Formula He’s the One

by Andie J. Christopher

Brad Pitt's F1 movie meets Abbey Jimenez’s Part of Your World in this glittering, high-stakes YA romance about speed, status, and choosing your own lane.

She’s the mechanic’s daughter. He’s racing royalty. Together, they’re leaving it all on the track.

Raised by her IndyCar legend father, Tessa James spent her childhood dreaming of becoming the first full-time female driver in Formula One. But everything changed the day a car crash took her mother’s life and ended her father’s career. Now, Tessa lives life in neutral. Her father runs a small machine shop servicing race teams, and Tessa manages the front office—safe, steady, and miles from the track she once loved.

When Tessa’s best friend drags her along to Monaco for the Grand Prix, she’s swept into a glittering world of champagne yachts, designer shoes, and racing royalty. But beneath the luxury lies the familiar pulse of the track and Pietro Deveraux, a driver who is practically Formula One royalty, whose quiet confidence reminds her what it felt like to chase something with her whole heart.

Set against the electric pulse of racing season in Indianapolis, Formula, He’s the One is a high-octane, slow-burn YA romance about grief, resilience, and rediscovering your fire when life takes you off track.

Because sometimes love isn’t just the finish line. It’s the courage to start again.

Perfect for fans




Childhood friends to loversOpposites attractSlow-burn romanceModern FairytaleEuropean Summer Vacation Romance

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Audiobook, Sports, Sports Romance, Teen, Realistic Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2026

Reviews

[Nikola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this ARC.

This is a very fast and quick read. I enjoyed both Tessa and Pietro and their fake relationship that turned real very quickly. I enjoed the Formula One setting and how Tessa knows all about racing and even though she has not been behind the wheel since her mom's car accident, she is not afraid to tell Pietro how to drive better. I am a sucker for a women who knows her stuff and is not afraid to share it. Overall, if you are looking for a cute and quick YA romance novel that takes place in the Formula One setting, then you should read this book.

[charisse ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

˗ˏˋ 3 stars ⟡ ݁₊ .

this was such a cute little YA romance! i had such a fun time listening to this on audio! i loved pietro and tessa, the childhood rivals to lovers was so so good!

⤷ thank you to the author and librofm for providing me an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

[Maddie]

DNF - this is too YA for me

**thank you to LibroFM for the ALC**

[Jaimes_Mystical_Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute young adult romance. I enjoyed following Tessa as she worked through her grief after losing her mom and rediscovers her love of racing. I liked both main characters Tessa and Pietro and how relatable they felt. I also enjoyed seeing how their relationship developed over the course of this book. This was a quick, fast paced read that I flew through and definitely recommend if you are looking for a sweet sports romance.

Read this if you like:

📖 Fake dating
📖 Childhood rivals to lovers
📖 F1 racing
📖 Slow burn romance

Thank you to @netgalley and @epicreads for the gifted arc.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 Star

I don't care how many times you say "I want to be more than just a WAG," you have to actually do something unrelated to your man to reach that status. You're fictional. You have nothing else going for you if you have nothing else going on in your life other than falling in "love."

It wasn't cute or fun or exciting. It was, frankly, insulting. Teen girls should get better than this. Full review to come over at Gateway Reviews on October 16, 2026.

Note: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.

[The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori)]

DNF @ 32%

I've been seeing a few Formula 1 books coming out lately, and this one sounded like a fun summer read. While I liked the premise and the F1 backdrop, I really struggled with the writing style. The story reads kind of like a list of things that happen, and everything feels very surface level and rushed. I'm not interested enough to continue reading, but I'm sure many F1 fans will enjoy.

[reece t · Rating 3 out of 5]

huge thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!!

If you know me, then you know that I am a huge F1 fan. That being said, there aren’t many books involving F1 out there, so when I saw this I IMMEDIATELY requested it on netgalley.

It had a surprising amount of accurate details! I loved the setting in Monaco and different aspects of the sport you got to see. The romance was one of those “we’ve hated each other and you’ve been mean to me my whole life but wait he’s kind of cute and turns out he had a crush on me forever so now we’re in love after three days” tropes, so if you ignore the logistics (and reality) of it then it was
definitely cute!

