Overall, I enjoyed this story. The FMC was too immature for me at times but I enjoyed their relationship.

Thank you to Afterglow by Harlequin, Netgalley, and to the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this story. There were some parts that had me thinking to myself "really?" but they were little things that I could overlook. Overall, the characters chemistry was undeniable. They clicked and went for it, Neither had set unrealistic expectations for one another,

This book is a cute light F1 romance at its finest! The chemistry between the two main characters is sizzling. The spice is spicy and used sparingly. I think this book is just absolutely adorable and such a good little potato chip book. I love seeing both characters dynamics with their family and the way these dynamics grow throughout the book. Overall, definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend two others looking for a light cute F1 read!

Thank you, NetGalley for the arc!

THIS. BOOK.

Look, there have been a lot of F1 romances. They're the new hockey romance, and I think we can all agree that the market is getting a touch saturated with both sports.

BUT THIS BOOK.

I picked it up because, besides my F1 love, I try to read every book i can with a curvy/plus-sized heroine, and this one did NOT disappoint. It's escapist, it's fun, it's flirty, it's sexy, it's swoony, it's sporty. I couldn't put it down and I loved every second I got to spend with these characters. An absolute delight.

Look, I'm a simple gal. I love books where the hero is turned on by how much the heroine bullies him. Not So Fast delivered my favorite trope and then some - in absolutely pitch-perfect form.

Lighthearted is the best word to describe this book, so if you’re looking for that, this one is perfect! This book follows the story of a Formula One driver and a Formula One podcaster. She gives a criticism on her podcast, ends up being invited to a race, attraction ensues, the end. It’s formulaic, but that’s not always a bad thing! As an F1 fan myself, it was nice to have something related to the sport to help fill the weekend now that the season is over for the year.
I loved the attention given to mental health in this book, although it always seemed to be easily dealt with through one journal entry or one conversation - as was all conflict over in one conversation. The emotion of it all kinda fell flat for me.
With all that being said, I still enjoyed the book. It was good, lighthearted, motorsport-related fun!

Thank you #NetGalley and #Harlequin for the ARC of #NotSoFast.

This book was so adorable, start to finish, even the smut. I don’t have a lot to say about this book. It was a cute sassy little read. I did absolutely love it, it just wasn’t life changing.

I sometimes find myself annoyed when the FMC is “different” and that’s her whole thing, but Mia had real genuine concerns like a normal person. 2/3 of the way through the book the couple had some turmoil and you know what they did? TALKED IT OUT LIKE ADULTS. I love when characters communicate instead of jumping to conclusions.

I did occasionally feel like the longer bits of dialog were a bit dry, but it was never so bad that I gave up or needed to sit the book down.

As someone who grew up around dirt track racing and not actually knowing anything about F1 besides my fiancés bestfriend being obsessed with it. I honestly the character Heather is pathetic and imo a creepy. I like the story although I don't get why everyone is freaking out about who a podcaster is dating.

I am loving all of the new racing books, and this was my first read from Karen Booth. This book was fun and fast, and a thrill to read. I enjoyed it a lot!

This is a cute, quick F1 romance read! I've never read an F1 romance before, but I really enjoyed this! Mia and Xander start off as enemies, but that quickly turns into flirting and then lovers and they were just so cute! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!

Not So Fast follows Mia, a podcast content creator, and Xander a F1 driver. Mia harshly criticizes Xander on her podcast, but then gets to meet him face to face. Personally, I am a big F1 fan and really enjoyed this book. There was quite a bit of F1 insight in addition to the romance and with the F1 season over, it was what I needed. In my opinion there were some good life lesson type discussions throughout the book as well and the romance between the characters was spicy, but sweet. If you aren’t as familiar with F1, some parts may be a little hard to follow. I definitely would recommend this book.

Have you ever mentally checked out while reading a book because of a character? I’m beginning to become more specific about the books I read from the Formula One romance genre. Honestly, it’s getting exhausting and seems like authors are riding a trend, and while reading you can easily tell if an author is being genuine or not.

That was me 2% and then 6% in while reading this book. Believe me I pushed through Chapter One and quickly came to the conclusion this wasn’t going to be an easy read for me.

Mia (basically a Formula One Bobbi Althoff major ew energy) I can whole heartedly say is the worst character I’ve read in a while. Mia has a podcast where she talks about F1. But in every episode she bashes a Formula One driver named Xander. There’s an attempt to make Mia seem like she's knowledgeable about the sport by referring to Senna. But, NOPE, Senna couldn't save this book, and I wasn't buying it. If you need to prove to readers you know about a sport then you’ve lost me.

But let me move on to these quotes: “I say you just keep insulting that one driver” a few moments later “that’s the one. He’s your meal ticket, isn’t he”.

Those quotes right there were the reason why I checked out while reading. Why did I continue reading you might ask? I agreed entirely with Xander and wanted him to be given the opportunity to defend himself. Why should a domineering podcaster, hiding behind her gender (as a defence when she's inevitably called out), who’s never sat behind a Formula One car, be rewarded money and given a platform to bash drivers? You can’t claim to love a sport then shred a driver apart. But then Mia thinks she deserves to be treated cordially despite what she's said? All I'm going to say is that words matter and for this to be then moulded into a love story? We somehow have to be on board and believe that Mia falls in love with the driver she basically bullies? Nahhh this wasn't for me.

Anyways thank you Harlequin - Romance and Afterglow for the ARC!

4 stars! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It was such a fun & cute F1 romance! As a girly who knows nothing about F1, I felt like this was super engaging and provided JUST enough F1 content to draw me in and have me invested in Xander and his racing career! I felt the FMC, Mia, was super relatable and I appreciate that along with the romance aspect of the story we also got to see her identity exploration along the way. I also loved the MMC, Xander, and appreciated that he wasn’t your typical bad boy turned book boyfriend.

This book was not super spicy, but still had me hooked and excited for the cuteness! This was my first Karen Booth novel and I’m definitely going to read more now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin - Romance for the eARC of this book. I am leaving my honest review after reading.

Not So Fast follows Mia, a Formula One podcaster, when she gets invited to a race by the teammate of the driver she insulted to get in his head. When Xander meets Mia he can’t get her out of his head and reaches out to her. Soon they start a relationship but they have to keep it a secret to protect both their reputations. I liked this book well enough. It’s written in 3rd person with a lot of switching of POVs happening in chapters, which made it hard to track who we were supposed to be following and hard to connect with the characters. The romance was fine, I did feel the chemistry between the characters but the conflict felt very exaggerated. I also didn’t like Mia that much, she was very selfish at times to the point of hurting Xander, and none of the growth she did particularly addressed this.

as expected, afterglow never does me wrong 😌✨

this is the year of me getting into f1 romances. these are like candy despite me not being super into sports romance, and karen booth gives us a REALLY good treat with this one. mia is literally perfect— a hot mess express that reminded me so much of myself; i connected to her greatly. at the same time, our hero, xander, was given so much thought and meat (no pun intended). i really believed them as a couple and was rooting for them throughout the book.

if you’re looking for a super fun, light read with some fun pov switches & chemistry that’s off the charts, pick this up!!

First of all, I love the cover and the description! It felt like it was going to be a fun read. However, for me this book fell short. I wanted to like it and have fun with it but I didn't, this could be the fact that I am currently in a reading slump or that the book just wasn't for me. I definetly plan on giving this book another shot at a later time.

I loved this one! It was cute and lived up to my expectations fully. The characters and the plot were both well written. I would definitely recommend!

I started this today and as much as I see the potential with the storyline, I didn't enjoy the third person POV. If it was from Mia and Xander's POV, I see myself really enjoying it but the 'he wasn't having a great run', or 'she was disappointed with herself, etc I didn't feel as connected with the characters as I feel like I could have been.

I really enjoyed this book, especially the romance between Mia and Xander. As a fan of F1, I loved the details about this world. Karen Booth did a great job incorporating accurate and interesting information about Formula 1, which made the story even more immersive.

However, I felt that their relationship developed a little too quickly. A few more moments to show the progression of their feelings would have made their connection feel more natural. Additionally, the ending left me wanting a bit more—perhaps a stronger conclusion or an epilogue to fully wrap things up.

That said, Not So Fast is still a highly enjoyable read, with a vibrant romance and a fascinating setting. I definitely recommend it, especially to fans of F1 and heartfelt love stories.

I. Ate. This. Book. Up. 10/10. First of all the cover is SO fun. Second of all this book is about a podcaster that falls in love with an F1 racer. ARE YOU KIDIDNG. Absolute chefs kiss. I am so thankful I was able to read this book. I read it in less than 24 hours and would love to own the physical copy of this book. I al so thankful that I got to read this from NetGalley. I am definitely going to look into more from this author.

Okay, I knew when the author brought up the 1991 Brazilian GP that I was finally reading someone who had at least watched formula one before, though she did kinda skip over the reason that race was incredible. However, I have a hard time believing she knows much about how media works and she glorified a catastrophic miscommunication later in the book, which was deeply cringe-y.