I couldn't get past the narrators for this book unfortunately, there was just something off to me. I did enjoy the story though!

Not so Fast by Karen Booth is an F1 racing sports romance. Mia is an F1 fan and decides to start a podcast based on her fandom. Her podcast gains traction based on insulting a popular racer named Xander Bishop. She is invited by the teammate of Xander to a race basically to get into the head of Xander. They have a chance encounter, and he ends up inviting her under duress to next race on the circuit. From there they are on an enemies to lovers path. I don’t know a lot about the sport of F1 racing but I feel as though the book did a good job of explaining for a novice like me.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

NOT SO FAST is such a fun ride. Mia, a long-time fan of racing, has channeled her fandom into a popular podcast, with snappy commentary about the drivers and all things racing. When she is invited to the race in Miami, she finally meets Xander Bishop, whom she secretly crushes on. Publicly, she has made some less than complimentary remarks about Xander and his abilities on the track. It's a rocky start for the pair, but once Mia and Xander get together, things quickly sizzle toward the finish line. On top of a great romance, there is travel, adventure, and growth for both characters as well as familial storylines that make the characters interesting and loveable!

I've been seeing F1 Romance A LOT, and I'm here for it!

The audio was very well done and made for an enjoyable experience.

I wanted to read this one because I haven't seen many books about race car drivers/fans, etc. It's a niche that interests me, so I gave it a go.

It starts with Mia, a big fan of Formula One racing. She's lost in her personal life after jumping from career to career. Her overbearing mother always nags her about using her journalism degree and following in her footsteps. So Mia decides to start a podcast about Formula One, and it grows after her snarky comments about one of the drivers, her favorite one.

When that episode goes viral, she gets thrown up close and personal with the sport when she's invited to a race by another driver, who happens to be a teammate of that driver, but not a friendly teammate. And things spiral from there.

I enjoyed the banter between Mia and Xander and how their chemistry blossomed. I love how he supports her and her brilliant brain, which frustrates her a lot. The storyline flows well, and I hope to see more books in this genre—great characters with some great spice.

Thank you to Netgalley and all for the ALC. This is entirely my own review.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to an audiobook ARC of Not So Fast so that I could offer an honest review of it. This story is narrated by Talon David, who does a really good job capturing Mia’s anxiety and internal monologue and Xander’s patience and own fears. That being said, when a male character is speaking. The narrator does change their voice a little bit, and if you’re the kind of listener who is bothered by that, do be warned that happens here. And honestly, didn’t bother me as I was listening. I find it helps me between the characters, so I liked it.

Story-wise, I loved the Xander character. He understood that he needed to be patient with Mia and not push too fast while also unafraid to be transparent about his hopes for their relationship. I loved that Mia was also trying to figure out her life and wasn’t afraid to voice that her career was a priority.

Will likely be picking up more of Booth’s writing and looking for audiobooks that this narrator does.

Mia is a Formula One podcaster with a penchant for saying some viral things ~ and Xander is the driver that she recently went viral talking about. I’m an attempt to get into Xander’s head, a rival teammate invites Mia to a big race where her and Xander meet and sparks start to fly. And whewwwwwweeee were they flying all throughout this book!

I really enjoyed this one! I haven’t read any F1 romances prior to this, but the author did a decent job explaining the sport without feeling like a Wikipedia entry. I enjoyed both characters and the plot was really cute - it was all super cute, honestly! And one of my favorite parts of that Mia’s initial insult that started the whole thing kept coming back into the story ~ it made it feel very full circle.

The audiobook narrator also did a wonderful job in her performance, especially voicing all of the different characters and their accents. Seriously, bravo!!

This was such a fun audiobook to listen to! The characters were so raw and real. Mia's situation was so relatable the not knowing what to do with her life and just trying to find something with freedom and fulfillment! Xander battles with mental health was also something I wasn’t expecting but loved that it was talked about. He really had work to trust himself and her through the book!
I wish it was dual POV and duet narration but all and all it was very good.

If you’re into formula 1, or racing, or cars, or just hit British MMC- this one is for you! I really enjoyed my first racing read, I learned a lot about podcasting, and couldn’t get enough of Mia & Xander. The narrator was great and overall just a fantastic listen!

Listening to Not So Fast was like plugging into a live wire—Talon David brought this story to life in a way that made it impossible to pause. Their delivery captured every ounce of Mia's sarcasm and Xander's tightly wound charm. You could feel the tension simmering in their voices before anything even happened.
Mia's spirals felt real, relatable, and painfully funny, while Xander's simmering irritation-turned-desire made the emotional shift hit even harder. The whole enemies-to-something-way-hotter ride was deliciously satisfying, and the narration took it to the next level. I didn't just hear this story—I felt it in my chest. I highly recommend popping in your earbuds and going along for this high-speed ride.
Let me know if you want a short blurb version for social media or Audible/Goodreads, too!

Super cute first book I’ve read by this author and about formula 1 racing. Definitely will be reading more. Great storyline, cute characters, light hearted romcom.

thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the audiobook

not a fan of the pacing of this it just felt too insta love and the pacing of the spice literally came out of nowhere i was so confused and icked out

OH MY GOD, I feel like I am an outlier and in bad company. I really liked this! It was a perfect palate cleanser for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Karen Booth and Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the ALC of the audiobook!

