Pole Position

Pole Position #1

by Rebecca J. Caffery

Red, White and Royal Blue meets Formula 1!

Kian Walker has always been the golden boy of motorsport. The four-time Championship winner has racing in his DNA – his father was a legend on the track, just don’t let him catch you comparing the two. As reckless and unreliable at home as he was behind the wheel, there’s nothing Kian wants less than to be just like his dad.

Enter Harper James. This year’s rookie called up to compete with the big boys – and Kian’s new teammate. Cocky, hot-headed and with a reputation for breaking as many hearts as he does new track records, Harper’s the opposite of Kian in every way. But when the season starts, there’s no getting away from him.

This might be one of the most dangerous sports in the world, so why then does Kian’s heart feel safer flying around the track at 220mph than when he's anywhere near his teammate?

Tropes

Enemies to loversGrumpy x sunshineForced ProximitySpicy 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Sports romance 🏎️

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Sports, LGBT, M M Romance, Queer, Contemporary

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 6, 2024

About the author

Rebecca J. Caffery is a queer romance author from Birmingham, UK, whose stories celebrate love, electric chemistry, fierce
emotion, and found families. She rediscovered her passion for writing in 2017
during a study abroad year in Canada, and she’s been writing one too many
enemies to lovers tropes since.

Rebecca is best known for her high-octane F1 romances, Pole
Position (2024) and First to Finish (2026), where fast cars meet
even faster hearts. With plans to expand into small-town romance, she continues
to craft stories that celebrate queer love in all its intensity and joy.

When she’s not writing, Rebecca can be found devouring queer
romance novels, binge-watching romantic dramas and romcoms, or passionately (read
screaming at her TV) supporting Arsenal Women’s football team and McLaren Formula
One Team.

Where else to find her?

Instagram - @RJCafferyAuthor
TikTok - BeckaWrites

Reviews

[Kartik]

If I had a nickel for everytime I added a Sports Racing romance book to my tbr just because the characters on the cover were hot I'd have two nickels which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice

[ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

fun and quick but a bit flat for me!!

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 out of 5 stars!

Red, White and Royal Blue meets Formula 1? *Faints*

[JJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

wow, okay, where do i even begin. this might be my longest goodreads review ever. strap in people, you’re not ready.

context: my flatmate was watching an instagram reel about formula 1 romance novels and this was the only gay one. it wasn’t even out yet when she found it but she sent it to me and i just knew as soon as i saw the description - “red white and royal blue meets formula 1” - that i had to read this. and oh boy. what a journey this was.

i need to start off by saying this is hands down one of the worst written books i have ever read in my life, but i had the GREATEST TIME. every three pages something happened that made me scream or cackle out loud. this may be one of the most terrible books ever produced but oh my god i had so much fun.

let me introduce you to our cast of characters. kian walker (33 years old, white british boy) is a four time formula 1 world champion. he is SERIOUS. he LOVES CARS. and is VERY FOCUSED. these are mostly all of his character traits. at first i was like oh okay kian is a max verstappen stand in because his dad was also a racing driver but worse and is um…. maybe not the nicest person. but that’s kind of where the similarities stop. kian DOES NOT PLAY AROUND! he does NOT like harper because harper… well let me tell you about harper.

harper james (25 years old, british white boy) replaces kian’s best friend and teammate elijah when elijah breaks his leg. (also considering elijah is his “best friend” and kian is godfather to his children elijah appears once at the end of this book with 20 pages to go) harper is a FUCK BOY! he likes ALCOHOL and PARTIES! he is also OPENLY GAY! and he was raised in foster homes (in what world are foster parents paying for the level of karting required to get to f1??) and he has ABANDONMENT ISSUES! harper has, somehow, the most insane rookie season of all time (i’m talking a podium every single fucking race) but no one in their right mind would ever sign this boy because when i tell you he is the biggest fucking PR menace ever….

continuing on. as you can imagine kian and harper hate each other because they are very different. but i would like to add in that within about 5 pages of meeting each other harper is like “man, do you know what would be sick? rimming,” despite the fact that they despise each other. and there’s no transition into suddenly liking each other, they’re super hot for each other WHILE they hate each other. anyways, it’s your classic enemies to lovers bullshit - harper gets sick, kian has to look after him, realizes they aren’t so different, decide to compromise and try each others lifestyles blah blah blah. bad and boring.

hmm what else do i have to say. oh yeah, i don’t know what sort of shit this author was on or was told she couldn’t say but f1 isn’t… actually mentioned at all? and when they talk about f2, f3, etc they refer to it as the “lower categories” which is so funny. quali is referred to solely as “qualifiers” and the only actual words to do with f1 this author knows vaguely are DRS, halo and cockpit. in terms of racing; i think only 4 actual races were ever described? not sure what i was expecting though.

ALSO. they don’t EVER reference the sport as f1, so i thought, oh, maybe there’s some sort of legal thing stopping the author? but mclaren, redbull, ferrari and HAAS are all canon fucking teams in the novel?? OH MY GOD AND FERNANDO ALONSO IS CANONICALLY ON THE GRID. YOU CANT MAKE THIS SHIT UPPP😭😭😭😭😭

speaking of the teams, honorable mention to possibly my favorite part of the entire novel: the Mclaren Swedes. yes, that’s right - the 2 mclaren drivers are SWEDISH BROTHERS. they are some of kian and harper’s biggest competition but remain unnamed the entire book, not even joking, when they podium they literally say shit like “the younger swede got p3 and the older swede got p5” it’s SO FUNNY.

