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The Grid #1
Lights Out
BLAKE
Formula 1 has been my dream ever since I saw my first race and was captivated by a driver with pride shining in his green eyes as he held his trophy high.
Eight years later, I get my chance to make it a reality.
It's a dream come true, except...
The same driver who ignited my love for racing, who I idolized through my youth, and who's posters currently line my bedroom walls... is my new teammate.
RYDER
My father once dominated the grid, but now I carry the weight of his legacy on my shoulders.
After a rough season threatens to bury the King name, I'm back with a fresh team under new ownership and more determined than ever to take back what's mine.
I want nothing more than to keep my father's legacy alive and reclaim my title.
Until she came in... and everything I thought was most important to me changed.
Formula 1 has been my dream ever since I saw my first race and was captivated by a driver with pride shining in his green eyes as he held his trophy high.
Eight years later, I get my chance to make it a reality.
It's a dream come true, except...
The same driver who ignited my love for racing, who I idolized through my youth, and who's posters currently line my bedroom walls... is my new teammate.
RYDER
My father once dominated the grid, but now I carry the weight of his legacy on my shoulders.
After a rough season threatens to bury the King name, I'm back with a fresh team under new ownership and more determined than ever to take back what's mine.
I want nothing more than to keep my father's legacy alive and reclaim my title.
Until she came in... and everything I thought was most important to me changed.
404 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 2, 2024
288 people are currently reading
6952 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 447 reviews
May 16, 2024
The only lights that went out were the light of my eyes as I realized Charles Leclerc's name was used as a marketing gimmick by the author for a character unlike him and for this boring, insta lovey and poorly researched book.
July 31, 2023
I may be a little biased since, you know, I wrote it, but I hope everyone enjoys it! ❤️🏁🏎️
March 11, 2024
I’ll preface this review by saying that everything shared is my opinion, and that I mean no disrespect to the author. This wasn’t my personal cup of tea, but it isn’t a bad book, and it will definitely be someone else’s fave. I apologise in advance if this review contains any serious errors, as a few sections were skim-read.
Warning: there may be a few spoilers in this review, but I’ve taken care to cover/avoid revealing the major twists.
So, I love reading romance. And I love F1. I’ve spent a long time searching for an F1 book I like, because unfortunately I’ve found many disappointing - and I had very high hopes for this one. In particular, I liked the idea of a protective, caring MMC overcoming his demons, and a strong FMC who was also an F1 driver. Unfortunately, this book was disappointing.
First, a few things I enjoyed:
1. I liked the random little details, like Blake’s ‘what’s the weirdest thing you’ve signed’ guessing game at the end of many chapters. It was genuinely cute and unique, and often made me giggle.
2. The Instagram posts, podcasts and interview transcripts. I’m not sure why but I always love when things like that are included in books, it adds detail and shows an outside perspective in a pretty seamless way. The Grid Girls podcast scenes were a personal favourite.
3. The side characters - I love when a FMC gets to have female friendships, and I liked Cassie (at least in the first few chapters when we saw her shine). Blake and Cassie’s friendship seemed authentic and honest, I loved Cassie’s little pep talks especially. I wish we got to see more of her! I also enjoyed Jace and his kid, kids in romance books always make me smile.
Now, onto the things I didn’t love:
1. This book is 'Insta-Love' to the max, which unfortunately just isn’t the trope for me. They’re making declarations of ‘we do this together,’ comforting each other and saying things like “I’m beginning to think I’ll always need you” within a couple of chapters (and probably a few weeks in-universe) of meeting. There is no development, they just seem to go straight from strangers to inseparable within the blink of an eye. And all this before the F1 action even begins. The speed of their relationship development confused me completely - in what world is it normal or healthy to go from strangers to ‘forever’ () in the span of months?
2. Unfortunately I don’t love the way F1 itself is portrayed, which is disappointing because it’s really the main reason I was drawn to the book. I am prefacing this section by saying that I went into this book looking for F1 content, as an F1 fan, which is where my critiques are drawn from. If you are thinking about reading this book and don't care how the F1 is presented/just want a romance, this section is probably not for you.
Firstly, there is no actual F1 racing until about 45-50% through the novel. Many aspects of the F1 content were unnecessarily unrealistic and just took me completely out of the immersion of the whole story. Immediately I wondered what series Blake was supposed to be racing in prior to her joining F1. My assumption was F2, but that doesn’t jibe with the mention of it being a ‘small town circuit’ or having preseason practice races (something I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before).
Furthermore, the ‘mock race’ Blake participates in to prove her worth to the new F1 team at the beginning of the novel - what is going on here? Maybe I’ve just never heard of this happening, but I don’t think F1 teams conduct ‘practice races’ complete with pit stops (how many pit crews does this team have?) in this way. What cars are they driving? Certainly not the season’s F1 car as this would be a crazy breach of testing rules and incredibly dangerous opening the team up to lots of unnecessary cost. Not past F1 cars either as this is a new team. Possibly cars from F2/3/4, but surely this would be redundant if Blake’s already been racing at this level? And who are all these extra people participating in this mock race? Why can’t the team just look at Blake’s results in previous series? I know that in fiction, reality sometimes needs to be stretched to allow for creativity/relationship development, but it was incredibly jarring to me, particularly when the author could’ve created the same scene between Blake and Ryder and have Blake prove her worth at pre-season testing.
Also - and this is a trope I’ve now seen twice in female F1 driver romance books - why does nobody know who Blake is? And I mean literally nobody - photos of her and Ryder out and about are posted to Instagram pre-F1 season and she is referred to as some unknown ‘woman’. A fellow Formula 1 driver (Jace) also has never heard of her. This is just unbelievable to me - if a woman is driving at the level needed to progress to F1 (I have to believe Blake was driving exceptionally well at the junior level) the world would be following her. People would know her name, particularly those in the industry! And there’s no way nobody on social media would ever have heard of her. For example, there are women currently driving in the lower formulae in real life - if one of those women were out and about with an F1 driver, her name would be posted in ten seconds flat. Surely an account named @throttlejunkie has heard of an extremely skilled female driver. The fact that nobody in this novel has ever heard of Blake is nonsensical in my opinion.
There’s also just a couple of smaller nit-picky things that irk me a little - for example, Blake is referred to as in her ‘debut’ season, when the usual terminology in the F1 world is ‘rookie’ season. Similarly, the author uses ‘grand prixs’ and ‘prixs’ instead of the plural ‘grands prix’ or just ‘grand prix’ (either way, ‘prixs’ is not correct) which probably could’ve been picked up on in editing. To follow with a personal pet peeve (which, yes, is probably a little petty) people referring to races as ‘the Prix’ (as in ‘how do you think you’ll perform in this weekend’s Prix’) comes across as very clunky. As someone who’s active in F1 spaces, I can absolutely admit that I may be wrong, but I’ve never heard anyone (driver or fan) use this turn of phase - races are referred to as ‘this weekend’s race,’, or by their names, potentially even ‘the Grand Prix’ but never just ‘the prix’. I’m only mentioning this because I’ve seen ‘prix’ used this way in several formula 1 romance novels and I’d love to know where the authors are getting it from (maybe it's an American thing?). Also, drivers’ onboards are referred to as ‘dash cam footage’?
I understand that things like this are small issues and shouldn’t detract from the book as a whole. It’s simply my personal preference as a fan of Formula 1 first and foremost, who finds it jarring when actions and terms read so out of place.
2) Blake’s characterisation. Probably my biggest issue with the book, given its marketing as an empowering story - she acts entirely like a child, from beginning to end. Constantly whining/squeaking/squealing/falling/needing to be carried/too weak to carry her own luggage. I think you probably have to read it to understand the gravity of the situation but this woman is falling over and dropping things all. The. Time. It’s just so at odds with her character being - as any F1 driver would need to be - incredibly physically strong with near-perfect reflexes and a strategic mind. She’s also nicknamed ‘pipsqueak’ sometimes shortened to ‘pip,’ - yeah, we get it, she’s small. This all also feeds into tired, borderline misogynistic romance tropes of ‘she’s so tiny/small/weak/childish and needs a big strong tall muscular man to care for her’, which - and this is just a personal preference - I just can’t get behind. I love to see a protective, caring, strong MMC, but the woman doesn't need to be infantilised to the point where she acts like a child for this to work - especially when the book is marketed and sold on female empowerment.
Additionally, Blake appears to have little to no sense of self-preservation - what sensible woman meets a man, and immediately decides with no inhibitions to agree to move in with him (at that point a childhood idol but otherwise a total stranger!)? Did her mother/friends/the team management not question the safety or necessity of this decision? Blake tells her mother that a lot of drivers in F1 apparently live together and share a hotel suite - not sure I can see this happening. (Side note: this book’s marketing describes it as ‘forced proximity.’ There is proximity and lots of it, but ‘forced’ is definitely not the word for it - both Ryder and the Team Principal of all people asks Blake (or tells her) to move in with Ryder, and she accepts. It’s more like ‘voluntary proximity’. Personally, I believe this is symptomatic of a wider ‘Booktok’ issue where readers want certain ‘tropes’ and authors feel pressure to shoehorn their story into these tropes even when it doesn’t match up at all).
