Guys. I’m in shock. An F1 romance that I actually like? Wait no, love! From the get go, I was convinced that Soltani knew exactly what she was talking about. My problems with previous F1 books usually lie in the misogyny or misinformation, but this was incredibly well researched and written.

The characters were believable, Willow was such a wonderful main character and Dev was a perfect love interest. He reminded me a bit of Daniel Ricciardo, so of course I loved him. I also loved the little easter eggs and connections to the current F1 grid. The romance was well paced and I adored the racing content, it felt real and had me on the edge of my seat. All in all, this was so much fun. F1 and reading are two of my favourite things, I’m so glad I found this book.

I really enjoyed this. It was such a fun book full of diverse characters and I loved learning more about Bollywood films and just how much goes into an Indian wedding!

I loved the chemistry between the two main characters, Willow and Dev, and the fact they are basically forbidden to be with each other for various reasons. Their relationship is sweet and believable with a few 🥵🌶 scenes added in as well.

I also really enjoyed the bts of what happens behind F1 racing (which I don't tend to watch, but this has made me re-think that) and it seems really high paced and exciting and obviously a lot more goes on than people realise!

The epilogue was slightly long and seemed to be more a part of the book but I was enjoying it anyway, so I was more surprised than annoyed by this. And I loved the little bonus scene.

4⭐

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book has officially reignited my love for Formula 1 romances! It had everything I could ask for in a romance novel: developed characters, swoonworthy love confessions, tension for days and NO THIRD ACT BREAKUP!!!! I repeat: this book has no third act breakup!

Cross the Line follows Dev Anderson, a Formula 1 racer whose image needs a massive overhaul after his (now ex) social media manager sabotaged his accounts, and Willow Williams, a recent graduate who is desperately looking to kickstart her career. Oh yeah, and Willow just happens to be the younger sister of Dev's best friend! When Dev offers Willow the job of fixing his image, the two of them find themselves struggling to maintain the purely professional relationship that they've promised to have.

First of all, the representation is this book is phenomenal in my opinion. Willow has hypermobility, and her chronic illness was handled so well. The book acknowledged the challenges without ever treating Willow as less than capable of living a completely whole life, a trap I've seen other authors fall into when writing about chronic illness. Both leads are biracial, white and Indian in Dev's case, and white and Black in Willow's, and I loved how the cultural representation was woven into the narrative. The Bollywood references were so enjoyable (and made me want to rewatch some of my old faves) and the author even tackled some of the tougher aspects of being a POC in the sporting world. One thing I would've loved to see is more of a look into Willow's cultural background as well as Dev's, but I loved diving into all the Indian wedding celebrations.

The character and relationship development was the strongest aspect of this book in my opinion, something you would hope for in a character based story. The friendships between Dev, Oakley, Mark and Chava were such a breath of fresh air, and I loved Willow's friendships too, even though they were long distance. Willow's friendship with Mark was also a nice addition, and the communication between all the characters was great. I really enjoyed seeing both Willow and Dev's relationship with Oakley too, and his reaction to their relationship really felt like that of a real older brother, rather than some of the cavemanesque reactions I've seen in past brothers-best-friend tropes.

The only reason this isn't a five star review is the epilogue (and this is me being really nitpicky because I truly adored the book). I felt that the events that happened in the epilogue, set one month after the conclusion of the main plot, would've been better suited to earlier in the book. As it was, it felt like a last minute addition that the author was using to try and tick a box in a list of Formula 1 tropes and it kind of fell flat for me. However, this is such a small issue for me, so it should in no way affect your decision on whether to read this book!

Overall, Cross the Line was an absolute delight to read! The low-angst, sweet and spicy, super cute romance was just what I needed from a Formula 1 rom-com. The writing was fun and easy to read and I'm waiting with extreme anticipation for whatever Simone Soltani has for us next!

I have heard nothing but absolutely phenomenal feedback about this book, and have a few friends who absolutely adore Simone's work!

I have to 100% agree with them, because this book did NOT LET ME DOWN. Chefs KISS. and it was my first F1 sports romance, so I am now hooked!

the characters were fun, angsty, steamy and there was so much banter which I adore! I loved Simone's style and am so excited to read more stories from her in the future!