also important to mention: homophobia in motorsports doesn’t exist in this universe! GO GAYS! 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍🌈 one time an interviewer tells kian there’s going to be a “kian walker night” at a gay bar in miami and kian says he will send them merch. you love to see it. in fact there’s only one instance of homophobia in this entire book despite the fact harper is out the entire time and it’s when harper confronts kian’s alcoholic ex driver dad and says hey maybe you shouldn’t go to kians mums funeral (she had parkinson’s it was a whole thing) and kians dad says oh what are you his boyfriend?? and harper is like 😏 yesss and kians dad says “you can tell kian was raised by his mother because no son raised by me would have turned out a pansy” I DIED LAUGHING I DID. oh they did also have to stay apart in abu dhabi and quatar for “obvious reasons” which is hilarious.

so at one point on the european leg of the race year kian and harper have to share a motorhome because???????????? this is never explained. you’re telling me a top team can’t afford two separate motorhomes for their drivers? and i’m not talking a big one where they live essentially separately i mean like, what is basically a camper van. leading me on to my next point which is one night harper wants to make kian jealous so he brings a guy home to fuck in the motorhome - why not - and this ENTIRE scene, from when they meet in the bar to going back to the motorhome to trading blow jobs, harper only refers to the guy as “the twink.” i’m dead serious. i think i read the word twink at least 27 times in the span of 10 pages. great stuff. this is also around the time someone tried to LEAK A VIDEO OF HARPER HAVING A FOURSOME and his pr team has to buy them off. not because it’s gay, or even an invasion of privacy- they are only concerned because it’s a foursome.

speaking of sex scenes; the lack of smut was so upsetting to me. i don’t read a lot of romance at all but one of the appeals to me is the TERRIBLE SMUT because it’s always SO FUNNY and not even remotely hot. i thought i was signing up to some bad gay porn but i was horribly disappointed. they talked about having sex a lot but there was only 1 sex scene?? and maybe like 3 blow jobs?? and the sex scene only lasted like 1 page? so upsetting to me personally.

alright what’s left to say. honorable mentions to my GOATS aka the only characters in this book who aren’t insufferable which are kian’s twin sister and her husband. they slayed. also at one point harper was talking about how kian loves to tell stories about his niece and nephew but referred to them as kian’s “niblings “ as in - the non binary term for niece and nephew. which is so funny and random and only called them that once?? they’re also like, 3 years old and 1 year old??? i died that word is so dumb im sorry i just can’t.

one other character i have to mention is johannes, harper’s best friend who raced for HAAS and now races for REDBULL FORD team in the unnamed f1 sport. johannes used to be a playboy like harper and they used to fuck then halfway through the book harper is like, damn, johannes never spends time with me anymore and he’s clearly dating someone and/or has some sort of secret. and in the epilogue which is like 3 years later harper mentions AGAIN that johannes is still distant and hasn’t explained himself?? with like 1 page to go)? this plot is never resolved and im deeply worried it’s a set up for a sequel.

i think those are the main points i wanted to cover in this essay so i leave you with two parting gifts. first, a couple of my favorite quotes:

“Men like this have never been my type. I usually go for the prototypical twink – lanky and scrawny, someone who wants to be dominated; guys with soft features and a praise kink.” - harper when he first decides kian is hot

“Congratulations, Sherlock. I’m bisexual. Alert the media. What do you want, a medal?” - kian “coming out” to harper

“If only electrolytes could flush Harper out of my system,” - just thought this was funny

“Maybe that’s why I push so hard, and drive so fast – because I’m trying to escape the demons I know are chasing me. The demons that are always chasing me.” - harper in reference to his abandonment issues when i tell you i spat out my water

“Miami is my favorite track” - said no driver EVER

“Harper is up your ass man” - said over kian’s radio during a race when harper is close behind which gets him hard

my final parting gift to you all: kian is, at one point asked, what do you listen to in your headphones before a race? and he answers “a guided mediation; noah kahan or hozier” which made me WHEEZE LAUGH. if you get the chance, look up the playlist at the front of the book. it looks like a fourteen year old girl made it.

i actually can’t. i just can’t. this rotted my brain and i haven’t laughed so hard in so long. this could have been terrible for my mental wellbeing but to be honest in my current state this entire book was a much needed laugh. i don’t even know what to rate this? 1 star for quality, 5 stars for the excellent time. too good.

[mallon ❀ · Rating 1 out of 5]

pro tip! don’t read a book you hate while in the ER, it doesn’t make the experience better!

(soft) DNF at 59%

rant incoming:
i think i’m going to have to accept the fact that reading F1 romances, while being a racing fan, is not working for me anymore. when it comes to things i know something about i will become nitpicky and notice every incorrect thing.

usually, i will think ‘oh! it’s a fiction novel, it isn’t that serious’ but when it’s clear it’s a fanfiction rewritten with new characters i can’t shake it. if you’re going to create fake team en character names, please just do it for all of them, and don’t continue using official teamnames and actual people (e.g. ferrari, red bull, mclaren, fernando alonso) and come on, yorris??? you have got to be kidding me. if you’re so keen on keeping those real features, please enlighten yourself in how the actual sport and the behind the scenes actually work.

it doesn’t help that i hated the characters, especially harper. god that man made my blood boil. he’s an immature bastard who thinks the world revolves around him. mans is a rookie and throws a hissy fit when his teammate, the 4 time championship winner with 15 years of experience, wins a race and he doesn’t. let’s not forget the borderline sexual harrasment. staring at his teammates crotch, continuing after being told to stop by said teammate. asking about what he wears when swimming and making nasty comments about how he’s disappointed that teammate doesn’t swim naked. girl if my coworker said something like that to me i would file a harassment complaint.
the unrealistic views of the sport by the author really doesn’t help either. getting shitfaced the night before a race, just not showing up for team meetings, insulting the injured driving you’re replacing for the season and trying to make a fool out of your teammate while on TV without facing any repercussions?? come on. keep in mind, these things happen in the first week on the job!!!!😄😄

while i have only been talking shit about one of the mc’s, harper, i have to say something about kian too. kian, you’re a nasty man for taking advantage of a drunk 25 year old who called you because he had no one else to call. BEING DRUNK ≠ CONSENT!!!!

