What do you think?
Rate this book
Running on Empty
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 14, 2026
About the author
Leigh Hays
5 books18 followersLeigh wrote her first story in a spiral notebook at the age of five and she never stopped pretending. She grew up in three of the four corners of the US before heading to college. Despite the warnings that doing so would make her a lesbian, she went to a women’s college.
She lives and works in upstate New York with her wife, son, and two Siamese cats, Percival and Galahad. When she’s not writing, reading, or parenting, she’s tabletop gaming with a crew of like-minded nerds.
She lives and works in upstate New York with her wife, son, and two Siamese cats, Percival and Galahad. When she’s not writing, reading, or parenting, she’s tabletop gaming with a crew of like-minded nerds.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
July 25, 2026
3.5⭐️
I don't know anything about any kind of car racing, but of course I heard of NASCAR before. So I was intrigued by this story.
Beckett Adams, once NASCAR’s great hope and the daughter of one of the sport’s most successful drivers, has been stuck in a rough patch for some time. Despite her fighting spirit and the tireless efforts of her small team, the championship title remains out of reach.
Then Ava Broussard enters the picture—she, too, grew up in the world of NASCAR and has fought for the Broussard family business for decades. But when her father decides to hand the company over to her younger brother Billy, the reckless driver, she must make a difficult decision.
There’s chemistry right from the start between these two women, who have a lot in common and have been involved in NASCAR for years. But Beckett can’t forget what Ava did to her ten years ago.
Ava has to fight hard to earn Beckett’s trust—and, by extension, the team’s. If they can work through their differences, there’s a chance they’ll become very successful together. But they both know that, as women, they have to fight at least twice as hard in this male-dominated world.
The dynamic between Beckett and Ava is what drives the story. Both practically grew up on the NASCAR tracks, and their families have both made history in the sport.
I liked their time together, their conversations, and their growing intimacy. But I wish there had been a little more focus on the races. The entire story takes place in the world of NASCAR, and we learn quite a bit about the cars and tuning, but almost nothing about the races themselves—I would have liked a little more NASCAR action. They both have interesting backstories; they’re very likable, competitive, and endearing women. They had chemistry.
The supporting characters play important roles in the story and add depth. I especially liked Declan.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing an ARC for an honest review.
I don't know anything about any kind of car racing, but of course I heard of NASCAR before. So I was intrigued by this story.
Beckett Adams, once NASCAR’s great hope and the daughter of one of the sport’s most successful drivers, has been stuck in a rough patch for some time. Despite her fighting spirit and the tireless efforts of her small team, the championship title remains out of reach.
Then Ava Broussard enters the picture—she, too, grew up in the world of NASCAR and has fought for the Broussard family business for decades. But when her father decides to hand the company over to her younger brother Billy, the reckless driver, she must make a difficult decision.
There’s chemistry right from the start between these two women, who have a lot in common and have been involved in NASCAR for years. But Beckett can’t forget what Ava did to her ten years ago.
Ava has to fight hard to earn Beckett’s trust—and, by extension, the team’s. If they can work through their differences, there’s a chance they’ll become very successful together. But they both know that, as women, they have to fight at least twice as hard in this male-dominated world.
The dynamic between Beckett and Ava is what drives the story. Both practically grew up on the NASCAR tracks, and their families have both made history in the sport.
I liked their time together, their conversations, and their growing intimacy. But I wish there had been a little more focus on the races. The entire story takes place in the world of NASCAR, and we learn quite a bit about the cars and tuning, but almost nothing about the races themselves—I would have liked a little more NASCAR action. They both have interesting backstories; they’re very likable, competitive, and endearing women. They had chemistry.
The supporting characters play important roles in the story and add depth. I especially liked Declan.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing an ARC for an honest review.
August 6, 2026
I didn’t know a thing about NASCAR races. Now I almost want to watch some. The rivals to lovers was quite well written, with initial tension, mixed with unconscious attraction that I really appreciate. Their relation felt earned, and the chemistrybetween Beckett and Ava is palpable. The smut will definitely give good times to readers. The book follow them through all seasons with months passing by, but I didn’t feel it was dragged as I was reading chapter after chapter, invested in their love life and professionnal life as well. It was mostly easy to read, even if flashbaks could be a bit confusing at times. The pace was good but good have been more polished, and the tension/angst more balanced through the book. Most of the hardships they went through were in the first 70% of the book, everything went wrong and then everything goes almost too smoothly. The were some races or key moments were the tension could have been at its peak, but it was not shown enough or happened off scene and deserved to be seen (like Ava quitting). I was surprised that it was low angst.
Overall, I found this book really entertaining despite its flaws.
Overall, I found this book really entertaining despite its flaws.
August 10, 2026
2.75 ⭐
July 14, 2026
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.
Beckett and Ava both have a long history in Nascar racing. Beckett and Ava are both rivals but when Ava takes over Beckett team and start working together they slowly become friends to more. They both deal with expectations of family and wanting to prove themselves in male dominated field by proving they belong author did a good job explaining the world of Nascar racing and enjoy the growth that both characters had found family they form with secondary characters Declan Casey and Leann.
Beckett and Ava both have a long history in Nascar racing. Beckett and Ava are both rivals but when Ava takes over Beckett team and start working together they slowly become friends to more. They both deal with expectations of family and wanting to prove themselves in male dominated field by proving they belong author did a good job explaining the world of Nascar racing and enjoy the growth that both characters had found family they form with secondary characters Declan Casey and Leann.
July 14, 2026
Trust in Working Clothes
Leigh Hays’s “Running on Empty” is strongest when it makes racing mechanics – tires, radios, crews, sponsorship, and timing – carry the love story.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | July 14th, 2026
Desire, in “Running on Empty,” does not first pull up in the bedroom. Leigh Hays is far too practical a romance novelist to leave the bedroom idling unattended for long, but the first spark begins elsewhere: in a tire adjustment, a radio call, a staffing decision, the aggravating intimacy of being told that instinct is not enough. The novel’s most seductive idea is not that speed is sexy, though speed behaves here with shameless competence. It is that being read accurately under pressure may be the more dangerous pleasure. A hand on the wheel matters. So does the person who knows when you should stop gripping it so hard.
Early at Daytona, Beckett Adams is a driver with star voltage and a bad-luck draft that keeps towing her into damage. Once NASCAR’s rookie sensation, she remains fast, famous, and pulled by the Adams name, still without the championship that might let her reputation stand without her father’s shadow behind it. A final-lap move by Billy Broussard wrecks her playoff hopes and sends her into a microphone scrum with more rage than she can safely spend. She punches him, reins herself in, and returns to the garage with expensive knowledge: talent, without resources and faith in the people around you, is a very costly way to keep losing beautifully.
Meanwhile Ava Broussard has spent a decade making Broussard Motorsports dominant, only to watch her father hand the keys to the family future to Billy, her reckless younger brother. The wound is not simply that he chooses the son. It is that he has accepted Ava’s labor, degrees, judgment, and loyalty while never allowing them to become command. When Frank Hawthorn, owner of Beckett’s smaller team, offers Ava a path into Hawthorn Brothers, the novel clicks into gear: the woman who once helped end Beckett’s Broussard career may be the only person capable of helping her win.
Even this setup has a wicked geometry. Beckett and Ava have history, attraction, grievance, pride, and enough garage knowledge to make every insult land with socket-wrench precision. Hays uses a rivals-to-lovers chassis, but the rivalry is not paintwork. Beckett believes Ava judged and discarded her; Ava believes Beckett’s speed has long been limited by defensive pride. Both are right enough to be irritating. The best early scenes know that romance often begins not with being admired, but with being challenged by someone whose opinion you have not agreed to value.
The race team is the romance’s moving parts. Spotters, tires, pit crews, engineering hires, sponsor pressure, playoff points, charter anxiety: none of it waits politely outside the love story until the kissing resumes. Each part tests who gets believed when the car is already committed to the turn. Beckett cannot win by temper and throttle. Ava cannot lead by being correct in private. They have to make competence usable between them. Love is not an escape lane from ambition here; it is what keeps ambition from chewing through its own wiring.
Racing gives feeling a schedule. The season will not pause while Beckett sulks or Ava overthinks. Another track is coming. Another setup must be chosen. Another briefing will expose who trusts whom. That calendar does what contrivance often has to do elsewhere: it pushes private emotion into public decision. The championship run may be familiar, but every race changes the terms of dependence. A call over the radio is not abstract vulnerability. It is Beckett deciding whether to believe someone while moving too fast to be politely wrong.
In prose, Hays writes with sleeves rolled and visor down. Her sentences lengthen when Ava thinks in systems and tighten when Beckett is inside the car, registering hot metal, burned rubber, gasoline, radio chatter, sweat, vibration, and the narrowing tunnel of speed. The opening Daytona sequence is especially good at making speed feel mental rather than merely loud. We are placed inside the tiny decisions, refusals, instincts, and delayed reactions that make motion feel like thought under duress.
Part of the charm lies in how plainly competence acquires heat. Ava is controlled, wounded, and attractive in the manner of women who might alphabetize desire by risk category, but that is not the main event. She can read data. She sees what is wrong with the tires. She understands people, incentives, setups, and timing. Beckett brings swagger, tattoos, and trouble with eye contact at useful moments, but her deeper appeal is simpler: she can drive. She can absorb danger, adapt, and, once persuaded, throw her whole self behind the person she can finally trust. In Hays’s hands, respect earned in the garage is not foreplay’s warm-up lap; it is the lighting grid.
