If it hadn’t been the audiobook version, it probably would’ve been a DNF.

I’m not sure I can point out anything positive when it comes to this book, but I have plenty of complaints.

First, I couldn’t connect with the characters. They both annoyed me, and both were unbearable. It felt like we kept going in circles with their arguments and breakups—always for the same reasons.

Second, the time jumps made the story impossible to follow. And because of all those jumps, we didn’t get the chance to actually see their relationship up close, which—at least for me—meant there was no chemistry between them.

Third, the accents in the audiobook were incredibly frustrating. They disrupted my understanding of the story, and I honestly don’t see the point of them.

Fourth, the level of spice didn’t work for me, especially because I felt like their whole relationship was reduced to sex, with zero emotion involved.

Fifth, Formula 1 was barely present in the book.

Sixth, the accidental pregnancy was completely unnecessary and felt like the only thing keeping the characters together in the end.

Seventh, another totally unnecessary thing was the mention of Milošević. I truly didn’t see the point, nor the purpose of dragging politics into a story that was supposed to be focused on the world of Formula 1.

All in all, I honestly can’t say anything positive. I can’t recommend this one.

If it hadn’t been the audiobook version, it probably would’ve been a DNF.

I’m not sure I can point out anything positive when it comes to this book, but I have plenty of complaints.

First, I couldn’t connect with the characters. They both annoyed me, and both were unbearable. It felt like we kept going in circles with their arguments and breakups—always for the same reasons.

Second, the time jumps made the story impossible to follow. And because of all those jumps, we didn’t get the chance to actually see their relationship up close, which—at least for me—meant there was no chemistry between them.

Third, the accents in the audiobook were incredibly frustrating. They disrupted my understanding of the story, and I honestly don’t see the point of them.

Fourth, the level of spice didn’t work for me, especially because I felt like their whole relationship was reduced to sex, with zero emotion involved.

Fifth, Formula 1 was barely present in the book.

Sixth, the accidental pregnancy was completely unnecessary and felt like the only thing keeping the characters together in the end.

Seventh, another totally unnecessary thing was the mention of Milošević. I truly didn’t see the point, nor the purpose of dragging politics into a story that was supposed to be focused on the world of Formula 1.

All in all, I honestly can’t say anything positive. I can’t recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Hachette Audio for this advanced copy. You can pick up Coming in Hot on June 17, 2025.

I recently got into racing romances and really thought this one would deliver the vibes I was looking for. Unfortunately, shortly into starting the audiobook, I realized the writing style was very much not for me. Others might like it and enjoy the dynamic between the main characters from the get-go, but it didn't deliver for me.

This was a perfect book for an audiobook! The characters were portrayed really well and I was able to get into the story!

Both characters were in the f1 facing world and continued to be thrust in each other’s orbits.

I appreciated the time jumps because they lent realism to the story.

As far as romance tropes this book has everything!
Forbidden workplace, one night stand turned more, friends to lovers, an intense third act break up for a real reason!

Coming in Hot is the second book in a F-1 racing series by Josie Juniper. If you haven't read Double Apex, the first book in the series, I think it's essential for Coming in Hot. The first half of the book takes place as interludes during the events of Double Apex. If you haven't read that book I could find it confusing as to what's going on Coming in Hot. So much of this book felt disjointed because it was little snapshots on the on-off relationship between Natalia and Klaus. I wish that it had more connection points with each character besides their connection at races.

As for the audiobook, I found my preference towards the female narrator over the male narrator. I didn't personally care for how the male narrator would perform female voices. I feel like it's harder for me, in general, to like how male narrators perform the voices of female characters. I have both read and listened to both books and would still prefer either version to a reader.

Although I'm not sure I'd return to this particular book in the future, I prefer the storytelling and formatting of Double Apex, I do look forward to the next book in the series, coming Winter 2026.

The drama was intense in this book. I just wanted to shake the fmc and tell her to stop being so stubborn but she figured it out. This book is good but it felt frustrating and I honestly wondered if it was going to be an HEA. If this was a physical book I would have thrown it across the room. That being said I did enjoy the book. Ifykyk
The narrators were great but be prepared for them to slip in and out if they accents at times but it wasn’t too distracting. The pacing and voice acting was good overall.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook for review. All opinions are my own. Thanks to Hachette Audio for the ALC!

