It was a cute read, and the racing scenes were engaging and full of tension. I appreciated that there were also more than just a couple; that way the F1 racing was still a focus.

The romance wasn't the best, in my opinion. They kept talking about how they have to sneak around and no one can know but also 99% of their romantic interactions were in public locations, so I'm not sure how they were never caught. And the way this problem was solved didn't seem that feasible because of how much they struggled with the concept of privacy. Additionally, it felt like there was a big secret in the beginning about why Chloe didn't like Matt at the end of their original friendship/beginning of the book. But we never find out why??? She went to his leaving party which he didn't know about and once he learned she did there was no follow-up or questioning why she went but didn't actually go inside. From there, it seems Jack had said something to make her upset? And then she left? And then Matt didn't talk to her ever again so she was mad?? But it feels like I'm still missing pieces, unfortunately.

I enjoyed Arden and its owner Barry; I didn't like him at first but he got better and turned out to be nice and fun. I wish we could see more of him, just to better see how he was originally versus how he was later.

My biggest issue was that there was a whole plot point about Chloe lacking the courage to stand up for herself and assert her position - but that was never resolved. What happened to that one strategist who constantly disrespected her or fought her decisions? She kept saying she'd get rid of him but never did? Where was the follow-up about how he was mocking her or not paying attention???

3 ⭐️’s. I was so excited to read an F1 romance and was pleasantly surprised with how well the details were portrayed coming from an F1 girlie.

Things that I liked : the setting, the unique characters, and the plot.

Things I struggled with: I didn’t feel like Chloe and Matt had any chemistry or connection, I didn’t like how Barry objectified Chloe with nicknames and the silver dress, it didn’t seem like Keyla was that good of a friend, and the intimate scenes in public with an F1 driver seemed unrealistic.

Overall it was a quick read and I loved being in the F1 world!

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 🥰

I love a second chance romance! This book was so fun. Fast cars, competitive careers, and steamy scenes. It was everything I hoped for in a book about F1. Matt and Chloe have my heart. Four stars!

This was SO FUN and cozy! As my first F1 romance I wasn’t sure what to expect but I love these characters and how their chemistry develops.

Their relationship kept surprising me in the best way and I love how much this is a story about trust, family, and forgiveness. Would love to read the stories for some other characters in this story!!!

This one took me a while to get through. Definitely a slow burn romance IMO. I wasn't into the racing which obviously was a huge part of the book 🥴 But overall it was very cute. I'd definitely recommend to friends a d family who love to read romance and also love racing!
Thank you for the ARC

Loved it! I had so much fun reading this. If you love a romance with a strong female in a "man's world" setting, grab this book!

I've been enjoying F1 romances that this was by far one of my favorites so far this year. Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

**Thank you to Lizzy Dent, Putnam-G.P. Putnam’s Sons and the team at NetGalley for this ARC!!**

This was my first F1 romance and wow, it did not disappoint!! This story follows Chloe Coleman and her journey to finding her place within the F1 world, a predominately male dominated industry. She does so with grace, strength and some unexpected challenges. I loved the relationship between her and Matt. I loved how their relationship stayed true to who they are as individuals, friends and racers! I would absolutely recommend to anyone looking for a little racing romance in their life!!

This was a fun, quick romcom! I enjoyed having the FMC be the strong independent type who wanted to put her career first. I liked the F1 setting, but found some of it to be confusing (however I am an F1 newbie who doesn’t know much). The connection between the FMC and MMC felt a bit rushed to me. I would have loved to be shown more of their connection vs him suddenly all about her after years apart. Overall, this was a cute read!

3.5 stars. A spicy F1 romance and, as someone who doesn’t watch F1, I really liked that aspect of the book.

~Tropes~
🏎️ Childhood friends-strangers-lovers
🏁She fell first, he falls harder
💚 Forced proximity

Overview: Chloe Coleman has worked tirelessly to make it to F1, and she finally has. Team principal of Arden, the worst team in F1, isn’t an ideal position, but it’s a start. After a surprise hire of an ex-crush of hers, Chloe is furious but forced to work with Matt Warner, a famous F1 superstar fallen from the podium after a crash. Working together both on and off the track, they create a better team, better mental health, and develop feelings.

Thoughts: First, I really liked the F1 aspect. As someone who doesn’t watch that kind of stuff, I still thought it was really cool and it was a decent part of the plot. It was spicier than I’m completely comfortable with, but it’s easily skippable for those who don’t like spice. And some of the places they chose were a little 🤨 Matt did feel a little one dimensional to me, but Chloe was funny and I liked most of the side characters. A pretty light read that really makes you root for Arden if not Chloe and Matt. 💚

I also really liked the childhood friends-strangers-enemies-lovers thing, the past crush definitely made the romance more believable.

So, Formula 1 is having a moment, isn’t it? First people discovered Drive to Survive on Netflix…. Then romance writers discovered a whole sport full of young, good-looking guys who are filthy rich and competitive. Now there’s a big-budget Brad Pitt movie! (No, I haven’t seen it yet.)

I watched my first F1 race on TV circa 2000, while dating my now-husband. He is a die-hard fan and has been since he was a kid, and now he and our eldest daughter talk the talk and get all giddy about F1 together. We’ve been able to attend several races over the years here in the US and Canada, but I’m still holding out hope for that Monaco trip!

In Drive Me Crazy, veteran driver Matt Warner is having a career crisis like Maverick in Top Gun - his teammate and best friend crashed out and Matt has lost his racing mojo as a result. To make matters worse, he’s been signed to a new race team and his boss is his former childhood crush, navigating her own challenges as one of the first female team principals in F1.

Lizzy Dent clearly did her F1 research, because there’s TONS of name-dropping of real-life drivers, teams, principals, etc. I love the concept of an F1 romance book, but overall the plot and characters just didn’t grab me. Although Matt and Chloe have a previous connection, I wanted to see more of the development to their current relationship.
I had a little issue with Chloe as a character, too, because team principal is like the head coach/GM/CEO of a racing team. And she came off too timid and unsure to be in that position, and often undermined her own interests. (Like, famous people who want to keep their relationship a secret do not make out in public places.)

Overall, it was a quick, enjoyable read and will definitely appeal to F1 fangirls.

This was good, but not my favorite by this author. I do like Chloe and Matt together and how much this emphasized how difficult being a woman in male dominated spaces can be. I also really liked how athletic mental health was discussed in this, and while it resolved kinda quickly, I still thought it was a good addition to this story.

The pacing of the plot was a little off for me. It was a lot of I like him…no! I like him…maybe? It also kinda got repetitive for me in the middle up until the second to last race.

I also may just not be an F1 romance girly - I went into this knowing very little about F1 and did not leave it wanting to know more (but I still had a good time don’t get me wrong).

Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

If you’ve ever wanted to fall in love at 200 mph—or just fantasized about yelling “box, box, box” at your emotionally unavailable crush—this is your new favorite romance.

Chloe Coleman is everything you want in a heroine: ambitious, whip-smart, and out to prove that she belongs in the high-octane, male-dominated world of racing. Matt Warner is the fallen golden boy—cocky, broody, and still impossibly charming, even after losing his edge on the track. Together? They’re a collision course of unresolved history, magnetic tension, and mutual refusal to admit how insanely into each other they are.

The chemistry between them is enough to melt asphalt. Every touch, every stolen glance in the team garage, every argument that turns into longing—it’s electric. But it’s not just about the romance (though it delivers on that front). It’s also about two people fighting to reclaim their legacies, rebuild trust, and maybe, just maybe, win something bigger than a championship.

This is Drive to Survive meets The Hating Game with a splash of workplace chaos and just enough emotional wreckage to keep your heart racing. Smart, spicy, and emotionally satisfying—this romance takes the podium.

✨F1 Racing
✨Childhood Friends to Enemies to Lovers
✨Workplace Romance
✨Forced Proximity
✨Nicknames
✨She Fell First, He Fell Harder

“I am the Queen of making lemonade out of lemons.”

“This could have been the best day of my life. It should’ve been.”

“Matt isn’t just a driver, to me, at least. He is my acting, desperate, unrequited love from childhood.”

“Well, cool Chloe crashed and burned before she began.”

“I’m back there, begging for him to notice me as something other than that girl. He can see it, I’m sure of it.”

“I know Chloe doesn’t need or want me looking out for her anymore, but it’s hard not to.”

“I’m hit by a sudden wave of nostalgia, recalling that sweet laugh when it was so easy to extract from her, way back when we were kids.”

“Chloe has been and will always be an optimistic fixer.”

“I want to keep prodding her, but it’s starting to feel a little bit like I’m flirting. Am I flirting?”