I’m not saying it was good literature at all, but it was a fun fluffy romance about my favorite sport so who cares how good it actually was! And I definitely have a crush on Pietro now.

[Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Libro FM for my first ALC! Thank you Avon!

This book follows two F1 royalty nepo babies who are finally making it to the f1 track. Tessa used to drive but hasn’t since her mother’s fatal car accident. Her godmother brings her back onto the scene the same week her karting nemesis is getting his f1 break! He’s obviously crushing and she can’t help but notice the growing sparks between them. What starts as fake dating leads to real feelings pretty quickly in a very fast YA romance. I thought this was really cute and my favorite parts were around the very great communication the pair of them had. Lots of feelings and big emotions for huge changes in their lives and they def handled it all together very nicely!

A very fun and quick YA F1 romance!

[aplace_inthesun) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An opposites attract, fairy tale.

Firstly, it’s YA - it’s appropriate in terms of the subject matter and relationships depicted. It’s a cute F1 story that’s neither too F1’y nor too romancey.

I particularly loved the relationship the FMC had with her friend - them having been through thick and thin together. There’s a shallowness about both girls’ characters as individuals that is consistent with the wider challenges this book has though. It lacks depth after a nice start, getting a little lost in the middle. The epilogue ties it up nicely to fish off though.

Thanks to Librofm for my copy!

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I would say this book goes by quickly, but that may also be the biggest flaw. I think I would have loved it if more if the plot line was a bit more in depth. I felt like there were plot holes and some parts were a bit rushed (mostly the ending). But generally speaking this was a fun one, and still a worthwhile read.

[Robyn]

I don't normally shy away from YA novels, but I struggled with this one from the first chapter. The FMC had an immaturity that was difficult to look past, but my final straw was the author actually using the word "rizzing". That's just not a book I'm interested in finishing.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Shiyanne · Rating 2.75 out of 5]

Thank you epic reads and Avon books for the ARC of this book.

It was a cute read. Immersive read.
Just a little too YA for me. The same thought was repeated over and over again and has no substance to it. I don’t know how many times we had to hear that her dad was sad because of her mom and she didn’t drive because of her mom. That part was a bit annoying

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

as good as you’d expect it to be from the title

[Abby Sauer]

Read to review for School Library Journal

[Ryleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Niki | nikiashreads · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve been wondering when Formula 1 sports romance was going to make it to the young adult genre, and we finally have our answer! I’m a huge fan of adult romance novels set in the world of Formula 1, and I can’t deny I was curious to see how this subgenre would translate for a younger audience. Unfortunately, this wasn’t my favorite young adult novel nor my favorite novel set against the backdrop of Formula 1.

I struggled with the writing style. While I’m used to the faster pace feeling of young adult novels, I also seek out novels with more purple prose—or more use of figurative language. The writing style woefully lacked in figurative language, and had a strong rhythm of “this happened, this happened, and then this happened.” I yearned for a little more descriptive language to coax out the feelings of the characters and bring about stronger imagery.

The synopsis posits this novel is fairytale-like and I can’t deny that felt true as I flipped through the pages. There was Desi, acting as Tessa’s fairy godmother (a joke which was even written on page) who brought Tessa to Monaco to shadow Pietro’s engineers. There was the prince, Tessa’s former karting nemesis and now IndyCar driver, Pietro. However, this fairytale like feeling did ask the reader to suspend their disbelief heavily for the plot to work. As a fan of Formula 1 and other romance novels, I wish this leaned more into the realism of being in Formula 1—the stress, the anxiety, and the hard work that happens behind the scenes.

And as for the romance in this novel, it did lean into the feeling of insta-love. That was largely driven from the overall setup. I could see the romance beats and tropes the author wanted to play with in the story. However, those romance beats felt like a skeleton plot and the bones were never filled out with figurative language. Ultimately, the romance never felt true and ended up falling flat.

