I knew as soon as I read the title of this book that it was going to fit my vibe. My intuition was exactly right! For someone who knows absolutely nothing about biking, this was an absolute delight to read! The characters are deeply likable (with realistic flaws) and the situations are so fun!

Lori is the daughter of elite athletes who is known for her skill on a bike. After a major injury, she met a friend online who helped her work back into top shape. But going back to the race circuit has been tougher than she thought when that online friend is suddenly there in person.

Sebastien is a cyclist in his last year of his career. He is at ease with retirement and happy to have spent his training time with his new online friend. But when his online friend turns out to be one of the best cyclists in the world, he is thrown off.

As these two navigate a budding friendship and feelings, a fake relationship proves valuable for both of them. But with one person in the height of her career and another at the end, they struggle to see a path to the future.

This book is a hilarious, dorky, friends to lovers read! If you’re looking for something lighthearted and fun, this book is a fun adventure!

Pre Thouhts
- romance + sports

Overall
- A story with great twists and turns. The FMC and MMC great characters grew and developed over the course of the book. the book also touched on the complexities of cycling, how it impacts the person in the sport and the amount of pressure one can be under.

Stars 4/5
Spice 3/5

Tropes
- forced proximity
- Fake dating
- Sports romance
- MMC Falls first
- Dual pov

Thank you to Bedford square publishers, net galley and Leonine Mack for the opportunity to review this arc. All thoughts are my own xx

I was in my own personal reading rut when I read this, and let me say it helped pull me out. Firstly, if you love any sort of sport romance books this is one to not skip. I felt myself rooting for both Lori and Seb throughout the entire book. Their relationship had the balance of any good romance story: competitors, secret romance and just the right amount of tension between it all. The side characters (while varying in level of involvement) gave me hope of more in the series, as I found myself wanting to hear more on their stories - I need more Colin! And would be remiss to not mention the Taylor Swift string throughout that led to the best ending, that had me smiling ear to ear while I read it. Overall, I loved it and would recommend. Hopeful for a series as I just need more from the other characters next!

Secret identities, fake dating (always a favorite), and grumpy-sunshine = just to give you a few tropes you get with this book.
We have our FMC, Lori, who is a bit prickly and rough around the edges. Think black cat and highly focused. She is trying to get back to riding after an injury left her initially struggling.
Then, we have Seb, MMC, think golden retriever. That is all I could think every time I read more, and as the plot progressed, just major golden retriever vibes.
Seb and Lor = crash. BOOM.
Seb is such a good guy. He is so respectful of the work that Lori does to do her sport.
Both characters had development in this book! They faced challenges, frustrating times, and then fell in love with one another.
The plot was well structured, and the pace was exactly right for this book.
Again, characters are well developed. They are written sort of connectedly around one another. Initially a two-lane road, merges to one lane, back to a two-lane road, and then ends on a one-lane road. I hope that analogy makes sense... lol.
I know NOTHING about bike racing/riding, and I still enjoyed the book. Now I feel like I need to learn more! So if you like sports romance, this is a great book for you.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Leonie Mack for the opportunity to review this ARC!
Happy Reading.

Head Over Wheels by Leonie Mack is an absolute delight—equal parts swoony and sincere, with a healthy dose of yearning and heart.

This one hits so many of my favorite tropes: secret identities, fake dating, sunshine/grumpy. Seb, the male lead, is the human embodiment of golden retriever energy. As a road racing domestique, he’s spent his career making sure others shine, and that generous, self-effacing nature extends into his personal life. He’s got one last season before retirement, and he’s determined to go out without shaking up the status quo—until Lori crashes (literally and metaphorically) into his world.

Lori, the female lead, is a classic black cat heroine: prickly, focused, and fighting her way back after an injury and a rocky start to the season. The tension and chemistry between her and Seb is palpable. The fake dating setup is used perfectly to bring them together while keeping their goals and vulnerabilities front and center.

One of the things I loved most about this book is how deeply Seb respects Lori’s career. He’s hesitant to agree to the fake relationship because he doesn’t want Lori to be sidelined or defined as “someone’s girlfriend”—he knows she’s an elite athlete and wants the world to see her as such. (This was a breath of fresh air, especially after reading Heavy Hitter, where the MMC was noticeably less supportive of the FMC’s career.)

The spice level is a solid 3–4 peppers—enough to turn up the heat without ever feeling gratuitous. Every moment of intimacy feels earned and emotionally charged.

Mack draws both the characters and the cycling world with impressive clarity and heart. If you love sports romance, emotional arcs, and men who genuinely lift up the women they love, this one’s for you.

Head Over Wheels was such a fun read!!! I love sport romance books, and I was so excited that this one featured professional cycling, so original! I now need more books with smaller, less popular sports on them because the cycling parts of this book were amazing and some of my favourites! They also made me realise that my knowledge on professional cycling was very basic despite growing up watching the Tour de France, although that's not much of a surprise I guess! Leonie Mack captured the excitement of the races perfectly and made those scenes thrilling to read!

I liked the setting of the story, the writing and pace were good, and it felt realistic that the story expanded over a few months - it gave time for the relationship and feelings to develop! I liked Seb immediately, and although it took me a couple of chapters to warm up to Lori, I ended up being her biggest fan! I was constantly rooting for her, and alth0ugh she had the worst luck, it was entertaining to read and so satisfying when she got back to her top form! I loved how Seb and Lori had a previous connection and relationship through Zpeed before they ever met in person, it helped make the romance more realistic, and added an extra level of intimacy between them because they shared that "secret". I liked how they were so silly to think that they could just get it out of their systems (of course they couldn't!) and every time they were drawn to one another I wanted to squeal with glee. Seb was down soooooo bad for Lori and he was just adorable. I liked the relationship development and loved the scenes wandering around Italian towns and getting to know one another. The yearning and tension kept building up throughout the story and I loved when they finally gave in!

My only negative point about this book was that, although I like fake dating, I was not expecting that trope in this one and I wasn't the biggest fan of how it was done. I honestly don't think it was necessary and it didn't bring that much to the story.

The character development was great, they both learn things from each other and fought to have a future together. I was very happy that they both got what they wanted from the start and none of them had to give up something for the other, but rather worked together to make their relationship strong. Their communication game was strong throughout the book, which I loved! The ending was so fun and I really enjoyed reading it, I kept giggling and kicking my feet!

Thank you to NetGalley, Bedford Square Publishers, and Leonie Mack for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What to expect:
🏅Professional Cyclists
Online Friends
Cinnamon Roll MMC 💕
❤️‍🩹 Competing After Injury
Age Gap
Yearning & Tension
🔥 Dating Arrangement
Insecurities

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

‘Besides, I know when it’s you texting him because he turns into a puppy and he can’t stop smiling.’

Lori Gallagher is coming back from a serious injury. She’s got to focus, because this year, nothing can go wrong. It’s why she abruptly exited the online Zpeed chat with her friend LoonieDunes. Nothing was going to get in her way, except maybe Sébastien Franck.

The new starter on the Harper-Stacked team literally knocks Lori off her bike when they meet, and it’s not long before she sees LoonieDunes in everything Seb says and does.

Seb doesn’t know why FolkLore99 suddenly left Zpeed, But suddenly she’s right before him, a beautiful spitfire that takes his breath away and leaves him weak in the knees.

Head Over Wheels was such a great read. It drew me in straight away, and I devoured every word. I loved the relationship between Lori and Seb, where it started and how it developed. I loved the new sides of themselves these characters explored, and I really loved the cycling aspects, which made for a thrilling read, as did the romance!

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley to provide an honest review.

"Head Over Wheels" was thoroughly enjoyable! I have never read a romance novel about professional cyclists before, but I genuinely appreciated that unique aspect of the story.

The book follows Lori, who is struggling with self-doubt after a significant injury. During her off-season, she begins a pen pal relationship with a man but abruptly ends it when her feelings become too intense. Back in training, a new teammate reminds her of her pen pal, leading to a question of whether it could be him.

I particularly enjoyed the character development and the realistic portrayal of communication between the characters.

Sebastian's feelings develop first and intensely, a dynamic I found quite appealing.

Overall, this is an excellent romance novel, and I highly recommend it.

What a triumph of a book! Yellow jersey wearing, tour winning book. I loved the chemistry from the very beginning, the way the story flew through the twists and turns without even stopping for so much as a cobble.

I do enjoy watching the Tour de France normally, and the way Leonie got the excitement of the race on the page was brilliant.

Seb is most definitely the race leader amongst book boyfriends.

I really recommend this book even if you aren’t into cycling, it’s a brilliant story set in that world and it will lure you in.

As a Belgian I loved reading my first romance book with a Belgian love interest ahhh🥹
Anyway, although I don’t know anything about professional cycling, THIS was such a fun ride.
Loved how the characters’ relationship developed throughout the story.
From anonymous online friends to real life friends and then more👀🌶️

Thank you for the arc, really recommend to anyone looking for a fun sports romance!

I know nothing about pro cycling, but I love a good sports romance, and this one didn’t disappoint. I completely loved it!
Was it hard to get into the specifics of the sport and understand the terms? Yup! But it was interesting to learn about it.

Now, on the romance… Seb is the definition of down bad! He fell first and hard and I was so here for it! It was interesting how they met and how they revolved around each other, how they have to deal with personal challenges first and then finally truly love each other.
Both characters learn from each other in so many terms, and there was a true character development for each of them.

I always love it when there are Taylor Swift references in books. What Seb did for Lori at the end was so cool and funny, I was literally the heart-eyes emoji while reading it…

The story was fun, romantic and interesting! I totally recommend it.

I went into this book pretty much blind, I’m not particularly into cycling as a sport and had only briefly read the blurb so I was completely taken away by how much I loved LOVED this book.

Lori Gallagher aka Folklore99 felt really relatable in trying to find her footing after some professional setbacks and being wary of falling for someone new. Seb aka Looney_Dunes678 was just the perfect down bad MMC. I immediately loved much he obviously liked her and all of the small things he did for her.

The way the plot maneuvered around their ideas of luck and superstition was a great way to see their relationship develop.

A solid 4 star romance.

Wowser - this is my first proper foray into sports romance and I absolutely LOVED it. The chemistry crackles, the banter is so sharp you could cut yourself on it, and there is so much heart.

A must read for romance readers.

Seb is so fucking earnest!! And Lori is impossible to judge.

I loved this story, so much. There was such a comforting consistency, in the characters’ personalities, in their feelings for each other, and in their personal growth.

I got to just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Funny, romantic, heart gripping — I highly recommend

I love a Leonie Mack book and this one was no exception. Gorgeous covers, incredible world-building, and characters that I adore - it is so easy to get lost in one of her books. The chemistry between Seb and Lori was off the charts and I thoroughly enjoyed watching this romance unfold.

This was such a fun and unique sports romance. I loved the concept and that is was abt a different sport other than hockey football or baseball for once. Loved the aspect of how our MC and potential love interest meet and then come together once again but have a few obstacles to face first before finding true love