Thank you to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an audio galley of this title to listen to and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I was very excited for this title when I was approved. I love F1 and follow it pretty closely. And the idea of a female engineer (give me some women in STEM) was the thing that really drew me in. Add enemies to lovers and forbidden love on top of that and it sounds like a recipe for a great romance.
Unfortunately, it wasn't great and I couldn't even get through the entire thing.
My first issue was with the narrators. The female narrator was ok, but just sounded angry all the time. There was nothing endearing in her voice at all. And she was super robotic. And the male narrator? Ugh! I know the character is Romanian but there were so many times I could not even understand what he said due to his accent he was using for the character. Sometimes his speaking was so low I had to rewind several times to even hear what he said. I just was not a fan.
Do you want a female character to hate? This is that book. Phedra (never heard this name before) was just angry at everyone. There was nothing that made me feel she was relatable. She didn't adequately represent a woman in STEM at all. I wanted to see her struggles but I didn't. She accepted all the mysogynistic things that were thrown her way. I thought it would get better, that she would help change things as part of the plot point. However, she never fought for herself. And she did not come across as smart at all, despite her telling us more than once what a prodigy she is. Plus, I can't get with a girl who is an abuser and then blames her victim. Why would we want to put this out into the universe when we are trying to educate people about this topic and make them see it's not ok?
Do you want a a male character who embodies a sexist and chauvinist? Then Cosmin is your guy! The number of times he makes sexual innuendos and advancements in this book was gross. And the fact that there was sexual abuse in his family's past made this even worse. He was be told no but did things anyway was ridiculous. Also, by halfway through the book I really didn't have much of his background as to how he became a driver. I needed that to understand his character.
And don't get me started on the romance between these two. I felt zero chemistry. Apparently he's been pining after her, but I didn't feel that at all. And she hates him but why? He's cocky? Ok, that's par for the course with F1 drivers. But he never did anything to her and you barely see their background of interaction to make this so. They have already been working together so you don't see any build up at all.
The book's pacing was super slow, as well. I felt like nothing really happened. What was the point of the story? I wanted the characters to learn and grow but it was just not happening. The narrators did a lot of telling rather than showing me the story.
One other point, the language. I understand the main male character is not American, but some of his comments really turned me off. Specifically when he said this: Are you fertile? And then the female characters says this: I expect him to pry my hand off that massive steel hot piston… These things were just a turn off for me.
I'm disappointed in this book. I feel like it could have used a bit more editing and fixing before being put out into the universe.

Dislike to Lovers, Engineer, and F1 Driver romance, Drama/Death of a Parent, Happily Ever After, Book one of the series. I loved the plot, the twists, and the cringe Hallmark love vibes! I would love to read more by the author!

Made it 21% in but wasn’t feeling it. Didn’t like the Hero at all. I appreciate the backstory the author was building for him but the disrespect for a woman in authority and the sexual harassment was not coming across in any way charming or flirtatious. It was. Sexual. Harassment.
And the Heroine seemed to abandon her convictions incredibly quickly and just switched to lust motivated faster than the F1 vehicles on a straightaway. I had no desire to continue.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this audiobook.

I was really excited by the premise of Double Apex, I’m a huge Ali Hazlewood fan and between the description and cover I was expecting a similar vibe of book. I was woefully wrong. The characters are super flat to a point that the FMC felt really dumbed down. I also picked this one up for the women in STEM vibes, but think those looking for a sports romance may find this a better fit for them.

I also think the audiobook did a huge disservice to the story as well. The dual (not duet) narration with heavy accents for all characters felt super campy and was honestly extremely difficult to understand at times. The female narrator also sounded very robotic and it felt almost like an AI voice.

I did enjoy it a tiny bit more as an audiobook. I did think these two were cute but a lot of other red flags came up the second time around reading it. Like it still felt like an abuse of power relationship, or they tried so hard to be apart because it would "ruin" her career. Like I don't know.