(Side note: I was surprised driver and team names weren’t fictionalized—does that make this fanfiction?)

Finally, we arrive at the characters. Tessa was our main character and our sole perspective on the events of the novel. I never felt her emotions grow; rather, she would tell the reader that her feelings were growing and that she might be falling for Pietro. I would have preferred seeing that unfold on the page instead of being told how her relationship was unfolding. Ultimately, I did wish this novel was told in dual perspective—I found myself feeling much more interested in Pietro’s backstory and motivations.

Overall, this young adult novel was fine. It simply asked a lot of its readers and didn’t skim beneath the surface of its plot and characters. If there was more depth, more realism, I believe this story would have really shone for this reader (and Formula 1 fan!).

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Sierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio Childrens for the audiobook ARC copy!

Firstly, I loved the narrator for this book! Emily Ellet did such a good job with all the voices and kept me enticed the entire time.

Tessa James has lived and loved racing since she was a child, with a father as a former IndyCar driver and competing in carting herself. Then Tessa’s mom died in a car accident and the family has never been the same. Now four years later and almost finishing high school Tessa’s godmother and moms best friend Desi offers her a chance to intern at the Monaco Grand Prix to shadow a racing teams mechanics. Tessa jumps at the opportunity, even though it means she will be going with Pietro Deveraux, a childhood rival. While in Monaco Pietro offers the opportunity to fake date to keep his head on for the biggest race of his career and Tessa agrees. Over the next week the two realize they may be more compatible than they thought, and asks the question if they belong together beyond the race weekend.

The overall book was an okay read. If I didn't take some stuff so seriously it was a good quick romance in the formula one genre. It is definitely a very YA romance as I felt the romance wasn’t very deep or realistic. The fake dating aspect made no sense for the real world and was a very weak argument. Also, their relationship felt very instalove as all this takes place over just a week of time, which also made the plot play out super fast.

I also had a lot of problems with the characters in the story. Tessa is a people pleaser and refuses to do what she wants for fear of hurting others, especially her father, and I feel like she was failed by those around her after her mother’s death who made her that way. I am glad she was able to change by the end of the story and that it was due to not only herself but the adults around her and her friendship with Pietro. I found Pietro to be annoying though with the whole ploy of the fake dating basically being so he can real date Tessa eventually, but the second things are tough and he’s embarrassed in front of her he blows up. I think if the story was longer and went beyond one race weekend the drama would make sense but with how fast the plot was it was abrupt and made me not root for the relationship already. Lastly Desi was also a character I couldn’t really like. She brought Tessa to the race weekend to shadow mechanics, because that’s what the FMC wants to do, but instead forces her to dress up and go networking with sponsors, then belittles Tessa for liking/dating a race car driver when Desi is the one whose been hindering Tessa trying to do what she loves, not the man. Another pet peeve of mine is when there are real life references to people in romance books and the call out to real life formula one drivers and formula one memes took me right out of the story every time.

I think if you want a fun easy read with a cute YA romance and set in a formula one racing world this is a great romance to get into. I wouldn’t take the plot very seriously, but it is still an enjoyable read!

[Shekinah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was very curious about how a YA book would incorporate Formula 1 into the genre and I was pleasantly surprised. This story felt more grounded in the realities of the behind the scenes politics of F1 and racing than other books about F1 have been, and the set up for the plot was mostly believable. I say mostly because the majority of the story was still heavily unrealistic and felt like more of a fairytale than an accurate depiction of how a teen girl’s experience attending the Monaco GP would actually be. But given how common it is for romcom books to be unrealistic, it was easy to gloss over the inaccuracies while I was reading.

What I couldn't gloss over was how shallow the romance felt between the main pairing. It was relying too heavily on the fact that these characters have known each other basically their whole lives, so rather than getting to see them form an emotional bond on the page we are constantly told how they feel about each other because of their past. Adding on to that, the story kept trying to make it seem that their relationship would have to overcome so many hurdles in order for them to be together but there really wasn’t any good reason why they couldn’t date. There were no high stakes or conflict, just a main character constantly insisting they could never be a couple because it would just never work out.

