Solid 3.25 - I’m a sucker for F1 & romance. Add in the idea of seeing a woman enter the space!

The paddock interviews, media days and energy of a race were enjoyable. I liked the idea of “fate” and “destiny” bringing our main characters together through their respective journeys in the sport, but was craving a bit more chemistry. I can’t really call it a true slow burn, but it was a sweet romance though.

I wish the pace was better and there were aspects of the storyline I didn’t quite enjoy. I could understand where the author wanted to go but think the storyline was lacking to support it.

I found this book to be okay, I wouldn't necessarily say it was my fave in the previous F1-based books I previously read. It was just a nice and easy read. The pacing felt a little slow at times and the writing between dialogue just did not grab my attention,

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book.

The pacing was off and the characters didn't seem developed at all. There was no real chemistry between the main leads so the romance fell flat too.

Disappointing.

I genuinely didn’t think I’d like this book but at the 25% mark it made me do a full 180 and I ended up really enjoying it and even almost cried a few times.

At the start of the book, it felt like a mix of weird romance and an F1 manual, with the author info dumping so much F1 facts and knowledge that it made the book quite hard to get into. The romance at the start (not between the two main characters) was also a bit strange and I’m still not really sure what the point of it was. If that romance had been left out, I don’t think it would have had any impact on the book. I also found a lot of the characters unrealistic at the start (Diana not wanting to overtake because people were nice to her and no-one on the F1 grid knowing there was a woman F2 driver even though she won the F2 championship??).

However, once the book finally started focusing more on the romance and the racing, I was hooked. I felt all of the angst and nervousness when the characters started racing and I just couldn’t put the book down. I felt like I was watching a real race live with how nervous I was getting.

I also really enjoyed the romance, although cringey at times, between the two characters and getting to explore the conflict that they had with their relationship and being competitors.

One of the main things I loved about this book was the focus around Diana’s struggles as a woman racing in F1 and just how much harder she had to work to prove herself vs her male teammate. I like how this aspect wasn’t brushed over or taken lightly but was actually a key focus .

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I’m so glad that I powered through the first 25% because the rest of the book was amazing

Thank you to Avon, HarpersCollins and Esha Patel for the eARC of this rerelease.

I loved this book. I think Patel does a wonderful job highlighting female experiences in male dominated sports. The way the romance is weaved into the sport and experiences our main characters is wonderful.

✨Re-written and re-releasing May 9!✨

What a sweet read, full of dream-chasing and drama and heartbreak and travel and racing. I couldn’t put this book down until “The End.”

Diana is a ball-buster breaking into a the male-dominated F1 arena.

Miguel is the sweet, golden retriever MMC we all want/need and who is a racing superstar in his own right.

THOUGHTS 💭
🏎️ I LOVE women kicking a** and breaking glass ceilings. This book featured not only a woman breaking into a male-dominated sport, but a woman of color! I feel so darn empowered after reading this book.
🏎️ The incredible chemistry and each little touch that leads to more between our main characters are perfection; I loved the slow burn between Mig and Di.
🏎️ There’s a ton of drama between these F1 drivers who race against and hang out with each other constantly.
🏎️ Diana and Mig’s relationship doesn’t come without its challenges - from familial obligations (i.e. an arranged marriage) to #secretdating to competing for P1 AND MORE, they overcome all for their HEA.

Thanks so much to Esha Patel and Avon Books for the ARC of this book through NetGalley!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

An F1 romance following Diana Zahrani the first female F1 driver and her first season in F1

There were some parts of this book I absolutely loved - the F1 parts and the second half of this book
I struggled with some parts of the romance especially in the first half and how the supposed ‘forgetting’ about knowing people from when they were young

Overall, it was a nice read

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had pretty high hopes for this book and I was kind of disappointed. The romance in it didn’t draw me in, and I didn’t feel compelled to want the two main characters together.

There was a side plot where Miguel was set to be in an arranged marriage and I don’t think it was really necessary and didn’t add much to Miguel’s character. It also didn’t seem like Miguel had cared for his ‘fiancée’ all too much.

I am totally here for women being apart of motorsports but I think it was a little bit unrealistic for Diyana to be given a spot on one of the top teams immediately, for her to get a podium in her first ever f1 race and to be world champion her first season.

I also found it unrealistic how neither Miguel or Diyana remembered karting together until Miguel’s mom found a picture of them on a podium together.

Overall, the writing was okay, but this book had a very large cast of characters and I found it extremely confusing to follow who everyone was.

2.05!

Wow! I have no words because no F1 romance book has ever disappointed me like that. I wont go into details but the f1 part that was focused on this book was done well imo, I found myself enjoying those scenes a lot and was actually looking forward to those but was it enough to redeem this book? nope. The writing I would say is one of the reasons I gave it a two, It was very hard to read at times, so hard that I had to skim and I despise skimming. It feltlike it was dragging and then the pace would be normal it switched around that and it was very frustrating to read.

The characters were not it. We barely see any development and honestly I felt no emotions, nothing for these characters...well except hatred towards Nic but the two main characters Miguel and Diana I couldnt feel anything for them and their POVs were sooo boring. The romance part of this book was so disappointing because it was them looking at each other which in one chapter led to them banging but even the banging was disappointing.

