Thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for the Advance Listener Copy. Here is my honest review.

This book came out of nowhere and floored me. It's not often a book effects me the way this one did. I absolutely loved this story and I think if I had read the book, it would just be 4.5 stars. But the audiobook elevated the book in such a profound way that this is hands down a five star listen.

Amy James has created a story that feels more like two people sharing their story than two characters. Travis and Jacob are emotionally raw throughout and this makes the entire experience feel more genuine and true. Not only that, but James invites us to see just how flawed both Travis and Jacob are.

This story also explores internalized biphobia and as a bi person myself, I think this is an important conversation to be had. Jacob is struggling with a LOT in his chapters. His life has been planned and he is influenced by his family even if he wasn't aware it was happening until after his accident. In some of his vulnerable moments, I saw myself reflected back. The third born in a religious family. Identifying as bi/queer but unwilling to upset the status quo to speak our truths. And understanding where our anger stems from, and finding healthier ways of dealing with it and reframing how we look at our lives.

Both Travis and Jacob have a lot of growing to do throughout the book, each in very different ways. I think people will probably have an easier time with Travis' journey because it's a quiet growth that happens with expansion of his inner life. Jacob's growth is messy, it's rough, it doesn't feel good. But that's why it's so much more powerful when he comes out on the other side.

I highly recommend this audiobook.

I’m newer to the F1 romances, and I’m a huge fan!

This book follows the secret relationship of two drivers. A terrible crash leaves Jacob in the hospital and them both questioning everything! Both characters are lovable in their own ways. Their friends are a great addition to the story.

This book was almost a DNF for me. I love when a narrator really gets into character. It was off putting, however, when our introduction to the characters is in a tumultuous situation. I think the book would’ve been better chronologically instead of through flashbacks. But it does end up being chronological about half way through, and I loved the rest of the story!

2 stars: ★★☆☆☆
Huge thanks to Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for inviting me to read the eARC and to HarperAudio Adult | HarperAudio for the ALC via NetGalley 💌

IDK wtf that was but it sure wasn’t romance. I was this close to DNFing, but I betrayed my soul and gave it two stars instead of one. Not one redeeming quality. Not the characters, not the pacing, not the structure. And especially not the way the story was told. This was painfully mid-tier, and that’s me being generous.

✨ Premise? 10/10. Execution? Fell off a cliff faster than Jacob’s F2 car.

The idea was chef’s kiss—F1 drama, queer romance, heartbreak, high stakes. But somehow, this book managed to feel emotionally hollow despite its tragic setup. Like, how do you write a secret relationship between two men in elite motorsport, have one of them in a coma, and still make me feel nothing?

The first third is just Travis sulking in his feelings, and even that felt shallow. It was giving "summarized heartbreak" instead of showing us actual connection or chemistry. Travis keeps saying he loves Jacob but never shows us why. And Jacob? Bro, that man spent the first 50% unconscious and the rest acting like Travis personally ruined his life.

💥 Structure: A Mess in 3 Acts (Literally)
The book is split into three "sectors" (Formula 1 pun, cute... in theory). First sector? All Travis. Second? All Jacob. Third? Floppy ping-ponging that couldn’t decide whose head it wanted to be inside. And don’t get me started on the transitions—absolutely no flow, no rhythm. The POV switches in the final part felt like whiplash.

Also, can we talk about how everything was told in past tense reflections??? The tension? Gone. The chemistry? Skipped. The vibes? Deceased.

🚩 Jacob: The walking red flag.
I wanted to like him, I really did. But his whole arc was like a passive-aggressive apology note that never actually says "I’m sorry." He ghosted Travis, let his parents treat him like dirt, and came back like “my bad, babe” and expected applause. Travis deserved better. (Though lowkey, Travis didn’t even fight for himself so... maybe they were meant to be, in a sad, low-standards way.)

The emotional payoff? Wasn't paying.
They reunited after a year of silence and trauma, and within 5 minutes they were basically like “lol, wanna kiss?” LIKE BE SERIOUS.

⚠️ RWRB comparison? False advertising.
There were no royal vibes, no witty banter, no slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tension. Just a deeply avoidant couple who fell apart off-page and decided to try again... also mostly off-page. The comparison was pure clickbait, and I fell for it like a clown 🤡

Tropes:
🏁 Secret Relationship / Closeted Romance
🥀 Second Chance Romance
🏁 Sports Romance
🥀 Injured Love Interest (Coma Plot)
🏁 Queer Romance (MM)
🥀 Famous/High-profile Characters
🏁 Angst
🥀 Miscommunication / Lack of Communication
🏁 Hospital Setting

🎧 A quick audio note: the narration? Fine. The material? Not it. I appreciate the effort the narrators put in, but even they couldn’t save this lukewarm story.

⭐ Highlights (aka the few things that didn’t make me want to throw my phone):
✧ The F1 backdrop, though barely explored, was cool in theory.
✧ The first hospital scenes had some actual weight to them.
✧ The idea of showing how closeted athletes suffer in silence? Important. But it deserved better execution.

📝 Final thoughts:
This felt like the ghost of a good story—an outline that never got fleshed out. The bones were there, but the soul was missing. If you're looking for queer romance with actual chemistry, or sports drama that doesn’t rely on trauma dumping and unresolved tension, this ain’t it.

Would I recommend? No.
Would I reread? Hell no.
Do I regret it? Yes. But at least the cover’s pretty.

I loved this book and the level emotion it evoked was seriously impressive. There was some serious emotional damage at one point. I also adored Travis, he has my heart completely!

Honestly, if it weren’t for some (what I believe to be) unnecessary obstacles and detours that prolonged their reunion and started to grate a bit, this would have been a 5-star read for me. I wouldn’t say that there was any one obstacle that was the issue, but I think that the accumulation just started to be a bit much.

Shout out to the audiobook narrators that did an awesome job of conveying that level of emotion for the listeners!

I cried so hard during this reading experience. It was just so cute but also tragic. The rediscovery of their relationship was cute though.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️.5

I did an immersion read for this book. I listened to the audio and read the physical at the same time.

First would like to mention that I thought the audio was phenomenal. I really enjoyed the narrator who narrates Travis’s parts. His emotion is so transparent and beautiful in the very heartbreaking parts. I think the audio was so good. It made me enjoy the book a lot more.

As far as the story goes, I thought this was a beautiful MM romance! I’m not really familiar with the Formula One world, but I enjoyed the little bits that we got in this book! I also love that one of the male main characters was the complete polar opposite of the other and that everything was all firsts and new.

I love how the book starts off at a very dramatic moment and then we get flashbacks to see how the relationship started and progressed throughout, finally bringing us to the present time and continues on.

I read this book in about six hours so I would say that it was very fast paced!


The found family in here was so well written. I really enjoyed all the side characters. I thought that the relationship between one of the mothers of the drivers that was in the accident and Travis was very beautiful.

I would love to read more from this author, especially if she were to write any other MM romances.

Heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time and immediately recommended it to my brother. I loved how we got the first part in Travis’ pov, second part in Jacob and the third in both. I do wish it was a bit more obvious when Travis going into a flashback of his relationship but that could’ve been overlooked in the audio and different in the actual ebook. My heart broke for Travis so many times and then learning why Jacob was the way he is? Hurt so much

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.