(little side fyi before i forget: there is absolutely no chemistry between the mc’s and there is not ONE likable character)

[Gaby · Rating 2 out of 5]

As an F1 fan who ships CarlitosXLando, you can only imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this book. I was ready for all the drama, rivalry, and maybe some well-placed podium kisses. But oh boy, did this book crashed into the wall like it forgot how to take a turn.

Let me walk you through the highlights (and by that, I mean plot holes).

This book's universe is so bizarre that it makes you question everything, like, how can Ferrari and Fernando Alonso even exist here? And yet, somehow, they do.

First off, what is the name of this fictional race circuit or sport? Sometimes they just call it "The Championship," which is as creative as naming your dog "Dog." Is that really the title of this elite competition? Or am I supposed to just know?

Next, Harper, one of our main characters, is magically promoted from the lower leagues with absolutely zero media training. I mean, this guy is out here partying like it’s a Hangover sequel, skipping team-mandated training, and somehow still keeps his seat. No reprimands, no consequences, just vibes. Meanwhile, real F1 drivers get scolded for blinking too loud during interviews and Lewis Hamilton got scolded for wearing jewelry! And yet Harper's out here breaking every rule in the book and getting away with it. Make it make sense.

Now, let’s talk HarperXKian. How am I supposed to root for these two when every time they’re together, Kian looks like he’d rather be anywhere else, and Harper’s too busy acting like a frat boy trying to outdo his own worst behavior? It���s like trying to ship two people who are actively trying to sink the boat.

Oh, and Kian, this four-time champ with 15 years in the sport, gets a lecture from his team principal about acting like besties with Harper, or he’s out of the team? Excuse me, but Toto Wolff would NEVER.

Also, can someone explain the budget here? We’re told this team is loaded, so their drivers get fancy hotel rooms... but then they have to share a trailer (oh, sorry, a “motorhome”) for the European leg of the season? What kind of weird budget cut is that? Is there a secret F1 camp-out I’m not aware of?

Finally, the cherry on top of this confusion sundae: After worshiping Kian’s dad for 75% of the book, Harper suddenly realizes, “Oh, wait, maybe this guy’s a jerk.” When did this epiphany happen? Did I miss a chapter?

In conclusion: If you’re here for an authentic racing story, you might want to lower your expectations and just try to vibe with it.

[Tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kian’s teammate is out of commission and the wild rookie takes his place. Without having ever spoken to him, Kian knows everything he needs to about Harper. Harper’s reputation is less than stellar, making headlines for all the wrong reasons. He’s cocky, hot-headed and impulsive.

- Grumpy x Sunshine
- Age gap (25-33)
- Rivals(ish) to lovers
- Forced Proximity
- Emotional intelligence of ducks
- Found family
- 2.25 spicy

Tw/Cw: Parkinsons, dementia, death of parent, a homophobic slur, family abandonment, non healthy coping mechanisms
- ”He’s too drunk to be able to consent” *proceedes to kiss him* ????
- Kian walks in on Harper recieving head by random dude 48% in
- I don’t want to hear about doing Tik Tok’s when reading, pls stop

It might not be realistic, but it was refreshing and nice to not see any homophobia surrounding the sport.

Note: I know nothing about motor sports and I can not tell you how well written or thought through that part of the book was.

Kian:
He’s a judgemental and uptight asshole in the beginning, but only towards Harper. He was great with his nieces, family, colleagues and friends. But unfortunately I was not a fan of his most of the time. Kian tried his best to be considerate of Harper’s abandonment issues.. but he did not succeed. I get that he wanted to move forward with their relationship but when someone have trauma to deal with, you can’t push. And if you really love the person, you shouldn’t want to push. You have to take it at the person with issues pace or not take it at all. Kian is an adult and have been for over a decade. Be patient or leave. He’s mature and clearheaded most of the time, just not around Harper.

Harper:
Purehearted and misunderstood. He did have his slightly childish moments but I over all really liked him. He came in like an excited puppy and got treated like the plague by Kian, his former idol. I felt so bad for him.

Over all I really enjoyed this. Read it in one sitting. Great plot. Never a boring moment. If Harper’s friend gets a book, I’m there immediately 👀

Harper & Kian:
When they had good/fun moments together? Loved.
Them trying to figure out their issues? Clown show.
When they finally figured out their shit? Very adorable together.
I’m not sure about the pacing of their relationship development though. The sexual tension was there but once they’d messed around once, it became the new normal out of nowhere. Sleeping in the same bed, cuddling, repeat performances. We didn’t get to see this being discussed at all or how this development happened. The third act was a shit show of proportions, things had been a lot easier had they known what ”communication” and ”understanding” is. There is some character development, I’m just not sure how real it felt. I wouldn’t say the pacing was off, but things happened off page and we were just quickly informed it had happened. ”Harper went to therapy” Okaaay and how is that going for him???? What is he doing there??We also missed moments like when Kian found out Harper used to be a fan. I WANTED HIS REACTION?? Harper finding out Kian’s dad was shit?? WHERE? The story did lack proper depth, but it was a fun and quick read.

