I think this is a book I need to try as an ebook or physical, because I couldn't understand half the words from the male narrator with the accent. I am not an avid audiobook listener, so this may be a me problem, but unless I was 100% focused on the audio and my brain didn't wander at all, I couldn't keep track of what was going on.
Otherwise, the story seemed interesting, I liked have a female main character as an engineer in a sport that is very male dominated. I did find her quite judgy, but I could see why too since she had likely spent a lot of her life facing accusations of favouritism because of her dad, or just being disregarded since she is a woman.

Title: Double Apex
Author: Josie Juniper
Series: Frontrunners #1
Genre: Romance
Rating: 1.00
Pub Date: October 8, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC and ALC copies from Forever and Hachette Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Icky • Outdated • Misogynistic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Phaedra Morgan is one of the best race engineers in Formula 1. She’s a math prodigy with dazzling skill, cutting wit, and no patience for matters of the heart. Of course, her job would be a lot easier if she didn’t keep butting heads with their team’s cocky and infuriatingly hot new driver.

Cosmin Ardelean is intense and committed, but as famous for his off-track romantic exploits as his on-track wizardry. Yet his devil-may-care façade conceals a haunted past. When the pair strikes up a secret—and thrillingly forbidden—“arrangement” to improve their communication and bond of trust, the heat of their attraction turns to something more...

But no secret stays hidden for long in the racing world, and soon things are spinning out of control. With everything on the line, will they be able to strip away all their defenses and go full throttle for a chance at love?

💭 T H O U G H T S

Double Apex came onto my radar via an Instagram post from the publisher where this title was a 'Read Now' on NetGalley for a limited amount of time. I was in a sports romance mood at the time and the premise sounded decent so I decided to give it a try. Terrible idea!

Where to even begin with this book...

The characters are very problematic. And insufferable. Phaedra's character in a poor representation of women in STEM. She is immature and treats people around her like absolute garbage, including her best friend. As for Cosmin, he is made out to be the hero, but his blatantly (and continual) sexual harassment is disturbing.

The chemistry wasn't believable. I honestly didn't buy it for one moment.

The dialogue is ridiculous. I am not even sure how some of it made it through the editing process. Like what kind of person asks someone if they are fertile while engaging in sexual activities? And if they do, I don't need to be reading about it.

There are also time jumps throughout that make the entire thing feel choppy and disconnected.

And the biggest issue of all - the lack of consent and blatant sexual harassment. Cosmin was clearly told by Phaedra that she wasn't interested and asked to stop making inappropriate jokes in the work place. Yet, he continues to do so. That's not okay and fuels stereotypes that continue to exist and people may think this type of behaviour is okay. IT. IS. NOT.

As for the audio narration, I really appreciated the dual narration. However, the male narrator's super thick accent affected the clarity of his parts. Sometimes his chapters seemed mumbled and other times it seemed like he was whispering, which really affected the flow. The female voice was robotic and although it didn't have for a good listening experience, I did find it suited the character.

Every once in awhile I finish a book which should have been a DNF, Double Apex is one such book. I'll admit the premise had so much potential, yet the execution fell entirely flat. I'll never be on board for such blatant disregard for workplace and consensual boundaries. The fact mainstream media continues to market these types of situations as 'cute' is beyond my comprehension and turns my stomach. That's a definite nope from me!

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• really awful characters

⚠️ CW: sexual content, grief, death, death of parent, terminal illness, cancer, cursing, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, toxic relationship, misogyny, sexism, gaslighting, sexual assault, trafficking, body shaming, sexual harassment

Dang, I have to DNF this one. It got physical in a fight and I’m just not down for that ever in a romance book between mains.

The F1 component was well done and enjoyable, But the FMC was truly awful. I also couldn’t really hear the MMC on the audio very well, the balancing seemed off.

Do I get to say I read Josie Juniper when she was an indie author? Because I did! And I was cheering from the sidelines as hints of Double Apex being picked up by a publisher were hinted at. (Huge congrats!) Now let me shout from the roof tops just how good it is!

As someone who has an automotive background, I have low-key been looking for a mechanic novel... but Juniper filled a void I didn't know I had with this Formula 1 engineer/driver romance! I mean, the cover alone made me swoon with those coveralls, if I'm being completely honest! Being one of the steamiest book I've ever read was the cherry on top... that car scene was next level hot and I'm a sucker for that piston reference!

