The narrators were good, but the audio quality/production was meh. The volume was inconsistent throughout and it wasn't crisp enough to listen at a comfortable speed (one of the reasons I kept pausing my read or had to go back and rewind). At the beginning of 007, there's a section that repeats itself.

The story was okay, it had a lot of angst and just not communicating (character growth happened at the last 10% of the book). I'm not a fan of the 'cheating or let them think I'm cheating so they'll move on' trope. But thankfully it wasn't dragged out.

I was luck enough to get to listen to this audiobook through NetGalley, and it did not disappoint! I’ve been wanting to read this for a while and the restart for the F1 season seemed like the perfect time! The narrators did an amazing job of portraying each chapter and their uniqueness. This was a sports romance between two drivers and I had so much fun listening to them slowly warm up to each other and fall in love !

✨ Review ✨ Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery, narrated by Joshua Chase & James Joseph

Thanks to Harper360, Harper Audio, One More Chapter and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Apparently m/m formula 1 romance is exactly what I needed! Kian and Harper find out at the last minute they’ll be teammates this season - Kian toward the end of his career, Harper just being called up to the big leagues - can they figure out how to get along? Kian's bitter that his bff and teammate got hurt days before the season started and that he's getting matched up with a playboy who can't take anything seriously.

Kian and Harper seem like opposites but as they begin to find ways to work together to protect both of their careers, they begin to find a magnetism they can't ignore.

This was so catchy - I didn't want to put it down! If you like queer romances + sports romances, you need to check this one out!

⭕️ Enemies-to-lovers at its best
⭕️ Forget one bed when you have one motorhome...
⭕️ A+ banter
⭕️ Forced proximity

🎧 I didn't start listening to this until pretty late in the book, but the British accents really amp this up, and make me wish I'd listened to more of it!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: m/m contemporary romance
Setting: all across Europe and the world
Length: 10 hours 2 minutes
Reminds me of: Rachel Reid's hockey romances
Pub Date: Mar 11 2025

I found the audiobook to be a fun distraction, but not super memorable. I know nothing about racing, so I was happy to go along obliviously and take things at face value. While many aspects of the enemies to lovers plot was predictable, as well as the drama, it still kept me listening, wanting to see everything wrapped up with a happily ever after. As predicted, it delivered on that front. If you don’t really care about racing, but love a messy misunderstood playboy with abandonment issues and someone wound just a little too tight with a chip on their shoulder, tons of daddy issues, and an “I don’t need anyone” attitude, this might be for you. Note: characters have their own family baggage/trauma, so could be worth looking up some of the themes touched upon first before diving in just in case. Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook - the narrator brought good energy to the story and kept me wanting to listen.

I am absolutely in love with this book! I was already hooked when the premise was going to revolve around F1 (which I am a huge fan of), but the relationship between Kian and Harper was so well written, that this book is going to be in my top five for the year! And I’m planning to read a little over 100 books, so this is high on my list. I love how Caffery really did her research around the workings of F1 and the tracks they go to. She even got the schedule of what tracks they go to in the right order of the real schedule. It’s those little details that made this book so great.

I really hope this book becomes a series because I really want Johannes’ book! Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this awesome book!

This book was not for me, as a racing fan. I thought that would make me like it more but the inconsistencies and things that didn’t make sense made it a tough one for me to listen to.

An electrifying ride both on and off the racetrack, blending F1 racing with simmering personal drama and unexpected emotional twists.

Kian Walker is the golden boy of racing. A four-time champion burdened by his father’s legendary legacy, Kian is determined to carve out his own identity, even if his off-track life remains as unpredictable as his on-track maneuvers. His internal battle between expectation and self-determination makes him an interesting character.

Harper James is the hot-headed rookie who shakes up not only the team dynamic but also Kian’s carefully guarded emotions. Harper’s mix of arrogance, talent, and love for for stirring up trouble creates an interesting contrast to Kian’s composed, measured, and calculated approach to everything. The tension between the two is thick. What starts as professional rivalry soon hints at a deeper, more dangerous attraction. The banter between these two was so good!

The racing scenes are as vivid and heart-pounding as you expect from F1, and the emotional encounters, keeping readers on the edge of their seats with every lingering glance. The narration was well done. It added to the fun banter.

A must read for F1 romance lovers. It not only delivers fast-paced action but also resonates emotionally, as two very different men navigate the curves in both their careers and their lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for an ALC.

I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed reading a sports romance with a Formula 1 plot as I am a F1 girly myself. I love how Kian was able to open up and express his feelings towards Harper. I also loved seeing Harpers character evolve and become more confident and trusting. I related so much to Harper in this one.
I am hoping there's a book 2 in the works to hopefully read Johannes story!!

This is definitely the perfect blend of red, white, and royal blue and car racing. Didn’t think I would like the racing bit but I did. I enjoyed the enemies to lovers trope here and the growth of the characters. Narrators were so freaking good.

I received an arc from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this story that was filled with sexual tension and steam between F1 driver Kian and rookie, Harper.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-F1 drivers
-rivals to lovers
-age gap
-grumpy x sunshine
-found family

*many thanks to Harper Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

What a ride this book was to listen to. I have never read an F1 racing romance but boy was this good.

I severely enjoyed how sweet and fluid the romance between Kian and Harper. The mix of camaraderie with the racing colleagues and the excitement of racing was so thrilling to listen to.

Kian and Harper have such a great dynamic and I want more of this world. I hope Rebecca writes more.

As someone who recently dipped their toes into the Formula 1 sphere, I had an absolute blast listening to this book. I’m a sucker for any dual narration audiobook. I feel like you can get more nuance from each character with different narrators. Joshua Chase and James Joseph did a phenomenal job. I didn’t get bored or distracted. To be honest, as I listened, I worked my diamond painting and found myself frozen as I waited for what was going to happen next.

Kian Walker has been racing for as long as he’s been alive (basically). His father was a racing legend. It’s in his blood to sit behind the wheel. Harper James, a rookie with quite an ego, seems to have been made to test Kian every second they are forced to work together.
Kian is such a grumpy old man. It made me want to shake him and tell him he has got to be better. Harper made me want to shake him and tell him to grow up a little. (Lots of shaking going on here) Once they are forced to work together, they slowly find a balance.

The chemistry between the two of them *fans self* it gets intense. All that anger and frustration morphs into lust and eventually more. After the first half of the book, I binged the rest of it in one sitting. It was that good.

Now, what I took stars away from was the quality of the ARC for the audiobook. There were several moments that the narrators would whisper for no reason. It would be chunks of time in which the audio was not the best quality. Once that is fixed, my rating will increase to 4.5 stars.

I adored Kian so much. He spoke to my grumpy soul and taught me that maybe loosening the reigns isn’t such a bad thing.

I had to DNF this one because I did not like the audio. Narrators. The story was good but I could not get invested.

Thank you HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for providing this audio in exchange for a review!

This was an easy listen centered around one of my favorite obsessions, F1! Harper and Kian gave me Lando x Charles vibes. There were little things that felt off like actual drivers being mentioned in this fake world, and the MCs sharing a motor home as if F1 drivers don't make millions of dollars. The surface of these characters didn't connect with me, but during the last 30% when you get deeper into their relationship, I was more invested.

I think this would have been better if there was more humor and more scenes with friends/family intertwined. I would have loved more of uncle Kian. Poor Harper is so self-distructive; I enjoyed getting some of his backstory but it would have been nice to see him have a bigger storyline outside of Kian.

I really enjoyed the audio of this - these narrators did such a good job. The ending chapters had so much emotion that were very well done.

You'll enjoy if you like:
- slow burn
- MM romance
- F1 setting
- grumpy x sunshine
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity

3 ⭐

I am rating this one 3.5 stars because while I enjoyed the story overall, there were just too many things that either bothered me or that I simply felt were missing to rate it higher. First and foremost, I am overlooking the reality of F1 racing, (i.e a rookie is not going to get away with even a fracture of what Harper did), next Kian should have gotten at least one moment with his mom, and finally I wish there would have been an on page confrontation between Kian and his dad.

I thought the narrators did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life and really enjoyed listening to them (I am a sucker for a good accent lol).

While this book does give of Red White and Royal Blue vibes there is a lot of miscommunication that occurs and it’s a bit more than I normally care for in my stories. This was a fine read and I would be interested in checking out more of the authors works.

I absolutely loved this “new to me” author’s book! So so good and SUPER SEXY! Whew! I can’t wait to catch up on all her other books since this one was fantastic! The storyline has ups and downs that make you feel so much for the two main characters and all their angst. I loved the pro-queer acceptance shown throughout the novel and can’t wait to read more!

Pole Position focuses on two race car drivers, one entering the highest level of the sport, while the other may be leaving. After a teammate is injured, they must learn to get along. This is easier said than done, as the younger driver reminds the older driver of someone from his past, someone who he hates. Will they be able to get past their issues and get along? Could they possibly become even more than teammates? 👀

There was a lot more emotion in this story than I was initially expecting. These two have a lot of history that makes them forming a relationship really tricky. I was anticipating more spice than what was there, but there is still some. Some things did not quite line up in terms of career trajectory, but that wouldn't be something that people who don't watch racing would notice. Still a quick and easy read!

While this was a 3 star eye read for me, it's a 4 star audiobook. The duet narration was a great choice and the narrators were awesome. I was able to speed it up without much issue.

Thanks to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for an ALC of this audiobook for an honest review.

I LOVE F1 - and this was really fun. Some of the facts or storylines weren't super accurate, but I didn't let that hold me back or get me done. This made me kick my heels and giggle as often as I wanted to shake the boys. Great F1 romance!

Definitely took me a few chapters to get invested but once I was invested I had such a good time listening to this. The narrators did a wonderful job and I really enjoyed the banter between the main characters. It was opposite attracts vibes with lots of unresolved sexual tension for a while.

Kian is kinda annoying for a bit of the beginning with all the assumptions he makes with Harper. Their relationship is really cute though once things get sorted out. Giving grumpy x sunshine vibes which was really sweet.

Overall it was a quick and enjoyable audiobook listen, and while I know nothing about F1 a gay sports romance will always have my interest.

Plot: 7/10
Pace: 4/10
Ending: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Enjoyability: 6/10
Writing Style: 5/10
Would I Recommend? Yes
Favorite Character: Harper

Favorite Quote: ❝ He’s like four seasons in one day, a force of nature that contains both chaos and calm in one bright, beautiful shell. ❞