Ride With Me is a standalone sequel to Cross the Line, which was an absolute 5 star read, and I am so happy that Ride With Me was also a 5 star read! This was a hugely anticipated read for me, having been able to follow Simone and Cross the Line before it got picked up for traditional publishing, and being lucky enough to read an arc of it before it got picked up! Ride With Me follows Stella Margeaux who makes an appearance in book 1 and is famous for her macaroons and owning many bakeries, and Thomas who is a Formula 1 driver. They meet on a joint hen-stag do in Vegas, and in true drunken Vegas fashion they get married.


I loved seeing how Stella and Thomas’ relationship grew throughout the book, especially as Stella was in an incredibly emotionally vulnerable state after being left at the altar just a few weeks before the events of Ride With Me. All the characters were so well written and three dimensional, they each had personalities and quirks. Obviously we don’t get to know every character in depth, as there are smaller plots for Stella and for Thomas individually which include other characters. There are some really jaw dropping betrayals in this book, which worked so well in this book! This made for two great antagonists, which didn’t have super major roles to play in this story, but again, it worked so well.

There was some spice which I think was well written and was put where needed, and wasn’t over the top and I loved that it wasn’t a main focus of the book. The attraction between Stella and Thomas was there from the start, as well as rheir chemistry which was brilliant! Especially given that this is an accidental marriage/marriage of convenience, they still had to learn a lot about eachother but it came naturally to them. Simone knows how to write characters so well! There was a lot of diversity too, across both Ride With Me and Cross the Line.

Ride With Me is the second book in the Lights Out series, and I am truly excited to see whose book is next, I was so excited to know there would be a second book, and I am even more ecstatic to know that there will be more!! Simone’s writing flows so well, and everythint fits so nicely together, it’s honestly such a brilliantly put together book series (which can be read as standalones!) and I can’t wait for the next one! Overall, Ride With Me is a 5 star read, and I can’t wait for what’s next!

One thing I like about Simone is she knows her F1! There’s enough F1 chat to show that the male love interest is a driver. Just saying someone is and having zero of the sport in the book - like why do they need to be that sport star!? What does it give to the story line? Nothing. That’s what.
But Simone actually takes time to write in some races and even some background work behind the scenes of races - makes sense to the story that way.

I will admit, I hate the “fake married” thing. Even though they are legally married, but it’s all for show. To get them back in good standing with their own sides - board of directors and fans a like. I just don’t get the trope. It’s not my favourite as it’s always done when there is obvious chemistry between the two (obviously! Like why write about it at all if these characters didn’t like each other? Be a crappy romance book.) and they just ignore the fact they can TELL the other is interested in them in a romantic way. JUST TELL THEM YOU LIKE THEM AND GET ON WITH IT!!!!


Another point I don’t get is why is it when an American falls for someone from Britain, they can immediately jump on a plane and go visit? Either one. No, I’m sorry. You need to apply for visas. It makes zero sense to just jump on a plane at a moments notice and have zero altercations when you board or land. Immigration is a nightmare at times at airports!

But, it was a cute story and I love Dev & Willow popped in a little without making it a whole thing like some authors do. I don’t even think Dev said anything in this book.

I wasn’t drawn to the story as much as her first, but maybe it was just me as I’m in a reading slump and forcing myself to read really drags it more.

Definitely recommend this book though!!!

“𝐈’𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞.”

Rating: 4.5 stars 🌟

I was so excited when NetGalley finally sent me the email that I was approved for an e-arc. After loving Cross the Line I couldn’t wait for Ride with Me. Simone writes a man obsessed like no one else. I absolutely adored Thomas and Stella together - they fit so well together. Also loved loved loved the f1 aspect of the book considering I’m getting into f1 myself this season!!

the vibes™:
- fake marriage/accidental marriage? lol
- formula 1!!
- girlboss vibes 💅🏼
- yearning & slow burn
- spice!! ❤️‍🔥

I have been excited about this series ever since Simone started teasing CTL, and my hype is not dying down overtime it seems. Getting this book on Netgalley made me so happy as it meant not having to wait until I had my preorder in my hands.

The banter between Stella and Thomas was incredible. Their chemistry and tension were unreal and the bantering just makes you root for them more. Something I really appreciate about Simone’s fmc’s (and female characters in general) is how they’re all such wonderfully strong women; they might stumble but they’ll never stay down and always find back their strength, and that’s so sexy.

Another thing I love is how the males are so soft for their girl and their girl only - Thomas is a genuinely good person with the typical F1 driver temper, but the way he is around Stella makes your heart flutter. Oh, to be loved like Thomas loves Stella.

I love how clear it is that Simone is very knowledgeable about the topics she writes about and even with certain creative liberties, you feel that it’s written with care based on research. As I do have more than average F1 knowledge, it’s something I appreciate a lot.

Last but not least: we all need an Amara, a Janelle and a Mika in our lives - can I sign up for that somewhere?

A solid read, you could feel the sexual tension ooze from the pages. Full of wit, humour and strength. Dual POV, POC representation and strong, independent characters with their own lives and livelihoods but missing something that they find eith each other. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.
This review is early thanks to netgalley, despite that this is an unbiased review.

Ride With Me (Lights Out#2)
Pub Date: May 22

What you can expect in #RideWithMe:
Accidentally married in Vegas 🫣😱
Slow Burn ❤️‍🔥
F1 Driver X Bakery 🧁 Owner
Marriage of convenience
Open door spice
Obsessed MMC X independent FMC

Stella&Thomas happens to be in the same bachelor party both frustrated by the crowd they find company in each other.
After being dumped at the alter, Stella wants to make her comeback tonight and Thomas after everything he's been through lately, is more than ready to corporate. One thing leads to another and after a wild drunken night, they find themselves married.
However, this marriage might be the solution to a couple of problems they are facing, so they agree to stay married after all it's a temporary,mutually, and beneficial business arrangement and there are absolutely no feelings involved 😜😏🫠🙂‍↔️.
What will happen between the two? Come join us on this ride and find out😉.
The book had elements that I usually love and get obsessed over. However, with this one I felt there was something lacking and I wasn't totally hooked. Thomas was an amazing cinnamon roll hero and the stuff he does to please Stella were adorable 🥰 but something was missing and to top it all the chapters were very long for my taste. After all, this a romance it doesn't have to be that long.
Anyway, hope you give it a chance and enjoy it
Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC of #RideWithMe in exchange for my honest review.

Xoxo😘

Now, I love a good sports romance series however, I normally stay away from sports that I actually know because I tend to pick them apart, find them tacky and just can’t get into the story. THIS series however… I. KEEP. EATING. UP. It’s done so well and that is just a testament to the characters and world that Simone creates. I was hoping that the first book wasn’t just a fluke and I was correct. The second instalment holds up just as well.

The main trope of this book is accidental/ fake marriage/marriage of convenience, throw in a scene of only one bed and it’s a recipe for a great time. (Pun absolutely intended) As a Brit also, I had to give bonus points for the acknowledgement of just how great a full English is.

I genuinely couldn’t put this book down and had a great time reading it. Will absolutely be on the lookout for more of Simone’s books in the future. A big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me an ARC of this book.

✨4 stars✨

This was such a cute f1 romance! I enjoyed this one more than the first book!

I loved the tropes included such as accidental marriage in Vegas and the one bed trope😍 and the cuddling that happened with that! I also really enjoyed the fact that no only was Thomas wealthy (generational wealth but also the f1) but so was Stella (extremely successful businesswoman as we’re told she has over 100 stores/bakeries) and I really enjoyed this dynamic!

Thomas was such a sweetheart under his dry British humour (which felt accurate, not such if the author is British but if she’s not then this was well done unlike so many American authors writing British people and the language used - The striker I’m looking at you!). Stella was such a strong independent woman and I loved her sly wit and the banter this created with Thomas!

Would definitely recommend this one!

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Incredibly thankful to have had the chance to read Ride With Me before its release.

I wish this book was the first installment of the series as I enjoyed this so much more than Cross The Line.

It’s packed with that witty, addictive chemistry that has you wanting to scream into a pillow from contentment.

With humour, sports and romance at its heart, it could do no wrong. Sprinkle it with a woman that dominates in all aspects of her life and a gentlemen in the streets, you have yourself a Simone Soltani plot.

I do wish the general flow of the book was less predictable to the point I felt like I had read the big ending before somewhere. Despite that, the final chapter ties up all loose ends with a plot twist.

This author’s writing is great, so I really enjoyed reading this book—but there were some things that bothered me, and I’m not sure how to rate it.

Stella and Thomas met at a party in Vegas. Since it was Vegas, instead of drunkenly hooking up, they drunkenly got married. They decided to stay married for a year for PR reasons and to appear together in public.

