CRASH TEST by Amy James is an m/m romance between F1 driver Travis Keeping and F2 driver Jacob Nichols. Their story unfolds after Jacob is involved in a terrifying crash that lands him in a coma and severely injures several other drivers. Between pressure to keep their relationship under wraps and Jacob’s family’s determination to excise Travis from their son’s life, no one is having a good time.

Amy James tells this story movingly from both Travis and Jacob's perspectives, and I loved the chance to see their lives evolve as they each had work to do individually as they worked to be in a position to rebuild something that would endure the biggest ups and downs that come their way. I also loved the secondary characters Ms James creates, as they create a (mostly) supportive community for these men and give them reason to believe in themselves and each other. I loved their whole journey and seeing how this life changing event ultimately brought them through a crucible to a situation where they are both truly thriving and living their best lives. A truly thrilling read.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded to 5

This novel was so much more—and so much deeper—than I expected. And, while I understand that some elements might be divisive, I completely fell in love with this book.

It’s a beautifully written, character-driven story set against the backdrop of the F1/F2 racing circuits. If you’re looking for a in depth exploration of racing with a side of romance, this isn’t that book. But if you enjoy flawed protagonists, emotional depth, and compelling second-chance romance, this book delivers.

One of the most refreshing aspects is the narrative structure. Though told in dual POV, it doesn’t alternate chapter by chapter. Instead, the book is split into three parts: first from Travis’s perspective, then Jacob’s, then a blend of both. I formed strong opinions early on, only to have them challenged when the story switched narrators.

Travis, though socially awkward and often gruff, is ultimately the more sympathetic character. Beneath his prickly exterior, he’s remarkably self aware: kind, thoughtful, and steady, even at his lowest. Jacob, by contrast, is charming on the outside but inwardly immature and selfish. He’s the more divisive of the two, but I found his narrative to be incredibly authentic, especially in how it explored internalized homophobia and emotional repression.

If anything held this book back from being a full five-star read, it’s that Travis can feel a bit one-dimensional early on, and I wish he’d asked more of Jacob during their reconciliation. Still, those are minor critiques of an otherwise solid book.

I would highly recommended for readers who appreciate slow-burn tension, deeply personal character arcs, and unconventional storytelling. Definitely a 2025 favorite.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the advanced copy of this book, provided in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

First off trigger warnings for car crashes and having loved ones in the hospital.
This isn't a light read it is pretty heavy at times but I also couldn't put it down. It does some interesting things with the past and present and switching view points.

Amy James’ Crash Test is an angsty and emotional story set in the world of motor racing that features two young drivers – one a contender for the Formula 1 world championship, the other driving in Formula 2 – whose lives are upended, in very different ways, by a horrific on-track accident. A serious or life-threatening situation that sends one half of a (usually closeted or secret) couple rushing to the bedside of the other that then results in their both realising that life is short, they want to be together, and they need to tell the truth about their relationship is a frequently used trope in m/m sports romance. In the books I’ve read that have used it, the accident usually happens near the end – but the author turns that convention on its head here, using it as the starting point for her story and then following the characters through what happens next with its attendant mess of complex emotions and life-changing revelations.

Formula 1 star Travis Keeping doesn’t immediately hear about the F2 crash on the Circuit Paul Ricard because he’s been in a post-qualifying press conference, but he quickly realises something is wrong when the big screens that should have been showing the race are blank, the pits are almost empty and the whole track is eerily silent. There was a terrible crash involving several F2 cars that has killed two drivers and seriously injured three others, who have all been airlifted to hospital. Desperate for more information, Travis approaches some of his crew, and finds out that one of the drivers is Jacob Nichols – with whom Travis has been in a secret relationship for almost a year. Travis is a mess. He feels sick, he can’t breathe, he can’t move, but everything in him is screaming that he needs to get to the hospital. It doesn’t matter if someone guesses why he’s there, not any more. It might be his last chance to see Jacob alive.

