DNF @ 37%

This was honestly just not for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters. It was very heavy on the sport of it all, which was fine, but there was one part about the "tyres" not being "screwed on right" that really just gave me the ??? I'm not actually a massive F1 fan, but I am a car girlie and those are the details you just have to get right, in my opinion. That could just be me being too picky but I just wasn't invested enough in the story to continue.

This is a very very very very very generous 2.25 - 2.5 star rating from me. When I saw this book I was fully committed to dive further into my sport romance era, but damn.
I wanted to DNF twice. Once at 30% and then again at 80%.

After I finished the book, I went back to read the synopsis just to make sure and yes, it does say “enemies to lovers romance”. Unfortunately, this book is by any means not an enemies-to-lovers, not even a rivals-to-lovers, story. And calling this a romance is kind of a stretch in my humble opinion.

The pacing might have been my biggest issue, because it made zero sense to me, whether it was from chapter to chapter or even within a chapter. Would have loved some time (and location) indicators.

As much sense Miguel and Diana may make as a couple, they very barely spent any time together until they suddenly were a couple. There was a lot (and when I say a lot, I really mean a lot) of focus on the F1 part, which the F1 girlies might appreciate. But it did come at the cost of the romance part of the story.
Up until 60%, the two leads barely had any moments to connect and liking each other was communicated through looks, shy smiles and blushing.

What I didn’t understand was Jatziry’s character. She was barely there, spoke maybe 5 sentences and really didn’t add anything valuable to the subplot or Miguel’s character arc. I feel like this space could have been used to develop a relationship with Diana or any other character for that matter.

The 3rd-act-break up was pure audacity, really. Smh.

What I did appreciate was the really well portrayed international level F1 has as well as the sexism and misogyny Diana faced, being the only female driver in F1. However, while the approach in the book was probably the more realistic one, I wish there would have been more confrontation on that front.

The author profile is a 10/10 though.

(I did read some reviews mentioning the writing and the multiple povs. The writing for me was fine, by any means not bad or horrible. And the version I read had only two povs: Miguel and Diana.)

Thank you Avon for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 30%

This book is not reader-friendly for those not already familiar with the rules and culture of F1. Multiple time jumps make it hard to follow along with the story. I felt like I was playing catch-up the whole book and was unable to connect with the story. I might suggest it for a reader who already has background knowledge and an investment in f1, but otherwise it's a skip for me.

3/5
this was an enjoyable read, not the best F1 romance ive read, i thought the slowburn was indeed quite... slow but other than that its super quick and easy, light read!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book!

Diana Zahrani is the newest F1 racer, despite many obstacles, her biggest being female. Miguel de la Fuente is at the top of the charts and doesn’t initially take any rookies seriously, he has his hands full with his own engagement and racing. However, Diana’s natural charm and strong work ethic begin to have Miguel seeing her in different eyes. When his engagement falls apart, he realizes the feelings he’s been avoiding are for non-other than his rival -Diana but he is unsure how she feels about him. The two begin to get closer but once word gets out Diana has to choose between Miguel and their blooming relationship or her career in F1.

Finally. A book with a FMC who isn’t weak. Diana is a badass, she took everything thrown her way and roller with it or changed the narrative. The characters are so diverse but are accepting of each other’s differences, it was nice to see. Miguel flying Diana’s parents out to the US race had me ready to cry.

I will be honest, I’ve only read one other F1 romance book from a big author and hated it, so I was hesitant about requesting this one but it did not disappoint.

The plot got a little slow at times, but having finished the book, I see why it all was necessary. I’m looking forward to reading more of Esha Patel’s writing.

I really enjoyed the F1 aspect of this. As a big fan of F1, it's nice to see decent take on it as other F1 Romances I've read in the past have fell flat for me and don't seem to do the Formula 1 side justice. I liked seeing Diana's character and all the races. She was strong and carried good representation both for POC and also being a woman in a male dominated world.

That said, I don't think this should be marketed as an enemies to lovers romance. It read more as a friends to lovers to me as Miguel and Diana hit it off pretty much straight away and got along with each other. I didn't really see an enemy dynamic between them. I also preffered them as friends and didn't see much chemistry or spark between them.