Ava and Beckett see each other by refusing the easy version. Ava has been useful to Broussard but not chosen by it. Beckett has been visible to NASCAR but too often misfiled by it: famous daughter, hothead, inheritance case, spectacle. Ava’s father treats her as indispensable until succession is at stake; Beckett’s fame makes every failure public and every success suspect. By the time the romance catches fire, it has already been rehearsed as a discipline of looking past the labels that got to the room first.
Pressed hardest, Beckett’s arc becomes an education in being guided. Her resistance to Ava is funny, prickly, and sometimes self-sabotaging, but it is not baseless. Ava really did help fire her. Beckett really was humiliated in public memory. Hays lets that history remain inconvenient. Skill, apology, and repeated evidence have to work against it, lap by lap. When Beckett finally backs Ava in front of the Hawthorn staff after an engineer undermines her, the moment lands because it is not a romantic confession. It is better: a pledge made in working clothes.
Ava’s arc is quieter and, in some ways, sharper. Her old dream is not simply to run Broussard Motorsports. It is to hear her father admit that she was the rightful heir to what she helped build. That longing is dangerous because it can pass for ambition. Ava has the degrees, the experience, the eye, the work ethic, the name on the building, and still she is treated as adjacent to command rather than native to it. The novel’s real generosity is not that it eventually offers her the verdict she once needed, but that it lets the old offer arrive too late.
Deep under the hood of the romance is a distinction between inheritance and home: the building with your name on it versus the room that waits for you. Broussard has size, trophies, history, and the chilly grandeur of an institution that knows how to display victory. Hawthorn has fewer resources, more vulnerability, and a culture in which people bring food, argue over setups, know one another’s names, and make room for repair. The contrast flirts with sentiment, then gets grease under its nails. A smaller team is not automatically noble; it is underfunded, precarious, and one wreck away from panic. That is what gives its warmth its bite. Chosen family here is not upholstery. It is infrastructure.
If “Cleat Cute” by Meryl Wilsner and “Slammed” by Lola Keeley are useful neighbors, it is because all three books understand that athletic excellence and queer desire can pull on the same rope. But Hays’s book is more operational than those comparisons might suggest. It is less interested in the athlete as glamorous object than in the team as a working organism. Even the sex scenes, explicit and frequent enough to make the garage temperature a liability, belong to this design. They return, in another key, to questions already asked by race calls and staff meetings: control, permission, surrender, belief.
Motifs keep checking the same gauges: brakes, hands, radios, tires, fathers, gates, trophies, food, heat. Occasionally the pattern is almost too visible. Beckett resists correction; Ava withdraws into control; each misreads the other; some act of faith repairs the fracture; the car runs a little better. Yet the repetition usually feels developmental rather than stalled because the test keeps changing. A radio call is not a hospital room. A setup dispute is not a public kiss. Again and again, the practical question returns: whom do you believe when belief might cost you?
Imaginatively, this is a deliberately revised sports fantasy. Hays’s authorial framing makes clear that this is a fictional, more inclusive version of NASCAR, a world in which queer women can be drivers, owners, engineers, lovers, champions, and public facts rather than inspirational exceptions. That choice gives the novel a counterfactual hum. Some readers will want harder realism from the racing world; others will understand the revision as the point. The fantasy does not erase exclusion; it changes the angle from which the garage is imagined. Instead of asking queer women to stand at the edge of racing’s mythology, it lets them get oil on their hands and kiss beside the trophy.
The cost of this generous fantasy is that a few obstacles arrive pre-sorted for the victory lap. Billy Broussard is useful, but usefulness is not depth. He is reckless, entitled, mean, and available whenever the plot needs a caution flag – a skid mark with media training. Ava’s father has more emotional weight, but his blindness is also arranged with clean efficiency: he cannot see his daughter until seeing her no longer changes the terms. Hays reads the pressure clearly, then gives some of that pressure too tidy a human face.
Romance also softens one of the premise’s thorniest elements: Ava becomes Beckett’s professional superior. She helps decide Beckett’s working future, not just her romantic one, and the book knows enough to give them conversations about boundaries, public behavior, privacy, and the garage’s eyes. Still, the discomfort is ultimately absorbed by mutual respect and heat. For many readers, that respect will settle the question; others may find the arrangement too easily housebroken. The issue does not undo the romance; it shows where the novel sands the burr so the engine keeps running.
Of course, pleasure is no small thing. Hays writes chosen family with a warmth that never curdles into syrup. Corey, Leann, the Granvilles, Frank, Declan, Magda, and the Hawthorn staff create a network in which care means food, blunt advice, race-day ritual, technical skill, and the ordinary miracle of showing up. The Easter sequence, with Ava folded into Beckett’s family and then drawn into the charged intimacy of Ralph’s racing barn, is one of the book’s best fusions of history, attraction, and desire. Longing arrives surrounded by old cars, which is to say it behaves with genre accuracy and excellent taste.
Public triumph arrives exactly where this kind of romance wants it: in the roar after the last lap, with symbolism already wearing its fire suit. Beckett wins, holds off Billy, claims the title, and kisses Ava in front of everyone. The scene works because it is unabashed. No ironic distance from queer triumph. Good. There are forms of restraint that are merely fear in better shoes. The victory is big as it should be, but earned inside the book’s design: Beckett can win because she has finally learned that reliance is not the opposite of nerve.
Only the epilogue keeps that triumph from becoming too polished. Beckett wakes after winning and realizes, with a lovely small sadness, that the cup has not made her someone else. That small deflation is one of Hays’s wisest turns. The trophy matters, but it does not erase grief, history, or selfhood. A romance could easily end at the kiss and let the confetti do the thinking. Hays lets the morning after arrive.
Under the pressure of that late offer from Broussard, Ava’s resolution sharpens the same lesson. Her father finally gives her what she once wanted, but the offer has arrived after its power has expired. She notices the guard, the trophy case, the scale of the place, and her own changed attention. She has not merely escaped Broussard. She has learned what it trained her not to see: names, daily labor, the difference between being displayed and being known.
Love, in this book, is not the pit stop from the real action. It is the crew chief, the spotter, the engineer, the person waiting at the wall with better information than pride can provide. Hays’s best insight is that the right person does not merely cheer when you accelerate; she knows when to tell you to hold, when to push, when to come in before the heat takes you apart. That insight also explains the book’s limits. “Running on Empty” is too tidy, too eager to hand its women the line they were denied, to be mistaken for a novel of deep irresolution. But its tidiness has feeling behind it.
One reason the wish-fulfillment works is that it knows the shape of the absence it is correcting. I would place “Running on Empty” at 80/100, which under my rubric becomes 4/5 stars: a low-four, warm and clear-eyed, emotionally satisfying and entertainingly built, limited by simplified opposition and plain prose, strengthened by the intelligence with which it puts trust in working clothes before calling it love.
Still, by the end, the trophy is almost secondary. What remains is Ava returning not to the grand building with her name half-promised on it, not to the glass and trophies and inherited chill, but to the smaller garage where someone knows the sound of her arrival.
Leigh Hays’s “Running on Empty” is strongest when it makes racing mechanics – tires, radios, crews, sponsorship, and timing – carry the love story.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | July 14th, 2026
Desire, in “Running on Empty,” does not first pull up in the bedroom. Leigh Hays is far too practical a romance novelist to leave the bedroom idling unattended for long, but the first spark begins elsewhere: in a tire adjustment, a radio call, a staffing decision, the aggravating intimacy of being told that instinct is not enough. The novel’s most seductive idea is not that speed is sexy, though speed behaves here with shameless competence. It is that being read accurately under pressure may be the more dangerous pleasure. A hand on the wheel matters. So does the person who knows when you should stop gripping it so hard.
Early at Daytona, Beckett Adams is a driver with star voltage and a bad-luck draft that keeps towing her into damage. Once NASCAR’s rookie sensation, she remains fast, famous, and pulled by the Adams name, still without the championship that might let her reputation stand without her father’s shadow behind it. A final-lap move by Billy Broussard wrecks her playoff hopes and sends her into a microphone scrum with more rage than she can safely spend. She punches him, reins herself in, and returns to the garage with expensive knowledge: talent, without resources and faith in the people around you, is a very costly way to keep losing beautifully.
Meanwhile Ava Broussard has spent a decade making Broussard Motorsports dominant, only to watch her father hand the keys to the family future to Billy, her reckless younger brother. The wound is not simply that he chooses the son. It is that he has accepted Ava’s labor, degrees, judgment, and loyalty while never allowing them to become command. When Frank Hawthorn, owner of Beckett’s smaller team, offers Ava a path into Hawthorn Brothers, the novel clicks into gear: the woman who once helped end Beckett’s Broussard career may be the only person capable of helping her win.
Even this setup has a wicked geometry. Beckett and Ava have history, attraction, grievance, pride, and enough garage knowledge to make every insult land with socket-wrench precision. Hays uses a rivals-to-lovers chassis, but the rivalry is not paintwork. Beckett believes Ava judged and discarded her; Ava believes Beckett’s speed has long been limited by defensive pride. Both are right enough to be irritating. The best early scenes know that romance often begins not with being admired, but with being challenged by someone whose opinion you have not agreed to value.
The race team is the romance’s moving parts. Spotters, tires, pit crews, engineering hires, sponsor pressure, playoff points, charter anxiety: none of it waits politely outside the love story until the kissing resumes. Each part tests who gets believed when the car is already committed to the turn. Beckett cannot win by temper and throttle. Ava cannot lead by being correct in private. They have to make competence usable between them. Love is not an escape lane from ambition here; it is what keeps ambition from chewing through its own wiring.
Racing gives feeling a schedule. The season will not pause while Beckett sulks or Ava overthinks. Another track is coming. Another setup must be chosen. Another briefing will expose who trusts whom. That calendar does what contrivance often has to do elsewhere: it pushes private emotion into public decision. The championship run may be familiar, but every race changes the terms of dependence. A call over the radio is not abstract vulnerability. It is Beckett deciding whether to believe someone while moving too fast to be politely wrong.
In prose, Hays writes with sleeves rolled and visor down. Her sentences lengthen when Ava thinks in systems and tighten when Beckett is inside the car, registering hot metal, burned rubber, gasoline, radio chatter, sweat, vibration, and the narrowing tunnel of speed. The opening Daytona sequence is especially good at making speed feel mental rather than merely loud. We are placed inside the tiny decisions, refusals, instincts, and delayed reactions that make motion feel like thought under duress.
Part of the charm lies in how plainly competence acquires heat. Ava is controlled, wounded, and attractive in the manner of women who might alphabetize desire by risk category, but that is not the main event. She can read data. She sees what is wrong with the tires. She understands people, incentives, setups, and timing. Beckett brings swagger, tattoos, and trouble with eye contact at useful moments, but her deeper appeal is simpler: she can drive. She can absorb danger, adapt, and, once persuaded, throw her whole self behind the person she can finally trust. In Hays’s hands, respect earned in the garage is not foreplay’s warm-up lap; it is the lighting grid.
Ava and Beckett see each other by refusing the easy version. Ava has been useful to Broussard but not chosen by it. Beckett has been visible to NASCAR but too often misfiled by it: famous daughter, hothead, inheritance case, spectacle. Ava’s father treats her as indispensable until succession is at stake; Beckett’s fame makes every failure public and every success suspect. By the time the romance catches fire, it has already been rehearsed as a discipline of looking past the labels that got to the room first.
Pressed hardest, Beckett’s arc becomes an education in being guided. Her resistance to Ava is funny, prickly, and sometimes self-sabotaging, but it is not baseless. Ava really did help fire her. Beckett really was humiliated in public memory. Hays lets that history remain inconvenient. Skill, apology, and repeated evidence have to work against it, lap by lap. When Beckett finally backs Ava in front of the Hawthorn staff after an engineer undermines her, the moment lands because it is not a romantic confession. It is better: a pledge made in working clothes.
Ava’s arc is quieter and, in some ways, sharper. Her old dream is not simply to run Broussard Motorsports. It is to hear her father admit that she was the rightful heir to what she helped build. That longing is dangerous because it can pass for ambition. Ava has the degrees, the experience, the eye, the work ethic, the name on the building, and still she is treated as adjacent to command rather than native to it. The novel’s real generosity is not that it eventually offers her the verdict she once needed, but that it lets the old offer arrive too late.
Deep under the hood of the romance is a distinction between inheritance and home: the building with your name on it versus the room that waits for you. Broussard has size, trophies, history, and the chilly grandeur of an institution that knows how to display victory. Hawthorn has fewer resources, more vulnerability, and a culture in which people bring food, argue over setups, know one another’s names, and make room for repair. The contrast flirts with sentiment, then gets grease under its nails. A smaller team is not automatically noble; it is underfunded, precarious, and one wreck away from panic. That is what gives its warmth its bite. Chosen family here is not upholstery. It is infrastructure.
If “Cleat Cute” by Meryl Wilsner and “Slammed” by Lola Keeley are useful neighbors, it is because all three books understand that athletic excellence and queer desire can pull on the same rope. But Hays’s book is more operational than those comparisons might suggest. It is less interested in the athlete as glamorous object than in the team as a working organism. Even the sex scenes, explicit and frequent enough to make the garage temperature a liability, belong to this design. They return, in another key, to questions already asked by race calls and staff meetings: control, permission, surrender, belief.
Motifs keep checking the same gauges: brakes, hands, radios, tires, fathers, gates, trophies, food, heat. Occasionally the pattern is almost too visible. Beckett resists correction; Ava withdraws into control; each misreads the other; some act of faith repairs the fracture; the car runs a little better. Yet the repetition usually feels developmental rather than stalled because the test keeps changing. A radio call is not a hospital room. A setup dispute is not a public kiss. Again and again, the practical question returns: whom do you believe when belief might cost you?
Imaginatively, this is a deliberately revised sports fantasy. Hays’s authorial framing makes clear that this is a fictional, more inclusive version of NASCAR, a world in which queer women can be drivers, owners, engineers, lovers, champions, and public facts rather than inspirational exceptions. That choice gives the novel a counterfactual hum. Some readers will want harder realism from the racing world; others will understand the revision as the point. The fantasy does not erase exclusion; it changes the angle from which the garage is imagined. Instead of asking queer women to stand at the edge of racing’s mythology, it lets them get oil on their hands and kiss beside the trophy.
The cost of this generous fantasy is that a few obstacles arrive pre-sorted for the victory lap. Billy Broussard is useful, but usefulness is not depth. He is reckless, entitled, mean, and available whenever the plot needs a caution flag – a skid mark with media training. Ava’s father has more emotional weight, but his blindness is also arranged with clean efficiency: he cannot see his daughter until seeing her no longer changes the terms. Hays reads the pressure clearly, then gives some of that pressure too tidy a human face.
Romance also softens one of the premise’s thorniest elements: Ava becomes Beckett’s professional superior. She helps decide Beckett’s working future, not just her romantic one, and the book knows enough to give them conversations about boundaries, public behavior, privacy, and the garage’s eyes. Still, the discomfort is ultimately absorbed by mutual respect and heat. For many readers, that respect will settle the question; others may find the arrangement too easily housebroken. The issue does not undo the romance; it shows where the novel sands the burr so the engine keeps running.
Of course, pleasure is no small thing. Hays writes chosen family with a warmth that never curdles into syrup. Corey, Leann, the Granvilles, Frank, Declan, Magda, and the Hawthorn staff create a network in which care means food, blunt advice, race-day ritual, technical skill, and the ordinary miracle of showing up. The Easter sequence, with Ava folded into Beckett’s family and then drawn into the charged intimacy of Ralph’s racing barn, is one of the book’s best fusions of history, attraction, and desire. Longing arrives surrounded by old cars, which is to say it behaves with genre accuracy and excellent taste.
Public triumph arrives exactly where this kind of romance wants it: in the roar after the last lap, with symbolism already wearing its fire suit. Beckett wins, holds off Billy, claims the title, and kisses Ava in front of everyone. The scene works because it is unabashed. No ironic distance from queer triumph. Good. There are forms of restraint that are merely fear in better shoes. The victory is big as it should be, but earned inside the book’s design: Beckett can win because she has finally learned that reliance is not the opposite of nerve.
Only the epilogue keeps that triumph from becoming too polished. Beckett wakes after winning and realizes, with a lovely small sadness, that the cup has not made her someone else. That small deflation is one of Hays’s wisest turns. The trophy matters, but it does not erase grief, history, or selfhood. A romance could easily end at the kiss and let the confetti do the thinking. Hays lets the morning after arrive.
Under the pressure of that late offer from Broussard, Ava’s resolution sharpens the same lesson. Her father finally gives her what she once wanted, but the offer has arrived after its power has expired. She notices the guard, the trophy case, the scale of the place, and her own changed attention. She has not merely escaped Broussard. She has learned what it trained her not to see: names, daily labor, the difference between being displayed and being known.
Love, in this book, is not the pit stop from the real action. It is the crew chief, the spotter, the engineer, the person waiting at the wall with better information than pride can provide. Hays’s best insight is that the right person does not merely cheer when you accelerate; she knows when to tell you to hold, when to push, when to come in before the heat takes you apart. That insight also explains the book’s limits. “Running on Empty” is too tidy, too eager to hand its women the line they were denied, to be mistaken for a novel of deep irresolution. But its tidiness has feeling behind it.
One reason the wish-fulfillment works is that it knows the shape of the absence it is correcting. I would place “Running on Empty” at 80/100, which under my rubric becomes 4/5 stars: a low-four, warm and clear-eyed, emotionally satisfying and entertainingly built, limited by simplified opposition and plain prose, strengthened by the intelligence with which it puts trust in working clothes before calling it love.
Still, by the end, the trophy is almost secondary. What remains is Ava returning not to the grand building with her name half-promised on it, not to the glass and trophies and inherited chill, but to the smaller garage where someone knows the sound of her arrival.
June 26, 2026
Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, and women in racing? I was so ready for this one. 🏁
I liked the racing setting, and Beckett was definitely my favorite of the two main characters. The romance had a solid foundation, and I appreciated that the challenges they faced felt like a natural part of the story rather than the entire story.
That said… for a story built around professional racing, I expected to feel more adrenaline. I found myself wanting more emotional growth, stronger character voices, and more reasons to keep picking the book back up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the racing setting, and Beckett was definitely my favorite of the two main characters. The romance had a solid foundation, and I appreciated that the challenges they faced felt like a natural part of the story rather than the entire story.
That said… for a story built around professional racing, I expected to feel more adrenaline. I found myself wanting more emotional growth, stronger character voices, and more reasons to keep picking the book back up.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 2, 2026
Running on Empty is a wonderful mix of spicy and sweet that will keep you engrossed from start to finish.
