My first book by Lizzy Dent, and it will not be my last. This is also my first F1 romance book I liked. I could tell right away that Lizzy was not a regular F1 fan as she made the racing still the forefront of the book, plus all the knowledge behind the scenes. I really enjoyed both the FMC and MMC, and I loved the relationship develop. I especially loved the spicy scenes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for the ARC.

Now I have to admit after reading Drive Me Crazy I think I have to take a break from Formula One romances. Because this book drove me flipping crazy. But before we get to the nitty gritty I do want to Thank NetGalley and Putnam Books for ARC. These are my honest thoughts and feelings.

Now I have to admit this is my first Lizzy Dent book and I was excited to start reading her work. And with Drive Me Crazy I was having some decent fun and I was leaning towards a 3 or 4 star review. But then we got to the last 60%. And it felt like the entire book pulled an UNO Reverse on me. The dreaded Third Act Breakup scene appeared. And let me tell you folks was it a doozy. Our FMC literally pulled the worst possible move and then proceeded for several chapters to be completely unprofessional. Not only was she unprofessional but straight up refused to accept any responsibility for what she had just done. The way my mouth dropped at this because up until this point Chloe was this strong girl-boss. All credibility she had up till this point was just gone in a flash. To make it even worse Matt forgave her way to freaking quickly. Sir I’m sorry but you deserve groveling, heck you deserve better than her.

Then to make matters worse Chloe essentially gets “pimped” out by her boss. The ick I felt in this scene and my burning desire to immediately put the book down was extremely high. However, I kept going (when I shouldn’t have 😬) Chloe you are literally also part of the leadership team why are you allowing yourself to be objectified.
I want the strong trailblazer we had at the beginning of the book. Not the timid pushover we got at the end.

Regretfully, from that moment on the story became unbearable to read and I struggled to reconnect back. Which leaves with the internal struggle of do I recommend this book?!? I’m going to leave it with a maybe. This book wasn’t for me, but I can see others really enjoying it as an intro to Formula One.

I enjoyed reading this novel. I knew very little about F1 racing going into this novel but the writer did an excellent job explaining. Our FMC Chloe is a typical badass. I like her confidence and the fact that she knew what she was doing after growing up around the sport and having a profound interest in it. I also like that Matt and Chloe had history and that he knew that she has the ability to identify his deficiencies. It was an overall good read for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. I'm a big fan of sports romance. Although this book wasn't my typical choice, I wanted to try something new, and it captured every vibe I was looking for.

I didn't think that my love for sports romances expanded into Formula one racing, but I am glad that it did! This was my first ever formula one story, and I completely understand the intrigue behind the sport. Damn!

This story was so cute! I loved Matt and Chloe's banter and relationship. I will for sure be reading whatever comes out next from Lizzy.

this was a fun quick read! I didnt really buy the romance but it was a nice palate cleanser! ive read many racing romance books so many its that im a little saturated with this trope/sub genre! still fun but the characters seemed better off as friends which unfortunately is not the best takeaway to have/finish with a romance book.

2.5 stars!⭐️⭐️

Okay, I’m so sad I didn’t love this more than I did!

First, the positives: the F1 backdrop is such a fun concept and super easy to follow. I went in knowing nothing about F1 besides it being car racing, and the author does a great job explaining it. The premise is adorable, and childhood friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. Also, the dialogue is really well written and flows smoothly. I enjoy Lizzy Dent’s style in that way.

I also liked the characters in some respects. Chloe’s interactions with Keyla and Archer were entertaining, and Matt, though damaged, has his charming moments. I especially enjoyed his reconnection with Starvos later in the book.

But as the story unfolded, it just didn’t work for me.

Where I struggled:

I couldn’t get past Chloe being only the second female principal ever of an F1 team and then jumping so quickly into a romantic relationship with Matt, her employee. It completely jeopardizes her career and everything she’s worked for, and they’re making out heavily in public about a third of the way through the book. I wish Matt had been more aware of how much risk he was creating for Chloe and shown more care in protecting her reputation. Instead, he keeps pushing their relationship forward and trying for sex in public or around staff, which really frustrated me. It turned me off to him as a romantic lead because he didn’t seem committed to protecting her or her career, which made the romance feel shallow and unrealistic.

I also wanted Chloe to stand her ground more and assert her boundaries with Matt. I kept hoping she’d grow into her strong boss energy, but her character arc never quite gets there. She never even fires the strategist who consistently disrespects her, and I wanted to see her claim more authority and respect in that part of the story.

Another issue for me was the inconsistent voice. The characters seem meant to be British, but the tone often reads as American, with random British words or slang dropped in. It pulled me out of the story whenever certain vocabulary popped up because it didn’t feel consistent.

Overall, this book had a fun concept and great writing style, but the characters’ choices and the uneven tone kept me from fully enjoying it. I’ll still check out more of Lizzy Dent’s work in the future because I love her voice, but this one just wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 5 %
There was so much cussing in just the first two chapters. I was expected there to be some, but bot the f word literally several times per page. Plus other cuss words and content that I don’t believe should be in there. I liked the idea of the book, but with so much bad content in it, I will not be finishing it.