This book also had so many of my favourite tropes:
- brother’s best friend (sign me up!!)
- my first but not last F1 romance
- dual POV
- chronic illness rep
- diversity rep for both MMC & FMC (this was great because I'm trying to read a lot more books with POC characters)

“𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰. 𝐒𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭.”

Alexa, play ‘invisible string’ by Taylor Swift. Cross the Line is an easy 5 star read for me. I loved Dev & Willow (Taylor Swift coded) so much.

I’m obsessed with how this book touched on hypermobility and chronic pain without making it a plot point, and yet making me feel so very seen. I’m yet to be diagnosed, but hypermobility is a pain in the ass.

I absolutely adore Simone’s writing style and I cannot wait to read more of hers in the future. Thank you to my Mae for recommending this book (and author) to me, forever grateful for you and your recommendations 💞

The vibes ™:
- brother’s best friend
- f1 sports romance
- dual pov!!
- chronic illness rep
- diversity

I read this book In 3 days and it was unbelievably good. I love f1 and I love romance books so with the two mixed in together it was perfect.
I loved the characters so much and how they developed their relationship throughout this story. Thank you Net Galley for this Arc

Not me giggling and screaming over this book! It was so cute! I just really love a good F1 romance!

It was so good. I like that the main characters were mixed race and all the hints to the real-life F1!

I hope we get more books as there are definitely characters I hope get their own story.

Highly recommend!!

4.25 / 5 💌🏁🏎️

e-ARC kindly gifted by Pan MacMillan, Simone Soltani and NetGalley, so huge thanks and appreciation!

I originally read this book as the self-published edition in a day might I add and then I found it was being picked up and going Trad and I was so unbelievably excited because this book truly deserves it. So to get to read an advanced copy for a second time, I was ecstatic.

And like the first time, it was just as perfect, cozy, and so fun to read. It’s SUNSHINE X SUNSHINE, what’s not to love. I love a good F1 romance and boy does this book deliver.

It's a sports romance with formula 1, that follows a driver in need of reform because of an accident and his best-friend's little sister who becomes his social media manager. Ugh it was absolutely swoon worthy. There’s lots of macarons and Bollywood appreciation with movie marathons it was so good and I did eat every second of it up.

I cannot wait to see what Simone writes next and I’m so unbelievably excited that this book will reach more people!!

💌 f1 romance
🏁 South Asian MMC & Black FMC
🏎️ best friend’s little sister (brother’s best friend)
📄 chronic illness rep

As someone getting into F1, I loved this. I thought the romance between the main characters was beautifully written and I loved seeing what the drivers in the story experienced during races. I loved the character dynamics and there was a perfect balance between the sport and the romance aspect. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone interested in F1 and romance novels!

A smash of a romance. This book had it all for me. There is the adrenaline of F1 and the behind the scenes clips of what really happens to make races work. There is the rivalry and fighting to keep on a F1 team and winning. There is the romance and deception and all of this is wrapped with a huge, loud, and flashing Indian wedding. The many threads are carefully woven together and both Dev and Willow come across as real and sentient and deserving of their HEA.

5⭐️

Thank you very much Simone Soltani for the arc. I'm obsessed with Formula 1, so I couldn't pass up this book. I love this atmosphere of racing so much, this book gave me exactly what I was looking for for so long.

Cross the Line is a great sports novel that has everything I love so much. First of all, I want to draw your attention to the fact that Formula 1 races are described in detail here, which allows you to immerse yourself even more in the atmosphere of the book. Secondly, I fell in love with the characters and their relationships. It was interesting to watch the relationship between Willow and Dev develop.

A year after graduating, Willow is looking for a job in sports marketing. One day, arriving in Monaco with her older brother, Willow meets Dev Anderson, her brother's best friend and a Formula 1 driver. He invites her to become a social media manager temporarily and save his career. But there is a problem: Dev and Willow have a history, they are both secretly in love with each other and kissed last year. Now they need to work together and keep their crush a secret. But each time their attraction becomes stronger, old feelings and burning chemistry between them threaten to flare up.

I can't stop thinking about this book. Simone did a great job, so I'm looking forward to the next books in the Lights Out series.

If you love sports novels, especially if you are a Formula 1 fan, then this book is definitely for you. Here you will find such tropes as a brother's best friend, forced proximity, sunshine x sunshine. Also in this book are south Asian MMC and black FMC, as well as FMC with chronic illness.

First let me preface this by saying I am about to go into my 18th season of being a formula one fan. I was a young girl who fell in love with the sport after sitting and watching it with my dad as a teenager. For that reason alone I am incredibly passionate about the lack of contemporary and romance fiction in the motorsport space. For the first time in years it finally feels like it's okay for women to admit they find the drivers attractive without judgement.

That being said, I am frustrated with this book. I went in with an open mind and the willingness to love it and yet from page one we were dramatising crashes. Drivers do not crash because they are distracted kissing a loved one, they wouldn’t get to an elite sport like F1 if they were so easily riled. Those cars cost millions. Anyway I continued on my way. The characters felt slightly juvenile but I liked Dev’s character on the whole. I did find the whole will they won’t they, we kissed last year, I love her but her brother will kill me a little repetitive but that seems to be the gist of contemporary.

Then let me move to the last 5% and the major crash. There are rarely fireballs in F1 as safety is paramount, Romain Grosjean’s crash in 2020 Bahrain was nothing short of a miracle and does not deserve to be revisited in a romance setting - someone nearly dying is not romantic. Dragging a further three drivers into it with a plethora of career debilitating injuries just blew my mind. To then also call for the race to be cancelled like Niki Lauda Japan 1976 or Ayrton Senna Imola 1994 (which resulted in his death), I just wonder if the bulk of the framework was influenced from major F1 events that resulted in agony.

For me this would appeal more to people who aren’t fans of the sport or are new to it - not those of us who have lived these moments live and in 4k.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

What happens when you’re a high profile F1 driver whose social media manager quits by telling the world you have an STD? You hire your best friends sister who’s looking for a job to fill the spot. Obviously ignoring the fact you’re both on the cusp of falling for each other.

Cross the Line follows Dev and Willow as they navigate putting his reputation back on the right line whilst ignoring their feeling for each other, trying to fight against a team that does not have Dev’s back and Willow managing her chronic illness.

A lovely read set in the world of F1, you’ll be hard pressed not to fall for Willow and Dev.

Thank you PanMacmillan and NetGalley for the ARC.

I've read a LOT of F1 romance books but this has to be the best one by far. Loved the two main characters and you can clearly tell the authors passion and love for F1 - it shone through the pages!! Very slow burn, angsty friends to lovers that I would recommend those who likes F1. I cannot wait for more stories from this author and will eagerly await for it!!

I really struggled to get through this. The romance didn’t feel developed enough for me- it happened too easily and the ‘conflict’ was resolved too easily. I wished there was a bit more yearning here, there was room to make this more tense.

I enjoyed the sporting concept and the social media element but found this a bit half hearted.

This didn’t feel developed enough for me and I’ve read much better novels on similar topics.

The redeeming element was the wedding- I really enjoyed reading about the different outfits and the cultural differences between The characters.

I’ve been wanting to read Cross the Line for months, ever since I first saw its cover, and when I saw it was available for request on Netgalley I smashed that request button faster than Dev’s lap times.

This F1 sports romance book was a delight to read; with a brothers best friend and boss/employee trope to give this sweet read some delicious tension Cross the Line was so easy to fall into. Dev Anderson needs an image makeover. After his last social media manager recked his image on her way out, Dev’s been hiding, but it’s time for him to shine. Willow Williams is the little sister of De’s best friend Oakley, and just so happens to be a recent graduate with a sports marketing degree, so when Dev offers her a temporary job, she can’t help but say yes, even if she’s been crushing on him since childhood. Spending so much time together is surely only going to deepen the feelings these two have for each other, but with Willow’s reputation and Oakley to think about, can the two make this work?

Cross the Line is the first F1 motorsport romance book I've read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The representation of chronic illness within was handled well and portrayed with grace. The sweet tension and build between Dev and Willow kept me hooked, especially reading from Dev’s POV which just showed how deeply he has fallen for Willow *chef’s kiss*. The thrill of racing was wrapped around each line giving this book an exciting pace that’s left me wanting more.

Cross the Line is a Formula 1 sports romance, following Dev whose social media manager leaves him in a bad situation where millions of people think he has an STD. Dev hires Willow to do social media and image damage control. Let’s say her brother is not too thrilled.

I loved how the chemistry was there from the start, it’s not a ‘will they won’t they’ romance, it’s a ‘when will they finally kiss?!’ romance .I enjoyed the fact that F1 actually plays a big part in the book and is not background to the relationship building, I think they were pretty equal. Personally I like it when it’s more balanced rather than the romance and spice taking over most of the attention, as there is more than the romance plot to the book.

I also liked the wedding chapters as that’s when things got really tende and secrets needed to come out, but also it was great to see the characters families, it really gave them extra depth. I liked how there was a lot of traditional Indian wedding elements to it, that were explained especially as the main characters aren’t white, Dev being half Indian and Willow being half black, and both of them belonging to the “awkward white dads club.”

Literally right at the end when you think everything is going well it suddenly all hangs on the line - and no it’s not a third act break up! It actually made me question if I am missing pages!

Overall, I found this book pretty fast paced and really enjoyable. I am giving Cross the Line by Simone Soltani 4.5 stars, and I am looking forward to what Simone writes next! I would recommend this book to people who enjoy sports romances, especially the likes of Throttled by Lauren Asher.

“My sunshine. My moon guiding me in the darkness. My Willow.”

‘Cross the Line’ is the first book in the ‘Lights Out’ and follows Willow (who’s a recent college graduate) and Dev (an F1 driver with a drive to place P1). Willow is Dev’s best friends little sister and while there’s history between the two, their romance begins to fully bloom after a fiasco causes Dev to hire Willow to manage his social media accounts.

Willow and Dev’s romance was so sweet - literally. Enough macarons were consumed in this book to go around the world twice (but I fully understand Willow’s sweet tooth). Dev is super charming and his intentions, despite having hid them from Willow for reasons the reader finds out later in the book, are very straightforward - he wants her and he’s not looking to play games with her or her feelings which I thought was so admirable. With all the Bollywood movie marathons, songs and the huge wedding that takes place, the cultural elements of this book was a personal highlight for me.

‘Cross the Line’ also touches on real life issues such as the racial micro-aggression Dev faces as a racer on a predominantly white team and in the sport. I also really appreciated the way Willow’s hypermobility was written. It doesn’t become her but also isn’t just glossed over and ignored.

I loved all the side characters - Oakley, Chava, Mark, Grace, Chantel, Dev’s parents and even the some of the drivers from the other teams like Reid and Zaid. I know the series will only have five books but I can see a potential story in all of them!

If you have you have surface level knowledge of F1 like myself, don’t feel like you can’t read this book. This book gets into all the sports action in a fun yet digestible way. I found myself cheesing when Dev finally took P1 like yes!

The epilogue was cute, a little cheesy sure but very true to them.

I’m ready and looking forward to the next installment in the ’Lights Out’ series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC.

What to expect:
🏎️ Formula 1 romance
🏎️ South Asian MMC and Black FMC
🏎️ Brothers best friend
🏎️ Chronic illness rep
🏎️ Macarons, racing and Bollywood references 🤩

Review:

Thanks so much to Pan MacMillan, NetGalley and Simone Soltani for the eARC, all opinions expressed are my own!

This book is a wonderful read set in the fast paced world of Formula 1, where the stakes are sky-high. Dev Anderson, a talented Formula 1 driver, faces a career-threatening crisis when a social media disaster tarnishes his reputation and jeopardizes his team's loyalty and sponsorship deals. The solution is to hire his best friends sister, but their chemistry is hard to deny!

What sets this novel apart is the magnetic chemistry between Dev and Willow, a recent graduate trying to break into the sports marketing industry. Soltani creates a forbidden romance filled with passion, with the tension between the characters driving the story, and keeps you hooked.

As the story unfolds, Soltani delves into the complexities of their characters. Dev's struggle to salvage his career while wrestling with his feelings for Willow is well portrayed. Willow, with her optimism and determination, creates such a heartwarming depiction, you’re desperately rooting for her. What sets this story apart is the chronic illness representation and the way Dev cares for Willow! Similarly, the south Asian representation made my heart happy, the Bollywood references truly made me giddy! 🤩

The story balances romance, sports drama, and family dynamics and showcases a strong and sweet love story.

I would definitely recommend! 💕