liked and other times I felt the pacing slowed down a lot. However I did find that the tension between them and the banter was entertaining. I think the slow burn was good but I think there was some parts that showed the book was a little too long. However it was a fun sports romance book to read.

Are you looking for an enemies to lovers, queer romance? This is the book for you. Pole Position is about two Formula 1 racers who don't see eye-to-eye. Kian Walker has been in the game for 15 years, while Harper James is just now entering the big leagues.

This is a good book, Kian is a grumpy guy in his 30's while Harper is a sunshine/bratty guy in his 20's. I was so wrapped up in this book. There were highs and lows, I was kicking my feet and giggling, and then I was fighting a lump in my throat.

This book also makes me want to watch F1 racing and learning about the rules! I feel like I dripped my toes in reading this and now I am ready to jump in the deep end!

Thank you Harper 360 and Rebecca Caffery for giving me an opportunity to read my first ARC book. Hopefully we have a Johannes book :)

What a sweet read!! This is a true enemies to lovers, and the first half can make the path to an HEA seem daunting — but the way these two fall for each other is lovely to see. For lovers of found family trope, hurt/comfort moments, forced proximity, and dynamic character growth, this fun and spicy queer sports romance is for you!

This was literal perfection. I have no notes just A HUGE NEED TO REREAD AGAIN AND AGAIN. Absolutely loved this one!

I really wanted to love this story. My issue was the backdrop of the motor racing sport was a huge part of the story that was distracting from the love story. And the love story was highly unbelievable. I did like the ending as it wrapped the story up nicely. I believe those that love car racing would enjoy this story. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

I wanted to love this book so badly. Between the rushed relationship between Kian and Harper to the miscommunication trope it all just felt forced. If the pacing was different I think this could be a five star read.

What a great palate cleanser type of MM/MM book. A Rookie driver and a cocky teammate have to race of their tension (literally). I read that if you enjoyed reading Red, White, and Royal Blue you'd like this.. and that was very true. Just replace politics with racing (my preferred cup of tea). A bit spicy, good banter, and fast cars. Read this one rainy day and it was perfect!

I wanted to enjoy this, the cover was intriguing and the premise seemed promising but it fell flat for me. I couldn't connect to either character and didn't like them as people together or apart, they both felt so immature to me. It's a funny thing to be older than the MMC when people are repeatedly talking about how old, washed up, etc., the MMC is. I know it's because he's old for his sport and not because he's actually an old man but it still hits in a weird way. It is acknowledged in the book eventually but maybe it's just ME feeling "older" than I normally do while reading.

I thought Kian's family was very sweet, I liked the dynamic between he and his sister. I did not, however, like the dynamic between Harper and Jo or ... Harper and practically anyone. For most of the book I didn't like Harper's dynamic with Kian either. Harper, so childish and Kian, so stuck up. When they finally connected it felt so rushed, not like they'd built a connection but like they just suddenly decided to sit down and connect. It seemed like such a sudden about-face, not a gradual turn from "enemies" to lovers. I did find their connection sweet once they did pull their heads out of their butts and thought the sex scenes weren't bad (except for one that I hated), but ultimately, I think this was a case of just "not-for-me" although I didn't hate it.

I'd never read a racing romance before but the actual sport commentary always goes over my head regardless of the sport but the author does do a good job of painting the picture of their relative positions in the sport and races, the stakes are easy to understand for Kian (I actually really like that name). It did make me curious what these athletes look like for the first time. I'm not familiar with the author and admittedly didn't look them up before reading but, about 15 pages in I wondered "is this written by a woman?" Not that women can't write gay romances effectively, of course they can, the voice just felt "outside" from the writing and even more evident in the sex scenes.

I enjoyed getting to read this book! I liked the push and pull dynamic Kian and Harper had with each other, especially as they were teammates. It added an interested dimension to their relationship. Their chemistry was also pretty good! I thought Caffery nailed the amount of Formula One references/information in this book! It was just enough that it was important to the plot and you knew you were reading a Formula One romance, but not too much that someone who isn't really into the sport might get lost or too little where you start to wonder why even include the sport it is about. This can be hard to nail but I think Caffery did a good job here.
However, I do think this bit could have been edited to be a bit shorter. Some parts felt like they dragged on or were repetitive, especially when Harper and Kian would have the same arguments over and over again. It didn't majorly effect my reading experience negatively, but it was something that stood out to me. I did really like the ending of the book! Harper and Kian's story was wrapped up really nicely and you can see them having a future together.

I look forward to what Rebecca Caffery writes next!

Handsdown, one of my favorite F1 books ever!!! I seriously loved this book so much and can't wait for the author to (hopefully) write more F1 smuts. This was super refreshing and such a fun, scandelous read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. 4.5 stars and 3 chili peppers for spice. I didn’t know anything about racing before I picked up this book so I figured I’d give it a try. I honestly loved this story and the characters. The racing terms and logistics behind the sport were easy enough to understand. I kinda wish there had been a little bit more spice but it really was great as is, so that’s a personal preference. Definitely would read a second book if this is a series.

is really likeable, and Harper is really annoying, but I'm pretty sure that's the goal, he's supposed to be unlikeable, in the beginning at least. I loved all of the tension buildup. And though I know literally nothing about car racing, I found myself interested in that aspect of the book too.

4.5!

Pole Position has filled my F1-loving heart! I had such a blast with reading this and I could definitely tell that Caffery is a big fan of the sport.

Pole Position features Kian and Harper as they become teammates right before the start of a new Formula One season. Kian is the son of a racer legend but his father mysteriously left the sport abruptly a long time ago and Kian has never talked to or about him in Kian's own years of racing. Harper is the new rookie in town and gets called up from the Formula 2 (lower level) teams last minute when Kian's original teammate suffers an injury before the season begins. Kian is not happy about this change and Harper's attitude and off-track behavior mean they immediately don't get along.

I had such a fun time both with Kian and Harper as well as with the wide range of side characters. I loved seeing some traits and characteristics of people that *might* have come from some real Formula 1 adjacent people. Kian and Harper's fictional team felt real and seemed to be pretty fleshed out. For people who are aware of the sport, we see the various types of people that would hang out in the Paddock, Team Principals, Race Engineers, PR Managers, etc.

Kian was probably my favorite of the two main men mostly because I was super endeared to his personal life and his mental habits. Kian's mother has Alzheimer's and his twin sister is taking care of their mom while he is away. He faces guilt and worries over not being a part of the care process and his anxiety around his career was one of my favorite parts.

Harper was definitely a young twenty-year-old. He hadn't really needed to grow up before getting brought up to the F1 team and his growth is pretty visible. Harper has issues of his own in regards to relationships and that comes into play when Kian and Harper start fooling around. I think I was just mostly frustrated at a lot of Harper's actions and that made him a little less likable.


There were some plot points that were briefly mentioned throughout and then never really expanded that I wish were. There's a small thing for each of the main characters that seemed like it would play a MUCH bigger role than it did and I think the overall plot was lacking because of that. I expected more external conflict and instead, I feel like we see more internal and interpersonal conflicts.

A new take on a F1 romance! I really loved that this was a relationship journey between two drivers, it just really allowed for a fresh take on a romance in the sport. At times it wasn’t the most believable thing, but hey I had a heck of a good time reading it so I can’t complain too much. I really liked that it included really track locations, team names, and even a real life driver. I like when my sports romances have real life elements to them, I think it allows for other parts of the book to be able to be fictionalized more and still feel right? I don’t know, it creates a balance that really works for me. I loved getting to know Kian and Harper. I didn’t love them from the start it took me a bit to warm up, especially to Harper but I just knew they were going to have a great character journey individually and together.
The found family was everything and the emotional aspect really elevated this story for me. At times the writing felt a little clunky and the timeline jumps took a second to piece together but overall I really enjoyed it and would love to have a copy for my shelves!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early access!

As someone who grew up in the world of F1 racing and in the car business in general, I just HAD to read this book. I don't read many queer romances like this but I really enjoyed it- I thought it was pretty cute and the setting was on par.

Pole Position is the story of two Formula 1 competitors. One is a driver with several years of experience and multiple championships under his belt, while the other is a irresponsible rookie with a very bad reputation, living day by day. Now they have to work together as a team. What could go wrong?

It had its ups and downs, but what mattered to me was that it kept me hooked. It did make me a bit frustrated at times ☝🏼, but sometimes a girl just needs to read some drama to stay entertained and keep going, and this book was exactly that. It's a quick and fun read.

Something I love about books with a Formula 1 theme is that it’s always so interesting to see how each author gives their own spin to it—how each Grand Prix plays out, the race scenes, and the dynamics with the team—and in my opinion, this book did all of that super well.

My only issue was with James. During the first part of the book, I found it impossible to connect with him because he was exactly the kind of person I dislike, and I feel like I spent the first half of the book with a very negative image of him. By the point in the story where I was supposed to empathize with him, it was just too hard for me to do so.

But in the end, everything works out. I’d definitely like to read more about these characters *cof* Jo *cof*

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 💘

What I expected: a Max Verstappen fanfic.

What I got: an engaging story about two drivers that was a great time for F1 fans and romance readers alike!

Yes, one of our MMCs was slightly Max-coded, but really not enough to be “distracting.” The M/M romance scene can fall into some stereotypes, but this did a really good job at avoiding any tired interactions. I was really refreshed by their whole journey.

If you’re even moderately an F1 fan, this book is for you, and if you aren’t, read it anyway and welcome to the show. You’ll soon be watching every weekend like the rest of us!

Thank you to Netgalley & The Publishers for the arc of this book.

4/5 stars.
I really enjoyed this book and wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. Kian and Harper being complete and total opposites really added to my enjoyment, the tension was also fantastic and I could not wait for them to kiss, I was on the edge of my seat literally waiting. This book made me want to get into F1 racing and actually sit down and watch it. I was a bit frustrated I won't lie with the miscommunication trope but I guess you cannot run and hide from anxious attachment not even in books. But I truly cannot wait to read more from this author!