Overall though, as a fictional F1 book with a romance subplot, I liked this.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC :)

I’ve only read few car romance books. This was decent edition to those. Had fun time reading this. Would recommend this.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

I am a huge F1 girly. I’ve watched all of Drive to Survive and I watch as many races as I can every season, so I thought this book would be right up my alley. While the premise is something I really liked and it definitely drew me in, I didn’t mesh well with the writing style. The writing style kind of distracted me from the details of the story which had so so so much potential! I wanted to root for Miguel and Diana but again I found myself distracted from them. There were too many POVs for me to enjoy thoroughly enjoy the book. That isn’t saying that no one would enjoy this book. I see a lot of merit in the story, and I think if you like multiple POVs then you might really like reading Offtrack. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Offtrack
By: Esha Patel
Review Score: 3 3/4 stars

Why Was This Book “Just Ok”?
The F1/actual racing part of the book was really well done. The rest of the story, however, felt a bit disjointed.

Do I still recommend it?
Yes. I think, if you are a fan of F1, you will still find some enjoyment in reading this.

———————————————

Offtrack was kindly provided as an ARC by Netgalley and Avon Books UK. Thank you for allowing me to enjoy this wonderful book!

Release Date: 5/9/24

I am a big F1 fan, so I was super excited to read a book about a girl who starts racing in F1.

I loved that particular aspect of the story. Patel writes races really well, and I was fully engaged in that part of the story.

Where I struggled, and why this wasn’t quite a 4 star for me, was the rest of the story. It was hard at times to jump between Miguel and Diana. I am usually a fan of Dual Points of View, but it didn’t help me follow this book. I also didn’t love the backgrounds in general. It felt like parts were added in all of a sudden, and I would have to pause and wonder if I was missing information.

Finally, this book claims to be an “enemies to lovers” story, but I don’t really feel that these 2 were ever enemies. Rivals, definitely. But the enemy part wasn’t really there for me. This was also an incredubly slow burn in terms of romance. If you like F1 Books like The Dirty Air Series by Lauren Asher, this may not be for you.

I still did enjoy this story, and think others would too. I just didn’t love it.

#bookstagram #books #readingnow #boogiereadsbooks #fivekeyfeels #audiobooks #audiobook #fiction #arcreview #netgalley #boogiesbulletpoints #justokwednesday #offtrack #eshapatel #avonbooksuk

I know other reviews have pointed out issues with the writing style but I didn’t mind this!

I thought the romance was pretty believable too.

While I thought I was going to love this one as my first F1 romance, the number of POVs made it confusing. If this had been lowered I think it would have been a more cohesive read.

Thank you to Avon Books and Netgalley for the ARC

I am currently in my formula 1 romance era and I am not a little bit sorry about it. So when I saw this pop up on my NetGalley I was like I am going to have to give it a go. And then I was approved. I really enjoyed the way that this book was written and how it used the idea that people you have met can cause us to question everything we have held dear for years. Our priorities shift and these two really did that. I loved the way that they navigated a world that male dominated and after reading the note from the author I can tell why.. I felt the same way when it was said.
This book has banter f1 and opens up the idea that fate can happen even in contemporary romance novels I read this book in one sitting and I cannot wait to see what more this author does because I was enthralled by the writing the characters and how a certain show could be if it didn’t focus on all the drama iykyk. I am having great luck with f1 romances at the moment and I am excited about the amount we are getting because as a f1 girlie and a reader I feel I am in my element here.

I was drawn to the synopsis of this book. I had seen a few other F1 racing romance novels where the driver is always the male lead, so seeing a book where we have a female protagonist who becomes an F1 driver was very exciting. As expected, what follows did not come easy for Diyana. I appreciate the way this book tries to open up the conversation on some of the problems that female athletes may face in a typically male-dominated sport. In the book, Diyana has to deal with sexist comments, being belittled, and talked down to because of her gender. I would image this is a real thing that happens to many athletes. I liked that this was a central element in this book and integral to Diyana's characterisation. I also appreciate the author's knowledge of the sport, and the use of all the technical linguistics– obviously I can't say if it's "realistic" but it did immerse me in the story.

However, there were some things that I did not like. For one, the writing wasn't to my taste. I felt like there wasn't too many descriptions in some areas which made the reading feel a bit one-dimensional, and then other times there was long paragraphs of many descriptions which were unnecessary. I wasn't a fan of the multiple povs either and found myself skim reading a few paragraphs if I was uninterested.

