This is going to be a marmite read!

I enjoyed this one and totally absorbed into the world of Lena and Nico.

Some scenes I was no woah that's a bit much but fitted in with the storyline and why Nico is the way he is.

This book will get mixed reviews but I absolutely would read more from this author.

I loved this book! I’m a fairly new F1 fan and love reading fiction set in the world of racing. This was very well written and the relationship between our protagonist and her love interest was captivating and bittersweet. The characters were developed perfectly and I would love to read more books in this series or by this author. I would definitely recommend this to any F1 fans or fans of sports romance!

This book held so much promise from me, from the blurb I thought it would be right up my street..

Unfortunately I spent most of the book just wondering why?

Firstly, I think it requires content warnings if only for the countless instances of dubious consent from the get go. Secondly, something felt quite jarring to me about how many of the F1 characters were almost like real people (did all the initials really have to match, could it not just have been a completely fictitious F1 league, I’ve read that be done before and it’s worked fine).

Then there were the characters. I am fine with things being on the darker side, but Nico had exactly 0 redeeming moments and I really could quite figure out how exactly Lena fell for him. Also Lena as a character wasn’t my favourite. Her actions were questionable most of the time (showing up in Miami, ditching her supposed life dream to get on a transatlantic flight with zero notice) and it was hard to root for her when she was behaving so childishly.

I also found it repetitive (how many times did we have to read that she was British, or that she had a conservative upbringing that was never actually explored further?) and because almost all of the sex scenes existed in this grey area where they were borderline nonconsensual it was hard to enjoy it. it just didn’t live up to the promise of the blurb and I really was expecting great things. Also it doesn’t feel like this should be called a romance as it doesn’t have a HEA

As a fan of F1 and a good spicy read, the blurb drew me in immediately.
I did enjoy some aspects of the book such as the F1 setting and Lena's friends at the theatre, however some of it was a little lacking for me. I don't think I ever truly believed in Lena and Nico as a couple, as his actions never show the reader that he means what he says to Lena. While there were some spicy scenes, some were a little non-consensual for my liking. I also got a little annoyed with Lena at points, as she seemed to be lacking quite a but of self respect!

Hmm, I have mixed feelings on this book. It did do the job of pure escapism as I feel the glamourous world of F1 is well brought out. However, I didn't really like the characters, and not in a 'they're despicable, but I'm addicted to finding out what happens to them,' it was more just a lack of connection. There's plenty of sex but it doesn't make you feel anything, because the characters don't seem to care, so it's difficult for the reader. A shame because I think the setting could have made this book really unique.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy.

Dripping with glamour, passion and chemistry, this romance read taps into the current hype around Formula 1 at just the right time. Fun, this is slow to get going but enjoyable once it does. Personally the sex strayed a bit too close to non consensual and dominating for my taste, but Nico feels like a rendition of a F1 Driver close enough to truth to make this feel realistic. The steamy setting perfectly complements the hot romance action however, was a great choice. This will really appeal to the cross section of fans of Fifty Shades and Drive to Survive!

Quite enjoyed this book, fun storyline, learnt a bit about formula 1, full of sex, some of it questionable. Quick easy read

Where to begin… I had super high hopes for this from its description ‘His desire will consume her. And all she can do is surrender’ plus I am a big formula one fan and have never read a romance set in this world before so I was super excited to dive in.

However what I read is not what I was expecting at all…I think jarring is the word I would use to describe this book. I love a spicy book… this was spicy from chapter one and every scene just didn’t actually feel believable so took me right out of it.

There was the intention of some interesting plot points but they were and never really fleshed out. I finished this book just to see where it was going and it got more unrealistic as it went alone. I have read some dark/morally grey characters before and was on board… Nico was extremely unlikeable from the beginning but because there was so little explanation regarding Nico’s behaviour he just came across as petty and mean, with Lena seeming in love and giving him chance after chance for no reason?

I didn’t see the twist at the end coming however as I could not stand Nico in the slightest so I don’t think it had the effect it was aiming for. Unfortunately a disappointing read.

Rush
by Saskia Roy

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Erotica, General Fiction (adult), Romance


Well, I really wanted to like this but....it feels like the starting novel of a trilogy. I can't find any indication it is though so I'm reviewing as if its a standalone. And for me it isn't, its not a romance and it doesn't have a HEA, not really erotic as for me though there are lots – and lots – of sex scenes the characters have nothing but a momentary lust between them. They don't even really like each other for the first part of the book.