Cosmin gives all those bad boy rough vibes that are just necessary sometimes; he's possessive and dominant and is the kind to take charge. Juniper writes STEM romances so Phaedra is a smarter than smart woman in a male dominated industry; she's fierce and tells the guys where to go when needed. In short I loved her!

I am not doing this book justice! As much as this book is filled with off the chart chemistry, tension and steamy scenes, it is equally filled with character depth and growth. Both main characters are dealing with heavy circumstances out of their control, creating a strong backbone for their romance to be set against. Real-world emotional conflicts organically create complications for their relationship, which only makes their HEA that much sweeter!

Do not even get me started with this audiobook narration! I can't even! Draga mea!!! I'm dead! Both Jonathan Lake and Mackenzie Cartwright are amazing but what I really noticed was how perfect the voices they created for the other character were. Like, this is one of the most seamless audiobook narrations I have ever heard. Plus, you know, Romanian accent and all that.

This book would make an incredible on-screen romance, so I'm just putting that out into the world!

Read it!

Thank you NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Hachette Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

This sports and workplace romance with enemies-to-lovers vibes pairs race engineer Phaedra Morgan with her Formula 1 team’s hot, new driver, Cosmin Ardelean. Between the team’s no fraternization policy and her being the owner’s daughter, their attraction has “forbidden” written all over it.

Not being an F1 girlie myself—I know; I know; apparently I’ve been living under a rock—I found the races, the science behind them, and the sheer physicality of the sport fascinating. I liked those high-adrenaline moments of being dropped into the race with Phaedra behind the screens and Cosmin behind the wheel.

I’ve seen a lot of hatred for Cosmin in reviews, but I actually liked him. Do I approve of every action he makes while wearing the guise of his public persona? Of course not. Given his background story, do I understand why he crafted that persona? Yes. He’s cavalier on the surface but a softie underneath it all.

Phaedra is almost the textbook definition of high IQ but not EQ. She’s super smart—especially with numbers—but doesn’t always understand the ins and outs of relationships of the familial, friend, or romantic variety. To a certain degree, the book portrays this as being a result of her upbringing, growing up traveling the racing circuit with her father and having tutors instead of traditional schooling. Having some understanding of why she is the way she is doesn’t make it easy to watch how she treats other people, though.

I received advance copies of both the ebook and the audiobook. I enjoyed the dual narration by Jonathan Lake and Mackenzie Cartwright and applaud them for how they maintain the various accents throughout the book. Cosmin is Romanian, and Lake narrates his chapters, not just the dialogue, in Cosmin’s accent. With this being a Formula 1 novel, there are a variety of other accents in play as well.

I recommend checking content/trigger warnings before picking up this one.

3.5⭐️

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Hachette Audio. All review opinions are my own.

This sport romance follows a Phaedra one of the best race engineers in Formula 1, following in her father’s footsteps. Her assumptions on the new hot driver; Cosmin Ardelean affected her work and her ability to do her work but what happens when they grow close?

I would recommend this to any sport-romance lover. I picked it up for enjoyment, which it accomplished. The formula 1 knowledge was appreciated as well. I wish the romanced felt real and not so superficial, I don’t think they would last.

The main character wasn’t particularly lovable, I did feel compassion and empathy towards her, but it didn’t measure up to the annoyance. I felt compassion towards the majority of characters but it felt forced. I did not like her friendships that much nor did I like the whole conversation around relationships and work and being a women in such a male dominant word, I think it tried to mention it but then failed to actually show the challenges or at least empower women.

The plot felt a bit loose, with potholes and certain parts that felt irrelevant and were there to make it dramatic and bring some darkness into the story. It felt like a romance you would read on Wattpad which can be good for enjoyment and if that’s what you are looking for, please read this.

The audiobook was lovely, it felt like listening to a movie. I would recommend you listen to the audiobook any day.

[ARC Netgally - 8 Oct 2024 - Hachette Audio]

DNF….I don’t understand how this became a book. The female main character is extremely rude and immature. The male main character basically does sexual harassment and is way too much of a playboy. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish this book and refuse to give a rating on social media.

