I am at a loss for words for how quickly this book sucked me in and didn’t let go! From the very first page I was so invested and it just kept getting better and better. The lush imagery and poignant narrative was so all encompassing I was feeling every emotion alongside Lilah and Arthur. This is a story of self discovery, and vulnerability, and just pure magic. It perfectly blends heartbreaking honesty and backstories with humor and hope in the future. I truly cannot recommend it enough!

I loved seeing the glitz and glam of the f1 world through Lilahs eyes and falling in love with it alongside her. It felt so authentic and natural and the imagery was so effective and making me feel a hundred different emotions. I made 103 notes and highlights throughout which is SO many for me but so many lines genuinely stopped me in my tracks they were that thoughtful and well constructed.

The love story was beautiful but how it intertwined with both Lilah and Arthur’s individual arcs is what really made this book for me. Both storylines had conclusions that felt so natural to who they were and had such a beautiful ending!

Before reading this book, I knew nothing about Formula 1 other than that they go fast on a track. This book really felt like an inside look from the perspective of someone just learning about the sport. It was not afraid of the ugly insides, but also showed the good. Plus, it had a pretty great romance—forbidden love, fake dating, the kind of celebrity element, and a man who definitely fell first. This was a very solid book, and I would definitely read another by this author. Now excuse me while I run to find another Formula 1 romance.

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I was interested in the F1 aspect, as I hadn't read an F1 romance before this. I think I'll probably pick up more after this, though, because now I'm even more intrigued. I got very sucked into the story and had a hard time putting it down once I started. The characters were also interesting to me. Both main characters had different struggles that made their interactions feel unique. I liked that the topic of men's mental health was addressed, as well as ADHD representation. With that said, I sometimes struggled to follow the "scheming" plot line. Sometimes it felt like I had missed something. It wasn't enough to make me want to stop reading, but it was often enough that I felt confused at times and had a hard time understanding the character's motivations in certain situations. Overall, though, I enjoyed the story arc and character development.

YES YES YES!!! I absolutely devoured this book! I am a huge F1 fan and this satisfied me in so many ways. The romance, the tension, the F1 everything! I really enjoyed this book and I am so happy I was able to read it early!

Thank you so much!

Book Review: Slipstream by Madge Maril – 3.5/5 Stars

Slipstream follows Lilah, a passionate filmmaker documenting the high-octane world of Formula 1 alongside her boyfriend—until he dumps her and tries to edge her out of the project. Enter Arthur, a charming F1 driver and nephew of the team principal, who steps in to save both her job and her pride. Together, they hatch a scheme that draws them closer, though not without complications.

Lilah is an engaging protagonist with a sharp voice, but the frequent references to her ADHD begin to feel repetitive rather than enriching. Arthur, on the other hand, is a standout male lead—steadfast, grounded, and arguably the emotional core of the novel.

While the setup promises tension and drama, the chemistry between the leads doesn’t fully ignite, and their layered schemes often feel more muddled than clever. Still, Slipstream offers a unique spin on romance set against an exciting backdrop, making it a worthwhile—if slightly uneven—ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing this ARC! The story had a lot of potential, but the romance didn’t quite resonate with me. I liked Lilah's character, but I struggled to feel the chemistry between her and Arthur. Despite this, I’m looking forward to what Maril writes next and would be happy to read her next book.

As a more recent F1 fan, I’m all in on all the F1 romances. So I was very excited when I got approved for this on NetGalley. While the premise was very promising, I think there was just too many plot points going on that this ended up just being an OK read for me. I thought Maril did a good job of bringing the reader into the world of F1 with the globe trotting and the politics that are constantly in play between drivers and teams.

What didn’t quite work for me was I felt there was a lot of telling and not enough showing. There were so many missed opportunities to include dialogue to build the relationship between Arthur and Lilah and instead felt it was just an abrupt about face of them falling for each other without any real relationship development.

I think others may enjoy Slipstream more than me, but it was just middle of the road for me.

Slipstream by Madge Maril completely swept me off my feet. As someone who doesn’t know much about Formula 1 racing, I didn’t expect to be so captivated, but from the very first page, I was hooked. The story follows Lilah, a documentarian who teams up with racing driver Arthur Bianco on a journey fueled by revenge, passion, and something deeper neither of them expected.

I couldn’t get enough of the chemistry between Lilah and Arthur. It practically leapt off the page. Their connection felt so real and intense, I found myself racing through chapters just to see what would happen next. The backdrop of Formula 1, with its adrenaline and high stakes, added a thrilling layer to the romance, making every scene pulse with tension and emotion.