Thomas was absolutely perfect. He was all in from the beginning, and it was very sweet.

Stella was tricky. She was smart, confident, successful, and objectively a badass. She would have been very easy to love if it weren’t for the way she treated Thomas.

I understand that she had been hurt in the past and was wary of commitment, but her constant push and pull was exhausting. She kept jeopardizing their relationship with her ridiculous rules and barriers, and I just wanted to smack her over the head with my Kindle. Thomas deserved so much better!

That said, I definitely see potential, and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.


3,5 stars

This book was the accidental marriage/fake marriage done perfectly. I adored Thomas and Stella from the start and found their chemistry and love story really believable. It didn’t feel rushed and the slow burn was impeccable. I disliked nothing about this book. From the side characters to the lack of third act breakup (which is always a win for me) I was truly hooked from page 1! Thomas and Stella’s development with each other and themselves was lovely to read. Although I did see a couple of plot lines coming a mile off it was so well written it didn’t even matter! Super excited for the rest of this series!

HELLO?!? Marriage of convenience & fierce F1 competition this book was made for the girlies and we ATE!!

I adored Cross The Line so jumped at the chance to read this one early!

Stella is a world renowned baked whose world had been flipped upside down by being jilted at the Altar. After moping for a healthy two weeks she finds her world flipped on its head when she meets the most stunning man at a bachelorette party!! Oh did I mention she accidentally married him and he’s an F1 driver!!! When they have to try and piece together the night before the story unravels into such a fun web of chaos I loved it! THE TENSION I was actually screaming at my kindle this was so cute!!

Tropes included:
- Sport romance: Formula 1 🏎️
- Marriage of convenience 💍
- Slow burn 🔥
- Dual POV 📖
- Black American FMC/ White British MMC ✨

Simone has definitely upped her game with Ride With Me! 🏎️
A F1 romance with a fake marriage and a slow burn? YES PLEASE! ❤️‍🔥

I've rarely read books with the marriage of convenience trope, but I enjoyed every second of Stella and Thomas' story. I especially loved the chapters where they first met—I completely forgot about the world around me and was just fully immersed. I think I read about 45% of the book in one go! 🫣

Honestly, I don't have anything bad to say about this book. I loved the writing, the pacing, the way the F1 and business storylines were interwoven ('cause Stella is a girl boss 💪🏻), the chemistry between the two MCs, the supportive best friends... ah, I loved it so much! To me, this was a properly done romance novel—the kind I don’t come across very often anymore because so many plots feel similar these days.

If you don’t know already, there will be three (yes, THREEEEEE) more books in the Lights Out series, and I’ll be racing to read every single one! 🏎️🏁🔥

Ce livre ne sort qu'au mois de mai mais j'ai eu la possibilité de le lire en avance!
Second tome de la série Lights Out de Simone Soltani qui se déroule dans le monde de la formule 1, j'ai passé un agréable moment en compagnie de Thomas et Stella ! Cette fois-ci, l'autrice nous offre une romance un pilote de formule 1 détesté de tous et la pâtissière que tout le monde adore... Rien ne les destinait à se rencontrer mais une soirée arrosée et un mariage à Vegas, ils doivent faire face aux retombées médiatique...
J'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé cette histoire qui est addictive à souhait et qui nous donne des papillons dans le ventre du fait du caractère surprotecteur de Thomas envers Stella! J'ai beaucoup aimé leur relation, son évolution et le fait qu'ils soient l'un pour l'autre dans n'importe quelle situation! J'ai aussi apprécié le fait que nous n'ayons pas de crise des 80%, cela est vraiment rafraichissant! J'ai beaucoup aimé le fait de revoir les personnages du tome précèdent!
En bref, un excellent second tome et j'ai vraiment hâte d'avoir la suite!
Ps : le premier tome de cette série sort le 7 mai chez j'ai lu!

I adored ‘’Cross the Line’’ as it was the first F1 romance that had F1 portrayed correctly and in a very interesting way. I also adored the characters and the writing. Thus, when I saw ‘’Ride With Me’’ I needed to read it ASAP. Honestly, it didn’t disappoint. It was again very well written, addictive and full of tension and romance. I have enjoyed every minute of it.

The story follows F1 driver Thomas Maxwell Brown, a British heartthrob who currently does not have that good of a press with F1 fans and Stella Margaux, a successful world-renowned bakery chain owner, who is picking up the pieces after being left at the altar. They meet in Las Vegas, during a bachelorette/bachelor party of their friends, and instantly feel the connection. However, after waking up in the morning, they realised they got married. Soon they both realise that a fake marriage might not be such a bad idea, for Stella to get her ex-fiancé back and for Thomas to score some brownie points from the F1 fans and his family.

For me, this book was a breath of fresh air this year as I was looking for a romance that had that chemistry between the characters, that tension and yearning, but did not have smut scenes every couple of pages. Honestly, for me, this book was like an OG romance that I would read, giggle and root for the couple. Also, it was nice to finally read a short and sweet romance book that isn’t long. I felt that this story had just enough plot, tension, smut, love and progression. The only downside of this book was the lack of F1, since the first book had so much F1 and I was expecting a similar amount since it is technically marketed as F1 romance.

I adored the strong female main character too. It was one of the few books that I read where the female main character was super strong, career-driven and didn’t need a man to hold her hand to help find or sort herself out. It was very refreshing to see.

Overall: Fun, full of tension, short and sweet, but at the same time very accurate F1 romance that I loved. Simona Soltani knows how to write a perfect romance story. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

I highly enjoyed this author’s first release ‘Cross the Line’ so I was super excited about reading this one however I didn’t quite enjoy it as much as I had hoped.

I really liked both main characters, the side characters and the general idea for the plot. I also liked the accidental marriage in vegas to needing to stay married for convenience.

However, I wasn’t a fan of the pacing of this book. The writing had a very slow pace and at some points dragged. The main characters meet cute lasted a lot longer than I think was needed, which made me feel like the rest of the story felt rushed. There were times in the book that weeks had passed between chapters, so it was difficult to truly see the relationship development between the main characters. It felt we were being told about their development rather than shown.

And as a formula 1 fan, I have to admit I was left disappointed at the lack of f1 in this book.

I still really enjoyed this authors first book and still somewhat liked this one so i will definitely continue to read her further work.

Thank you to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc of this book! 📕 where to start. I devoured this book! As a big F1 fan I enjoyed reading about that but it also not taking over the story. I loved the banter and chemistry between the two characters and also how the sexy scenes aren’t every 3 pages! What a joy this was. Big fan of this series and can’t wait for more!

I love Thomas Maxwell Brown a whole lot. I also love Stella Margaux. God, this was just a good read. I loved Crossed the Line and this is such a superb follow up and I’m a little annoyed I didn’t get to it sooner.

We start with a combined hen/stag do that leads to drunk wedding and a couple hoping to ‘fake it’ for the sake of their reputations. But what we see if Thomas being such a simp for Stella literally from the beginning and waiting for her to let go of the past and her idiot ex.

Thomas is down so hard for Stella that he is pretty much swoon worthy the entire book. It was such a thrill to see them admit their feelings for one another and let themselves be happy.

Simone is now an auto buy author for me, that’s for sure.

I will start off by saying that Cross The Line was my first F1-romance and I absolutely loved it, hence why I was literally screaming when I was approved to read Ride With Me. The fake marriage trope is such a hit or miss for me and more often than not, I found it a bit boring, cringe and too predictable. This was NOT and I repeat NOT the case for Ride with Me. I had the best time reading this book and I loved the dynamics between the two main characters. It had a bit less F1-scenes and was more oriented towards the romance development and character building, which I really enjoyed. Oh and the spice.. OMG! Didn't expect to be faced with such a spicy scene that early in the book but HOT DAMN.
Finished this book in the middle of the night after the Sabrina Carpenter concert and it did NOT disappoint! Can't wait for it to hit stores so I can get a copy and add it to my shelves.

One of my most anticipated reads of the year… turned out to be a little disappointing.
While i absolutely loved listening to the first book in the series, i feel that reading Ride with me made me quite bored multiple times.
The plot is perfect, the f1 driver x bakery chain owner is divine, but the connection between the maine characters took off to the maldives i guess, cause i couldn’t find it anywhere, there was no anticipating to read their scenes, at one point i just wanted to finish the book.
But i loved the comes from Dave and Willow.
It’s not a bad book but it s also not the greatest.
Overall if you’re looking for a beginner formula 1 book to read then I would recommend it, maybe you’ll be luckier than me and enjoy the book in its entirety

Thank you to the publisher for the arc