I was debating on whether to give this 3.5 stars or 3.75 stars because this book had it’s flaws, absolutely, but I really enjoyed it anyway. And since I always rate on how much I enjoyed a book:

3.75 stars Arc review

[Fairuz ᥫ᭡. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars! 🎉 Huge shoutout to HarperAudio, One More Chapter, and NetGalley for the audiobook! "Pole Position" dropped on July 18, 2024, and WOW—what a wild ride! 🏎️💨 I gobbled up this 10-hour 2-minute audiobook in no time! 🕒

⧫ Enemies-to-lovers 🥊
⧫ Grumpy x Sunshine 💖
⧫ Forced Proximity 💗
⧫ Age Gap (25 vs. 33) 💓
⧫ Found Family 💕
⧫ Rivals-to-lovers ⚔️
⧫ Emotional Intelligence of Ducks 🦆

Okay, real talk, I didn’t expect "Pole Position" to grip me this hard, but WOW! I was OBSESSED. 🎧 I finished it in just three days (who needs sleep, right?). 💤

Now, let’s talk about Kian. He’s the brooding, emotionally-closed-off "golden boy" of motorsport, and while I kinda wanted to slap some sense into him (seriously, Kian, stop being so stubborn), I couldn’t help but feel for him. 😩 Kian needed to grovel a little more in the first half—he was a bit too emotionally distant. But the chemistry between him and Harper? 🔥 Off the charts! Watching them go from rivals to lovers had me living for every moment. 😍

And then there’s Harper. He’s all sunshine and chaos, but by the second half, he needed to grovel! 😤 He made a few missteps, and let’s be real—he had some serious explaining to do. I loved seeing him realize how much he messed up and step up in the emotional department. His growth? Everything. 😌

Now, the spice level—was it just enough to make me scream? Almost. 🔥 The emotional chemistry? Hotter than the sun. But when they finally got together, it felt like, "Okay, now we’re just going through the motions?" 😅 A little more exploration here would’ve made me melt even more!

Plot-wise, there were a couple of things that held me back from giving it 5 stars. The pacing was a tad off in places, and I would’ve loved to actually see some stuff instead of just hearing about it. Kian’s dad? Can we get some closure on that? 😤 But the sweet moments between Kian and Harper? Perfection. Seriously, those moments had me swooning so hard I almost forgot the plot holes. 🥰

The third act? Pure drama! And I was living for it. The back-and-forth tension was off the charts, even if it made me want to scream at them to stop overthinking! 😤

Also, Johannes? Give that guy his own book, stat! 👀👀

And let’s not forget the narrator, Joshua Chase and James Joseph! 🎙️ The voice talent totally brought these characters to life! Kian’s brooding, Harper’s sunshine—both were portrayed perfectly, making the whole experience even more immersive. Seriously, the narration made the emotional beats hit even harder and kept me hooked from start to finish. The pacing and character differentiation? Chef’s kiss 👏

CW:
- Parkinson's, dementia, parental death
- Family abandonment
- Minor sexual encounter before the MCs get together

Overall, "Pole Position" was such a FUN, emotional ride! If you love sports romances with tension, emotional baggage, and just enough spice, this one’s for you. 🏎️💨 I’m already counting the days until the next book—please, PLEASE give Johannes his own HEA! 😍

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4 stars ⭐️

“What are you so scared of?”
That the thing I want more than anything won’t want me back.

Kian’s driving season starts off a little rocky when he’s teamed up with the new reckless rookie, Harper. Sparks fly on and off the track, but can Harper let go of his past to embrace the future? Or are they destined to crash and burn before they’ve even started?

Pole Position had just the right balance of sports and romance. The Motorsport side was fun, the romance sweet and fluffy. I did find the spice a little lacking, but that’s just personal preference.

I loved the tension between them at the beginning, their rivalry turning to lust, the sweet caretaking when Harper was sick.
There were just some unsatisfying holes in the plot here and there that kept me from giving this a five.
The push and pull from Harper was just on the side of too much. I get that he had issues and trauma, but the way he’d run every time things got serious was really frustrating, and I don’t know how Kian managed to keep forgiving him.
Also, the drama with Kian’s dad was never truly resolved.

Apart from my usual little niggles, this was a very sweet love story, and I’m very curious to find out what was up with Harper’s best friend, Johannes. Hopefully, his HEA will be next.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

CW and tropes (spoilers):
- F1 drivers
- Dislike to love
- Teammates
- Forced proximity
- Mentions of parental abandonment and foster care
- MC with commitment issues
- Parent w/ Parkinson’s and dementia
- Minor sexual encounter before MCs get together
- Parental death (on page)
- Light age gap (25 vs 34)
- Vers MCs
- Frotting

[Chantaal · Rating 2 out of 5]

why did i do this to myself lmao

referring to F2, F3, F4 as the "lower categories"? you're gonna make up a team for kian & harper but red bull, mcclaren, haas (HAAS LMAOOO???), ferrari and ALONSO all still exist? SWEDISH BROTHERS ON ONE TEAM? A DRIVER CALLED "YORRIS"??? if you can't say formula 1 because of rights issues, then don't use the real teams! pick a lane!!

WHY ARE KIAN AND HARPER IN RED RACE SUITS ON THE COVER IF FERRARI STILL EXISTS AS ANOTHER TEAM

can we talk about how a good chunk of this book has kian and harper living together in a motorhome to drive across europe for like 3-4 races??? LMAOOOO WHAT?

EDIT: i can't stop thinking about HOW DUMB THIS IS. does the author realize that the f1 motorhomes are gigantic offices/meal spaces/resting areas? and not like...a family caravan?? also if this team is sending these drivers around the world on private jets, they are having them fly private even for an hour across europe, OR they are being driven in a large tour bus or caravan by staff. they're not fucking driving themselves come on lmaooooo

kudos to there being no homophobia except for one tiny thing from one asshole character, i guess.

what have i learned from this: i am too deep into f1 as a sport now to ever read any f1 romances, thank you for that insight, rebecca.

[Noi (in & out) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You can’t avoid a problem forever, nor can you find a way around it; you have to accept the truth and face the problem with courage. Let yourself feel it, but keep pushing through..."

It was fine. I thought it was going to be more—more angst, hate, competition, smut... just more.

