3.8 rounded up to 4/5

"Furious" by Jamie Pacton and Rebecca Podos is a YA romance that races into the hearts of readers with its dynamic characters, thrilling plot, and heartfelt themes.

At the center of the story are Jojo Emerson-Boyd and Eliana “El” Blum, two young women brought together by fate and a shared love for racing. Jojo's passion for speed and racing is palpable, despite the tragic loss of her mother in a racing accident. El, on the other hand, is determined to find her missing sister and idol, Maxine, leading her to Jojo's grandmother's mechanic shop in Dell’s Hollow.

The authors expertly weave together themes of grief, family, and love, creating a narrative that is as emotionally resonant as it is exhilarating. Jojo and El's budding romance is portrayed with sensitivity and authenticity, as they navigate their feelings for each other while confronting the complexities of their respective pasts.

Pacton and Podos capture the spirit of the Fast and Furious franchise, infusing the story with nods to the beloved films. Fans of the series will delight in the references.

While the romance between Jojo and El is sweet and heartfelt, some readers may find themselves wishing for more development in certain aspects of their relationship, particularly leading up to their first kiss and official dating status. However, the chemistry between the two protagonists is undeniable, and their bond grows stronger as they face challenges and chase their dreams together.

Overall, "Furious" is a captivating and uplifting read that will leave readers cheering for Jojo and El as they navigate love, loss, and the thrill of the racetrack. Pacton and Podos deliver a winning combination of action, romance, and heart in this exhilarating YA novel.

I want to thank Netgalley for an e-arc of this book.

I saw another review saying this book didn’t reinvent the wheel, but it was fun nonetheless. And I feel like that describes my opinion on the book quite well. It wasn’t ground breaking, but it was a very nice read, with a good pace and fun characters.

I’m not a big fan of the fast and the furious franchise, so the mentions of those movies (and there are a LOT) sometimes felt a bit to much. But Michelle Rodríguez is very hot, so we can agree on that.

Overall it was a fun book about family and how that can have different shapes and sizes and I feel like it would be a good summer read.

This book was cute. It didn't reinvent the wheel, but it has all the ingredients of a contemporary YA. If you're looking for a sweet rom-com, this is it.

Both girls are unsure of what they are doing in town and struggle with their families as well as growing up.
Like with most romance heavy books I wished there was more build up towards the first kiss and the dating, but I still liked them together.
I watched a few fast and furious movies, but I don't remember any of it well enough to get most of the references, but I don't think you have to know what the car specifics are to enjoy the book. It is more about the girls' personal lives.

I was really looking forward to this one with the references to Fast and the Furious. Overall, it kept me interested but wasn't quite as exciting as I hoped. It was NOT a bad book at all, but I was just hoping for a little more action. I really loved Jojo and her humor fits in alot with my own. Both main characters go through grief with the loss of their family members so those parts can be a little heavy but I thought they were presented well. Good romantic read for fans of sports romances/sapphic love.

I thought based on the premise of this book, I'd enjoy, but I had hard time finishing it. If it wasn't for being an ARC, I wouldn't have bothered.

JoJo moves back to Dells Hollow with her dad after her mom passes in an accident. JoJo wants to get her license but her dad won't let her until the end of summer after she fulfills the tasks he set for her. All she wants to do is get into the F1 academy to one day be a NASCAR driver like her mom was. She meets El when she comes by looking for her older sister's jacket.

El works hard and volunteers in order to get into a good college, but with her sister being gone, she sets out to find her after she receives a postcard from her. JoJo agrees to help and they set out to find her together.

This was predictable and honestly, a little boring even with the fast and furious theme. Overall, not a bad book, but not for me.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️ A super cute story and characters, basically a sapphic YA Fast and furious.
Pretty simple with an easy tone, I would have loved this as a teen, lots of important themes woven in subtly, making it a great coming of age story. Really uplifting and wholesome and sweet.
Reminiscent of John Green and David levithan style of writing, massively reminds me of Paper towns in particular.
I get it’s the whole theme and title but the obsession with the Fast and furious franchise was a bit irritating.
A quick, easy summer read.

“Your loss is so much bigger than mine."—
"Grief is grief, El," I say, leaning my cheek on her hand for just a moment. "It's not a competitive sport. It's not a race. You can lose someone even when they're still alive, and you can still feel close to someone, even when they're gone."

‘All I know is that if I keep moving fast enough, my grief doesn't have a chance to catch up with me’

I know nothing about racing, but I chose to read Furious because I need more sapphic books in my life.
The budding romance between Jojo and El is sweet. Their transition from friends to something more is quick, but it still seems realistic. It's not too serious too soon.

In general, I appreciated the diversity of the characters. This is a small-town story that includes lots of LGBT+ representation and religious diversity. It's the little details like these that made Furious a fun and entertaining read.

That being said, the mystery element of this book is pretty predictable. I was not as interested in El's relationship with her older sister. I am a fairly unsuspecting person, but I guessed the ending right at the start.

There are heavy themes but, at its core, Furious is a feel-good novel.

Bottom line: If you're a car / bike person, definitely pick up a copy of Furious.

I love the Fast and Furious movies, so I was so excited about this one. Unfortunately it just did not live up to it for me. It was just okay, nothing special.

Thank you NetGalley and Page Street Publishing for accepting my request for an ARC of this book!
Some people are born fearless, but most of us think if we keep running fast enough, we’ll stay ahead of whatever scares us.
3.5/5
I am a sucker for Pacton and her writing. I loved Jo and El and how their relationship grew and the reader got to go on this journey with them. The story itself read like a movie, though there were so many F&F references that I sadly didn’t get. (I’ve never seen F&F) but that didn’t help me from having a good time.

Super fun! As a queer fan of the Fast and Furious movies myself, I could not wait to get my hands on this book. It did not disappoint. It was a lot of fun, just the right number of homages and references. It will be fun for fans of sporty sapphic romance (not just F&F fans or racing fans), too.

I do hope a man editor takes a look at this - not sure if it was the co-writing, but there were a couple of small details that were inconsistent throughout.

While I loved the romance between our two characters as well as the details of their lives outside of the romance, I did think some of the plot was a little thin. In particular, El's relationship with her sister (and the fact that she wanted her to come home) seemed predictable and fell flat for me. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the details about JoJo's grief and having to re-evaluate her dreams in the light of her mom's death.

The ending was definitely a "happy for now" - realistic but also didn't feel too neatly tied up. Excited to see what these two come up with next.

Honestly this gave me paper towns by john green vibes. Which is one of the first books i remember reading and loving.

Jojo is such a goofball and I honestly love it. Her humor is very similar to my own and I’m hilarious. Max is good girl. Wears her retainer, volunteers for things, straight A’s. She puts all of it on the line though for her sister.

This book has some very deep undertones with family issues. Jojo lost her mom and El lost her sister. The grief in this book is very present. They are both constantly fighting it. Their pain.

I was invested in Jojos grief but El’s… no. I like El. I think shes a great character but I didnt care about her finding Max. Mostly because what I thought would happen is exactly what happened. It is the main plot and I like the way it ended but I just wasnt too interested in it.