It was the premise of this book that drew me in, but I think it was because I went into it with completely different expectations that it threw me off a little bit. However, just because it wasn't quite my cup of tea, it doesn't mean it can't be someone else's comfort read.

What I wish we'd gotten more of was character development - I felt like they were lacking the depth to get me to truly cheer for them. On the other hand, what I really enjoyed was the idyllic Welsh setting, and I was happy with the way the book ended.

Despite it being adult romance, the dialogue felt childish at times, so that was probably another reason why I couldn't form a real attachment to Pearl and Jordan. What I think would've made their relationship more enjoyable to read about would've been that undeniable chemistry between the main characters that just absolutely wrecks your entire existence which, unfortunately, I couldn't feel here. But I'm positive that I was just not suited for this book, and I think it'd be a cute one if you're more of a cozy reader.

Going into this, I had never read a Formula 1 or racing story, and sports romances are a bit of a hit or miss for me. Unfortunately, this was a miss because of a few things. Most importantly, there wasn't enough character development, and because of that, the main characters' relationship lacked depth. Another big reason was that this book felt like an adult book with YA writing.
All that said, I liked the premise of the story and the Scotland setting. This was a cute little romance, and in my opinion, with a little more editing, this would work better as a novella.

Didn't end up completing this book, although i adore books with some kind of sport focus, i was quickly bored reading this novel

I didn’t love this unfortunately, I found there were some really cute and funny scenes but it took me a really long time to get into and was a little lacklustre at times. I do think the writing was good but there was so much going on with all these side plots I couldn’t keep up with it all!

A romance story entwined with racing and secrets of the past. Darci St John has pulled out all the stops again, and created a world so immersive I truly believed I was in Scotland at one point!

The twists and turns in this story kept me wanting more and I really enjoyed the Easter Eggs and nods to Crash Into Me (another great story by Darci St John).

This is the second book in the Apex racing series which follows on from the first book, this time focusing on Jordan and his life after the first book...
This was a quick and easy romance read, fairly fast paced.
Although this book is meant to be based around racing I found that didn't come in until the end of the story.

I want to start by saying that I really liked the premise of this story. I'm a sucker for tropes and a good sports romance. However, I struggled to get through this one; it just missed the mark for me.

A fun, messy meet-cute was a promising first interaction between Pearl and Jordan, but after that, it felt like the story fell flat. The pacing was off, and the writing felt more juvenile, closer to YA, despite the spice. I didn’t feel like the characters got the depth they needed for me to form a real attachment to them. So, when the added drama and plot twists came in, I found myself struggling to care.
Racing Heart is a fun enough read, that just probably was not suited to me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

As a HUGE F1 fan I really hoped I was going to like this book and I just couldn’t do it, I made it about a third of the way through it and could not finish it. I am not one to DNF a book but I was not interested in the characters or their story, and the writing was VERY choppy. I also tried to read the first book in the series and couldn’t finish that one either. I think the story could be good with cleaner writing and story telling, I just was not invested at all in any characters or their storylines.

As a big of Formula 1 and racing books, I was excited to read Racing Heart. Pearl and Jordan are both characters that take a bit of time to fall in love with, but by the end of the book I did. I liked the book a lot and appreciated that it had a few side stories as well. I thought this book was a fun, easy read and rated it 4 out of 5 stars. It is the second book of the series and I will be going back and reading the first book. If you like racing books or Formula 1, you will enjoy this book.

Opinions are my own. I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

The book was okay, nothing serious, just a cozy book where you read it in a cafe with a drink and relax, that's the vibes I got from it 😅 Jordan and Pearl are so cute together, I love how cozy and romantic they were in the last few chapters 💙 I'm glad that Jordan isn't holding any grudges against his sister at the end, and honestly I hated the jewel sisters 😭 idk why but i didn't like them 🥲 but I still felt sad for Pearl when she lost her real mother 😔 overall, I'm glad that Pearl and Jordan are building their happily ever after together 💙🤗

I wanted to like this story. The premise sounded interesting and intriguing. The idea holds promise, but it doesn’t bear out. The book is choppy, there needs to be a lot more character development and backstory, and it needs to be more linear. Forgive the analogy, but since it’s been happening so frequently where I live, I’m comparing this writing to a brush fire: it starts off contained, but quickly spins out of control, with new pockets of chaos popping up here and there.

Also, a note from a farm girl:
A male sheep is a ram, a female is a ewe. Both are sheep. 🙄

2.5 stars rounded up to 3

•𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴𝘎𝘰𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.•

ARC Review.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Racing Heart begins with a promising meet-cute between Jordan, a former race car driver, and Pearl, a columnist known for her “Pearl of Wisdom” column. Their initial connection is engaging, but the story quickly unravels into a series of underdeveloped plot lines. Pearl’s discovery that her aunt is actually her mother, her search for her father. Jordan who had a traumatic race car crash that ended his career. Jordan and Pearl both experienced the loss of loved ones.

The novel would have benefited from deeper character development, particularly for Jordan. His grief over his father's death and the aftermath of his crash. We’re told he’s struggling but we’re never truly shown and feel the emotional weight he carries. These missed moments could have added depth and resonance.

By the end, it still feels like we’re only beginning to understand Pearl and Jordan. Their emotional layers, had they been explored earlier, could have made their journey more compelling. Jordan’s return to racing was nice towards the end. I loved this quote: “the woman who not only made his heart race, but also given him back his racing heart.”

