Spicy spicy spicy and tons of fun!! As a big formula 1 fan I’m always looking for more F1 reads and this one hit the spot!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this with an open mind as this was my first F1 romance book. The F1 setting was interesting! I am eager to read more F1 romances in the future.

Unfortunately, I did not resonate with the author's writing style. Because each chapter jumped forward by several weeks, it was hard to fully grasp significant character development. A majority of action was left off-page as well. I felt like the impact of the story suffered because of this.

I don't think this was the author's intent, but the MMC came across as toxic at times. That, combined with the accidental pregnancy trope, was a big turn off for me. I wanted to enjoy this more, but sadly it wasn't for me.

This was my first time reading an F1 sports romance, and I absolutely loved being immersed in the fast-paced, glamorous world. Following Natalia, a confident journalist, and her evolving relationship with Klaus, the team principal, was such a fun and addictive experience. It was refreshing to have a FMC in her 30s who was ambitious, driven, and so passionate about her career.

The chemistry between Natalia and Klaus was instant yet beautifully developed over time. The story moved between locations and moments in their lives, making their romance feel layered and authentic. I adored Klaus’s tender moments just as much as his strong presence, and I loved seeing Natalia’s personal growth and how her family’s backstory shaped her.

This was such a vibrant, engaging read with a perfect mix of romance, drama, and the thrill of the F1 world. I’ll definitely be picking up more stories set here.

Josie Juniper’s Coming in Hot steams up the racetrack with a sizzling Formula 1 romance that pairs a driven journalist and an enigmatic team principal in a story built on tension, secrets, and high stakes. Natalia Evans has carved out a reputation as a respected reporter for Auto Racing Journal—sharp, ambitious, and determined to land a story that matters. When she crosses paths with Klaus Franke, the focused and aloof principal of the Emerald F1 team, years after a night they both thought they’d forgotten, professional boundaries crumble under the weight of unresolved chemistry. Klaus—icy and controlled—is more flame than frost when Natalia’s presence begins to crack open the walls he’s kept up since personal tragedy. As they navigate trust, desire, and a brewing scandal that could upend both their careers, the glamour of the F1 world blends with a slow-burn romance that leaves you holding your breath.
The charm of this book lies in its escapism: the characters are vivid, their ambitions and flaws believable, and the push-pull of power, fame, and attraction is addictive. Their chemistry can be borderline toxic at times, but more in a “I need you two to stop and talk” way than in an unhealthy one, which keeps the tension alive without tipping too far. While their emotional growth sometimes feels repetitive, with cycles that don’t always deepen the romance, the sheer heat and energy between them carry the story forward.

Perfect for fans of workplace tension, forbidden attraction, and the adrenaline of competitive sports, Coming in Hot delivers a heady mix of speed, scandal, and sizzling romance.

I really love F1 romances and had high hopes. I enjoyed the chapters being in different locations and there were some cute parts scattered throughout, I just couldn’t get interested in the story. I was bored a lot but it could have been a me problem 🫣

Thank you to NetGalley and to Forever for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review..

I love F1 and a short F1 romance sounded right up my alley - this one started in a decent way. Exotic location (Dubai), age gap, one night stand - or so they thing.... but then he lays money on her clothes, and she rightly gets pissed off - end scene.

Then she discovers who he is and well, she is now going to be a reporter for F1 and he is a organization chair? Not quite sure of his actual title - but basically he's the "behind. the scenes" money for a team. Until he meets her and then starts being more seen?? It was weird.

The beginning of the book was the most interesting part of the entire read... then all of the names and up down and we're hot, we're cold - oh I have morals and wont allow anyone to treat me like a sex worker, but nevermind the sex was so good it's fine - just, it got incredibly annoying. I ended up enjoying the sleazy MMC more than the FMC but hated both, so what does that really say?

This bummed me out a bit, but it wasn’t for me. I absolutely love the idea, and the first book in the series wasn’t bad but I did not vibe with this one.

This is the second book in the Frontrunners series. I read the first one Double Apex last year. F1 is a growing sport genre that is getting the romance treatment. If you watched the F1 movie and you wanted something like that movie this book is not it. There is actually very little about F1 in the story besides the vague traveling and the fact that one of the characters Klaus is a team principal.

This story overlaps Double Apex a little bit and then expands past the previous novel. It dives much further into the long romance for Klaus and Natalia. It is a long drawn out courtship but not really in a bad way. It makes for some interesting drama and keeps you entertained. It is a peppering of spicy romance but overall it was a fun read.

DNFed at 41%.

Unfortunately, the story simply wasn’t for me. I wasn’t a fan of the romance and as someone who loves female friendships in books, this is the first time I didn’t enjoy any main character + best friend scenes. Heartbreaking! The conflict with her parents was also irredeemable for me.

I didn’t realize this was the second book in the series so who knows if more context would’ve helped me enjoy this more. Definitely pick up the first one if you’re considering reading this! If I had to recommend this book to anyone, it would be anyone interested in F1 racing and following a main character who works as a journalist.

