Not So Fast by Karen Booth delighted me.

Mia is a fast upcoming podcaster specializing in Formula 1 commentary and Xander is a famous Formula 1 racer that is going through a tough season. Mia's podcast started to grow because of a snide comment she made about Xander's poor performances. Xander's teammate/enemy invites Mia to a race to mess with Xander.

Mia and Xander start getting close despite the initial animosity between them.

To be honest, for the first 3rd of the book I was fully prepared on rating this 3 stars. The storyline felt predictable and insta-lovey but the F1 aspect of it kept me drawn in and engaged. As I kept reading Not So Fast I really appreciated the way Xander and Mia handled struggles in their careers and supported each other's endeavors. I loved the way they worked through their conflict that occurs towards the end of the book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this eArc.

I finished my first F1 sports romance and it was a good time. I know next to nothing about Formula 1 racing, so I did learn some things, but this is a romance so that was the story core. The FMC, Mia, has a podcast all about F1 where she shares her love and knowledge about the sport. The MMC, Xander, is a F1 race car driver and struggling this season which Mia frequently points out on her podcast. When these two are forced to interact at a race sparks fly and soon they are sneaking around in a secret relationship to protect both of their careers. Secrets always have a way of coming out and this was no exception. They had to decide whether their relationship was real or just curve on their way to success. Definitely check this one out!

3.5 stars

This was a fun F1 romance. I enjoyed the natural progression of the relationship and I found the spicy phone calls to be realistic for long distance and not something you find often in romance novels. I also really enjoyed getting the MMCs POV during races, I found it to be incredibly interesting. I can’t speak to the accuracy of it but it felt well researched to the uninformed.

I will say the constant and very quick POV changes could be really jarring and made it hard for me to stay in the moment. I also found the FMC to be a little too concerned about her fans when it seems the podcast is still fairly new. Like the fan club and its president only existed for like 3 weeks yet they made such a huge statement about her disappointment in the relationship? That felt forced to me and maybe would’ve made more sense had the podcast been more established. But also if her podcast was as popular as they made it seem, why were the meet ups not ticketed events especially after the relationship was exposed? That concerned me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Mia Neal grew up as a prodigy, has many degrees, has learned many skills and nothing has stuck. Until her side project Formula 1 podcast starts to really take off. She gains the notice of a driver when he gets all her critiques of his teammate and she gets an invite to the Miami Grand Prix. What Mia doesn’t expect is to meet Xander the racer she has been hard on as of late and to rethink how hard she has been on him and how it is contributing to the insurmountable pressure he has been under. Their interactions don’t go as planned and soon they realize the other is exactly what they have both been looking for.

This book hit so many things for me, and as a HUGE Formula 1 fan this may be a heavily biased review but I had the best time reading this one. The writing really worked for me and I think it was well paced. I loved the chemistry between the characters and the emphasis on mental health and self doubt. The interactions between Mia and Xander were so fun and flirty and the romanced worked so well for me, they were mature there was no unneeded drama. The part that needed a bit of work was some of the more serious plots for side characters that felt a bit flat but overall this was a huge hit for me.

Cute F1 romance for a quick read!! As an F1 fan, my favorite parts of the book were the racing, as the romance felt a a bit rushed/insta lovey. I still had a lot of fun reading this book and can always appreciate more F1 romances!!

This was a pretty cute book, but it didn't grab me the way I hoped it would. Things felt very rushed from the start and I wasn't a fan of how fast the instant love was. I wish we could have seen more of a build up so that their relationship felt real and raw. While the love story between Mia and Xander was nice, I think I would have appreciated a slower burn so I could fully appreciate their relationship.

Xander is a great book boyfriend, and I was definitely swooning at points. Mia is a pretty strong female main character and I could definitely relate to her at times. Overall, I think this book is well written and a cute romance story!

This was such a cute F1 romance read! The sexual tension between Mia and Zander was strong from the beginning and the low level spice was great. Zander seemed like such a great guy who just had some outside of F1 stuff going on that was affecting his driving. Mia was struggling herself to really find her place in the working world after getting two masters, one in journalism and one in psychology. Her mom was and interesting character but I loved how she came around and was more supportive of Mia by the en of the book. The story does give a look at how people think that they are allowed to have opinions about other peoples lives just because they share some stuff on the internet. I loved Zander's family and the storyline with them.

🏁 Bookstagram Review: Not So Fast by Karen Booth 💕⁣
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Enemies to lovers? Check. Racing rivalry? Check. A spicy slow burn with a swoon-worthy British F1 driver? DOUBLE CHECK. 😍⁣
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In Not So Fast, Karen Booth takes us on a high-octane ride between Mia, a bold and badass F1 podcaster, and Xander, the cocky racer she loves to critique. When a chance encounter at the Miami Grand Prix throws them together, sparks fly and tensions heat up—on and off the track. Their banter? Immaculate. The chemistry? Off the charts. And don’t even get me started on the emotional depth. ⁣🔥
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I devoured this in one sitting. If you love a confident heroine, a reformed playboy, and some real emotional growth wrapped in a sexy motorsport setting, this one's for you.⁣
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💫 Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! This book was a thrill ride I didn’t want to end.⁣
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#NotSoFast #KarenBooth #Bookstagram #RomanceReads #EnemiesToLovers #BookReview #F1Romance #NetGalleyReads #RomComVibes #SlowBurnRomance

This was a really cute F1 rom com. Mia creates podcast to talk about all of the ins and outs of F1, then goes viral when she roasts her favorite driver, Xander. When they ultimately meet, I would have loved a bit more tension, maybe not as quick to getting together. I love the build up of tension, and it seemed like it was a bit of insta love for them both. With that said, I really loved Xander’s background and character arc. I also liked that Mia had a podcast about more than just the popularity of the drivers, the glamour, and the pop culture in F1. I love those types of podcasts, but it was definitely nice to see that she didn’t fit some kind of predetermined stereotype about why women love F1. I think the third act was actually pretty good, showing maturity in how they dealt with the hand they were dealt, being in the spotlight a bit against their will. Overall, I really enjoyed this. Thank you to NetGalley and Karen Booth for the eARC.

I absolutely devoured this book and read it in a few hours as I truly couldn't put it down! I loved Mia from the first journal entry about margarita Mondays. I loved Mia and Xander's love story and the dual POV really made me love both of these characters. Such a feel good, lighthearted, but emotionally complex, read! I also think it's impossible to not love a book with such an amazing Harry Styles reference!

3/5
I think most F1 romance fans would enjoy this book. The storyline was interesting with the podcast element, and it was explored well. The book definitely could have been longer with more development of the relationship. The book is written in third person, which I'm really not used to, especially with a romance book. I think switching the narration to first person would be a really positive change.

Quick read with little depth. The main characters meet, and it’s instant love but without any real lead up or building of their relationship. It felt very shallow and underdeveloped. The pacing of the story itself was decent.

This might be nitpicking but I found myself very distracted because the author tried, and failed, to blend reality and fiction. The F1 teams and drivers are fake, which is great. Love that the author created a fictional F1 world because it means it’s hers to play with. However, Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton are mentioned—two very real, current F1 drivers. So if they exist, logic would suggest so do Red Bull and Ferrari. So why aren’t those teams represented? There were also little details, for example Sky Sports was changed to Cloud Sports, that seemed unnecessary when there is certainly a way to make reality and fiction blend better. I’m sure anyone picking this book up based on the description might not care, but for those who watch F1, it might annoy them.

Mia Neal is a champion overthinker. Find something, fixate on it and spiral down. Fortunately, she puts that energy to good use: a podcast about Formula One, her favorite sport in the world. There’s nothing about racing Mia doesn’t adore. The speed. The drivers. The fierce competition. The single-minded ambition. Ironic for a woman who’s changed careers more times than she can count.

Only now her salty takes on gorgeous Brit driver Xander Bishop have gone viral, and the podcast feels more and more like what she’s meant to do… Then Xander’s teammate invites her to the Miami Grand Prix to see F1 up close—and get in Xander’s head. He’s not exactly delighted at all the shade she’s been throwing his way.

I'm not a race car fan and didn't know much about the sport before, so this was interesting for me. I felt the romance was a little mushy and there really wasn't enough conflict to carry a strong plot. I enjoyed getting to know the characters. It was just an okay read for me. 3.5⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

3 Stars

For a book called "Not So Fast". the romance for me needed to take this advice. The romance in this book just moves a little fast for my preference and unfortunately did not work for me. I did enjoy the characters themselves and I like the idea a lot of a racing romance. I really appreciate the change from hockey romances.

Unfortunately however I just don't have a lot to share about this book. It was just ok, nothing too rememberable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Romance for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Another great Formula 1 romance book! I really loved the concept of this book, and I the characters were just so likeable, it was hard to put this down.

3.5 stars!!

As a Formula 1 fan it is AMAZING to be seeing it represented in sports romance because it’s literally the perfect setting for one.

The set up for this book is amazing. A girl with a podcast insults her favorite driver and she ends up meeting him where they have ridiculous chemistry. I through this was so intriguing and I was so excited to see how it would play out. I loved reading about Mia and Xander. They are so cute and very complementary to each other as people but what I didn’t like what how quickly everything happened. I loved what we got of the two characters when they got together (steamy at times!!) but I wish there was a bit more from before they were together. There was such an opportunity to make these characters build a bit more tension before they were together but it was missed.

This book was such a light and easy read though that I literally read in less than a day and did greatly enjoy and would recommend to people who were interested in a fun romcom!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn’t bad by any means but it wasn’t anything revolutionary. Personally my biggest problem was the third person omniscient point of view of both characters. It kept bouncing back and forth to each character multiple times in each chapter which I just found a bit jarring and interrupted the flow a bit. I liked the concept of this story and I think it had great and relatable messaging of fear of doing the wrong thing and being out of control as well as fear of disappointing those around you. I felt a lot of relatability in Mia with how she would even overthink her overthinking because same. The beginning of the book was much stronger in my opinion especially in terms of pacing. The second half felt like things were moving way too fast however I did enjoy how the conflict/resolution played out. Some of the dialogue was really cheesy which also made it hard to take seriously and overall was just looking for more dimensionality in the characters. Cute and quick romcom just not super memorable for me.

I really enjoyed it, but I wish the tension between Mia and Xander had lasted longer. I would have given it a higher rating if the build-up had been more drawn out.

🎧 Audiobook +📗 E-book: Not So Fast-a standalone

✍🏾 Author: Karen Booth-a new to me author

📃Page Count: 283

📅Publication date: 4-1-25 audio and 5-27-25 e-book | Read: 5-13-25

🏃🏾‍➡️Run Time: 8:17

🌎 Setting: starts in Austin, TX

👆🏾POV: 3rd person single

Genre: Rom-Com, Adult Fic, Sports Romance

Tropes: enemies to lovers, F1, podcasting, family drama, body positivity, celebrity romance, forbidden romance, mental health, workplace romance, social media

⚠️TW: online bullying, down syndrome rep

🗣️Narrator: Talon David voices all the characters with standouts from Mia, Xander, and Dirk. The reading style brought the text to life, and the author and narrator worked together perfectly. The pacing and flow allowed me to get lost in the story. The narrator paused and announced new chapters and there was a table of contents which helped me follow along.


Summary: As a Formula One podcaster Mia is invited to the Miami Grand Prix by Dirk Van Dike-famed F1 driver. She has a lot to say about Xander Bishop-Dirk's teammate-shortcomings. Dirk wants to get under Xander's skin, so he drags Mia into their feud. Mia knows she's a pawn but uses this opportunity for content while fighting an attracted to her favorite driver-Xander.

👩🏾 Heroine: Mia Neal-27/28, has "Not So Fast" podcast about F1 driving

👨🏾 Hero: Xander Bishop- 28, British F1 race car driver.

🎭 Side Characters:
* Jasmine-Mia's BFF
* Judy-Mia's aunt who introduced her to F1. Estranged from Mia's mother
*Mia's mother-a journalist, disapproves of Mia's podcast/F1 interests
*Dirk Van Dike-40, Xander's opposition and teammate
*Isabel- Xander's PR rep
* Oscar, Freya, Audrey, and Edward-Xander's family
* Claudia Simon-sports journalist
* Reginald-gossip journalist

🤔 My Thoughts: Having no knowledge about F1, I enjoyed this rom com about Mia and Xander. Mia's job was to comment on races, while Xander was a struggling driver trying to get better. I don't know if Dirk was jealous or bitter, but he was inexplicably hateful towards Xander. I loved Xander's story about seeing Dirk as a kid with his father and admiring him. I loved Xander's relationship with his family, especially Oscar. I didn't understand what the issue was between Mia's mom and Aunt Judy, but once Mia had a sit-down with her mother things looked up.

*Spice: 4/5 🌶️
*Emotion: 4/5 🥲
*Couple: 4/5 🧑‍🤝‍🧑
*Rating: 4/5 ⭐

🙏🏾Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin-Romance, Harlequin Audio, and Karen Booth for this ARC & ALC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions are my own.

I found it quite easy to read, and enjoyed the acurate information about formula 1.

However, I found this book to be far too fast paced and predictable.I was hoping for more F1 aspects within it, like more of her attending the races, and hearing how that may cause more drama with her podcast. At first there was that potential but I feel maybe so much was cut to make the book shorter, when that just had us lose so much that could have made the book great.

The relationship was just ridculously quick, they met and challenged each other, but directly after our love interest invites to a race and they fall in love. There was no build up, it was dull.

The phone sex scene, I found a little awkward in a bad way. I understand if the purpose was that our main charcter was uncomfortable due to her never doing the phone sex thing before. But instantly she was a pro, saying things I found to be a little juvenile.

In the end, this book was too fast paced, but still felt long.
I wish we had more depth to the characters and drama and their lives.