ARC Review: Not So Fast by Karen Booth

 

It’s Formula One—getting revved up is all part of the fun in this sizzling high-octane rom-com for fans of Rush and The Hating Game.

When the curves are  this  dangerous, only a race car driver will do…

Mia Neal is a champion overthinker. Find something, fixate on it and spiral down. Fortunately, she puts that energy to good use: in a podcast about Formula One, her favorite sport in the world. There’s nothing about racing Mia doesn’t adore. The speed. The drivers. The fierce competition. The single-minded ambition. Ironic for a woman who’s changed careers more times than she can count.

Only now her salty takes on gorgeous Brit driver Xander Bishop have gone viral, and the podcast feels more and more like what she’s meant to do… Then Xander’s teammate invites her to the Miami Grand Prix to see F1 up close—and get in Xander’s head. He’s not exactly delighted at all the shade she’s been throwing his way.

It should be all-out war. Instead, Mia and Xander are stunned by the sudden crackle of…something sexual arcing between them. It’s irresistible, unbelievably hot—all Mia’s warning flags are waving. Because this reckless attraction is coming at Mia all too fast…

Title: Not So Fast

Author: Karen Booth

Publisher: Afterglow Books by Harlequin

Expected Publication Date: May 27, 2025

Review:

Thank you to Afterglow Books by Harlequin and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I've been hard up to find a good F1 book. One that integrates the sport and the romance seemlessly. This one does it so well!

I really enjoyed this book. Mia is a down to earth, every day girl who is very relatable. Her neurodivergence is a nice touch for her character. She's flawed and I think this is what makes her so endearing to the reader. She's thrown into the world of F1, so much more than what she could have thought it would be. You can feel her anxiety about being around the drivers, especially her favorite, Xander, after she's thrown shade on his racing in her last few podcasts. Of course their enemies status becomes something more when they start to spend time together. I love that Xander was willing to take care of her mental health throughout the book. It was refreshing to see a male character who gave themself over so easily to  this form of caring. Both characters had distinct personalities and were developed well.

The romance was fun to watch bloom in this one. You definitely see an attraction to begin with but then it makes a slow burn and build. The chemistry was there and the author pushed the relationship at a great pace. It wasn't insta-love which I do not love. It was refined and woven into the plot of the story well.

Booth did a nice job with including the F1 language as well as explanations. I think those who do not know or understand the sport of F1 will do so when reading this book. It wasn't super technical, which was nice.

I loved the pacing of this one. I flew through it. I felt Booth easily switched between the character POVs. I was happy to see both characters giving their view of what was happening. There was lot of humor and fun interactions. Booth's writing was easy to read and flowed well.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and I'm happy I had the chance to read it. I would love to explore more of Booth's books in the future. I think F1 fans looking for an easy to read and fun sports romance will enjoy this one.

Author:

Karen Booth is a Midwestern girl transplanted in the South, raised on 80s music and repeated readings of Forever by Judy Blume. She writes steamy contemporary romance and women's fiction. When she isn't creating fictional hunky men and the women who test them, she's listening to music with her kids, honing her Southern cooking skills or sweet-talking her astoundingly supportive husband into whipping up a batch of cocktails.