This charming F1 rom-com is a fast-paced, enemies-to-lovers delight with all the right tropes: dating a celebrity, secret romance, plus-size rep, and a heroine who knows her worth. Our leading lady, Mia, is a sharp-witted F1 influencer with a loyal following, known for her humor, unapologetic takes, and deep knowledge of the sport. When she roasts a rookie driver on her podcast, sparks (and insults) fly. He’s desperate to prove himself on the track, and she’s not afraid to call him out. Until their rivalry takes a romantic turn behind the scenes.

What makes this story shine is its clever use of speed—on the racetrack, in chasing your dreams, and in the rush of unexpected love. If you’re into high-stakes romance with heart and heat, this one’s a must-read.

Rating: 3.5 stars
"Not So Fast" by Karen Booth was an enjoyable listen. It’s an easy, breezy read that doesn't take itself too seriously—perfect for when you want something light yet engaging. The narrators did a great job bringing the characters to life, adding warmth and personality to the story. While it may not have left a lasting impact, it was entertaining and well-paced throughout.
thank you netgalley for the Arc of the audiobook!

I had a lot of fun with Not So Fast! An F1 inspired romance.

It’s a quick, engaging romance with a smart, overthinking FMC who’s trying to make a name for herself in the male dominated world of F1 by creating a podcast as a side hustle.

I liked that Mia was passionate, flawed, and ambitious. Her unexpected friendship with another woman in the field was a nice touch at the end.

The story touched on mental health, boundaries, parent/adult child relationships, and career growth in a way that felt real.

I listened to the audiobook, and Talon David did a great job as narrator. I do wish a male narrator had voiced Xander’s POV, since it took me a second sometimes to figure out whose perspective I was in.

But overall, this was a great listen. No surprise baby ending (thankfully), a fun romance with a bit of spice, and the perfect length.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio | Afterglow Books by Harlequin for sending an ALC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Not so Fast follows Mia who is a pod caster who follows formula 1 racing. Mia gets invited to a race by Zander’s teammate to get to Zander because Mia put down Zander’s racing in her pod caster. Zander is having a hard time this year on the race track and is not having a good session.

This book has some cute parts but some of the moments the things Mia would say were cringe. I listened to the audio version of this book and Talon did a good job narrating the book and trying to give the characters depth. Mia was very passionate about her pod cast but put too much effort on what others opinions would be for my taste.

I like Zander as a MMC. He has a lot of stress he had to over come this year and was working through them throughout the story.

Overall it would have been a quick read and ends like every other romcom.

Thank you NetGalley and Mills @ Boon for the ARC copy for an honest review.

For the love of F1, I loved this book! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Harlequin Audio | Afterglow Books by Harlequin for the ARC.

#NotSoFast #NetGalley

2.75 stars

This sort of feels like a fan fic??? In the sense of the FMC gets everything instantly. It’s very insta love and that’s fine. But the story line was just like bam, bam, bam, no time to process.

I feel like the author should have written this in 1st pov. The 3rd person started to feel like I was reading a children’s book, in the way it was over seeing the characters.

Overall, it’s a romance book about an influencer blowing up online, then being invited to a race where the driver she talks shit on falls in love with her. I gotta be honest I skipped through the intimate scenes…. I just didn’t care if they were banging. But it really was an EASY listen. I got through it very quickly. And the author clearly knows F1 racing because there’s a lot of car talk, in a cool way honestly.

The audiobook was done well. For their being one reader she nailed the man’s voice & accent.

I loved this story. F1 podcaster Mia gets the chance to meet her favorite racer and there are sparks. The story is fun and relatable with some light mental health rep. There is plenty of romance and the spice was spicing.
The narrator did a great job and the story came to life.

𝑩𝑶𝑶𝑲 𝑰𝑵 𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑱𝑰𝑺:
🏎️💨🎙️🎧😡😒❓😏🤫😍💋❤️‍🔥

👍🏻𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬𝑫 / 💗𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑫: 💗

𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝑰𝑭 𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑳𝑰𝑲𝑬:
♡ F1 racing
♡ rivals to lovers
♡ FMC finding her niche
♡ MMC with an accent
♡ sexy phone calls 👀

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑺:
I freaking LOVED this book!! I won a physical copy on Goodreads but ended up listening to the ALC, which was amazing!

First off, I love that this book actually goes into the F1 racing. I watch F1 so having scenes where they’re running through what’s happening on the track is so fun! They even mention Maxxy Verstappen at one point LOL.

The romance in this one was fun and hot. We have some sexy phone calls that eventually lead to some spicy scenes that hit just right. There’s some forbidden romance since she’s a podcaster who made her name by dissing the MMC and then they fall in love, but we get a HEA that was perfect 🩷

I loved seeing both the FMC find her passion in life and the MMC find his groove when it comes to both his racing and his family.

This definitely won’t be my last book by this author!! I’m hoping there’s another F1 book 😋

This was such a cute book! It was my first Formula 1 romance and it was so fun. The FMC is so relatable. She has historically struggled with sticking to a job until she starts a F1 podcast. The podcast connects her with a famous F1 driver and sparks fly! I would recommend this book, but be aware that the POV changes between the FMC and MMC within the same chapter. It can be a bit confusing, especially since the audiobook has a single narrator.

This was my first ever audiobook ARC and I couldn’t be happier that Not So Fast was the one! I listened at 2x speed and it was the perfect giggly, heartwarming 4-hour companion while I did some housework — and let me tell you, I smiled the entire time. This was the fluffiest, most feel-good Formula 1 romance I didn’t know I needed. From snarky podcast hot takes to a golden retriever MMC who made my heart melt, Mia and Xander’s chemistry was instant but so sweet. Enemies to lovers? Check. Secret pining? Check. Emotional baggage and growth? Oh yes.