Finally, the plot twist regarding Blake’s family in the last 10% of the novel is completely left field, comes from nowhere and left me very confused. If this plot was going to be part of the story, that’s fine - but why not have Blake dwelling on her family situation more often? Discussing how she feels about it often with Ryder as part of their development? Have the characters who are part of the reveal play major parts in the story prior to the last 10%, so that the reveal feels planned and intentionally executed? It’s also mentioned in approximately 2 chapters and then essentially never again, leaving me wondering: what was the point of this plot twist? It didn’t seem to trigger any introspection or major growth for Blake’s character - who, by the way, undergoes really no growth throughout the entire novel.
I so respect what the author is trying to do in writing a novel with a female athlete and it’s the kind of book I want to read - I just can’t look past these parts of Blake’s story.
3) Ryder’s characterisation: I like that he’s given flaws, and that he’s working through grief and struggles from his past. But I have to say, his first scene almost made me close the book and never open it again. The amount of times I’ve read ‘emotionally constipated man wakes up in bed with a random one night stand and treats her like an object’ as the first scene for a male love interest is ridiculous, and I hoped I wouldn’t have to see it in this book. It’s not that there’s something wrong with one night stands - there isn’t, and I generally don’t mind if characters have them - it’s more the way that the MMC treats the women he has these relationships with. Referring to them as ‘warm bodies,’ cold-heartedly kicking them out… I’m sorry, but for me, misogynistic men just aren’t sexy. And for Ryder, there just seems to be no explanation for this behaviour - with Blake, he’s a perfect gentleman. Immediately. With no explanation of why other women are warm bodies, but she gets to be treated with so much love and respect.
I understand that the character is supposed to be opening himself to love again and growing past trauma, but I wish that was addressed in greater depth - I wish we got a detailed explanation, from his POV, about how and why his view on women changed. It isn’t as if he treats Blake poorly at first and then warms up to her - he’s a luggage-carrying supermarket-going gentleman from minute one of their cohabitation. Honestly, I think the opening one night stand scene was just unnecessary and gave me a perception of Ryder that just didn’t fit at all with the rest of his character. Following that scene, Ryder’s previous misogynistic tendencies are (unless I’ve missed it) never mentioned again and have no bearing on his relationship with Blake.
Additionally, Ryder’s relationship with his friends could’ve been explored in more depth. He tells us he’s iced them out, as soon as he sees them he apologises, and is instantly forgiven with them all becoming friends again. I would’ve loved to see some conflict, maybe Jace distrusting Ryder at first, maybe them arguing, moments of reflection, and then an eventual resolution that Ryder had to work hard for. As it stands, it feels like the Ryder-and-his-friends plot line is there for no reason at all.
4) The sex scenes. I’m not going to discuss them in depth because honestly I did skip through them a little, but there were two major things that I really struggled with: 1) the use of Ryder’s surname (King) as in ‘who’s your King’ ‘come with your King’ felt unsexy and odd. 2) the need to specify and emphasise that they’re not using a condom - I’ll never understand why authors go out of their way to mention that the characters aren’t having safe sex. Is this supposed to be attractive? It’s just unnecessary.
5) The Villain Character (Jean Beaumont). I struggled to understand his character at all. He felt like an entirely one-note cartoon villain who hated Blake for no reason except maybe (?) some low-level sexism and a bit of jealousy for her success. Spoilers:
6) The overall pacing: the beginning 50-70% of this novel drags by slowly, and essentially follows Blake and Ryder flirting and spending time together with little to no F1 action or other plot. Suddenly, the last 20-30% of the novel contains several life-altering events for the characters delivered at a blindingly fast pace with little to no prior warning or explanation, making them seem out of nowhere and impossible to understand the reasoning behind. My personal preference would’ve been to have the major plot twist/s more clearly hinted at and explored throughout the course of the novel, and perhaps have the major incidents/reveals a little more spaced out.
At the end of the day, I wouldn’t say this is necessarily a bad book. It just wholeheartedly wasn’t the story for me. That’s not to say that others won’t love it. For me, there were just things I personally couldn’t look past.
Warning: there may be a few spoilers in this review, but I’ve taken care to cover/avoid revealing the major twists.
So, I love reading romance. And I love F1. I’ve spent a long time searching for an F1 book I like, because unfortunately I’ve found many disappointing - and I had very high hopes for this one. In particular, I liked the idea of a protective, caring MMC overcoming his demons, and a strong FMC who was also an F1 driver. Unfortunately, this book was disappointing.
First, a few things I enjoyed:
1. I liked the random little details, like Blake’s ‘what’s the weirdest thing you’ve signed’ guessing game at the end of many chapters. It was genuinely cute and unique, and often made me giggle.
2. The Instagram posts, podcasts and interview transcripts. I’m not sure why but I always love when things like that are included in books, it adds detail and shows an outside perspective in a pretty seamless way. The Grid Girls podcast scenes were a personal favourite.
3. The side characters - I love when a FMC gets to have female friendships, and I liked Cassie (at least in the first few chapters when we saw her shine). Blake and Cassie’s friendship seemed authentic and honest, I loved Cassie’s little pep talks especially. I wish we got to see more of her! I also enjoyed Jace and his kid, kids in romance books always make me smile.
Now, onto the things I didn’t love:
1. This book is 'Insta-Love' to the max, which unfortunately just isn’t the trope for me. They’re making declarations of ‘we do this together,’ comforting each other and saying things like “I’m beginning to think I’ll always need you” within a couple of chapters (and probably a few weeks in-universe) of meeting. There is no development, they just seem to go straight from strangers to inseparable within the blink of an eye. And all this before the F1 action even begins. The speed of their relationship development confused me completely - in what world is it normal or healthy to go from strangers to ‘forever’ () in the span of months?
2. Unfortunately I don’t love the way F1 itself is portrayed, which is disappointing because it’s really the main reason I was drawn to the book. I am prefacing this section by saying that I went into this book looking for F1 content, as an F1 fan, which is where my critiques are drawn from. If you are thinking about reading this book and don't care how the F1 is presented/just want a romance, this section is probably not for you.
Firstly, there is no actual F1 racing until about 45-50% through the novel. Many aspects of the F1 content were unnecessarily unrealistic and just took me completely out of the immersion of the whole story. Immediately I wondered what series Blake was supposed to be racing in prior to her joining F1. My assumption was F2, but that doesn’t jibe with the mention of it being a ‘small town circuit’ or having preseason practice races (something I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before).
Furthermore, the ‘mock race’ Blake participates in to prove her worth to the new F1 team at the beginning of the novel - what is going on here? Maybe I’ve just never heard of this happening, but I don’t think F1 teams conduct ‘practice races’ complete with pit stops (how many pit crews does this team have?) in this way. What cars are they driving? Certainly not the season’s F1 car as this would be a crazy breach of testing rules and incredibly dangerous opening the team up to lots of unnecessary cost. Not past F1 cars either as this is a new team. Possibly cars from F2/3/4, but surely this would be redundant if Blake’s already been racing at this level? And who are all these extra people participating in this mock race? Why can’t the team just look at Blake’s results in previous series? I know that in fiction, reality sometimes needs to be stretched to allow for creativity/relationship development, but it was incredibly jarring to me, particularly when the author could’ve created the same scene between Blake and Ryder and have Blake prove her worth at pre-season testing.
Also - and this is a trope I’ve now seen twice in female F1 driver romance books - why does nobody know who Blake is? And I mean literally nobody - photos of her and Ryder out and about are posted to Instagram pre-F1 season and she is referred to as some unknown ‘woman’. A fellow Formula 1 driver (Jace) also has never heard of her. This is just unbelievable to me - if a woman is driving at the level needed to progress to F1 (I have to believe Blake was driving exceptionally well at the junior level) the world would be following her. People would know her name, particularly those in the industry! And there’s no way nobody on social media would ever have heard of her. For example, there are women currently driving in the lower formulae in real life - if one of those women were out and about with an F1 driver, her name would be posted in ten seconds flat. Surely an account named @throttlejunkie has heard of an extremely skilled female driver. The fact that nobody in this novel has ever heard of Blake is nonsensical in my opinion.
There’s also just a couple of smaller nit-picky things that irk me a little - for example, Blake is referred to as in her ‘debut’ season, when the usual terminology in the F1 world is ‘rookie’ season. Similarly, the author uses ‘grand prixs’ and ‘prixs’ instead of the plural ‘grands prix’ or just ‘grand prix’ (either way, ‘prixs’ is not correct) which probably could’ve been picked up on in editing. To follow with a personal pet peeve (which, yes, is probably a little petty) people referring to races as ‘the Prix’ (as in ‘how do you think you’ll perform in this weekend’s Prix’) comes across as very clunky. As someone who’s active in F1 spaces, I can absolutely admit that I may be wrong, but I’ve never heard anyone (driver or fan) use this turn of phase - races are referred to as ‘this weekend’s race,’, or by their names, potentially even ‘the Grand Prix’ but never just ‘the prix’. I’m only mentioning this because I’ve seen ‘prix’ used this way in several formula 1 romance novels and I’d love to know where the authors are getting it from (maybe it's an American thing?). Also, drivers’ onboards are referred to as ‘dash cam footage’?
