This was such a cute and enjoyable F1 romance book! Dev and Willow’s chemistry is undeniable especially with their past.

Dev is so thoughtful and down bad for Willow. His heart is hers!! Willow is supportive and caring. Every stolen glance and interaction was so cute🥹
Dev and Willow are both family oriented and it was very sweet seeing that throughout the book as well.

Read if you like:
✨brothers best friend
✨dual pov
✨sports romance (F1)

4.5 stars.

I had never read a F1 romance before and the whole world of F1 was so vivid and super fun. The driving conflict of this book felt like the right amount of stakes as the FMC is hired by her brother's best friend to fix his image and manage his social media. They had an ill fated kiss months ago and swear not to talk about it or flirt with each other and plus this is her first job out of college so if she is caught dating her client anyway won't that look unprofessional and doesn't he want the best for her?? And again the brother's best friend thing.

The MMC is proposed as a playboy kind of racer but I appreciated that in actuality he was a nice guy from the very beginning. The FMC has a chronic illness/disability and that is not on me to comment on I just want to mention it in case readers are seeking out that rep.

My reason for the half star is that this was a bit slow. I didn't mind it due to the chemistry between characters even their funny side character friends but with dual POV and going back in time or rehashing what just happened from the other perspective that got a little old after a while and I was ready for the next scene. But again, the quality of writing was so good I can forgive just a o.5.

Thank you to Berkley for the free book. I will def look out for this author's next.

Wanted to read this one for the cover, stayed for the romance. Such a good book! Made me want to get into F1

🏁 Cross The Line by Simone Soltani 🏁
Formula 1 driver Dev Anderson is having an image crisis after his social media manager quit by blowing up his socials with inflammatory rumors. His best friend’s little sister Willow Williams has a newly minted sports marketing degree and would be just the woman for the job of fixing Dev’s reputation. The only problem is, Dev and Willow have been avoiding the fact that they’re totally into each other for years.

I am so in to Formula 1 romance lately and this one did not disappoint! I loved Dev and Willow, and how carefully they both try to avoid the fact that they’ve been pining for years. The actual racing drama and intrigue was super interesting too!

I love how clear Dev is with Willow once he’s accepted that his feelings aren’t going away and aren’t avoidable. So often in romance the characters agree to a physical relationship even when they know they want more, and I loved seeing Dev buck this trend and state his intentions with no room for misunderstanding.

I recommend this one for romance readers who enjoy:
🏁 F1 racing romance
👦🏻 brother’s best friend
🏎️ forced proximity
🚫 forbidden romance (boss/employee & brother’s best friend)
🗣️ dual pov
🌲 mutual pining
❤️‍🩹 no 3rd act breakup

Huge thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the advanced copy to read and review! All opinions are mine. Cross The Line is out on July 23.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc! This one was so cute and with a happy ending. I enjoyed the dual POV, and the storyline around F1. I only just have trouble to get to it from the beginning until 50%, after the midpoint, it was good and adorable. Will read more about the author.

LOVED THIS. It was so fun to watch Dev and Willow fall in love all over the world. Love a best friends brother and she falls first, but he falls harder. I had a blast with this one! Highly recommend!!

I’m usually not a fan of brother’s best friend so was a little hesistant to read this but I was pleasantly surprised! I loved how Dev loved Willow and how he showed up for her throughout the relationship. I also absolutely adored Willow as an heroine and hope to see more of her in guest appearances in future books. Overall this was a cute and fun read!

This was such a cute book. I really loved the chemistry between Willow and Dev. I also really appreciated the diverse cast of side characters. This book has the perfect set up to become a series.

It did take me up until the halfway mark in the book to become really invested but after that the pace definitely picked up and I was hooked.

If you’re a fan of sports romances I definitely think you should give Cross the Line a read.

This book was an absolute delight. I loved following Dev and Willow as they grew into themselves. Relationships that are built off of history are always complicated, but often worth it in the end. I enjoyed getting to know more about Formula 1 too, which I didn't expect

I'm in my F1 era, so I was so so excited to read this and it was exactly what I wanted. There was tension but not overly angsty and no 3rd act breakup, and it was just a great time. Even if you aren't into F1 everything was easy to follow! Forced proximity is favorite trope of mine, so I ate this up. I could absolutely read more about Willow and Dev! The dual POV was perfect and I loved that we actually got a lot of the sport in a sports romance! Definitely recommend!

This was cute! it wasn't a favorite of mine I don't really understand F1 racing really. But the romance and the friend group are what got me! they all had each other's back in everything! Her brother is a protective brother when it comes to willow! I love how dev and willow worked but also fell in love even tho the love was always there and was there beforehand to but kept it from her brother! She worked hard to make something of herself, and it was a nice start to make it where she knows the stuff and her racer was a family friend. It did suck at the end how he got to make his dream come true with his friends. But I'm glad willow was his sidekick all along and supported him no matter what! Also, she got closer to her brother at the end and understood why he left the life he had as a racer. Dev was also a great boyfriend and spoiled her and treated her way better then Jeremey ever did.

This book was super cute and nice easy and fun read. My only qualm with this book is the fact that they recap what happened in the previous chapter in the next chapter, as if I didn't just read the last chapter. It's not a TV show, it's a book. Other than that, I really enjoyed the characters and their development, even though in the beginning of the book the timeline and the characters confused me a little bit but as a read on, I was able to understand more. I would totally recommend this book to others!

I was excited to read an F1 story with an Indian male lead, especially one written by an Indian female. being my first F1 story, I quite enjoyed it although I did wish that there was more of Dev's struggle being in the minority. I felt that there was so much more that could have been shared beyond just skin colour.

The romance between Dev and Willow was really cute and I enjoyed how they handled their relationship as it developed. The tropes were great - childhood friend's to lovers and brother's best friend are fun tropes and I felt that they handled Oakley when he was unhappy about it. I also appreciated that Oakley was quite mature about it all vs. being completely irrational.

Dev was a sweetheart - I love the date that he planned for Willow before they were home and thought it was so adorable and perfect. I also love the scheming moms, you can't avoid them

Pick this up for an easy and cute read

This book started out interesting enough but I was not able to finish it. I did not care for the relationship between the main female character and her brother. I also felt like the main male character and female characters had the same voice in their internal thoughts. Others might not have these thoughts and could get through reading it, the writing style was very modern and breezy.

I love F1 romance and really wanted to love this one but unfortunately, I ended up DNF'ing at around 35%. I could not get attached to any of the characters (I did not really care for them actually) and I couldn't get into the story at all. I think the big issue for me was the beginning is way too slow and nothing really happens. I tried to put it down and come back to it but it took me everything to read more than just a couple pages at a time. I think this was just not for me but it could be perfect for someone else.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Formula 1 racer Dev Anderson has his career on the line. After a social media disaster he's looking to rebuild his image. When his best friend's sister, Willow Williams, steps into the picture with her recent college degree in sports management, he knows she's the perfect person to fix the problem. Willow has pined after Dev all her life but she knows he's off limits. When the two are forced to spend time together through their agreement, their short make out mistake a year ago comes roaring back to the forefront forcing Dev to realize his new found feelings for Willow and for Willow to see her crush on Dev is more than she ever though it would be. Can the two work together and avoid feelings getting in the way?
It's only recently that I have been engrossed by the power that is Formula 1. I love the fast pace of the races. I love learning about the drivers. It's intense and fun and one day I hope to see it in person, rather than on my TV screen. And I've been looking for romantic fiction, reminiscent of movies like Days of Thunder, Gran Turismo, and Rush. This one fit the bill!
I enjoyed the tropes set out in this one: childhood friends to lovers, brothers best friend, best friend's sister, off limits. These tropes are always fun and always bring fun drama and suspense to a romantic story. The need for the characters to try and stay away from each other, despite their attraction. The build up in chemistry and romance. The secretive nature of not letting anyone know. All great hooks for a story.
I enjoyed Willow's character. She's a bit shy but at the same time has no qualms letting people know her needs. At the same time, she is strong to almost a fault given her struggle with hypermobility which I assumed was EDS. I liked this representation that was woven into the story. I did think it might potentially cause an issue somewhere along the lines, but it didn't. Which was a bit disappointing. I feel like if you're going to include this aspect, there should be a plot line too encompass it's being there in the first place. The reader is just told about it through Willow's eyes but it never causes any issues at all throughout the entire story. Seems unlikely to me.
Dev was a hard one too pin down as far as liking him or not. It seems he's a bit of a self proclaimed playboy, but I don't really see any of that in his personality. If anything, he's definitely more of the brooding and protective type. I was a bit surprised with how fast he went from not having any kind of feelings for Willow to being almost obsessed with how much he cared for her and wanted her. It caused me a bit of whip lash. I needed more of an unfolding and that wasn't really there. I also wanted more from his races and being a racer, since it's very central to the plot. But I felt that was a bit lacking, as well. I did love his relationship with his friends who are also ensconced in Formula 1.
I enjoyed the author's inclusion of different cultures. I always like too see this in books as it's important to show a more inclusive view of the world. I would have liked to see more of how this affected the characters, though. Dev does talk about being a minority and touches on how this has been hard for him as a driver, but I really don't see it explored enough given the author chose to include his background and skin color into the story.
I saw many parallels with Formula 1 as we currently know it. I could see the author did some research and tried to understand many of the aspects of the sport: the drivers, the teams, the set up at races, the pressure for the drivers, the competitive nature of the drivers and their teams, and the politics involved with the sport. Though the names of the drivers and the team names are changed, it was very obvious to me who they were modeled after. As a fan, I enjoyed that aspect yet at the same time would have liked to see the author take it into her own hands and really create characters and teams that were all her own.
I appreciate the no third act break up the author took. The epilogue, on the other hand, seemed kind of thrown in, like she had to include Willow and Dev would definitely be a forever thing and the only way to do that was with the cheesie scene given. I just would have liked to see a little more of that.
Finally, it's dual POV and that always makes me happy. I love watching the story unfold from both characters. It's fun too be in their heads and see how they are seeing things with each other.
I can see the side characters getting stories in the future, thought this one is definitely ok if it turns out to be a stand alone. There are some fun moments with humor and some cute spice but nothing over the top. I'm interested to see where the author might take future installments in this series and which characters she chooses to include.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The pulse in her neck is fluttering against my wrist, or maybe it's my own racing. Because if she decides that this won't work, I don't know what I'll do. I can't let her go now that I know what it feels like to hold and kiss and touch her. How it feels to love her. To be loved by her.

This was a really good F1 romance, or as my husband calls it, Ride to Survive 😂🤣😂🤣

I had a couple smaller issues with some of the characters and their motivations and whatnot, but this was still really entertaining, especially since I'm a huge F1 fan. Always so cool to read about what goes on behind the scenes at these races and in this sport.

I liked both characters, and Dev was such a softy 😍 It was nice to sort of see them build a relationship first as adults and then take it to the next level (always my preference though I know not for everyone 😌).

I should say it was very reminiscent of Throttled but there were definitely aspects I liked more about Cross the Line. The MMC not starting off as a complete douchebag being one of them.

Would recommend for any sports romance fans, especially those who enjoy F1.

This was sooooo stinking cute. Willow and Dev were so perfect. I appreciate the lack of toxicity this romance story had. It made it 10000xs better. The only reason I gave it 4 stars was because I found myself skimming a little and thought some parts were a little drawn out especially since we didn’t get to our “big” ish conflict until pretty deep into the book but other that it was an amazing read. I had a great time.

Personal enjoyment: 4 ⭐️
For it’s written purpose: 4.5 ⭐️

Overall: 4.25 ⭐️

The biracial rep was EVERYTHING! As someone so is also biracial, it was so freaking cool to see it so well written in this book. Not overdone, not tokenized, but a wonderful and realistic look into what it’s like

Also Dev is the perfect male love interest and he's so cheesy but it's charming as hell.

Willow was a lot of fun— she's surprisingly mature in a lot of ways and very smart while still having her own insecurities and working around her joint disorder (with was also extremely well written! Much better than the "I can push through it" BS that another very popular book described) I loved her drive and her passion for her job. I didn't love how often the author emphasized how "tiny and small" she was, but I gave it a bit of a pass because I assume it pertains to her joint disorder rather than trying to be the quirky-and-small trope.

F1 is a passing interest of mine and I thought the inclusion of the sport and lifestyle was really interesting to read about!

Overall I had a great time reading and devoured in just a day

thank you to berkeley and netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

i LOVE f1 romances so much, yet can never ever find any to read. when i saw this cover i immediately requested it knowing i'd love it.

i'm a very casual f1 fan, rather than the races i'm more of a fan of the drivers themselves and the engineering behind the cars, so even if you aren't very familiar with how f1 works, this book really does a great job of explaining and incorporating it in a way where people who have loved f1 for years and people who know nothing about it can both equally enjoy and understand what it happening.

dev and willow are the sweetest ever!!!! their relationship had me blushing and kicking my feet, so adorable. and yet, this book also had the perfect amount of tension and spiciness. it was a great balance of the two.

brothers best friend is always a great trope to read, and this book made it incredible. maybe i'm a bit biased because i love childhood friends to lovers but UGHH this book just did it for me!! it was basically all my favorite tropes in one book written beautifully.

four stars from me!!
(p.s. i also learned some hindi and gujarati words and increased my bollywood knowledge with this book, my friends were very impressed with me hehee)