Drive Me Crazy by Carly Robyn

Formula One Romance. First in a series of related standalones.

“Time for the world to scream your name,” I joke. “Your favorite part.”
“I’d rather it was you screaming my name, love, but this’ll do for now.”

Full disclosure: I am an F1 fangirl. It’s the only sport I watch religiously except for some occasional other motorsports. Last year I begged authors to write more F1 romances, and this seems to be the year for it! I am working on a list with all the F1 romances I can find, and it will be posted next week.

I grabbed Drive Me Crazy by Carly Robyn the day it came out. At first, I had a hard time with it. There were so many analogies that I was thinking it would either be a DNF or it was a 1-2 star read. Here are some of them that appeared within a few pages.

But I knew that this was Carly Robyn’s debut novel, and being about my favorite sport, I wanted to give it more of a chance. I am so glad I did! I ended up really enjoying Drive Me Crazy and I’m looking forward to the next in the series. If there were a ton more analogies in the book I didn’t notice as much because I was too sucked into the story.

Ella Gold was part of a very successful sports podcast in NY, but due to reasons you’ll find out, she left the job she loved. Her agent got her a job writing the biography of the F1 World Champion, Blake Hollis, whose reputation could use some mending. Due to some things she had said about him on her podcast, Blake was not happy with having her follow him around for the season. The fact that she is gorgeous was a distraction as well.

I absolutely loved Ella! She has sarcastic and witty comebacks, and she doesn’t take crap from anyone. All of the team and the other drivers loved her. Blake is English, cocky (of course), and is secretly dealing with generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks. Both Ella and Blake were huge proponents of therapy, and I loved that it was handled with care, and showed how helpful therapy has been to both of them.

There was a lot of witty banter which I love, even though some was just silly. Or maybe I’m just tired of women wondering if it will fit.

“You will physically break me in half with that thing,” I frantically prattle. “I thought you were packing heat, not smuggling a goddamn anaconda in there. Do they not stop you at customs when you travel? Did you not have to register that thing as an exotic animal?”

As an F1 fan, I wished for a few more racing scenes, but I enjoyed all of the racing that was there, and it won’t be too much for anyone who has never seen F1. I loved the side characters and I hope we see more of Theo and Josie in the rest of the series.

Likes:

I love books in the F1 world.
I loved every character.
Lots of fun banter.
Exciting racing (but I wish there was more).
Slow burn.
The mental health representation and how well it was handled.
Just the right amount of spice.

Dislikes:

So many “funny” analogies I almost DNFd.
It was clearly a debut novel; there were some pacing and continuity issues.
Not enough racing.
Nothing really stood out as different from any other F1 book I have read.

A Like AND a Dislike:

I think Ella is Jewish—they went on a tour of the Jewish quarter, her last name is Gold, and she loves Matzoh Ball Soup. I love when there is a Jewish character, and I love that it wasn’t a plot point, but I wish there was just a little more, being that I wasn’t even sure. But sadly, the way the world is right now, I understand this decision.

The Down & Dirty:

Drive Me Crazy by Carly Robyn was clearly a debut novel. It started off a little rough, but the characters were so relatable and likable that I was sucked in and ended up enjoying it a lot. There wasn’t really enough F1 for me, but that would make it a great read for anyone, not just F1 fans. I was able to see how the author hit her stride and improved while writing this book and I will absolutely pick up the next one, Drive Me Wild, in the fall. I would also happily do a re-read of this if it releases in audio.

Rating: 3.75 stars, 3 Heat

*Note: the first 65 pages was about 2 stars for me, give it a chance, it gets much better!

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