I absolutely LOVE MM and could not wait to get my hands on this one!!!! I’ve never read a F1 story and knew this would be a good one. The forced proximity and the journey from enemies to lovers was 🧑‍🍳 💋. Play boy turned obsessed partner is my FAVORITE. Well done.

*Thank you net galley for letting me read this*

Well damn. That's all I have to say. I love MM romances so it's hard to dissatisfy me. I will say that this lowkey reminded me of this Thai BL dram pitbabe.. probably because it involves racetracks and that's it but still! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

This is a captivating enemies-to-lovers audiobook set in the world of Formula 1. Kian Walker, a seasoned champion, meets Harper James, a bold rookie with a fiery reputation. Their rivalry is electric, and the tension crackles as they navigate personal struggles and professional ambitions. Narrators Joshua Chase and James Joseph deliver dynamic performances, capturing the characters' emotional depth and fiery chemistry. While the miscommunication trope felt overused, the heartfelt moments and sizzling romance kept me hooked. The story's exploration of trust, vulnerability, and self-discovery makes it a rewarding listen. Whether you're a racing fan or not, this audiobook is a thrilling and emotional ride worth taking.

I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook of Pole Position through Net Galley and it was an experience! The narration exceeded my expectations and was a dream come true for this F1 fan! The narration for Kian and Harper were distinct and matched their personalities -- from Kian's grumpy seriousness to Harper's playfully flirty, yet relaxed delivery, it was easy to distinguish whose POV you're listening to and added dimension to the dialogue. The best surprise was in the narration of the team principal, who gave Gunther Steiner vibes (my fellow F1 fans will know what I mean) in the BEST way.

When you have so many beautiful people in a sport and now with the help of social media and Drive to Survive such a spotlight on player relationships and friendships, fans are bound to wonder what happens behind closed doors. Are those friendships purely platonic ooooooor is there something more? I’m not going to lie, like a good little fangirl, I’ve shipped my favorite drivers and I think this book does a great job of building a narrative between player dynamics within a team and across teams. But the way Rebecca wrote the suppressed longing, built tension and gave us glimpses into each character's most intimate wants, made me wish I could live in this world to facilitate a conversation between Kian and Harper to simply get the ball rolling.

For my fellow F1 fans, Kian Walker gives Lewis Hamilton vibes, but with fewer WCs. He's family-centric, but fully dedicated to the sport giving his all to be the best team player while maintaining his own regimen to stay at the top of the sport. Meanwhile, Harper James gives more of a Ricciardo vibe (or even a young Lewis), but amplified on the party boy front. He's a bit silly, in it for a good time... “the guy you hook up with oat a club, but not have a relationship with." But my favorite quality about Harper is how he truly admires Kian, his childhood hero. He wants to learn from him, get to know him, and is so excited to be able to race with him. And he's talented. Even Kian begrudgingly admits Harper is a circuit genius who “always knows exactly what’s coming next but doesn’t overthink things.”

But their first few days in pre-season training are bumpy as they each make assumptions about each other based on their reputations and their relationships (or lack thereof) with their parents impact how they approach each other... or prickle any progress they make. Their love story unfolds in the way forced proximity and undeniable chemistry does -- with an overwhelming explosion of frustrating emotion undeterred by the highest walls of defenses. My heart could not stand the agony and my stomach was in knots as Harper and Kian found the balance between performance, strength of character, and finding love off the track.

Ultimately, the balance between on-track coverage and off-track romance was nicely done. It was fun to ride-along with the drivers during GPs and to listen in on their radios as we do when watching a GP from the comfort of our own homes. And the off-track coverage provided a nice glimpse into what it's like to travel from country to country during the grueling season. There were moments where I wished we could have felt more of the grandiose atmosphere of a GP because there is nothing quite like it... but as this was written from drivers' POV, it made sense that they would be in the zone and bring a different perspective than what the crowd experiences.

With all the ups and downs in this story, I appreciated that their relationship didn't require a grand announcement or an official coming out. It was just accepted that two people can fall in love and it just is. But I think it was also good to acknowledge that not all countries F1 races in would have embraced their relationship openly. It’s something that Lewis Hamilton has raised attention to, which makes this romance a statement.

I honestly don't know what I expected from this book. I just know that it left me deeply disappointed.
Nothing about this was RWRB. Both main characters lacked depth, which caused them to come over as selfish and arrogant. There was zero chemistry between them. Kian was obstinate and bland and it bugged me that, as the driver in the tea with more seniority, he never gave Harper a real chance and just wrote him off as an annoying party kid. Meanwhile, Harper's lack of professionalism was just disrespectful towards the team, and the way he borderline sexually harassed Kian at the beginning never sat right with me. They've known each other for mere days, are practically strangers, and Harper has the gall to shamelessly oggle Kian and make lewd remarks about his swimwear.

As someone who's not at all into the F1 scene, this book lacked the proper explanation for me. No terms were explained properly. If you don't know anything about F1 or how the racing works, you will get lost in this book. I clocked out around the 20% mark and then just listen-skimmed over it.

There's better gay books out there. Don't bother wasting your time on this one.

I ate this book up! The tension, the drama, while also diving in to some deeper topics. Loved it! The audio for this one was amazing. I would definitely recommend listening to it if you can! Thank you Netgalley for the ALC!

3.5 stars

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, I enjoyed this one. I felt like it took too long to get started in their romance aspect… the slow burn was almost too much. Every conversation and monologue led in circles, but once the book finally got into the groove I liked watching Kian and Harper’s dynamic turn from simple desire to a deep companionship.

I also really appreciated Kian’s love for his family, and his sister caring from their ailing mother.

The ending of the book really gave this book an extra 0.5 stars for me with how everything played out. The epilogue was so sweet.

CW: sexual content, death of parent, panic attacks/disorders, alcohol, car accident, injury/injury detail, homophobia

This audiobook took me a little while to get into, plot-wise. I considered DNFing it, but I am so glad I didn’t. Once I got past the enemies part of the enemies-to-lovers trope, I was hooked!

As someone who knows little about Formula 1, this was easy to follow with the racing subplot. It was not confusing to me.

Please make sure to check the content warnings before reading this book.

It’s marketed as Red, White, and Royal Blue meets Formula 1, and that’s exactly what it is!

I will say, the reason I did not give this book 5 stars is because the audiobook felt SO LONG (which, depending on your preferences, might not be a bad thing, but I prefer audiobooks that feel like they fly by as opposed to one that feels longer).

I definitely recommend this book to Formula 1 lovers who double as readers!

Audiobook Review 🎧

This was such a fun and sexy listen! I loved the attraction, chemistry, and banter between Kian and Harper! Kian showed so much vulnerability and growth, and I was mentally screaming at Harper to get it together for my heart’s sake! Ultimately, this ended up being a sweet, heartfelt love story that I didn’t want to end!

The narrators for this audiobook were both amazing and Pole Position is a must read or listen for all rom-com lovers! Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys sexy sports romances with just the right amount of sweetness. Definitely for fans of Red, White, and Royal Blue!

Thank you to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for the incredible audiobook!

There are repeat words in chapter 6 around 35-40 seconds in.


I really enjoyed the story. The book could be edited to make it flow better and faster. Some things were a bit too drawn out. But the story was good, unique, and realistic. I liked the characters so much that I would want to be friends with them. I look forward to more books from Caffery.

I loved this romance between two F1 drivers who are navigating tough things both on and off the track. Harper's storyline had a coming-of-age aspect that I really liked that added depth to this romance. It was both sexy and sweet, and I loved the F1 setting. The audio narration from both James Joseph and Joshua Chase was outstanding.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio Adult for an arc copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I want to start by saying I LOVED this book. I read via audio and I loved the narrators as well.

This book is full of the competitive nature with sports, hot hot tension, and character development that made me swoon for both main characters. I just loved Kian and Harper’s dynamic and how they progressed through the story.

Also, the title is super cute playing on the theme of the book.

Once again, I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Audio Adult for the arc audio copy of this book!

As a F1 superfan, I *adored* Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery. Kian Walker is the established, beloved driver--the golden boy of motorsport, a legacy. Harper James is the hotshot rookie driver, the new addition to the team. They couldn't be more opposite. As teammates, they're forced into close quarters, and they have to figure out a way to work together. Read this one if you love enemies to lovers, sports romance, spice that spices, and the grumpy/sunshine dynamic with a bit of an age gap and a dash of caretaking. I couldn't help but picture Roy Kent from Ted Lasso as Kian as I listened, and I couldn't even tell you how the book actually described him because the image was so set in my head.

The two narrators Joshua Chase and James Joseph both deliver phenomenal performances, and having the two narrators helped me keep the dual POVs straight. Their accents were delightful, and their performances brought the story and its characters to life. The slow transition from enemies and rivals to friends to more was so well done, and I loved how the teammate element played into that transition. It was a super fun, super fast F1 m/m romance.

Thank you NetGalley & Harper Audio for the ALC! This book was so good. Kian & Harper absolutely smashed it in the enemies to lovers department. If you love watching F1, suspend the technical stuff and just have fun with this one. It’s worth it! I enjoyed their banter for the most part, but would have liked better communication between the two once their relationship was established! Overall, I would totally read another book by this author and have recommended this to friends who love fic & love F1 as a sport where emotions run sky high.

When Kians best friend and teammate is put out of commission by an accident he is saddled with his least favorite rookie racer, Harper, as his number two. But, eventually this opposites attract duo finds their groove, in more ways than one.

Joshua Chase and James Joseph do a wonderful job emboding the two characters and making them really stand out from one another with their performances. This is one book I am glad I got to listen to instead of having read it the first time around and I bet it won’t be the only time I’ve listened to it.

What to expect: Grumpy x Sunshine, Age gap (25-33), Rivals(ish) to lovers, Teammates with bennys, forced proximity, found family

TW/CW: Parkinsons, dementia, death of parent, homophobic slur, family abandonment, non healthy coping mechanisms

Stars: 4/5 for story, 5/5 for Performance
Steam 3/5

I have to say; when men voice act womens and children voices, it always makes me giggle but add a British accent… OOOF it was so silly but I stuck through to the end because I was dying to see how this played out…

Because other than the voice acting, the story is the most important part here. The synopsis sells this book. They weren’t kidding when they said Red White and Royal Blue meets F1. It’s worth the read, or in my case, the listen, especially when you realize Kian’s true feelings but how will it turn out when Harper is stuck being his teammate.

I only wanted more behind the scenes into their connection but otherwise I loved this! It was so different and cute!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of the AudioBook!

This was more than a rivals to lovers story - it had so much depth and I honestly really loved it! The tension between the main characters was great and the buildup was worth the wait. I know nothing about F1 romances, but this makes me want to start watching it!

Thank you for the opportunity to listen and review! I'm a newer fan to motor sports, and I enjoyed the full embrace this book felt like for more welcoming into the sport. Great fun!

I really appreciated this audiobook production. The two actors did a really good job of bringing heart to these two characters and capturing the feeling each character was emoting at different junctures of the story. While I was listening to it though, I did encounter some particularly long pauses between chapters that at times had me picking up my phone to check if I had accidentally stopped the app, but I’m not sure if that’s the audiobook or a function of the app itself switching between chapters.

The pacing of the story was great, the voice acting was beautifully done, and audio quality was crisp and emotive. The story too was something I enjoyed. I love F1, and the mentions of the races was a nice touch.

I saw "Red White & Royal blue meets F1 racing" and couldnt read this book fast enough.

I loved the vibes, the age gap, the team aspect, the opposites attract and the SPICE which was more than worth the wait since this was a slow burn, reluctant teammates to lovers romance.

I got kind of annoyed at Harpers back and forth but I understand abandonment issues as well as any other neglected kid who wanted validation from parents who were too busy to give it so I forgave him every time (as did Kian)

The audiobook for this was dual (not duet) narration and both narrators did such a wonderful job giving life to these characters. Their vice acting made me feel like I was right there in the races. It was exciting and sexy as hell. Highly Recommend the audiobook if you pick this one up!