Not So Fast by Karen Booth
4 stars

"This sport gave me so much, but the best thing it gave me is you."

First of all, lets have a moment for the curvy girls! I love to see representation, especially in the form of the the conventionally attractive man going for the attractive plus sized girl. Bonus points if he falls both first and harder. Yay! It is a regular, degular rom-com and it needs to be nothing more. (For the love of god, you guys, just try to enjoy things from time to time. Not everything needs to be a critical thinking piece.)

Mia and Xander are like my bubblegum fever dream type of couple. The exposition isn't too overwhelming and not overtly life-changing, but it makes me feel giggly and at peace. My only complaint is that I might have crashed out if someone said “driving with my dick in my hand” one more time.

Proof of a good love story:
Xander - "For a moment, he forgot he was race car driver and she was a podcaster who'd criticized him in a dozen different ways... He had a feeling that a kiss from Mia wouldn't be like a kiss from anyone else. But he couldn't afford to be curious right now. It wouldn't help him get where he desperately wanted to be."

Mia - "...Mia felt like she was seeing a sneak preview of what Zander would look like in twenty years and she had to wonder, would she and Zander still know each other then? Was he only meant to be a single, heavenly chapter of her life? The thought of him walking the earth, and her not calling him or talking to him made her chest ache, made her eyes sting."

If that's not a beautiful way of describing love, want and yearning. I don't know what is.

I'm honestly not sure why I was originally interested in Not So Fast by Karen Booth. Other than my love of Romances and enemies to lovers, I am absolutely the last person on earth that is interested in racing, but I am glad that I did. This book was a fun, easy and fast read that I really enjoyed. As someone who has never felt their profession quite fit them, Mia was a super relatable FMC. Her passion for racing was clear, and the struggle with a fulfilling hobby turned career is something that a lot of people can relate to these days. While not my favorite MMC ever, Xander jumps off the page and is so likeable, I enjoyed the reading experience immensely, despite not having any interest or much knowledge of racing. In fact, I'm more interested in it after reading the book just based on the characters, which is a huge credit to the author. The one issue I had with the book was an early phone 'spicy' scene. It was so awkwardly written, I cringed the entire time and it nearly made me want to stop the book for fear of future in person 'spicy' scenes. I'm thankful I didn't as the rest was totally fine (though not AMAZING), just know you may need to push through that a bit. That being said, it *is* totally worth it, and its a great easy summer read.

I also loved the dual POV narration of the audiobook and think they did a great job.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Just flew through Not So Fast and had the best time 🏁💋
It’s fast, flirty, and full of that sweet slow(ish) burn energy that totally delivers.

Mia is all anxious perfectionist vibes (relatable AF), and Xander? A total dreamboat with just the right amount of cocky charm and soft heart. Their chemistry? Off. The. Charts.🔥

Only wish it had a tiny bit more angst — but honestly, I devoured it. If you love sports romance with heart, heat, and a little helmet hair, this one’s for you.

This was a perfectly fine F1 romance. I didn’t really feel like either main character was super distinct but it was overall fairly cute.

The audio was a little hard to follow as the pov changes mid chapter and there’s no indication when that happens nor does the narrator really change voice so that was a little frustrating.

This romance moved faster than the cars and it felt very thin. I am constantly searching for a good F1 romance but I don't think this fit. It could have been nearly any sport, nothing about it felt unique to a sports romance.

if you're into insta love with a sprinkle of motor racing, this might be for you.

Thank you to Harlequin audio for the ALC. I attest that I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

3.5 ⭐.I enjoyed this book and the narration of it. I don't know anything of F1 Circuit but you didn't really need to know much to enjoy this book. I like the relationship between the two MCs, however the spice was a little unnatural so that's one of the reasons why I brought it down to a 3.5 star. All in all, Talon David did a good job narrating this book and it was a decent read from beginning to end.

Thank you NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I just could not get into this book. I made it to about 23% but was just bored. I don't think this author and I just don't mesh because I DNF'd one of her other reads as well.
(I'm only entering a star rating because NetGalley requires it. I do not typically rate books I DNF)

Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for feedback.
I listened to the audio version of the book which tells the story of Mia, a quirky podcaster and Zander, a race car driver.
Mia, trying to find her way personally and professionally, starts a podcast sharing knowledge and insights into the Formula1 racing world. An opinion on one of the driver’s performance starts the chain of events that lead to a happy ending
I enjoyed the book, the main characters very likable. Some of the sex scenes were a bit cringy, but still was a nice light-hearted book that was enjoyable to read.

This was such a fun take on an F1 romance! I liked that she was an unconventional aspect of the sport but was no less knowledgeable and was a proper fan and contributor in her own right. I love a man who tackles his mental health! The narration took me a bit to get used to but I enjoyed it and it added to the story instead of taking away. Because it was a single narrator and the POVs tended to switch between paragraphs instead of chapters it would take me a minute to figure out who we were talking about. A great read for the week of Monaco!