Karen Booth totally nailed the balance of humor, heart, and a swoony romance while still giving us a crash course in F1 (perfect for newbies like me!). I’m not normally a sports girly but this made me totally want to read more F1 romances! Mia was also super relatable to me I loved this read so much. If you’re looking for a fast, fun, and emotionally satisfying rom-com with racing flair, this is perfect for your next read or listen!

🏁 Sports Romance
🏁 F1 Racer x Podcaster Romance
🏁 Insta-love
🏁 Long Distance
🏁 Fan meets celebrity (She's his fan)
🏁 Enemies to Lovers
🏁 Secret Relationship

I am not a F1 fan, but this book is convincing me watching could be fun. I loved Mia and her podcast, they comment she makes about Xander had me laughing. Mia throughout this books struggles with her confidence and with the help of her podcast, fans and Xander she is finally able to make the moves she wants in her life. Xander, meanwhile is our favorite grumpy sunshine MMC, who bends for her.

Sports Romance 4/5
Spice 2/5
Narration: would have loved duel narration but still very good.

I received this as an ARC audiobook through Netgalley

4.25⭐️

Mia is a formula one racing addict. After her hot take on her podcast about the driver Xander Bishop, she ends up invited for a race where she meets Xander for the first time.

After a quite snarky and sarcastic meet, Xander can't shake Mia out of his head.

This book was funny, quick, and light. Loved Mia's personality and how sweet Xander ended up being.

I am not normally a fan of the 3rd person act. However, the audio was done pretty well, and personally, I had multiple times I ended up forgetting.

Not So Fast by Karen Booth with narration performed by Talon David is a formula 1, enemies-to-lovers romance that hooked me from the beginning. Mia has multiple degrees and has worked many careers, with her most recent role being a podcaster hosting a formula 1 show. She gains sudden notoriety after not so polite comments about famous driver Xander Bishop go viral. Xander is in his first season driving for the most successful team, only to find himself struggling. When Mia and Xander meet, there sparks fly and they go from enemies to friends to lovers quite quickly. I really loved this book! The development of the relationship between the main characters felt natural and fun, and I loved how they worked on their own journeys as well. I did feel like some of the sex scenes felt a little forced at times.  Most of all, I loved how the author blended the romance story with formula 1 and found a great balance!! It was funny, sweet, lighthearted, and had me rooting for them from the start!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and the author for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was just okay for me. I wish there was some more tension and build up to when they go together. It was TOO insta love for me. It went from I hate you to I want to sext you and fly you to my home way too quick. I almost DNF, but Xander kept me going.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with a copy of this audiobook for an honest review!

This one is on me, folks. I rated this one star because I really didn't vibe with it but I think part of that is because I didn't realize this would be a Harlequin romance, which means they jump pretty quickly into the spice. It feels almost like a fanfiction of Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey, but for F1 racing.

I wanted to like it; I appreciate what they were trying to do with Mia's character and all her degrees, brains, and beauty; but she ended up falling a bit flat for me. Honestly, the whole book fell flat. The romance felt rushed and shallow, and I wasn't actually invested in any of the characters enough to care what happened to them. The drama with Mia's mom and aunt felt like it was thrown in last minute to make the story longer. I love a good cheesy, unrealistic romance as much as the next girl, but this just wasn't it for me. I fully acknowledge this is likely a combination of my lack of desire to know more about Formula One racing and my poorly set expectations going into the book. No shame to the publisher or author, but Harlequin romances are just built differently.

This is only a one-star read for me, but I can still see myself recommending it to some who like this specific type of sports romance.

Fast Paced. Fluffy. Comedic Romance. Don’t forget F1 Racing!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was my first Formula 1 racing romance and I throughly enjoyed it! Karen was able to inform the reader of a lot of the ins and outs of F1 for someone that would be considered a newbie to the sub-genre!

Mia is thrown into a very complicated setting. Going from a quiet voice of a podcast to an ‘F1 Influencer’. Things were quick to get overwhelming for her when the truths and omissions spiral.

Xander is the perfect golden retriever MMC who allows Mia to have the necessary space to cope with her overthinking brain.

I enjoyed the read, thanks @NetGalley for the ARC! Karen, this was a wonderful, fluffy read!

Audiobook provided by Netgalley💖

Let's just say this is now my favorite F1 romance. ~swoon~

There's really nothing I love more than enemies to lovers, but he's also a simp. And this delivers on that.

Between Mia's self-doubt and Xander's emotional baggage, these two have a lot to sort through before they're ready to put their relationship on display.

The spice in this was great, not too much, and the chemistry between these two was fantastic!🌶🌶

This was a cute and quick romance with a confidant and knowledgeable FMC and a cocky, lost his way MMC! I adored that it was centered around F1 as a fan myself! I finished this audiobook in less than 12 hours, the narration was great!

Not So Fast was equal parts cute, sweet and sexy. I enjoyed it especially the way Mia and Xander's relationship developed it felt natural, like the natural progression of things. The narrator did an awesome with the accents and bringing the characters and their story to life. I loved listening to her.

Not So Fast is a fun and relaxing read filled with hilarious banter and relatable characters. I’m fairly new to the rom-com genre, but I’m finding my footing, and this book was a great place to start.

Mia, the FMC, was such a relatable character as she is very indecisive in many areas of her life (mainly her job) and is slightly a people pleaser. Her back and forth with what she wants to do with her life resonated with me immensely, and I found that I understood her more than I care to admit.

Xander, the MMC, is a balls-to-the-wall perfectionist who can’t seem to find his groove in racing until he meets Mia. The chemistry between these two is immediate and is entertaining to watch it unfold.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for providing the ALC.