simone soltani's debut novel is an absolute MUST read! 4.5/5 stars easily!!!!!

i loved this book with absolutely everything in me. the story, the characters, the plot, i was so invested.

dev and willow were such a beautiful and wholesome couple. i loved getting both characters point of view and being able to see their emotions whilst falling in love.

simone's representation of chronic illness with willow was executed with such perfection and care. getting to hear willow's day to day struggles and what it's like navigating her life was so information and beautiful to read.

overall i loved how quick and easy to read this book was. i always love reading f1 romance books and this one definitely fulfilled all my expectations. i recommend it to everyone!

thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

4.25 stars ♡
⟶ honestly im such a sucker for a sports romance

☀️”Her happiness is blinding, like staring into the sun. I don’t want to look away. I’d let her steal the sight from my eyes, the breath from my lungs. I’d let her do her worst and still be eternally grateful.” ☀️

his love for her is insane. it’s something every delulu girl wishes to experience in her life. i have literally been playing “foolish one” by taylor bc this book got me so giddy checking my mailbox for a love confession as beautiful as his 🤭🤭 to my displeasure there weren’t any 😞

🏁 ᴘʟᴏᴛ 🏁

the book follows dev and willow, our two main characters. dev is a formula 1 driver and willow is his best friend’s little sister. who has had an insane childhood crush on him bc obviously he’s so perfect and amazing !!

it starts in dev’s perspective, and he had just kissed willow and is still freaking about it. then fast forward 7 months later, and they’ve forgotten it’s ever happened (or tried). but willow had just graduated and she is currently jobless so she pays her brother a little visit, where she obviously sees dev, only to discover he has gotten into a huge scandal. who does he hire to fix it?? surprise surprise, it’s willow😌

🩷 ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ 🩷

🏎️ the formula 1 aspect. im not into sports ngl, but why was this actually interesting?? f1 played a big part of the story, it wasn’t just about the romance. and it looked like the author had done so much research and stuff bc everything looked and sounded really thought out. obviously i could be wrong bc i don’t know shit about it, but i found it really intriguing when usually I don’t. so if you are fans of f1, it is a big part of the story and not just swept to the side.

🎀 the romance or more specifically, dev. he was one of the sweetest boys ever. he had so much respect for willow, and as much as he liked her, he never did anything to make her uncomfortable or awkward since they are coworkers after all. anytime she did anything, he was her #1 supporter and vice versa. they both took care of eachother AND no miscommunication im actually gonna sob i was so happy.

💐 ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ’ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ 💐

😬 <b>the beginning.</b> we only got to see the aftermath of their first kiss, and I think I would’ve liked to see at least what led to it or something bc in all honesty, it was a little random. and so when they reunited and they were all awkward bc they kissed, I didn’t feel as much tension because I didn’t witness it yk?? but that’s my only complaint because the rest was absolute perfection!!

🧸 ǫᴜᴏᴛᴇs 🧸

ᯓᡣ𐭩 ”Good luck today.”
“Don’t need it,” I tease, mirroring her grin. “I’ve got you.”

ᯓᡣ𐭩 “I may not have won the race today, but having willow in my arms feels better than winning ever could.”

ᯓᡣ𐭩 “She’s beaming up at me now, and I swear my heart doesn’t know what to do at the sight of it. I’m down so fucking bad.”

💌 ᴄᴏɴᴄʟᴜsɪᴏɴ 💌

basically if you can’t tell <u>im obsessed</u> with this book and i think you should read it asap 🥹🥹

it’s the most cutesiest lighthearted romance where sports actually plays a factor if thats your thing AND swoon-worthy mmc. literally what’s not to love!?!? please tell me because all i see is green flags <33

thanks to netgalley and berkley publishing group for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review!

OMGGG MY FIRST ARC!!! Thank you to Netgalley, Berkeley Publishing and of course the amazing author Simone Soltani.

Cross the line is a sport romance that is a mix of forbidden romance and brother’s best friend. Due to Willow’s last relationship that caused a rift in her brother’s friendship she vowed to never do it again, but after a stolen drunk make out session with Dev, boundaries are blurred. Normally I don’t like this trope in romance because it’s usually weird and I would hate for my brother to be in my business- but this I actually didn’t hate. If you enjoy a good slow burn this is the book for you, I love how willow was able to truly blossom with Dev.

My only concern…I was a bit disconnected from dev in the first chapters when we’re learning of “the scandal” and in that moment his main concern was to get laid by some stranger… sir sort your life first. Im also not a fan of how many times I needed to be reminded that Willow is petite. But nonetheless it was a great read and I honestly found their relationship really cute

This one was cute! The romance was slow burn, but I loved getting Willow and Dev's relationship prior. They were so cute together. This book had tons of sweet and humorous moments. There was tons of diversity and the F1 aspect was fun to read about.

