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Make Your Move
Not yet published
Expected 24 Apr 26Reese Maddox is the kind of driver who’s relied on raw talent and unshakable confidence to get her to the top. But when that approach stops being enough, she’s recruited into Formula Next—the all-female racing academy designed to fast-track drivers to Formula 1. Reese is fearless, flashy, and knows how to put on a show. But at Formula Next, raw talent isn’t enough, and Reese is about to learn what it really means to be coached.
Sloane Foster was once the next big thing in Formula 1 until a crash ended her career and made her retreat from the spotlight. Now, she's back—this time on the other side of the circuit, tasked with coaching the next generation of racers. She’s not looking for redemption, and she’s definitely not looking for complications. But Reese is all fire and temptation, and keeping things professional becomes harder with every stolen glance and late-night debrief.
The rules are clear. The lines are drawn. But in a world fueled by adrenaline and ambition, one bold move could change everything.
Sloane Foster was once the next big thing in Formula 1 until a crash ended her career and made her retreat from the spotlight. Now, she's back—this time on the other side of the circuit, tasked with coaching the next generation of racers. She’s not looking for redemption, and she’s definitely not looking for complications. But Reese is all fire and temptation, and keeping things professional becomes harder with every stolen glance and late-night debrief.
The rules are clear. The lines are drawn. But in a world fueled by adrenaline and ambition, one bold move could change everything.
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 24, 2026
About the author
Melissa Brayden
31 books2,826 followersMelissa Brayden is the multi-award winning author of more than twenty-five sapphic romance novels and is hard at work on more. She is a wine enthusiast, a fan of all donuts, and is probably staring off into space as you're reading this. You can find her at www.melissabrayden.com and on most social media sites.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 19, 2026
Arc review ♡
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/4 (4.25 stars)
I gotta say I had my ups and downs while reading this BUT, if given the chance,I would’ve flirted with Sloane the same (somewhat) embarrassing way that Reese did at the beging of this book.
But let’s start with the review for real now; as one might guess, I really liked the characters, both Reese and Sloane were written soooo well and I throughly enjoyed reading how their story progressed throughout the book. Though, I do wish we would’ve gotten even more insight into Sloane‘s POV (I just adored her parts sooo much, I flew through them haha). Besides that, I also really liked the side characters and how well they were included within the story, it all felt natural.
Speaking of side characters and the story, I really loved the Formula 1 & 2 theme. Though, I had no prior knowledge about it, reading about it was still so enjoyable for me and made me want to actually learn more about it to understand how it all worked!
Moreover, I loved the character developments and the fears and struggles of the characters throughout the story, nothing felt overly dramatic, instead it felt rather natural and gave the story overall a very nice flow overall.
However, I did experience moments where the story felt somewhat drawn out and I did struggle a tiny bit with the writing style sometimes (but that’s just my preference coming through).
Overall though, I did enjoy reading this very much and think this is especially for readers who liked a good character driven story which still has a good story overall. And again, I do wish Sloane would exit in real life because damn, I might have developed a little crush on her throughout this book (haha)
Thank you so much for the advanced readers copy. And I want to disclose that this review was voluntarily and honestly given ♡
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/4 (4.25 stars)
I gotta say I had my ups and downs while reading this BUT, if given the chance,I would’ve flirted with Sloane the same (somewhat) embarrassing way that Reese did at the beging of this book.
But let’s start with the review for real now; as one might guess, I really liked the characters, both Reese and Sloane were written soooo well and I throughly enjoyed reading how their story progressed throughout the book. Though, I do wish we would’ve gotten even more insight into Sloane‘s POV (I just adored her parts sooo much, I flew through them haha). Besides that, I also really liked the side characters and how well they were included within the story, it all felt natural.
Speaking of side characters and the story, I really loved the Formula 1 & 2 theme. Though, I had no prior knowledge about it, reading about it was still so enjoyable for me and made me want to actually learn more about it to understand how it all worked!
Moreover, I loved the character developments and the fears and struggles of the characters throughout the story, nothing felt overly dramatic, instead it felt rather natural and gave the story overall a very nice flow overall.
However, I did experience moments where the story felt somewhat drawn out and I did struggle a tiny bit with the writing style sometimes (but that’s just my preference coming through).
Overall though, I did enjoy reading this very much and think this is especially for readers who liked a good character driven story which still has a good story overall. And again, I do wish Sloane would exit in real life because damn, I might have developed a little crush on her throughout this book (haha)
Thank you so much for the advanced readers copy. And I want to disclose that this review was voluntarily and honestly given ♡
Review of advance copy received from Author
❤️ Blurb -
Reese Maddox is the kind of driver who’s relied on raw talent and unshakable confidence to get her to the top. But when that approach stops being enough, she’s recruited into Formula Next—the all-female racing academy designed to fast-track drivers to Formula 1. Reese is fearless, flashy, and knows how to put on a show. But at Formula Next, raw talent isn’t enough, and Reese is about to learn what it really means to be coached.
Sloane Foster was once the next big thing in Formula 1 until a crash ended her career and made her retreat from the spotlight. Now, she's back—this time on the other side of the circuit, tasked with coaching the next generation of racers. She’s not looking for redemption, and she’s definitely not looking for complications. But Reese is all fire and temptation, and keeping things professional becomes harder with every stolen glance and late-night debrief.
The rules are clear. The lines are drawn. But in a world fueled by adrenaline and ambition, one bold move could change everything.
🩵 Review -
This was such a brilliant page turner. From the very first page I was hooked and I kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. I'm loving all the sports romance novels that are around at the moment and Make Your Move certainly didn't disappoint. I loved Reese and Sloane's chemistry and I wanted them to have their happy ending. I loved the author's writing style and the pacing was just right. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💖 Thank you to the author Melissa Brayden for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Reese Maddox is the kind of driver who’s relied on raw talent and unshakable confidence to get her to the top. But when that approach stops being enough, she’s recruited into Formula Next—the all-female racing academy designed to fast-track drivers to Formula 1. Reese is fearless, flashy, and knows how to put on a show. But at Formula Next, raw talent isn’t enough, and Reese is about to learn what it really means to be coached.
Sloane Foster was once the next big thing in Formula 1 until a crash ended her career and made her retreat from the spotlight. Now, she's back—this time on the other side of the circuit, tasked with coaching the next generation of racers. She’s not looking for redemption, and she’s definitely not looking for complications. But Reese is all fire and temptation, and keeping things professional becomes harder with every stolen glance and late-night debrief.
The rules are clear. The lines are drawn. But in a world fueled by adrenaline and ambition, one bold move could change everything.
🩵 Review -
This was such a brilliant page turner. From the very first page I was hooked and I kept reading until the end as I wanted to know what happened. I'm loving all the sports romance novels that are around at the moment and Make Your Move certainly didn't disappoint. I loved Reese and Sloane's chemistry and I wanted them to have their happy ending. I loved the author's writing style and the pacing was just right. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💖 Thank you to the author Melissa Brayden for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
April 18, 2026
Melissa Brayden is a titan in the sapphic romance community, and this book proves exactly why she is. Make Your Move is a fast-paced sapphic F1 romance - something I never thought I needed, but now I need more of.
One of the things that I adored the most about this book is the friend group of female F1 drivers - the Starting Grid. Even though from my perspective racing is a solo sport, Brayden creates a tight-knit friend group where they truly support and empower one another.
I fell in love with both Reese and Sloane throughout the story, and their journey both as a couple and as individuals. Despite being a mentor x mentee relationship, I felt like they didn’t have a power imbalance. I also enjoyed that despite the fact that this was an age gap relationship - the crux of their problems was not the age gap. As individuals, Reese and Sloane both grow so much. In particular, I loved the journey that Sloane took as she worked through the trauma she faced related to her racing accident, and how to handle Reese being in the same situations.
Overall - I will definitely be continuing to read the next books of this series. I’m excited to see which couple will be featured next in the Formula Next Series.
One of the things that I adored the most about this book is the friend group of female F1 drivers - the Starting Grid. Even though from my perspective racing is a solo sport, Brayden creates a tight-knit friend group where they truly support and empower one another.
I fell in love with both Reese and Sloane throughout the story, and their journey both as a couple and as individuals. Despite being a mentor x mentee relationship, I felt like they didn’t have a power imbalance. I also enjoyed that despite the fact that this was an age gap relationship - the crux of their problems was not the age gap. As individuals, Reese and Sloane both grow so much. In particular, I loved the journey that Sloane took as she worked through the trauma she faced related to her racing accident, and how to handle Reese being in the same situations.
Overall - I will definitely be continuing to read the next books of this series. I’m excited to see which couple will be featured next in the Formula Next Series.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I need more.
More racing. More Sloane. More Reese. More THEM ❤️
Loved this! The banter, the friendships and the love 🥰
It has so much light, funny and cute moments that I was smiling so much. It also covers some PTSD anxiety and panic attacks which were so sad but well done and it really makes you feel for Sloane but also how beautiful it was to see Reese reading her well and being there for her ❤️
I will absolutely be reading this again and I suggest you pick it up as soon as you can!
ARC provided my Luna Literary in exchange for my honest review.
More racing. More Sloane. More Reese. More THEM ❤️
Loved this! The banter, the friendships and the love 🥰
It has so much light, funny and cute moments that I was smiling so much. It also covers some PTSD anxiety and panic attacks which were so sad but well done and it really makes you feel for Sloane but also how beautiful it was to see Reese reading her well and being there for her ❤️
I will absolutely be reading this again and I suggest you pick it up as soon as you can!
ARC provided my Luna Literary in exchange for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews