i want to start by thanking berkley and netgalley for making my dreams come true and sending me this arc the week of the las vegas grand prix!!!

unfortunately... i did not have the best time reading this 😭. i love marriage of convenience don't get me wrong, but it took us wayyyyyy too long to get to the marriage part. it was like 7 chapters (long chapters mind you) before we're waking up with rings on fingers (gasp!). and by that point - i wasn't that invested or interested. i lost the momentum to be in the moment with them. the pacing is so slow and maybe a little off too - at 90 percent we're still talking about if it's real or not. now i love me a slow burn (i've read mariana zapata and rated them 5 stars) but the beginning of this really sets the scene of how your waiting on the edge of your seat for so long that when something happens, it doesn't even matter anymore.

this was also insta-lovey as well. it just didn't have the same spark as dev and willow which makes me very sad.

the moral of the story is it was definitely a "me problem" and you might really love this!!! still give it a shot if you love marriage of convenience, formula 1 racing, hardworking women, and obsessed guy.

"i only married you to get more passport stamps. ends of the earth, remember? <3

Ride with Me is Simone Soltani's follow up to the F1 Romance series and it was amazing!

I absolutely adored the debut novel and I could not wait for her followup romance and it did not disappoint. One thing I love about this book is the accidental marriage in Vegas! There is nothing more fun than two people that go have fun in Vegas and then oops were married, let's work it out? It's such a fun trope and another thing I love about this book is the representation that we have with the main character. We have an interracial relationship and a black female lead which is amazing to read and seeing her be loved and worshiped by the F1 bad boy. I loved their dynamic. It was so fun and playful but at the same time there is so much depth and vulnerability that is explored between them and individually. I loved seeing the glam and lore of f1. Another thing I loved as a fan of sports and Formula 1, I loved seeing the technicality and sports in the book. It's such a fun romantic book that I think any fan of F1 and accidental marriage will eat up and devour!

i tried my best to give this author a decent chance but i just don’t like her writing. the beginning of the book (like literally the first few chapters) were so slow it felt like it took me forever to get to the point. the two main characters chemistry was just extremely lacking to me and there was several moments where i physically cringed. it’s so unfortunate because marriage of convenience and accidental marriage is my favorite trope but this was just soo boring

it has been about 10 hours since i finished this book and i still cant get over how obsessed i am with these two, this is my first book of simone’s and honestly im kicking myself now for not having made cross the line a priority (it for sure is now 🤭).

ill be honest i know next to nothing about f1 racing, but it doesnt stop f1 books from being so much fun. one of my favorite things i think is that thomas “my wife my wife my wife” maxwell-brown isnt the hotshot of f1 and knows it, i like that he knows hes good and that he worked hard to deserve to be there but isnt the IT boy if that makes sense??? it made him much more human and even more likeable than he already was to begin with!! is he a little bit of a fuck boy pre-stella? yes, however i loved that 1) we didnt have to hear much about it and 2) it doesnt matter bc he is just like the most genuinely nice person and the way he treats stella the entire time was absolute perfect 🤭

stella was an absolute doll, i loved her so much. i didnt always agree with the choices she was making but i understood them to a certain extent, she was sweet and kind, she loved thomas so much despite being absolutely broken by another man she never once tried to make it feel like that was thomas’ problem (at least in my opinion). she is absolutely bad fucking ass, a great ride or die friend and thomas was her equal in every way. im just absolutely obsessed with the both of them 😋

the only thing i would change about this book is that i wish that the slow burn wouldnt have been THAT slow, for as long as the book was i would have loved to have seen them together for real for a lot longer than we got. yes everything was cute and of course stella needed time to not rush things BUT we couldve wrapped up a lot of those ties prior to 70% and gave them a longer period of dating before the book ended.

long story short, i just loved them so much, i am an absolute sucker for marriage of convenience and this one just exceeding every expectation i could have had for it prior to starting it!!

Plot
I thoroughly enjoyed that we got two strong characters that focus heavily on building their professional lives up as much as their personal lives. I liked the actual F1 content within the story, as well as Dev and Willow being in and out. Willow and Stella being friends was all I ever needed after Willow’s macaroon obsession in Cross the Line. With any fake marriage you really have to start with some rules that are bound to be broken and oh did they break them. The endless support they have for each other melted my heart. I hope in my future relationship I have that love and support that was between them. To the ends of the earth. This is my second arc from Simone Soltani and the excitement I have felt reading these two books has been unmatched. I hope I am fortunate enough to continue to read these books in the future.

Stella
I was so excited to have the real Stella Margeuax in this book. Her big personality is my favorite thing because I really resonate with that. I love seeing strong female characters who are out building their empire. I love that she found herself again during the bachelorette party after that ugly (we have to assume he’s ugly of course) man who broke her heart. As much as she needed to find herself on her own, Thomas helped her even when he needed help himself. I also love that she finally stood up to her mom. It is something I struggle with so it made me feel inspired to see our loud and proud boss girl do it herself. I loved how caring she is, and how she works to make everyone around her feel loved and appreciated.

Thomas
Where do I even start? This man is such a sweet sweet soul. He definitely tries to put up a tough front, but deep down he is just a big teddy bear looking for love and someone to be proud of him. I liked seeing him work through his struggle, and just how much Stella being there for him helped him through it. You can tell that his family has set him aside, and it definitely impacts his self worth. From the very beginning all he wanted to do was take care of Stella and make her feel special, and I think in a way it helped him feel like he has a bigger place in the world.

Favorite Quotes
- “I want his praise and his adoration and anything he’s willing to give, all because I want to give the same back to him… I might just be the luckiest woman in the world to have you on my arm and sometimes it scares me how much I love your smile.”
- “And so does Stella-who’s wearing my Union Jack apron, which she swore she was going to hide when she saw me in it this morning. The sight has something glitching in my brain. The rule-abiding part of it is shutting down.”
- “My home is in London with a man who knows I prefer gold jewelry. Who holds my hand even when my fingers are freezing. Who outfitted his whole kitchen with my favorite appliances in my favorite color and requested that I make the place a mess. Who let me leave to handle the things haunting me, because he would never stand in my way.”
-““I’m crazy about your smile,” I say, “you’re laugh, your fucked-up sense of humor. I’m crazy about how you come off so confident even when you don’t feel that way, just by faking it you have the whole world eating out of the palm of your hand… Should I go on?”... “I’m crazy about how caring and considerate you are. How you’ve tried so hard to help me, to make my life better in so many big and little ways. How you always make me want to do and be better-to ask for better.””
- “I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, if you’d let me.”

So overall I liked this! It was super long and probably could have been a bit shorter without compromising the story/pace. This was a slooooooooooow burn. I liked how developed their relationship felt by the time they got together, BUT imo I wish they had gotten together sooner (like before the 70%+ mark, esp because the story is already so long, I just did the math (on my computer bc I can't do math lol) and that's past page 300!!!). Stella and Thomas had me rooting for them the entire time, though. I just kept thinking, "you two big dumb dumbs you both have feelings for each other just smash your faces together already and put me out of my MISERY." Stella did some questionable things at the end that had me scratching my head and being like "girl what" because her actions did not match her thoughts/words. But my girl redeemed herself. Stella also had me cackling with her conceptions of white British families.

The relationships between the MCs and other secondary characters felt superficial, so I wish there had been more depth there. We didn't get to see much of Dev or Willow (from book 1), but there are a few smatterings here and there! I wanted more scenes with them and also with Thomas's best friends (mates, LOL) especially Amara.

If the higher ups at Berkley are reading this, we need more books in this series! Give us more Simone Soltani!

Read this if you like:
Interracial romance (Black American FMC x white British MMC)
Accidental marriage turned marriage of convenience
Sloooooow burn romance
F1 sports (I know next to nothing about f1 racecar driving but I was thoroughly entertained, LOL. I never would have considered it a sport until Simone Soltani's books tbh but that's due to my ignorance)

Thank you so much to the publisher for the advanced copy of this book!! I don't think I would have lasted until the publication date to read it, LOL.

I really enjoyed the romance element in this Formula 1 racing. The concept worked well together to tell the story and be something interesting and how it worked overall. The characters had that element that I was hoping for and enjoyed the way the author used the romance element. It was everything that I was looking for and am glad I got to read this. Simone Soltani has a great overall writing style and am excited for the next book.

ride with me review

simone soltani has done it again!!!! her ability to write such captivating storylines and characters will never go unnoticed by me and many others.

if there's one thing i love when it comes to romance books..... it's a marriage of convenience !!!! i will eat it up every single time. like when they both realize they’re in love with each other and then begin dating and have an actual proposal scene even though they’re already married?! SAY LESS!

i think simone does a brilliant job with this one. stella and thomas are such a beautiful couple and i loved reading about them. stella is a character that i find so relatable in so many different aspects. putting on a brave and tough act when you're struggling immensely can get so exhausting and it pained me reading how much she was trying to hide it. she definitely aggravated me at some points with not properly communicating, but i'm so glad she was putting herself first and got the closure she knew she needed to continue on with thomas.

and speaking of thomas, oh my goodness. there is not a single thing i would change about that man. he is beautiful and perfect and just everything id look for in a man. he was so kind and understanding and never let anything go unnoticed!!! i loved reading his love and care for stella.

overall i really loved this book! i wish we got more closure and depth in the storylines with the families as they both had their issues, but i think this book ended and was executed wonderfully.

if you love f1 romance's + marriage of connivence... this is the one for you! you'll definitely swoon (:

“My home is in London with a man who knows I prefer gold jewlery. Who holds my hand even when my fingers are freezing. Who outfitted his whole kitchen with my favourite appliances in my favourite colour and requested that I make the place a mess. Who let me leave to handle the things haunting me, because he would never stand in my way”.

Stella has recently been jilted at the altar by her (persnickety, self absorbed, and absolutely horrible) ex Etienne. Thomas is Formula One’s most hated driver after off handed comments (said in private but secretly recorded) about another driver’s conduct have gone viral. She’s trying to get her mojo back and Thomas is trying to move on from scandal. While attending a ‘stag and doe’ party the two meet, instantly connect, and while heavily inebriated end up married. Did I mention they also happen to be in Vegas? Let’s just say what’s happens in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas, and it unfolds beautifully.

Ride With Me is the highly anticipated addition to the Lights Out Series. While Formula One is present the tone is different. We talk about career injuries, the involvement of sponsorships, the frenzy of fans. But we also get a story that’s cozier, somber, and more intimate. It's mature, elevated, and expansive compared to book one. Especially the scenes in London, I found Stella and Thomas to have a firmness of self in them, while they also deal with insecurities and figuring out their relationship.

They exude husband and wifey goals. Sometimes the ‘’my wife” vibes can be cringey in other books, but in this, it’s cute and swoon worthy. For me it's all about balance and Simone finds it perfectly. I’m eager to find blood orange and vanilla cream macarons, watch an episode of Bake Off for comfort, and just patiently wait for book three. I caught some ideas...if they actually pan out, I’ll scream with joy.

Another quote that I just made me laugh, "who kidnapped my pure English rose and replaced him with...this?" so many funny zingers in this book that I had to toss one in my review.

Thank you so much Simone for this lovely book, readers, you don’t want to miss this! As always, my thanks to Berkley Romance and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

I love this book so much!!!! Thank you NetGalley and Berkeley for letting me be an arc reader!

Thomas is an F1 driver and after a recent event he is literally the most hated man in F1. He fills in for a family member at a wedding in Vegas where he meets Stella. Stella is the owner of Margaux, has just been left at the alter and got
Drunk and posted a rant on social media and is now in Vegas for her cousins bachelorette party. After a drunk night both Stella and Thomas wake up and discovered they’re married.
I love Willow and dev but Thomas and Stella have my whole heart! The banter and the tension was everything! I love Stella that’s my girl she got the HEA she deserves and Thomas is gonna be everyone’s fav new book boyfriend. I was literally smiling so hard and laughing the whole time reading this! I had so much fun with this story and I’m also serious about becoming an F1 fan even though I know nothing about the sport lol Daphne is good in my book now! I love Janelle and Amara too! I just love this world and can’t wait to see what else you have in store.

Tropes:
Dual POV
Marriage of convenience
F1 romance
Bakery owner
Interracial
Spicy

i am utterly OBSESSED. did i expect anything less after Cross the Line? NO. but lord this one hit harder than the last. when hardworking entrepreneur & baker extraordinaire Stella meets British F1 racer Thomas on a mutual friends’ Vegas bachelor/bachelorette trip, sparks. fly!! and they never stop flying. things take off when the MCs wake up MARRIED the next night and decide to continue said marriage out of convenience to aid both their public images— obviously what happened in Vegas didn’t stay in Vegas, and i aint even mad. i couldn’t get enough of Stella’s determination, and passion and just overall drive to do whatever she wanted, and to do it well at that. and don’t get me started on Thomas!! this man was a complete SAP. a big ole sweetheart who just needed the right one to come along and Stella couldn’t have been the better person to be on the receiving end of his endless doting and care, in and out of the bedroom lord today 🥵 both MCs leaned on and learned from each other with both of them changing for the better as the book ran its course. their growth was just written so beautifully! this book will definitely sit at the top of my list for years to come. 💜

3.25 ⭐️ nothing like a marriage of convenience to pull me out of a reading slump 🤠

my feelings about this book are kinda mixed bc I LOVED the FMC but at the same time some of her actions really annoyed me (especially toward the end), on the other hand Thomas was perfect to me and I wouldn’t change a single thing about him 😔🙏🏻 tbh I wish their relationship hadn’t been such a slow burn bc even though I like that kind of development I lost a bit of patience when I hit 70% and they still weren’t together (even though they clearly liked each other)

for me there was also a bit of a lack of depth in their relationship with all the secondary characters, I wish there had been more scenes between Stella and Willow and more scenes with Thomas’ family bc in the end the relationships all felt a bit superficial

it was a fun read that kept me hooked until (almost) the end so I consider that a big win. I highly recommend it if you like f1 romances & drunk people getting married in Vegas

Words cannot describe how much I loved everything about this book. Ride With Me has EASILY raced itself into the top position as my all-time favorite romance. It’s a master class on tension, flirtation, humor, and most importantly, on what it means to fall in love with someone who sees you for all that you are while loving every part of you that encompasses.

Stella and Thomas make each other BETTER. They show up for each other with care in a way that you just can’t help but crave. The love they have seeps off of the pages and into your heart from the start, and I enjoyed every single minute of watching them learn each other. The banter was EVERYTHING! Their relationship is the definition of meeting your match and is truly the blueprint of a love found in giving as much as you get.

Beyond the love story, we get such a beautiful glimpse at friendship and what it looks like when people you love allow you to show up as yourself, no matter what form that may take. Both Thomas and Stella had incredibly strong friendships in their lives with amazing dynamics, and that made me so, so happy. I hope we’ll see more depictions of all types of love within romance stories like this in the future; allowing love in is how we get to the romance in the first place.

My favorite aspect of all is that Stella was unapologetically a Black woman. There was such nuance to her character and I really felt seen through Stella, every step of the way. Watching her find love with Thomas, a man who truly cared for her, was perfect. A romance between an F1 driver and a baking mogul was exactly what I needed in my life, and I can't wait to see what's next from Simone 💜🏁