Madge Maril’s writing is sharp, evocative, and incredibly engaging. My heart raced just as fast as the cars on the track. Slipstream is more than just a sports romance. It’s a breathtaking debut that had me fully invested from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down, and I can’t wait to see what Maril writes next.

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and Madge Maril for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5⭐️
I enjoyed the book and storyline but the chemistry and passion wasn’t there for me.

I’m not a F1 fan so I cannot vouch for that aspect but I did like that some of the F1 nuances were explained for the FMC (and me).

The story is single POV and the FMC didn’t recognize the connections and relationships developing with others. Because of that, maybe the chemistry was not center stage.

Beyond that, the storyline and characters were interesting. The FMC was neurodivergent however sometimes it was unclear whether her behavior/reactions/perception was due to her ADHD, her childhood trauma, her personality or something else.

Again, I enjoyed the book but the romantic connection wasn’t 100% there for me.

LIVE LOVE LOVE

I’ll never get over f1 romances, this was done well and I enjoyed it. I loved the character building and felt like I was intertwined with the story line

Slipstream is a slow burn where both Lilah and Arthur get to know one another through genuine friendship and curiosity. Lilah along with her business partner/boyfriend Max are tasked with producing a documentary on Arthur and his everyday life as an F1 Driver. When they arrive in Texas to begin filming Lilah is faced with Max breaking up with her and him taking their company away from her. What Lilah perceived to be a rocky start with Arthur you can see how their friendship develops throughout the book. The amount of support they offer one another is the main reason why the relationship takes that turn into the dangerous non friend zone. Lilah comes from a family background that made her feel like a burden and that no one really loves her. Her mom was not the best and when she gave her up for adoption Lilah got lucky with the family she was given. Arthur offers her that feeling of want and need. He also comes from a famous F1 family and is trying to create his own legacy. Sometimes families are not what they perceive to be and that the trauma that is caused isn’t always evident at the beginning. Arthur understood Lilah's weirdness and that is what made everything so genuine.
“Do you still feel like an alien” a weird question but it holds so much but it also gives a glimpse into the dynamics.
Slipstream gives you the slow bur, enemies to lovers and sport tropes. But it also gives you a glimpse into some kinks our F1 driver has 😜.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I love how the author put a lot of detail into this book regarding the F1 world. Our FMC comes into the world of F1 and does not know a single thing about the sport. Our MMC and his team helps Lilah in figuring out how the sport works with the rules and how driving in F1 works. This was the most accurate representation of F1 I’ve ever read. If I was new to the F1 world this book would definitely help figure it out. I loved the banter between the two main characters. It kept the story alive and funny.

This was so fun! As a Formula One fan I thought this was really neat, and I really loved that it wasn’t too long. I thought the romance could’ve been a little more fleshed out, and the third act was a little fast paced, but other than that it was good.

I couldn’t finish this book. I really wanted to enjoy it. The premise seems fun and I was enjoying what was happening but the fmc saying “i have adhd im so different” “im so neurodivergent nobody gets me” “im adopted im so different” on basically every single page made it impossible to get through. Maybe I’ll come back and suck it up for the rest of the book, but not for now at least.

4.5 stars. I loved this. I know nothing about F1 other than what I’ve read in F1 romance novels, but it’s obvious that Madge Maril knows what she’s talking about. The sport was not just a background plot device. It was often front and center, and the race scenes were dramatic and intense to keep the reader on edge with Lilah while Arthur is driving. Fast cars and a slow burn romance. I was riveted.

Speaking of Lilah and Arthur, the two of them had tension immediately upon meeting. I could feel it right away and it only grew as they spent more time together. There was a push/pull of attraction and denial between them. The way Arthur observed and treated Lilah made me adore him even as she couldn’t see it for what it was. The way Lilah returned that observation to see who Arthur was beneath his facade deepened the bond that was forming between them. They each genuinely saw to the heart of the other, no matter how long it took them to figure out how to be honest about their feelings.

I also felt that the mental health representation was incredibly well done throughout this book. Between Lilah’s ADHD and Arthur’s anxiety and panic attacks, I thought everything was handled with care and honesty in how various forms of mental health can impact day to day life. It also showed how different people find different ways to cope, mask, and manage it, for better or worse, and how meaningful it can be when someone sees and accepts all of who you are.

This was a fantastic debut and I can’t wait to read more from Madge Maril. Thank you to Simon & Schuster via NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute! I really like F1 romances for a girl who has never watched a race in her life, and has only really learned about this in the past 2 years or so.

