The Rivals: A Steamy Enemies-to-Lovers Sports Romance (Formula One Book 1)

by Holly Rose

He’s the King of the Track. She’s About to Steal His Crown—and His Heart.

Winter Jones has spent her life chasing the dream of Formula One, fighting for every inch in a sport dominated by men. Just when she’s about to give up, the call comes. An F1 team want her and she’s ready to show the world she’s a championship contender.

But her debut season isn’t going to be easy. Aiden Sterling, F1’s golden boy, is standing in her way. With three world championships under his belt, he’s got it the fame, the fortune, and a smile that drives women wild. He’s determined to stay on top, but Winter’s not just another rookie. She’s fast, fierce, and a threat to his carefully constructed world.

On the racetrack, they’re rivals. Off the track? The attraction is undeniable. As the season heats up, so does the tension. Who will finish first—on the podium and in each other’s hearts?

The Rivals is book one in a steamy sports romance series that will have you racing to the finish line!

322 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 28, 2024

Reviews

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure I've ever been so invested in racing as I was by the end of this book. The build-up of the championship was fantastic and I loved the romance. There was a particular moment that had me punching the air because it was so good. This book also features the best mum and I loved her.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Steph Butcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a definite read if you’re an F1 fan!! 🏎️And still a great sports-romance, even if you’re not a watcher of the sport.

Tropes and themes:
Rivals to lovers, sports romances, female athlete, he falls first, secret romance, anxiety representation, and diversity.

You’ll probably like this book if you liked:
- Icebreaker
- Throttled
- The Deal

Setting: 🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️
Characters: 👸👸👸👸👸
Romance: ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Drama/tension: 🏁🏁🏁🏁
Dialogue: 💬💬💬💬

Overall thoughts:
The best part of this book really is the authentic and accurate representation of F1. I’ve read several popular F1 sports romances and I’ve always felt disappointed, but Holly really captures the atmosphere and dynamics of the sport and if you’re a fan, you’ll definitely enjoy this book!

The tension while following both individual races and the entire season is brilliant, as well as capturing the goings on behind the scenes and the stress the drivers go through.

Other than the representation of F1, this book is also just a great, fast-paced romance read that’s a lot of fun. I particularly loved the trio of female-friendships in the story as well as a lot of the side characters. The other drivers provided lots of laughs, and I’m really excited to see where the series goes next! 🤩

[Gen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“There is no race without you. There’s no race for me if you’re not there pushing me to my limits. I need you on the front row lined up beside me.”

4.25 ⭐

I have followed Holly's journey writing this book on Tiktok and was overjoyed to be given the chance to read this book early, even if I am a little bit late to call this an "advanced review". This was an amazing debut and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. We follow Winter Jones who has just been selected to join a Formula 1 car racing team, the first woman in years, and she has one goal in mind: win the Championship title. It's not going to be an easy drive though, she's going up against the best of the best, including three times world champion Aiden Sterling. The pressure is on. But racing is not just as simple as driving the fastest, it's about track politics too, and Winter has her work cut out for her. Aiden Sterling is her biggest competition, but he might just be exactly what she needs to help her win this too.

The Rivals was fun, sexy and inspiring. Winter is motivated, sassy and so relatable, I was rooting for her right from the beginning. The dynamics between her and her team members, family and competitors was really well written - there was a diverse amount of tension and support created by those around her and it felt really realistic. Her close friendships with Gem and Reyna were really a huge stand out of this book, I love a good "girls girl" girl group and these three were so perfect. I liked that she also developed friendships with a few of the other racers, and that there was some interesting dynamics between her mother as well. Now onto Aiden Sterling - he was so great, he was funny, supportive and so hot, and the depth of his character was a really nice touch. I loved that this book touched on the pressures, competitiveness and dangers of racing, mental health issues, and the way that social media and journalists can be very toxic. Their romance was a bit of a whirlwind but I think it worked really well for this story and the way it was handled felt really believable.

I don't really have anything negative at all to say about this book, it's light-hearted while also managing to touch on some really deep topics, and it had the right balance of spiciness to plotline and the pacing was just right, a good medium, steady flow the entire way through. The few things I will say, is that I wish the on track tension had been pushed up a bit more, I really wanted that suspenseful feeling you get while watching racing where crashes are shocking and worrying, and that breath of relief you get when everyone is ok. Holly Rose wrote some good scenes where the drivers were blocking each other or were driven off course, which was great - but I think there was a good opportunity to really get the heart racing a bit more in these scenes whereas a lot of the time I felt like we cut away from the driving aspect a little too early. I did also find the storyline a little bit predictable, but I really don't think that draws away from the story at all, this was still a very entertaining read!