The best part of this book was the f1 elements, I’m a big f1 fan so reading about it was fun. Everything Else fell short for me. I didn’t like the female main character, she kept doing things that made me angry and want to stop reading,

First of thank you to negalley for providing me with an arc of this book.

This is the first book I've read from this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've loved F1 books but found there haven't been many I have enjoyed so I was excited to see there was a book that I haven't read yet.

I love the dynamic between Miguel and Diana, Miguel really believed in Diana and I loved the way theyre relationship developed through the book.

Diana is exactly what I love for in a FMC, she's strong, determined but also can be vulnerable when needed to be. Its rare to find a F1 book where there's a female racer so I really enjoyed this aspect.

The writing style wasn't my complete favourite, however I see real potential in this author and would love to read more from her.

Received via netgalley as an arc copy.

This book was cute, average and expected but it was cute. It had some funny moments, some sweet moments and if a comfortable read, but it wasn't fantastic, it's just OK. So if you are looking for an easy read, something light and Fluffy, this is a good choice.

This writing style was really hard to follow and I guess I don’t care enough about F1 like I thought! I was trying to expand my horizons and read about a new sport but I found myself skimming a lot.

This book was a roller coaster for me. Or I guess in keeping with the theme, a back and forth race struggling to get into the points.

The plot - Miguel de la Fuente is an established F1 driver at a top tier team. He’s constantly fighting for championships and comes from a legacy family of F1 drivers. Diana Zahrani is F1’s newest driver, and its first female driver (in universe). She drives at a rival top tier team, Jolt, to Miguel’s Revello. And the two circle each other through the season, balancing their rivalry and their need to win with their desire for each other.

The good - The biggest win for me is how Diana is represented as a woman in racing. She has to deal with sexism at all levels, from subtle comments in the media to having to pour an energy drink all over herself while leaning across a car. It’s highly representative of women in sports, not just F1, and Esha actually comments on real life sexism in F1 in her Author’s Note at the end.

I also really loved some of the smaller points, like when Miguel starts using Diana’s given name versus her western name, and her referring to herself at one point as a ‘sickly Victorian child suffering from vapors’. Esha writes relatable and funny characters and I found myself really enjoying the internal monologues

The bad - Why would Diana ever express feeling bad about overtaking other drivers in F1 races. She says that the other drivers are nice to her, which I get, but she’s risen through the ranks. Are we supposed to assume that the F2 drivers weren’t nice to her so she didn’t feel bad overtaking them? Or that she was always at the front and never needed to overtake? I don’t believe it’s clearly stated, and in the short time I’ve followed F1 I’ve never seen a driver speak that way. There were also moments where it seemed clear that the team itself was against Diana and I would have preferred to spend more time on that.

There was also a reveal from both Diana and Miguel’s history in carting that is really never addressed. It’s just revealed and everyone moves on from it. I would have liked at least one more scene over that reveal.

Overall, I enjoyed the story because I enjoy F1. I would recommend this if you want a light story that reads like a season of Drive to Survive. However, if you don’t follow F1, and especially if you’re not concerned with women’s role in sport, this may not be the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books for the ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

I want to start this off by saying I DNF this book at 30%. I don’t think I was the intended audience for this book unfortunately.

The storyline caught my attention as I do like Formula 1 and have enjoyed a few F1 books over the years. The writing style made this difficult for me to read. Although it was in first person I never felt I was truly in the main characters’ minds. The writing style seemed very juvenile and didn’t flow nicely. I really wanted to enjoy this book but it just did not keep my interest.

The premise of the fmc being a F1 driver was what originally got my attention but it ended up feeling a little chaotic and fell flat. 


The multiple POVs, drama, and I feel like the actual premise of the story was more of a sub plot. We got (what I feel like) was way toooo much detail about F1, it was overload for me. Add this to the fact that the chemistry was lacking between Diana and Miguel. These combined made me feel less invested in the story.

This was a great read! slowburn enemies to lovers F1 romance . Say less. I really enjoyed this and it was exactly what I needed right now . loved the characters and the writing style . looking forward to reading more work by this author .

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book%*