Thank you to Hachette Audio for the alc of this book. It was an interesting story with a great narration duo — but it unfortunately fell flat for me. I had difficulty truly connecting with their relationship due its back and forth nature — the “will they won’t they” was slightly overdone and it made it harder for me to get invested in their success. They had a lot of passion for each other, but the relationship sparked and fizzled out over and over again. I also was caught off guard by how much of their relationship was physical rather than emotional. I like physical intimacy in books, but their romantic journey seemed geared more towards the smut rather than making a true connection. While I enjoyed listening to it, I wouldn’t read it again. I’m disappointed as I was so excited to get this alc. Maybe the author’s other books will be more to my taste? 2.75 🌟

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this audio ARC.

I was not aware that this was the second book when I requested it, so I have not read the first. Will I go back? Ehhh, if I do it’s not high on my priority list.

I have conflicting feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the premise of it, and was looking forward to reading it. I really wanted to love it. But, I felt indifferent to the characters. I had to remind myself that I was even reading it. I am honestly disappointed - I enjoy so many of the tropes this book has but it just was not hitting the mark.

I like that this was a romance in a sports setting, but neither one of the characters were athletes themselves. The idea of a journalist and a billionaire team principle being in a romantic relationship is interesting. Having to toe the line between pillow talk about work and still keeping things professional and secretive. But, the FMC and MMC were just foolish a lot of the times? They would hide things that they knew would hurt the other if kept hidden.

Despite my indifference to this story, the narrators did do a fantastic job. The male narrator wowed me with his accent. I say the delivery of the story is what kept me wanting to read it rather than the story itself.

I haven't read anything from this author before, and i enjoyed it. usually the dead wife trope can be a hit or miss for me but i felt like this one was done well. i loveeee an age gap/forbidden romance and that's one of the reasons i was so excited to read this. I really enjoyed the audiobook as well. max rauch and cecily foster were new to me narraters but I really liked their voices together and honestly i think that's what made me enjoy the book more. The production was just so well done.

Coming in Hot follows Natalia, a F1 journalist, and Klaus, the team principal of one of the F1 teams, who met unexpectedly and unknowingly, but then start an on and off relationship (if we can call it that). Overall, the story didn't seem very developped, there were a lot of information missing and lots of things happening off-page. It was sometimes hard to follow the different relationships between the characters as there were time jumps between most (if not all) of the chapters with not much explanation of what happened in between.

Also, I didn't feel like the main characters fit together as their relationship was built on miscommunication and half-truths. The only thing that seemed to really link them together was their physical attraction, which is clearly not enough for a relationship to work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.

2.5⭐️ 3🌶️ 3.5🎧 This book was the okayest book I’ve read. It kept me entertained, but I wouldn’t listen again and wouldn’t recommend this to someone else to read. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and found most of them to be toxic and unpleasant. No one I would ever be friends within real life. The story seems to be rushed with a lot of time jumps that miss important events, then once were back on page these events are mentioned, but we don’t have a clear picture of what happened. The characters seem to play stupid games and then get mad when they win the stupid prize... Overall, this book was just meh...

Cecily Foster did a great job bringing Natalie to life but wasn’t a fan of her voice for Klaus. Max Rauch did a good job narrating Klaus, however when he spoke, I kept imagining a grandpa, not a hot billionaire team principle.

3⭐, 3🌶️

Oui vey....I wasn't a fan of the first book in this series and unfortunately this book did not wow me either. I loved the premise of getting an F1 romance for a team principal, but I felt like we barely got the team principle aspect of it? The drama came from randoms bits of information that just did not intrigue me at all, and sadly, I couldn't get invested in the romance between Klaus and Natalia...like I'd bet they break up in the next two years after this book.

The relationships throughout this book were all around frustrating. I know this is supposed to be a play on the "drive to survive"/ "cut or be cut" mentality of F1, but I just can't get over the shitty friendship between Natalia and Phaedra (book one highlighted it and this book reminded me how grumpy it made me). Klaus always making decisions for Natalia was frustrating, and then how the book ends for their careers....was interesting.

The time jumps were.....for lack of a better word, a stupid choice. I get it, race weekends are spread out, but the gaps for the relationship were driving me crazy with noooo explanation why they were always so fine going weeks without communicating, and then just jumping back into the relationship. A lot of things occurred off page during these gaps and choosing to just summarize what happened was a choice I as a reader did not like reading.

