First, I think Red White and Royal Blue meets F1 is highly inaccurate. This felt more like Thrown Off the Ice meets F1, but there’s a HEA.
Second, I have mixed feelings on how I feel about this book. I cried for an hour straight because I felt so deeply for the characters, but I also don’t think I truly liked the main characters that much. (Side characters in this were great!) Jacob was an a**hole- yes, he does get a redemption arc, but I’m not 100% sold that he tried hard enough to show Travis he loved him. And Travis was kind of boring and had no development. Even with that, I still liked it overall?! See, mixed feelings.

Overall, it was good and I would recommend it. Just know- a lot of it is sad! I had no idea so much of this book was going to be sad and wish I would have had this warning.

This book was low spice but high chemistry and the emotions this author was able to envoke were everything. Some books you read and feel through your whole body and some are just fabulous reads that you appreciate. This book was most definitely the 1st experinece for me.

The narrators pulled me in immediately and the duet narration gave this book such depth. The prologue had me in tears and I'm not sure that would have happened without the work of the these narrators. They gave voice to different side characters and there was beautiful french accents and I can't say how much I appreciated the scope of these narrators voice acting. This story was brought to life through them and it was just stunning. I also really appreciated that the narrators chosen had enough tonal difference that it was easy to determine who was who especially without doing an immersive read by reading along with the book at the same time.

Knowing friends in the racing world I so appreciated the realistic nature of this story too. The accidents, how the media handled it, all of it. The found family in this book was top notch and if you do not fall in love with sweet broken Travis I feel you yourself may be broken. This book has flawed characters who grow and mature and but are also lost and through the help of friendship find a way to make what was broken even better than before.

I knew from the very beginning that this book would not only take me on an emotional roller-coaster, but it would *hurt,* and, oohhhhh, how it did, but I absolutely loved it.

I really enjoyed how the timeline was written. This book follows Travis (an F1 driver) and Jacob (an F2 driver). It opens with a current-day tragedy, with flash backs to provide context on their relationship and how it grew over the course of a year. It kept me completely invested in their story, and I didn't want to stop listening. And just when you think things will get better? NOPE! More heartbreak. I just wanted to give Travis the biggest hug ❤️‍🩹
I can see some people not loving Jacob's actions, but there's so much going on under the surface that he's dealing with, and he has a LOT of growing and self-discovery that needed to happen. I would've liked a *little* more groveling from Jacob at the end because Travis definitely deserved it after everything, but I think seeing Jacob's character arc was worth the pain.

I listened to the audiobook which was done in duet style, narrated by Gary Furlong and Patrick Zeller. They both did an exceptional job! There were quite a few different accents throughout, and each one was done really well. You could ✨️feel✨️ all the emotion... the pain, the sadness, the longing... and it really made me feel like I was experiencing the story right along with the characters.
I highly recommend listening to the audiobook!

Pub Date Jul 01 2025 

Thank you, HarperAudio Adult | HarperAudio, via NetGalley for the ALC

I loved the way this story was told mainly from one point of view then the other. It created the suspense of not really knowing what the other main character was thinking and added tension to the story. There was a point when I was really worried there wasn’t going to be an HEA. In the end it was a great romance that was very well written.
The narrators were great. I felt like they were the characters and the emotion they brought through nearly had in me in tears. It was perfectly done.

This book is a romance between Formula 1 racer Travis and Formula 2 racer Jacob. Although 24 years old, Travis, a racing star, hasn't even so much as had his first kiss. Jacob is bisexual and has not come out yet. They go out for a year on the sly and Jacob is involved in a bad accident. Things are about to change.

I really thought this was a great audiobook. The narrator did a great job. 5 stars

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperAudio Adult for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 🌟
Spice: Open door
Format: ALC

Oh man, this was heartbreaking yet beautiful. F1 romance is quickly becoming a favorite and this one is at the top of my list right now. The audio is fantastic. Duet narration, dual pov (second doesn't come in until later in the book), a bit of dual timeline. Listen this book is pretty sad for the majority of it. I feel for both of these guys and their situation. I was so proud of Jacob for getting therapy and finally standing up to his parents. It's labeled as an F1 version of RW&RB and I can definitely see that! Will definitely read more from this author.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the alc in exchange for an honest review.

Actual text to book bestie “Yet again, excited to be emotionally devastated under your influence”

This book starts off following F1 driver Travis through two timelines: the present where his closeted boyfriend, Jacob, is in a horrific accident and the past of their meeting and falling in love. Right away, I don’t think there was a single present chapter that I did not cry. My sinuses were not ready for this level of tears. Then around half way, the POV switches up to Jacob and I was screaming, crying, throwing up.

Absolutely obsessed with the found family here, Travis is a weird robot learning to love and be loved. And Jacob learns the hard way that blood does not equal family.

I would have gladly read 200 more pages, this book exemplifies keep it short and keep ‘em wanting more.

The narrators are so good you feel like this was a full cast production. Seriously amazing!!!

Thank you Net Galley Avon and Harper Voyager for the chance to read this ARC, probably one of my top 5 reads this year!

This book was phenomenal. I listened to this in less than a day!! I genuinely could not put it down. The dual narration was incredible and the way they brought so much life and em0tion into the characters was great. My heart was HURTING during parts of the book. This made me go through so many emotions while listening! It is definitely a heavier book at times but it is all handled with great care in my opinion. I highly recommend!!

This book gutted me from the start! Actual tears escaped during the FIRST CHAPTER. I knew I was a goner from there.

This was incredible. Five plus stars! I adored this story, the characters, the pain and the love!

I am a new fan of racing, discovering my enjoyment of it a couple summers ago. So, when this was pitched as Formula 1 meets RW&RB, I knew I wanted to read it. I had no idea that I was going to fall in love with these characters so incredibly quickly.

F1 driver Travis Keeping’s world crashed down around him when an F2 crash puts driver Jacob Nichols in the hospital… in critical condition! Not a single person in the world besides Jacob knows that have been together for a year. The only man Travis has ever loved is just clinging to life. The torment, the anguish!!! Ahhh.

While waiting for Jacob to wake up, Travis has to just keep living his life? He finds that the most difficult thing to do. When Jacob wakes up, Travis thinks that they will be able to move on from this, but it’s clear that won’t be the case.

Told in dual narrative, we see how both Travis and Jacob maneuver through their paths, how broken they both become. Through layers of bigotry and fear, will they be able to shed all of the expectations of the world, family, career?

Please do yourself a favor and listen to this audiobook! The narration is SPECTACULAR! Gary Furlong and Patrick Zeller completely nailed it.

MM romance
F1 romance
Gay awakening

Partial Duet Narration - Gary Furlong & Patrick Zeller
First time hearing Gary and his voice is so cute.

Emotional and sweet/cute. Spicy

Heartbreaking
My heart hurt for Travis
There were points I wanted to throttle Jacob
Ugh! And Jacob’s family grrr
Love Matty, heather and Kelsey great side characters. I wanted a bff like Kelsey or Heather.

This is kind of dual timelines and dual POV. You get Travis’s POV first half of the book then you get Jacob’s POV.

I really enjoyed this book. It broke me but put me back together again in the end. What a ride it was to get there though. My emotions were all over the place with this one. So very well written and performed.

Love at first sight, friends to lovers, friends with benefits, F1 romance racing, Forbidden love, family drama, self-discovery, halfway break up act, great character development, therapy rep, and overcoming challenges.

I loved the F1 lifestyle and racing. was kind of sad they weren't rivals in this romance but that's fine. Love the self discovery and learning to get out of your comfort zone. Great journey of self development story!

As an F1 fan (the only sport we regularly watch in my house), I'm always on the hunt for a new F1 romance to bring my love for racing and reading together.

Crash Test drops you straight into the feels in this F1 MM romance. The story is told in a non-linear fashion, so the main conflict happens immediately and then we are shown the past and how it impacts the present. I felt like telling the story in this way, allowed the readers to become invested a lot faster; you are learning what is on the line while being shown the actual relationship development. Oh, the angst. Besides the main conflict, there are side issues that feel realistic. I enjoyed getting snippets of the other people in Jacob and Travis' lives. Things are wrapped up effectively in this stand-alone story.

Do not worry if you are not well-versed in F1/F2 lingo and rules. The story is told in a way that you will not be behind if you don't have that background knowledge.

I loved that the audiobook was done in duet narration, as we spend a lot if time in each character's thoughts. This is my favorite format for romance audio. The production quality is good and each narrator speaks clearly enough that you are able to speed it up if that is your jam.

Thanks to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for an ALC of this audiobook for an honest review.