I had never read racing before this and let me tell you, I was hooked!! I am so excited to add this to my shelf and read more from this author!

I wanted so badly to give this five stars, because I was hooked by Lilah and Arthur pretty much immediately. But there were times where the fake dating scheme felt way too complicated to make this one the fun, sports romance I was looking for.

Lilah considers herself a "serious" documentarian who works on hard hitting social issues. So when the co-founder of her media company (also her best friend and boyfriend) convinces her they need to move from DC to Austin to work on a F1 doc, she is less than convinced. But after being dumped and then fired right after relocating (the particular horrors of that interaction had my jaw on the floor), she is stuck and determined to make a good film regardless. She's paired up with the reserve racer Arthur Bianco, who has his own reputation and his own motivations for not wanting to be in a documentary with Ignition. The two cook up a scheme to pretend to date in order to get the project pulled so Lilah can return home to her chosen documentary topics and Arthur can achieve his own professional goals. Lilah protects her emotions with a physical wall of a camera lens, and so she's having a crisis of confidence when she starts falling for her "subject".

Honestly, the scheme was kind of confusing from the jump and just got more complicated as it went on. The fake dating was on and off so many times it made my head spin and made it hard to track the real feelings developing between these two. I think I just need my romance books to be dual POV! So much of Arthur falling first (and hard!) was revealed as later revelations where I would have loved to have seen it through his lens (pun intended) in real time.

But despite a sometimes shaky plot I loved the writing and it had me hooked beginning to end. The epilogue especially was a work of art -- read it three times to pick up on all the subtle little sprinkles dropped in there! I hope this isn't the last we see of these characters.

I gobbled this one up!! This was my first F1 Romance and I loved it. The writing was GREAT! The storyline was interesting and it was laugh out loud funny at parts! I will highly suggest this title to any sports Romance fan!

This book was so much fun! Enemies to lovers to revengers? If that makes any sense. A cute quick read that kept me so engaged I finished it in a day! A must read for any F1 fans.

Feeling like I am going to begin to develop a deep obsession with F1.

This was so good I can't believe it's a debut!!! I will eat up a fake dating every time but there really was something very special about this one! I also really loved the mental health rep that was included in this. I think Madge is going to have a very successful career on her hands!!

🏁What’s it about?
Arthur is a reserve F1 driver. Lilah is a documentarian tasked with documenting F1 racing—by her boyfriend, Max. Who, oh, by the way, is dumping her for someone else. And now she’s stuck on a job working alongside her ex and his new girlfriend.

And it doesn’t help that the subject of her filming, Arthur, doesn’t even want to be filmed.

At least not until the two need each other’s help. If they sort-of-fake-date, Arthur can get out of his contract and hop to another racing company, and Lilah can get revenge on her cheating ex.

🧡 My thoughts:
This slow burn of a book was an absolute delight. The slow touches, the wrist reveal, the pining, the longing stares. Mr. Darcy would be proud.

I loved learning the world of F1 racing. I knew nothing about it going into this book, and Madge did a wonderful job of sharing details in an engaging and exciting way.

I also really enjoyed viewing this story through the lens of someone who has ADHD. The way Lilah explained her struggles with how her own brain works was wonderful.

It’s been a while since I picked up a contemporary romance I couldn’t put down, and I’m so glad that I found it in this gem of a debut novel. I can’t wait to see what Madge has in store for us next!

Finally an F1 romance that actually is enjoyable as someone who watches the sport. Lilah is a fantastic outsider into the world of F1 with her documentarian eye and desires that are so separate from the sport. Arthur is charming male lead and I love when the guy is down so bad and Arthur was for so much longer than Lilah even realized. Lilah's entire internal monologue is done so well - her ADHD and her trauma's do affect her but Lilah also develops so much to not allow others to define who she is.

I really also enjoyed the definitely a little over to top revenge plot with massive actual consequences. It wrapped up well and sometimes a cartoonish villain character is needed especially when at the start of the book I thought a different character was going to be our main big bad.

Slipstream was a whirlwind — fast-paced, flirty, and packed with chemistry that crackled on every page. The banter? Elite. The kind that made me smirk, highlight, and sometimes actually laugh out loud. But underneath the sass and sarcasm was a surprising emotional depth. The characters weren’t just fun — they were messy, real, and achingly vulnerable in all the right ways. Watching them navigate love while dealing with their own baggage felt genuine and earned. It’s one of those stories that sneaks up on you — sexy, smart, and satisfying. A total standout in the modern romance lineup.

This book is so much more than a F1 romance and I was not expecting that! It’s more than fake dating, more than a story about making a documentary, and more than a hot man saying “my wife” (although WHEW!!!! That part changed my life).

Although it’s never explicitly said on page, Lilah is neurodivergent and a woman who always just lets other people tell her what to do. Arthur and Lilah seem to be complete opposites in the beginning, but we learn throughout the story they really share a lot of the same struggles, but have dealt with them differently.

If Madge decided to rewrite the entire book from Arthur’s POV I would pass away tbh. The man is obsessed and Lilah doesn’t even see it!!!! And again… the My Wife moment…

Basically I am obsessed and want to re-read this again asap.

Okay, I’ve never watched a second of Formula 1 but this book has me hooked! 😍 The banter? 🔥 The chemistry? Off the charts. The rep? So good.
Loved the girls-supporting-girls energy 💪 and Arthur? Whew 😮‍💨 Total book boyfriend. But Lilah stole the show—real, relatable, and full of heart.
Madge Maril is officially on my auto-buy list! 🛒 If you love sports romance, fake dating, and fierce women—Slipstream needs to be on your radar! 🙌💗

Thank you Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy of Slipstream by Madge Maril.

If you are looking for some insane banter, fake dating and he fell first, this is the book for you! I haven’t read too many formula 1 romances before, but this one is by far my favorite! From the first chapter I was hooked! There were so many moments that were so cute that I just couldn’t help but giggle!

This is a slow burn romance with minimal spice, but well worth it! 5 stars!

I absolutely loved this. I know next to nothing about F1, and I still could not put this down. I loved Lilah and Arthur so much. I loved the group of side characters who worked with Arthur, just cannot say enough good things about this. I can’t wait to read more from Maril.

I’ve been getting into F1 romances lately so when I got offered the chance to arc read this of course I took it (and then promptly forgot about it for 3.5 months oops) but this book was so good omg. I loved that you could tell that Arthur fell from the very beginning but there was still individual growth and growth as them as a couple. This is an amazing book especially for a debut and I can’t wait to see what else Madge Maril writes. And tysm to Simon & Schuster
for the earc.

tropes:
F1 driver
fake dating
forced proximity
neurodivergent fmc
he falls first
revenge against an ex

Lilah and Arthur are both carrying heavy baggage from their pasts, and when you throw them into the high-stakes world of Formula 1 and documentary filming, what unfolds is a slow-burn romance that’s equal parts emotional and electric. Their story is all about learning to trust again—learning that it’s okay to let someone in and believe they’ll take care of your heart.

Watching Lilah’s growth was one of the best parts for me. She starts off quiet and guarded, someone who’s been playing small for too long. But little by little, she finds her voice and starts making choices that are truly her own—not ones shaped by the men around her. It’s a quiet kind of strength, and it hits hard.

And Arthur? He’s the kind of character who seems put-together and confident on the surface, but as the layers peel back, you see the cracks and the pain he’s been carrying. His vulnerability made him feel so real, and it added so much heart to the story.

This book is soft, introspective, and full of emotion—with just enough thrill from the racing world to keep things moving. A beautiful, slow-burning love story about healing, connection, and learning to take up space again.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Do I know anything about F1? No! Did I still enjoy this? Yes! Best of all, our FMC also doesn't know anything about F1, so while it is definitely a sports romance, with enough of a sports presence to keep people happy, the actual plot is enjoyable without a deep love of the sport.

I love a book where a weird (self-described!) neurodivergent woman finds love, and this definitely fits the bill. Lilah, a documentary filmmaker, is sent to Texas to film a slick marketing film on Ignition Racing. When she arrives, she learns a) her boyfriend and fellow filmmaker is cheating on her and b) she is also not the co-owner of the company that bears her name. She strikes up a deal with Arthur, the reserve driver for Ignition, to get her back on the film in exchange for her helping him to get out of his contract. This is done with some fake courting (a first, I think, for me!), which obviously turns into real love.

As noted above, there is strong mental health rep here. Lilah has ADHD and Arthur deals with PTSD and panic attacks from a crash. There are also some traumatic backstories on both sides, which contribute to the challenges of their relationship. Even with this in mind, the story isn't dark or overly stressful. I flew through the book in less than a full day and found it to be really enjoyable. I'm not sure it makes me want to watch F1, but it does make me want to read more from Madge Maril.

* Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review! *

We love a plotty fake dating romance!! Slipstream stands out with a neurodivergent filmmaker FMC paired with a F1 driver secretly looking to make a jump to another team. While Lilah has vowed never to get involved with a documentary subject (ethics) or someone she works with (it blew up in her face), the attraction between her and Arthur Bianco creeps up on her. So, yes, HE FALLS FIRST.

The book speeds down the track, even as the romance itself is a bit of a slow burn. And it's a very fun ride. Maril brings along new-to-F1 readers with the high points of racing as initially Lilah is clueless about the sport herself.

Slipstream is podium-worthy in a field that's starting to look a bit same-same.

3.5 stars! focused a lot around ADHD, panic attacks, mental health, and family issues. kinda felt overloaded with the topics at times going from representation to repetition. was a very slow burn and then a lot happened at the ending that didn’t feel fully developed for me

This was my first sports romance and I had a great time! Lilah was such a sweet likable character. I appreciated the neurodivergent representation. Even though it's an almost instant attraction I appreciated that it took a while for the leads to act on their feelings.

The racing parts had me bitting my nails!

This was absolute perfection. As an F1 (and F1 romance) fan, I have no notes. I would give this a million stars if I could.