Obviously this is YA so I wasn’t expecting a deep, meaningful soul connection but I’ve read other books in the genre that manage to make two teens falling in love feel emotional and real, while also dealing with the consequences of what starting a relationship would be like in their lives. This couple felt like they got together simply because that’s what the plot was written to be.

And on the note of this being about teenagers, the attempt at trying to make the characters sound young had me full body cringing at times like the line “He was rizzing up sponsors”. No one would ever say that in real life and it came across like an adult trying to use teen slang to sound relatable but being clueless about what they’re actually saying.

Overall I’d say this book was cute but shallow, and while it had a good understanding of F1 that wasn’t enough to make me like it.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-copy of this novel.

[Harlow · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really excited for this one considering I've been an F1 fan for years now and I've been waiting for the day we'd start getting some YA F1 romances, but this one was lacking in many areas. To start off, the plot just wasn't it. It felt rushed at times and there wasn't enough depth. Like yes we understand Tessa's backstory, but I feel like we also don't know much about her as a person now. We hardly ever saw her working with the cars really, like yeah we saw her working with the engineer but it was surface level stuff, in fact we don't know the names of any of the engineers she was shadowing at the GP. Same can be sad for Pietro, I didn't feel attached to him as a character, we didn't know enough about him. I also felt like it should've been mentioned earlier on that Pietro had been in F2 and that he had won a championship in F2. It's very rare now when a rookie driver just shoots from IndyCar to F1, and I felt like it was just randomly thrown in there that he had been in F2. I think him winning an F2 championship should have been mentioned earlier on, instead of 3 quarters into the book where it felt like the author had to come up with a reason of how he would have come to drive an F1 car before. Just some technical stuff that bothered me. There also wasn't enough racing, really we skipped over the Free Practice which I find kind of ridiculous because she's there to shadow the engineers and here she's being dismissed to go putz around Monaco instead of doing the thing she had come there to do in the first place. I also found it weird how Desi's personality or view of Tessa changes frequently throughout the book, first of all she's encouraging Tessa to date a race car driver, and then she's all "well if I knew you were in on this to become a WAG, I wouldn't have invited you" like please just pick a stance. I also found it weird that Tessa's dad is all "don't date race car drivers" but has no solid reason for it and we don't find out why he's like that. Seemed like a random conflict with no point that really could've been edited out. Over all there were quite a few plot holes, not enough description and too much surface level stuff for this one to be enjoyable.

[ArleneTirado · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank You for the ALC from NetGalley. This story starts with Tessa James, who has a love for race car driving & comes from humble means. Tessa loses her mother at a young age from a car accident that kills her mom. Also from her mother's death, her father stops racing (IndyCar legend father) as well. Tessa has always wanted to be the first girl at "Formula one". Tessa gets an offer to be an intern at "Formula One" at Monaco Grand Prix from Desi (her mom's best-friend), until Pietro Deveraux, an elite, rich race car driver, gives Tessa a shitty attitude. Tessa struggles with guilt over her mom's death because she lost her mom while her mom was driving her to a race & dropped her off, they were arguing. Tessa deals also with fear of getting back into the driver's seat in racing again. Tessa & Pietro have a crush on each other & try to resist eachother since they were younger. They were Karting rivals. Pietro kisses Tessa for the camera to try & push her to fake date him for the high-stakes race weekend fake date him for the high-stakes race weekend. As Tessa & Pietro start to fake date & do couples things, they both start to unhide their hidden feelings. he ending shows the growth for Tessa as she gets back in the race car & it reignites a fire & love for car racing again in Monaco. Pietro gives Tessa credit for giving him pointers for changing how he drives & then Tessa finds out that (Pietro's dad) was (Tessa's father's) racing rival/enemy. Pietro talks to Tessa to ask her if she was fine after her father see them on TV. Pietro tells Tessa he likes her, has a crush on her & he wants Tessa to be his real girlfriend. The story ends, that Pietro does not win the race, but he feels that he won Tessa as a girlfriend, which turns out as life lessons for both of them in learning to heal, trust & enjoy starting over again in the racing world. This was a quick read & it was very cute for Tessa & Pietro as it suggest that he will get an offer as a Formula1 driver next season. Tessa gets accepted to Oxford & then she also spends time with Pietro & she drives a Formula1 car. I really enjoyed this cute relationship dynamic between Tessa & Pietro.

