This book had me crying on the Metro North on my way home from the city. Other than that, it was cute, it was spicy, it was all the F1 fun you can imagine. Cosmin was such a sweetheart. Then there was Phaedra Morgan, total badass. Their love story was adorable and I cannot wait for Nat and Klaus’ book! The side story with Phaedra and her dad broke my heart. Even through the hard times in brought her family closer. But anytime they mentioned her dad I felt like crying. And poor Klaus too. I loved it how it was a spicy love story but also such a heart wrenching story about a family.

While I loved the premise of this book, and really wanted to love it, it ended up just having lots of storylines that didn’t start out and build.

I wanted to like Phaedra more, I really did. She had all the makings of being fantastic, but at times it was hard to root for her. A lot of unfortunate things happened in her life, but it was all just dumped without much exposition. She did, however, have fantastic growth, which I could appreciate!

Cosmin’s character was great, even if his motivations didn’t always make sense. He fell and fell hard for Phae, which I always love to see. He was truly fantastic.

Even though I didn’t quite love the story of Phae and Cos, I was captivated by the back story line of Nat and Klaus. Good thing they’ll have book 2! I’m invested in their relationship already.

Overall, the book is fine, and if you love Formula 1, give it a try!

Thanks Forever for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really liked the role reversal with a female grump and the backdrop of racing. However, Phaedra did start to drag on me by the end and I didn’t feel a strong chemistry and I didn’t buy into their relationship. It all felt a bit forced. Not a fave for me

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for a copy of this ARC

I loved this book so much I don't even know where to begin. First off, love an F1 moment. Second off, love to see women in motorsport, especially as a race engineer! People can talk about nepo babies all the want *cough Lance Stroll cough* and how they shouldn't be in the sport, but also, a lot of them are genuinely masters at what they do (looking at you, Carlos and Max).

Phaedra and Cosmin have such a beautifully woven story all the way from begrudging coworkers. As a reader, we get to witness them not only fall in love, but also deal with the realities of life, family, being a woman in the workplace, and dealing with finding the balance between it all. This book will be great to help fill the winter break void (because you'll want to read it more than once).

Josie Juniper does a great job of incorporating technically accurate elements of racing without being tooooo technical, while also including enough broad stroke details for a beginner to keep up with everything as well. Kind of like Will Buxton coming along for the ride with us during the book almost but with a much steamier finish line, haha. Would definitely recommend for anyone that loves a good workplace trope, enemies to lovers situation, forced proximity because of a traveling circus (the sport's words, not mine), forbidden romance, or Drive to Survive. Actually, I think I may go give it another re-read right now...

Thank you so much to Forever for sending me an advance copy!

This book will be published on October 8th, 2024.

I think this is the first time that I have read an arc months and months in advance. And this was just such a fun time!!
I am not sure how to describe the writing style of this book but it felt different compared to other romances and other romances from Forever.

"Closing your eyes won't conceal you, sweet girl. I'll find you anyway."

I love the tension between the FMC, Phaedra and the MMC, Cosmin! This had a few of my favorite tropes: workplace romance, sports related and enemies to lovers! Phaedra was such a boss B who is also the daughter of the team owner but she had held her own as a race engineer. She is all about the business and takes such pride in what she does. She especially did not like Cosmin's playboy antics and the show he would give to the cameras. Cosmin comes across as this cocky,

Even though the romance was the primary focus of the book each character had their own side stories that were a focus. Phaedra's father had become ill and as the team owner there was also the business element of when he would eventually pass what would happen to the team. My heart broke for Phaedra as there was so much happening at once: this blossoming relationship with someone who she knew she shouldn't be with, losing her father, and another element the bruised relationship with her best friend Natalia.

Cosmin did not have the best upbringing and with that he was really close with his sister. And we learn over the course of the book about what happened when he was younger and then his sister also says her side of things as she is older than him. Even while dealing with his past & it blended into his present, he was also there for Phaedra.

I thought there was a good a balance of all the side items with the romance.

"I'd like to be friends."
"That's dangerous."
"So is racing. So is life."

I really love Phaedra and Cosmin as a couple. We learn fairly early on that Cosmin was smitten but even though he was into her, she would not give in. Their rocky relationship was putting a strain on their communication during the races which was not translating into podium wins. Once they let down their guard and their attraction to each other, that was when the magic happened. I understood Phaedra's hesitancy because of the work dynamic piece of it. They were so incredibly hot together. Phaedra kept trying to resist her feelings but Cosmin refuses to believe that their occasional hook ups were it. I love that Cosmin was Romanian as I feel like I do not see that nationality showcased in most romance and with that comes the language. I really hope this gets an audiobook because I would LOVE to hear how the male narrator says the Romanian phrases.