The audiobook narration was difficult for me to get used to with the various accents used by multiple narrators. With the book being dual POV, the voices for the FMC and MMC would differ largely based on the POV I was in and the side characters often had very eccentric personalities that made following along tough. I usually listen to audiobooks at 2x speed but had to reduce it to 1.6x to follow the story. If you could, I would recommend immersive reading this story with the audiobook + ebook (or just the ebook/physical copy) for a smoother experience. This will also be helpful with translating the many non-English phrases included.

Hopefully this book is a better fit for you!

Thank you for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me as the romance was mostly physical and lacked the yearning I prefer. It began right away and quickly became physical and then their reconnection and their feelings seemed to be coming mostly from that one night stand which just didn’t do it for me.

I am a huge F1 enthusiast so this title immediately grabbed my attention.

Unfortunately that is about all that grabbed me. The two central characters, Nathalia and Klaus (F1 team principal) were so incompatible with one another and there was more chemistry between a glass of water and white vinegar.

Klaus was vaguely reminiscent of Toto Wolff, but misogynistic.
Nathalia is supposed to be 34-35 but had the emotional range of a 16 year old high schooler.

These two lack any effective forms of communication and the romance must have been discreetly in their heads because it was largely shown off page. Their moods were unpredictable.

I did appreciate seeing an F1 romance from the POV of a journalist and team principal as most involve a driver.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for allowing me to read Coming In Hot by Josie Juniper.

Okay. This is going to be an interesting review. At the 30% mark I switched from audio to ebook because the narrators were annoying me. And at the 60% mark, I went to Goodreads to read reviews and see if other readers had the same complaints I did. I was trying to decide if it was worth finishing. But notice, I gave 4 stars. So not only did I finish it, but the ending redeemed it for me.

So first, the narrators. This is a dual narration, so the narrators read the corresponding chapters for their characters. The book tells us that Klaus is Austrian and Natalia was American. So the female narrator gave him a vaguely German accent and her a standard American one. But then the male narrator took over in his chapters and gave Klaus a British accent. And his female American accent was terrible. I gave up listening soon after.

Now as to the story. I agree with many other reviewers in that the constant long time jumps meant that much of the story happened off page and was described by the characters in catching each other up when they met. This interesting storytelling technique means there’s a lot of telling instead of showing.

Both Klaus and Natalia seem very toxic. They have physical attraction and keep talking about love, but they won’t share their feelings or thoughts and they keep secrets even when they don’t have to. They can’t seem to keep their hands off each other and there are some very spicy scenes. But personally those scenes hit differently when there’s so much unresolved conflict. In one case they are literally making love while fighting and being angry at each other. I know that’s a whole trope, but it’s not for me.

However, both characters turned things around by the end. Klaus acknowledged his overbearing behavior and let Natalia make her own choices, and Natalia dealt with the source of her trust issues. So I ended up giving four stars because I liked the ending.

Thank you to @Netgalley and @readforeverpub for the chance to review this ARC and to @hachetteaudio for the ALC.

I really wanted to like this book, but it wasn’t for me. I will say that the author definitely knows her stuff when it comes to f1. She wrote in detail about the sport and I really did enjoy that aspect. The romance however was very maddening and I didn’t really like it. The constant time skips also got very annoying. I don’t like how little we got before we were moving a couple weeks, to a month later. Overall it was fine, but nothing to harp over.

Thanks to @hachetteaudio for the ALC
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Spicy, smart, and straight-up addictive!
Coming in Hot delivers ALL the drama you’d want in an F1 romance. With tension, sizzling dual POV narration, and the perfect blend of heat and heart, this book had me cheering for true love.
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The dynamic between the leads is off the charts with equal parts snarky banter and emotional depth. And the behind-the-scenes paddock drama? I’m here for it.
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Loved that the characters were a bit older and that we had a team principal finding his soul mate in this one.
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Thoroughly enjoyed both these audios and would recommend to F1 fans, as well as lovers of a good sports romance.

This was overall an okay read! This book had some things that a lot of people can enjoy (age gap, forbidden workplace romance). Natalia and Klaus definitely had chemistry, but unfortunately for a lot of the story it felt too much like lust than love. I did love the setup of a journalist falling for an F1 team principal and that immediate taboo.

The constant time jumps made it hard for to keep up with the timeline as well we didn't really get to see their relationship grow naturally. I was once again not the biggest fan of Natalia and Phaedra's relationship as some of the things they do to eachother truly makes me not see them as true friends. Overall however, I enjoyed the ending and am continuing to like how different f1 romances are based on the characters' jobs and personalities.

As an avid Formula 1 fan, I have yet to find a related sports romance book that I've enjoyed. Coming in Hot by Josie Juniper didn't even scratch the surface.

Coming in Hot is the second installment in the steamy Frontrunners series. It follows the journalist from the first installment as she's paired with the widowed, hard-to-get-close-to but hot team principal on a job assignment.

At 53% of completion, they've had three conflicts thus far. Nothing explains this couple except stupidity. Their first conflict was the mmc handing the fmc a wad of cash after their one night stand because he thought she was a prostitute. LMAO and you still went back to him? GIRL STAND UP!

With their miscommunication and having the same argument repetitively, it was hard to root for this insufferable couple towards the end.

Overall, I will not be continuing with the series as I disliked the first two installments. Which is disappointing since the F1 facts were accurate, but the writing fell flat. Thank you to Hachette Book Group, Josie Juniper, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

Thoughts: DNF at 46%
Audiobook - the female narrator uses a fake German accent when Klaus has dialogue, but the male narrator has a British accent. A little confusing. Also, I don’t like when the female narrator narrator uses different accents at all.
*While reading*
*The beginning of each chapter is met with a recap of what happened between the time jump from the last chapter. Even the interactions between Natalia and Klaus, so we don’t see majority of their relational development.
*I don’t like Phaedra. She just seems like a bad friend.
*Their relationship feels like it’s moving too fast. While time is passing, we are only told about their relational development instead of shown. I couldn’t understand why they like each other so much and why Natalia is offended by him keeping secrets, when it feels like they’ve just met with how much I’ve read.
*If she is family with the Morgans then they would have told her. She’s more upset with Klaus for not telling her about Edward, when Edward being sick isn’t necessarily his business, than he is with Phae.
Phae blaming Klaus for his rift with Natalia instead of her own actions is crazy.
*Everyone in this book is annoying and childish. The constant back and forth between Talia and Klaus was annoying.
*Why is Klaus so bent out of shape over Talia. He’s not over his wife completely, which is valid, but he still tries to be with Talia. I don’t get it.
*We also didn’t see their relationship develop at all, so I don’t get why they are so butt hurt over everything the other person does. Like we didn’t even see the buildup for them to want to start dating and then all of a sudden she’s done with him for being secretive about what’s going on with the team, like that’s any of her business in the first place.
*The whole side plot with her parents doesn’t make sense to me. They left her with her aunt while they got settled in California, but it was too expensive, so instead of moving back, they decide to work for a drug dealer? Then instead of keeping in contact with their daughter, they just leave her in the dark for over 20 years and decide to just pop up again. Also her aunt being so adamant about Talia hashing it out with her parents is annoying too. Like they could have continued to be in contact with her, even when they were in California, but they didn’t.
*Yeah, I’ve decided to DNF this book. I don’t care about the characters or their relationship and I know they are going to go back and forth with each other the whole book.

This one was a bit of a rollercoaster for me. I think it lands between a 3-4.

This has a strangers to lovers to contention and back to friends/lovers. A lot of this one is set up in the first novel, Double Apex, so we know a little of the beginning.

Tropes featured here are age gap, second chance, work setting, and kind of insta-lust. There's also a big one that's a bit of a spoiler that I'll leave off here, but for me it's not my favorite thing. I know other people who love it, you get pretty big hints so I didn't feel blindsided, but the mix of tropes is what makes this a little lower for me.

Natalia is a pretty well written character to me, I understand her motives and appreciate the way she moves through her roles most of the time. Klaus is ....a man. He's fine. A big part of this novel takes place during the time in double apex when Phaedra and Natalia aren't getting a long and that's a big part of why I struggled outside of tropes I didn't prefer. I was frustrated with their conflict, but honestly the way Natalia talks about Phaedra and how Phaedra is shown during this book talking to Natalia is not kind.

That said, this author does F1 very well. This was less technical than the first book because of the character's jobs. I did have a good experience overall with this book and the author said at a previous event I attended she was workshopping a third book in this series that I would be very excited to read!! I think there's been good growth between these two books and the thoughts she told us at an event would be fire on paper. 🤞🏻

Thank you so much to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & NetGalley for this e-arc.

The second novel in the Frontrunners series (after Double Apex) is a sizzling workplace romance set in the adrenaline-fueled world of Formula One racing. It's obvious that Juniper is an expert at racing. The majority of the book was devoted to Natalia and Klaus suppressing their feelings for each other. Additionally, there is a small mystery at play. Natalia finds herself attempting to investigate and get the truth about certain questionable actions inside the teams. This might still be worth reading if you enjoy Formula One romances with a dash of intrigue and scandal.

Thank you Forever and NetGalley for the DRC of Coming in Hot! All opinions in this review are my own.

I absolutely loved Double Apex, the first book in the Frontrunner series, so I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to read Coming in Hot. This turned out to be the weekend of my first race! Although I went to see an IndyCar race, I still loved reading Coming in Hot during a motorsport-filled weekend!

The title of Coming in Hot is not an exaggeration! The steam starts right from the first chapter and the characters deal with the consequences after. Although there is not as much on-track action as I normally like in an F1 romance, I wasn't missing it as much as I thought I would. Klaus and Natalia's relationship gives insight into what happens off the track for teams and the challenges that they deal with.

I think my favorite part of Coming in Hot is that Klaus and Natalia's relationship is so messy. Both characters are flawed and are dealing with their own struggles which keep them from getting fully invested in the relationship. They seemed more real to me because of this and that they struggle throughout the book, not just one fight/break up towards the end.

While it is difficult to top Double Apex's storyline, I loved Klaus as a main character and Coming in Hot is a solid sequel!