“I want to see her happy and for her to have everything she wants. So for now, this has to be enough.”

“I want to make you happy, Chloe. That’s all I want.”

“She so completely has me wrapped around her finger. And she has no clue.”

“She really deserves a second-half Darcy.”

“Can’t a guy who likes a girl get a little possessive from time to time?”

“We’ll figure this out, Bug. Believe that.”

“I could never resist you. I can keep a secret for the time being.”

“I believe in myself now. And so does everyone else.”

I’ve never gotten into race cars so I learned some new stuff from this book! I loved that Chloe is the boss in a male dominated field, and she’s knowledgeable! I enjoyed the friends to lovers/workplace romance. There are sweet moments and spicy moments.
This is a good contemporary romance. The author mentions going to therapy and recovering from trauma. The epilogue was my favorite part 😍
I adored seeing it all come together!

I recommend this book if you like sports romances and are looking for something fresh.

Loved this book! Especially great for F1 fans with all the fun name drops and F1 lingo. Thought it was well done such a fun read.

3.5 ⭐️- This was a really cute book!! I’m finding that I really love the drama of F1 romance - the press and the scandals and the secret romances. It’s all so thrilling. And this book delivered that for SURE!! I loved seeing a woman F1 team principle, I loved seeing the support she got from other women who love F1, and I loved how much Matt supported her and wanted her to SHINE. that man is a simp THROUGH AND THROUGH. man couldn’t keep his hands to himself EVER.

the writing where the romance was concerned could have been a bit better, but I thought the book showed an obvious understanding of F1 which is important when it’s the setting of the book. All in all I had a great time reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advance copy to review!

I’m not an F1 girly, but was presently surprised at how much I enjoyed this book.

It was a great read! It had a lot of focus on racing and not a whole lot on the romance. It felt more like friends with benefits throughout the story. It seems they went from “we can’t do this” to “yea we’re doing this”. Matt, mentions that they were getting to know each other better the past couple of weeks and that he missed her friendship. We just never see that. The development of the relationship seems to have occurred off the pages, and we only see the moments when they get together. As for the racing side, I genuinely do not know anything about F1, but I enjoyed the scenes at these races. It felt realistic.

I just wish there was more romance.

I'm in my F1 era and I gobbled this book up!

Reading about a woman in any position in sports is always an exciting read and Drive Me Crazy had me smiling all throughout.

I appreciated the realistic take on how a woman would traverse a scandal vs how a man would in sports as well as how differently it tends to impact the career.

The writing was quite good and I felt the characters really come to life. I enjoyed every moment of reading this book and I'm hoping to read more by the same author.

Drive Me Crazy is an easy and fun read, and the best part about it for me was the racing. The motorsport theme was exciting and nicely done, adding flavor and suspense to the novel that I personally found even more intriguing than the romance.

The romance relationship leaned a bit more towards chemistry than emotional bonding. While there was certainly chemistry, I'd have liked to see more between the two of them than on the surface. That being said, the ending tied everything up fairly well and made the ride worthwhile in the end.

If you're looking for a romance with a high-octane, fast-moving action setting, this may be worth the trip, especially if you like your romances with lots of action and not slow burns.

I'm already interested in a new subgenre of romance books, and with F1 continuing to take off like it is, I wanted to give this a try.

The good: this plot had interesting elements, with Chloe's dream job in a man's world and Matt's PTSD from his accident. I really liked switching between their POVs, and being in Matt's head while he was driving was particularly fun. Loved Matt's relationship with his new teammate and his best friend. As far as I know (or could tell), the F1 stuff is accurate, and you could tell that Lizzy Dent really knew what she was writing about, so I wasn't surprised when I learned after the fact that she has close connections to the sport.

What I Wanted More Of: Honestly...I wanted more from the races! The last one was so thrilling that it felt like we could've been doing that the whole time.

What I Wanted Less Of: Matt trying to convince Chloe that they could get together and it wouldn't hurt her job. He flip-flopped on this position so many times throughout the book. One breath, he's telling her they can't because she can't jeopardize her career, and the next, he's saying "fuck it, let's do this."

It felt like there was so much good potential here, but it wasn't fully flushed out for me. Overall, from a childhood friends to lovers romance (which isn't usually my go-to), this was pretty solid, and if you're looking to dip your toe in F1 romance, this seems like a good place to start.

Thank you Net Galley & PutnamBooks for the ARC!