I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this book. After Mia's story in book one, I wasn't the biggest fan of Jordan. This book picks up after the events of book one. Jordan is on his way to his sister's wedding and meets Pearl. Pearl has her own family drama unfolding. The two find a fun respite from their problems in each other.

As I said, I didn't really care for Jordan going into this book, but he definitely has strong character redemption. His character has to face the consequences of his own actions and learn from them. He also faces old traumas. It was such a pleasure seeing how his story unfolded and how Pearl steadfastly stood by him.

I found myself laughing out loud while reading this.... the sheep, Di/Top, and all the other comedic breaks really tied this novel together. It manages to tackle deeply emotional topics while providing an enjoyable read. I do wish it had more racing in it, but understand this wasn't as possible with Jordan's story.

Racing Heart by Darci St. John
⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was pure serotonin. It’s the kind of romance that combines chaos, chemistry, and charm in just the right balance (like an espresso martini you didn’t know you needed.)

Jordan Rubie, a recently sidelined race car driver with a bruised ego and a broken past, crosses paths with Pearl Carrington, an advice columnist whose life gets flipped upside down (literally) after a bombshell family reveal and a stumble across a beach. What follows is a road trip filled with banter, accidental vulnerability, shared flasks, chaotic relatives, and a destination wedding in a literal Scottish castle.

Pearl and Jordan’s chemistry jumps off the page. Their conversations are snappy and flirtatious without losing emotional depth, and I found myself grinning through many of their exchanges. Both characters are flawed in a deeply human way, Jordan’s guilt and Pearl’s identity crisis are written with nuance, and I appreciated that their connection didn’t magically “fix” anything but made space for healing.

Personal note: I’m not usually a fan of third-person present or this particular narrative POV (it tends to pull me out of the story) but I know that’s a stylistic preference, and many readers love this type of perspective. For those who do, it’s done really well here, with clear emotional insight and a distinct voice for each lead.

The settings (beach huts, countryside drives, castle stays) feel cinematic and cozy, and the supporting characters (especially Pearl’s eccentric family) add just the right amount of extra. There’s depth, hilarity, and tenderness in equal measure.

Recommended for fans of: grumpy x sunshine, road trip romance, complicated families, character-driven slow burns with heart, and anyone who loves a good “we definitely shouldn’t be doing this but we are” kiss.

Recommended for readers who enjoy:
- The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary
- Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
- The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Content warnings: grief and loss, past injury/accident, alcohol use, complicated family dynamics

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

A heartwarming romance with charming characters and just the right amount of emotional depth. Overall great book and highly recommend

I loved Racing Heart. The character growth that Jordan had from the first book (Crash Into Me) was great and much needed. I thought the meet cute in the beginning of the book was perfect and enjoyed the whirlwind of going to the wedding together. I liked Pearl’s character a lot, I found her to be relatable even with her crazy family story. If there is a third book, I will definitely read it!
Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

2.5 stars for me, rounded up to 3 since we can't give half stars.
I wanted to love this book. It had the elements needed for a great book, but I didn't enjoy it.
I found it hard to connect with the characters. I think I felt this way because the characters just were not developed enough.
The plot was not well structured. There wasn't any consistency with the writing. It felt almost jumbled together. Lots of great pieces, but the puzzle wasn't put together properly, so it was hard to stay engaged.
I also think it's important to mention that I often felt distracted by secondary plots with minor characters. It just wasn't melded together properly.
I do think this book has the potential to be great if edited again to add more character development and if the plot is structured a bit better.
I had a pretty hard time not DNF'ing about halfway through, but held on until the end.
I do think the author tried to shed some light on the trauma associated with grief, but it didn't quite come through appropriately.
Just my opinion. Again, I think there is real potential here, its just not there yet.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!
Happy Reading!

Darci St. John's Racing Heart is an exhilarating romance that pulses with emotion and energy from the first page. The characters are vividly drawn, and their chemistry leaps off the page, making it impossible to put down. With just the right blend of tension, heart, and triumph, it's a feel-good read that leaves you smiling.

⭐️ 2.75

It's hard for me to not particularly like a motorsports/F1 romance, but this came close.

Racing Heart follows disgraced race car driver Jordan and advice columnist Pearl after they literally run into each other on a beach in England. Jordan invites Pearl as his plus one to his sister's wedding and they quickly realize their feelings for each other.

The story was honestly super cute, but it was a bit too insta-lovey for me personally and I couldn't look past it.

What I liked: I obviously loved the motorsports aspect of the story! And like I said, it was a cute (and at times sad) story

Who I would recommend this book to: Someone who's like me and will read any F1/motorsports romance...but that's probably it lol

That being said, the first book in the series is on my TBR list. Will I go back and read it? ...Yes 😂

As a huge F1 fan, I wanted to like this book. It had all the premises for me to be somenthing I would enjoy, but the story didn’t really come together for me. It felt a bit all over the place, and I couldn’t really get the characters. There wasn’t enough background or depth, so I didn’t fully understand their choices. Writing style was a huge problem for me. I'm so sorry because as I said I really wanted to like this one. Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early. I’m sharing my thoughts voluntarily and with genuine appreciation

I’ll read any racing romance, so I was excited to get an ARC of Racing Heart by Darci St. John. Jordan, an injured racer, meets Pearl on a beach right after her family drops some big drama. One wild night later, he invites her to his sister’s wedding—and she goes.

They’re a great match, more like life rafts than soulmates, and that worked for me. The romance felt real, even without a ton of swoony moments. My only issue was the soap opera-level drama around Pearl’s mom—it took me out of the story a bit.

Definitely curious to read book one next!

The book wasn't how i expected it tbh :/ it's not bad but it's not great? I absolutely HATE the jewel sisters... But I'm glad that Jordan and Pearl got their happy ending together 👍🏻

There are positive things in this book. I think it's light and fun.But I didn't like a lot of things, apart from that.
Pearl gave me the ick, I liked mmc but that was barely it.
The book didn't pull me in to continue reading further.

This book had my heart racing. This is my first time checking out Darci St John and I have to say, I was really impressed. The storyline, the characters, the racing aspects makes it all a big hit. Jordan hasn't raced in a year due to some drama. His sister's wedding is approaching, and he decides to get out of town beforehand for a little break. This is where, he stumbles upon Pearl. He is immediately intrigued and decides to invite her to his sister's wedding. I mean what can go wrong. The road trip to Jordan's sister's wedding is hilarious and sweet. They make it to the wedding but Pearl's family drama that she was trying to leave behind, keeps following her. Read along as they grow closer but real life comes crashing in. This book is a hit and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

This was such a lovely hug of a book. I struggled with the first one, but Jordan and Pearl have my heart and I loved their story. It was cute and sweet, and Jordan is very much redeemed in my eyes.

I would recommend this one, even if you haven’t read the first, it sort of covers everything anyway, but if you are a stickler for detail, read crash into me first

Thank you for letting me read this arc, it was a pleasure

Racing Hearts by Darci St. John is the second book in the Apex racing series. I wish I had read the first book first before reading this one because I feel like I would have better insight of Jordan and his family dynamic. As someone who is in their F1 romance era, I was excited to read this, but unfortunately this book fell flat for me. It started off with promise, a meet cute between Jordan, a disgraced, hotheaded, race car driver, and Pearl, a straight laced columnist, that ends in a roadtrip through Scotland to go to Jordans sister wedding. But to me the plot fell flat and didn’t have a good flow. I sometimes had to reread to see if I had missed something. This story was told in both Pearl and Jordan’s perspective, but at times it was difficult to tell whose perspective it was. I wish that the characters were well more developed, at times the felt a little one dimensional, which was disappointing because there was potential for these characters to have amazing character arch’s. There was good chemistry between Jordan and Pearl in the beginning, but towards the end it faded. I rounded my rating from 2.5 stars to 3. Thanks NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

to say im disappointed is an understatement. honestly, i was bored throughout this whole book, i struggled so much reading this and forming a connection with the characters.

this story is written in third person- which i usually dont mind but you also got to be aware how you write because it gets confusing and loses people.. many times i got lost on who we were talking about and the information given, it just felt messy.

the characters felt underwhelming, i feel as though we would have benefited from deeper character development and connection. it was a forced relationship at times, it was only by the end did i really start understanding Pearl and Jordan. Their relationship lacks chemistry and was just rushed

there were some cute scenes but i struggled too much reading this so unfortunately not the book for me.

This didn't work for me. The writing felt all over the place and the characters felt underdeveloped. I just couldn't care about either of them.

Racing Hearts has such a good premise and cover, but fell flat for me in every other aspect. It felt much closer to satire than a romance novel. It reminded me of Wattpad in 2014.

The characters were across the board completely over the top and unbelievable. They lacked character development and had no chemistry between them, despite the plot depending on it. The dialogue was obnoxiously childish.

The plot was clunky and had huge holes. At no point was I able to fully grasp what was happening or why. None of it was plausible or even remotely believable.

The romance lacked chemistry to the point that I got the ick when they were affectionate towards each other. It was very much an instant love with no explanation or reasonable meet cute. At no point was I convinced that they should be together.

I hoped I would like this book. I’ve really liked racing romances in the past but this just didn’t do it for me at all. It’s written fine but so many parts of the plot were just a big miss for me.

The tone of the book felt very silly and goofy, which I love (!), but I feel like it didn’t totally commit which just left the over the top elements falling very flat. Books like The Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score are also very silly and goofy but she fully commits and everything feels like a cartoon which really helps carry the story and unbelievability of it all feel right.

On a personal preference note, this is a major major instalove book. If that is your trope then you’ll have a better time with me. But I have never read anything that insta-loves as hard as this. This mixed with the tone of the book made me just not really like the characters. I constantly found myself rolling my eyes and saying “ew”. This could definitely be someone’s cup of tea but this happened to hit on all my pain points.

I think my favorite part of the book were the jewel sisters. They reminded me of the campiness of the sisters in Pushing Daisies and I wish we had more of them. They were the shining light in this book.

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.