Checkered Hearts by A.G. Starling

Narrated by Charlotte Claremont and Anthony Palmini

Standalone (for now) F1 Romance.

Thank you to the author for providing me with an early copy for honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

I read a lot of Formula 1 romance books. As a huge F1 fan, I love combining two of my favorite things: racing and romance. (If you didn’t know, I keep a list of every F1 romance book I’ve found on my blog.) So when A.G. Starling approached me to read or listen to Checkered Hearts, I jumped at the chance.

I’ll start with my biggest issue, which might only apply if you’re listening to the audiobook. Nico (the female main character) and Rocco (the male lead) have very similar-sounding names. Because they’re both gender-neutral or masculine, and the story is told in third person, I kept mixing up who was speaking. I rarely check reviews before writing mine, but I looked this time just to see if it was only me. It wasn’t. Others had the same problem.

Nico and Rocco are rivals. They’ve never met in person but have built a fierce social media feud. Both jumped straight from F3 to F1 and carry some insecurity about how they got there.

What Rocco doesn’t know is that he has met Nico before. She grew up as a con artist, and their first in-person meeting was actually a sexy con—complete with a blonde wig—that left a lasting impression on him.

The next day, they discover they’re teammates, but he doesn’t realize she’s the woman who conned him.

There’s definite chemistry between them, but their rivalry simmers under the surface, creating good banter and tension in this slow-burn sports romance.

Likes:

The F1 racing. I didn’t notice any glaring errors, but there wasn’t a ton of on-track action.
I loved Nico’s best friend.
It kept me interested and entertained throughout.
I absolutely adored Rocco’s nieces, and the narrators brought them to life so well.

Dislikes:

Third person combined with similar names made it confusing at times.
Nico never really seemed like an F1 driver. Her thoughts rarely focused on racing or training.
Neither character felt obsessed with the sport in the way elite drivers typically are.
In real life, a female F1 driver would be a huge global figure. Her secretive, con-artist background would never fly under the radar.

The Narration:

Both narrators were fairly new to me, and overall, they did a great job. But in several early chapters, the male narrator had long, awkward pauses between sentences. I had an ALC, so maybe this was fixed in the final version, but it almost made me DNF. I pushed through, and thankfully, the pacing smoothed out later in the book.

The Down & Dirty:

Checkered Hearts by A.G. Starling is a solid addition to the F1 romance genre, though it wasn’t one of my top favorites. It seems to be a debut or close to it, as I only found a book from about 12 years ago from this author. I see a lot of potential in A.G. Starling’s writing, and would absolutely give the next book in the series a try.

Readers who enjoy sports romance without being immersed in the world of Formula 1 will probably get more enjoyment out of Checkered Hearts than I did, since they won’t be as focused on the details that don’t quite align with real-life racing.

Still, I’m glad I read it, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.