I understand that things like this are small issues and shouldn’t detract from the book as a whole. It’s simply my personal preference as a fan of Formula 1 first and foremost, who finds it jarring when actions and terms read so out of place.
2) Blake’s characterisation. Probably my biggest issue with the book, given its marketing as an empowering story - she acts entirely like a child, from beginning to end. Constantly whining/squeaking/squealing/falling/needing to be carried/too weak to carry her own luggage. I think you probably have to read it to understand the gravity of the situation but this woman is falling over and dropping things all. The. Time. It’s just so at odds with her character being - as any F1 driver would need to be - incredibly physically strong with near-perfect reflexes and a strategic mind. She’s also nicknamed ‘pipsqueak’ sometimes shortened to ‘pip,’ - yeah, we get it, she’s small. This all also feeds into tired, borderline misogynistic romance tropes of ‘she’s so tiny/small/weak/childish and needs a big strong tall muscular man to care for her’, which - and this is just a personal preference - I just can’t get behind. I love to see a protective, caring, strong MMC, but the woman doesn't need to be infantilised to the point where she acts like a child for this to work - especially when the book is marketed and sold on female empowerment.
Additionally, Blake appears to have little to no sense of self-preservation - what sensible woman meets a man, and immediately decides with no inhibitions to agree to move in with him (at that point a childhood idol but otherwise a total stranger!)? Did her mother/friends/the team management not question the safety or necessity of this decision? Blake tells her mother that a lot of drivers in F1 apparently live together and share a hotel suite - not sure I can see this happening. (Side note: this book’s marketing describes it as ‘forced proximity.’ There is proximity and lots of it, but ‘forced’ is definitely not the word for it - both Ryder and the Team Principal of all people asks Blake (or tells her) to move in with Ryder, and she accepts. It’s more like ‘voluntary proximity’. Personally, I believe this is symptomatic of a wider ‘Booktok’ issue where readers want certain ‘tropes’ and authors feel pressure to shoehorn their story into these tropes even when it doesn’t match up at all).
Finally, the plot twist regarding Blake’s family in the last 10% of the novel is completely left field, comes from nowhere and left me very confused. If this plot was going to be part of the story, that’s fine - but why not have Blake dwelling on her family situation more often? Discussing how she feels about it often with Ryder as part of their development? Have the characters who are part of the reveal play major parts in the story prior to the last 10%, so that the reveal feels planned and intentionally executed? It’s also mentioned in approximately 2 chapters and then essentially never again, leaving me wondering: what was the point of this plot twist? It didn’t seem to trigger any introspection or major growth for Blake’s character - who, by the way, undergoes really no growth throughout the entire novel.
I so respect what the author is trying to do in writing a novel with a female athlete and it’s the kind of book I want to read - I just can’t look past these parts of Blake’s story.
3) Ryder’s characterisation: I like that he’s given flaws, and that he’s working through grief and struggles from his past. But I have to say, his first scene almost made me close the book and never open it again. The amount of times I’ve read ‘emotionally constipated man wakes up in bed with a random one night stand and treats her like an object’ as the first scene for a male love interest is ridiculous, and I hoped I wouldn’t have to see it in this book. It’s not that there’s something wrong with one night stands - there isn’t, and I generally don’t mind if characters have them - it’s more the way that the MMC treats the women he has these relationships with. Referring to them as ‘warm bodies,’ cold-heartedly kicking them out… I’m sorry, but for me, misogynistic men just aren’t sexy. And for Ryder, there just seems to be no explanation for this behaviour - with Blake, he’s a perfect gentleman. Immediately. With no explanation of why other women are warm bodies, but she gets to be treated with so much love and respect.
I understand that the character is supposed to be opening himself to love again and growing past trauma, but I wish that was addressed in greater depth - I wish we got a detailed explanation, from his POV, about how and why his view on women changed. It isn’t as if he treats Blake poorly at first and then warms up to her - he’s a luggage-carrying supermarket-going gentleman from minute one of their cohabitation. Honestly, I think the opening one night stand scene was just unnecessary and gave me a perception of Ryder that just didn’t fit at all with the rest of his character. Following that scene, Ryder’s previous misogynistic tendencies are (unless I’ve missed it) never mentioned again and have no bearing on his relationship with Blake.
Additionally, Ryder’s relationship with his friends could’ve been explored in more depth. He tells us he’s iced them out, as soon as he sees them he apologises, and is instantly forgiven with them all becoming friends again. I would’ve loved to see some conflict, maybe Jace distrusting Ryder at first, maybe them arguing, moments of reflection, and then an eventual resolution that Ryder had to work hard for. As it stands, it feels like the Ryder-and-his-friends plot line is there for no reason at all.
4) The sex scenes. I’m not going to discuss them in depth because honestly I did skip through them a little, but there were two major things that I really struggled with: 1) the use of Ryder’s surname (King) as in ‘who’s your King’ ‘come with your King’ felt unsexy and odd. 2) the need to specify and emphasise that they’re not using a condom - I’ll never understand why authors go out of their way to mention that the characters aren’t having safe sex. Is this supposed to be attractive? It’s just unnecessary.
5) The Villain Character (Jean Beaumont). I struggled to understand his character at all. He felt like an entirely one-note cartoon villain who hated Blake for no reason except maybe (?) some low-level sexism and a bit of jealousy for her success. Spoilers:
6) The overall pacing: the beginning 50-70% of this novel drags by slowly, and essentially follows Blake and Ryder flirting and spending time together with little to no F1 action or other plot. Suddenly, the last 20-30% of the novel contains several life-altering events for the characters delivered at a blindingly fast pace with little to no prior warning or explanation, making them seem out of nowhere and impossible to understand the reasoning behind. My personal preference would’ve been to have the major plot twist/s more clearly hinted at and explored throughout the course of the novel, and perhaps have the major incidents/reveals a little more spaced out.
At the end of the day, I wouldn’t say this is necessarily a bad book. It just wholeheartedly wasn’t the story for me. That’s not to say that others won’t love it. For me, there were just things I personally couldn’t look past.
February 24, 2024
Thank you to Kayla James and LoveNotes PR for sending me an ARC copy of Lights Out.
I've read a handful of F1 romances over the years (Fast and Hard & Fast and Wet by Kat Ransom, Throttled by Lauren Asher, Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon (I DNF'd this one)) and I've got to be honest, no one has done it better for me than Kayla with this debut.
I'm a HUGE F1 fan and have been since I was a kid, so when I pick up an F1 romance, I will pick up on anything that doesn't make sense in the F1 world more so than your regular romance reader. For example, in previous books I've read, drivers were described in a certain way that just didn't make sense (built for rugby with shoulders that would never fit in an F1 car) etc. But either Kayla is a huge F1 fan herself or she went to town with her research because everything with regards to F1 was flawless in this book.
We're following rookie driver Blake and 4 times world champion Ryder. Ryder has been out for the last season and a half following an accident on the track and Blake is F1's first female driver and I am LIVING for this plot. Nightingale is a new F1 team that has decided to bring these two drivers in. Very risky move for any team, never mind a brand new team.
However, it works. It absolutely works. Blake is a total badass and absolute dominates on track as well as off it. Ryder is a lost soul after losing so much over the years and getting back on the track and winning another championship is his only goal in life, until he meets Blake.
Everything about this was perfection. The F1 side of things, the romance, the found family, the grief, PTSD, chronic and mental health representation, just all of it. Absolutely brilliant. I can't believe this is a debut novel. And I'm so excited that we get more from this group of people with several more books in the series to come.
I cannot fault this book at all, it was so good. If you're looking for a spicy sports romance, friends to lovers, no third act break up, found family, good representation of all of the things I mentioned above, he falls first and just an all round cracking book, this is the one for you. I'm going to be recommending this to all of my F1 friends.
Thank you again Kayla and LoveNotes PR for the opportunity to read this book early.
I've read a handful of F1 romances over the years (Fast and Hard & Fast and Wet by Kat Ransom, Throttled by Lauren Asher, Chasing Daisy by Paige Toon (I DNF'd this one)) and I've got to be honest, no one has done it better for me than Kayla with this debut.
I'm a HUGE F1 fan and have been since I was a kid, so when I pick up an F1 romance, I will pick up on anything that doesn't make sense in the F1 world more so than your regular romance reader. For example, in previous books I've read, drivers were described in a certain way that just didn't make sense (built for rugby with shoulders that would never fit in an F1 car) etc. But either Kayla is a huge F1 fan herself or she went to town with her research because everything with regards to F1 was flawless in this book.