[✨Alexis✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Andie J. Christopher, and HarperAudio Children’s for the advance listening copy (ALC) in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first Formula One romance, and I was really excited to dive into it. Unfortunately, it just didn’t end up being the right fit for me.

One of my favorite things about sports romances is feeling immersed in the sport itself. I love seeing the competition, the training, the behind-the-scenes moments, and how the sport influences the characters and their relationship. Here, I felt like Formula One often took a backseat. I understand this is a YA romance, so the focus is naturally different, but I still found myself wishing for more of the racing world.

I also struggled with the romance. I was told the characters were falling for each other, but I never fully felt that emotional connection develop on the page. I wanted more moments that showed their relationship growing instead of just hearing that it was happening.

That said, this is a very light, fluffy romance, and I can absolutely see it working as a palate cleanser for readers looking for something sweet and easy to get through. While it wasn’t the story I was hoping for, it wasn’t a bad book by any means—it just wasn’t the right book for me.

Overall, this landed at 3 stars. I’m sure there will be plenty of readers who enjoy its cozy, low-stakes romance, but personally, I don’t think it’s one I’ll revisit or go out of my way to recommend. As always, your reading experience may be completely different, and I encourage Formula One romance fans to give it a try and decide for themselves.

[Jess | books.with.jesss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much Harper Collins Australia for the gifted physical copy in exchange for an honest review!

Fun, sweet and romantic.

Tessa James spent her childhood dreaming about racing cars for a living, motivated by the thought of beating her rival, Pietro Deveraux. Until one day changes everything and Tessa swears off driving. Losing her mum to a car accident put a lot of things into perspective, and Tessa can’t stand the thought of driving after everything it took away from her.

Tessa’s whole life could change if she accepts the internship she’s been offered and travels to Monaco for the Grad Prix. There’s only one catch: she has to spend the whole time shadowing Pietro. The boy who basks in the limelight and attracts fangirls wherever he goes.

Can Tessa stand to be around him the whole time? She’s resented him and tried to beat him her whole life but suddenly, somehow, something has changed. The more time she spends around him, the more she enjoys his company, and the more complicated her feelings get.

Will anything eventuate from their forced proximity? And can Tessa stand to be around a boy whose whole life is centred around the one thing that took her mother from her?

This was super fun and easy to read, but in saying that, I felt like there wasn’t much depth to Tessa’s story. I found there was too much time spent on the frivolous things - her makeover and her best friend’s issues - instead of the development of Tessa and Pietro’s relationship. One second they were enemies and the next they were right on the verge of being lovers. Overall, it was a cute read but I didn’t find it super engaging or enlightening.

[fetching fiction with archimedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tessa James has raced her whole life, that is until her mom gets in a car crash and the thought of being behind the wheel is unbearable. She's always wanted to be the first female f1 driver, and now that dream sounds unreachable. Although, she gets the opportunity to intern/shadow a team engineer for her childhood rival Pietro Deverauex.

He's a cocky, confident, and formula 1 royalty and was unbearable during their childhood races in go karting. However, he seems to have changed the longer Tessa is around him. Pietro needs to focus on his racing during his big shot at racing in the Monte Carlo Grand Prix - and the best way to stay focused - fake date the racing engineer intern of course, just to keep away the crazy fans.

This is a cute YA formula 1 forced proximity x fake dating romance. It took me a while to get into the book however once they started their journey to Monte Carlo for race week I couldn't wait to see how their relationship developed. This book is only in Tessa's POV however it's not hard to tell that Pietro has been pining for Tessa for a while and taken advantage of the opportunities that present to him in hopes to draw her closer. I do love the support and admiration that Pietro has for Tessa - he really is a huge fan of hers.