I want to give this a one but the f1 part was really well done.
___
Its race day!! so you know the drill :) also thank you to Avon books for giving me an E-Arc of this book :)

I thought Offtrack was such a fun read - I loved that the book was able to create a female main character who was truly a delight to see succeed while not downplaying the challenges of being a woman in a man's world, in this case the world of F1. I really enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Miguel and Diana as their relationship developed and started to show her that she was more important to him than just winning. I think the way that F1 travels around the world feels so glamorous and it's the perfect setting for making people fall in love. I will say, there were a few plot threads that just didn't quite pay off for me - it felt a little unlikely that Diana and Miguel wouldn't';t immediately remember having met when they were young as close as they both are to the racing world and the plot with Miguel's fiancee didn't do much to advance the story overall.

This book was still great and I think will make for fun beach reading this summer!

I enjoyed this book however i struggled to connect with the characters for a good portion of the book. I found it slow to start and a little confusing as someone who knew nothing about F1 or racing. It did pick up towards the end. Still an enjoyable read overall

Such a different F1 book than I've read before but is still very good. I enjoyed the representation and dynamic of having a female F1 racing driver, and the depiction of countries we rarely see.

I have read through the other reviews, and I think a lot of them are over the previous edition of this - I was given a copy that was not advertised as enemies-to-lovers (thank goodness, because it's not) and only had the main characters' points of view.

I enjoyed the main characters and was rooting for them. It's hard to pick a favorite racer when they're both competing for the same title, and though it's not... necessarily realistic, I was glad who won, because the other character needed to learn how to deal with that, and I think both of them walked away from the competition with extreme growth. Their romance was okay; the foundation it was built on came out of nowhere and was a bit of a plothole.

The initial engagement Miguel had with Jatziry didn't quite make sense, and this book probably would have the same qualities and character progression without Jatziry. It made Miguel's character very strange, in fact, because on the one hand, he's your typical F1 playboy, but on the other hand, he's honoring a longstanding betrothal for his family.

It's a fun read, and Patel clearly put in a lot of work to research the technical terms and facets of F1, but there were some bits that didn't quite fit with the characters and some plotholes here and there.

thank you Netgalley for the arc

BOOK REVIEW: Offtrack by Esha Patel

A huge thank you to @avonbooksuk for the e-arc provided through @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I received my final physical copy early as a preorder from @waterstones

Wow. Just, wow.

I must confess that I’ve never been a romance girl, finding the characters in romances to be incredibly over exaggerated. However, since the age of 7 I have been a huge F1 fan.

Esha has created something very special. The fact our FMC is a female F1 driver made my little heart so happy and the incredible detail into the races had me smiling from ear to ear.

I loved how Esha managed to expertly convey and navigate the challenges a woman would have in such a male dominated sport and did so with such grace and respect. I also thoroughly enjoyed the sprinkling of our MC’s cultures within the story, making me google and explore another culture with such fascination.

This book changed my perspective on romance books entirely and I’ve been well and truly flung into my F1 romance era, this truly is something special and I will forever hold it dear to my heart.

But Esha, my bank account isn’t happy with you…

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to netgalley and Avon Books UK | Avon for allowing me access to this book. This was a cute, fun, and fast read.

off track - esha patel
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

really love an f1 book - this one was different. i really enjoyed having a female f1 driver and the deception of countries we barely see.

i enjoyed both main characters and was rooting for both of them. it’s extremely hard to pick a favourite when they were both racing for the same title. i was actually kinda glad to see who won.

the romance was fairly decent, it did come out of nowhere tbh but like the moment they saw the photos of eachother and remembered made my heart SWEELLL.

it was a really fun read tbh! i would recommend and thank you again to NetGalley and the author for the arc🫶🏻

The premise of Offtrack sounded very intriguing, and I was super excited to see this F1 romance published by a South Asian author. However, I had a very hard time reading this novel due to the writing. This book desperately needed better editing--I found myself cringing at how awkward the dialogue and prose felt. Additionally, I wish the author did not assume that all readers know exactly how F1 works. I was confused throughout several moments where the characters would throw out F1 jargon without a proper explanation for the non-F1 fans reading the book. Because of these reasons, I had a hard time enjoying the novel, and would ultimately give the book 3 stars.

From the point of view of a F1 fan, this was amazing. Now from a romance reader... this was lacking.
I liked the setup and the f1 atmosphere was amazing but I couldn't find the chemistry between our mcs.
Also I didn't like Miguel. He was whiny and I didn't like the last scene before the epilogue where Diana had to put his feelings before hers. Didn't like that.
Overall this was fast paced and action packed but wish the romance was better.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you are looking for in-depth F1 analyses or a spicy enemies-to-lovers romance, do not read this book.
If, however, you are looking for a sweet, romantic story centred around a female driver breaking into the F1 world, absolutely go for it. (People having healthy conversations about boundaries and the future? Unconditionally supporting each-other? Mindbending. Could not be other romance books. Five stars for that alone!)
I had a great time, and, to be honest, a lot of the reviews I’ve been seeing are taking things a lot more seriously than they probably should. Is it a perfect book? No. But it’s an interesting story and I had a great time, and if that is what you are looking for, definitely pick it up!

This story is a sport a motorsport story. I believe all three tropes were developed and implemented considerably better. The novel will keep you engaged and entertained throughout.

Diana is the first woman to drive in Formula One this century. Miguel, the World Championship favourite, does not take any rookie, let alone a woman, seriously.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot of the story, the characters, the F1 drama and players, and Diana's story. What I found lacking was chemistry between the two main characters, as there was no romance in the relationship. I enjoy slow-burn romances, but this one didn't do it for me. The description was extensive, and some of the information was unneeded.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books Uk for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest review

never read a motor cross romance and this was a fun little time! didn’t connect to the characters too much but i enjoyed my time reading!