i had huge hopes for this story based on the blurb and cover, but the writing, dialogue and flat characters disappointed me. the random time jumps made zero sense & skipped huge plot points that could drive character development. like some of the events could have been used for 5 different books, but they were all rushed and thrown into a chapter or two, then never addressed again. on top of that the two mcs were broken up for more time in the book than actually together?? and there was minimal F1 scenes, it was glossed over and mentioned throughout, but very few active setting/events occurring around the sport. i truly hope talia and klaus break up and never speak again post ending- its the best thing they could do for their oopsies baby (so they will not have to spend their millions on therapy).

cecily fosters and max rauchs narrations were engaging and entertaining, and while their accents were inconsistent, it did help me finish the story.

thank you to netgalley and hatchette audio for the opportunity to receive this ALC!

tropes: racing romance, age gap, forced proximity, accidental pregnancy, forbidden romance
vibes: adventurous challenging fast-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy
Moderate: Death, Grief, Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Murder

Coming in Hot is book two in the Frontrunners series and follows Natalia and Klaus. I really enjoyed the audiobook narrators and generally enjoyed the storyline. The book is told in dual POV, and the narrators did a great job with the characters, cadence, and voice. They both made the book more enjoyable. While it isn't necessary to have read Double Apex, it would add to a better understanding of the overall story.

~~What I liked~~
-I liked the storyline for Natalia and Klaus. They were both likable characters and I liked how their relationship developed.
-The spice in the story was 🥵. Mom, this one isn't for you, sorry.
-A HEA always makes me happy.

~~What I didn't like~~
-The jumps in time were a bit much and possibly unnecessary. They did let the reader know how much time had passed in the story, but I felt like they happened a lot and most stories move forward without a constant need to be told how far in time the story has moved unless it is a critical point.
-I was a bit confused about the point of contention between Klaus and Natalia while he was keeping his secrets. It wasn't until after he explained things that I got it, but I'm pretty sure I was supposed to have known what shady stuff he was doing before he disclosed.

Overall, I enjoyed this audiobook. I liked Nat and Klaus even better than Phadrae and Cos (from book 1).

Narration was done well & I liked the ability to switch accents.

The story was both slow & fast paced at the same time. Slow in the sense that it felt like nothing happened? Yet fast with all the time jumps and telling vs showing. It was predictable and fell flat to me.

dnf at 61%. i honestly just didn't see a purpose in the book. there were so many sideline plots, but it seemed like the big ticket items that influenced the main plot were so delayed in their development. i also didn't really understand the chemistry between the main characters, beyond sexual. i don't understand what connection they thought the had emotionally.... not bad read, just one i didn't care to finish.

as for the narrators, i think they were both pretty fitting for the characters! no complaints there!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc

2.5 stars

omg, this book is full of wildly toxic characters from the fmc and mmc, to the fmc’s parents, to the fmc’s best friend. it’s rare i say this considering my stance on spice (i prefer phenomenal plot with well deserved earned spice), but the spicy scenes were the only thing good about this book.

as for the audio, there were dual narrators and they did a great job!

This book caught me off guard having spicy bits in the very first chapter. I assumed it would continue that trajectory. I'm glad I was wrong because the story itself was decent. Also the male narrator "fake American accent" made him sound like Matthew McConaughey which was not expected

I really tried to enjoy this one. If I view it as a collection of short stories featuring the same couple, it’s easier to find things I liked about it. The lust and physical chemistry between Natalia and Klaus was definitely fiery and present. There was no doubt about that. There were also a lot of discussions that could be had about family dynamics and professionalism boundaries based on various events and histories revealed.

As a whole book, this was very disjointed for me. There was an overabundance of telling rather than showing much of any real relationship development. I understood the idea of only having chapters set at a Grand Prix location, but it made the story feel disconnected. There was so much I felt like was missed between time jumps, and it made it seem like Natalia and Klaus didn’t spend any time together outside of weekend events, and if they did it was just told about after the fact. I couldn’t find it in me to care much about their relationship outside of their steamy hookups.

I had the audiobook along with the ebook. The audio performances were fine. I wasn’t blown away or fully sucked into the story, but the narrators were pleasant enough that I feel that was more to do with the actual book content than the performance either was giving.

Thank you to Forever and Hachette Audio for the eARC and ALC respectively via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 15%. Thank you to Hachette Audio for a copy of this alc. I thought the premise of this book was so promising but unfortunately I had a difficult time following the timeline because of all the time jumps. I also thought the characters acted a good bit younger than they actually were at times. I'm new to F1 and really enjoyed that aspect of the story, If you like F1 and books that span a longer timeline this book might be fore you!

Narrators: The narrators were fabulous! The accent that Klaus had was top notch and I could immediately identify where he was from. The narrator for the FMC was also wonderful and would listen to them in the future.

This book was a fun, quick read, but lacked some substance and structure. I understood the need for constant time skips, but felt that the jumping around in time caused the emotional buildup to suffer. I also found that there were passages and sections of the book that were repeated throughout, specifically with respect to the gift given to Natalia. Overall, I enjoyed the reading experience despite some issues I had with the plot.

Despite my issues with the book itself, I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook’s narration and found both narrators were excellent and fit the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc. I started out really enjoying these characters but I feel like through the middle I just didn’t really care for any of the characters sadly. Not sure I would recommend. If you love f1 racing maybe.

The narration was great! The book itself was...questionable. The romance wasn't romancing; they got together and broke up about five times throughout the book and the only thing they did was have copious amounts of sex. No true connection formed between them whatsoever. The MMC had questionable thoughts at time and they both acted like they were 18 even though they were in their 30-40s. The last part of the book was genuinely laborous to get through. The dealing of serious topics was weird and the characters failed to feel realistic.

Rating: 2.5 🌟

Thank you to Forever, Hachett Audio, and Netgalley for providing me not only an eArc but also an early audio copy!

Coming In Hot is my first foray in the F1 romance world which is one I think I'll want to look more into! But...maybe not this series again.

Our two main POVs are Natalia, a sports reporter looking for her next big break, and Klaus, the Emerald Team Principle. They initially meet through a one night stand where they share nothing but a bed, not even names. Eventually, they realize each others identities their relationship evolves from there.

First off, I LOVED our narrators, Max Rauch and Cecily Foster. They brought such a good energy to the work that kept me engaged completely. While I'm completely lost in the area of audiobook production, everything was clean and crisp, which made my usual listening speed of 2x very enjoyable.

Onto the content of the book. I overall thought the conflicts between Natalia and Klaus made sense. Both of them come with a lot of baggage that reasonably affect their lives. I also appreciated how driven Natalia was and that she always stood up for herself. Both leads are very complex, sometimes grating on my nerves and other times making my heart flutter. The writing style was something I also enjoyed, very bingable.

But, I struggled to get behind this couple. Every chapter starts with a time skip, sometimes weeks, sometimes multiple months. While it's understandable, both of their jobs are flying around the world, it is a huge hurdle for the reader. We are told that they are growing so close, falling in love. But all of that development is almost exclusively off page. Honestly, almost everything is off page. What we do see, is lots of fighting, lying to each other, and sex. My biggest issue is not only the third act break up (which is a pretty big betrayal) but what comes after. The reveal completely derailed the entire story in my opinion. It was just something to force them back together and come out of no where.

3.5

Klaus….oh man and I mean MAN, because Klaus is not a boy. He’s a man who knows what he wants and when he meets Natalia he knows he wants her.
I enjoyed that the story is built around the racing world and I’m finishing is a new trope I’m starting to like. I know nothing about racing but love the world this story created.

I’m not going to lie the steamy scenes are pretty HOT, Klaus is a man who doesn’t mince words in the bed room but the story itself is good but could’ve been better. I felt like there was a lot going on during the story and though I did like Natalia’s independence she did bug me at times because she was so wishy washy and wanted something that she herself wouldn’t give.

I'm waffling on the rating. I think it's close to a 3.5 but I'll round up. I keep searching for the perfect F1 romance and I'm getting closer but not there yet. The first book in this series waffled for me too, eventually the MMC redeemed the story and I had a lot of fun reading it. This one was a little more precarious. I really liked the MMC but I don't think he got a just story line, some things didn't make sense to his character.

The FMCs also seem to have inconsistent events to push the plot and that bugs me a bit but really no more or less then any other rom/com.

Again, I'll stick with the series. I like what Josie is trying to do and I think she'll really hit her stride soon.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this title. I attest that I am leaving my review voluntarily and honestly.

DNF at 25% bcs this book is 100% workplaces smut. There is no plot or conflict just all sex and wet undies and it's def not for asexual or romantic readers. There's just no plot for F1 or the journalist which is the whole point of the MCs jobs.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC

DNF at 20%

I really wanted to love this, the cover and description pulled me in, and the narration was good, but the story fell flat for me. I couldn’t connect to any of the characters, especially the FMC. And her saying she doesn’t ask if the men she dates are married anymore because although she doesn’t want to be the other woman it’s inevitable, left me feeling very ick. I’m sure there are people who will love this book, it just wasn’t for me.

I enjoyed the read/listen a lot, even though there were parts i didnt maybe love it was overall nice and easy romance between heavier books that i read.
What I really enjoyed were the time snippets and jumps, because it showed longer timeframe BUT i also felt some things sharing their romance start was kinda brushed over there and it leaned more into the drama instead. I did also kinda lost track of how long they actually had known eachother.
I also enjoyed the racing world, seemed cool to have the characters travel a lot and then ofc have cool places for the romance to happen.
For a sec there i was annoyed by the parents storyline but by the end it made sense.
Overall i think it was okay read, the proa and cons even out pretty much but also i wouldnt really reach to read it again

2 stars ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

decided to pick this one up because i wasn’t a fan of the first book but was really hoping that the author would have improved from then, especially because the ideas and plot points can be very interesting and impactful when done correctly. unfortunately this was another pass for me.

it feels like a lot of nothing and a lot randomness happens in this book. like i was constantly in a state of, 🤨.

nearly everything in this book happens off page. which is extremely disappointing cause that would have been the most interesting part!! i mean we’re told all these things are going on but see absolutely none of it.

the plot of her family situation was messily done and just not executed well. it feels like it was added out of shock value and to give her an edgy backstory. it was basically pointless and served very little to the main plot besides explaining why she always attracts and hooks up with older men.

it’s extremely hard to root for the main couple cause we don’t really get to see them truly fall for one another since it’s all hookups, work and arguing. i don’t know, this book is a bit better than the first book and i truly would love to see this author fully flesh out her plots and characters in a more effective way.

Max and Cecily did an amazing job narrating this book, their voices were engaging and made it a great listen.

This is book 2, and while I did not read book 1, I do not feel like I was missing any information.

Natalia and Klaus had a passion filled one night stand before either of them knew who they were and that they worked in the same F1 circuit. This book jumps right into the spice and then we get the storyline.

F1 Romance
Workplace (reporter/owner)
Accidental Pregnancy
Miscommunication
Age Gap

I received an advance review copy audio version. Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio, for the opportunity to listen to this book.

Nope. Some of the language used during sex/to describe sex was just terrible. I didn’t love the FMC or MMC and thought both of them needed to grow up a lot more