Tropes to Expect:

🤍Fake Dating
🏎️Sports Romance (F1)
✨He Falls First
💞Forced Proximity

Huge thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins Children’s Books, and the author for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Andie J Christopher’s adult novels for a while and I was excited to read her YA novel, Formula He’s the One. I love sports romance and the Formula 1 setting is an exciting background for romance. Tessa James and Pietro Deveraux have known each other since they were kart racing rivals as kids. Both have racing backgrounds - Tessa’s father is a mechanic and former Indy car driver and Pietro’s father is Formula 1 racing royalty. As a child, Tessa dreamed of being the first full time female driver in Formula 1 but has retreated to a “safe” life away from racing after losing her mother in an accident. The offer of a Grand Prix internship takes her out of her comfort zone and to Monaco where she starts to rediscover her passion for the sport. Meanwhile, Pietro gets his big break to drive for a Formula 1 team at Monaco. Both are very likeable and relatable characters and it is fun to listen to the back and forth dialogue and humour. The slow burn builds from childhood teasing and pranks to a fake relationship in Monaco to allow Pietro concentrate on his race to real feelings… I love how Tessa uses her racing knowledge and experience to help Pietro and how he takes her opinions seriously. This is a cute, quick read in the exciting world of Formula 1. The narrators were easy to listen to; my only critique is that Pietro’s voice was a little low in comparison to Tessa’s voice. Thank you HarperAudio Children’s for the free ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Lauraaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

📕 Book: Formula He’s the One by Andie J. Christopher
🏎️ Genre: YA Romance • Sports Romance
⭐ Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
📖 🎧Format: ARC Audiobook (NetGalley)

Tessa James has spent years avoiding the one thing she used to love most—racing. After the heartbreaking loss of her mom and watching her dad walk away from the sport, she promised herself she’d never get behind the wheel again. But when she gets the chance to shadow a Formula One engineer in Monaco, she finds herself thrown right back into the racing world… and reunited with her former karting rival, Pietro Devereaux. When Pietro asks Tessa to be his fake girlfriend for race weekend, the lines between pretend and real begin to blur.

This was a fun, fast-paced YA romance that was easy to fly through! I really enjoyed the Formula One setting, the behind-the-scenes look at the racing world, and the fake dating romance. While I had a good time with the story, I found there were a lot of references to real-life drivers and teams, which occasionally pulled me out of the fictional world. Even so, it was an entertaining read with plenty of heart and a great choice for fans of sports romances and F1.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

🗓️ Publication Date: September 1, 2026 📚

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio Children’s for giving me access to this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I’m a new Formula One fan (yes, because of the movie) and was really excited to get the chance to read and review a YA Formula One book. While there are a lot of things I enjoy about Formula He’s the One, it is still just a 3 star read for me.
First, this book is very YA, which is fine. But I think in an effort to keep the book short, it missed some crucial elements. Namely, for a book focused on the FMC (Tessa) trying out her dream job as a Formula One intern, she didn’t do much work. She is constantly going to parties or preparing for parties and it made her seem flighty. I was ready for a hyper-focused, ready to grind character. And that’s not what I got.
Secondly, I thought the fake dating scheme didn’t work here. It honestly didn’t make sense. The MMC (Pietro) doesn’t want to be distracted by other girls, but ends up being very distracted with Tessa. And Tessa promised her dad she’d stay away from drivers, yet is in a fake relationship on a global stage. It just didn’t work as a trope because it isn’t clear to me what both were getting out of it.
Lastly, the constant repetition of how she had to take care of her dad was rough. I agree the grief is awful and has no timeline. I actually think her grief journey is well done. But her guilt over taking care of her dad felt forced, especially when they just needed to have a conversation.
I think the YA label works because of the ages of the characters, the plot devices, and the lack of spice. But I also think YA readers will expect a little more, perhaps more details in a longer book.
Narration: The narration is solid. She voices several characters with appropriate gravitas and accents. It was easy to tell who was communicating when.
Story: It’s a good premise (mechanic’s daughter + rookie driver) but it didn’t quite deliver. I wanted more for Tessa.
Audiobook Flow: I think this works well as an audiobook. Beside being too short (feeling rushed) I think the transitions work well, and it’s produced well.
Recommendation: 3 stars. Worth reading, but may be quickly forgotten.