I must admit, I was kind of confused on the major conflict here, like why Lilah and Arthur needed to fake date in the first place. But just based on vibes overall I had a good time reading this!

Things really picked up speed around the 60% mark, and even if there were a few cringy moments, I did think Arthur and Lilah were really sweet together. She’s neurodivergent, which is a huge part of this story, and she really struggled to see that Arthur was into her. Which definitely led to some moments where I as the reader was struggling with how oblivious she was.

It didn’t really hit me until the end of this story the parallels between Lilah’s and Arthur’s lives from childhood to adulthood. And I loved seeing them both start to heal from their individual traumas and advocate for more help.

This was cute a just the pick me up I was looking for! I could definitely see this author writing more in this world, maybe about Sarah or Delaney!

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book is SO GOOD! There is something that is so good about F1 romances and this one really fits the bill. There was so much going but it was written in a way that just felt right!! I really loved the documentary aspect of it all, and especially Lilah’s take on everything. There was so much depth to this story that really made my heart ache, between Lilah’s feeling about herself and her past and Arthur working so hard to prove himself and his struggle with this mental health, I thought it was all written so well! Whatever Madge writes next I’ll be reading!!

Lilah and Arthur!!! I loved them. The tension?? Unmatched!! Their chemistry?? The way Arthur WAS SO DOWN BAD!!!!! Lilah is people always leaves girl and I’ll be so honest that’s my favorite kind of girl. She’s never thought she’s good enough and now here’s someone proving to her that she is! I really just loved them so much

This was an absolutely DELICIOUS slow burn!!! It couldn’t have been done another way. I loved seeing things come full circle near the end, while it was *fairly* obvious that Arthur a man IN LOVE!!!! I loved seeing Lilah really figure it all out, it was SO SWEET.

I would have loved Arthur’s POV, but this is also the kind of book that the male POV would just be him YEARNING after the love of his life.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to the publisher and to netgalley! This was a cute romance set on the F1 world. I loved the setting and ins and outs of F1. The romance between Arthur and Lilah was a bit too slow and I found it hard to see the chemistry. The writing had a lot of potential so I would be interested to read another book by the author!

I was sent an advanced copy of this book for review. This is my own opinion.


<b>Genre:</b> Contemporary/Sports romance (it's light on the actual sport, IMO, so it leans more ConRom

<b>Tropes:</b> only one hotel room, he falls first, oblivious FMC, fake dating, revenge plot

<b>Spice Level:</b> 2/5 a couple of scenes, would probably earn an M rating on AO3 rather than explicit

<b>Content Warning:</b> anxiety, misogyny, alcohol consumption, brief description of car crash, parental neglect


Hooooly fast cars, Batman, this one caught me off guard. F1 is about as foreign to me as it is for Lilah when she first meets Arthur, the subject of her new documentary. The problem is that she meets him right after getting dumped by her (sh!tty) boyfriend/business partner, and is immediately put off by him. (It's clear to me that he's immediately head over heels, but Lilah doesn't have my mountain of romance books under her belt!) Schemes start scheming, jealousy turns us green, and we wind up with fake dating that isn't fake for anyone. Lilah's ADHD is portrayed so well-- at least to me with my current lack of a diagnosis-- as is Arthur's anxiety.

Also, Arthur is my new book boyfriend. He's rich, attentive, sweet, he gives excellent gifts, and he understands Lilah. And I love him.

I definitely recommend this for fans of contemporary romance who enjoy sad backstories. I think even if sports romance isn't your genre, this one would likely still be okay; the F1 terminology is explained well enough that I, a person who knows nothing about it, could keep up. And there's not too much racing on page anyway.

HUGE thanks to Simon & Schuster for this one. It's absolutely going into my favorites of the year.

If you enjoy….
- F1
- Specifically silly season
- Fake dating
- Sports politics
- Revenge plots

Then Slipstream needs to be added to your TBR! This might be one of my new fav F1 romances. I was honestly so impressed how much of the politics of the sport that the author covered. The fake dating, while one my fav tropes, was an interesting plot point. I unfortunately can’t say more than that without spoiling the book. I loved the representation with Lilah’s ADHD. Arthur was just so supportive of her in general and that was a highlight for me. The ending was gold and I’ll definitely be recommending this book to friends. My one qualm was that once they both admitted they liked each other, it went from 0 to 100 in a page. Arthur kept calling her his wife in one scene and it was kinda giving me the ick.