[๑ seungchaccomin ๑ · Rating 3 out of 5]

average rating: •••.5

‘he’s everything i need him to be on the hardest of days.’

when a four time championship winner teams up with a rookie coming from a lower category after one of his teammates got injured.

love the banter between the two. i love how kian got the determination and passion for racing (even though he's judgemental to harper). harper is sooo cute when he admits that he has a crush on kian during his teenage days. also, his back story got tear me up. the spicy scenes are okay

despite the enjoyment that i have while reading this, i expect more moments of kian and harper outside the race. but in my opinion, their chemistry is lacking, especially these two had a teammates-with-benefits agreement. and the time keeps jumping that's why i deducted the rating.

nonetheless, the concept of motor racing with mlm characters is actually cool though

───────────────────────

pre-read:

so this is the first time i've encountered a mlm race car romance. and i'm excited to read this one before pride month ends 🤭

[Catalina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm freee!!! Worst experience of my fucking life! Also, the fact that this book is compared to Red, White & Royal Blue is insulting. I was promised a sort of Carlando fanfiction and I didn't even get that. Not even a crumb.

Another book to put into my "go girl, give us nothing!" category. Cue the interview from this year's Monaco GP where Max and George complained about how boring it was. This is how I felt about this book.

This book gave zero everything: zero tension, zero chemistry, zero plot and absolutely zero stakes. Nothing happened and it had so much info dumping that I lost my patience and skimmed the pages because I couldn't anymore.

Both Kian and Harper were so annoying and inconsistent. Harper and Johannes felt like stereotypical gay characters and Kian was supposed to be grumpy and in the second part of the book he did a 180 and sometimes I confused his POV with Harper's which of course wasn't good.

The romance shouldn't even be called a romance because there was so much telling rather than showing and I didn't believe they were in love or hell, that they even liked each other. They went from hating each other to getting together with a snap of a finger. I read this book either with a straight face because it didn't make me feel anything or with a disgusted one because there were so many things that gave me the ick. The biggest ones being that they almost had sex when Harper was drunk and wasn't really able to consent (absolutely disgusting and this is something I hate in straight romances too) and when Harper constantly jerked off to the thought of Kian or when Kian caught him having sex with a random guy he picked up at a party just to try to make him jealous. Just no.

The third act break up was stupid and the whole mom plot too. Like, was I supposed to cry when Kian wasn't even showed spending time with her and dumping everything on his sister? Man, please! This was just Rebecca's desperate attempt to save this book.

The Formula 1 aspect was unrealistic too. Harper winning multiple races as a rookie was laughable. Then get this, he wins a World Championship in his second season. This book quickly became a fantasy one. Are Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri a joke to Rebecca? Or did she turn Harper into Lewis Hamilton? Besides, she doesn't mention that they race in Formula 1 and Formula 2, but she casually drops Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren's names. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Anyway, I'm glad that it's over. I should've DNFed it when I got at 44% because it was obvious that it wasn't going to get better.

And with that, my journey into F1 romances comes to an end because it's clear to me the bar is not only in hell but at the Earth's inner core or at the furthest corner of the galaxy, at this point. I'd rather read romances about other sports. We, motorsport fans, will never have what hockey romances have and that's the sad truth.

[Iz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damned lovely. This was my first F1 romance, and I feel like I totally need to read a dozen more now: who would have thought?

I didn't think "Pole Position" would manage to hook me as much as it did because I'm VERY, very picky with my contemporary romances; plus, I've become such a mood reader recentely. I shouldn't have worried though, because omg, I was absolutely ensnared from the very, very start: I managed to devour this book in two days, and I'm pretty sure I'll be thinking about it for the next two weeks, at least. Or, scratch that, till the next book is out. I'm already so damn excited for it.

"Pole Position" is the perfect mixture of lighthearted, fun, romance shenanigans (enemies-to-lovers, opposite attracts, age gap, a smidge of forbidden romance, hurt/comfort? CHECK) and heart-wrenching angst: I spent the last 30% of the book sobbing, swooning and screaming in frustration; rinse and repeat.

I adored Kian and Harper's relationship, although damn, I admit I spent half of the book wanting to jump into it to take a chair and smash it against Harper's head. Yeah, I know; he's a realistic character in a way that's very familiar to me (both of us are commitment-phobes with abandonment issues *high five*) but oh god, he could be such an insensitive jerk at times. Kian had the patience of a saint. I would have totally ended up loving him more IF ONLY he'd grovelled a smidge more too. Ugh, what does a girl have to do to get a good 'ol grovel fest romance around here?

I loved Kian though. He was the absolute best; and he was relatable too, in the way that he's so tightly wound and anxious and guilt-stricken all the time. I really felt for what he was going through, and despite my thoughts on Harper, I was so damn glad he'd finally found his perfect match with a person who made him feel both stronger and so much more lighter.
I adored their relationship, and surprisingly I didn't mind the push-and-pull and miscommunication between them: I was absolutely LIVING for the drama.

"Pole Position" was a damned fun book, but it also dealt with a whole lot of tough topics too: I spent many chapters just crying my eyes out, so be prepared.

All in all, despite some niggles, I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I can't wait to read book two to get more F1 shenanigans; also, Johannes is so intriguing: I cannot wait to discover what's been happening with him.


I received an ARC from Netgalley. This is my honest review.

[Zoë · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have so many editing questions

[costitanza (onetoomanybooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I absolutely love it! I think it will win Book of the Month for me!

🏁Formula 1 + 👨‍❤️‍👨mm romance + ♥️enemies to lovers + 🏎️coworker + 🧹messy vs tidy? I meeeean! What could I need more?

By chapter 2 I was completely hooked and I finished it in two days (just because of work (otherwise I would have finished in one sitting).

What sucked me in were mainly the characters. Harper was so all over the place and I loved his energy, but also 'Kian, the caretaker, was worth swooning over.