💛F1 Romance
💜Secret Relationship
💙One Night Stand
💜Age Gap

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio/ Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ALC/eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Hatchette Audio and NetGalley for this ALC

This was my introduction to Formula 1 romance, and it did not disappoint.

Coming in Hot follows the very exciting life of Natalia Evans as she begins her career as a new lead journalist for Auto Racing Journal and what happens after a one-night stand with a handsome "stranger" who ends up not being a "stranger" after all. The handsome man in the charcoal suit is none other than Klaus Franke, Emerald Team Principle. What happens when their careers call for them to work alongside each other?

Throughout this story we see the growth that both Natalia and Klaus go through and it definitely tugs at your heartstrings.

The book is narrated by both a female and male narrator. The male narrator does a great interpretation of a German accent. Both narrators added to my interest in the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this story based on the plot, characters and audio.

Coming in Hot by Josie Juniper
Frontrunners series #2. Contemporary sports romance. Can be read as a standalone but characters from the first series are peripherally part of this story.
Natalia Evans has been a journalist for years. She’s now reporting for Auto Racing Journal and traveling around the world following the Formula 1 circuit, drivers, and related business moguls. One of those business legends is Klaus Franke, the Emerald Team Principal. They had a steamy encounter before working together. Can they keep their passions under wraps? Would it cause a scandal if they got together during the season?


🎧 I alternated between an ebook and audiobook which was narrated by Cecily Foster and Max Rauch. Both performed with excellent emotion and clarity. The first person POV was easy to follow with chapter headings for each which weren’t really needed for the audiobook but great for following along with a print version. Steamy scenes were all one POV based on the chapter and has me lowering the volume just in case. I listened mostly at 1.5 to more closely match my reading speed.
The characters were performed vividly and brought a picture to mind that I wouldn’t have gotten because of the accents. A wonderful way to read this book.

High angst and high steam. I’m not a huge fan of couples or friends arguing but some relationships are just that way.
I’m enjoying the expanded sports worlds available in reading these days.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and publisher Hachette Audio.

I put off reading Coming In Hot by Josie Juniper until I was able to get my hands (ears!?) on the audiobook! Why? Because I needed another book boyfriend with an accent in the worst way!

What happens when a widowed Team Principle and a younger journalist meet at a bar? A spicy age-gap Formula 1 romance, of course!

I liked that this book kind of stepped outside Juniper's women of STEM niche and highlighted supporting rolls within Formula 1 racing! I also loved that the first bit took place simultaneously with Double Apex, book one in Frontrunners.

Natalia is strong, fierce and represents female empowerment very well with her roll as a journalist following the F1 circuit. Klaus is gruff with the best of intentions, though they are initially jarring to Natalia (and this reader). But once he explains himself, it all became water under the bridge! These two characters are so deeply flawed. Okay, flawed isn't the right adjective. They're emotionally damaged from previous life experiences that created jaded, vulnerable people that sought to protect their own hearts, never wanting to be hurt again. Yup, that sums them up better!

Alas, I've got one-ish complaint... I just wanted more steam! The back and forth love/hate (loathing turns to rip-each-others-clothes-off-bounce-down-the-hallway moments real fast here) helped build the tension, though I didn't necessarily always believe the lust and chemistry between Natalia and Klaus. But then I go back to this was literally who they were as characters, guarding themselves from hurt... and it makes complete sense!

How could I not talk about the audiobook with that hype? It's narrated by Cecily Foster and Max Rauch and it absolutely ticked my boxes! Foster filled Natalia's roll, feeling it and experiencing it, rather than just reading it! Rauch was wounded, as Klaus would in fact sound, which was perfect for his character! And yes, obviously that accent was pretty good too, okay!?

Yes, read it! Yes audiobook it!

Thank you NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Hachette Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

TYSM to Hachette audio & NetGalley for the arc! Ok this is probably around a 2.5 but I just feel so strongly about a few things that I can’t round up…

Natalia Evans has reached the pinnacle of her career—lead reporter for Auto Racing Journal. But we really never get much about this. Apparently she had a YouTube and is doing so great she gets raises and her boss doesn’t want to let her go.

Klaus is icy, controlled, and guarded. He is of course the one night she has before she realized who he is (when she leaves there is such an “ick” part I am still thinking about).

