Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I will say most F1 based romance books have left me feeling more blah than not. So I'm always skeptical going into an F1 romance at this point. So when the publisher reached out for me to read this debut book, I was a bit worried I would not enjoy it. I'm happy to report this book definitely did a great job of presenting the F1 world and the romance all in one great package.
Lilah Graywood is a documentarian who never thought she'd be spending time in the F1 world. When her co-owner signs a contract for them to film a documentary about one of the teams, she finds herself thrown into the world. But then her co-owner ousts her and she finds herself without the job she moved to Texas for. In an attempt to take control of the situation, Lilah joins forces with Arthur Bianco, the back-up driver she was meant to be filming. When the two find themselves forced into a fake relationship to ensure their success, they find themselves drawn together in more ways than just the filming would entail. Can Lilah stay true to herself while being immersed in this fast paced and political world where schemes are rampant?
I really enjoyed Lilah's character. Mostly because she's so unsure of herself and the author really shows her growth throughout the book. And she is super relatable. Add to that her mental health representation (well done Maril!) and you have someone who is fascinating and so loveable. Her life takes an unexpected turn and she almost gives up but then she takes hold of who she is and what she wants and turns it around. I love the idea of her coming into herself and realizing exactly what she wants and who she is. Lilah has a traumatic past, as well. It haunts her and makes her more quiet and needy than she would like. But she's always had to worry about her peculiarities and how she would be perceived. So many times in the book I wanted to grab Lilah and give her a big hug. But in the end she has so much growth and comes to love herself as she is, especially when she realizes there are people who also love her as she is.
Arthur knows what he wants. He wants to be a champion. But, like Lilah, he's got a past that is haunting him and family that holds him back. His character is so complex. The F1 world is truly brutal. It's every man for himself and the author really shows this for Arthur. I loved that he opened up to Lilah. Their relationship grew very organically. Arthur spent his time trying to get to know Lilah and, despite his bad boy reputation, became someone she could count on and open up her heart and soul to. My favorite part of Arthur was his tenderness. It was unexpected. I always think of F1 drivers as so focused on just their sport and how they can get to the top. But he was so much more than being a driver.
One of my favorite parts of this book was how easy it was to understand all the motor-sport jargon. The author did not bog the book down with lingo the average person might not understand. She made sure to describe things just enough for people who may not know F1 to get to know F1. I've read quite a few F1 books where this was so heavily layered it was hard to get through. Maril kept the material on the lighter side while still showing the politics of F1 and the harsh reality of being a motor-sport driver.
The relationship did develop a bit faster than I would normally like BUT there is a bit of a forced proximity trope going on, not to mention a fake dating trope. I really think these two things made the speed of the romance understandable. There was one part, which I won't get into as it's a spoiler, but involves sexy times that seemed a little pushed to me but overall I enjoyed how the author presented the characters when they were being intimate.
The pacing was spot on, as well. I flew through this book. The only things that kept me from reading it straight through were sleep and work! Plus, as a debut title goes, I think this one was really good. The prose was not boring. The scenes all made sense in the story line. There wasn't any telling, love me some showing. 
If you're looking for a sports romance in the motor sport world where the MMC falls first with a lovely amount of tenderness, the FMC has a huge amount of development and just the right amount of awkwardness, the story is emotionally charged with a fast paced plot, and the author knows what she's doing with her writing, I highly recommend this debut title from Maril.