The plot was entertaining and I loved the F! aspect of it, but also all the back stories were well developed.
Maybe I would have liked a conversation between the two about Kian´s father, since at the beginning of the book Hartper idolizes him. But other than that I don´t really have any critiques.

It was light, it was fun, it was deep, it had angst, spice, and so many things more!
Loved it!

[Book Riot Community]

Kian Walker is the golden boy of Formula One, enjoying his fourth Championship win. His father was also a legend in the sport, but Kian would rather not be reminded of that fact—he certainly wasn't a legendary parent. Harper James is a hot-headed rookie, but he's also Kian's new teammate, much to his annoyance. The forced proximity soon makes it obvious that they have chemistry—but Harper is a notorious heartbreaker. Is it worth the risk? Steamy M/M F1 grumpy/sunshine romance—this one is highly anticipated, as you can imagine!

—Danika Ellis, 11 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in March 2025

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Найбільше мені не сподобалось те, що коли Хантер на початку постійно казав щось гарне про батька Кіана, то по реакції Кіана можна було зрозуміти, що йому це не подобається, і треба ж задуматися а чому так, але ні, ми постійно кажемо який же він ідеальний, ага на камері. Або коли Хантер називає Кіана нудним щодо алкоголю, який той не вживає, тут були деякі епізоди, які негативно пов'язані з алкоголем, ну ні, я розумію, що Хантер хоче розслабитися і все таке, але ж набухуватися якось не дуже виглядає, а тим паче що хтось може зняти щось і злити в інтернет 😀 Якось друга Хантера було мало, і там не зрозуміла х ним ситуація, наче у нього хтось з'явився, а наче щось інше🤷🏻‍♀️ хоча про 2 книжку на гудрідс не вказано, може колись вона і буде. А найбільше мені сподобалося те, що тут є автоперегони, і як же без аварій, це здається 2 книжка яку я читаю про це, і в них двох є якась аварія на трасі з одним з головних персонажів.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll show you where to position your pole.

LOL I'm sorry, low hanging fruit, I know. But it had to be said.

Ever since the Las Vegas Grand Prix last year, I have been foaming at the mouth at the very idea of an F1 romance book and not only did the MM book gods answer my prayers by putting this book in my sights, Rebecca Caffery absolutely delivered.

I love when a sensible, ambitious, fastidious MC (Kian) is paired off with a character that is, essentially, chaos incarnate (Harper) and their entire groove veers completely off track (hehe, racing jokes). Better yet when that chaos goblin is a closeted superfan but a very out, cheeky stud.

Kian's subsequent dismissal of Harper's adorable attempts at friendship leads to a delicious rivalry and NOTHING breeds sexual tension quite like competitiveness. I will say, though, that I wish that fight for dominance translated to the bedroom just a little bit more. More on that later.

The balance between their relationship development versus the developments in the actual sport was spot on for me. I'd say it was like 50/50 and normally, I'd want more on the relationship side, but I actually really appreciated the focus on the racing; it's the core of who our MCs are and it made me that much more invested in their individual development as well.

I am an absolutely sucker for all the tropes and mini tropes Caffery chose to include: forced proximity, hurt/comfort (I salivate for all things nightmares/injury/illness), mental health, found family, only one bed motorhome. A LOT happens in this book - so much so that I think some key plot elements were either forgotten or glossed over...

∘₊✧─── possible spoilers ahead ───✧₊∘

Okay, time for some critiques cause I do have a few.

I think the thing that I desperately wanted (and expected) the most and didn't get was a higher spice level. Both overall and with particular scenes. For one, there's only one actual (read: anal) sex scene (which is fine cause that's totally preferential) but if you're only going to have the one, it should be REALLY good. The scene felt kind of quick? Idk, it just felt like there was a lot of lead up and sexual tension and when they FINALLY fuck, you want it to REALLY pack a punch. The particularities come in with the dynamic between them. There's a scene earlier on in the book where Harper implies that he sees something in Kian relating to what he's into sexually - the implication being that Kian is a boring gentleman in the streets but a dominant freak in the sheets. Enough of a freak that Kian is all paranoid and thinks something like "there's no way Harper knows, right?" THAT SCENE is a promise to the readers that there is fun stuff to come and sadly, we get NONE OF THAT. There's plenty of lower-tier sex scenes that are still very, very hot but even those don't fall in line with Kian's supposed hidden sexual deviance.

Another huge plot hole for me was the whole thing with Kian's dad. NOT ONCE does Kian have an interaction with his dad - there's zero closure there. I get that Harper's part to play in telling Tyler not to come to the funeral was important, but when did Harper even realize that the dad was a piece of shit? His character goes from idolizing Tyler to suddenly telling him to fuck off at the airport and there should have been some type of conversation where Kian talks to Harper about why his dad is shit and is a trigger for him during interviews. Even if it's implied that it happens off-page, with how much Harper brings Tyler up to Kian alone, that was a conversation that needed to happen on page. And if there was never going to be any type of closure with Tyler's character, he shouldn't have made an appearance on page at all.

This isn't really a criticism per say, but I've seen a lot of people compare this book to Red, White, & Royal Blue - I think this is actually WAY more similar to Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. Kian is Oliver and Harper is Luc almost to a tee. I guess the criticism part comes in because it is slightly derivative (especially with their personality traits and Harper's negative portrayal in the media), but I think Caffery really went out of her way to make it her own so that critique doesn't hold much weight.

Lastly, the ending. The last 2-3ish chapters (including the epilogue) are primarily written in summaries. I feel like this is more common with authors who aren't quite sure how to end the book? So it comes off as very quick and choppy and just a tad bit cringey? I still love all the things that happened and I LOOOOVE how much Kian and Harper love each other, but those last few chapters just needed a bit of polishing.