For a 45 year old and 35 year old their drama, miscommunication, and lack of depth drove me crazy. Klaus is a widow and has so many other things to work through. Natalias parents left her with her aunt and she felt resentment about it ever since.

Half the time it didn’t even feel like Natalia liked him honestly. She always found and issue and instead of trying to talk to him she expected him to read her mind. She also wanted 100% honesty with him but she never actually did that for him either.

The family aspect felt so out of place for me. Her parents come back, and you get half the story, never really know what happened, and just feel lost overall.

The story jumps time throughout the chapters so the book covers over than a year but it never feels like there is any depth to their relationship. There is also a big issue with a new racing location and ethics and that’s a huge part of their argument but we never fully get clarification of what happened and it just eventually gets brushed to the side.

p.s. the end had a surprise trope which I didn’t love…it felt like it was thrown in because of what happened with his wife and I felt weird about it.

Because I listened to the audio I will say that I did enjoy the narrators Max Rauch and Cecily Foster. I don’t tend to like when male and females do the voice of the other but this one wasn’t too bad!

This book had so much potential for me! An older FMC (which I’ve been craving), an age gap I tend to prefer, a workplace romance, and an F1 setting! Shoulda totally been a WIN!

But somewhere along the way, it just didn’t fully deliver. By the 50% mark, it had been a year since their one-night stand, and the constant on-again/off-again situationship left me feeling a bit disconnected. Their back-and-forth relationship dynamics didn’t fully vibe with me.

The FMC’s friend rubbed me the wrong way a bit, and the subplot involving her estranged family felt like a late, somewhat unnecessary addition.

That said—the spicy scene with the hairbrush? 🔥 Whew. That definitely got my attention.

I truly wanted to love this more than I did, but in the end, it just fell a little flat for me. Still, if you’re into mature heroines, F1 romance, and workplace tension, this might still be worth checking out.

Josie Juniper has done a fantastic job with her sophomore book in the Frontrunners series!

Featuring journalist Natalia and team principal Klaus, this age gap (30s/mid-40s), touch of forbidden/scandalous romance dives you into the fast-paced world of F1 racing. It somewhat overlaps with the first book in the series, so make sure you read that one first! Natalia and Klaus are both strong characters, driven by ambition - and like all of us, make mistakes. I adored their push and pull throughout the story - which covers a few years in time. I highly recommend this one to fans of a spicy sports romances, and cannot wait for book three!

I listened to the audiobook and was just wowed by the performances of Max Rauch and Cecily Foster. Both were new to me narrators, and they added even more to the story.

I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

3 stars
────୨ৎ────

As a German, I loved the German pet names it had me screaming! This was my first F1 romance, and I want to say thanks for letting me listen to the ALC. Max Rauch and Cecilly Fosttr did an amazing job narrating, usually I cringe at accents in audiobooks, but the Austrian one here was surprisingly good. And of course Josie Juniper did an amazing job in writing ‘Coming in Hot’.

Natalia and Klaus feel like they just can’t catch a break. No matter what Klaus says or does, it always seems to upset her even if he means well. I get why it hurts her, but sometimes their back-and-forth got a bit annoying. For about half the book, part of me actually hoped they’d just stay friends and not end up together. But by the end, they totally won me over, and I’m really happy with how their relationship and story wrapped up. I hope to see snippets of their future is like in the next book of the series.

There was a lot of miscommunication and drama, whether it was their relationship, work stuff, friends, or family, something was always going on. It got a bit overwhelming at times. Plus, the timeline kept jumping around with timeskips from a few weeks to six months, which threw me off more than once. The third-act breakup and the big revelation caught me off guard and I’m still not sure how I feel about it…

I’ll definitely be checking out the first book in the series, Double Apex, and whatever comes next in the Frontrunners series!

I want to start by saying I don't think this is a bad book by any means it just wasn't the book for me. The writing was well done, the female narrator did a phenomenal job portraying both characters and the steam was honestly chef's kiss.

Unfortunately, the things I struggled with outweighed those that I enjoyed. There was a lot of time jumping in this one. Nearly after chapter jumped ahead and this led to things happening off page that we then learned about later. It also made it harder for me to connect to them as a couple with so much off page.

I really did not like the mmc and I don't think he did enough to be redeemable for all his shitty behavior. From treating her like a working girl in their first hookup and justifying it by saying he always gives his hook ups exorbitant amounts of money, and they never complain so that's not insulting at all. He also claims he's hung up on her but later reveals that he's been sleeping around still pretty much the whole time he was "pining". They aren't together so it's not cheating but it is disingenuous. He infantilizes her constantly and doesn't treat her as an equal. Whenever she brings up a legitimate concern, he seduces her and distracts her or gaslights her into thinking it's her fault. Honestly in a dark romance this wouldn't be a big deal but in a contemporary romance I keep wanting to beg her to find a less toxic relationship. I honestly feel she deserves better and at times it seems even she realizes this too but still returns to him.

And it's so nitpicky so I hesitate to even bring it up, but the male narrator didn't try to properly represent his character's nationality. He sticks to an English accent pretty much the whole time while the female narrator does a great job at least attempting an Austrian accent. I also was hoping his POV would help humanize him more and make him more likeable, but I found he was just as self-absorbed and condescending towards the fmc as he acted from her POV.

I would definitely still read other work from this writer as I did find the audiobook engaging, but the mmc just didn't win over my heart and in a romance book that's a non-negotiable for me. And the final straw for me was the inclusion of a trope I absolutely cannot stand that is 100% preventable with grown adults. I know some people enjoy that trope but again it was a no for me.

Lemme start with happy publication day!! !!!

Um I dnfed at 33%.
I felt so detached and our MMC was such a fucking DICK. He tried to give her money after sleeping together. I swear if someone did that to me I would be throwing hands. I wanted some German dirty talk (i don’t give a fuck if I understand it or not it’s HOT) but I got none soo yeah.
I got bored soo easily.
One minute there together the next there not. One minute the books a romance the next it’s about a girl finding her real parents.
LIKE MAKE UP YOUR MIND.


Thankyou so much netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!!!!

was great to listen to, the production was done very well. For the most part I enjoyed the voice acting. One thing to note that threw me off initially was the female narrator had an Austrian accent when she voiced Klaus in Natalia's chapters and this was hard to understand at points. However, the male narrator spoke in a British accent instead and his American accent sometimes came off more Irish.
Thank you josie juniper, hachette audio and netgalley for the alc!

**Thank you to @netgalley , @josiejuniperauthor , @readforeverpub and @hachetteaudio for a free ebook and audio ARC copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Spicy Rating: 🌶🌶🌶

I read and reviewed book 1 (Double Apex) back in September last year and this book coincides with the previous, with both books following the same timeline, but I think you could read them out of order if needed. While Double Apex focused more on F1 racing and the math and science of it, this story more followed the behind the scenes stuff.

Klaus is Emerald Team Principal and Natalia is a journalist, in order for them to work they need to be able to trust each other. Klaus learns he has to trust that Natalia isn't going to get a juicy story from the drama within Emerald and run with it by leaking sensitive information.

I loved getting to know Klaus more in this book, he's a little older that Natalia so we definitely see a little age gap. He's also Austrian and the Austrian accent in the audio was *fans self*.

I'm not sure if Josie had any plans for more stories with Cosmin and Phae or Klaus and Talia, but if so I'll definitely be first in line to read them! If you like some age gap, widower hero, or silver hero then pick this one up :) Highly suggest the audio so you can hear the accent!!!!

I hate bashing an arc that was sent to me but I have to be honest and true to my feeling. This was not it. Super cringy. The MMCs voice honestly gave me the ick and the spicy sense were just completely ridiculous on audio. Not a fan

Rating: 2.5
First of all thank you netgalley & hachette audio for sending me this arc.
I'm a huge f1 girlie and will never pass up on an opportunity to read a new formula 1 book. I do think the whole forbidden love & age gap was good, and the narrators fit the characters very well. However, I didn't feel a strong connection to the character or the plot. One thing I like about about this sport is how gripping it is, how you always want more and more, and to he honest I just didn't feel it in this book.
The constant time jumps weren’t helping at all. I feel like there was no place for developing the romance even tho it's their job, traveling the world for weeks and months, it just made it harder for me to connect to their story.

WOW! Loved this second book in this series. Natalia and Klaus had quite the journey to their HEA, and it was so worth the wait. The plot twists had me in shock - literally jaw on the floor!