I’m not vibing with the story the narrators aren’t bad but I will have to soft dnf this book for now. It’s putting me into a slump

This was a SIZZLING dual POV, forbidden workplace romance debut set in the fast-paced world of FI racing that is absolutely perfect for fans of Lauren Asher or Cross the lines by Simone Soltani. I couldn't get enough of Phaedra and Cosmin as the try to fight the sizzling chemistry and attraction between them as they work as track engineer and race car driver. Steamy, full of heart and unputdownable, I loved this and can't wait for more by this new romance author!! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was excited to get into this one but unfortunately this was one I didn’t enjoy and had to DNF.

The beginning of the book made me uncomfortable with our MMC since our first introduction is him making a sexual innuendo towards our FMC in a professional setting for others to hear, despite it being mentioned our FMC has requested for this to stop on multiple occasions. Which, is difficult to bounce back from in general, but it’s even harder when our FMC addresses it again on page and our MMC laughs and makes another inappropriate/sexual comment. Later we have him taking her glancing at him as an invitation to initiate sexual contact when the direct and clear communication given was a no.

Then we have a DV incident in which our FMC was the aggressor and that is when I decided it was time to throw in the towel and tap out on this one.

Additionally the writing style was a bit odd and clunky, our characters behaved immaturely as if they were young adults in their early 20s when they’re 30+, and the MMCs backstory felt forced in for shock value and little else (although that could’ve improved later on and I just don’t know because I didn’t finish).

Overall this was marketed as a fun almost romcom-esq contemporary but I think it belongs in the dramatic romance category more than anything else and this one just wasn’t for me.

I didn't like the narrator of the male character very much, and I think that ended up harming a lot of the book for me. I didn't feel much chemistry between the characters, which also affected my grade.
One of the things that irritates me in the novels is the third act, but in this book I think it was well explored and the situation was easily resolved.

I originally read this as an indie ARC and I loved it. I read it again now as a Forever Publishing book. I still loved it! I also had the ALC.

Cosmin Ardelean is the new driver on the Emerald F1 racing team. Phaedra Morgan is one of the best race engineers in F1 and also happens to be the team owner’s daughter.

I enjoyed Cosmin and Phaedra’s banter and his trying to get under her skin. He was sexy and their coming together was intense…and inevitable…and forbidden per company rules.

I can’t wait for Klaus and Natalia’s story in the next book.

I tried listening to this, but ended up giving up and just reading it. The male narrator, with the Romanian accent he was using, was too difficult to understand. He, at times, seemed to mutter, too. I even tried slowing down the playback just to understand him. I would not recommend the audio.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for the advanced readers copy. Thank you to Hachette Audio for the advanced listener copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so damn excited for this one, I have yet to find an F1 romance that I truly loved. I thought this would be the one, but no. I couldn't stand the characters, their dialogue was very cringe, they had absolutely no chemistry, I couldn't believe in their relationship and they were both so horrible, it was just a huge no no for me.

This was a solid 3 star for me.

I enjoyed the F1 world, obviously, and that was well done.

I also loved the representation of women in F1, and how important every piece of the puzzle is in running a winning F1 team.

But really, I struggled with the romance of it all. I know it was supposed to be enemies to lovers, but I found their general interactions to be either cheesy or just overall lacking in chemistry.

This was not a bad book by any means. I did like it, I just didn't love it.

I couldn’t finish this book. Both of the main characters were awful and the dialogue was cringe. The spicy scenes were weird. The book also felt oddly dated? Just overall a no. Stopped around 35%. Disregard star rating.

The audiobook quality was not part of the problem, that was fine.

As an F1 fan, I'm always on the lookout for romances that do it justice. I was excited to this on NetGalley and thought I'd give it a try. I enjoyed the story overall and appreciated that it did F1 justice by including details about racing team hierarchy/staff, engineers, and racing strategy. It did seem like there were several side plots that felt a little extreme, but I imagine they were there to likely set up upcoming books in the series. I enjoyed Phaedra and Cosmin as a couple, and I can say with certainty that I didn't think Romanian was hot until now.