While the novel touches on powerful themes grief, identity, redemption, it barely scratches the surface. The romance lacks authentic chemistry, the pacing is uneven, and the jewel named family was more distracting than engaging. What starts with potential ultimately loses momentum, resulting in a story that falls short of delivering a satisfying emotional payoff.

After reading Crash Into Me, I was really excited to read this one. But it did not start off well for me. There were bits and pieces throughout the book that I quite liked and thought were done well, but I need to be hooked in at the start to really like the book.

Cuando el impulsivo piloto de carreras Jordan Rubie huye a un tranquilo pueblo costero tras un accidente que amenaza su carrera, no imagina que conocerá a Pearl Carrington, una columnista seria y estructurada, lidiando con su propio caos familiar. Lo que comienza como un encuentro inesperado en la playa se convierte en un improvisado viaje rumbo a una boda en Escocia… y hacia una posible segunda oportunidad para ambos.

----


No entendí la razón por la que los abuelos de Pearl hicieran lo del cambio, al final ambas hermanas tenían la misma edad, madures y sus vidas cambiarían para siempre, además de darle tremenda carga a la "irresponsable" no tiene mucho sentido.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest.

This was my first racing romance book and let's just say I was hooked at the wave of that green flag! The MMC and FMC are so well balanced and even though they move quick, it never felt like it was too much too soon. The settings in Scotland and Michigan were so nostalgic for me. It really helped me get into the story, talking about places I know and love and have memories of my own there made it really special. With this being the second book in the series, some of the side characters already have had their time to shine. But I don't feel like I missed out on not reading it being able to understand them and their backgrounds. The author shares just enough to make them feel included in this story. I can't wait to pick up the first in the series and anymore if there are any in the future!

When Pearl Carrington rushed to Wales to be with her aunt during what she thought was a medical emergency, she didn't expect to discover a secret that could uproot everything she believed about her family. Nor did she expect to, literally, stumble into the arms of former race car driver Jordan Rubie. But when Jordan asks her to be the plus one to his twin sister's wedding in Scotland, she realizes just how interesting her life could get.

This book was very sweet! I like Jordan a lot, Pearl is a sweetheart, and as against matching twin's names as I am.. I actually think the gem theme here is pretty cute.
However, for a book about a race car driver, it is slightly evident that the racing aspect wasn't very important. All the details are a bit vague, there is minimal scenes of actual racing. I am slowly getting into F1 and thought this could be a cool intro to some insight into racing, but there wasn't a lot of that. I really liked the book though!

Thank you to NetGalley ad BooksGoSocial for the eARC. Projected publishing date: May 20th, 2025

A fun and quick read for summer! Racing and a countryside road trip? Yes, please! I also like that the main characters are in their 30s. There is a lot of drama, but I do love the extended ending we get!

I received an early copy of this book through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a fun read! I loved the first book in the series, Crash Into Me, and when I heard this book was about Jordan's story, I could not wait to dive in! And I was not disappointed. Hot race car driver and a Highland road trip? Sign me up! I loved these characters and was immediately drawn into their story and couldn't wait to see how they came together. If you like romance with complex characters, I highly recommend this book. I'm not an F1 fan, but I tore through this book and can't wait for the next one.

I FINALLY FINISHED IT, GOD I'M FREE 😭

2/5 🌟
3/5 🌶

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for letting me read this book and for it being my first arc I ever read.

my honest opinion 🪩

I'll be straight forward with my opinon ... this was down bad boring as hell for me to read. Reading this was like going down the highway ... no turns, no bumps, no twists. All I can say is that that I think this clearly wasn't a hit for me, but it could be for somebody else, it depends on the person's preferences.


character analysis 🎐

Pearl 🗞 - Pearl is a press reporter, who's 34 years old. Her life kinda twists when her "mom" drops a bomb with a big secret on her.

Jordan 🏎 - Jordan is an ex Apex driver, who's also 34. He comes to England where he then meets Pearl.

In my opinion the characters weren't really thought through. I mean I would want more backstory from both of them beause the backstory there wasn't enough ... I NEED THE DETAILS ABOUT THEIR LIVES TO FEEL INCLUDED IN THE STORY!!


Why I disliked this book so much? 🎏

As I said this was incredibly boring to read. When I read a book, I expect it to have at least some sort of story line, which this book severely lacked ... it had no direction and there was too many aspects for me to take in and since it was written in 3rd person I was sometimes really confused who we are talking about at the moment. I need to correct myself tho ... there were twists but they were really out of place to make me feel any sort of emotion or surpise. Spice scenes were out of place, I mean I've seen more thought through spice scenes than these in this book ... more heartwarming I'd say. I really had a hard time reading this and if someone asks me about this book I'm going to be brutally honest about it.


Things that I liked about this book 🎊

There was bunch of scenes that felt really cute to read and were really heartwarming. I always liked seeing Jordan care about Pearl so deeply after only knowing her for a bunch of days ♡

Thanks for reading my review ♡

(I posted this on Goodreads as well)

~ Klára M.

I found it a fun and quick read! I read it in one setting and I found the characters well development. Maybe there is a lot of drama , but I enjoyed the extended series end which gave me the opportunity to fully appreciate the characters journey!