Out of all of the F1 books out there, this is my favorite that I've read so far. The characters are lovable, and I felt like the relationship between Chloe and Matt was believable as childhood friends and I think that Dent did a great job of showing us their past along with their present. I loved the team's owner, the other driver, the greyhounds, etc. I did think that the book moved a little slow, but I think that that gave the author more time to develop the characters, especially Chloe and her career. I think that this book is definitely worth picking up!

I liked the F1 content but the FMC and MMC seemed more like friends than love interest . I would have liked to see more banter and character development, but this was a fun easy read.

ARC REVIEW:

Super cute but a little boring. I liked all of the F1 content because I could follow along super easily and I understood everything going on but the MMC and FMC seemed more like friends than anything else. I would have liked to see more banter and flirting. It was a little too open of communication which left it lacking.

I know next to nothing about Formula 1 and this is my first Dent book but I will be back for more!

Dent’s writing is clean and engaging. It’s the perfect blend: race‑day action, rivalries, and romance, all woven into a satisfying, character-driven story. With a good level of spice.

Drive Me Crazy hits the sweet spot between sports romance and emotional resonance. If you love a strong heroine and sizzling chemistry... this one's for you

Thank you @NetGalley and @PutnamBooks for the copy of Drive Me Crazy. This was a fun and sweet read. I loved the chemistry between Chloe and Matt. From childhood friends to being estranged and a full circle twist they are brought back together. Chloe is a first female team principal for a Formula 1 race team. Her new driver is Matt her childhood crush. Matt needs a comback and sees Chloe in all new light. As they navigate the sparks and passion while trying to get a podium win. This was my first Lizzy Dent book and definitely will be reading more by her.

This was a super fun read! I felt engaged through the whole book, and enjoyed learning more about F1.

Though Matt and Chloe’s story was fun to read, I felt like it lacked some depth. It’s mentioned that they’ve been friends since they were kids, so I would’ve loved to see some flashbacks to when they were younger. Insta-love isn’t my favorite trope, and while I understand this doesn’t necessary fall under that category, it kind of feels like that because there’s limited context surrounding the buildup to their relationship.

I also would have loved to see Chloe be more assertive in her role as principal. I get the character growth arc, but we need more strong, no-nonsense women to read about!

Overall, I thought this was a lighthearted, fun book with an F1 theme. I found the writing style easy to follow, and the F1 references not too complicated. I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a spicy, racing romance!

I’m enjoying this book so much! This is my first F1 sport romance. The characters backstory’s are really interesting, it makes you care about them and their journey throughout the book.
The spice and lead up to the romance was a really nice progression.
Overall, super fun read. I’m happy to recommend this one to my followers.
Once a post on Instagram is up, I’ll be sure to add the link.

Romance and f1?! What more could I ask for?!! Going in I was so excited for this book. It was a little confusing in the beginning what the relationship/back story with Matt and Chloe, I wish it would have explained that a bit sooner. Loved the strong female role and how much support Matt, Archie and Barry gave her with backlash she got. One downfall for me is how the arc was formatives and sent, every chapter the first letter was its own line, some speaking lines with put together and not separated and was a bit confusing at times but I know that’s just the advance text. Overall loved the book and would suggest to any romcom loving friends! Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for the arc in turn for my honest opinion! 4.5 stars from me!

I've been getting into F1, so this was a fun read! I love sports romances that have a strong female lead, and Chloe is great. Some parts felt a little slow to me, but other than that it was a cute little romance.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

I'm not usually a fan of friends to lovers, but this was cute.

Loved a strong willed FMC pushing to make her own mark in a male dominated industry and her and the MMC working to repair their childhood friendship.

I have started to read more and more F1 romances and this one is joining my list of top recs. It took me a few chapters to become invested, but once my attention was grabbed, I flew through this read. The racing scenes were exciting and felt very realistic.

Chloe, our FMC, is trying to prove herself as a female F1 principal with a team of underdogs. I love how determined Chloe was and as the story progresses, she really finds her voice. Matt, our MMC, is what some would call “washed up” as he tries to recover from a bad accident. Matt is driven, fierce, and I love how open he is about talking to a therapist and taking mental health seriously. While I was confused about the backstory between these two at first, it was evident immediately that they had chemistry together. I really enjoyed the banter and personal growth that our characters brought out in each other.

I will say, for what was supposed to be a secret relationship, I didn’t find it very secretive. My biggest pet peeve was how these two attempted to handle the secret aspect because either everyone around them was blind or just didn’t point anything out. However, these two worked extremely well together and I probably wouldn’t have said anything either if I was on their crew! The ending felt a bit rushed to me but I thought the epilogue was perfect and gave me an ending I really wanted.

If you enjoy sports romances and childhood friends to lovers, I definitely recommend checking this one out. Thank you to Netgalley and author, Lizzy Dent, for the copy of this eARC. All feedback is my own.

I love stories that give space for both ambition and affection, and this one gave me both without ever tipping too far into one or the other. It was smart, sexy, and emotionally satisfying, and I loved every second of it.