DNF at 65%.

I kept waiting for some actual substance in this book but it was just chapters full of erotica, which is fine but there was zero depth to the characters and their developing relationship. The conversations / interactions outside of sexual scenes were few and far between. That didn’t work for this story. One of the main characters was straight as an arrow when the story began and the author didn’t take any time to explore the character’s desire to explore their sexuality or feelings towards a gay relationship. He just suddenly started messing around with another man and that was that. I couldn’t go on reading any longer.

I really wasn't a fan of this story or the writing. I had taken it for a website review and was barely able to finish so I decided not to review it for my site. It was practically a DNF because it was so melodramatic.

I am not really a race car person, however, I very much enjoyed this story. The world building is excellent. You get a very well detailed look into the racing world without being overwhelmed by the subject matter.
Characters are both well developed and compelling including the romance. In the plot itself, it is quite interesting with a few well placed twists and turns. Several of the twists I never saw coming and I prefer it that way. I liked the writing, it was easy to read and flowed well with great pacing. My honest opinion is that this book is well worth the time spent to read it. For the record, I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book with the request to leave an honest review for other potential readers. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.

The synopsis for this book instantly grabbed me. It sounded like something right up my alley. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I had hoped it would be. I wasn't invested in the characters at all and I felt like there was way too much "fluff" in the story and it took away from what could have been an excellent read.

So, here's the thing. The fourteenth time the hero says "but I'm straight" after making out with another dude, it starts to feel less like creative tension and a lot more like internalized homophobia. And then when it's never dealt with, and everything slides from instalust to perfect HEA in about fourteen pages?

That's a big old nope from me.

I'm all for bi-M/M romances. Sexuality is a spectrum, after all, but this one just... not for me.

Elliot, a famous race car driver, was bisexual and did not care who knew it. Kyle who is a mechanic and starts working on the racing team of his dreams. Kyle is attracted to Elliot, much to his surprise, A story that makes you feel what the characters are feeling. It has many emotional twist. An over all great read.

I really liked the premise of this book and couldn't wait to dive into it. But the characters failed to engage me, so I gave up about half-way through.

I really, REALLLY wanted to like this book. I love racing. I am not sure I have read that many MM books centered around an MC who was a driver.....plus the cover......

But then I started reading, and I could not finish. The character's were not likable, kinda so far out in left field not believable. And the main MC, the driver...a walking sexual harassment claim waiting to happen. Can't and won't take no for an answer and the whole story just put me off. I tried to make it past 50% but that didn't happen. Prior to 50%, i was skipping ahead hoping it would get better. But it didn't.

Unfortunately not my cup of tea - at all. Mostly sex scenes with a bit of over the top fluff to make it all stick together.
There's absolutely nothing to make me believe in the characters' feelings for each other. The "coming out" of the straight character was also absolutely unrealistic.

4 Stars

Received an ARC in exchange for an honest review !

New to this genre but all I can say is Karen Botha did a really great job with not only the storyline but these amazing characters of Elliott & Kyle!

Her writing is so realistic that I felt an emotional connection especially for Kyle since there was a lot he personally needed to deal with if he was going to make the choice of not only an alternate lifestyle but to fall in love deeply with someone he initially feels is a player & may possibly just break his heart!!

Great storyline - great read !!

Genre: M/M Erotica/Romance
Steamy?: Yes
Cliffhanger?: No
Can be read as Standalone?: Yes
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

***COMPLIMENTARY COPY PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW***

I’m kind of confused if I have read the entire series or if this was only the first book but regardless it was just okay. It wasn’t the worst I’ve read but it definitely wasn’t great. It started off as mediocre erotica and turned to a romance that had its mild moments. The characters were very one-dimensional without much depth and the story was pretty weak. Thankfully the pace was fast enough that I didn’t mind completing it. I won’t do a detailed analysis as this isn’t the type of book that requires it. If you want something quick and light, this might be a book for you.

I have received an ARC of this book by the publisher through NetGalley.
I liked this book. It was really sexy and the characters were loveable. I personally prefer a slow-burn romance but there are exceptions for everything. The writing was beautiful and clear. The plot was fluffy and heartwarming. The only misstep for me was the lack of suspense. There were some dramatic events but I personally think the author could have made more use of the whole car racer concept.

This is horrible. It is unbelievably bad. I have DNF'd exactly 11 books in my life, and I read, on average, a book a day. I didn't make it to page 30. I couldn't even hate read it. I kept stopping then trying to restart out of a sense of integrity and obligation as a reviewer and book-buyer, but, no, just no.

1) Sooooo many homonym mistakes.
2) Also basic copy editing mistakes.
3) Awkward descriptions- you don't say he pulls his pants up against his bare ass, you say over his ass. Weird word choices that I just didn't understand, like seriously, I didn't understand what was being said. It was like random words were being substituted, like palette for chair.
4) Bizarre shit like describing someone navigating a confined space while having their head completely covered by a shirt.
5) And you don’t always need to use people’s last names. This isn’t Russia or 18th century England.

And that's just the grammar, syntax, and word choice. Let's address the plot.

