I enjoyed this F1 romance a lot! Very critical podcaster/journalist meets and falls in love with F1 driver. It was great!
I don't know a huge amount about F1, but this book has interested me!

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This was one of the better F1 romances that I’ve read. I loved the FMC - she felt different any more dynamic than we usually see.

Super cute but a little shallow. The FMC is a Jill of all trades constantly changing careers and hobbies never finding her place. Her love of F1 has never faded. When her friends suggested making a podcast (and after much trial and error) she finally found her groove. She gained traction (ha - look at me throwing driving lingo) when she made an inflammatory comment about up-and-coming Driver —-. Never in a million years did she thing her statement would kickstart her love life.

He’s adorable but a little closed minded - as a professional althete it seems unnatural that he wasn’t considering his mental state being the problem with his rough start.

I also felt the mother daughter dynamic was a little disjointed - the subplot didn’t flow seamlessly.

Very good audio - the British accent kept making me think of Malfoy from HP.

Loved Loved Loved this one! First F1 (or even racing at all??) romance I have read. Loved the banter - loved how obsessed with her he is, loved the familial aspects of it! HIGHLY recommend, great read!!

I thought this was a good cute fun read but it wasn’t my favorite. The main MMC was rather annoying to me and I really didn’t love the beginning of this story but as I kept reading I enjoyed some parts. I found myself laughing at times which is what kept me intrigued.

Thank you to net galley, harperaudio and karen booth for the ALC of Not So Fast. Overall the story line/romance and characters get a 2.75 stars from me…the romance wasn’t super believable to me and the storyline didn’t compel me enough to want to binge it! The characters lacked depth for me and overall I think if you just want a light fluffy romance to turn your brain off you will enjoy!

HOWEVER the narration of this book!? IMPECCABLE! I thought there was a full cast when listening! This is a single narrator who somehow manages to make you feel each character is their own and I was truly impressed! The production, the voices and everything about the audio of this book was superior to many previous audiobooks i’ve listened to!

If you love duet narration (this isn’t but it’s so good it might as well be!) and F1/ light fluffy romances I’d give this one a try! While it wasn’t for me, I think plenty of romance readers will love!

This read like an F1 fan fiction but I’m not mad about it. Mia is a podcaster who knows a lot about F1 and makes a podcast talking about it, but in a way that really connects with the everyday person. Her criticism of a particular British driver makes her go viral, and next thing she knows she’s getting invited to the game by his rival (who’s on the same team).
There she meets Xander, the British driver previously mentioned, and there is definite tension. After all, she’s the reason he’s getting bad press— but he is crashing out on the track so it’s not all her fault.
I wish there was more tension between the two rather than just insta love once the two really connected, but I did enjoy that she used her knowledge of F1 and general psychology to help him get his head on better. The story shifted to them hiding their relationship from the press and her podcast fans, who would criticize her for dating him. They already are for her going softer on him. Seeing him with his family pushed her to try harder to reconcile hers, and things did improve personally for both of them due to their relationship.
Overall, I enjoyed this one and it was a sweet and spicy listen!

Thank you Harlequin Audio for the ALC.

Quick and cute. Nothing mind blowing but I enjoyed it. Narration was fantastic! I would recommend for a super fast summer read.

Not So Fast
By Karen Booth
Narrated by Talon David

I loved this Formula 1 enemies to lovers romance. I loved Mia, the no nonsense commentary podcaster. Her favorite driver Xander a driver who is struggling this new racing season. This fast paced plot made it a fun listen and the story line behind Mia and Xander felt so natural to me. You dont need to know about F1 to enjoy this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this ALC in exchange for my honest review. All words are my own.

3.5 stars

This was a cute fun read! I don’t know much about formula one racing but now I want to! I love books with a little competition in them and this one did not disappoint. POD caster meets race car driver that she talked shit on and sparks fly. Pick this one up for an easy to read juicy book that will leave you smiling.

The narrator was amazing in this book. She handled the accents so well and told the story with perfection.

Thank you to HQN Shameless Romantics for the gifted book.

Was able to listen to the first few chapters fine, but had issues after that. From what I heard, I enjoyed it and I think I would enjoy the rest of the book, that's why I'm giving it a 4.

A fast-paced enemies-to-lovers romance set in the world of Formula 1. Mia Neal is a witty F1 podcaster who has a run in with British driver Xander Bishop after she shares her honest thoughts about his recent driving performance. Their chemistry is instant and I loved the banter. I also loved how authentic the F1 world was.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

This had me cackling at British body butter.

This is a fast-paced romance about a Formula 1 podcaster and a promising but, flailing F1 driver. I read this in 1 sitting and could not put it down. It was lighthearted, funny, and heartwarming and I will definitely be reading more from Karen Booth!

This book is packed with genuinely funny moments, balanced by some truly heartfelt subplots, especially with the touching family dynamics. I loved the journaling questions at the top of each chapter that gave us more information about how our MCs think and feel.

The more I got into this book the more I enjoyed it. The writing style totally gave me Abby Jimenez vibes, which is always a win in my book! The FMC is described as plus sized but, it's not the main focus of her character development.

I found her to be very relatable. She's a highly intelligent person who has struggled to translate those skills and knowledge into success as an adult.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!

📖 Bookish Thoughts
I liked the story overall, but the narration really took me out of it. It’s a solo performance, and while the narrator did a decent job distinguishing the voices during dialogue, the male POV sections just didn’t work for me. I’d probably recommend reading this one over listening.

📖 What To Expect
• Formula 1 romance
• Enemies to lovers
• Podcast host heroine
• British driver MMC

📖 Final Score: 3.5 stars
🎧 Audio Score: 2.5 stars
🎙️ Narration Style: Solo

📅 Pub Date: April 1, 2025
Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

Not So Fast was a light and fast paced read! I was interested about the formula 1 aspect of this story, but I'll admit everything about this book was too rushed and surface level. There was no real build up to Mia and Xander's relationship. They were somewhat enemies than suddenly turned lovers. It was still cute, but not really the kind of story I was looking for. I'm also not a fan of the third person point of view so I had a difficult time to enter this story at first. The audiobook was well narrated and helped me enjoy the story. Not So Fast was entertaining and sweet, but the execution was lacking to make it a memorable read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for a copy of this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I half listened and half read this. I enjoyed the listening experience a lot more! The narrator is great.

Mia can't seem to find her footing in her professional career until her best friend encourages her to start a podcast on the thing that she's most passionate about - F1 racing. When her podcast blows up after she insults her favorite driver, she can't believe her luck. She is now not only invited to attend F1 events and meet her favorite drivers, but it getting paid to do so. There she meets her favorite driver Xander and has to face the consequences of insulting him, but instead finds an intense spark between them.

This was a short, easy romcom. It was my first F1 romance and it definitely has me intrigued to read more. It's lighthearted and nothing special, a good palate cleansing romance. The characters are what you get, not much growth.

I admit I'm not used to these types of audio books but I had a fun time listening. I laughed a lot and went on a shopping excursion much further from my house than usual so I could listen while driving. I can appreciate that Mia has great advice but doesn't take it herself, and that she took an interesting, meandering path to her her true calling which also brought her to love. A love between two people who haven't had anyone who could really understand them and their choices. It was fun, though predictable. and Mia's overthinking was very relatable.

Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Readability: 📖📖📖📖
Feels: 🦋🦋🦋🦋
Emotional Depth: 💔💔💔💔
Tension: ⚡⚡⚡⚡
Romance: 💞💞💞💞
Sensuality: 💋💋💋💋
Intimate Scene Length: 🍑🍑🍑🍑
Steam Scale (Number of Scenes): 🔥🔥🔥
Humor: Yes, a bit
Perspective: third person from both hero and heroine
More character focused or plot focused? character
How did the speed of the story feel? medium
When mains are first on page together: It takes a little bit – about 10% in, or chapter 2
Cliffhanger: No, this ends with a happily ever after
Epilogue: Yes, 4 months later
Format: voluntarily read an advanced reader copy through NetGalley. I started with the e-book version but switched to the audiobook
Why I chose this book: The cover and title were cute
Mains: This is a M/F relationship between a cishet hero and heroine

Should I read in order?
I think this one stands alone.

Basic plot:
Mia loves Formula 1 so much, she decided to start a pod cast. She creates waves by criticizing Xander and comes face to face with him when invited to a race.

Give this a try if you want:
- contemporary romance
- heroine has a podcast covering Formula 1 racing
- heroine has dual master degrees in psychology and journalism (and massage therapy)
- American heroine / British hero
- formula 1 racer hero
- size difference – she’s 5’2” and he’s 6’3”
- celibate hero – it’s been over a year since he’s kissed someone
- medium steam – I think 3 full scenes, I might have missed something

Ages:
- didn’t catch either mentioned

My thoughts:
This novel is soooooo cute. I think my expectations were a bit lower because my last racing theme book I was disappointed in. But this was just adorable and I loved it.

Mia is a podcaster, and has been gaining fame by criticizing Xander’s racing. When they meet, he has no idea he’s actually her favorite racer. There’s some fun banter, light animosity and ego rears its head to pull these two together.

This book was funny and when they were together, I loved the evolution of their relationship. It had a great mix of character depth for each main with their respective careers, race page time, relationship and a family focus. I don’t usually pursue many contemporary authors (just occasionally read what posts/tropes grab me), but Karen Booth is one I will be checking out again...

This novel is narrated by Talon David – I really loved the narration. I think she did a fantastic job varying the voices and the accents. She reminded me a lot of the voice actress for Gianna in Skyrim and I loved that!

My complaint about listening on the NetGalley app is that when you miss something at the end of a chapter and you try to go back, you can’t just skip back 30 seconds. It will only take you to the beginning of the chapter. So you have to go into the menu and click the chapter you want to find and then scroll to it. Very frustrating for me!

Okay, I’m officially intrigued by F1 racing! This was a fast 5 star read, the pace was perfect, the FMC felt extremely relatable. I really loved the build of this story and how the characters played off each other, the way they handled conflict with each other felt rooted in reality more so then faux “enemies to lovers” novel narrative.. I can’t wait to see what we’ll get in the future from Karen!