But FOR THE RECORD, all of these critiques come from a place of deep love because I still VERY MUCH enjoyed reading this and I would honestly come back to it again to reread some of my favorite scenes. I will also be getting myself a physical copy, cause I need it in my grubby little hands.

✧While I received a free e-arc from NetGalley, all thoughts are my own.✧

[Mei ☽︎ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could've been my mood, but I had trouble getting into this one. The writing was very stiff imo, the main characters didn't sound like mid 20s-30s guys at all, and the chemistry was lacking for a lot of the way through. The miscommunication was also very frustrating and the pacing felt off almost the entire time.

I REALLY REALLY am always craving racing romances, and I desperately wish this worked better for me. I just didn't understand how I was supposed to root for these two as a couple especially with how they individually behaved and thought. The racing parts were fine at least, but there was a lot more show than tell in most of this. Full RTC.

[Steph ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to One More Chapter for gifting me with this book.

I wanted to love this so much, Red White and Royal Blue meet F1, sign me up!
Unfortunately, this one fell a little bit flat for me. It did give me RWARB vibes as well as The Hating Game and I loved the F1 aspect. But the miscommunication in here was just a little bit too much for me, I really hoped it would get better between Kian and Harper and it just didn't and it frustrated me.

Overall, a good book but just didn't hit the mark for me I'm afraid.

[Ben Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first F1 romance I've read and it's pretty meh.

[julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ˖⁺‧✮

it was my first time reading book by Rebecca and i didn’t have any expectations. i was just going with it

i liked the idea of the book🤷🏼‍♀️ in a way. it was fun to read, but all characters were annoying.

i still can’t really understand why Kian hated Harper so much at the beginning. and then harper started hating kian? too much hate and not really any tension.

i’m not an author, and i don’t like writing stuff like this, but story was just not it.

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter for approving my request

[kay! ☾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“We fall asleep, his chest pressed to my back, and the last thing I remember thinking is how much I’d love to spend every night for the rest of my life like this.”

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎︎ ｡ ✧ ⋆ ★ ★ ★ stars 🍓｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

i’ll be honest i’m not entirely sure how i feel about this book. i never read an f1 romance but this was very easy to get into and understand. i’m sure if i was more knowledgeable about f1 i would be able to point out inconsistencies or whatever but i don’t so i was just vibing the whole time.

the fault in this book mostly has to do with the characters and the misunderstandings galore. let it be known that i love misunderstandings. it’s my guilty pleasure, i freaking love when characters are so dense that they couldn’t see the truth even if it hit them in the face…but i didn’t care for it in this book.

i wasn’t fully onboard with the characters or romance until literally the last few chapters which takes all the fun out of everything. the chemistry was there but the constant flip flopping made me want to grab kian & harper and shake them. especially harper. most of this headache could be solved if he learned a single good coping mechanism 😭

anyways: this was still a fun book. i won’t deny that i devoured this in like 2 days. once i came around about kian & harper’s relationship i was rooting for them! they were cute together and it’s obvious to see why they work. i’m normally not a fan of heavy amounts of spice in my books but it wasn’t too bad in this since the spice wasn’t at random times or overdone.

the real rating of this would probably be between a 2.75 and 3.25 but i’ll just give it a 3 ⭐️’s since i didn’t really want to put it down 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Zak F · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.

I loved this book, I loved this book, I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Get me every tattoo, kindle sticker, wall poster, merch you can of this book because it’s my new favourite book ever. God I loved this book!!!!!

[Allie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Welcome to my review of Pole Position. I will be using my usual format of ugly notes app bullet points. Sorry if there's overlap with Hannah's review. I was taking notes every other page initially like this was an assigned reading for uni so I couldn't control what happened here.