I honestly don't know what's worse:

The idea that (as I texted my brother) "You can be embarrassed about your arousal, or, if you’re a kinky minx, aroused by your embarrassment, but NO GROWN ASS MAN is going to mistake arousal for embarrassment (in himself)." JFC

OR

That sexual harassment is okay if it’s a gay man doing it to his straight work subordinate. I can't even. This was so gross. That main character literally just ignored being told no, being told no repeatedly, unequivocally, publicly, and unreservedly. Just No. And there was unwanted touching, even as the other main character was semi-titillated by the flirting, he was still described as uncomfortable by the touching. Eww. I know you can do a voyeur-jealousy blow job scene and make it interesting, relevant, and ostensibly believable, this one was just gross and extremely uncomfortable. I felt like the race car driver character could and should be prosecuted for something.

I should have known from the first scene- Jab is never a good word to use in a sex scene unless you're jabbing the elevator close button to be able to start elevator nookie ASAP. You definitely never jab a vagina. Ever. That's like how in porn an actress can finger someone while having inch long fake nails, it's just cringe-inducing and unrealistic. It literally made me think that the author is a virgin who has watched too much bad porn. Literally, that is what happened. First I cringed, then I thought "OMG how did she come up with this??"

The whole thing read like the worst type of fanfiction. I'm glad I didn't pay for it and kinda wish I could get a refund for my time.

If I could, I would give zero stars. Usually I don't post bad reviews online if I'm given a free ARC or galley, but I feel like other people should be spared this horror.

Great book! Loved that it was fast paced and insta-love, it held my attention through the whole book.. Look forward to reading other books from this author!

I really enjoyed this! The main characters were fun to read, and more dynamic than I anticipated (I was expecting the book to rely on tropes, to be honest, but this was not the case!) I recommend this book for a fun, light, romantic, exciting read.

Buckle Up is my first read by Karen Botha. I liked this story, it was well paced and Kyle and Elliott are likable characters. I will read more by this author.

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. It felt like there were easily 10 chapters missing in the beginning of the book because it was SO insta-love. Especially given that one of the MCs is supposed to be straight.

Like I said, Kyle is supposed to be straight, but he falls in lust with Elliot in chapter TWO. After finishing the book, I see why the author made him straight, but it still rang false to me the whole time. I felt like although he questioned his sexuality, he came to terms with it a lot sooner than someone who grew up super religious and thinking he was straight normally would. Maybe that's me being naive, I don't know, but the whole scenario felt too perfectly packaged for me.

Which brings me to Elliot. I didn't like him, at all. I thought he was a selfish ass. Kyle is dealing with all of these new, huge, life changing things and all he can think about is how his feelings are hurt because Kyle shifted away from him or was upset by a certain scenario that happened. That's not love, that's the actions of a self-centered control freak.

The story itself was pretty disjointed. Things would happen and then everything would be fine. It read like more of an outline than a well thought out story. It was definitely steamy and hot, but I feel like that's all it had going for it. The plot line was sub-par when it had the potential to be really interesting. Overall, not a fan and, unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend it.

Irritating that this is a tale in instalments. It's not what I'd class as a Book 1.

This tale, other than being what the title of this review mentions, is pretty much a telling of the early Ella Frank books with Logan and Tate in a different setting. I think the author mentions liking EF tales, but tbh, I think this was a bit of 'imitation is the sincerest...'.

I don't get the rave reviews about it, as it wasn't particularly well written or believable, and at times, the guys felt like a couple of MF leads, rather than MM leads. I mention the Ella Frank tale as pretty much everything that happened in that, happened in this tale, but a tale with a racing background (straight to gay/bi, an ex wife liked by the parents, a Catholic parent not being able to accept his son now likes guys, an accident, a female who'd like a threesome with both guys, and who has had sex with one of them in the past...).

I didn't buy the straight lead's embracing of all things MM, including MM sex, and at the end, it seemed as if an event had been fabricated simply to allow the book to continue into more. I won't be reading more.

Oh, and the author's British, but for some reason chose to write with a mix of UK Eng and US Eng, which was irritating.

ARC courtesy of the author and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

Kyle reaches to be admitted to work as a mechanic for the racing team of the great Elliott Judd.
He has been redoing his life since his marriage to a childhood friend is definitely over and the couple are in the process of signing the divorce papers.
Kyle catches Elliott's attention.

Elliott is very good at what he does, but he also received the fame of being a man who does not deny his pleasures, men and women. But ever since he saw Kyle, Elliott knew something inside him had changed.
The problem was that Kyle was straight and Elliott's advances are at first denied.
But the passion/chemistry spoke louder, and Kyle found himself entangled in the pilot's charm.

The problem was when Kyle's past -family- discovered his new choice. The consequence of this was devastating to him, and when his life was endangered by an accident, there may be no time for any amendments to be made.

How can Kyle and Elliott overcome the barriers imposed by those whom they cherish? And would this relationship have any chance?

This series had previously been released in short story format (in 8 parts), but I did not know it.
In fact, this book is part of a trilogy now - with the same couple. So while this book here does not end in cliffhanger, we will still have more adventures with Kyle and Elliott.
5 stars

New to me author and I will look forward to reading more from you from this author thank you for my arc