F1 is a growing trend in romances and I can see it continuing into 2025. And you bet I will be reading as many as I can get my hands on!

I am looking forward to the next book in the series as that one could be VERY interesting!

4.5

I will start by saying that I love Formula 1 so so much. This in fact was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I think it didn't blow me away as much as I wanted I to. I might reread it before release and hopefully I'll like it more.

I had a couple of issues in the first maybe 20%. I felt like Cosmic didn't respect Phaedra as an engineer. A person that makes innuendo comments to his engineer gross, I'm kind of glad that attitude changed once they kissed. Now Phaedra also in the beginning didn't respect Cosmin and calls me stupid cause she is STEM girlie and he is just a driver. I think those are the small details in the beginning that didn't make this a 5 star read.

WE LOVE AN F1 BOOK WHERE HE IS FROM A MIDFIELD TEAM BECAUSE THEY NEED LOVE TOO!

Now once we get to the actual relationship and actual romancing of this book. I did enjoy it. (Was it weird that he asked if she was fertile? yes.) I say check the TW before starting this because Phaedra does work through finding out her dad has terminal cancer, and his death in this book.

Overall, it was fun. I would recommend. I will reread this before release day.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

didn't love this as much as i was hoping to! the pacing threw me off a bit and i found the chemistry to be unbelievable between our main characters. the switch from rivals to lovers was a bit clunky and a little too insta-love for me. there was no build up and a lot of the inner monologues from both characters dragged for me. found myself skimming a good amount since i didn't really connect with any of the characters.

unfortunately, a miss for me. thanks forever pub for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I'm a STEMInist first, human second and I absolutely devoured this debut!

I was instantly drawn into the premise (F1 racer and his bad ass, female race engineer). I was heartbroken to see that early ARC reviews of this stated the didn't like the FMC. Honestly, I think it was ultimately my favorite part- Josie Juniper's ability to really humanize Phaedra. And to be honest, I saw a lot of myself in her. She was self destructive and too self-aware of it. I knew instantly this was intentional. This affected almost every single relationship she had. I'd hope if you happen to read this and don't also see yourself in Phae, you'd at least empathize with her (even just a little). ❤️‍🩹

The romance was tender and the dynamic between these two was electric. Truly FULL STEAM AHEAD.

I loved that you didn't necessarily have to be the biggest, die-hard F1 fan to follow the story, but the little details (the grand prix circuits and minor technical things, etc.) never felt too overpowering for me. If anything, it enhanced the story and made me more intrigued about the sport and Josie's passion seeped through the pages.

Thank you endlessly to Caroline and Dana at Forever Pub for the advanced copy!! ♥️🏎️🏁

3.5 stars rounded up!

This Formula 1 romance was unique in a lot of ways! I have yet to read a race engineer x driver trope until now, and it allowed for some great tension due to the forced proximity and how BOTH of their jobs were dependent on their ability to communicate. Another unique aspect was that it was the FMC, Phaedra, that struggled more with the communication, and I honestly felt myself really disliking for her. I feel that Juniper could've better explain the "why" behind this behavior, but as a reader I caught on eventually. After I put in the work to analyze Phaedra's character more, I disliked her less and found myself resonating with her in some unexpected ways.

Our MMC, Cosmin, was the F1 driver book boyfriend of my DREAMS! He really stole the show for me in this book, hitting on so many of my favorite tropes in romance novels. Boy obsessed, tortured hero, not-so-subtle pining? SIGN ME UP!

I respected how well Juniper portrayed the dynamic of an F1 team and she was super accurate in the descriptions of driving the car, racing strategy, and team hierarchies. As an avid fan of the sport, I loved that she did not shy away from using super technical terms!

I think that eventually I’d could like this…but I just was connecting with it.

The way Cosmin feels to pulled to Phaedra was great! His unsent emails to her?? I want to know how that all plays out! And the fact that she was also really fighting the attraction!! but she also seemed to dislike him more than she could seemingly ever like him?? Even though I could see where it was going…it was hard to imagine it happening in a way that made sense.

I was way more interested in Natalia and Klaus?? So I’ll probably read that, if/when it comes out.