Having read the ebook before listening to the audio, I was curious about how the story would come through with one narrator, especially at points when we hear Cosmin's accent. Overall, the sound quality is good and clear. This allowed me to comfortably speed it up to 2x, which is an audiobook requirement for me. Cosmin's accent is also handled well and doesn't come off as inaccurate. Character voices are differentiated enough to spot easily and not confuse the listener.

Thanks to Forever, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for an ALC of this book for an honest review.

I don’t think I have read a Formula One romance before and I actually quite liked that aspect of it, which is surprising as I don’t like car racing IRL. The FMC is the team owners daughter and a badass engineer. I enjoyed all the strat chat and behind the scenes look into the world of F1. I wish there was more about the excellent places they were travelling to, but I guess they probably don’t have much time for tourist shit while they’re travelling for races.

The audiobook/narration was good. The MMC is Romanian so his POV does have a strong accent.

CN for death of a parent, grief.

Thanks to #NetGallery and publisher for a copy of this book.

Genre: Romance
Format: Audio
POV: Dual
Tropes: Formula One, driver/engineer, coworkers, secret dating, duolingo, taking over the family business, world travel, do you want to hear about my secret pain?
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ /5
Age suggestion: 18+

For context, I already read the e-book version of this book and absolutely adored it, so this review will mostly focus on the audiobook performances of the narrators and less on the story itself.

The short version is: If you love a grumpy x sunshine, hate to love romance with explosive chemistry balanced with moments of tenderness and authenticity, you want to read Phaedra and Cosmin's story. I love them both, and I love this book. Josie Juniper has solidified me as an auto-buy reader with this book. It's excellent.

As for the audio performance: The narrators do a good job of capturing Cosmin's swagger and softness and Phaedra's journey from exasperation to amusement to hesitant feelings to love. While the male narrator's Romanian accent feels a bit campy at times, there's nothing like hearing his endearments from a rough, raspy male voice. "Draga mea" will undo you. Trust me.

The experience of listening to the audiobook made the story feel new to me again, and I enjoyed listening to it. I definitely recommend it.

Thank you, Hachette Audio, Forever Publishing, and NetGalley for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 ☆
-
The cover art deserves 5 ☆ by itself! The characters were insufferable and very unlikable! I just couldn't do it. I tried and tried, but I just couldn't; they got on my nerves.
The audiobook was okay. I listened at 2x speed, and it was a little hard to understand the male narrator, so I slowed it down, and it was perfect. However, I can't listen at a slow speed, so it's definitely a "me" problem and not a narrator problem. Both narrators did a good job telling the story.
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Thank you, Netgalley, and Hachette Audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an ALC of Double Apex in exchange of my honest opinion.

I was quite interested to read my first F1 romance specially with a woman in STEM as main character. Working on STEM myself I was ready to see very interesting discussions about this topic in this book but unfortunately I couldn't get pass the 40% mark.

Phaedra, our FMC is an engineering staff in a F1 team and look, she will not let you forget about that. I'm all for women appreciate and feel confident of their success, but Pheadra used her status and role to belittle people as if she was Einstein reincarnated. Even if someone pass on chauvinistic comments to her, I was expecting to see some civilized discussions but she just yells and explodes in an immature behavior that in my opinion doesn't get her fired only because her father is the owner of the team. Not to say that she hates when the MMC call her beautiful or any other nickname when she herself calls him "legs" non stop. Why would you expect respect if you don't give respect in return?
She is so extremely unlikable that even her relationships with her supposedly best friend comes as a ongoing war. They trade insults as if it's a funny banter but its's just plain mean and that already tells me everything about her personality.
On the other side we have Cosmin that is portrayed as a Don Juan but just comes across as a slimy don't-get-a-hint character. He is supposed to be super in love with Phaedra from the get go but keeps treating her as a little conquest even though it's clear that she doesn't like that approach.

Lastly, as a mainly audio reader I love that more and more books are coming with good productions for audio. Although I appreciate the dual narration I just thought it didn't work for me.
My point is that the male narrator tries to emulate a Romanian accent to portray the Romanian origin of the MMC but I couldn't understand his lines at all. Look, I love accents and I thoroughly enjoy them but in this case I had to re-listen to see if I could understand the narrator better because not only he makes a super thick accent but he whispers and tries to do a "sexy" voice but that just compromises clarity.

Overall I'm bumped down that this didn't work for me.