I was yet again icked out by the "Are you Fertile?" before being intimate. Like ew, I want that whole sentence gone, like yesterday. I did get emotional when the dad passed away. I can't wait for Klaus book.

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

Double Apex was a DELIGHT. That’s honestly the first word that popped into my mind around 25% through. It’s a STEM reverse grumpy x sunshine that had me engaged throughout the entire story. The journey of our two main characters is not an easy one, but it’s pretty apparent early on that they are meant to me. It’s obvious that are MFC hasn’t had a lot of relationships platonic and not throughout life. She’s incredibly intelligent and that has been her focus throughout her life. I truly never thought I’d like a race story, but I even enjoyed how it was weaved into this story. The narration was a great choice, and the accent of our MMC was perfection. Read the trigger warnings as there are some difficult topics discussed in this story.

Thank you NetGalley for a free copy of this audiobook. However, it did not impact my review.

4,5

Ok so at first I was unsure of this one. But as it went on, i fell more and more in love with these characters and their relationship. This was the first book I have read that involves F1 racing. I loved the workplace romance aspect of this book, as it gave much more meaning to their relationship. As a driver, Cosmin really has to trust Phaedra's feedback and strategy although during this time they don't have the best relationship. I think it provides such a good base for their relationship to become more though. There is this tension between them that leads to layers being pulled back and them seeing each other past their work positions and getting to know the person underneath. Other than the romance, I found Phaedra and her father's relationship to be touching. It definitely brought tears to my eyes, which I wasn't expecting to happen. This was a great first book in this Frontrunners series, and I am excited to read more in this universe and from this author.

I tried to push through but I just was not a fan of this book. I liked Mackenzie Cartwright's narration but I found it was hard to understand what Jonathan Lake was saying at times. It felt like he mumbled a lot which made it very hard to hear what was being said.

The book itself wasn't really clicking for me so I decided to dnf. I stopped listening at 60%

Only the cover deserves many stars itself, it's so beautiful! The cover and the tropes were the reasons why I find myself being so intrigued by this book and wanted to find out about it as soon as I could.

I've always loved reverse grumpy x sunshine, and it always makes me beyond excited whenever I come across to a book that has that trope, which is very underrated.

The characters, however, were sadly my biggest turn-offs, especially the main ones. I didn't dislike Phaedra (fmc) exactly, despite her being rude lots of times for no specific reason. Though Cosmin (mmc), I feel like he could've been better overall, his first impression on me wasn't the best. Especially at the start I didn't like him much, he did grown on me. From the third act and onwards was my favorite part.

The relationship happened a bit too fast and early, I was actually shocked and didn't understand at first if I'm the one who's misunderstanding everything.

The friendship between the main female character and her best friend was an interesting one, but it did leave me confused.

Overall, I think the book was alright - it had a big potential,

*Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review!*

Thank you so much for the ACL of this book, I jumped right in to listen!

Story: 4 ⭐
Spice: 3 🌶
Narration: 4 ⭐

This was performed in a dual narration and was a fun listen. The FMC is American with a hint of a drawl and the MMC is Romanian. My brain had to process his accent by turning up the volume while listening. Does anyone else do that? haha

I'm don't know much about Formula 1 racing; I however grew up in a family where NASCAR was huge. So, this was an educational experience to learn more about this type of racing.

The FMC is strong, fierce, and funny. All the traits to be able to work in a "man's" sport and she puts up a front when dealing with misogyny. She also learns a lot about herself and her flaws throughout this book, which it's nice to see a person wanting to better themselves. Also, I literally laughed out loud at all the picking teeth moments. IYKYK.

The MMC outwardly cocky, handsome, smooth talking, shameless flirt. He knows how to get what he wants but also secretly a teddy bear that's great with expressing his heart in words. This is probably my favorite type of man.

There are some triggers within this book, so make sure you check them out. I was balling a few times due to the nature of the triggers.

If you like a sport/racing romance, fun banter, great spice scenes full of passion, life lessons and trauma, sticking up for the women in a "men's sport", then you will want to read this!