Overall, I think you will love this book if you enjoy reading about female empowerment and love a good rivals to lovers storyline. I loved the travel aspect of this book too and the jet-set feeling, you could really feel the level of expensiveness dripping off some of these scenes but it never felt gratuitous, it was done very genuinely and realistically. I think if you enjoy books like Ali Hazelwood's feminist romances where everyone is at the top of their game, then you will definitely enjoy this book. I am so thankful to Holly for allowing me to read this book early and I am really looking forward to seeing where this series goes, who the next main character will be, as I am assuming the next FMC will be someone already mentioned in this book!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

▫️MF
▫️Formula 1 romance
▫️Secret relationship
▫️Rivals to lovers
▫️He falls first
▫️Female empowerment

Firstly, thank you Holly for allowing me an early copy of your book to read. I loved it!

Formula 1 isn’t a sport I know much about and it’s probably why I never picked up an F1 romance before but Holly made me feel like I’ve been watching it for years. She explained the rules and the world perfectly. There wasn’t a time where I was left confused about what was going on.

I loved Winter from the first chapter. Her ambition was inspiring, and I admired her bravery to go into a competition being the first and only female. I really enjoyed how Holly wrote this to emphasise Winter’s journey more than the romance. Yes, I loved the romance but the focus on women in sport and their journeys really made this book for me.

Speaking of the romance, Sterling was hot, hot, hot. I loved the sense of competition between the MCs as they began their secret relationship, it added more excitement to their rivalry on the circuit. I loved that he was the biggest cinnamon roll with her, but was fiercely protective of her. Their relationship progressed very smoothly.

Holly’s writing was so easy to read, the flow was smooth and the breaks between the chapters felt very natural. I’m incredibly proud of my gorgeous friend, and cannot wait for this to be out in the world.

[bookslovereaders Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Debut author for an F1 Sports Romance yes please!

I really really enjoyed this book. It was fun, sexy with some strong themes.

I can’t talk about the sports side as I am not an F1 fan, however from reading this I think I might have to start watching. I can’t comment on how true to the sport it is but I really liked how it was explained in the book. I also loved at the beginning of each chapter we got snippets from Aiden’s point of view.

I did absolutely love the chemistry between the two main characters Winter and Aidan. I felt their connection and like how yes it’s a romance but it focused on Winter and her dreams and aspirations.

Honestly was such a great read, I devoured it in less than a day. The writing was easy to read and I felt engrossed straight away. I liked how the author had added in the anxiety rep and I felt was done tastefully.

I am very excited to see more from this author

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy to read and review

[Jemmalovesbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

*F1
*Rivals to lovers
*Ingenious dual pov
*Sports Romance
*Strong FMC
*Protective MMC

All I can say is wow!

This book follows Winter Jones as she finally achieves her dream in driving in F1. What follows is a bitter teammate rivalry, rivalry with other drivers and a secret romance that needs to be protected at all costs.

This is a fantastic debut novel. The writing style was easy to pick up and fly through whilst keeping you fully engaged at all times.

I loved the spice aspect without it being too graphic, it was enough to gage the level of feelings the two main characters had for each other.

I think the dual pov that isn't a typical dual pov is genius. Definitely a unique take but one I thought was perfect, keeps to one narrative but with the added inner thoughts of the other main character.

This is the perfect romance book even if you don't know anything about the sport and I'm very excited to see what comes from the author next.

[LollyReads97 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so good that I read it in one sitting. I’m not normally a big F1 girly but after reading this, I’m invested.

I was hooked from the first page!

Winter is such a strong, confident FMC, she’s girl bossing her way through a typically male dominated sport and fulfilling her dreams of being an F1 driver - she doesn’t anticipate falling for anyone and then she meets Aiden who just happens to be the reigning F1 champion and racing on a different team.

Aiden has a confident exterior but he struggles with anxiety and imposter syndrome. He really lets his guard down with Winter and he definitely falls first.

The chemistry between Aiden and Winter was 10/10 from the offset.