Running on Empty is a sapphic love story following Beckett, once a sensational rookie and now burnt out. She’s had many victories, but yet the most meaningful, a championship, remains unattained. Enter Ava, after a decade of working at Broussard Motorsports, her father hands over the family’s racing business to her brother. She doesn’t get mad, she gets even. Ava takes over Beckett’s small team, determined to prove herself, and the attraction is instant. Can they show everyone up and prove themselves, or will they crash and burn? And how will their attraction help or hinder them?
I thought this book was so good, and so hot. I have a huge soft spot of women in male dominated fields and was rooting for them before I even started reading the book. When I started reading, I was a little annoyed that the chemistry and tension between Ava and Beckett took a little bit to build. Ultimately, I think that really made it feel more real and relatable. I just needed to be patient. I really enjoy both Beckett and Ava as individual characters and a couple. They compliment each other nicely, and are very cute together.
I rate it 3.5 stars, rounded up for 4 stars.
Running on Empty is a sapphic love story following Beckett, once a sensational rookie and now burnt out. She’s had many victories, but yet the most meaningful, a championship, remains unattained. Enter Ava, after a decade of working at Broussard Motorsports, her father hands over the family’s racing business to her brother. She doesn’t get mad, she gets even. Ava takes over Beckett’s small team, determined to prove herself, and the attraction is instant. Can they show everyone up and prove themselves, or will they crash and burn? And how will their attraction help or hinder them?
I thought this book was so good, and so hot. I have a huge soft spot of women in male dominated fields and was rooting for them before I even started reading the book. When I started reading, I was a little annoyed that the chemistry and tension between Ava and Beckett took a little bit to build. Ultimately, I think that really made it feel more real and relatable. I just needed to be patient. I really enjoy both Beckett and Ava as individual characters and a couple. They compliment each other nicely, and are very cute together.
I rate it 3.5 stars, rounded up for 4 stars.
July 14, 2026
would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book
Beckett Adams and Ava Broussard had very similar lifestyles they both grew up with fathers that were into nascar racing and they both excelled in this world though neither got the recognition from their families that they deserved
for ava it happened after all she had achieved and her father still gave the business over to her younger brother
and so she joined another crew but beckett was the driver and everyone took her stance and gave ava a hard time......
beckett had a lot to live down after her father died at one of his races everyone knew the great man but they didnt know the father..... and so she grew up in his shadow and could never get past it....
could ava and beckett work together to get what they wanted....
have to say i was gripped by this book and couldnt put it down at all... looking forward to reading more from this author
Beckett Adams and Ava Broussard had very similar lifestyles they both grew up with fathers that were into nascar racing and they both excelled in this world though neither got the recognition from their families that they deserved
for ava it happened after all she had achieved and her father still gave the business over to her younger brother
and so she joined another crew but beckett was the driver and everyone took her stance and gave ava a hard time......
beckett had a lot to live down after her father died at one of his races everyone knew the great man but they didnt know the father..... and so she grew up in his shadow and could never get past it....
could ava and beckett work together to get what they wanted....
have to say i was gripped by this book and couldnt put it down at all... looking forward to reading more from this author
July 14, 2026
Great start! Pacing was excellent. I got the flavour of NASCAR, something I know less than nothing about, enough to picture what was going on, without getting overwhelmed.
I enjoyed almost everything about this book apart from some of the intimate scenes. There can be a tendency in some novels to feel every intimate scene has to be physically different, rather than move the story on emotionally or intimately - it becomes bingo. The disappointment from that was quickly replaced by the tense last race. I am tempted to not round up, due to a performative secondary character and the afore mentioned bingo but I enjoyed everything else. 3.5
I enjoyed almost everything about this book apart from some of the intimate scenes. There can be a tendency in some novels to feel every intimate scene has to be physically different, rather than move the story on emotionally or intimately - it becomes bingo. The disappointment from that was quickly replaced by the tense last race. I am tempted to not round up, due to a performative secondary character and the afore mentioned bingo but I enjoyed everything else. 3.5
August 3, 2026
4 stars. I wasn’t sure about it in the beginning but this ended up being really good! Ava and Beckett were awesome characters and I loved their enemies to lovers romance so much. Great, fiery chemistry between the two of them and I liked the way it developed. This isn’t an insta love (which I don’t mind to be clear) but these two take their time. And once they started having sex? FIRE. This was the first book that I’ve read by Leigh Hays but I definitely will be checking out more. The writing was good, I liked learning about NASCAR racing and the spice was great.
Spice: ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥/❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Content Warning:
Spice: ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥/❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥
Content Warning:
July 31, 2026
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and Leigh Hays for this ARC opportunity. I am happy to share my honest review.
Okay so the cover definitely captured my attention. A hot woman and a raceway? Yes, please. There aren't many sapphic romances that center around female racecar drivers and so I was very excited to read this. I don't know much about racing but I find it to be quite exhilarating and especially to have this book be dominated by women in such a male centric sport! And honestly the thought of a woman in the racing gear is most definitely appealing. Running on Empty was exciting, hot and so much fun to read.
Beckett is our star out on the raceway but has definitely dealt with her fair share of struggles and frustrations. She is talented beyond belief but feels like she comes up short in her career wins and it's really messing her up. Enter Ava who is a badass in her own right. She is through with the family business and strikes out on her own to help Beckett find success. She has worked for her family in motorsports forever but realizes she is more than capable of leading a race team to glory on her own…and she does! I loved these two women from the jump and so enjoyed their sort of fiery tension. Beckett has to learn to trust Ava and she has a bit of a tough time with it, letting go of the reins a bit. Their attraction jumps off the page and their chemistry is electric.
I was thrilled when Ava and Beckett gave in and got together. I was a fan of theirs and it was awesome to see how much they balanced each other. They have such a great foundation in their passion for racing, albeit from different vantage points, and they work well together. It helps that they understand each other's family issues and I just adored watching them fall for each other. They add so much value to each other's lives and help each other be the women they truly want to be. Leigh Hays does a great job in showing how Ava and Beckett find success in each other personally and that translates to out on the track also. I liked that a lot. The relationship evolves at a believable pace and I rather enjoyed the steamy scenes. I always prefer spice in sapphic romance and this spice was definitely making me blush along with growing the intimacy between our leading ladies.
This was a good one and kept my attention throughout. I suppose I worried that I might get bogged down by tons of details about racing but the author did a really good job of emphasizing the race day excitement and not so much the technical stuff. I found the writing highly engaging and wonderfully immersive. I never got bored and was pleased with this author's dedication to producing an exhilarating race book but ensuring that the love story was the foundation and focal point. I appreciated Hay's creation of deep and complex main characters. Beckett and Ava are strong, loyal, devoted and driven (ha no pun intended)! They are women that I both envied and respected as well as felt a bit enamored with. I enjoyed the use of realistic and natural dialogue. Every conversation felt believable and I enjoyed the banter and depth.
Overall, Running on Empty was a fun read. There is a lot to explore and the racing adds a healthy dose of adrenaline. Ava and Beckett are good together and I enjoyed their love story a great deal. A must read for anyone looking for a quality sapphic romance with excitement and depth!
Okay so the cover definitely captured my attention. A hot woman and a raceway? Yes, please. There aren't many sapphic romances that center around female racecar drivers and so I was very excited to read this. I don't know much about racing but I find it to be quite exhilarating and especially to have this book be dominated by women in such a male centric sport! And honestly the thought of a woman in the racing gear is most definitely appealing. Running on Empty was exciting, hot and so much fun to read.
Beckett is our star out on the raceway but has definitely dealt with her fair share of struggles and frustrations. She is talented beyond belief but feels like she comes up short in her career wins and it's really messing her up. Enter Ava who is a badass in her own right. She is through with the family business and strikes out on her own to help Beckett find success. She has worked for her family in motorsports forever but realizes she is more than capable of leading a race team to glory on her own…and she does! I loved these two women from the jump and so enjoyed their sort of fiery tension. Beckett has to learn to trust Ava and she has a bit of a tough time with it, letting go of the reins a bit. Their attraction jumps off the page and their chemistry is electric.
I was thrilled when Ava and Beckett gave in and got together. I was a fan of theirs and it was awesome to see how much they balanced each other. They have such a great foundation in their passion for racing, albeit from different vantage points, and they work well together. It helps that they understand each other's family issues and I just adored watching them fall for each other. They add so much value to each other's lives and help each other be the women they truly want to be. Leigh Hays does a great job in showing how Ava and Beckett find success in each other personally and that translates to out on the track also. I liked that a lot. The relationship evolves at a believable pace and I rather enjoyed the steamy scenes. I always prefer spice in sapphic romance and this spice was definitely making me blush along with growing the intimacy between our leading ladies.
This was a good one and kept my attention throughout. I suppose I worried that I might get bogged down by tons of details about racing but the author did a really good job of emphasizing the race day excitement and not so much the technical stuff. I found the writing highly engaging and wonderfully immersive. I never got bored and was pleased with this author's dedication to producing an exhilarating race book but ensuring that the love story was the foundation and focal point. I appreciated Hay's creation of deep and complex main characters. Beckett and Ava are strong, loyal, devoted and driven (ha no pun intended)! They are women that I both envied and respected as well as felt a bit enamored with. I enjoyed the use of realistic and natural dialogue. Every conversation felt believable and I enjoyed the banter and depth.
Overall, Running on Empty was a fun read. There is a lot to explore and the racing adds a healthy dose of adrenaline. Ava and Beckett are good together and I enjoyed their love story a great deal. A must read for anyone looking for a quality sapphic romance with excitement and depth!
July 26, 2026
When I saw this book promised enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and a romance set in the world of NASCAR, I knew I had to pick it up. It's not often you come across a sapphic romance centered around women fighting for their place in professional racing, and that alone made me excited to dive in.
The story follows Beckett Adams, once considered NASCAR's brightest rising star and the daughter of one of the sport's most respected drivers. After years of struggling to reclaim her place at the top, she's determined to prove she still belongs. Then Ava Broussard enters her life again. Having spent years helping run her family's racing business, Ava suddenly finds herself pushed aside when her father chooses her younger brother, Billy, as his successor. Looking for a fresh start, Ava joins Beckett's team, forcing the two women to confront a painful history that neither of them has truly left behind.
What worked best for me was the connection between Beckett and Ava. Their shared past gives their relationship weight from the beginning, and rebuilding trust feels like a journey rather than something that happens overnight. I also appreciated that both women had ambitions, insecurities, and personal struggles beyond the romance. Ava's determination to step out of her family's shadow and Beckett's fight to reclaim confidence in both herself and her career made them feel like fully realized characters.
Beckett ended up being my favorite. I admired how hard she had to work for every achievement instead of effortlessly winning everything. Watching her fight for every position made her victories feel earned, and it was refreshing to see a main character who wasn't portrayed as unbeatable.
The NASCAR setting is one of the book's biggest strengths. It's obvious the author understands the sport, and all the behind-the-scenes details—from team dynamics to the technical side of racing—added authenticity. That said, I found myself wishing there had been more time spent on the races themselves. Since the story revolves around motorsports, I expected a little more intensity and excitement during those moments.
As for the romance, I enjoyed the chemistry between Beckett and Ava. Their history, the tension of having to work together again, and the gradual rebuilding of trust created a relationship that felt believable. I especially would have loved a little more playful banter, longing, and romantic tension before they officially got together, because those moments are usually my favorite part of an enemies-to-lovers story.
The supporting cast also deserves a mention. They help shape the story without taking attention away from the main couple, and Declan quickly became one of my favorite side characters.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with memorable characters, a unique setting, and a romance that had a strong emotional foundation. While I personally wanted more high-stakes racing action and a bit more emotional intensity in places, I still had a great time with it. If you're looking for a sapphic romance set in the fast-paced world of NASCAR, this one is definitely worth checking out.
The story follows Beckett Adams, once considered NASCAR's brightest rising star and the daughter of one of the sport's most respected drivers. After years of struggling to reclaim her place at the top, she's determined to prove she still belongs. Then Ava Broussard enters her life again. Having spent years helping run her family's racing business, Ava suddenly finds herself pushed aside when her father chooses her younger brother, Billy, as his successor. Looking for a fresh start, Ava joins Beckett's team, forcing the two women to confront a painful history that neither of them has truly left behind.
What worked best for me was the connection between Beckett and Ava. Their shared past gives their relationship weight from the beginning, and rebuilding trust feels like a journey rather than something that happens overnight. I also appreciated that both women had ambitions, insecurities, and personal struggles beyond the romance. Ava's determination to step out of her family's shadow and Beckett's fight to reclaim confidence in both herself and her career made them feel like fully realized characters.
Beckett ended up being my favorite. I admired how hard she had to work for every achievement instead of effortlessly winning everything. Watching her fight for every position made her victories feel earned, and it was refreshing to see a main character who wasn't portrayed as unbeatable.
The NASCAR setting is one of the book's biggest strengths. It's obvious the author understands the sport, and all the behind-the-scenes details—from team dynamics to the technical side of racing—added authenticity. That said, I found myself wishing there had been more time spent on the races themselves. Since the story revolves around motorsports, I expected a little more intensity and excitement during those moments.
As for the romance, I enjoyed the chemistry between Beckett and Ava. Their history, the tension of having to work together again, and the gradual rebuilding of trust created a relationship that felt believable. I especially would have loved a little more playful banter, longing, and romantic tension before they officially got together, because those moments are usually my favorite part of an enemies-to-lovers story.
The supporting cast also deserves a mention. They help shape the story without taking attention away from the main couple, and Declan quickly became one of my favorite side characters.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read with memorable characters, a unique setting, and a romance that had a strong emotional foundation. While I personally wanted more high-stakes racing action and a bit more emotional intensity in places, I still had a great time with it. If you're looking for a sapphic romance set in the fast-paced world of NASCAR, this one is definitely worth checking out.
July 8, 2026
✨ALC Review✨ - 4.5 ⭐️
Ok, wait… I ate this up.
I was a little worried when I saw how short this book was that it was going to be instalove, but it never felt that way. The romance had plenty of tension and buildup, with lots of flirty moments mixed in with Ava and Beckett getting to know each other as coworkers. Their relationship developed naturally, so when they finally decided to go for it, it felt earned instead of rushed.
I also really enjoyed the audiobook. Megan Carver did a fantastic job with the narration, giving each character a distinctive voice and making it easy to tell who was speaking. She really brought the story to life, it honestly felt like I was watching a movie in my head.
I could’ve done without the miscommunication trope, but thankfully it was resolved almost immediately instead of dragging on for half the book. The only part that didn’t quite work for me was Beckett somehow being able to jump back into the race and win after struggling so much at the beginning because she was distracted. That felt a little too convenient.
The biggest issue I had was with the storytelling at the beginning. It took me a couple of chapters to adjust to the POV structure because I didn’t initially realize we’d switched perspectives, I thought the race car driver was suddenly worried about bills and damage reports.
There were also a few flashbacks that weren’t clearly introduced. At one point I actually went back and replayed a section because I thought I’d missed something, only to realize we’d jumped into the past.
On top of that, the story uses several time jumps early on, and I would’ve preferred to experience more of those moments in real time instead of skipping ahead and being told what happened afterward. I was especially disappointed that Ava’s first day at the new shop was skipped over, because that felt like a scene worth experiencing alongside her.
As for the romance, I did start to get a little tired of Ava insisting they keep their relationship a secret. I completely understood why—her career was the one at risk—but it was brought up so frequently that I expected it to become a much bigger source of conflict. Instead, Beckett was surprisingly understanding, so after a while it felt repetitive without really adding much tension to the story.
And Ava’s dad? What an absolute prick. I’m so glad she stood her ground and didn’t go back to him or the company after everything he pulled. Personally, I would’ve gone completely no contact because that man clearly cared more about control than he ever did about his daughter.
Overall, I had such a fun time with this book. The romance was sweet and believable, the chemistry was great, and the audiobook was fantastic. While I had a few issues with the structure and some of the storytelling choices early on, they were minor in the grand scheme of things and didn’t stop me from really enjoying the experience.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Media for letting me listen to this one early.
Ok, wait… I ate this up.
I was a little worried when I saw how short this book was that it was going to be instalove, but it never felt that way. The romance had plenty of tension and buildup, with lots of flirty moments mixed in with Ava and Beckett getting to know each other as coworkers. Their relationship developed naturally, so when they finally decided to go for it, it felt earned instead of rushed.
I also really enjoyed the audiobook. Megan Carver did a fantastic job with the narration, giving each character a distinctive voice and making it easy to tell who was speaking. She really brought the story to life, it honestly felt like I was watching a movie in my head.
I could’ve done without the miscommunication trope, but thankfully it was resolved almost immediately instead of dragging on for half the book. The only part that didn’t quite work for me was Beckett somehow being able to jump back into the race and win after struggling so much at the beginning because she was distracted. That felt a little too convenient.
The biggest issue I had was with the storytelling at the beginning. It took me a couple of chapters to adjust to the POV structure because I didn’t initially realize we’d switched perspectives, I thought the race car driver was suddenly worried about bills and damage reports.
There were also a few flashbacks that weren’t clearly introduced. At one point I actually went back and replayed a section because I thought I’d missed something, only to realize we’d jumped into the past.
On top of that, the story uses several time jumps early on, and I would’ve preferred to experience more of those moments in real time instead of skipping ahead and being told what happened afterward. I was especially disappointed that Ava’s first day at the new shop was skipped over, because that felt like a scene worth experiencing alongside her.
As for the romance, I did start to get a little tired of Ava insisting they keep their relationship a secret. I completely understood why—her career was the one at risk—but it was brought up so frequently that I expected it to become a much bigger source of conflict. Instead, Beckett was surprisingly understanding, so after a while it felt repetitive without really adding much tension to the story.
And Ava’s dad? What an absolute prick. I’m so glad she stood her ground and didn’t go back to him or the company after everything he pulled. Personally, I would’ve gone completely no contact because that man clearly cared more about control than he ever did about his daughter.
Overall, I had such a fun time with this book. The romance was sweet and believable, the chemistry was great, and the audiobook was fantastic. While I had a few issues with the structure and some of the storytelling choices early on, they were minor in the grand scheme of things and didn’t stop me from really enjoying the experience.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Media for letting me listen to this one early.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC copy of Running on Empty. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.
Beckett Adams, once NASCAR's fiery rookie, is now flopping, and despite her best efforts, a championship remains out of reach. Her small team do their best, and yet, it doesn't seem to be enough to reach glory.
Enter one Ava Broussard, whose decade of dedication to the family company fueled their domination of NASCAR, until now, when her father decides to give hand the company over to her younger brother Billy. And so, she ends up joining Beckett's team, both to help them with her engineering degree and to get even with her father.
With a shared past, it is inevitable that sparks of love and hate fly between these two women, tension and passion to the max; everything to prove and nothing to lose, they're going to get the championship no matter what.
So, everybody must know by now how picky I am with romances, and this book is no exception. Yet, the romance was the best part of it, while lacking a bit more in the sports department of the "sports romance" category😂(in my opinion).
While I do think that putting these characters on the NASCAR, to then barely focus on it, and so it feels like Beckett and Ava could have been competing in any other motorspot and it wouldn't have changed much since it never felt, for me, that them being in NASCAR affected much the plot... I will also say that I enjoyed reading it, because it always mostly F1,or even sometimes illegal motorcycle street racing, so it's refreshing to see other sports being depicted. Even if I'm going to complain about that depiction😂 (again, I don't think it is badly portrayed, just that I would have liked some more focus on it).
In a 180º turn, as I said, the romance was nice to see: sweet, full of passion, they *communicated* when needed and beyond, and respected each other. At first, I thought the tension between them, moreover with their shared past and what it entailed, would be intolerable, yet, it is one of the healthiest romances I've read lately. It bettered them as people, warm them, and beyond. I was rooting for them all along.
I don't want to be that person but, in the end, this book was average for me. I had fun, it was an enjoyable read, and it was a sweet and fulfilling romance that I had the pleasure to read, but it wasn't that deep, and I'm sure this book won't stay for long with me. I still recommend it to romance fans, for sure. It just wasn't the best book I've read in ages, and there's nothing wrong with that. Until the next review ;)
Beckett Adams, once NASCAR's fiery rookie, is now flopping, and despite her best efforts, a championship remains out of reach. Her small team do their best, and yet, it doesn't seem to be enough to reach glory.
Enter one Ava Broussard, whose decade of dedication to the family company fueled their domination of NASCAR, until now, when her father decides to give hand the company over to her younger brother Billy. And so, she ends up joining Beckett's team, both to help them with her engineering degree and to get even with her father.
With a shared past, it is inevitable that sparks of love and hate fly between these two women, tension and passion to the max; everything to prove and nothing to lose, they're going to get the championship no matter what.
So, everybody must know by now how picky I am with romances, and this book is no exception. Yet, the romance was the best part of it, while lacking a bit more in the sports department of the "sports romance" category😂(in my opinion).
While I do think that putting these characters on the NASCAR, to then barely focus on it, and so it feels like Beckett and Ava could have been competing in any other motorspot and it wouldn't have changed much since it never felt, for me, that them being in NASCAR affected much the plot... I will also say that I enjoyed reading it, because it always mostly F1,or even sometimes illegal motorcycle street racing, so it's refreshing to see other sports being depicted. Even if I'm going to complain about that depiction😂 (again, I don't think it is badly portrayed, just that I would have liked some more focus on it).
In a 180º turn, as I said, the romance was nice to see: sweet, full of passion, they *communicated* when needed and beyond, and respected each other. At first, I thought the tension between them, moreover with their shared past and what it entailed, would be intolerable, yet, it is one of the healthiest romances I've read lately. It bettered them as people, warm them, and beyond. I was rooting for them all along.
I don't want to be that person but, in the end, this book was average for me. I had fun, it was an enjoyable read, and it was a sweet and fulfilling romance that I had the pleasure to read, but it wasn't that deep, and I'm sure this book won't stay for long with me. I still recommend it to romance fans, for sure. It just wasn't the best book I've read in ages, and there's nothing wrong with that. Until the next review ;)
July 14, 2026
Spice Level: 2/5 Open-Door & Fade-to-Black
At one time, Beckett Adams was NASCAR’s hottest driver. Even though she can still achieve victories, championships still elude her. To get the championships she desires and works so hard for, her team hires Ava Broussard. Ava was once Beckett’s boss on another motorsports team, until she was fired by Ava. The closer Beckett and Ava get, passes are being made on and off the racetrack. Can Ava help Beckett win on the track? Can Beckett win Ava’s heart?
I received this audiobook from NetGalley and the Author in return for my honest review. I love a good forbidden romance and Running on Empty 100% is one of those books. Beckett was fired by Ava and now Ava is her boss again so Beckett has a bit of defiance against anything Ava suggests that could make her racing better. Once Beckett starts building trust in Ava, that’s when she sees her in a different light. I don’t know how to describe it but it feels like a slow burn but timing in the book would make it more of a medium burn. That’s just my opinion.
Not gonna lie, but there was lots of potential for this book to be a bit spicier than it was. There were a couple steamy scenes and then after that, it was pretty much all fade-to-black. No judgement. Every author has their own writing style and preference. For me, those scenes kinda set the tone and it was a little bit of a let down when that tone didn’t really continue through the rest of the book. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book. It’s angsty and sports related so this was an immediate listen for me and I wasn’t disappointed.
Megan Carver is the narrator for this audiobook. I thought Megan did an exceptional job with the narration. She made the audiobook easy and enjoyable to listen to.
🏁 Forbidden Romance
🏁 Sapphic Romance
🏁 NASCAR Themed
🏁 Workplace Romance
🏁 Team Owner x Driver
🏁 Forced Collaboration
🏁 Career Comeback
🏁 Family Drama
At one time, Beckett Adams was NASCAR’s hottest driver. Even though she can still achieve victories, championships still elude her. To get the championships she desires and works so hard for, her team hires Ava Broussard. Ava was once Beckett’s boss on another motorsports team, until she was fired by Ava. The closer Beckett and Ava get, passes are being made on and off the racetrack. Can Ava help Beckett win on the track? Can Beckett win Ava’s heart?
I received this audiobook from NetGalley and the Author in return for my honest review. I love a good forbidden romance and Running on Empty 100% is one of those books. Beckett was fired by Ava and now Ava is her boss again so Beckett has a bit of defiance against anything Ava suggests that could make her racing better. Once Beckett starts building trust in Ava, that’s when she sees her in a different light. I don’t know how to describe it but it feels like a slow burn but timing in the book would make it more of a medium burn. That’s just my opinion.
Not gonna lie, but there was lots of potential for this book to be a bit spicier than it was. There were a couple steamy scenes and then after that, it was pretty much all fade-to-black. No judgement. Every author has their own writing style and preference. For me, those scenes kinda set the tone and it was a little bit of a let down when that tone didn’t really continue through the rest of the book. Other than that, I really enjoyed this book. It’s angsty and sports related so this was an immediate listen for me and I wasn’t disappointed.
Megan Carver is the narrator for this audiobook. I thought Megan did an exceptional job with the narration. She made the audiobook easy and enjoyable to listen to.
🏁 Forbidden Romance
🏁 Sapphic Romance
🏁 NASCAR Themed
🏁 Workplace Romance
🏁 Team Owner x Driver
🏁 Forced Collaboration
🏁 Career Comeback
🏁 Family Drama
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Romance and NASCAR racing are a great combination. Beckett Adams is the daughter of a racing legend. Once a rookie star, she is getting older and has not reached the championship title. Ava Broussard is a skilled engineer with an MBA as well. She has been behind the gains of her family’s racing team for the last decade. When her father passes her over in favor of her loutish brother to take over, she accepts another offer. Now she is running Beckett’s team.
I am fairly new to NASCAR and have been to two races in person. So I enjoyed mentions of tracks I knew and understood the point system for determining championships. The race mentions in the story are important but not quite as intense as I’d hoped for.
The story shines when the focus is on Beckett and Ava. They’ve both grown up in the racing world and have that in common. For reasons, Beckett is not trusting of Ava when she first joins the team. And it takes work to overcome those barriers. I enjoyed their talks and dinners. And I enjoyed the consent and conversations about and during spicy moments.
Side characters are added to the story. I would have liked more of an acknowledgement from Ava’s father of what she had brought to the family team, but that may be asking for too much.
I received both the audio version of the book and a digital copy. I enjoyed the narration by Megan Carver so much I listened to 80 percent of the book and finished by reading. I raced through my listening and reading and am sure I will revisit the story again. Thank you to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and Tantor Media for the digital copies and I am leaving an honest review.
I am fairly new to NASCAR and have been to two races in person. So I enjoyed mentions of tracks I knew and understood the point system for determining championships. The race mentions in the story are important but not quite as intense as I’d hoped for.
The story shines when the focus is on Beckett and Ava. They’ve both grown up in the racing world and have that in common. For reasons, Beckett is not trusting of Ava when she first joins the team. And it takes work to overcome those barriers. I enjoyed their talks and dinners. And I enjoyed the consent and conversations about and during spicy moments.
Side characters are added to the story. I would have liked more of an acknowledgement from Ava’s father of what she had brought to the family team, but that may be asking for too much.
I received both the audio version of the book and a digital copy. I enjoyed the narration by Megan Carver so much I listened to 80 percent of the book and finished by reading. I raced through my listening and reading and am sure I will revisit the story again. Thank you to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books and Tantor Media for the digital copies and I am leaving an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
As I raced into the turns (of the page) I just held on and trusted the author not to make me crash into the corner.
This story was a fun ride into the world of Nascar following Bennett, one of the few female drivers on the circuit and Ava who leaves her families ownership group to sign on with Bennett's floundering team.
I loved the slow build of the relationship between Bennett and Ava. Even though I could feel their pull from the start I liked how they worked their way from enemies to freinds to lovers, and it was really only once trust was gained that they gave into their attraction.
The history that Ava and Bennett are both competing against makes for a strong backstory. Both have long family history in Nascar, both have worked to try to prove themselves, and neither have ever been able to shake off the family legacies.
When they team up together they have a chance to prove they not only belong, but can excel, in this male dominated and misogynistic racing environment.
I often gravitate to secondary characters and there were so many strong ones between Declan the engineer, Casey the trans nascar driver and his wife Leann. I'd love to see them feature again in other novels.
If you like a sports romance, enemies to lovers, with a touch of forced proximity then pick this book up. You don't need to know anything about racing or Nascar to get into this story. Also, the spice is super spicy!!
