3.5⭐

I'm not an F1 fan (not a hater either) but saw an author I like post about this so I thought I'd give it a go. There were many things to like about Slipstream including a neurodivergent FMC and moody MMC, a fake dating situation, the documentarian/muse relationship, and themes of found family, belief in yourself, and embracing new opportunities.

While I liked both Lilah and Arthur and was interested to see how their fake dating relationship would play out, I often felt like I was being told as opposed to be shown. I also struggled with how passive Lilah felt in so many aspects of her own life; it was so incredibly frustrating to read. The pacing was also a bit uneven; I get the slow burn but it felt like it went from 0-60 immediately after the first kiss (see what I did there).

Overall, I enjoyed Slipstream and think it'll be a perfect beach or pool side read.

Apparently I’m turning into a Formula 1 romance fan, which is interesting, since I generally prefer IndyCar. I liked that, since Lilah is a complete newcomer to F1, the sport is explained more for those of us who don’t really watch it; it’s a good starter F1 romance for people trying to get into it!

Other likes:
-Mental health representation (felt pretty accurate)
-Good side characters
-Interesting (if not fully fleshed out) side stories, like Lilah’s birth mom and Holmes

Dislikes:
-Somehow the slow burn burned too fast for me? Everything happened way too quickly after the first kiss
-On a similar note, the first sex scene made me cringe with the whole “my wife” thing.
-Needed to have some storylines fleshed out more (see above)

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2.5
This book had such great potential and it really fell short.

I loved the F1 concept of car racing with the bedgruding Arthur who didn't want to be filmed for a documentary. Then things flush out and it's a go. I was all on board.

The book plot and storytelling felt so clunky. A build up regarding an event would begin and then all of the sudden it was at the end without the satisfaction of the reader fully enjoying it. This made it so I never felt connected to the characters, their personalities, and character relationships. Both Arthur and Lila (the main characters) had some personal societal concerns that the author clearly tried to shed light on for the reader, but again, they never felt real and it was almost a disservice to people that aren't neurotypical.

It's hard for me to completely pin down what didn't work for me, but overall, there just felt like some plot explaining holes, abruptness in relationship diologue or behaviors, and overall, it was a lot longer than it needed to be. Never did I ever feel a rush of excitement to keep reading to see what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the gifted e-arc.

I have never read a Formula 1 romance book before and this was a great introduction! I loved all the opulent settings, the fast pace, and learning about the sport. I liked that Lilah didn’t know anything about it so we were learning with her.

I loved Arthur as a MMC. He was down bad for Lilah and it was cute how oblivious she was for so long. The first time they were together and he called her “my wife” was swoony!

My only really complaint with this is that it felt like so much exposition. Talking about their plan, talking about their personalities, talking about why and how they fell for each other. Lilah’s internal dialogue was also a ton of self reflection and her trying to understand everything. I know she was ADHD and a self proclaimed “alien brain” but it got repetitive. Even though there was the constant moving location changes- it felt like not a whole lot happened to execute their sold called plan.

But overall, this was great and it definitely made me more curious about F1 and some of the locations mentioned throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review!

I am not normally an F1 girlie, and this is only my second one in the genre, but I could not stop reading it! It was so fun! The FMC, Lilah, was so relatable to me, and her crazy roller coaster of a relationship with Arthur was fun to read. I just wanted to give Arthur a hug as he figured everything out. I hope to read more by Madge Maril soon! Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for my digital ARC!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for giving me access to this ARC! All opinions are my own!

⭐️3 stars⭐️

I had a lot of fun with this book and I definitely enjoyed it! This was my first F1 romance book and I think that it was a good introduction to this sub-genre. I’m definitely going to have to check out more of these!

Overall, this was a solid slow burn, F1 romance with fake dating!

There were moments where I felt the writing was a little clunky but it wasn’t too distracting so as to become unenjoyable. I liked the camera metaphors as well, though at times it felt a little heavy handed.

So, for character, I struggled a little bit with connecting to Lilah. Though I appreciated the author’s choice to have a neurodivergent FMC, there were points at which I felt that the portrayal of Lilah’s neurodiversity was a bit lacking. Rather than showing the audience how Lilah sees the world and feels within it, the narration works to almost alienate the audience from Lilah’s experience and emotions. Instead of in-scene moments where I feel as though Lilah could have been fighting against the urge to, say, mask, we are instead only given vague glimpses into the past via her relationship with Max or her birth mother. Though, even those were few and far between. It made her feel a little hollow, or maybe inaccessible? I knew there was more beneath the surface, but the reader isn’t shown enough to really dig in. It just felt slightly half-baked in this way.

In turn, this also made it difficult to connect as much as I wanted to her relationship with Arthur. Though I recognize that a big part of their relationship arc hinges on Lilah’s inability (or denial) to feel anything significant toward Arthur, it felt like there was a disconnect between the first 65% and the final 35%. The romance was really tamped down until that 35% and then it was coming at full force. I felt like we went from “maybe I could feel something for Arthur” to “I’m going to marry Arthur” in the span of
Ike 50 pages.

However, I did like their relationship overall and thought it was really cute! I liked the documentarian vs muse tension as well! It was a fun dynamic and I liked how they challenged each other overall!

I also enjoyed Arthur in general. I found him to be really adorable for the most part, however, I think that like the romance in general, he went from a nice slow burn to coming on a little too strongly. I also would have liked for the book to dive deeper into Arthur’s anxiety and injury rehab. It felt like something that should been mentioned earlier and been made to be a larger part of the story in general. I just enjoyed the glimpses I got into his character and wanted more to latch onto.

But yeah, overall, I definitely had fun with this one, flaws and all!

Thank you again to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for this one!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of Slipstream!

I adored this - I am apparently turning into quite the F1 romance girlie (as an F1 lover, SHOCKER). This was such a cute read and this maaaaay be slipping into top 5 book boyfriends for me.

I could not put this down, this was such an easy read and I devoured it. I love a good trope, I love seeing parts of myself in the characters and really connecting, this book checked literally allllll of my boxes.

I'll be keeping an eye out for other things by Madge - definitely recommend checking this out!

Truly I cannot believe that this is a debut novel. I loved every second of this story and really fell in love with all of the characters. There were multiple times i laughed out loud as well as shed some tears. The depth of this book gave me the feelings of one of my absolute favorites, book lovers. Being my first f1 romance i have found a whole new romance genre i love so much! Arthur is absolutely swoon worthy and lilah is such a complex fmc. Highly recommend picking this book up on may 20th! Thank you so much to netgalley and simon and schuster for the e-arc and the opportunity to read this book early.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review early! I've recently become an F1 fan and am jumping at any fiction that helps me expand my fandom - and this didn't disappoint. I'd happily seek out other writing by Madge Maril - this was a fully worthwhile read!

If you're looking for a sweet and two-times spicy Formula 1 romance with some drama--then this would be a read for you!

What this book had going for it:
-Both MCs were extremely likable
-The beginning drew me in IMMEDIATELY
-The ADHD rep.
-The tension between the MCs
-The spice was great! I love a man who is Down Bad

This book's drawbacks for me:
-The F1 politics were confusing to someone new to the sport
-They have their first kiss and spicy time all in one scene (I'm realizing I don't like the spice to be shoved all together in books)
-There was so much telling me about their relationship without showing me--the scenes they had together were cute, but they'd be further along in their like of one another because of things I hadn't seen
-The end moved so fast
-It also got really sappy in the end, and I didn't like that

This read started strong, but started to lose me around the middle. The writing has a lot of potential, and I'm interested in what this author writes next!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Slipstream does an excellent job of introducing F1 to those unfamiliar with the sport through the FMC. I am always a sucker for a MMC who falls first and falls harder, but unfortunately this one never really clicked for me. I struggled with the FMC’s passiveness and often over the top plot devices/villains. A fun enough read and worth a look, especially if you’re new to F1 romances.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

There were so many things I loved about this book, and Arthur’s entire personality (and his pining for Lilah) brought me so much joy.

I will admit that maybe this just went over my head a bit, but the plot itself (no spoilers, but I’ll just vaguely refer to the problem that Lilah and Arthur are looking to overcome) confused me a bit. I didn’t really understand how the situation occurred or why the solutions presented were the only options - again, speaking vaguely to avoid spoilers, but just overall felt a little confused and found myself wanting to just get back to their romance! Max also seemed to be so crucial to the story and then sort of dropped off a bit - I wish there was more of him in the second half of the book if only for more jealous Arthur moments!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this eARC!

I *loved* this! I've never read an F1 book before so it was fun to just be immersed in that world - if you're not a fan, there's no need to be to pick this up and enjoy it! Unpopular opinion, I don't love, like, "billionaire" romances and stuff, I just find it to be very excessive and...idk I just can't connect with the characters. So while F1 drivers are obviously wealthy, this wasn't a rub-it-in-your-face, buys everything for everybody type of book, which I enjoyed. I loved Lilah as a main character; she was complex and relatable and I loved her passion for film. The only thing keeping this from being a 5-star read is I wish we'd seen more of her interactions with her family because she repeatedly mentions how important her family is to her, but we don't see a lot of interaction between them.
Arthur...boy do I love Arthur. This was a slow-burn romance, which made it all the better. You get to see him actually fall for her instead of just immediate infatuation. Especially as they travel with their team and get to know each other, and as Lilah gets to explore new places and friendships...I just really, really, really loved this book and would highly recommend it!

I DNF’d this book at 37% and I feel so bad about it. This was my first foray into F1 romance and I was excited to see what the hype was about. But almost right out of the gate I felt like the pacing was all over the place and I just could not connect with the main character or her internal monologue. Lilah herself was not a very strong character and I couldn’t really follow her logic for most of her thoughts and actions. I definitely think this story would have greatly benefitted by being dual-POV. Arthur seemed like such an interesting character and it would have added an extra emotional layer/connection to have his direct POV on his tumultuous racing career and feelings for Lilah.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC

If you’re new to F1 romances, Slipstream makes the explanations of sports racing very accessible to the reader. It was my third F1 romance and I felt like the writing was good at creating a mental picture. Arthur and Lilah are intriguing characters, and the side characters also stand out in the story. There is forced proximity and he falls first/harder tropes at play. There is also ADHD (FMC) representation as well as panic attacks (MMC), the later of which was very relatable to me! There is good representations of mental health and quasi-conversations around adoption (FMC is adopted).

Unfortunately, the romance fell very flat for me and overall was disappointing. They don’t even kiss until 77% of the story is over…it just came too little too late for the kind of romance books I enjoy. The scheming was a little confusing throughout because there are a lot of moving parts. Also, the spicy scenes were almost unnecessary considering there was kind of a lack of fake dating tension built up (and one of the things the MMC said during gave me a massive ick (light spoiler) re: put a baby in you). I don’t want to bash a promising debut writer’s book, but this one definitely needed more editing of the plot. I would say don’t strongly judge an author’s plotting from the first book, but hopefully she will improve. If you want more F1 than romance, this book is the one for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Formula 1 romance is exactly what we need and I was so excited for this. It started out fairly well and I was excited to see what came next. There was a lot of mental health representation which for the most part added to the story. I felt as though we needed maybe a bit more background on our main female character to really connect with her. This was a very insta love situation and I wanted more of the relationship development. Loved the Formula 1 elements and you can’t go wrong with a hot, devoted F1 driver, I just needed more!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

I have so much to say about this book,

Starting off with the things I really enjoyed about it: The writing style and the pacing of it all. This book really feels electric. It sucks you in with the F1 atmosphere, the drama of it all. The book really feels addictive and impossible to put down. Sometimes, when reading a new romance, I feel held back a little by the writing style—sometimes it feels too chunky or simplistic—but the writing in this one feels a little more layered. I really appreciated that.

On top of that, the main character, Leila, was written in a really interesting way. There are things I truly appreciated in her character, and some parts that felt a little exaggerated or dramatized.

She has ADHD (something a lot of people today are diagnosed with, myself included) and I really appreciated how her ADHD is portrayed in the book. I’ve never seen my ADHD represented in this way. It felt so much more accurate to the experience than just someone who fidgets a lot or forgets things. I really appreciated it, even if at times it felt a little dramatized and over-explained. After every little tell or tick, she felt the need to explain that her actions were directly related to her ADHD. And as someone who experiences the overthinking and self-awareness Leila goes through in the book, I felt like the repeated reasoning and justification actually pulled me away from the story at times.

The book did feel a little soap-opera-y at points. It leaned a bit corny with the dialogue, and the feelings between the two characters developed a little too quickly. They felt so much so fast that, at times, it felt like I was getting love-bombed by both of them—even though they hadn’t really had a chance to build the basics or foundation of their relationship. I enjoyed the slow burn, but it did feel a bit cheesy at times.

That said, I think this book is great for anyone stuck in a reading slump and looking for something fast-paced and exciting. It’s definitely entertaining!

this was very cute! i enjoyed the documentary aspects of this a lot. this did leave a bit to be desired though, i feel like it lacked a bit of depth and even though it did address deeper subjects, they felt very surface level. i really wasn’t crazy about arthur at first, but he did grow on me! however i found lilah very annoying and didn’t feel like she had much character growth. i do feel like this writing was pretty good for a debut author, so im curious and interested to see where her writing takes her next!

Lilah Graywood is a documentary filmmaker who suddenly finds herself in the high-octane world of Formula 1 racing. After a personal and professional betrayal, she's assigned to document Arthur Bianco, a reserve driver with his own set of challenges. Their initial collaboration, rooted in mutual goals of revenge and redemption, evolves into a complex relationship filled with unexpected emotions and high-speed drama.

This novel offers a fresh take on the sports romance genre, blending the thrill of racing with deep character development. Lilah's journey, marked by her neurodivergent experiences, is portrayed with authenticity and sensitivity. Arthur's character adds depth, showcasing the pressures athletes face both on and off the track. The story's pacing mirrors the adrenaline of F1 races, keeping readers engaged throughout.

This book was written for you if:
- You're intrigued by the behind-the-scenes world of Formula 1.
- You appreciate narratives that explore neurodivergence and mental health.
- You're a fan of slow-burn romances with rich character arcs.

3 / 5 Stars

I had such high hopes for this book! While there were parts that I really liked, there were others that were just hard to follow and understand. First, a quick synopsis: Lilah is a documentarian with her boyfriend, Max. Max has signed them up to film Ignition, an F1 team, which isn’t really Lilah’s vibe, but Max is a shithead so he doesn’t really care. Oh and Max has been cheating on her and tries to kick her out of their company (because he is what? Say it with me now – A SHIIIIITHEADDDD). Enter Arthur Bianco, Ignition’s reserve driver, whom Lilah was supposed to be filming. He is charming, hot, snarky, and hates the media. But he and Lilah come up with a plan to get back at Max, save Lilah’s documentary, and potentially level up Arthur back to being a non-back-up driver. Oh, and they just have to fake date to make it happen. Sparks fly. Feelings get confusing. Hearts race (pun intended).

There were a lot of things I really liked about the book. I thought the explanation of F1 was detailed enough to describe the intricacies without being overwhelming. I thought Arthur was a great love interest and some of their banter was really charged in the best way possible (I was teeheeheeing). I thought that the representation of neurodiversity was well written – I can’t speak to the ADHD representation but I thought that the anxiety and panic disorder depictions were really well done. I also appreciated having LGTBQ+ representation in the book.

I really love complicated characters. I want to know as much as possible about the character to get into their psyche, to understand their actions, and to be able to fully go on the journey with them. And I could really relate to Lilah feeling like an outsider and weirdo and having a hard time navigating relationships because some people in her life have reinforced that idea that something is wrong with her (cough, Max, cough). But I felt that with Lilah, we veered from complex into convoluted. I could explain Arthur and how his past had impacted his current behavior but in order to do that for Lilah, I would have to go back and take notes.

The felt true for their decision to fake date. I ended up rereading those scenes multiple times and still felt like I was not 100% sure why they decided on that as their only or best solution, which made it harder to invest in their relationship. And while I don’t want or need an easy character or an easy plot, I want my reading experience to be easy.

I think that if you enjoy sports romances or want to dip your toe into F1 romances, this is a great book to give you F1 context and has some really fun romantic scenes to back it up. But know that you may find yourself a little bit lost when it comes to character and plot development.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing this eARC! All opinions are my own.