As someone who knows next to nothing about the world of F1, this book had just enough details about the sport for me to grow interested while falling under the spell of a two main characters' romance story. More of a pleasant surprise than anything, I'd recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of childhood friends to quasi enemies to lovers books!

What a fun swoony read! This is the first F1 sports romance I’ve read and it did not disappoint. I like how the races keep the story moving along. I thought the progression of the mmc working through his ptsd was well paced and realistic. My favorite part though is Chloe, the badass fmc principal of the team! The love story is somewhat of a slow burn while they each work through past feelings. That being said, the pace felt right for it. I also love the dual POV, giving the reader the opportunity to explore what each character is experiencing and feeling.

3.5 and rounded up to 4 because I really like the premise and it was sooooooo good up until I got really disappointed.
There’s a moment where it was like the FMC was body swapped and every character trait went out the window.
It was kind hard to read after that point.
It got there in the end but it was worse than a 3rd act breakup because we spent the whole book with one person and then she changed in the worst way.

This book drove me crazy…. In the best way ever! I absolutely loved it!!!! The pacing was perfect. The characters were interesting! Thank you so much!

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

F1 Romance
Childhood friends to Lovers
Taboo Relationship (she's his boss)
Trauma from an accident on the track
HEA

Arden Racing is a last place, underfunded, PR nightmare, MESS. To combat the bad press, Barry (the owner) hires Chloe Coleman to be the new team principal and token female hire, but doesn't give her the room or money to make many decisions. As evidenced when Barry hires Matt Warner as their new lead driver without running it by Chloe. Chloe and Matt are childhood best friends that stopped speaking when Matt got picked up in the F1 racing circle. Coming back together years later and dealing with that break in friendship, lasting trauma Matt has from an accident on the track, and deep romantic feelings is the backbone of this book.
I enjoyed the plot and the character development. Really hoping that if there is a sequel to this book, it's focused on Noah. He wasn't featured heavily in this book but could be a really sweet, golden retriever style hero in a book about his love life.

I personally did not like this book. The romance felt forced and the characters fell flat. I just could not bring myself to enjoy it. The plot sounded good on the blurb but it didn’t hit the way I anticipated.

Finally adult MCs that actually feel like adults and can communicate. I struggle with some sport romance books because they can try to create a strong FMC who is in a sport but she just comes off as bossy or rude instead of strong and determined. This book did not have that problem and it was so refreshing!

I don’t know too much about F1 but I’m trying to learn… but I felt like this was all described in a way that I could fully understand and visualize instead of being super confused!

There is a good bit of spice, overall this book was super cute and I had fun reading it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts are my own and are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

Was this cute? Yes, and it is a really good read for those who love cutesy romance! Sports romances are really cool i that they introduce a whole new audience to a sport they might not engage with. F1 is very much a European sport, as most of the race in Europe. Having novels like this are great. However, as someone who follows F1 quite a bit (I will get up at ridiculous times for a race), this book gave me the ick. Did I like the fact that the FMC was a team principal totally, and the nod to Claire Williams was a nice touch. However, the fact that the relationship was between the driver on the team and the team boss bothered me a lot. Did I know this coming into this book, yes, however I wanted to give it a chance. Though if you actually follow the sport and motorsports in general it is a heavily male dominated sport. This is within drivers all the way to those who are developing next years car. This novel had a great idea,(female team principal!) however things just were not executed the way they should have been (driver and team principal, seems like a conflict of interest to me).
However, I don't want to just hate on this novel. For readers who know nothing about the sport going into it this would be a fun read.

2.5/5

This was so cute! I enjoyed the fact that she was his boss. I’m not usually a fan of the insta-love but this was written very well and I enjoyed the small bits of intimacy we got and it wasn’t too detailed which was nice.

Thank you net-galley for the arc for an honest review:

DNF
I feel like Carlos Sainz giving a review of the F1 movie.
Let me start off by saying I am here for F1 romances, but I am picky. ESPECIALLY when it comes down to the portrayal of the sport and the characters.
I thought I would like the story, first female race principle and a cocky f1 driver, but I just didn't vibe with it. As a big F1 fan and a advocate for women in racing, the idea that the team principle and her driver getting intimate together feels like it sets women back in motorsports. This sends the message that women in motorsports are not taken professionally and rather sexualized and incompetent. It reinforces negative stereotypes in an already male dominated environment. I get it, I get it, some might say it's just a romance book. But it's not. REPRESENTATION MATTERS. Woman are already fighting tooth and nail for their spots in F1, and reducing a female team leader to a workplace romance seems tone-deaf. I really love the idea of having a female team principle romance book, but not with a driver it could be someone different, maybe a different professional athlete, I just cant get behind the workplace romance principle and driver.

All of my opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This summer has been the summer of sports romances for me, so I was super excited to pick up this book !

Drive Me Crazy follows Chloe, a newly appointed team principal who is faced with helping the sinking ship of a team she’s been tasked in heading. As if being a woman in a such a male dominated field wasn’t hard enough, her childhood crush and disgraced racer Matt is suddenly back in her life and racing for her team.