We're following rookie driver Blake and 4 times world champion Ryder. Ryder has been out for the last season and a half following an accident on the track and Blake is F1's first female driver and I am LIVING for this plot. Nightingale is a new F1 team that has decided to bring these two drivers in. Very risky move for any team, never mind a brand new team.
However, it works. It absolutely works. Blake is a total badass and absolute dominates on track as well as off it. Ryder is a lost soul after losing so much over the years and getting back on the track and winning another championship is his only goal in life, until he meets Blake.
Everything about this was perfection. The F1 side of things, the romance, the found family, the grief, PTSD, chronic and mental health representation, just all of it. Absolutely brilliant. I can't believe this is a debut novel. And I'm so excited that we get more from this group of people with several more books in the series to come.
I cannot fault this book at all, it was so good. If you're looking for a spicy sports romance, friends to lovers, no third act break up, found family, good representation of all of the things I mentioned above, he falls first and just an all round cracking book, this is the one for you. I'm going to be recommending this to all of my F1 friends.
Thank you again Kayla and LoveNotes PR for the opportunity to read this book early.
August 8, 2024
6.86 on CAWPILE, which would be a 3.5 if GoodReads let us do those.
I had a good time with this, which surprised me a lot as I'm not a romance reader, but I am an f1 fan. I think what brought the rating down for me here was the writing and logic, there were a lot of conveniences, things just immediately being told to us that didn't help build the bigger picture and didn't always make the most sense, and a good number of typos, which bugged me every time.
That being said though, I did end up loving these characters and had a really fun time. This is a great definition of a cheeseburger book for me. It was fun, it was tasty, it was enjoyable, if not technically the best meal out there.
I had a good time with this, which surprised me a lot as I'm not a romance reader, but I am an f1 fan. I think what brought the rating down for me here was the writing and logic, there were a lot of conveniences, things just immediately being told to us that didn't help build the bigger picture and didn't always make the most sense, and a good number of typos, which bugged me every time.
That being said though, I did end up loving these characters and had a really fun time. This is a great definition of a cheeseburger book for me. It was fun, it was tasty, it was enjoyable, if not technically the best meal out there.
April 15, 2024
DNF at page 103 (28%)
Let me tell you that the FIA would have a field day if they ever read this book.
Again, I tried. I really tried to give this author a chance since it's her first book, but it was so bad. I think she should ask for a refund because the editor clearly didn't do her job. I don't recommend her services.
I was so excited to read this one. I even preordered it last year and I was patiently impatiently waiting for it to be released only to be disappointed. I craved a good F1 romance book, but this one isn't even an F1 romance. This book is insulting to this sport, at this point.
Let's start with the ridiculous cliches first. The book opened with the "main character waking up from a nightmare" because apparently we're 14-year-olds writing our first fanfiction or book on Wattpad and not knowing how to open a book or hook the reader overall. Cliche no. 2: someone watching the FMC racing from the shadows like we're in Fast and Furious or *insert classic action/racing movie here* then recruits her because she's "talented". Oh, if it were so easy, I guess starting tomorrow I'm an F1 driver too because I own a driver's license.
Secondly, it was so unrealistic which is what pissed me off the most. And get this, the author claims that she watches Formula 1 and I think she's lying. There's no way she's watching this sport because she understood jack shit. I get it, it's her book, and she can write whatever she wants, but this book should be classified as Urban Fantasy or Sci-Fi because there's no way an amateur driver that supposedly races in Formula 4 or some other series because it's not mentioned at all, would be able to drive a Formula 1 car without proper training and racing for only ten years or so (all the Formula 1, 2 and 3 drivers right now: are we a joke to you?). This author doesn't seem to understand the years and money a driver has to put into training and karting competitions. Blake was raised by her mom who was a single parent and there's no way she had that kind of money. But of course, Americans seem to think they're unstoppable and rules don't apply to them.
Next we have the characters: a Bri'ish, broody, sexist, playboy MMC named Ryder King (what's more Bri'ish than this name, am I right?) who likes to do plastic surgery shaming and fuck women just because they wear short skirts and those are good only to have fun with. The FMC was a classic "not like other girls" because of course (the author needs to work on her internalized misogyny). She and her best friend acted like 17- year-olds and were annoying as fuck. I just couldn't with them. Don't get me started on the insta-lust which made zero sense and him being "drawn to her" or some shit after he met her for like two minutes. Also, they barely had two whole conversations and were instantly friends. That was the last straw for me.
The marketing of this book is really misleading and if you stumble upon the author's Instagram page, please don't trust everything you see there. This is not an F1 romance, this is a fantasy book.
Also, if I hear that the Dirty Air series by Lauren Asher isn't realistic one more time, I hope y'all know how to fight because it's on sight.
Let me tell you that the FIA would have a field day if they ever read this book.
Again, I tried. I really tried to give this author a chance since it's her first book, but it was so bad. I think she should ask for a refund because the editor clearly didn't do her job. I don't recommend her services.
I was so excited to read this one. I even preordered it last year and I was patiently impatiently waiting for it to be released only to be disappointed. I craved a good F1 romance book, but this one isn't even an F1 romance. This book is insulting to this sport, at this point.
Let's start with the ridiculous cliches first. The book opened with the "main character waking up from a nightmare" because apparently we're 14-year-olds writing our first fanfiction or book on Wattpad and not knowing how to open a book or hook the reader overall. Cliche no. 2: someone watching the FMC racing from the shadows like we're in Fast and Furious or *insert classic action/racing movie here* then recruits her because she's "talented". Oh, if it were so easy, I guess starting tomorrow I'm an F1 driver too because I own a driver's license.
Secondly, it was so unrealistic which is what pissed me off the most. And get this, the author claims that she watches Formula 1 and I think she's lying. There's no way she's watching this sport because she understood jack shit. I get it, it's her book, and she can write whatever she wants, but this book should be classified as Urban Fantasy or Sci-Fi because there's no way an amateur driver that supposedly races in Formula 4 or some other series because it's not mentioned at all, would be able to drive a Formula 1 car without proper training and racing for only ten years or so (all the Formula 1, 2 and 3 drivers right now: are we a joke to you?). This author doesn't seem to understand the years and money a driver has to put into training and karting competitions. Blake was raised by her mom who was a single parent and there's no way she had that kind of money. But of course, Americans seem to think they're unstoppable and rules don't apply to them.
Next we have the characters: a Bri'ish, broody, sexist, playboy MMC named Ryder King (what's more Bri'ish than this name, am I right?) who likes to do plastic surgery shaming and fuck women just because they wear short skirts and those are good only to have fun with. The FMC was a classic "not like other girls" because of course (the author needs to work on her internalized misogyny). She and her best friend acted like 17- year-olds and were annoying as fuck. I just couldn't with them. Don't get me started on the insta-lust which made zero sense and him being "drawn to her" or some shit after he met her for like two minutes. Also, they barely had two whole conversations and were instantly friends. That was the last straw for me.
The marketing of this book is really misleading and if you stumble upon the author's Instagram page, please don't trust everything you see there. This is not an F1 romance, this is a fantasy book.
Also, if I hear that the Dirty Air series by Lauren Asher isn't realistic one more time, I hope y'all know how to fight because it's on sight.
September 25, 2024
I had such high hopes in the beginning because I thought oh the research is done well it seems like....Nope. That a race engineer says to a driver "can your feet even reach the pedals".... It´s actually more problematic to be tall in Formula 1, because the cockpit only allows for so much space. George Russell actually already has issues with his height in the car, so being smaller would be more beneficial to the driver. The romance also didn´t really do it for me. Very insta love and not really my thing. The writing itself was well done though.
Want to read
February 26, 2024fueling my f1 addiction…
dnf
March 8, 2024DNF @ 2%
There’s so many books out there, I’m not going to waste my time anymore reading books where the H is waking up with his ONS🤢such a romantic and original way to start off a romance book 🙄
There’s so many books out there, I’m not going to waste my time anymore reading books where the H is waking up with his ONS🤢such a romantic and original way to start off a romance book 🙄
April 23, 2024
3.5/5
Okay, so this one had a lot of potential! It was also my first F1 book. The author did a fairly good job at laying out the terminology/lingo for those who aren’t familiar. I absolutely loved that the FMC is an F1 driver - super cool and had me rooting for her! It’s what made me pick it up because I want more books like these with FMCs on the grid👀. Blake’s character was well-written imo and I had much respect and love for her because it felt like she was a driver IRL too🥹. The action and race scenes were great and really had me invested in the teams and layout. I also enjoyed the incorporation of the interview transcripts because they were fun to read. If this becomes an audiobook, it would be so entertaining with a much-needed full cast.
There were some extra random plot points/reveals thrown in and, even though it was unnecessary, it still worked out. For some reason, I noticed like two minor typos (unimportant, really) in the Kindle version, but not sure it’s meant to be like that. Moving on, I wasn’t too crazy about the romance. I might in the minority for saying this, but it read a little insta-lovey to me. I know this was a fairly fast-paced book but, considering the background context, I think a slow-burn would’ve worked better for Blake and Ryder. They had some chemistry and were definitely cute together, but it still felt really flat for me (even though I really wanted to love this couple). Also, the supporting characters were great and likable. I sensed some side romances and I know that we have a book coming out next about Jace👀. I can’t wait to get my hands on that because I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series and reading this author’s future books.