- The playlist at the front is it's own issue I can't talk about it or I'll explode
- "Hey, Sis" "baby bro" said no real sibling ever
- Elise was in the final year or her nursing degree and completely gave it up when she got pregnant 👍 feminism
- Why did the author say they would be sharing locker rooms? What locker rooms?
- First mention of a boner page 21
- Who says "Instas"?
- Are we allowed to acknowledge F1 or F2?? We've been saying a lot of other things: "motor racing" "top category racing" "top tier race" "the lower category" "big league" "top class racing"
- Why is Kian so in awe of Harper having the track memorised as if it isn't part of their job to do that??
- "Not that there’s a huge age difference – he’s twenty-five and I’m about to turn thirty-four" 🤡
- "Confrontation isn’t good for the mental game, either. It doesn’t come easy when anxiety plagues the soul." Soooo me anxiety plagues my soul also 😂
- "His ass is in his hands, but he has no clue what he’s talking about" I just don't understand what this means his hands weren't anywhere near his ass at this point
- Boner #2 page 53
- "The qualifiers" sounds so much more ominous than regular qualifying
- Author has now separately mentioned both of them having big hands
- Where did Harper get the money to do karting if he was constantly moving through foster families??
- "I usually go for the prototypical twink – lanky and scrawny, someone who wants to be dominated; guys with soft features and a praise kink" Hannah already included this in their review but I want to maximize our reach
- Boner #3 page 107
- "Wow, racing is really queer this year"
- Ferrari (and all the other teams) are canonically NOT homophobic in this book 🤭🤭
- Boner #4 124 (Kian)
- Boner #5 124 (Harper)
- Don't like that in the first kiss slash sexual encounter Harper is drunk out of his mind and Kian is sober
- "I’d call it post-orgasm, but neither of us came" Ew!
- "Free practices are so much fun in Miami" Are they now?
- Drivers: Kian and Harper (Hendersohm), Johannes (Ford-Red Bull), "Swedes" x2 (McLaren), Yorris (Ferrari), Dorris (typo?), Kev (undisclosed), Alonso (no team or first name clarified but funny that he was included)
- "I hear there’s going to be a Kian Walker night at one of the bars in the gay village"... what is this fabled gay 🏳️‍🌈 village 💅🏻????
- The champagne spraying has occurred twice in the garage and zero times on the podium so far. Update from about 130 pages later - now one time on the podium!
- Boner #6 page 153
- Boner #7 page 164
- Boner #8 page 168 (thank you 'the twink'! referred to as this exactly 6 times fyi)
- Boner #9 page 169
- One of my favourite writing techniques is telling readers what is going on explicitly rather than implying with context clues. Especially love when characters plainly state their feelings and motives in serious conversations. Makes for such a fun and interesting read.
- Second kiss slash sexual encounter is under extreme emotional distress. Reminds me of Sarah J Maas characters having sex in war camps and/or mid emotional breakdown.
- Boners #10 and #11 page 187 (joint!!)
- "Hendersohm has had only British drivers for the last decade and a half" unlikely story but ok
- Kian has such a crazy routine to get ready for races which I could swear is really uncommom especially for drivers who have been driving for so long?
- End of day one at 58% and ready to claw my eyes out
- Straight back in just to see "Ass play isn’t something I normally allow"
- Boner #12 page 215
- "Except, every time he runs, he comes back quicker" toxic af
- Pepperoni pizza with hot honey sounds like the most disgusting pizza of all time
- Genuinely cannot believe they didn't have a red flag if Kian's crash was so astronomically bad that Harper thought he had died or something
- I was so genuinely engrossed in Kian's very valid dismissal of Harper and subsequent discovery of his mother's death that I didn't notice my student arriving and she had to loudly put down her chocolate milk in front of me to alert me to her presence how embarrassing
- Student then told me the most annoying person she knows loves F1
- How believable is a rookie going from P8 to P1 by "channelling" his older and more experienced teammate slash ex-lover
- Harper is actually so insufferable WHY would your ex want you at the funeral of his mother you have never once met
- There's so much repetition of specific descriptive language in this book how many bubbles can you be in
- 30 pages from the end we are acting as if their team principal has had an established gay son this whole book
- In the epilogue Elise is finally able to pursue her nursing degree again because her mum is dead and only after that her brother has retired and her husband has decided to be at home a bunch to live the farm life. Feminism tbh
- Harper won the WDC in his second year of racing that's so unfortunate
- You can't just SAY there's found family if you don't work to establish it in your book
- So it does say at the back that the author watches each Grand Prix but I just don't feel it in the narrative to be honest

This book is so bad. Thank you Instagram Reels 🔥

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I was born in the right generation because a gay F1 romance is what my dreams are made of!

🏎️ Rival Teammates to Lovers
🏎️ Age Gap
🏎️ Opposites Attract
🏎️ Fake Friendship
🏎️ Sharing a Bed
🏎️ Secret Romance
🏎️ Sunshine Rookie x Serious Veteran
🏎️ Daddy Issues vs Abandonment Issues

In this adorable and super steamy romance, veteran driver and World Champian Kian Walker is ready for another record breaking season until his teammate breaks a leg and is replaced by wild child superstar rookie Harper James who is everything Kian hates. They immediately clash heads, causing headlines and PR nightmares and are forced into a fake friendship to save their season. Kian and Harper are opposites in so many ways yet similar in so many others. They both have ambition and push each other to be their best on the track, but off the track Kian is controlled, calm, and anti-everything Harper enjoys - partying, drinking, hooking up. But as they start to compromise more and are forced to share a motorhome for months, they get to know each other, truly for who they are - which when it comes down to it they’re just two men who want to be loved but don’t quite know how to accept it.

Of course there’s incredible banter and steamy foreplay in the form of watching the man you’re crushing on grind on other men. They’re both a little possessive, a little jealous and a whole lot petty. In a cute way…until their communication issues crop up. Harper is skittish, his fear of abandonment paralyzing him and making him run from the one person who wants to stay forever. He wants to avoid ever getting hurt, but in doing so he causes that same hurt to the only person he’s ever loved. It’s as tragic as it is ironic.

But through some miscommunication and angsty pining, plus a grand gesture, these men figure out how to love and be loved. It’s fun and sweet and sexy.

4.5/5

Thanks for the ARC NetGalley.

[Alexia · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could get into a book and throw a character out of the window of a moving car Harper will be the first.
He was childish(please keep in mind that he was 25 years old),stubborn,he was also very unprofessional,he did not take anything serious and he was a judgmental bastard.
He was like every stupid frat dude that we see in movies.
The way he admired Kian's father(who was the worst person to even call an aspiring figure) give me the ick so much.
He got on my nerves so much.
I understand that he had his own issues that he had to deal with but that does not excuse your behavior and that does not mean that you need to take down other people for you to feel happy.
Kian was alright(besides that one scene when Harper was drunk).
He was a bit judgmental in the beginning but he really tried to see Harper as anything other that a party dude even if Harper made his life horrible.
I did not feel any chemistry from them but maybe that's because I couldn't stand Harper.
The plot was okay,we don't really get into details all that much as the books focused more on the so called romance.

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A queer F1 romance with rivals to lovers is everything I’ve been dreaming about!! Yes, I did grasp at straws and fan cast that one driver duo if you know you know (I’m delusional). Harper is a rookie who’s been called up to be Kian’s teammate. Kian’s older and way more experienced - they are very much opposite personalities. The forbidden aspect of them being on the same team kept me so invested.

My favorite part of this story was how queerness was presented and spoken about. The characters were both comfortable in their identities and didn’t have any real issues talking about their queerness with their friends and family. In the end, the team was immediately so supportive. I love to see so much acceptance in a male dominated sport, even if it’s fictional. Their relationship and overall character development was so sweet to witness.

F1 girlies add this to your TBR!!

[Samantha (ladybug.books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars