Had a lot of doubts going in to this book but honestly, I had a great time! I liked that it’s something different (not that there’s anything wrong with a solid sports romance or anything). Both characters were pretty unique in their own ways and their relationship was fun to see through. 

The family bond shared was one of my favorite parts. Especially the way they welcomed Noah into the family… ugh, sobbing. That kind of love and acceptance was really the cherry on top. 

Tropes:

Brothers Rival

Forced Proximity 

Enemies to Lovers

Blogger FMC

Formula 1 Driver MMC

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

I hate the insta-love trope and even though this was SUPPOSED to be a rivals to lovers type of story, they instantly had a sexual attraction that made me uncomfortable to read. Very unrealistic view of attraction tbh.

This read like a fanfic of the actual F1 circuit, before Danny left. Noah reminded me of a mixture of Max and Charles, with the family background and the color of the team.

The racing content itself was okay, but the pacing of everything felt so fast, especially in regard to Maya's adventures in the cities. They would be out exploring and then within the next few sentences, they would be back at the hotel getting ready. And the amount of time the characters spent checking each other out, I swear to god 😭

Didn’t really hit the mark for me, though I remember getting Asher’s books recommended a few months ago and decided to test it out now. I liked the description of the races, though I’m no F1 expert so take that as you will. 

Ok so this book is outside of my usual but I was down to read it for 2 reasons; Formula 1 and the book club at work. I think I actually snort-laughed when we discussed it being chosen for this month as a "spicy but not too spicy" read. Anyways, I judged the hell out of the author for the way she wrote racetrack terms, F1 team roles, and tried to decide which driver was inspired by which IRL driver. Jax is obviously Hamilton-coded. Maya's brother seems to be Sainz. She definitely went the CW route of "everyone here is illogically attractive and horny," which is amusing and fits the genre. I ultimately decided that Noah is just a redeemed bad boy trope who falls for Maya aka aimless hot-but-doesnt-exercise college grad chick. They are not complex characters and do not have a complex supporting cast.

Some of their thoughts are written in such a cliche, stilted manner. I've read better on Tumblr fanfics but it's fine, the series is called DIRTY AIR ffs. Pretty sure the author watched Drive to Survive on Netflix & went OOOOOoooo new framework for basic romance novel--it works but it's rather silly. Yeah there's a couple sex scenes but nothing crazy if you've watched HBO in the last 2 decades.

My disappointment honestly centers on the ending being all happily-ever-after & no real conflict. Noah goes to therapy & resolved his issues within a season, they fall for each other and get engaged. Womp womp, no stakes to anything. No crash, no loss, nothing. It's a true fluff read.

Would I continue the series? Probably not, I prefer to read romance not based in reality lol. I need warring states and political/magical interference.

+10 points for no pregnancy trope

3.5/5