When Travis arrives, he manages to find out that Jacob is in the ICU (having answered “yes” when asked if he’s a relative) and heads up there to see that things are much worse than he’d imagined. One of Jacob’s legs is in a cast and hanging from some kind of pulley contraption, he’s got tubes and IVs going in and out of his body and, worst of all, he’s on a ventilator. The people sitting by the bed, who Travis knows must be Jacob’s parents and older brother, look up as he approaches, clearly disappointed when they realise he isn’t a doctor, and just as clearly about to ask him to leave, but then one of the monitors goes off and he’s edged out of the room anyway, just before the door is closed in his face.

We then jump back in time to around a year earlier to witness Travis and Jacob meeting properly for the first time. They know each other’s names of course, but that’s about it; they’ve never really interacted. Until one rainy Friday afternoon at the Austrian Grand Prix when Travis, who, like everyone else, is waiting for the rain to stop, inadvertantly walks into the middle of a TV interview. He doesn’t immediately register who the interviewee is, and when the reporter smilingly asks if Travis would join them, he hesitates for a moment – then Jacob Nicols grins at him, and Travis is toast. He’s ruthlessly pushed the part of him that is interested in guys to the tiniest corner of his mind; like most male-dominated sports, F1 isn’t particularly queer-friendly and Travis has no wish to have his private life dissected and propelled into the media spotlight. But Jacob is everything he’s never let himself want or imagine having – funny, charming, gorgeous, smart – and, it seems, interested in Travis.

Crash Test is divided into three parts. The first – which is the longest – is told from Travis’ perspective, in chapters that alternate between the present day - the crash and beyond - and the past, in a series of vignettes of the time together they manage to snatch from their packed schedules over the year leading up to the crash. The author does a fabulous job here of capturing all the intense, difficult emotions Travis is experiencing – the gut-wrenching fear of losing the one person who has ever meant something to him, his frustration at not being able to be at his bedside because nobody knows what they are to each other, and the burden of having to keep the truth of his feelings and their relationship under wraps. Travis visits the hospital daily and sometimes doesn’t even get to see Jacob, and it’s heartbreaking to watch him having to fulfil his commitments to his F1 team and to pretend nothing is wrong.

The second section follows Jacob after he’s returned home to the US to live with his parents during his recovery. It’s in the blurb, so it’s not a spoiler to say that Travis and Jacob are no longer together at this point, and here we get into Jacob’s head as he starts to face up to the long-buried insecurities and internalised homophobia that caused him to act the way he did while he and Travis were together, and how those things, together with the external pressure being exerted by his family all combined to cause him to push Travis away.

The final part of the story is told in alternating PoV chapters (although we’re not told at the beginning of each chapter whose PoV we’re in, which makes for some confusion), and unfortunately, it’s the weakest part of the novel. I desperately wanted Travis and Jacob to get a long-awaited and hard-won HEA, but while they do get it, it comes too fast and too easily. After a year of silence and heartbreak, their reuinion happens at warp speed; I wanted Jacob to have to work to earn Travis’ forgiveness and trust, but Travis – who has, by now, worked through some of his own insecurities and is in a much better place – pretty much caves the minute Jacob turns up on his doorstep.

That’s what brought my final grade down a bit. Up until the end of the second section, I was reading a DIK – I loved the angstiness and intensity of it all; I liked watching Travis picking up the pieces of his life and learning to move forward, making friends and just generally reaching a place where he’s happier and more content with life and with himself; and much as I disliked Jacob for the way he treats Travis, I liked getting into his head and watching him finally admit what a shitty boyfriend he’d been, the genuine remorse for what he’d done and making plans to move forward and, hopefully, fix things with Travis. But the fixing needed more time to breathe for it to feel as though it was properly earned, and I confess it was something of an anticlimax, even though I was rooting for Travis and Jacob to get together.

One last thing. The blurb describing Crash Test as "Formula 1 meets Red, White, & Royal Blue" is bollocks. The only similarities are the ages (mid twenties?) and nationalities (one British, one American) of the protagonists, but that’s it – and there are a number of early reviewers who were clearly pissed off when the book didn’t live up to that comparison.

Even though the ending needed more time for it to deliver the kind of emotional payoff the rest of the story deserved I’m giving Crash Test a strong recommendation - and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever Amy James writes next.

F1 driver Travis is halfway through an incredible racing season. But when a massive crash in F2 leaves driver Jacob in critical condition, Travis’s world is flipped upside down. No one knows, but he and Jacob have been dating for almost a year.

This was my first F1/F2 romance & I really enjoyed the details of the game. Travis & Jacob are polar opposites who were secretly dating before Jacob's crash. This story is divided into 3 halves - Travis's, Jacob's, & both of them.

Travis is one of those dreamboat guys that you'd instantly fall for, whereas Jacob was unlikable for most of the book. As much I enjoyed the tension & uncertainty between them, half of the book was about them being apart. With so many heartbreaking & unfair moments, especially with Travis, the conflict was resolved way too quickly. Almost within the blink of an eye, without any groveling and/or confrontation.

<i>Thank you publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.<i>

Thanks to NetGalley, Amy James, and Harper Voyager for the advanced digital copy!!

In this emotionally charged contemporary romance, twenty-four-year-old Formula 1 star Travis Keeping is on the brink of championship glory, until a devastating crash in a lower-tier race leaves his secret boyfriend, Jacob Nichols, in critical condition. No one knows about their relationship, and as Jacob fights for his life, Travis struggles to hold it together both on and off the track. With Jacob’s disapproving parents determined to keep them apart and the media closing in, Travis's season—and heart—begin to unravel. Told from dual perspectives, this story follows both Travis and Jacob on parallel paths of heartbreak, growth, and resilience. As they navigate fame, family pressure, and personal healing, both must confront what truly matters to them—on and off the track. A compelling blend of high-speed stakes and emotional depth, this novel delivers a thoughtful exploration of love, identity, and the cost of chasing both.

As both an F1 fan and an avid romance reader, I LOVED this book. For starters, I love that Amy James didn't over-explain the sport. That might sound weird, but I feel like my biggest qualm with some sports romances, and especially motorsports books, is that they get so caught up in getting the details right that it takes away from the plot. She blended the sports aspect with what was going on between Travis and Jacob so perfectly, and I love that it felt like a perfect balance. Like THIS is how you do a sports romance. It also has other great tropes like found family, second chance romance, opposites attract, so I knew going in I was going to DEVOUR this.

This story was also just so absolutely gutwrenching. It's so much more complex than just that Jacob was in a crash, and (controlling, homophobic) parents want to keep Travis away from him. This is a story of two people trying to navigate discovering their sexuality and relationships while also existing in a highly public atmosphere. It's also a story of unlearning trauma and internalized ideologies that don't align with who they are. It was such a powerful story and I really, really loved it.

Honestly, I think my only issue with this book was that the dual POV doesn't change every chapter or even every other chapter; instead, I got halfway into the book and BAM, narrator change. And don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it once I realized what was going on, but it was just so jarring at first. My only other issue is that there was no epilogue...I felt robbed. I didn't want it to end. Unfortunately for me and everyone around me, this will be one I think about constantly. I will be buying a physical copy upon release!!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read/listening to the arc for my honest option.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this one. There is practically no F1 in it and I feel like it was just a bunch of whining from Jacob and Travis just kind of bored me.

This book was everything I needed and didn’t even know I was missing. It’s not every day you come across a gay F1 romance, and this one absolutely delivered. The fast-paced setting, emotional depth, and raw vulnerability of the characters made it impossible to put down. I completely fell for Travis from the start, and while Jacob didn’t win me over right away, his journey and growth made me love him in the end. My only wish? An epilogue! I would’ve loved a glimpse into their lives a few years down the line, seeing how their love held strong.

Review to be posted soon

I absolutely and completely loved and adored this book!!
I couldn’t put it down.
I could tell this was a 5 star read early on in the story. The racing element, the characters, the storyline…even the order the story was told in.
This is an M/M romance set in the Formula 1 car racing world. It was heartbreaking, it was intoxicating, it was beautifully written. Something about the way this author writes just does something to me and my feels.
The insane chemistry and tension between the two MC’s had me at the edge of my metaphorical seat the entire time.
I LOVE THEM.
I want to go back and read it for the first time all over again.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys:
• Forbidden love
• Found family
• LGBTQ romance
• Obsessed MC’s
• Grumpy/sunshine

But thank you to NetGalley and the author Amy James for gifting me this free ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I only intended to read a bit of this book but then all of a sudden I looked up and I'd already read half of it. And then I read the other half. There's a lot about this book that's a bit unconventional and maybe shouldn't have worked for me as much as it did, but I truly just could not put this book down. I'm definitely curious about Amy James' other books now.

“𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙄’𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜.
𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚.
𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙡𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚.”

Have you ever wanted to slap one fictional character and hug another? That’s essentially “Crash Test” in a nutshell.

“Crash Test” is the story of Jacob and Travis, two Formula racers who’ve been in a secret relationship for almost a year. When Jacob ends up in a life-threatening crash, Travis does all that he can to be there for Jacob, but no one knows who Travis truly is to him: nor does anyone know they even interact since Travis is F1 and Jacob is F2. And in all honestly, I don’t think Jacob realized just how special Travis was.

I don’t want to give too much away since I really did enjoy this book and think everyone should give it a chance. There were several times I wish I could smack Jacob and give Travis all the hugs. But IT’S FINE! These boys had a lot of growing up to do. Seeing Travis blossom into his best self with his amazing found family gave me tears. Honestly, his friends are amazing and I could read a book on just them. Jacob had the most growing up to do, but seeing all he’s overcome to get to where he ends up is quite beautiful.

Like I said, you’ll go through the emotions in this read. And if you were like me back in 2020 when the only sport on was racing, you’ll probably enjoy this even more. I couldn’t put this book down and so wish there was more. Because I think we all need more of Travis, Jacob, and the Formula gang in our lives.

I finished Crash Test… or it finished me. I don’t know. I was pacing in my hotel room at 4am going crazy with these two. My heart was clenched for half the book. If you want a romance with race car drivers, angst, drama, and a whole lot of love, I need you to read this. I can’t wait for everyone to experience it on July 17.

Travis and Jacob are race car drivers.Travis is in F1 and Jacob is in F2. Travis immediately falls in love with Jacob, and it’s his first relationship. He doesn’t have friends, doesn’t have parents, he just becomes completely dependent on Jacob. And Jacob likes him back, but he’s not ready to be public, not ready to be fully out, and he has a lot of internalized issues around his sexuality. He really feeds off the love that Travis gives, but he’s not ready to give it back their relationship is so painfully unbalanced… One-sided love. Gut-wrenching imbalance. And then the shift…when he finally falls just as hard. I loved everything about this book.

Not this gay romance making me cry at the laundromat over a boy today.

First of all, this is not a good book to read on your way to a date that you're feeling happy about. Travis is so stressed and miserable while waiting for Jacob to get better, and it's not the happy vibe you want when on your way to something happy.

So Travis and Jacob are professional racecar drivers who have been secretly dating for a year. Travis is a very good driver in F1, and Jacob is a promising driver in F2 circuits. When Jacob gets in a horrific car crash that kills one driver and sends himself and another driver to the hospital, Travis is stuck as a secret boyfriend that no one knows about. Going to the hospital, trying to not piss off the homophobic family... Travis loves Jacob, who is emotionally unavailable and has never actually said "I love you" back.

This book went by quickly, even though half the time I was mad at Jacob for being an asshole. Actually, I'm still mad at Jacob, but he does grow and change. He's just too much like all the other emotionally unavailable men that I have known/dated.

This is a very hard-fought HEA that pays off.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon for the ARC.

Travis Keeping is a man of few words. A loner. At 24 years old, he may be at the top of his game in F1, possibly on his way to being named Grand Champion, but he’s also never been kissed, never been in a relationship, never had a real friend.

One race weekend, F2 driver Jacob Nichols finds himself in the middle of a devastating multi-car accident on track, and is rushed to the hospital with grave injuries.

This changes Travis’ life completely.

See, Travis and Jacob have been in a secret relationship for over a year, and with Jacob’s homophobic family gathered around their comatose son, they make it clear that Travis is not welcome. They’ve never met him, Jacob is straight, Travis is neither family nor friend.

Travis seeks stolen moments at hospital, waiting for Jacob to wake, to tell his parents, to explain. But when he finally opens his eyes, he tells Travis to go, says such hurtful things, his heart is shattered.

Can they find joy together?

Told in dual POV, the first almost two thirds of the book is Travis. He gives color to the snapshots of their relationship: how they met, things they shared, ways they felt. Where Travis was inexperienced and nervous, being with Jacob has opened him up.

Then Jacob awakens and the POV shifts to his recovery post-accident. And he’s angry. Boy is he angry. With the help of a therapist, he confronts the ingrained homophobia from his family, the self hatred and sabotage. And he learns to love himself so that he can love another.

Hopefully Travis.

Meanwhile, having given over to one kind of love opens Travis up to more, and through friendships with members of his team and their families, he is saved from his devastating loss.

Was the ending neat and tidy, wrapping up a little quickly? Yes. But was the yearning Y E A R N I N G? Oh, yes. It was. Travis is the lovable one, but don’t give up on young Master Nichols - if you let him, he will steal your heart as well.

Vibe Check: Pole Position

“…𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.”

How do you like to spend a Friday night in? Last Friday, I ugly cried alone on my couch, devouring 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵 by Amy James in a single sitting.

Before you scroll away at the words “sports romance”—really, Jen? No wings or shadows?!—I promise that the real race here will be your heart pounding out of your chest as you blow through each chapter. I was hooked from page one, anxious within minutes, and full-on sobbing just a few chapters in.

I cried because it was heartbreaking. I cried because it was beautiful. I cried because it was hopeful and earnest and healing.

There’s something about James’s writing that has such immediacy and pull to it. Her prose is lyrical, immersive and so raw I was truly living in the heads of these tragically lonely, loving boys. She masterfully weaves past and present; one minute you’re in a gray walled hospital waiting room, and then next you’re whisked away to a cabin in Scotland or a hotel room in Abu Dhabi watching two boys collide and fall apart.

Each of the three “sectors” stands on its own, but it was Travis’s journey that left me the most damaged. His deep isolation, his quiet longing for connection—I rooted so hard for him that I was ready to throw fists. Jacob, on the other hand, with his beautifully selfish and self-doubting ways, took longer to win me over. I can’t say he did, by the end, but I also would never deny sweet Travis anything.

𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆:
🏁 Travis is elite book boyfriend material (if the F1 skills weren’t enough, this boy spends his limited free time 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘨𝘴)
🏳️‍🌈 Beautiful M/M rep—with genuine discussions about sexuality and public perception
✨ Amazing friends who go to bat for their boy
🏎️ A genuinely compelling, well-researched depiction of F1 (coming from a casual fan, aka sometimes watcher of 𝘋𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 and spectator at exactly one Grand Prix)
🏥 Thoughtful portrayal of medical workers and hospital dynamics
🔥 Close-minded parents that will make you want to set something on fire
🚑 Did I mention the ugly crying? Seriously, prepare for emotional damage

This is a romance, and the physical side of that romance works, but at its core it’s about intimacy, belonging, and hesistation. I can’t think of any published works that have struck this chord quite so deeply for me. And honestly, I’m stunned to have found it here.

𝑻𝑳;𝑫𝑹: 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘛𝘦𝘴𝘵 is a lyrical, tension-filled, heartfelt F1 romance that will wreck you on the side of the track before stitching you back together. Bring tissues for the ugly crying.

THANK YOU to Avon & Harper Voyager for swooping in with this end of week eARC approval on NetGalley! Could not be happier about my Friday night spent sobbing on my sofa while audibly yelling at my Kindle.

🏁CRASH TEST🏁

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (3.75 rounded up to four)
As someone who knows NOTHING about formula one, this book was cute overall. But mainly SAD. The book is literally about a car crash and the lasting impacts it has on the relationship of Travis and Jacob. We see them both battle the fear of death, internalized homophobia, mental health, and so much more.

I loved seeing a focus on men going to therapy to deal with their issues, rather than just shoving them all into a deep pocket of their mind. However, I would’ve loved to have seen Travis go to therapy as well to cope with his experiences. Overall, I’d recommend to anyone looking for a queer romance that enjoys the fast paced world of racing.

Thank you to the publisher, NetGalley, and Amy James for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved how this book was written, in the povs of both MMC and how effusive the story was. My heart broke and healed all over and I was so happy with the ending!

Thank you to Amy James. Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for this ARC!

god this started off SO good. two racers, one in f1 the other in f2, in a forbidden romance? PLEASE. and to start it with such an emotional chapter?! i was hooked. but unfortunately, what followed was an absolute avalanche into disaster.

told in dual pov's, the first part is in travis' perspective as he is trying to make it through the season in f1 while jacob is in the hospital after a devastating crash on the track during an f2 race. no one knows they are together which causes travis to spiral and suffer in total silence. the pain he was going through was palpable - i felt that shit. considering this was his first relationship, he was truly going through it. while i enjoyed reading from his view more, there were still parts of the story that already weren't doing it for me. there was a TON of telling and not showing. we got a glimpse into their relationship through scenes that we were walked through but not ever really sitting in - does that make sense? then the dialogue between the two that we were given was completely surface level, lacking any depth or real chemistry. after awhile, i started to wonder why the two were ever even together.

then we get to the second half of the book which was majority in jacob's pov. besides the fact that jacob was a complete and utter asshole to travis (because what he did to travis was UNFORGIVABLE), he also had enough internalized homophobia to last the next decade. he was truly such an awful character and there wasn't a single redeeming quality about him. then travis took him back QUICKLY without any real conversation or groveling over the ruin jacob left travis in????? naurrrrr babes.

other than that, the rest of the book felt very shallow. the story was flat, i liked the side characters more than the main character, and the the ending was VERY unserious. unfortunately this was a flop for me and it devastates me to admit that. during pride month?? UGH.

I know next to nothing about F1, but I didn't need to to appreciate and enjoy this beautiful book. Any sort of professional sport athlete is at high risk for injury, but driving a car going incredibly fast makes it even scarier. For a bit, I wasn't sure where this book was going. Instead of a typical split POV bouncing back and forth each chapter, we get different sections of the book told by each of the MMCs. I was fully on Travis' side for the first half and then when Josh took over narration in the second half, I understood his side so much and just wanted them both to be happy.

Josh is bi and Travis is gay, but neither are really "out" in the world and especially not in the world of racing. Travis is a bit of a "robot" with no relationships (family, friends, or otherwise) while Josh is seemingly the more well rounded of the two with romantic history, good friends, and a close-knit family. However, when Josh gets in a major crash during an F2 Race their relationship and all of those around them are tested and broken or made stronger.

It's a beautiful story of resilience and love and I couldn't recommend it more.

5 stars

Gah I completely devoured this in basically one sitting! And look I really enjoyed the wordle based romance by this same author but this was a on another level! From the jump, you are completely drawn in to the drama and then we get flashbacks to the relationship starting and coming together and it worked SO WELL! It was gripping and even though I knew this was a romance and would have to have an HEA, at times I was really worried I would end up devastated. I also cried so many times throughout the book. During the hospital stuff and the flashbacks, during the breakup period and the reconciliation. Speaking of the reconciliation, it was fast but it really worked for the story and then we got multiple chapters after which I loved.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!