Lena says she not a racing groupie, but then proceeds to act exactly like one, finding out where Nico will be and conveniently placing herself there. She's basically a stalker, attracted to the character she's made up in her head, as frankly she knows nothing about him that can't be found on Wiki.
Nico just isn't a nice man, and even when they are together he behaves in a way that most women just wouldn't take. He's sexually attracted to Lena but again, knows nothing about her – not even her name at first.
I did like the action and drama, I'm sad the book didn't work for me as I felt it had the potential to be a real cracker.

Saskia mentions being influenced by Jackie Collins and I can feel the echoes of the sexual freedom in Jackie's books ( used to read them back in the 8o's) but it doesn't have the same Fun they did. I really just didn't come to like either character – and if this was a trilogy I'd have expected to at least get to like them a bit more by maybe halfway through. I'd be rating the book very differently, knowing there were changes to come. It ends like a trilogy, pt 1, feels unfinished. I think it would need two more books to undo both the dislike I feel for Nico, and the lack of respect I have for Lena, who at the moment just feels shallow. A duet just wouldn't be enough, there some hard work to do. However I can't find any mention of further books so who knows ??

Stars: just two, sorry Saskia, I really didn't enjoy this book.

ARC supplied by netgalley and publishers

I’m not sure what to write about this book to be honest.
It definitely needs trigger warnings.
I didn’t like the main male character Nico at all and was annoyed that Lena kept giving him chance after chance especially after what he did to her throughout the story.
The only character I really did like in this whole book was Davide and he didn’t feature heavily in it at all!

I give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you to Netgalley & HQ for the advanced reading copy.

This is quite a read. Lena has a hard time trying to make it with her writing and then she meets Nico. Its a hard read in some places but a bit flippant in others Lena and Nico are both hard characters to like but you still want them to come through. Plenty of heat but not always the easiest of reads.

I was hoping for a romance similar to books like the Dirty Air series and other books mentioned in the synopsis. However I did not get the same vibes and felt the description of the book was a bit misleading. I do feel that this book would benefit from trigger warnings as there was a lot of content that I was surprised by. I found the characters unlikeable and it was difficult to keep going with this book.
Unfortunately this was book was not for me.

Rush by Saskia Roy really was a book I had such high hopes for. I was really hoping that it would be comparable to the Dirty Air series by Lauren Asher given Saskia’s background within the media and Motorsport industry.

However, I was hugely let down. Our protagonist, Lena, is a British writer based in LA who moved to do the typical “make it big” type thing.
I am a huge Formula One fan, so seeing certain terms like DRS and the talking through of pit stops and some of the more technical areas made me rather happy. But what follows was honestly underwhelming.

Usually I’d expect at least some originality when it comes to the likes of team names and driver names, even down to the team principle names, but this book lacked that.

As for the romance aspect, I’d be tempted to dance around with the idea that it was romantic. Our male main character Nico, is a huge misogynist who was just extremely unlikeable. The fact that Lena kept coming back to him and kept giving him chances was quite frankly rancid to me. The things this character put her through were unspeakable.

This book needs to have trigger warnings with it. It’s not a dark romance, it is simply more of an obsessive and cautionary story of how success can overtake a person meddled with trauma of the male main character too.

Reader discretion needs to be advised because the cheating tropes and all the rest within this story would have put me off immediately.

Rush, the debut from Saskia Roy, was certainly a page turner. It’s being described as a dark romance, which it certainly is, though it’s not your typical contemporary romance. I don’t want to spoil anything by saying so but if you’re after a romance with a classic HEA you’ll not find it here; instead what you’ll find is an FMC who gets her own HEA, but without the MMC by her side.

Rush is Lena’s story. A Brit living in LA, Lena is trying to make it as a writer before her self imposed deadline of her 30th. One night she meets Nico, the reining Formula 1 world champion, and following that heady met she tries to orchestrate another meeting. Soon Lena is pulled into a heady world of fast cars, parties, and money. Lena has never been so reckless – and she likes it. Yet she comes to discover that with the heated passion between them that there’s an inevitability that someone will get burned…

It would be remiss of me to not mention that this book probably should come with some content warnings. It’s most definitely the darker side of romance, wherein which the line between consensual and not is incredibly fine in several instances. There’s also mentions of past familial abuse and cheating amongst other things. It’s also graphic in its descriptions and there is ALOT going on.

The MMC Nico is not a good guy and is pretty much irredeemable throughout, his only saving grace is the care for his brother. Be warned he is not the bad boy MMC who ends up redeemed by the conclusion. I did like Lena, our FMC and was really pleased with how the story ended for her. Though (and spoiler alert here) I’d have loved to have seen her on a date with Davide in an epilogue but that’s because I’m a sucker for a classic HEA. Though Lena went through a lot in the book I do think she made some pretty terrible choices, though I understand how it happened within the context of the story.

This book wasn’t what I expected and in many ways I enjoyed it even more because of that. It was a compulsive read that was hard to put down. It might to be to everyone’s tastes but I know a lot of people will really enjoy it.

I do feel this book needs to come with trigger warnings.

Nico was an extremely unlikeable character with no redeeming features at all. I couldn't understand why Lena gave him chance after chance, surely no decent sex is worth what he put her through.

I would've liked to have seen Lena and Sabrina's relationship develop further as I actually feel that might have bought Lena happiness as their scenes in the book felt like they had more depth. Nico and Lena felt very one dimensional.

Not quite the read I was expecting.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book this is my honest opinion.

This book was a really strange read for me. It felt almost like a thriller, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout reading it, but this was not very enjoyable.

The trauma felt fairly one dimensional and almost aimed at causing distress to the reader at times…

I thought the plot was interesting, but I think this book has been marketed incorrectly. “A dark and spicy love story”… I would strongly disagree and say this is a thrilling cautionary tale of success, trust and fame.

Thankyou to NetGalley , HQ publishing and Saskia Roy for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of 'Rush' which is due for release in July 2024.
After seeing so much hype for this book on social media I was excited to delve straight into it .
I devoured this book over the course of two days and found it to be an absolute page turner.
Saskia's debut novel follows the main character Lena who has gone to Las Vegas to follow her dreams and become a writer . She is hard on herself with targets and expectations and falls into a humdrum life until she unexpectedly meets F1 World Champion Nico Laurent.
Nico gives her that excitement and escape and there forms an infatuation and a visceral need and desire .
There is great character development throughout as Nico's backstory is told .He is broken , self destructive and is fighting his own demons .
I also loved the formula one scenes throughout and how realistic they were . A great blend
I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone wanting a spicy read with a great storyline
#Rush #NetGalley

I read ‘Rush’, Saskia Roy’s debut novel and I gave it 4 stars.

First thing I need to say - I experienced every emotion you could possible feel reading this book. It was a salacious, watch-through-the-gaps-of-your-fingers reading experience. When Nico’s need for speed and Lena’s L.A. life combine, they embark on a turbulent relationship that will leave devastation in it’s wake. You know it straight from Chapter 1 when Nico and Lena meet for the first time I think the way Roy utilizes the setting to heighten the stakes in the book allowed for me to read it in pretty much a single sitting. Something was always happening and there wasn’t ever a dull moment. I wanted to look away but also couldn’t stop reading.

Nico and Lena are to me, two characters (in different ways) making bad (sometimes downright disturbing) decisions. And as far as conflict goes, there certainly isn’t an abundance of it. Personally, I have no issues about reading about that but there is graphic content (sexual and otherwise) so look up warnings. The characters may not be relatable but neither is everyone in real life so I just sat back and devoured the show. These two characters upon meeting have undeniable chemistry and they really turned up the heat.

I liked how realistic the F1 aspect of this book was. A big issue I have with books dealing with F1 and other sports is that it’s always unrealistic and you can see the author’s inexperience with how the sport works - that was not the case in ‘Rush’ thankfully. Also Lena’s job, her anxiety about her play and writing to earn a wage, I really liked that. Yes, she almost squandered it all but she eventually did prioritize her dreams above all else.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

I love how this story celebrate relationships that buoy women emotionally without breaking their spirit, and when author throws out the forbidden trope in the lot with the most wanted bachelor into the mix, we’ve got pure magic. It was fire. So loved this.

This is my first DNF of 2024 and I really wanted to love it. I'm a huge F1 fan and I was excited to know Saskia Roy has been following the sport for over 20 years, which made me believe she knows her stuff. Never have I imagined the description of the book is so so far from the actual plot.
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Comparing this book to any of Ana Huang's is a blasphemy, Ana would never write something like this. I've only read the first chapter and the last 3, but what I know is more than enough to make me absolutely hate it. It can't be called a romance when there's cheating and no HEA. The writing is super crude and the way the dom/sub couple dynamic is introduced is very very wrong.
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I'm glad I DNFed this book and skipped 90% of it, I would have been even more disappointed to read how the hero cheats on the heroine multiple times with her best friend. Like have you read romances before?