As someone not super experienced or knowledgeable about F1, I was super impressed with how Lizzie was about to explain the ins and outs of the sport without making it feel like I was reading a Wikipedia article.

Seeing strong female characters in male dominated fields is always a plus for me too!

While I LOVE a childhood friends to lovers story, I did feel like Chloe and Matt’s development hinged a bit too much on her being “hot” now. There were a few good moments and conversations between the two of them but I would have loved a bit more to make their connection feel more genuine and less likely to break up 6 months after the events of the book.

This was my first Lizzie Dent novel, and I’m definitely interested in checking out more of her work in the future!

Thank you to the author and Publisher (Putnam), and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. I really appreciate being given the chance to discover a new-to-me author.

All thoughts and opinions are my own ✨

This book has it all. I fell in love with Matt and Chloe from the start. You get to witness the journey from childhood friend to lovers. And it's not a smooth ride. Add to it the world of F1 racing. The whole book you can feel the excitement of rooting for the underdog. Interwoven throughout is the very real topics of dealing with misogyny towards women in leadership positions and navigating the effects of trauma. Both topics were well handled throughout.

What stopped me from giving five stars is the pacing of the writing in some scenes, not all. The pacing in the romance scenes seemed fine but when it came to racing or other things it felt too quick. One moment they are thinking of grabbing an Uber and in just a few sentences it is already there. Or they are prepping for a race and then all of a sudden he's already in the race. Nothing that would stop me from reading more from this author or recommending to a friend. Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a car girly myself. I loved this story. The tension from a childhood crush now being on your F1 team as your head driver. I was on the edge of my seat to see how it turned out.

And don’t forget a good scandal in the middle. Woosh I was worried how Chloe was going to handle that one.

But the ending was perfection!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Drive Me Crazy is a slow-burning but rewarding friends-to-lovers romance set against the thrilling backdrop of Formula 1 racing. Chloe’s determination as one of the first female F1 team principals is inspiring, and her chemistry with Matt—an ex-champion with a complicated past—feels genuine and well-developed. The racing scenes are detailed and exciting, showing the author’s clear passion for the sport.

The backstory was a little confusing at first and I like to see romance more at an earlier point in my books, but the character growth and supporting cast kept me hooked. If you like sports romance with strong leads and some spice, this one’s worth a read!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I am not an F1 girlie but the story description and cover caught my eye — and I was not disappointed! A great read that had me cheering for the heroine throughout and rooting for Arden racing with every page.

Overall I thought this was a great romantic comedy read written in a way that was easy to follow, fun to enjoy and a joy to review.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars
This book was absolutely delightful the tension the angst ugh it was so amazing. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy. I love the couple together so much

Drive Me Crazy is a fun, heartfelt romance set in the fast-paced world of Formula 1. Chloe, a determined team principal, and Matt, her estranged childhood crush and former champion driver, share great chemistry as they navigate their complicated past. The story blends humor, emotion, and strong character growth perfectly. A must-read for fans of enemies-to-lovers and sports romances!

I didn't end up finishing this before it expired on Netgalley. I made it to page 105 and it took me 2 weeks to get that far. It's pretty slow and I wasn't as into it as I thought I would be. I liked the FMC sometimes, didn't really like the MMC at all. It was really annoying that almost every paragraph talked about how gorgeous one of them thought the other was but oh no FMC can't think he's hot because he left her for the big leagues!! This just isn't for me. If they're going to do an enemies to lovers thing they have to actually be enemies and can't constantly think about how much they want the other person. I might give it another try when it releases but as the audio book so I can do other things while listening through the annoying/boring parts but as of right now, I won't be finishing it. Since I didn't finish it and I'm rating it less than 3 stars I will not be sharing my review elsewhere, I don't want to share bad press.

Drive Me Crazy had me laughing out loud and feeling the nerves in the pit of my stomach at every turn. Lizzy Dent serves both a lovable found family and a leading couple to root for. She meshes the thrill of the will-they, won't-they with equally nail-biting action on the Formula 1 circuit. Chloe - determined, intelligent, and finding her footing in the good ol' boys' club that is Formula 1 - had my heart immediately. I found myself zooming through Drive Me Crazy in full Grand Prix fashion. The sprinkling of wry humor and shenanigans only made it a more entertaining read. In very few situations are you sad to reach the checkered flag, but this was one of them: you won't want this season with Chloe, Matt, and Arden Racing to end!

ARC - 3/5⭐️ this one had me torn…I loved the concept of the F1 racing team and the romance, however it was definitely a little slow for me. I just wasn’t motivated to pick up this book and it took me forever to get through. It was cute and the racing scenes were exciting, but I just felt like it was a little drawn out. I wish the romance picked up a lot sooner than it did. The character development between Chloe and Matt was nice to see.

I just felt confused for a while about how Chloe and Matt knew each other and their mysterious past; I wished it explained sooner because I hate feeling confused while reading a book.

Still it was a nice read and I’d recommend it to anyone who likes romance and racing. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! 🩷🩷