Okay, so this one had a lot of potential! It was also my first F1 book. The author did a fairly good job at laying out the terminology/lingo for those who aren’t familiar. I absolutely loved that the FMC is an F1 driver - super cool and had me rooting for her! It’s what made me pick it up because I want more books like these with FMCs on the grid👀. Blake’s character was well-written imo and I had much respect and love for her because it felt like she was a driver IRL too🥹. The action and race scenes were great and really had me invested in the teams and layout. I also enjoyed the incorporation of the interview transcripts because they were fun to read. If this becomes an audiobook, it would be so entertaining with a much-needed full cast.
There were some extra random plot points/reveals thrown in and, even though it was unnecessary, it still worked out. For some reason, I noticed like two minor typos (unimportant, really) in the Kindle version, but not sure it’s meant to be like that. Moving on, I wasn’t too crazy about the romance. I might in the minority for saying this, but it read a little insta-lovey to me. I know this was a fairly fast-paced book but, considering the background context, I think a slow-burn would’ve worked better for Blake and Ryder. They had some chemistry and were definitely cute together, but it still felt really flat for me (even though I really wanted to love this couple). Also, the supporting characters were great and likable. I sensed some side romances and I know that we have a book coming out next about Jace👀. I can’t wait to get my hands on that because I’m really looking forward to the rest of the series and reading this author’s future books.
May 17, 2024
Thank you Kayla James and Lovenotes PR for the ARC in exchange of an honest review <3
Lights Out was a PHENOMENAL debut! Let’s start with that.
The writing was well done, the story gripped me, and the author described Formula 1 as if she’d actually done her research (i hate it when sport romances are inaccurate :,) )
The story follows Ryder King, multiple world champion winner in F1, after he was forced to skip a season after a crash. He’s finally cleared by his doctor’s and has now signed into a brand new team, hoping to pick up the thing he loves the most. Racing.
Meanwhile we have Blake Stone, a woman rising to the top in the same sport, after the same brand new team asked her to join them as well.
So they were team mates… and they were TEAM MATES!!!
Anyway, i loved this book a lot, you could say i raced through it (get it?!) the characters felt genuine, i love the side characters, everyone has a little part to play in the story and I’m excited to see who ends up with who.
The only thing that bothered me was the pacing…
it went so… fast. kinda funny when you think about the fact that this is a racing sport romance, so i cannot blame anyone tbh.
But it did bother me. It felt very rushed. A bit of rush is to be expected because you gotta fit every detail in a 10 month racing season, but i think that was the main reason why it felt so rushed.
there was so. much. racing. and not that i mind, you can expect that from a sport romance. but i feel like the romance suffered for it.
all in all, i highly recommend this one, and you should for sure watch out for March 2nd when this one comes out!
Read it if you like:
-No third act breakup💅
-hurt comfort trope (!!!!)🤭
-age gap (8 years!)✨
-lots and lots of f1 shenanigans!
4✨
Lights Out was a PHENOMENAL debut! Let’s start with that.
The writing was well done, the story gripped me, and the author described Formula 1 as if she’d actually done her research (i hate it when sport romances are inaccurate :,) )
The story follows Ryder King, multiple world champion winner in F1, after he was forced to skip a season after a crash. He’s finally cleared by his doctor’s and has now signed into a brand new team, hoping to pick up the thing he loves the most. Racing.
Meanwhile we have Blake Stone, a woman rising to the top in the same sport, after the same brand new team asked her to join them as well.
So they were team mates… and they were TEAM MATES!!!
Anyway, i loved this book a lot, you could say i raced through it (get it?!) the characters felt genuine, i love the side characters, everyone has a little part to play in the story and I’m excited to see who ends up with who.
The only thing that bothered me was the pacing…
it went so… fast. kinda funny when you think about the fact that this is a racing sport romance, so i cannot blame anyone tbh.
But it did bother me. It felt very rushed. A bit of rush is to be expected because you gotta fit every detail in a 10 month racing season, but i think that was the main reason why it felt so rushed.
there was so. much. racing. and not that i mind, you can expect that from a sport romance. but i feel like the romance suffered for it.
all in all, i highly recommend this one, and you should for sure watch out for March 2nd when this one comes out!
Read it if you like:
-No third act breakup💅
-hurt comfort trope (!!!!)🤭
-age gap (8 years!)✨
-lots and lots of f1 shenanigans!
4✨
March 14, 2024
“We do this together.”
A top read of this year for me!
What’s better than one F1 racer? TWO. Ryder is a champion F1 racer who gets an opportunity to join a new team after recovering from a bad accident. Blake is an amateur racer who catches the eye of the new team. After a test race in which she beats her opponents, she is offered the second spot on the team, making her and Ryder teammates.
My favorite part of Ryder and Blake’s journey is that there was never any misogynistic behavior from Ryder regarding Blake’s talent and right to be a racer in a sport that is primarily male dominated. From the moment he met her, he was in awe, and did everything he could to support her. Of course, aside from being teammates, their obvious chemistry becomes more apparent when Ryder lets Blake move in with him during the season. Y’all know I love me some forced proximity and CARETAKING (like I melted).
I just really don’t have words to express how supportive this couple was of each other. Whether it was friends, teammates, or lovers, the little things (and the big things) were the actions of love before either one acknowledged how they felt. Aside from his accident, Ryder struggles with the death of his parents, and Blake refuses to let him suffer and carry that weight alone. Likewise, Ryder constantly encourages Blake, hyping her up and doing all he can to watch her succeed. I was happy there was no third act break up, because once these two were all-in, they did not look back, and handled any issues that came up together.
This debut was just everything I love about romance. Blake and Ryder’s friend group were amazing and I can’t wait for their books!
A top read of this year for me!
What’s better than one F1 racer? TWO. Ryder is a champion F1 racer who gets an opportunity to join a new team after recovering from a bad accident. Blake is an amateur racer who catches the eye of the new team. After a test race in which she beats her opponents, she is offered the second spot on the team, making her and Ryder teammates.
My favorite part of Ryder and Blake’s journey is that there was never any misogynistic behavior from Ryder regarding Blake’s talent and right to be a racer in a sport that is primarily male dominated. From the moment he met her, he was in awe, and did everything he could to support her. Of course, aside from being teammates, their obvious chemistry becomes more apparent when Ryder lets Blake move in with him during the season. Y’all know I love me some forced proximity and CARETAKING (like I melted).
I just really don’t have words to express how supportive this couple was of each other. Whether it was friends, teammates, or lovers, the little things (and the big things) were the actions of love before either one acknowledged how they felt. Aside from his accident, Ryder struggles with the death of his parents, and Blake refuses to let him suffer and carry that weight alone. Likewise, Ryder constantly encourages Blake, hyping her up and doing all he can to watch her succeed. I was happy there was no third act break up, because once these two were all-in, they did not look back, and handled any issues that came up together.
This debut was just everything I love about romance. Blake and Ryder’s friend group were amazing and I can’t wait for their books!
dnf
July 18, 2024ੈ✩‧₊˚ DNF at page 64 (17%)... because the FMC and her friend Cassie are the blueprint for the exact type of FMCs that drive me up the wall in romances.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Tweedledee and Tweedledum with their positivity and pep talks are really not for me.
April 3, 2024
it's like telling ChatGPT a list of tropes to write about with F1 as it's backdrop
April 19, 2024
Le preguntó quién era su rey mientras estaban haciéndolo, porque él se apellida King. LLORÉ SANGRE 😭.
August 20, 2024
Formula 1 teammates + no third act breakup + caretaking!
When Blake gets the chance to make Formula 1 racing reality, the last thing she expected is to become teammates with her hero & adolescent crush.
Blake’s a newbie on the track.
Ryder is a legend and a 4-time world champ, but he’s coming off a nearly two season break after an accident and injury.
They have to figure out how to work together, as teammates, and together when the tension between them blows up!
Read if you love…
🏎️Formula 1
✨she falls first, he falls harder
🫶🏼dual perspective
✨age gap, he’s older
👏🏼no third act breakup
✨forced proximity, teammates & roommates
💬texts, podcasts, articles, & interviews on page
✨open door
🥵“good girl” & “that’s my girl” & “good boy”
✨the best best friends
🫠caretaking
✨grumpy (him) & sunshine (her)
Look out world, Kayla James is coming in hot with her debut and you do not want to miss this one! Even if you know nothing about Formula 1 (hi, me, I knew nothing)!
Even after reading this twice back to back to proofread, I could have read it again. I’d like one billion more pages of Blake & Ryder in front of my eyeballs immediately because they are just perfection!
Every single thing about this book is just so damn good!
The mix of tropes.
The tension.
The caretaking.
The iconic mix of social media posts, news articles, and podcast episodes all on page.
The side characters.
The mental health rep.
The plot & the multiple settings.
The best friends (& little hints at who’s coming next)!
All the things I want to say are spoilers.
So please go put this one at the top of your TBR!
PUB day: March 2nd!
📍all over the world
✨Rep: ptsd
‼️Content: loss of parents, past; racing wreck & injury, detail
When Blake gets the chance to make Formula 1 racing reality, the last thing she expected is to become teammates with her hero & adolescent crush.
Blake’s a newbie on the track.
Ryder is a legend and a 4-time world champ, but he’s coming off a nearly two season break after an accident and injury.
They have to figure out how to work together, as teammates, and together when the tension between them blows up!
Read if you love…
🏎️Formula 1
✨she falls first, he falls harder
🫶🏼dual perspective
✨age gap, he’s older
👏🏼no third act breakup
✨forced proximity, teammates & roommates
💬texts, podcasts, articles, & interviews on page
✨open door
🥵“good girl” & “that’s my girl” & “good boy”
✨the best best friends
🫠caretaking
✨grumpy (him) & sunshine (her)
Look out world, Kayla James is coming in hot with her debut and you do not want to miss this one! Even if you know nothing about Formula 1 (hi, me, I knew nothing)!
Even after reading this twice back to back to proofread, I could have read it again. I’d like one billion more pages of Blake & Ryder in front of my eyeballs immediately because they are just perfection!
Every single thing about this book is just so damn good!
The mix of tropes.
The tension.
The caretaking.
The iconic mix of social media posts, news articles, and podcast episodes all on page.
The side characters.
The mental health rep.
The plot & the multiple settings.
The best friends (& little hints at who’s coming next)!
All the things I want to say are spoilers.
So please go put this one at the top of your TBR!
PUB day: March 2nd!
📍all over the world
✨Rep: ptsd
‼️Content: loss of parents, past; racing wreck & injury, detail
no-ty-ill-hate-it
December 14, 2024I wish authors that write about F1 would actually have knowledge about this sport (Drive to Survive is nice to watch, but you'll learn almost nothing from it btw)
December 16, 2024
Lights Out by Kayla James
4/5⭐
2,5/5🌶️
"I don't feel like I'm barely surviving because just being around her breathes life into me."
I'm excited to share my thoughts on my first F1 romance book, and it definitely won’t be my last from this author! I've always enjoyed watching F1 races thanks to my dad, who's a huge fan, and I've been curious about reading F1 romances for a while now. Is this book flawless? Not quite! Some scenes might not align with reality, especially for those familiar with the sport, but I can overlook those moments and still appreciate the romance.
Blake is such an inspiring character with her dream of becoming a race car driver. When she gets an offer to join an F1 team, she’s over the moon! Finding out that her teammate is Ryder—the guy she’s had a crush on since she was a teenager—makes it even sweeter. Ryder is an incredible racer and a four-time world champion, but he’s been through a lot after losing his parents and dealing with a serious injury that kept him out of racing for a year. Things take an unexpected turn when Ryder invites Blake to live with him, and he doesn’t plan on falling for her. But as they spend more time together, the spark between them becomes hard to resist.
One thing I loved is how the author shines a light on female drivers and the challenges they face in this male-dominated world. The story moves quickly, though I wish a few scenes, like the wedding, hadn’t been left out—I think it would’ve been amazing to experience those moments with the characters! While the relationship between the main characters felt a bit too much like insta-love for my taste, the chemistry was undeniable, and I appreciated that there wasn’t a third-act breakup. I love the side characters and hopefully, we'll get their stories later.
"I don't fear darkness because you're my guiding light. I don't surrender to my demons because they cower against your strength."
4/5⭐
2,5/5🌶️
"I don't feel like I'm barely surviving because just being around her breathes life into me."
I'm excited to share my thoughts on my first F1 romance book, and it definitely won’t be my last from this author! I've always enjoyed watching F1 races thanks to my dad, who's a huge fan, and I've been curious about reading F1 romances for a while now. Is this book flawless? Not quite! Some scenes might not align with reality, especially for those familiar with the sport, but I can overlook those moments and still appreciate the romance.
Blake is such an inspiring character with her dream of becoming a race car driver. When she gets an offer to join an F1 team, she’s over the moon! Finding out that her teammate is Ryder—the guy she’s had a crush on since she was a teenager—makes it even sweeter. Ryder is an incredible racer and a four-time world champion, but he’s been through a lot after losing his parents and dealing with a serious injury that kept him out of racing for a year. Things take an unexpected turn when Ryder invites Blake to live with him, and he doesn’t plan on falling for her. But as they spend more time together, the spark between them becomes hard to resist.
One thing I loved is how the author shines a light on female drivers and the challenges they face in this male-dominated world. The story moves quickly, though I wish a few scenes, like the wedding, hadn’t been left out—I think it would’ve been amazing to experience those moments with the characters! While the relationship between the main characters felt a bit too much like insta-love for my taste, the chemistry was undeniable, and I appreciated that there wasn’t a third-act breakup. I love the side characters and hopefully, we'll get their stories later.
"I don't fear darkness because you're my guiding light. I don't surrender to my demons because they cower against your strength."
Read
March 5, 2024Ryder has been a driver for as long as he can remember, and as the son of an F1 legend, he carries the weight and pressure of his father's legacy. After getting badly hurt in a supposed accident caused by his teammate, he's back to a new team under new ownership and a new teammate. But he is ready to battle for his spot on the track and show everyone that the King legacy continues.
Blake has been dreaming about F1 since she was captivated by watching her first race, but making that dream a reality hasn’t been easy in this male-dominated sport. Fast forward eight years, and she finally gets her chance. Her new teammate is the very person she idolized, and who inspired her during that first race.
I've been itching to dive into an F1 romance, so when I heard Kayla was writing one with a female driver, I was all in and knew this one had to be my first. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I was totally hooked from start to finish. It had me tearing up one moment and cheering like crazy the next, just like watching a real race. The mix of tender moments, heartache, and thrilling scenes had me rooting for the characters the whole way through. There are moments from this book that I know will stick with me and that I'll be recalling when I watch future races. It's going to be tough to find another book that tops this one!
I loved the strong friendships both on and off the track, and there were a couple of unexpected twists that really caught me by surprise. This had everything I didn't know I wanted from an F1 Sports romance, Kayla did a great job at making this as accurate F1 experience and to be honest I didn't want it to end.
Congratulations on this wonderful debut Kayla, looking forward to continuing this series.
Big thanks to Kayla James and LoveNotes PR for sending me an ARC. It was a blast diving into this read while soaking up all the excitement from the first few weeks of the F1 season in Bahrain.
Blake has been dreaming about F1 since she was captivated by watching her first race, but making that dream a reality hasn’t been easy in this male-dominated sport. Fast forward eight years, and she finally gets her chance. Her new teammate is the very person she idolized, and who inspired her during that first race.
I've been itching to dive into an F1 romance, so when I heard Kayla was writing one with a female driver, I was all in and knew this one had to be my first. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint! I was totally hooked from start to finish. It had me tearing up one moment and cheering like crazy the next, just like watching a real race. The mix of tender moments, heartache, and thrilling scenes had me rooting for the characters the whole way through. There are moments from this book that I know will stick with me and that I'll be recalling when I watch future races. It's going to be tough to find another book that tops this one!
I loved the strong friendships both on and off the track, and there were a couple of unexpected twists that really caught me by surprise. This had everything I didn't know I wanted from an F1 Sports romance, Kayla did a great job at making this as accurate F1 experience and to be honest I didn't want it to end.
Congratulations on this wonderful debut Kayla, looking forward to continuing this series.
Big thanks to Kayla James and LoveNotes PR for sending me an ARC. It was a blast diving into this read while soaking up all the excitement from the first few weeks of the F1 season in Bahrain.
Want to read
November 9, 2023charles leclerc inspired mmc? GIMME, I NEED THIS ASAP 🫠🔫
March 5, 2024
As an F1 fan, I was disappointed. Poorly written and just not a good book rip. Only reason it’s not down to one star is because I appreciate that it had an F1 setting (albeit inaccurate).
March 9, 2024
Ok fine Kayla have my tears and my 5 stars!
I’m now off to buy some nightingale merch 👏🏻💜
I’m now off to buy some nightingale merch 👏🏻💜
March 3, 2024
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I loved this book so much. What a great debut novel from this author. Another book set in the Formula 1 world is absolutely amazing, especially for a fan like me 🫶🏻
Blake, our main character, was incredible and I loved to see a female character set in the Formula 1 world, which is pretty much associated to a men’ sport. I would love to see a woman get into Formula 1 one day. She was supportive, loving and caring and a badass in the sport especially 😎
Ryder was incredible too. He helped Blake since day one on her journey through F1 🥹 He took care of her when it was needed, supported her and encouraged her throughout the book. One love for this man 😍
Their relationship and friendship are the best thing ever and it’s incredible to see these through the book 🫶🏻 They helped each other in good and bad times and they did it together.