[BookieCookie12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Formula He's the One was the one for me!! This was my first formula one based read and to say I enjoyed it is an understatement. This read was fast paced, heartfelt, and welcoming. Tessa, the main character, explores new adventures, and old ones, when she is given an opportunity to attend the Formula one races with her mother's best friend. Alongside her childhood nemesis, Pietro Deveraux, Tessa faces her fears that have been piling up since her mother's death four years ago. I truly admired Tessa's bravery and wit throughout the book. The book was the perfect mix of heartfelt emotion, and humor that made me laugh out loud. Not only did Tessa's character grow throughout the novel, but Pietro was also able to get out of his circle of self-doubt and prove himself in the racing world. Tessa and Pietro's relationship progressed very well, and I was very pleased with the ending. This is what the young adult community needs! People facing their fears and growing together is the perfect connection in novels such as Formula He’s the One! Thank you Netgalley for this reviewing opportunity, reviews will be posted on Goodreads, fable, TikTok, and Instagram!

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Formula One fan, I was excited to pick up Formula He’s the One. The racing atmosphere, glamorous locations, and behind-the-scenes look at the sport were easily my favorite parts of the novel. It was clear the author wanted to celebrate both the excitement of racing and the determination it takes to pursue big dreams.

Tessa was a relatable main character, especially as she worked through grief and tried to rediscover the passion she’d lost. I also appreciated that the story focused on resilience and finding the courage to chase your dreams again.

Unfortunately, the romance didn’t completely work for me. While Tessa and Pietro had sweet moments together, I never fully felt the chemistry I was hoping for, and the slow-burn relationship lacked the emotional payoff I wanted. The shorter page count also made parts of the story feel rushed, leaving some character development and emotional moments underexplored.

Overall, this was a cute, easy YA romance with a unique Formula One backdrop. While it didn’t completely win me over, I think racing fans looking for a light romance will still enjoy the ride.

[Portia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐️

Tropes:
- Childhood rivals
- Fake dating
- Forced proximity
- He falls first

I love Formula 1, so when I saw this title, I immediately requested it! I really enjoyed the F1 references throughout the book, but I also loved that the author explained the sport well enough for readers who don’t know much about it. Plus, there were some fun little inside jokes, like “it was just an inchident.”

This was such a cute, quick romance read! If you’re looking for a palate cleanser between heavier reads, this is a sweet and easy romance to pick up.

Tessa and Pietro have been childhood rivals on the track, but after Tessa’s mom passes away in a car accident, she struggles to get back into racing. When her mom’s friend encourages her to come to the Monaco Grand Prix to shadow the team, she finds herself back around racing—and Pietro, who is getting his first chance behind the wheel. While in Monaco, they have the opportunity to find out if they’re still the childhood rivals they once were… or if there could be something more between them.

A fun, lighthearted romance for any F1 fan looking for a quick read!

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.25 rounded up)

High speed, all reward!

This is a short, fast-paced, pedal to the metal story that will make you swoon and smile. It’s so cute!

I really loved this book! It was almost a Romeo and Juliet story built in the racing world whereas the main character’s fathers were former rivals. Now their children are teammates so to speak and embarking on adventures for themselves in the F1 circuit. I grew up in the racing world from 2 years old until I was 20 so this genre is close to my heart. It felt really genuine.

I love the vulnerability of the characters and appreciate their anxieties. It was refreshing to see them learning to be strong and follow their hearts.

This book is really well written and I found myself plowing through not wanting to miss a single thing. As I listened to the audiobook, narration and narrator were wonderful and brought the main character to life. All in all, a super cute high octane read!

Tropes/themes: F1 racing, sports, young adult, fake dating, anxiety, parent death, parental conflict. Following your heart, strength

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio