I did enjoy storyline.
Mia overthinks everything. She loves everything about Formula One and has podcast about it. She is invited to Miami to see one in person. She meets Xander, who is a driver. Sparks fly.
Sweet read

"He raisesd his hand to his lips and kissed it soflty. "This sport gave me so much, but the best thing it gave me is you."

GOD where the FUCK to begin, I absolutely loved this book so much!! I'm crying. I would have never guessed this beautiful love story would be one of my top reads this year! like GUYS this book is legit top competition with Sunirse on the reaping!!

I loved loved both Xander and Mia, Their chemistry since the very first chapter when they met was CRAZY I love that while it definitely had some love at first sight elements, they had a huge development, and the way the author just wrote it in such a magical way, 10/10

I absolutely LOVE how xander had a hard time in his first season and how the book delt and handle the way he was figuring out things, his struggled were MY struggles and honestly as a huge fan of F1 I love the way either Karen made her researched or is also a huge F1 nerd like many of us!

Mia was such a likable character I loved loved loved her, not only because 1 love me a good plus size =/ curvy representation, but I enjoyed her so much because she was so likable and adorable! I love her passion and how she is just one of the many ways our generation deals and struggles with the topic of purpose or what we want to do or just living sometimes ngl

GUYS GUYS, THE JOURNAL I WAS CRYING WHEN XANDER STARTED WRITING IN HIS! i love a good LI who works on himself for his girl. I truly can't stop saying how great this book was!

This was one of my first car racing romances and I’m in from now on! Cute with lovable characters and the race element added to the banter so well! I loved this authors writing and will definitely be looking for more!

Oh this was so much fun!

There wasn't an F1 race this weekend so I decided to pick up Not So Fast to get me that racing energy and Mia and Xander's story flew by so fast! This book has everything I was looking for: competition, F1 races, so many funny lines, characters with great banter, and swoony scenes that made me kick my feet.
I loved getting to know the characters, I loved how much they both love F1 and how it's a central aspect to the story. As for the romance, it always makes me cringe a little (that's a me thing) but I found them both so cute and I was rooting for them the entire time. And honestly, nothing beats a really funny and memorable first meeting, and this book absolutely delivers on that. I wish we'd gotten to see a few more of their conversations when they start to get close and build that friendship and trust, but as it is such a quick book, it was perfectly fine.

If you're looking for a sports romance somewhat enemies-to-lovers that's fast and fun, I highly recommend!


Thank you NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the opportunity to read this ARC. This book comes out in digital and audio tomorrow, April 1st, then in print on May 27th!

This was a cute quick read! I love romance books and am obsessed with F1 so it intrigued me right away. I really related to Mia - it’s so easy in this world to be so hard on yourself while you help and lift others up. I really liked seeing her and Xander grow together. His growth felt like a “settling” in to himself. Felt like something you don’t always see. I loved the ending too - leaning into Mia overthinking! Ha it’s perfectly her and made the ending more true to the characters!

I thought this was such a cute story and I was surprised by how quickly I was drawn into the world of F1 racing, as someone who didn't even know what it was before I picked up this book. Our MCs are very relatable and realistic. I enjoyed how our FMC described her insecurities and how our MMC treasured her honesty. The thought the romance felt a bit fast, but also… I can totally see it happening. The attraction was strong rought out of the gates. I felt like it was a short book that couldn't give me the depth needed for this to be a 5 star from me, but I did enjoy it a lot. My biggest gripe is the lack of distriction for which character's text messages I was reading and I didn't like how it would change POV in the middle of a chapter, but that is a personal preference. 3.5-4/5 stars from me! Also, when I went to get a picture of the cover for my book journal I saw Amazon has this book listed as publishing on April 1st and NetGalley has it as May 27th. I usually try to read and post at least a few weeks before the book comes out so I was surprised to see that.

This was a super fast read! I loved the chemistry between Xander and Mia.
I enoyed that she was trying something new with her podcast and going against what her mom thought was "actual" work. I loved that we got to see the real Xander not the one everyone thinks he looks like. Overall a great read.

This was a fast paced (pun intended) F1 romantic comedy. It was my first F1 romance but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s giving if you want fast and furious with a little more romance and some spice, or if you want more comedy thrown into Your Fault than this is definitely a book you should pick up! Karen’s writing was very easy to follow. Not many romance books are written in third person, although with Formula One being the kind of pro sport it is, it definitely makes sense! I hope to see more of her writing, and thoroughly enjoyed this!

'Not So Fast' is a cute romance about a podcast host and an F1 driver. Mia is known for giving her honest thoughts on races, not thinking any of the drivers would actually hear what she has to say. Xander Bishop tends to be highlighted a lot on Mia's podcast, usually in a negative light, due to his bad season so far. Mia ends up being invited to a race by Xander's teammate (and basically arch nemesis). What will happen when Mia comes face to face with the driver she has been sh*t talking all season??

This book really kept my interest and I did enjoy the plot as well as the spice (not too much but just right!). I'm not going to spoil anything but a lot of the tropes that have become popular lately that I do not like were not in this book and I was so relieved!!

4 1/2 STARS!

Entertaining, snarky and fun! Karen Booth is taking the racing world by storm with her delve into F1 racing and podcasting. The concept is fresh and the characters are drama filled and easy to sink your teeth into.  I especially loved Xander and his family oriented mind-set. Mia was entertaining, but she also had conflicting messages. She was all for speaking freely and not shying away from the truth, but at other times she let people walk all over her (her mom, the fan club, etc.) which didn't coincide with her mantra. Overall, I enjoyed the story very much and wouldn't mind heading back into the pit again with some of the other drivers getting a story.

I'm just a girl looking for a formula 1 book to fill my fantasies. This had some high highs and some low lows.
The highs were the spice which happened often and was a good time. I also enjoyed the characters of Xander.
The lows were the third pov which is off putting for me in romance. I also don't love instalove. It makes it hard for further relationship development when they fall so fast.

There are a lot of F1 books out there right now as there has been a surge of interest here in the U.S but this is one of my new favorites. As a dedicated fan of the sport, I felt so connected to out FMC. Definitely sharing with all my F1 girlies.

As a new F1 fan, I felt it was only right to merge my hobbies and pick up an F1 romance book. Thank you to Harlequin for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“Not So Fast” is actually pretty quick. The romance really takes off pretty immediately once our two characters meet, so if you like instalove this is gonna be a nice read for you. The story was really easy to read, pretty binge-able, and didn’t require too much emotional commitment on the reader’s part.

I thought the F1 details were pretty authentic (from what I know as a new fan), so I appreciate the knowledge and authenticity Booth added to the romance narrative. I might have left out some of the secondary characters’ subplots and focused more on the two main characters, digging in deeper as they navigated through their respective issues. There was a bit of a lack of depth on ALL of the story lines and I think a little bit of editing/tightening up the main issues would have helped have me more emotionally invested in the romance.

I'm officially an F1 girly now!

<i>Not So Fast</i> really drew me in from the start with its relatable FMC, Mia. Her being a huge fan of Formula One racing and having a podcast really helped the author give a lot of context about the sport, without just dumping the info on the reader.

The romance and plot kept me engaged through the entire story (I didn't put this book down much in 24 hours!) and needing to know what happened next. This had everything I wanted from an F1 romance and then some. The characters were great, the tropes were immaculate, the subplots were engaging, and the representation of the sport was accurate. I couldn't ask for any more!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this title to review.

Relation between Mia and Xander is not so simple

Mia had loved watching Formula One racing since she was a little girl with her aunt but now she was following her passion by doing a podcast on her favorite sport. Mia commented about all things Formula One but especially talking about her favorite driver Xander Bishop. But she never expected to get an invitation from Xander’s teammate to actually see a race in person.

Xander knew that Mia’s comments were getting into his mind but he never expected to be attracted to someone that was causing him problems. But there is something about a Formula One driver and the top rated podcast about the sport getting together.

I’m a Formula One newbie like many of the readers but I really liked how the mix of racing and podcasting lead to a relationship between Mia and Xander.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My introduction to the F1 world has been through books (as has my introduction to many other sports, honestly). This story was such a cute and fun read, the plot was fast-paced and the main characters were super lovable. It reminds me of the Disney Channel movie, Starstruck, in the sense that i found myself saying, "you know what? I can totally see that happening!"

This fell a little flat for me, though it was cute and quick. I think that it was a bit TOO quick, the characters and the romance felt a little flimsy. I found it a bit weird to have a bunch of fictional characters and team names that were obviously just fake names slapped over caricatures of current drivers, but then having Verstappin and Hamilton dropped in by real name?

I dunno, I enjoyed this book but I also wanted a lot more.

What can I say??? Karen Booth created the perfect couple.

Mia makes me feel seen with her job history and her need to process her thoughts/feelings. I love that she is self-employed and a podcast host.

Xander. Oh, Xander. He's hot, British, and caring. The perfect book boyfriend.

I highly recommend this book. It's not too filled with tension, but the story never slows. And the spice is spicy!

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

When Mia started her F1 podcast, she never thought it would attract the attention of the racers themselves. She's invited to a race as the guest of a driver and meets Xander, the man who's been the focus of much of her quippy commentary. Instead of animosity, attracting is sparking between them.

Read if you like:
-Annoyance to Lovers
-Fan turned Lover
-Mental Health Rep
-Secret Relationship

While I enjoyed Not So Fast, it just didn't grab hold of my heart the way some other sports romances have. The book was written in third person, which might have played into it. Much of what I've read is in first person and Not So Fast came off as detached in comparison. It was also hard to tell what the focus of the book was: racing or the podcast. I thought there would be more of the podcast, but I felt like there was more racing.

I'd recommend it for fans of F1 romance specifically. The fans to have to read it almost exclusively.

I’m a big fan of F1 romances. And I must say this one hit the spot. I absolutely love this book. We have the tropes
❤️ Enemies to Lovers
❤️ Secret Relationship
❤️ Curvy FMC
❤️ Steamy Banter
This was a great read especially during the first week of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
I rate this book 4 stars and will have to add it to my bookshelf.
Thank you to Karen Booth and Harlequin for sending me this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.