The friends’ group was absolutely amazing and I want books for them 🤭
The Formula 1 season was very well depicted and executed.
Very excited for the rest of the series and couples. Especially the second book that will be Jace’s story 🤩
Thank you so much to Kayla James and Love Notes PR for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC 🫶🏻
I loved this book so much. What a great debut novel from this author. Another book set in the Formula 1 world is absolutely amazing, especially for a fan like me 🫶🏻
Blake, our main character, was incredible and I loved to see a female character set in the Formula 1 world, which is pretty much associated to a men’ sport. I would love to see a woman get into Formula 1 one day. She was supportive, loving and caring and a badass in the sport especially 😎
Ryder was incredible too. He helped Blake since day one on her journey through F1 🥹 He took care of her when it was needed, supported her and encouraged her throughout the book. One love for this man 😍
Their relationship and friendship are the best thing ever and it’s incredible to see these through the book 🫶🏻 They helped each other in good and bad times and they did it together.
The friends’ group was absolutely amazing and I want books for them 🤭
The Formula 1 season was very well depicted and executed.
Very excited for the rest of the series and couples. Especially the second book that will be Jace’s story 🤩
Thank you so much to Kayla James and Love Notes PR for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC 🫶🏻
March 2, 2024
✨Book Review✨
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:🌶️🌶️ .5
Release: March 2, 2024
Tropes:
🔴 “forced” proximity
🔴 Age Gap (8 years)
🔴 he falls hard
🔴 banter & spice
🔴 she’s a driver too
🔴 mental health rep
Review: With F1 season starting I was so excited when @bestiebookshelf_ sent me a post saying this book was coming out. Let me say I was not disappointed. For a debut novel I am thoroughly impressed with @authorkaylajames . This story was so amazing all around. Blake is a fun-loving and supportive FMC who doesn’t back down from a challenge whether on the track or to help the ones she loves. The MMC Ryder has faced a dark past of loss and near losses, but finds himself healing from his past with the help of Blake. This story had just the right amount of story and heart racing moments.
I love how the minor characters had as much of a part in the story without taking away from the main characters. Shout out to Cassie whose friendship with Blake so reminded me of my own with my best friends.
I am looking forward to reading more of The Grid Series!
Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:🌶️🌶️ .5
Release: March 2, 2024
Tropes:
🔴 “forced” proximity
🔴 Age Gap (8 years)
🔴 he falls hard
🔴 banter & spice
🔴 she’s a driver too
🔴 mental health rep
Review: With F1 season starting I was so excited when @bestiebookshelf_ sent me a post saying this book was coming out. Let me say I was not disappointed. For a debut novel I am thoroughly impressed with @authorkaylajames . This story was so amazing all around. Blake is a fun-loving and supportive FMC who doesn’t back down from a challenge whether on the track or to help the ones she loves. The MMC Ryder has faced a dark past of loss and near losses, but finds himself healing from his past with the help of Blake. This story had just the right amount of story and heart racing moments.
I love how the minor characters had as much of a part in the story without taking away from the main characters. Shout out to Cassie whose friendship with Blake so reminded me of my own with my best friends.
I am looking forward to reading more of The Grid Series!
March 2, 2024
I’m a huge f1 girly and this book this damn book is perfect, the perfect f1 romance book I’ve read, Kayla did an incredible job explaining F1 too !!! 🏎️🏁
no conflict?! so like say less and give me more books like this — but don’t let that fool you either, this book will keep you on your toes, and you won’t be able to put it down because you will NEED to know what’s happening next. And the jaw-dropping wtf how why uhh ahhh moments, oh there are a handful of those and they are absolutely beautiful, but absolutely shocking !!
so many times while reading this book I got teary-eyed, the relationship between Blake & Ryder is magic, you fall in love with them early on and you just keep falling more and more in love with their beautifully tragic story!
the podcast, interviews, conferences & IG posts, made it feel so real like you’re fully immersed in the true f1 world, and I feel like this was the perfect touch to one of the many reasons I loved this f1 book so much, Kayla took you in the full setting of f1 racing!
I’m not one to re-read books but this book, is definitely on my will be re-reading list 🤝
“we do it together” 😭
thank you @authorkaylajames & @lovenotes.pr for my first ARC 🥹
no conflict?! so like say less and give me more books like this — but don’t let that fool you either, this book will keep you on your toes, and you won’t be able to put it down because you will NEED to know what’s happening next. And the jaw-dropping wtf how why uhh ahhh moments, oh there are a handful of those and they are absolutely beautiful, but absolutely shocking !!
so many times while reading this book I got teary-eyed, the relationship between Blake & Ryder is magic, you fall in love with them early on and you just keep falling more and more in love with their beautifully tragic story!
the podcast, interviews, conferences & IG posts, made it feel so real like you’re fully immersed in the true f1 world, and I feel like this was the perfect touch to one of the many reasons I loved this f1 book so much, Kayla took you in the full setting of f1 racing!
I’m not one to re-read books but this book, is definitely on my will be re-reading list 🤝
“we do it together” 😭
thank you @authorkaylajames & @lovenotes.pr for my first ARC 🥹
March 16, 2024
So many mixed feelings about this book. I had very high expectations because of all the instagram marketing. The story that was sold in the posts was the narrative of the book, but unfortunately, I am disappointed.
What I think that needs to be pointed out first is that if you are a big F1 fan, you might not like how some things are portraited. Peronally, I found it hard to swallow some aspects of the story. But maybe that was my mistake, becouse I have read other books with F1 narratives that are trustworthy or that had less focus on the detais of the sport (wich helps on not bothering so much with the non beliaveble things). So you have to start reading the book open-minded to a fictional F1 world because it is hard to believe some things would ever happen this way.
I will point out things I did like now, before focusing on the things that frustrated me.
I did enjoy some of the cliche romance details. . I liked her friendship with Cassie a lot and with the guys on the grid. The Vegas moments were super fun to read. The Podcast OMG, amazing. Pretty sure I get the inspiration for that. I wish we had seen more of their reactions to the romance. This is why I gave this book 2 stars.
So, what I did not like. First, I know it's fiction, but the way she was inserted in F1 was really hard to swallow as someone who loves the sport. If you don't know the sport, you might not be bothered, but there are plenty of women out there racing and training to one day be in F1. The idea of someone , who nobody has ever heard of, being chosen and walking into F1 like it happened to Blake is just crazy. We know something like this would never happen. It's not like that to the guys, imagine with a woman. Again, I know it's fiction, but as a woman, I would've loved seeing something more believable so I could get the feeling of OMG it can really happen.
I also could not understand the focus of the story. There is no climax to the romance. So no drama in this storyline. As a reader, I feel that there was sooooo much more to be explored in this type of story. It is the type of romance that would make the couple think about risks and consequences. Things could be messy. It is a sport that involves money and reputation. So they could have faced some exciting doubts and strugles. And also, it is the type of romance that would stop the midia. People would go crazy about it. I know that there is a point in a peacefull love story, wich is understandable, not all couples need to face the world to be together, but in this narrative it really gave me a feeling of something missing. Maybe because I couldn't understand what was the main focus of the story that the author wanted to tell.
And ok, the couple has a peaceful storyline, . Really did not like that.
There is a lot of focus on racing and a , but when things could get a very highlight on the story, POW, . The feeling of "oh God, this is the thing that can only happen in a book" is one that I dislike a lot. After that big shock, we go back to racing, but . Close to the ending, I was hoping the book would end soon, so crazy things would stop.
What I think that needs to be pointed out first is that if you are a big F1 fan, you might not like how some things are portraited. Peronally, I found it hard to swallow some aspects of the story. But maybe that was my mistake, becouse I have read other books with F1 narratives that are trustworthy or that had less focus on the detais of the sport (wich helps on not bothering so much with the non beliaveble things). So you have to start reading the book open-minded to a fictional F1 world because it is hard to believe some things would ever happen this way.
I will point out things I did like now, before focusing on the things that frustrated me.
I did enjoy some of the cliche romance details. . I liked her friendship with Cassie a lot and with the guys on the grid. The Vegas moments were super fun to read. The Podcast OMG, amazing. Pretty sure I get the inspiration for that. I wish we had seen more of their reactions to the romance. This is why I gave this book 2 stars.
So, what I did not like. First, I know it's fiction, but the way she was inserted in F1 was really hard to swallow as someone who loves the sport. If you don't know the sport, you might not be bothered, but there are plenty of women out there racing and training to one day be in F1. The idea of someone , who nobody has ever heard of, being chosen and walking into F1 like it happened to Blake is just crazy. We know something like this would never happen. It's not like that to the guys, imagine with a woman. Again, I know it's fiction, but as a woman, I would've loved seeing something more believable so I could get the feeling of OMG it can really happen.
I also could not understand the focus of the story. There is no climax to the romance. So no drama in this storyline. As a reader, I feel that there was sooooo much more to be explored in this type of story. It is the type of romance that would make the couple think about risks and consequences. Things could be messy. It is a sport that involves money and reputation. So they could have faced some exciting doubts and strugles. And also, it is the type of romance that would stop the midia. People would go crazy about it. I know that there is a point in a peacefull love story, wich is understandable, not all couples need to face the world to be together, but in this narrative it really gave me a feeling of something missing. Maybe because I couldn't understand what was the main focus of the story that the author wanted to tell.
And ok, the couple has a peaceful storyline, . Really did not like that.
There is a lot of focus on racing and a , but when things could get a very highlight on the story, POW, . The feeling of "oh God, this is the thing that can only happen in a book" is one that I dislike a lot. After that big shock, we go back to racing, but . Close to the ending, I was hoping the book would end soon, so crazy things would stop.
July 24, 2024
Terrible, and *DNF*
Look, I love a good sappy romance novel - but the realism was terrible. This genuinely felt poorly researched which as a fan of F1 I just could not get past; and took me completely out of the story.
The tropes come thick and fast; but surprisingly the plot does not.
The FMC Blake Stone - whilst being described as strong and capable comes across as a literal child who is oh so clumsy.
The MMC Ryder King I had the biggest problems with. Firstly he is supposed to be British; but clearly the author has never met a British person or even been to the UK. He used the complete wrong phrasing, (let me assure you no-one refers to redecorating their home as remodelling, the supermarket as market and the list goes on....). Thirdly it opens with him using a women for sex; which comes across as such misogynistic, it felt almost cliche. The fact that he instantly falls in love with Blake Stone and is somehow does a complete 180 is unbelievable at best. His name, is also so ridiculous. I can never imagine British parents calling their kid Ryder - and am pretty sure King is not a popular surname.
Now for the F1 - F1 is not a league and this choice of words by Blake made zero sense.
Secondly, this new team, with its state of the art site - who is paying for it - as clearly this team has no sponsors (an integral part of F1 due to the cost of the sport)
Thirdly, what was Blake racing before she joined F1 - as this made no sense. To get into F1 you need to go through the lower ranked F2 and F3, as well as have enough points on your license in order to race in an F1 car. She seemingly is driving I guess Nascar before hand, which is not relevant to F1 in any way and is a different sport altogether. Most new racers are already known because of their previous experience and already being singed to the junior categories of the F1 teams.
Fourthly, the bizarre try out scene made no sense. This is not how F1 teams pick their new drivers. I mean what cars were they racing, as no team can afford 6 or 7 F1 spec cars on a track regardless of if they were previous seasons. And why were the other drivers? Even if they were F2 or F3 cars, this is a new team with no previous history - so again where did the cars come from.
Fifthly the spice scenes - especially their first with all its dry humping - am sorry but was this written by a devout religious person, as this scene made no sense.
Sixthly the choice of wording - such as swirl (in a spice scene.... had me laughing, which am pretty sure is not the intended outcome), and why was Ryder saying love at the end of the sentence.
Seventhly, the geographical description of their day out in London made zero sense, why would he drive from, I assume Kent (no one wants to drive in London), past Big Ben, which is pretty central to London, and then go on a tour which is a maximum of an hours walk. I had to Google Map it, as the route just seemed utterly ridiculous. I also couldn't work out during this pathetic scene, where they parked the car. As seemingly they drove into London from where ever, and then ended up walking.
Finally, this felt like a quick cash grab to girls who are now fans of F1 and like romance novels. Whilst it is light in tone, I just could not get past the inaccuracies.
Please, if there is anymore of this drivel, author I implore you learn about F1 and Britishism's, if you are going to include these as plot points.
Look, I love a good sappy romance novel - but the realism was terrible. This genuinely felt poorly researched which as a fan of F1 I just could not get past; and took me completely out of the story.
The tropes come thick and fast; but surprisingly the plot does not.
The FMC Blake Stone - whilst being described as strong and capable comes across as a literal child who is oh so clumsy.
The MMC Ryder King I had the biggest problems with. Firstly he is supposed to be British; but clearly the author has never met a British person or even been to the UK. He used the complete wrong phrasing, (let me assure you no-one refers to redecorating their home as remodelling, the supermarket as market and the list goes on....). Thirdly it opens with him using a women for sex; which comes across as such misogynistic, it felt almost cliche. The fact that he instantly falls in love with Blake Stone and is somehow does a complete 180 is unbelievable at best. His name, is also so ridiculous. I can never imagine British parents calling their kid Ryder - and am pretty sure King is not a popular surname.
Now for the F1 - F1 is not a league and this choice of words by Blake made zero sense.
Secondly, this new team, with its state of the art site - who is paying for it - as clearly this team has no sponsors (an integral part of F1 due to the cost of the sport)
Thirdly, what was Blake racing before she joined F1 - as this made no sense. To get into F1 you need to go through the lower ranked F2 and F3, as well as have enough points on your license in order to race in an F1 car. She seemingly is driving I guess Nascar before hand, which is not relevant to F1 in any way and is a different sport altogether. Most new racers are already known because of their previous experience and already being singed to the junior categories of the F1 teams.
Fourthly, the bizarre try out scene made no sense. This is not how F1 teams pick their new drivers. I mean what cars were they racing, as no team can afford 6 or 7 F1 spec cars on a track regardless of if they were previous seasons. And why were the other drivers? Even if they were F2 or F3 cars, this is a new team with no previous history - so again where did the cars come from.
Fifthly the spice scenes - especially their first with all its dry humping - am sorry but was this written by a devout religious person, as this scene made no sense.
Sixthly the choice of wording - such as swirl (in a spice scene.... had me laughing, which am pretty sure is not the intended outcome), and why was Ryder saying love at the end of the sentence.
Seventhly, the geographical description of their day out in London made zero sense, why would he drive from, I assume Kent (no one wants to drive in London), past Big Ben, which is pretty central to London, and then go on a tour which is a maximum of an hours walk. I had to Google Map it, as the route just seemed utterly ridiculous. I also couldn't work out during this pathetic scene, where they parked the car. As seemingly they drove into London from where ever, and then ended up walking.
Finally, this felt like a quick cash grab to girls who are now fans of F1 and like romance novels. Whilst it is light in tone, I just could not get past the inaccuracies.
Please, if there is anymore of this drivel, author I implore you learn about F1 and Britishism's, if you are going to include these as plot points.
May 26, 2024
I haven't finished this book yet, but I will and I just had to review it before finishing it. OH MY GOD WHAT A RIDE, in a not good way. At the moment it's lap 66 of the Monaco GP and Charles Leclerc (the inspiration for the cover art) is about to win his first home race. (I hope I didn't jinx him).
This book was just awful, like I understand that authors can take certain liberties when it comes to sports romances but this was over the top unrealistic. Starting with how icky the dynamic between them is because he is the one pushing for this random girl that hasn't ever raced in F2/F3 to be in an f1 car. So like, the guy that gets you into the post and possibly hold your career is the guy you fall in love with in less than a year and even marry him.
I like insta-love/insta-connections when it's done right, but this one was just awfully written. I still say the power dynamic is so icky, cause it's the son of a famous f1 driver invites this younger inexperienced driver to come live at his place and help train her. It IS ICKY!!! Cause like she feel like she owes him. Like she owes her career to him.
This girl must be Max Verstappen's clone or related to Vettel cause first year in f1 and is winning races on a brand new team. Like what? so unrealistic. Pure vibes.
Now, the reason why I had to review this before finishing is because, THEY GOT MARRIED!!! and not gonna like the crash sounded as if Zhou's crash and Grosjean's crash had a baby. Like man, it's just crazy. This book target audience is not f1 fans.
Last bit and it's a joke, if I had a nickel for every time I read an f1 romance and they use the word "prix" for race weekend, I'd have two nickels. I mean it's not a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.
ps. she never met her dad and it turns out if the team owner. I can't. I swear. I can't.
This book was just awful, like I understand that authors can take certain liberties when it comes to sports romances but this was over the top unrealistic. Starting with how icky the dynamic between them is because he is the one pushing for this random girl that hasn't ever raced in F2/F3 to be in an f1 car. So like, the guy that gets you into the post and possibly hold your career is the guy you fall in love with in less than a year and even marry him.
I like insta-love/insta-connections when it's done right, but this one was just awfully written. I still say the power dynamic is so icky, cause it's the son of a famous f1 driver invites this younger inexperienced driver to come live at his place and help train her. It IS ICKY!!! Cause like she feel like she owes him. Like she owes her career to him.
This girl must be Max Verstappen's clone or related to Vettel cause first year in f1 and is winning races on a brand new team. Like what? so unrealistic. Pure vibes.
Now, the reason why I had to review this before finishing is because, THEY GOT MARRIED!!! and not gonna like the crash sounded as if Zhou's crash and Grosjean's crash had a baby. Like man, it's just crazy. This book target audience is not f1 fans.
Last bit and it's a joke, if I had a nickel for every time I read an f1 romance and they use the word "prix" for race weekend, I'd have two nickels. I mean it's not a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.
ps. she never met her dad and it turns out if the team owner. I can't. I swear. I can't.
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