Not So Fast

By: Karen Booth

Narrated by: Talon David

“Of the recent crop of Formula 1 romances, this one’s way out in front.” -- Publishers Weekly Starred Review

When the curves are this dangerous, only a race car driver will do… A sizzling, high-octane Formula One rom-com!

Mia Neal is a champion overthinker. Find something, fixate on it and spiral down. Fortunately, she puts that energy to good use: in a podcast about Formula One, her favorite sport in the world. There’s nothing about racing Mia doesn’t adore. The speed. The drivers. The fierce competition. The single-minded ambition. Ironic for a woman who’s changed careers more times than she can count.

Only now, her salty takes on gorgeous Brit driver Xander Bishop have gone viral, and the podcast feels more and more like what she’s meant to do… Then Xander’s teammate invites her to the Miami Grand Prix to see F1 up close—and get in Xander’s head. He’s not exactly delighted at the shade she’s been throwing his way.

It should be all-out war. Instead, Mia and Xander are stunned by the sudden crackle of…something sexual arcing between them. It’s irresistible, unbelievably hot—and Mia’s warning flags are waving. Because this reckless attraction is coming at Mia all too fast…

Afterglow Books are bold, fast-paced romances perfect for a single listening session...

©2025 Karen Booth (P)2025 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

Enemies with chemistry headed for the finish line

Mia Neal is the host of Not So Fast, the F1 podcast that has taken off with Mia’s quick wit and quips at some of the drivers. She finds herself in special circumstances when she’s invited to a race by the teammate of her favorite driver and soon realizes he’s used her to mess with Xander.

Xander Bishop is not having the greatest season and is struggling to find his stride with his new team Mega Racing. He’s not fond of Mia and her jabs about his driving so when he comes across her at the race he wants nothing more than to be anywhere else.

When a book immediately starts off with snark, enemies with chemistry, and some “work” drama…consider me interested!
Mia and Xander’s story starts off with them running into each other (after he did his best to avoid her) and not going well because Xander can’t help himself but to tell her off. It’s when Dirk attempts to invite her to another race that Mia concocts a story that Xander already gave her the invite. Xander goes along with it and thus the sparks begin.

Seeing Xander and Mia’s enemies to lovers adventure progress throughout had me laughing and aww-ing at times. After a while you forget they started as enemies and you get caught up in the hidden romance. Throw in a bit of family drama on both sides and you’ll also find yourself not able to put this one down just like I did. Their happy ending doesn’t end with marriage at the end of the book and I like the openness for that part of the story because it leaves you wondering how things go after the epilogue.

I have been a lover of Karen’s writing for years and this Harlequin story is just as great as her indie books. Her love of British men shine here and her female characters always feel relatable. Mia’s personality is one of my favorites! The side characters kept me interested and I found myself wanting to know more about Xander’s siblings and the relationship of Mia’s mother and her sister.

This was also my first listen to Talon David, a new to me narrator. She did a great job with her voice for each character and her accents were fantastic. Talon was an easy listen for me and her ability to narrate with inflection and emotion drew me in. Delivering Karen’s words with a good amount of snark when needed or lightness at moments made this an enjoyable audiobook.

Sexy and sweet! Not just for racing fans

This was such a fun and sexy story. I totally related to Mia and the way she overthought everything, but it also brought a lot of humor and emotion to the book. The chemistry between Xander and her is AMAZING. I loved the enemies to lovers vibes. Xander is super hot, but he also has a heart of gold. I really enjoyed the themes of family and forgiveness and meeting expectations. It brought out some genuine emotion. I knew almost nothing about F1 before this, but the author did a great job of explaining without making it confusing or “too much”. The ending was perfect. These characters will stick with me!

Almost dnf

I was so excited to listen to this book. The beginning book was so promising but it got really boring really fast. I understand why a lot of people couldn’t finish it. The first 40% was good tho.