Right book, wrong time :(

I started this book while being in a super busy phase of life and accidentally put it down for a few weeks. When I got back to it, I was already 65% into the book and couldn't jump back in (despite really loving the first half!)

I'd definitely recommend this book in general, but it isn't an all time favorite, and my experience reading it (much of which is my fault!!!) wasn't ideal

3.25! this was super super cute!!! i really loved the f1 aspect of it!! that’s one thing i’ve never really paid attention to or read about so it was so fun getting to jump into a whole new world!! and willow my social media manager queen (was so excited to have some “having a horrible time trying to find social media employment” representation until she got offered a job like 3 chapters in but alls well that ends well i guess lol)
anyways i really enjoyed willow and dev’s relationship and their progression and the mutual pining while trying to stay professional and it was overall super cute!!!

however i did feel the relationship jumped from like 0-100 and i was getting like whiplash almost at all the back and forth between the constant “we have to be professional” and “i’m done being professional” back and forth. and the epilogue just felt unnecessary at times? and also all over the place???

overall it was super cute and a great debut!! would definitely recommend and will def read more from this author in the future! just a few things i personally didn’t love!!!

The chronic illness representation in this was done with such care so thank you to the author for that. It rang so true to me and made me emotional. This was my first F1 romance and my first book that I’ve read by the author and I would seek out Simone’s work again.

Cross the Line brings Dev and Willow back together again after their secretive kiss months ago. They both haven’t seen each other for so long, so the tension between them is high. Dev has more things to worry about than their kiss. He is facing a toxic work environment where they are pushing him out of the way, so the F1 company promotes the CEO son instead. And that’s not working for Dev. He worked his butt off for his career, so he is more than ready to fix his professional and personal image.

Willow is more than ready to work on her career. She has been studying for so long that she is ready to gain experience. Thankfully, Willow might gain connections after her brother invites her to F1 events. But she may be over her head when she sees Dev again. Willow hasn’t forgotten about their kiss. It’s always replaying in their minds, and it doesn’t help that she will be working for him. It’s a big opportunity, but it’s risky as well since there are still feelings for each other (hidden secretly). 

I always like to read new romance books from diverse authors. They always bring something different to the romance genre. And I always love the representations that are included as well. 

However, I felt that Dev and Willow's connection to each other wasn’t fully there until the middle, which is a bit late for my take. I wanted their spark or chemistry from the beginning so we could build from there. But claiming that the spark was there from the get-go wasn’t working, in my opinion. I am not saying that I didn’t like the romance. I just wanted more than just stating the facts.

If you enjoy reading about F1 drivers with diverse characters and forbidden romance, then you will enjoy reading this book.

I have not dove into the F1 romance universe since reading (and loving) the dirty air series... three years ago? (jesus christ how is it possible that was that long ago????) but this was such a fun reintroduction to this world !!! I completely devoured the tension between Dev and Willow, with their history and the double forbidden nature of both their working together and him being her brother's best friend I fucking love a brother's best friend and I'll die on that hill). This was so fun and swoony and witty and steamy and the perfect ending to my vacation

If you've ever watched an episode of Race to Survive or watched Charles Leclerc edits on TikTok, the Cross the Line is for you. I've never read a story set on the paddocks of Formula 1 racing before, but now that I have, I'm a changed woman. Readers, check your engines.

Cross the Line is perfect for you if you love:
BIPOC MCs
Brother's Best Friend
F1
FMC with hyper mobility
Throttled by Lauren Asher

A solid debut, I devoured the entire book in one sitting.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for my early copy to review.

Hmmmmm….what DID I think???? I think it went on too long. It needed either 3 fewer chapters or to have them labeled as actual chapters, rather than an epilogue. I dunno…too much “wrapping it up.”
Anyway, I absolutely loved learning about the world of Formula One racing, though. That, I dug. Never thought I’d be saying that, for sure. I also enjoyed the rest of the folks in the paddock, maybe even better than the mains. Like, Chavra is a hoot! And I enjoyed Neha Auntie a lot, too. I even really enjoyed hating the billionaire with the nepo baby.
Ultimately, I just think the writing, the style, the overall vibe was just a little cringe. Sorry.

Quick and easy read. I didn't really feel connected to our main characters until about 40% in, but after that I was hooked and finished the book fairly quickly. I would say it's a good introduction into F1 sports romance and would definitely be interested in future books in that universe!

I would have loved to see more conflict or sabotaging with Dev and Argonaut in general. The conflict seemed a little too simple for me, along with Dev getting the spot in another team. I didn't really see Dev as the good driver just because he won one race in the rain with his opponents getting into a collision.

Overall, pretty good <3

I love that romancelandia is heading into its F1 era. Can we please give hockey a break lol! I liked this for the most part! It was pretty cute. The characters were solid and the romance was a standard brothers best friend trope. Sounds like it will be a series if I had to guess. I’d read another book from this author.

What a cute debut by Simone Soltani!

I have never watched F1, so my knowledge was very limited but I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Although there were a few spots that dragged, the book kept me entertained overall! I loved the F1 aspect of the book, and found myself actually wanting a bit more of it? So I can’t wait for the rest of the series, which will *hopefully* also be F1 related.

Dev was the most cinnamon-y cinnamon roll! He is such a softie at heart and truly cares about those closest to him. There were many cute moments that I highlighted where Dev said the most adorable, sweet things to Willow. I really loved Willow too! I thought she was a very well rounded character and she had some funny moments throughout the book.

Definitely suggest this one if you’re looking for an easy, fun F1 romance - even if you aren’t an F1 fan yourself (yet)!

Are you looking to dive into Formula One romance? Do you also love a touch of forbidden romance / brother’s best friend trope? This is the book for you. As an avid F1 fan and someone who has been heavily into motorsports for five years now, I was so beyond excited to read this book — especially since there aren’t enough F1 romance books out there in comparison to other sports. 

As always, I want to start with the things that I enjoyed about this book. I found myself meshing well with Soltani’s writing. You can tell she put a lot of heart into crafting this diverse and charming set of characters and it’s something that shines through the dialogue in this novel. I loved getting to experience the development of Willow and Dev’s relationship, especially when it comes to the support these two characters show each other throughout the book. On top of that, I was ecstatic to see some chronic illness representation in the FMC.

Now onto the things that prevented me from giving this book more than 3.75 stars. The initial first half of the book was extremely slow. While I adored Willow as a character from the start, it took me a while to warm up to Dev’s personality. On top of that, Dev’s whole mentality that Willow could “fix him” felt like a red flag (pun intended) in itself. Overall, I think this book could have been paced out a little better and the page count could’ve been cut down if some of the scenes that were just reiterating what happened were cut from it. But, that’s one of the things I seem to dislike about dual POV books. There is no good reason to recap from the other individual’s point of view EVERY chapter. 

I feel like this book could’ve had more balance between racing and romance as well. I also didn’t appreciate the author using crashes as a silly plot point. Drivers don’t crash for trivial reasons such as being distracted by thinking about kissing one and nor should something potentially fatal be choked up to something so silly. On the flip side, I did like the race commentary that was featured in the book to help make the story more immersive. 

Honestly, this book was a quick and fun read for anyone looking for a F1-based romance — especially if you’re intimidated and don’t know much about the sport but just want to enjoy the vibes.

SUCH a CUTE read. I am now obsessed with F1 😂 Willow and Dev just make you really love them! I lovedddd how the author incorporated the Indian culture in here as well! I really hope this turns into a series because I HAVE to know Oakleys story!

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read an ARC copy of this book!

I loved that the main characters are Black/brown and that theirs is an interracial romance, the bits of Dev’s Indian culture sprinkled throughout, that there was no third-act breakup or major drama, and getting a glimpse into the world of F1 sports car racing.

I didn’t love this more because the book has some of my least favorite tropes: brother’s best friend, employer/employee romance, and a too young (21) heroine. Those are on me, though, and don’t speak to the quality of the book.

This book was not what I expected, but that's not a bad thing. A lot of F1 romances that I've read really focus on the international aspect of the sport. While there was international travel in this book, the focus was more on their families and the characters coming home to visit (AND their families happen to be next door neighbors). The "forbidden" aspect of the romance was believable, since neither one wanted to hurt their relationship with their best friend/brother. Overall, a great book that balanced humor and emotion! I'll be on the look out for more from Simone!

Sports romances have taken over a big part of the romance community, and I'm on the hunt for the best ones. This one, of course, has to be a part of the race, and I'm thrilled to say I ADORED it. The cover caught my attention and the story grabbed me on page one and never let go.

We follow Willow and Dev, who have known each other since they were kids because Dev is Willow's brother's best friend. She always had a crush on him, and he had no idea. Then they kissed a year before the story started, and Dev couldn't stop thinking about her since. (She fell first, and he fell harder.) Dev is a famous F1 driver and he finds himself in a big social media scandal, which leads him to offer Willow a job of his social media manager to help him recover his image. Enter lots of forced proximity and delicious tension.

The romance is addicting, fun, lighthearted, sweet, and sexy, and I loved every second of it. Willow and Dev communicate really well, and the progression of the romance feels so natural and right. They're both sunshine and charming, which makes the book the ultimate comfort read. There is not an overwhelming amount of angst, so it's perfect if you want something lighter and less intense. There are also some really fun side characters, and I'm excited to see them in the other books in the series (I hope there will be lots of them).

Needless to say, this is a sports romance I will recommend over and over. If you want to read a forced proximity, brother's best friend, sunshine + sunshine F1 romance, you need this on your TBR and shelves immediately.