This book was a fab read! There was a lot of flirting, a lot of racing and some spice as well. The rivals to lovers trope was chefs kiss! 😘

I’m looking forward to seeing what’s in store in the rest of this series

[Stxdyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK. Going into this with absolutely zero knowledge about racing took nothing away from the insane otherworldly experience of reading it (also helped a lot by the very handy glossary which i appreciated!). I got so attached to the characters and their relationship, the banter, the sweetness...I need it all forever tbh. The complication, the gorgeous chapter headers and doodles, the graphics of the standings to keep you up to date. This book had absolutely everything (other than a dual POV, but again...5 stars without that is insanely impressive and the entire story and world constructed has stayed with me since finishing the book). Overall wow wow and wow I feel like ive opened myself up to a whole new world of sports romances after this experience but I dont know if they'll live up to this..P.S. where do I find Aiden Sterling...

[Rebeccah Prince · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in under 24hrs and I was hooked form the start to the end. I loved the complexity of Winter’s personality, she was by no means perfect but this made her very likeable. I also really enjoyed how Winter’s mum was so passionate about F1 too. It’s is a single POV book but most chapters begin with a small paragraph or sentence from Aiden’s POV which was a really clever way of getting into his characters head too. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Thoroughly enjoyable. Sweet, spicy and with an FMC prepared to fight hard for her dreams encourager by a man brave enough to let her go after them.

[Femke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying: Thank you Holly for giving me an ARC (and choosing my name for one of your characters)!

I enjoyed this story so much! Although I had such a busy time, when I was reading I couldn't put the story down! In part thanks to the writing style!

The rivalry on track and the chemistry off track were a thing that made this story so good!
You get an look inside their heads which makes you understand the characters even better!

Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about this book. It's a must read if you like F1/sports romances!

[Anne-Charlotte Masscheleyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a stranger to the F1 world I was a bit scared to read this book at first but Holly introduces the F1 world so well and even provides a handy glossary for F1 muggles like me.
The characters are well written and interesting and you won’t want to set the book down !
A spicy romance really worth your time whether you are into the sport or not !

[Tanwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really good! I enjoyed the aspect of a women f1 driver and her rival! It was such a fun and fast paced read. I would have loved to see dual POV but that’s my personal preference. Such a fun F1 romance!

[Dani (piggindani_reads)]

Review coming asap 🏎️🏁

[author.mila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a new comfort read if you ask me.
The characters are amazing and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!

[Zara Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*
really enjoyed this, for a debut it was soooo good.

[Becky (beckyy.readss) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book because Holly was one of my first mutuals when I joined the book community, I am always wanting to support new authors and small authors, and I've been so excited for this book since Holly announced it. I have been watching and supporting from the sidelines. This book was so good that I wanted so much more.

This book is about Winter Jones, and she has spent her life chasing the dream of Formula One, fighting for every inch in a sport dominated by men. Just when she was about to give up, the call comes. An F1 team wants her and she’s ready to show the world she’s a championship contender. But her debut season isn’t going to be easy. Aiden Sterling, F1’s golden boy, is standing in her way. With three world championships under his belt, he’s got it all – the fame, the fortune, and a smile that drives women crazy. He is determined to stay on top, but Winter’s not just another rookie. She's fast, fierce, and a threat to his carefully constructed world. On the racetrack, they’re rivals. Off the track? The attraction is undeniable. As the season heats up, so does the tension. Who will finish first – on the podium and in each other’s hearts?

I love this book. I loved Winter Jones and how she was breaking all barriers to be the first female in F1. I have no interest in formula one and never really liked it. But Holly has a way of making you want to get into it. I liked that she didn’t do every race in full detail but the important races like the home country race and the one after the romance started brewing. I loved the little details with race reports at the quarters in the book. I loved the tension building between them as the race season was happening and how they were trying and failing to hide their feelings. I loved the smut within this book and how it was spicy but also light-hearted. I liked Aiden but definitely didn’t trust him at the start of the book but love that he fell first and harder. I loved the female friendships in this book, and I want Reyna and Ash to get together. I want a book for all three of them, but Gem seems to be the only one that was locked down before this book started. I also loved the other drivers like Benjamin and Hayashi. I would love to see more of them within the next book as well.

I loved the paragraph at the top from Aiden’s point of view. I would have loved for this to be a dual POV and to get more from him especially towards the end of the book. I would have liked to see what happened with the Winter’s team manager because surely that would have come out what he said about her and how he was using her to appease Stefan. I was wanting hard consequences to come to him and Stefan. Like full blown embarrassment to them both. However, this is just little things that could be addressed in the next book, and it didn’t ruin the storyline or change anything majorly.

I cannot wait to see more from this series and more from these characters and at this point I would read Holly’s shopping list.