Double Apex

I'm a STEMInist first, human second and I absolutely devoured this debut!

I was instantly drawn into the premise (F1 racer and his bad ass, female race engineer). I was heartbroken to see that early ARC reviews of this stated the didn't like the FMC. Honestly, I think it was ultimately my favorite part- Josie Juniper's ability to really humanize Phaedra. And to be honest, I saw a lot of myself in her. She was self destructive and too self-aware of it. I knew instantly this was intentional. This affected almost every single relationship she had. I'd hope if you happen to read this and don't also see yourself in Phae, you'd at least empathize with her (even just a little). ❤️‍🩹

The romance was tender and the dynamic between these two was electric. Truly FULL STEAM AHEAD.

I loved that you didn't necessarily have to be the biggest, die-hard F1 fan to follow the story, but the little details (the grand prix circuits and minor technical things, etc.) never felt too overpowering for me. If anything, it enhanced the story and made me more intrigued about the sport and Josie's passion seeped through the pages.

Thank you endlessly to Caroline and Dana at Forever Pub for the advanced copy!! ♥️🏎️🏁

I loved this book so much I don't even know where to begin. First off, love an F1 moment. Second off, love to see women in motorsport, especially as a race engineer! People can talk about nepo babies all the want *cough Lance Stroll cough* and how they shouldn't be in the sport, but also, a lot of them are genuinely masters at what they do (looking at you, Carlos and Max).

Phaedra and Cosmin have such a beautifully woven story all the way from begrudging coworkers. As a reader, we get to witness them not only fall in love, but also deal with the realities of life, family, being a woman in the workplace, and dealing with finding the balance between it all. This book will be great to help fill the winter break void (because you'll want to read it more than once).

Josie Juniper does a great job of incorporating technically accurate elements of racing without being tooooo technical, while also including enough broad stroke details for a beginner to keep up with everything as well. Kind of like Will Buxton coming along for the ride with us during the book almost but with a much steamier finish line, haha. Would definitely recommend for anyone that loves a good workplace trope, enemies to lovers situation, forced proximity because of a traveling circus (the sport's words, not mine), forbidden romance, or Drive to Survive. Actually, I think I may go give it another re-read right now...

I can not even begin to describe how much I loved this book.

The banter from literally page one!? Their easy going relationship once they started getting along. Ugh their chemistry is unmatched.

Cosmic had me googling Romanian translations left and right. I can not wait to do an audio reread because I need to HEAR this man 😮‍💨

I also really loved that I could see/read that Cosmin isn’t a native English speaker. The little ways in which his sentences were structured just different enough were great!

What I did not expect were the deep emotions this book brought out there towards the end. I was not expecting to cry like I did. Both from feeling Phaedras grief and the sweet relationship between Cos and Phae.

I loved that this book didn’t follow a traditional romance timeline. It felt more natural and real. I appreciate a change of pace.

Overall obsessed with this book. With Josie Junipers writing. The way she story tells and makes the characters not feel so structured and perfect. Looking forward to more books!