<b>Genre:</b> sports/contemporary romance (Formula One)

<b>Tropes:</b> 1 night stand to awkward next encounter, forbidden romance, age gap, accidental pregnancy

<b>Spice Level:</b> 3/5 a handful of descriptive scenes, nothing too crazy

<b>Content Warning:</b> unprotected sex, accidental pregnancy, alcohol consumption


Coming in Hot is my second ever F1 romance, but I think it's pretty safe to read if you, like me, have no clue about the sport.

Natalia and Klaus have a hot one night stand than ends poorly. Naturally, they meet again soon after. She's a sports journalist, he's team principal of the Emerald F1 team, and she's got to write about him. What follows is a bunch of time skips and meetings and eventually trysts and feelings. I like Klaus a lot; he sort of reminds me of Ana Huang's MMCs. Natalia had a lot of moments where I wanted to shake her, but she came around in the end. The best friend, though, was pretty awful at first. I think she's the FMC in the first book in this series, and her dad dies, so I cut her some slack, and she does improve a lot by the end. I think the time skips make this east to follow if you're the type of reader/listener who has to stop and start a lot.

3.5/5

2 ⭐
ALC Review
I'm a big F1 fan so I pretty excited about this book when I read the blurb. I also decided to read the first one in case I would miss something important, however, now I think that wasn't the best idea because it left me feeling underwhelmed but I hoped this one would be better. Newsflash!: It was more of the same and I even thought about dnfing once or twice but I pushed through 🙈 on hindsight, I don't know if it was a great idea.

What I didn't like about this book:
1. The characters weren't likeable or relatable. The were in their mid thirties to mid forties but they both behaved like 16 year olds.
2. The FMC has abandonment issues that feel like they are swept under the rug.
3. Not enough F1 content for a supposed F1 romance, it was barely discussed.
4. There were a lot of time jumps that nade the story feel clunky and choppy at times.
5. A lot of miscommunication and fights followed by the silent treatment like they were kids at recess in elementary school.

What I liked:
1. The narrators 🙌🏽 Max and Cecily were amazing at voicing the characters. Their voices were perfect for the role and we're engaging. It wasn't their fault that the characters were annoying sometimes.
2. That the MMC was based on Toto Wolff and who doesn't love that man 🤤
3. There were some interesting ideas and plot points that could have been interesting, they just needed to be developed better. Less tropes would have made the story feel more fluid. Just focusing on the age gap and workplace/forbidden romance would have been so much fun.

Anyway, thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I could not get into this book. DNF @ 26%. I felt like there was massive, gaping holes throughout - the time jumps were confusing, there is little context given for these characters and their actions (I understand this it book 2 in the series, but it assumes SO much from book 1), and the characters are difficult to connect with. I did not like the insta-lust that just stretched out into long-lasting lust - there didn't seem to be any genuine, emotional connection between the two? And the friendship between Phae and Talia felt immature and toxic. I really tried to keep listening but had to stop.

I did thoroughly enjoy the male narrator's portions - he did a great job.

4.75 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌟 Ok, so I loved this book. I loved how it jumped right into the spice but then we got to really know Natalia and Klaus on such a deep level, their relationship was very realistic (even considering he’s super rich). I absolutely loved Klaus, after the initial “meeting” of course, but I was totally into his whole persona, he was a little older and he had some baggage that the author worked through very well. I loved the travel to the different countries and the friendship between him and Talia. And definitely the freaking tension! Wow! Natalia was a very strong FMC, sometimes a little too strong, the only reason I dropped this down to 4.75 stars. I felt like she needed to be but I think she needed to concede a few times.
I was pretty shocked with the revelation towards then end of the book when we learned why Natalia grew up with her aunt, I did not see that coming.
Ok, now the spice…..holy cammmolllyyyy…..the SPICE, intense, hot, sweltering, some of the best spice I have EVER read, the emotions that were elicited!!! Woooohhhoooo Lordy.
Spice was 2.5/5 and so perfectly written(audio version) 🌶️🌶️
I listened to this book and binged it in basically one sitting, I’ve never heard of the male narrator, Max Rauch, before this book and ummm, yeah, he’s now one of my favorites and I’m going on a search for more of his books. The female narrator, Cecily Foster, was also very good, I could easily distinguish between which characters she was presenting and her voice was very pleasant to listen to as well.
This is my first book by Josie Juniper and it will DEFINITELY not be my last, I truly loved this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook and thank you Hachette Audio for this opportunity to listen to this wonderful book.

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.