Thank you to Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an advanced digital copy via NetGalley to be able to read and review.
This story was a fun ride into the world of Nascar following Bennett, one of the few female drivers on the circuit and Ava who leaves her families ownership group to sign on with Bennett's floundering team.
I loved the slow build of the relationship between Bennett and Ava. Even though I could feel their pull from the start I liked how they worked their way from enemies to freinds to lovers, and it was really only once trust was gained that they gave into their attraction.
The history that Ava and Bennett are both competing against makes for a strong backstory. Both have long family history in Nascar, both have worked to try to prove themselves, and neither have ever been able to shake off the family legacies.
When they team up together they have a chance to prove they not only belong, but can excel, in this male dominated and misogynistic racing environment.
I often gravitate to secondary characters and there were so many strong ones between Declan the engineer, Casey the trans nascar driver and his wife Leann. I'd love to see them feature again in other novels.
If you like a sports romance, enemies to lovers, with a touch of forced proximity then pick this book up. You don't need to know anything about racing or Nascar to get into this story. Also, the spice is super spicy!!
Thank you to Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an advanced digital copy via NetGalley to be able to read and review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I've never read a NASCAR sapphic romance before so this was a nice new experience. There was a good balance between what happens in the car/on the track, and what happens outside of it. I liked the plot, the characters were well written, and I enjoyed all the places they went for the races. The romance had great tension and build up, fairly good communication, and great spice, but the pair were nothing unique. There was nothing that made them super memorable or remarkable in any way, even though I still enjoyed getting to know them and their reasons for wanting to be together.
The writing style took a bit of getting used to, especially with the switching of perspectives mid chapter and the time jumps. There were definitely a lot of scenes that didn’t continue where you left off or you wanted a little bit more from a scene and then it was cut off or just told to us rather than being shown. I loved the themes and NASCAR worked well with the story and enhanced the plot. I was definitely rooting for Beckett to win the championship and Ava to show up her brother and prove to her father how wrong he was in his decision. I enjoyed Beckett’s found family and the way both Beckett and Ava helped each other work out their family expectation issues. It made sense that both Ava and Beckett were hesitant to be in a relationship given their proximity and nature of their jobs, but I think they worked well to work through their differences and struggles, and ultimately ended up being a pretty great couple.
Overall, I don't think there was anything super exciting or different from the typical sapphic books I read, but I will say that I enjoyed the NASCAR aspects and thought the characters and plot were well written and enjoyable.
The writing style took a bit of getting used to, especially with the switching of perspectives mid chapter and the time jumps. There were definitely a lot of scenes that didn’t continue where you left off or you wanted a little bit more from a scene and then it was cut off or just told to us rather than being shown. I loved the themes and NASCAR worked well with the story and enhanced the plot. I was definitely rooting for Beckett to win the championship and Ava to show up her brother and prove to her father how wrong he was in his decision. I enjoyed Beckett’s found family and the way both Beckett and Ava helped each other work out their family expectation issues. It made sense that both Ava and Beckett were hesitant to be in a relationship given their proximity and nature of their jobs, but I think they worked well to work through their differences and struggles, and ultimately ended up being a pretty great couple.
Overall, I don't think there was anything super exciting or different from the typical sapphic books I read, but I will say that I enjoyed the NASCAR aspects and thought the characters and plot were well written and enjoyable.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Leigh Hays and Bold Strokes Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
Running on Empty follows NASCAR driver Beckett Adams and Ava Broussard, the daughter of a powerful racing company, as they’re forced into each other’s orbit despite their rivalry. As old wounds, family expectations, and undeniable chemistry collide, the two must decide if taking a chance on each other is worth risking everything they’ve worked for.
I absolutely loved this NASCAR romance! The buildup between Beckett and Ava was so well done, and the tension had me eagerly waiting for them to finally get together, the payoff was completely worth it. Their relationship was filled with emotional depth, from Beckett opening up about her late father and the lasting impact he had on Beckett’s career to Ava struggling with the disappointment and insecurity of not being chosen to lead her family’s racing company. Those vulnerable moments made their romance feel incredibly genuine. I also adored the side characters, especially Declan, who brought so much fun and personality to the story. The rivals-to-friends-to-lovers progression was executed perfectly, making this a heartfelt, swoony romance that kept me invested from beginning to end.
Running on Empty follows NASCAR driver Beckett Adams and Ava Broussard, the daughter of a powerful racing company, as they’re forced into each other’s orbit despite their rivalry. As old wounds, family expectations, and undeniable chemistry collide, the two must decide if taking a chance on each other is worth risking everything they’ve worked for.
I absolutely loved this NASCAR romance! The buildup between Beckett and Ava was so well done, and the tension had me eagerly waiting for them to finally get together, the payoff was completely worth it. Their relationship was filled with emotional depth, from Beckett opening up about her late father and the lasting impact he had on Beckett’s career to Ava struggling with the disappointment and insecurity of not being chosen to lead her family’s racing company. Those vulnerable moments made their romance feel incredibly genuine. I also adored the side characters, especially Declan, who brought so much fun and personality to the story. The rivals-to-friends-to-lovers progression was executed perfectly, making this a heartfelt, swoony romance that kept me invested from beginning to end.
July 22, 2026
Thank you netgallwy for the arc in exchange of an honest review
A sapphic love story of a nascar driver and her new racing executive learning to trust each other again after the last time, when Ava the racing executive had to fire her from the team.
I really like this book! I think the author was really knowledgeable about nascar and overall I found the racing very entertaining ( I’m an f1 fan ) I’m really glad Beckett wasn’t the best driver on the grid and had to fight and struggle to get her positions.
I also enjoyed Ava’s character, her struggle with finding her place as well as grappling with both the desire to prove herself to her father and be her own person was interesting to read and I’m glad that both love interests were flushed out and driven on top of the romance.
I found their relationship endearing I like that there was the push and pull of trusting a listening to each other on track and how it impacted their relationship off track. I do however wish we could a little more of the flirting, yearning a pre relationship banter, one they were finally dating I wasn’t as invested in their relationship but I still found it an enjoyable read and I’d recommend to anyone into racing and romance!!
A sapphic love story of a nascar driver and her new racing executive learning to trust each other again after the last time, when Ava the racing executive had to fire her from the team.
I really like this book! I think the author was really knowledgeable about nascar and overall I found the racing very entertaining ( I’m an f1 fan ) I’m really glad Beckett wasn’t the best driver on the grid and had to fight and struggle to get her positions.
I also enjoyed Ava’s character, her struggle with finding her place as well as grappling with both the desire to prove herself to her father and be her own person was interesting to read and I’m glad that both love interests were flushed out and driven on top of the romance.
I found their relationship endearing I like that there was the push and pull of trusting a listening to each other on track and how it impacted their relationship off track. I do however wish we could a little more of the flirting, yearning a pre relationship banter, one they were finally dating I wasn’t as invested in their relationship but I still found it an enjoyable read and I’d recommend to anyone into racing and romance!!
June 28, 2026
Running on empty is a rivals to lovers sapphic romance about two women working in NASCAR.
This book was amazing! I had so much fun with it. It took me a little while to get into Leigh Hays writing style, but once I did, I absolutely loved it. I loved how she built the tension and relationship between Ava and Beckett, taking them from rivals to friends and slowly to lovers. Nothing felt rushed, and you really got to know both characters on such a deep level.
The book explores difficult family dynamics, working in a male dominated field, wanting to live up to family set expectations, found family, and a lot of emotional maturity. I was also so happy that there wasn’t a third act breakup. There were also some really well done spicy scenes that fit naturally into the story and added to the chemistry between the characters.
I didn’t know much about NASCAR before going into this book, but I loved how it explored the sport and intertwined it with the determination of the two FMCs. It made me appreciate the setting so much more, and I definitely want to read more by Leigh Hays.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.
This book was amazing! I had so much fun with it. It took me a little while to get into Leigh Hays writing style, but once I did, I absolutely loved it. I loved how she built the tension and relationship between Ava and Beckett, taking them from rivals to friends and slowly to lovers. Nothing felt rushed, and you really got to know both characters on such a deep level.
The book explores difficult family dynamics, working in a male dominated field, wanting to live up to family set expectations, found family, and a lot of emotional maturity. I was also so happy that there wasn’t a third act breakup. There were also some really well done spicy scenes that fit naturally into the story and added to the chemistry between the characters.
I didn’t know much about NASCAR before going into this book, but I loved how it explored the sport and intertwined it with the determination of the two FMCs. It made me appreciate the setting so much more, and I definitely want to read more by Leigh Hays.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Bad girl Beckett Adams wants to continue building the legacy of her father by winning every NASCAR race she enters. Unfortunately, after years of racing, she hasn’t won the coveted prizes of her sport because she won’t listen to people who actually know more than she does about the subtleties of the sport. When the owner of Beckett’s racing team brings Ava Broussard on board to take his team to the next level, Beckett refuses to listen to her because it was Ava who fired her from her own family’s racing team. Beckett is determined to act like the spoiled brat she always has Slowly, but surely, Ava convinces Beckett to become a team player.
If you’re a NASCAR fan, you’ll love this book. If you don’t care for car racing, give this book a chance to change your mind. Hays shares her knowledge of the sport without doing information dumps. You may be surprised that you come away from this book with a new respect for the sport,
Hays does a good job of developing her two main characters and manages to keep her story moving at a steady pace without drowning her readers in the details of the minutiae of the sport.
My thanks to Bold Strokes Books for an eARC.
