Series Name: Frontrunners #1
“The difficult real-life shit is going to happen anyway. The thing that makes it bearable is love. We don’t forgo love because bad stuff is going to happen, or because love might fail. We take the risk because when it does work, it makes the struggle worth it. It’s why we wake up and keep swinging every day.”
Double Apex is a spicy dive into the world of F1 racing.
Phaedra Morgan is one of the best race engineers in Formula 1. She’s a math prodigy with dazzling skill, cutting wit, and no patience for matters of the heart. Of course, her job would be a lot easier if she didn’t keep butting heads with their team’s cocky and infuriatingly hot new driver. Cosmin Ardelean is intense and committed, but as famous for his off-track romantic exploits as his on-track wizardry. Yet his devil-may-care façade conceals a haunted past. When the pair strikes up a secret—and thrillingly forbidden—“arrangement” to improve their communication and bond of trust, the heat of their attraction turns to something more . . . But no secret stays hidden for long in the racing world, and soon things are spinning out of control. With everything on the line, will they be able to strip away all their defenses and go full throttle for a chance at love?
Double Apex is a delightful read that had everything I look for: an interesting premise, fabulous setting and really strong main leads with a dynamic supporting cast. I really enjoyed the premise of the F1 Team and learning more about a sport I know very little about. I enjoyed the women in STEM action and seeing strong women who work hard and know what they deserve. I loved both Phaedra and Cosmin, even though they are difficult main characters. Phaedra is a homeschooled genius whose father owns the racing team. She’s a brilliant engineer and deserves her job based on her own merit. She certainly doesn’t act like the owner’s daughter; she acts less like a princess and more like a sheltered genius who really doesn’t understand how relationships work. Cosmin is the product of an Eastern European upbringing and some pretty severe childhood abuse and trauma. They are flawed and realistic characters. What I didn’t love was that I didn’t see enough of their character growth throughout the book. Phaedra, even when she gets a pretty major promotion, behaves like a 17-year-old in their first job who is railing against the world. She acknowledges her flaws but seems to struggle to understand how to change her actions. Cos also has a lot of layers but seems to struggle with how to move and grow as an adult and not act like a hurt child. They are both in their 30s.
Cos and Phaedra on paper seem like unlikely lovers. However, Josie really amps up the tension and angst with their forbidden feelings (it’s against team policy to be involved with other teammates). The scenes are hot and their lust/ attraction is palpable on the page. I actually loved watching them go from enemies to lovers and seeing them work around all of the reasons why they shouldn’t be together. Phaedra has not had a lot of relationships both romantic and platonic and it was hard to watch her struggle with how to be a good partner and friend in a relationship. Josie was fearless in showing us Phaedra’s lack of understanding of certain parts of a relationship and how you have to not be selfish all the time if you want a relationship to work. She grows and learns, but I would have liked to see a bit more of it on page. Cosmin is the same. The man appears almost like a gross playboy at the beginning, but his internal thoughts show you that a lot of it is an act. He goes through some rough patches in the story and again, while we see where he ends up, I would have liked to see more of that growth on the page. I think it would have really fleshed him out even more because he’s a fabulous and different main hero than I’ve seen in a while.
The other area I wish I had seen more on page is Phaedra at work. There was some cool insights into the F1 Series, and what a race looks like, and the different cities that they travel to, but I wanted to see more of the genius Phaedra at work and how she did her work. It sounds like a really cool job and one that I know nothing about. I feel like there’s a lot of hierarchy in the sport and I think I missed out on understanding some of the tension and dynamics just because it’s a sport I’m not familiar with. Saying all that, I really enjoyed this book. It has flawed characters who haven’t had perfect lives. They make decisions that, as the reader, I was yelling at them for, but felt realistic for them. I loved getting a peek into the F1 world and really loved the characters Josie developed. I will be reading book two in this series for sure.
Double Apex is a glamorous read that hooks the reader with its larger than life characters and glitzy settings.
Thank you, Forever Publishing, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.