There’s a lot of things I didn’t like about this book. Which is a bummer because I REALLY wanted to love it.

And her dad is sick and he dies in the story - that IS on the content warnings page, and I did read that but it didn’t connect right away that it was her dad and that’s not something I can read.

DNF @ 35%

Thank you so much to Forever for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars As soon as I saw in the description that Double Apex is a Formula 1 romance, I was sold. Add in the fact that the FMC is a woman in STEM and the MMC's race engineer? *chef's kiss*

Math prodigy Phaedra Morgan is one of the best race engineers in Formula 1. She's brilliant, witty, and direct to the point, especially when it comes to her team's cocky driver, Cosmin Ardelean. Cosmin is new to the team and well known for his romantic exploits and carefree attitude. But Cosmin's cockiness is hiding his secrets--namely, his haunted past and the fact that he's wanted Phaedra ever since he first met her. Since he can't haver her, he needles her instead, pleased with any reaction he gets from her. The tension between the two reaches a boiling point and is affecting not only their bond as driver and engineer, but the rest of the team as well. The pair strike up a secret arrangement, keeping things casual since any sort of relationship between the two is forbidden. With all eyes on them, their secret won't be able to stay hidden for long, especially as things slip out of their control and their feelings are less casual.

I freaking loved Cosmin and Phaedra! A fave micro-trope of mine is when the guy has been pining after the girl for so long and he finally has the chance to tell her about his feelings. Also, when he spoke Romanian to her and she began to learn? Adorable. Phaedra was intense and weird at times, but so lovable. She has a lot of feelings and didn't always express them in the best way, but she learned and took chances with Cosmin. The book also deals with preparing for the loss of a loved one, grief, an abusive childhood, and SA, so definitely read the content warnings ahead of time. It was all beautifully well done and I'm so excited for the next story in the series!

Double Apex was such a unique read; in the end I was at a loss for words. It’s a book that takes on the very harsh topics of loss in real time and the grief that comes with it, a non sugar coated view of what it’s like for a woman to work in a very male dominated field, and how opening yourself up to changing your view of someone you once misunderstood can change the trajectory of your life. Josie created a world of characters that really connected with me as a reader through a range of emotions, and even in the unhappy times, I truly understood the humanity of their experiences.

This was a story of incredibly passionate main characters who wore their full range of emotions-through the ups and the downs- on their sleeves. Phaedra and Cosmin were an incredible depiction of the reverse grumpy x sunshine trope.

I went into this book expecting an F1 workplace romance and came out of it with a lot more. Josie wrote in a way that made the reader invested in more than just the love story, but in the holistic wellbeing of all of the characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next in this series.

*I would truly caution the reader to look into the content warnings.*

Oh hey it’s meeeeeee I’m reading this for work! Aaaaaaand there's a character limit on reviews here are some more words

F1 romances are entering the chat and I’m all about it! I was so excited to see this one land on my kindle and then proceeded to read it in one day.

Synopsis: Phaedra is all about the data as a race engineer for Emerald F1, a position that requires her to be completely in tune with her driver. Except, her driver is Cosmin, an up and coming driver with a bit of a playboy attitude. Forced to rise above their differences, they concoct a plan to hopefully land the team some podiums this season.

I love the tension in a good enemies to lovers and this definitely had tension. Cosmin and Phaedra had the banter and fire from the very beginning.

Seeing how the main characters pushed each other to be better versions of themselves was so sweet! They truly felt destined for each other. 💓

There were some family things that came up that definitely hurt my heart but added so much depth to the book. I appreciate a romance that can pull at your emotions a bit and really make you feel invested in the HEA.

My tiny complaint is that while I loved the Romanian language (there was a good amount), half the time I ended up using Google translate to see what Cosmin was saying which got a little cumbersome to be flipping back and forth 🤪

+ F1 driver x race engineer
+ hate-to-love
+ workplace romance
+ draga mea (iykyk)
+ spicy
+ dual pov

Thank you to @readforeverpub for the eARC 🤍

this book was a rollercoasterrrr… but in the best way! it was kinda refreshing to have a FMC who was more sharp tongued than the MMC. Phae & Cos’s love was explosive to say the least but throughout the crazy drama in each other’s side stories, they were each other’s constant. when it came to romance, the passion was THERE. i also think the author touched nicely on how grief affects people in different ways as both MC’s experienced their own forms. also also, big ups for female empowerment, putting the FMC in such a high position in this male dominated field!