I received this ARC as an audiobook. I think personally, the narration is just not for me. I am still intrigued by the story, but this may need to be a book I read a physical copy of. However, as of now, this is a DNF for me. I had a hard time getting past the dual narration. I would have preferred for it to be a duet narration, especially with the accent of the MMC. The narrators seem to be very talented at their craft, I personally just do better with audio books that cast voice actors for specific characters instead of chapters. I will reevaluate my review after I read the print copy when it releases.

Double Apex @josiejuniperauthor
Audio Narrated by Jonathan Lake ; Mackenzie Cartwright
Genre: Romance & Women's Fiction
Pub Date: October 8th, 2024

**Thank you to @netgalley , Josie Juniper, @readforeverpub (@grandcentralpub), and @hachetteaudio for my free ebook and audiobook ARC copies in exchange for my unbiased review.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spicy Rating: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶

Phaedra Morgan is the mathematical prodigy daughter of Edward "Mo" Morgan, owner of Emerald Formula 1, a racing company. F1 recently signed the cocky, manwhore, Romanian driver: Cosmin Ardelean. Phaedra can't stand him, but she has just made assumptions about him and never got to know him...yet.

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AUDIO version

I was a bit put off at first by the male narrator's THICK Romanian accent, but the more I listened and became familiar with it, I found it was super sexy and made Cosmin's POVs delicious. With his accent and the chemistry between the characters, this was a super spicy read. The pacing of both the female and male narrators was perfect.
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While this was such a spicy read, I found there was more to it than that. Cosmin is such a sweet guy, I'm a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope. This was the first book since I read "Marley and Me" over 15 years ago that made me ugly cry and bawl...not once but TWICE. I have seen that this will be a series and I'm hoping we get more of Cos and Phae!

I was lucky to receive both an audiobook and ebook ARC copy of this book, I highly recommend the audio because if not you'll be missing out greatly on the Romanian accent and language. If you love sexy accents, enemies to lovers and reverse grumpy vs. sunshine, this one is for you!

I feel like this book was not for me, but I also struggle to say who this book may have been for... Phaedra is an extremely unlikable character imo. I get she is supposed to be portrayed as prickly/ a black cat but she is well past those categories and was extremely unpleasant. She's 32 years old and on multiple occasions she mentions wanting to hit someone when she's angry and on one instance she does get into a physical altercation with Cosmin that I was not really feeling. I feel like that scene got played off so casually and in a way that feeds into stereotype that "men don't hit/abused by their female partners." The only thing that "redeeming" for Phaedra is that we see the on page death from cancer of her father which using that as the only likeable/non negative description of a character doesn't say much about said character. Cosmin gave hardly anything of substance, his backstory with his sister was somewhat confusing at times and that's really all I can take away from him. This is like a poorly done version of "he's obsessed with her and she doesn't like him" and I guess maybe that's because Phaedra was such an unlikeable character I struggle to see how he could have been obsessed with her.

I listen to alot of audiobooks, but this was the first time I've heard these narrators and their performance contributed to my feelings of indifference and unenjoyment with the story. If someone would have told me that the female narrator was actually AI I would have believed. I'm not sure if she was trying to play off of Phaedra's indifference in a was but her delivery was so flat and came across bored that I couldn't help be bored too. I also feel like in previous books I've read where there is a ESOL MC the narrator will still give them a slight accent in their internal thoughts and then a stronger one in dialogue. That wasn't the case here and I felt myself getting lost in some of Cosmin's thoughts because the Romanian accent was so strong. On multiple occasions I had to go back and rewind where I had gotten lost in the plot.

I think that potentially another book from Josie I could be interested in at some point given the right storyline, but it wouldn't be at the top of my TBR (nor do I want to find other books in the narrators catalogs to listen to next)

Thank you to Netgalley, Forever, and Josie Juniper for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I know nothing about F1 so I can speak to any of the validity of the technical content, heck- I don't even understand the title- but at the same time- it was engaging!

I really enjoyed the basis of the love story, but the ending was quite abrupt and I would have liked more unpacking about the MMC's emails . But hey! Wanting more is better than wishing there was less!

Regarding narration- the thick accent for the male main character made me have to repeat a phrase and slow down the playback speed on his chapters. Female narration was just fine- no complaints.

Such a great book! The storyline had me hooked from the start and i was excited to continue learning more about each character. I did find it ended wuite abrupt but other then that 4 stars for this!!

3.5 ⭐️ / 3 🌶️

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC of the audiobook :)

Okay, so i wasn't super sold on this from the start. As an audiobook review, my first thought was how difficult it was for me to understand the male VA because his accent was so thick and fake. When he would read lines from other characters in the book, i had no issue, but his accent was just hard to understand. This didn't impact my star rating, but it did make it a little tough to get through.

As for the book itself, it was a really cute and unique plot to have the emails mentioned! I think the scenes were all pretty well written and i loved how descriptive some scenes were (that car scene after the picnic 👀🥵) I think the team owners daughter x playboy racer is a little overdone, but i still enjoyed the story. But back to the emails, without spoiling anything, i loved this plot point from start to finish, ive not scene it done like this before, and loved it!

I was a little confused on if it was meant to be enemies to lovers, because there wasn't much tension, and they really kind of gave up on their hate pretty quickly 👀 the spicy was spicy as hell and i loved it, so i guess i didn't mind their rush in the end, i just think maybe them holding out a little longer might have made the payoff sweeter. it really felt like the two mc's barely knew each other before their emotions started to become positive.

Overall, if you like F1, i think you'll like this. And if you're like me and dont really care for F1, i think you'll still like this! The plot was nice, the spicy was great, and overall it was a fun read :)

Phaedra Morgan is a genius engineer on her father's formula 1 team. Cosmin is the hotshot driver she claims she cannot stand. When it affects the teams performance, they get sent on a team-building retreat together to work things got, but sparks fly.

I personally loved this book. Even though the characters started out acting childish, they each find out along the way why the other acts the way they do. They both have unusual upbringings and family relationships that lead them to act in unhealthy ways. I enjoyed following their story as they learned and grew.

The narrators did a great job in conveying the emotions of the characters and the pacing of the book. The only thing that threw me off a bit was that their "Romanian" accents for Cosmin were different. I wish they would have been closer.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

Not a great start to this book. The FMC was not super likeable and really gave off some mean girl vibes. It got better though after a few chapters. I'm just always a bit put off by FMCs talking bad about other women unjustly and there were moments where her insecurities projected onto other women.

I received this title as an audiobook ARC and the male narrator kept me going (I thought I was listening to a Quinn production). Not once in my life did I think a Romanian accent would be so attractive but this guy really did a great job. The MMC was such a great love interest.

I will give props to the author for their technical detail and research. I have been an F1 fan for over a decade and have worked in the performance car industry. Any time I read a car/race/bike romance I'm always so put off by the lack of research by some authors. This is pretty legit though.

Overall, I'd give book 2 a chance. This was a quick and fun read. I received This book as an audio Arc and I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

It was sweet and spicy. But I felt like it was lacking. I would’ve loved more of her relationship with her dad.
Narrators were great.

I was super intrigued by the premise of Double Apex & decided to give it a try. I've never read a Formula 1 romance and I thought it was neat to see an FMC be an engineer.

I really liked the romance here. There's a lot of great tension between the characters and the steamy was giving holy hotness. The banter was great and I liked that the author added Romanian too. I also liked how the reverse grumpy sunshine trope was used.

However, I think my main issue with the book was the writing style. It was a lot of telling instead of showing which made it feel info dumpy.

Narrators Jonathan Lake & Mackenzie Cartwright did fantastic. I really enjoyed their narration.

I would say if you enjoy workplace romances but are looking for a unique work setting, give this a try.