If you’re a NASCAR fan, you’ll love this book. If you don’t care for car racing, give this book a chance to change your mind. Hays shares her knowledge of the sport without doing information dumps. You may be surprised that you come away from this book with a new respect for the sport,
Hays does a good job of developing her two main characters and manages to keep her story moving at a steady pace without drowning her readers in the details of the minutiae of the sport.
My thanks to Bold Strokes Books for an eARC.
July 17, 2026
I had no idea what NASCAR was before reading this book, but I found out that it is not necessary to know the sport in order to read the book.
I liked how the beginning of the book is really centered around the competitions and how Beckett feels about her driving and her spot in the championship.
The book then goes on with the building of the relationship between Ava and Beckett, while they try to overcome the resentment and their initial disagreements.
I particularly enjoyed how the crew went from antagonizing Ava in support of Beckett, to fully embracing her and her ideas after Beckett's frosty demeanor towards Ava melted.
I feel like the emotional depth was there, so was the connection between the MCs, just maybe not enough to really seal the 5 stars i wanted to give to this book. sometimes it felt as if I were trying to guess how they came to feel what they felt, more than actually reading about it.
Overall I really enjoyed reading this, and learning a bit about the sport.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked how the beginning of the book is really centered around the competitions and how Beckett feels about her driving and her spot in the championship.
The book then goes on with the building of the relationship between Ava and Beckett, while they try to overcome the resentment and their initial disagreements.
I particularly enjoyed how the crew went from antagonizing Ava in support of Beckett, to fully embracing her and her ideas after Beckett's frosty demeanor towards Ava melted.
I feel like the emotional depth was there, so was the connection between the MCs, just maybe not enough to really seal the 5 stars i wanted to give to this book. sometimes it felt as if I were trying to guess how they came to feel what they felt, more than actually reading about it.
Overall I really enjoyed reading this, and learning a bit about the sport.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
I freaking loved this! I don’t even like NASCAR, but this story and author had me so interested in it. I loved seeing the in and outs of NASCAR.
The chemistry between the MCs is evident from the very beginning. They are both interesting characters that have depth. We never got their ages and I actually liked that. I would say that they are probably in their 30s.
I read this so fast because it was such a great story. It really hooked me right at the beginning and never let up. This is the first book by Leigh Hays and after finishing Running on Empty, I will definitely be checking out her other work. The only thing that prevents me from giving it a full 5 stars is that I wanted a tad bit more at the end. I loved the epilogue, especially getting to see a little in the future but then 4 years later. I just wanted to see them after they were publicly out as a couple more. We only get the morning after. But it is a solid 4.5 stars!! Definitely a reread.
I freaking loved this! I don’t even like NASCAR, but this story and author had me so interested in it. I loved seeing the in and outs of NASCAR.
The chemistry between the MCs is evident from the very beginning. They are both interesting characters that have depth. We never got their ages and I actually liked that. I would say that they are probably in their 30s.
I read this so fast because it was such a great story. It really hooked me right at the beginning and never let up. This is the first book by Leigh Hays and after finishing Running on Empty, I will definitely be checking out her other work. The only thing that prevents me from giving it a full 5 stars is that I wanted a tad bit more at the end. I loved the epilogue, especially getting to see a little in the future but then 4 years later. I just wanted to see them after they were publicly out as a couple more. We only get the morning after. But it is a solid 4.5 stars!! Definitely a reread.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Sapphic romance and NASCAR racing… yes please! That’s exactly what you get in Running On Empty by Leigh Hays.
Beckett is hot headed and set out to win a championship. Ava wants nothing more than to move away from the family’s business and show them exactly what they are missing. Ava takes over Becketts small team and let’s just say, sparks fly!! Want rivals to lovers!? You get that here!
The connection between the two FMC’s is undeniable. The spice be spicing the romance be romancing and the plot be plotting. Dual POV, fast paced and a story that will have you excited to read more.
There are many challenges that come with this sport and both women face this head on. Beckett & Ava are strong in their own way and aren’t afraid to stand up for what they want.
The audiobook was well done and the narrator did a good job with changing her tone to suit each FMC and other characters too.
I highly recommend this book if you are looking for something fast paced with good plot and spice.
Thank you Leigh, NetGalley & RBmedia for the early ALC. All opinions are my own.
Beckett is hot headed and set out to win a championship. Ava wants nothing more than to move away from the family’s business and show them exactly what they are missing. Ava takes over Becketts small team and let’s just say, sparks fly!! Want rivals to lovers!? You get that here!
The connection between the two FMC’s is undeniable. The spice be spicing the romance be romancing and the plot be plotting. Dual POV, fast paced and a story that will have you excited to read more.
There are many challenges that come with this sport and both women face this head on. Beckett & Ava are strong in their own way and aren’t afraid to stand up for what they want.
The audiobook was well done and the narrator did a good job with changing her tone to suit each FMC and other characters too.
I highly recommend this book if you are looking for something fast paced with good plot and spice.
Thank you Leigh, NetGalley & RBmedia for the early ALC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was a spicy sapphic romance that follows a stubborn Nascar driver, Beckett, and her rival-turned-manager, Ava. Beckett is talented but cocky, and can't stay out of her own way at times. Her small racing team needs some wins to stay afloat, and she keeps coming up a little short. Ava has been in the racing industry for years, working for her well-funded, big-named family team. She is undervalued within the family business and finds opportunity with Beckett's team. Ava and Beckett have some history to work through though.
This was a fast-paced (pun intended), easy read/listen. I'm not a Nascar fan, nor a fan of racing in general, but I still found this to be interesting and entertaining. Both MCs were likable. The side characters were great. The spice was spicing.
The book was narrated by Megan Carver. She is new to me and I think she did an excellent job.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fast-paced (pun intended), easy read/listen. I'm not a Nascar fan, nor a fan of racing in general, but I still found this to be interesting and entertaining. Both MCs were likable. The side characters were great. The spice was spicing.
The book was narrated by Megan Carver. She is new to me and I think she did an excellent job.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
July 12, 2026
*3.5 stars* This is a refreshing and much-needed sapphic romance set in the world of NASCAR. I appreciated the diverse gender and sexuality representation within the athletes and sports leadership in this fictional world. The book follows 2 female main characters - Ava is a whip smart engineer from a motorsport family; Beckett is a fiercely determined driver, also from a motorsport family. These two have a rough history, which feeds beautifully into the enemies to lovers trope, with aspects of forced proximity and workplace romance. The chemistry between Ava and Beckett is a delight and I enjoyed how their relationship evolved throughout the book. Ultimately, I felt the book moved quite quickly in certain parts and I would have liked to sink into some of the more pivotal story lines a bit more; but overall it was a great read!
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Media for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Media for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I have never been into racing in real life, but I have now realized that I love reading about it if the sapphic variety. The whole adrenaline with racing and then the enhancement with a hot driver falling for someone in the vicinity.
Ava and Becket start off as enemies but very soon it is clear that the chemistry is there. Their past and their work together to make sure Becket is as successful as possible is so interesting to follow. When we finally get more than that you are really invested in them regarding success regarding racing and as a couple.
This review is based on the free ALC I received via NetGalley. It was the first time I have listened to a book narrated by Megan Carver, and I think she did a great job with the tension between Beckett and Ava. I can really recommend this way of reading this book.
Ava and Becket start off as enemies but very soon it is clear that the chemistry is there. Their past and their work together to make sure Becket is as successful as possible is so interesting to follow. When we finally get more than that you are really invested in them regarding success regarding racing and as a couple.
This review is based on the free ALC I received via NetGalley. It was the first time I have listened to a book narrated by Megan Carver, and I think she did a great job with the tension between Beckett and Ava. I can really recommend this way of reading this book.
July 17, 2026
Running On Empty was really good, like, I can’t put it down kind of good. I was so into the story that I finished it in few hours.
I’m loving the sapphic motorsport book this year. I only watch F1, so I didn’t know much about NASCAR. I enjoyed discovering this new sport, its pace, and the way it works.
I started a bit on the wrong foot with Beckett, only because of how her mind was set on making Ava the villain.
On the contrary, I loved Ava right away. Her drive, her ambition, her management, the way she stood up for herself and stopped taking crap from other was admirable.
Their relationship is well-written. Perfectly paced, spiced just like I like it, and not too angsty.
The only little “complain” I have is the little time jumps, but they are not too bad.
Running On Empty was a good and fluid read.
I’m loving the sapphic motorsport book this year. I only watch F1, so I didn’t know much about NASCAR. I enjoyed discovering this new sport, its pace, and the way it works.
I started a bit on the wrong foot with Beckett, only because of how her mind was set on making Ava the villain.
On the contrary, I loved Ava right away. Her drive, her ambition, her management, the way she stood up for herself and stopped taking crap from other was admirable.
Their relationship is well-written. Perfectly paced, spiced just like I like it, and not too angsty.
The only little “complain” I have is the little time jumps, but they are not too bad.
Running On Empty was a good and fluid read.
July 11, 2026
I received this ALC audiobook from NetGalley and it was my first book/audiobook by this writer and narrator. There were some really great moments. There were also moments I was zoned out - particularly with the racing storyline and toxic family. First, if any readers are fans of racing/NASCAR, I think this book will be perfect. Second, the spice was *spicy* and it was *beautiful* - even though it felt like there were just as many fade to black scenes. The banter between the two MCs was fun. The narrator was not my favorite - just not for me. Had this been a different narrator, this would have been a much better experience. This audiobook was enjoyable enough but it will not be on my reread/relisten list.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews