dnf at @ 30%

I couldn’t really connect to the main characters at all. Also the time jumps with every chapter left me a little confused. I am sad because a lot of my mutuals enjoyed this book but alas for me it just didn’t hit

I loved this! This felt like the most realistic build of a relationship I’ve read in a romance in awhile. It was is instant but built over years. These two had a lot to work out but in the end got it all right!

I really stuck out on this book since it's an easy read and finished it out of spite but for what?! I was super intrigued with the cover design and premise of the book but the writing was just not for me. I actually hate that I didn't love this book bc I really wanted to read more F1 romances.
I was super frustrated with seeing 30-40 year old characters acting like they're in their teens with the amount of emotional immaturity going on. It's like a huge case of miscommunication trope gone wrong.
I enjoyed the spice but I didn't feel any actual chemistry between Klaus and Natalia. They kept going back and forth with their feelings and it didn't really even feel like a relationship.
The time skip didn't really help either. I know it's to mimic the different F1 races/location during the season but basically stuff happens off page and we were expected to know about it somehow. There was a lot of telling without showing in the story and that really bothered me.

Thank you Forever Pub for the ARC.

DNF for some reason the DNF option wasn’t available but couldn’t connect with the story. I love F1 romance but I don’t think this one is for me

I was honored to receive an ARC of this book via NetGalley and was so excited to read it. This is the second book in The Frontrunners series but they can be read as standalone novels. I did not read the first book (but heard it was really great) but still thoroughly enjoyed this one.

This is a sports romance featuring F1 racing and focuses on the relationship of the Emerald Team Principle, Klaus, and a reporter for ARJ. What starts as a one night stand, quickly turns into a very complicated, slow burn high tension roller coaster ride of an on again off again relationship crossing many continents and many months to a few years.

It’s workplace drama meets age gap meets sneaking around with an international flair. And the MMC has quite the accent.

And for any guy who might want to explore what all the fuss is about when it comes to romance novels… try this one. The on track scenes are describe with great detail and accuracy, the drama within the team and amongst sponsors is on point.

This may or may not be the book that got my husband hooked on reading Sports Romance *wink wink*

Thanks Josie for another great book. Looking forward to the 3rd and final in the series next year!

I think this book would have been better if each chapter wasn't a time jump. At times, it felt impossible that their relationship would not have progressed in the timelapse since the previous chapter. It was giving me whiplash, especially in the middle there when things were heating up between them and then I was supposed to believe that they had barely any contact for weeks? In today's day and age with cell phones, social media, etc? It did not make sense and became frustrating, not to mention made it harder to root for their relationship. I still enjoyed some aspects of this book, but with all the F1 romance offerings out there, I'm not sure this is a title I would recommend...

This was fun, fresh, and I enjoyed reading it. Honestly, there wasn't much that was super special about it, but I enjoyed my time with it.

Thanks to Netgalley & Grand Central Publishing (Forever) for the E-ARC! Really enjoyed! The characters were so cute. Loved the F1 setting too. Excited for more from this author!

Heat Index: 7/10

—Formula 1 sans driver hero

—he's a stern brunch daddy

—hooking up allll over the world

—on/off and every which way

The Basics:

Natalia Evans is finally the lead reporter for Auto Racing Journal, which is naturally when it turns out the mysterious man she shared a single incredible night with is Klaus Franke, Emerald Team Principal. It wouldn't be the most professional thing to begin a real relationship with him, but that doesn't mean they don't end up sneaking around for intermittent hookups when given a chance (no feelings, of course). But when Klaus and Natalia end up embroiled in a massive scandal, their loyalties—and Klaus's commitment—are put to the test.

The Review:

I feel like this should've been a slam dunk for me. It has a lot of qualities I enjoy in a romance, especially a contemporary. Klaus and Natalia begin with a true (intended) one night stand. They meet, they're hooking up, it's hot, and it's all happening within the first 10% of the book. Though the physical chemistry is off the charts, the real feelings come later... if perhaps a bit sooner than I would've liked. He's older, he's a little stern, she's determined to be professional, there's the backdrop of their careers against their feelings... I love that kind of plot.

Where I think this gets tripped up first is that it's not sure if it wants to stand alone or not. This is the second in a series—I haven't read the first, but I liked Juniper's writing style enough to request it from my library. (Which is a good sign!) Most of the time, contemporaries (and really, most romances) like this, centered on a single couple per book, stand alone while being interconnected. This story clearly took place, at least at first, at a parallel time to the first book. And I really felt sort of confused; I also felt that there were a few too many allusions to the first couple, especially the first heroine, Natalia's close friend. And it's like—cool. I want to focus on Klaus and Natalia.

The thing is that they do have good chemistry, but the book has a ton of time jumps. It takes place all over the world, which is cool (though I don't think we got quite enough detail about the different locales). But you'll get them in, say, Budapest one chapter, then—boom, SIX WEEKS LATER. I don't mind time jumps, and I actually like that this takes place over a really significant stretch of time. But we basically miss a lot of longing and emotional development, as Klaus and Natalia spend significant chunks of time apart. Which is part of the conflict, to be fair—even if he is emotionally ready to commit to Natalie (he's a widower, he genuinely loved his wife and is still grieving, it's honestly quite touching) does he really have the time? Can he put her ahead of F1?

And on that note, I really liked that Klaus was a Team Principal versus a driver. I haven't read much in this particular space yet, but I am REALLY into the idea of more sports races focused on the guys behind the scenes. The GMs, the coaches, the kingmakers. Klaus is a little distant, mature, and in control. He was a nice break from the sports romances that always have the HOTSHOT BIG TIME TALKY TALKY ALPHA MALE sports stars, who never actually come off as alphas because they're talking about it all the time. (Very few sports heroes are written in a way that sells their cockiness—y'all can't all be Ilya Rozanov.) I really bought Klaus as a leader in his space. The BDE was off the charts. Even if, I will confess, some of his dirty talk was a bit... over the top. I mean, I wasn't against it, but I was very aware that I was reading a romance novel with some of that dialogue.

Natalia has an interesting background that isn't quite like a lot of what I see in contemporaries. She was raised by an older female relative because her parents were Mysteriously Absent, and the reasons are not what I (or she) expected. This sense of abandonment and desire to be put first drives the emotional conflict with Klaus, and it's well done.

So there is a lot I do like here. But I feel as if the plotting just didn't give me enough time to fully settle into this romance.

The Sex:

Okay, so—the sex scenes are hot, over the top dirty talk notwithstanding. Very good, very fun, had one act I don't see a lot in romance that made me sit up and go "yes".

But there was a really weird attitude toward birth control. Natalia isn't on any, and there are a few times where it's so laissez-faire, "trust me, I know my cycle", and.... I know this reflects the way that many people do approach birth control? But considering Natalia's career-mindedness, her hyper-awareness about the instability of her relationship with Klaus, Klaus's OWN big age and experience (and mind you, I think Natalia is very much old enough to know her own deal) and Natalia's trauma regarding her parents—I just didn't buy that they, and particularly she, would be that risky. It took me out of the story a bit.

The Conclusion:

Although I have issues with this book, I did like Josie Juniper's writing and am interested in reading the novel that preceded this one. I just feel like Coming in Hot bit off a little more than it could chew.

Thanks to Forever and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the first book in this series and was so excited to get the next chapter of the story. Unfortunately, it didn’t hit the same. I felt like the first half was just a retelling of what already happened in the first but from new character’s povs. It also made me not like our fmc from the first book as much because she acted so horribly towards Natalia in this book. I just wasn’t able to below surface level and fall in love with these characters the way I wanted to. I will still read more books by this author because I think she is very talented, this one just wasn’t for me.

I really, really need to stop reading a spin off book before reading the first one. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson by now. HAHAHA clearly not cause here we are. However, after going to look at reviews for book 1. Maybe I should be glad I didn’t read it first…

I can’t believe in 2025 I finally did it. I found a romcom with the most dislikable characters. Not even just dislikable some of the cringiest red flag swinging main characters. I’m like these are supposed to be adults, instead they act like heathen crotch goblins. To make matters worse let’s also throw in some time jumps every freaking chapter because you know “drama” 😑 How about instead let’s get back to F1 racing instead of confusing your reader every chapter.

Overall, this book was not for me and I cannot recommend it. Lastly big thank you to NetGalley & Forever for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Although I did enjoy this for the most part, I do think that there needs to be content warning in the beginning of the book. The ARC did not have this, so I hope that the final version has this!

ARC review
Publication date 17 June 2025

“Coming in Hot” by Josie Juniper is the second book in the "Frontrunners" series.
The story takes place at the same time as the events from the first book but follows a different couple.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advance digital copy of the book (via Netgalley).
Opinions from this review are completely my own.

This is a formula 1 contemporary romance.
Natalia is a reporter and Klaus is a team leader in F1.
They have a one night stand and then try to stay far from each other because of the forbidden part of the relationship.

Unfortunately I did not find the characters likeable, especially Natalia.
Also, there are many time and location jumps that were annoying.
Basically after every chapter they were in a different country and up to a month goes by.
I did not see a development in the characters during the story. They went back and forward and kept finding reasons to have arguments.
There is also a "surprise" pregnancy towards the end that was predictable at one point and I did not see the point for it.

If you like sports romances with age gap and a slow burn, you could enjoy this.

I genuinely did not realize that this book would have such an involved plot that was complex and not like other typical contemporary romance???? But it had me on the edge of my seat, I was in agony, I was invested!!!

There are so many facets to this book that I don’t think I could even describe concisely and succinctly in a review, but I thought that this was a really solid book that clearly knew what it was talking about when it came to F1, was written pretty well, had a compelling plot with twists and turns, I really can’t find much to take issue with, which is a good thing!

I CAN tell you that I am absolutely obsessed with Austrian billionaire F1 team principal, Klaus Franke. That man is a dream despite some shortcomings, but I’d say Natalia had some shortcomings of her own and I really do think that they needed the two years that this book spans to work their shit out and finally get to a place that they were happy, and I loved every minute between when they met and the end of the book.

i also think the plot with her parents was an interesting situation, albeit maybe shoehorned a bit to try and explain her abandonment issues and her hesitations around Klaus, but overall I think it showed another aspect to her life and made her more multifaceted.

Anyway, altogether, I really enjoyed this book and it is only pushing me further and further into what I assume will become a hyper fixation on F1 if I ever let myself dive in fully.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the advance copy to review!

As a fan of sports romances, I was excited to dive into Coming in Hot—and while neither Natalia nor Klaus are athletes themselves, the high-speed world of Formula 1 serves as a thrilling backdrop to their slow-burn love story. What really stood out to me was the emotional depth of these characters: Talia’s struggle with family wounds and Klaus’s grief over losing his wife were handled with such care that the usual "dead wife trope" didn’t give me the ick (a rare feat!). Their personal growth felt authentic, and I loved watching them navigate their baggage together.

That said, I did struggle a bit with the timeline—the jumps between race weekends sometimes left me disoriented, and I wish their romance had felt a little deeper beyond the initial attraction. Still, Talia and Klaus were compelling enough to keep me invested, and I appreciated the cultural richness woven into their dynamic. If you’re into sports-adjacent romances with emotional weight, this one’s worth a read!

Thank you to Forever, NetGalley, and Josie Juniper for the ARC!

My favorite thing about Josie’s books is the strong women. Phaedra in book 1, and now Natalia.

Talia is a complex character. She’s a strong, independent, headstrong woman. She’s also very soft and kind-hearted.

Klaus is… Klaus. Lol. Look, do I think he’s good enough for our girl? Debatable? But she loves him and she chooses him, and she gets to do that and I’m here to support her. He says that she made him realize that he was capable of loving again after losing his wife, but I was craving for him to just put his heart out there for HER to SEE and FEEL that. Maybe a little more introspection in his POVs would have done it. I do understand the nuance of why he "couldn’t", though. Just wanted more, I guess.

I love a good sports romance, and his was sports-adjacent enough for me! I enjoyed this read. Thank you very much for the ARC, Forever!

I love, love, love this series. As a woman in STEM who is constantly greeted by shocked faces anytime I do my job, I felt very seen in the first book. So when I say this one on NetGalley I was more than excited. When I was approved I was so grateful. And it didn’t disappoint. It had the same vibes, banter, and depth as the first one. And the same beautiful cover style. Perfect sequel!

I think fans of Formula One racing will find this right up their alley (pun intended). Spice and drama and cars :) Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Coming in Hot is book two in Josie Juniper's Frontrunner's series. Natalia Evans is riding high in her career as a reporter for Auto Racing Journal. Complicating her work life is a recent one night stand that she had with a man that turned out to the principal for Emerald racing, Klaus Franke. Their paths keep crossing and it becomes more and more difficult for them to ignore the chemistry and remain professional.

This was my second Josie Juniper book and I have to say this one worked a lot better for me than the first. I will say the pacing was a little strange but the relationship and characters were more enjoyable. Klaus and Talia have great chemistry. I enjoyed the development of their relationship. Fans of the first book should eat this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book certainly "comes in hot" with some heavy spice right at the beginning - a bit too abruptly for me to be honest! However, its biggest struggle is the timeline. Natalia and Klaus' story develops over the course of a couple seasons??? I think? My eyes kept skipping over the "x months/weeks later" at the beginning of chapters and then I had to go back and try to get a sense of how long it had been overall, not just since the last chapter. I think the book would benefit from something more concrete e.g. labeling chapters with a month and, if not a precise year, a "Year 1/Season 1" or something. I also wasn't entirely sold on the (non-sexual) compatibility of the characters or the eventual conclusion.

3 stars because the writing and F1 knowledge are both solid.