Overdrive by Caitlyn P. Tajon

First in a 5-book F1 Romance series following the same couple

Thank you Hambright PR for the ARC. This review contains Amazon affiliate links.

“Raw, carnal desire.
Unhinged.
Desperate.
Possessive.”

As an F1 lover and romance book blogger, I try to read as many F1 romances as I can. I even keep an updated Ultimate F1 Romance Book List on my blog with nearly 200 titles organized by series. Some of them you can tell are written by casual fans. Some authors clearly put a ton of research into the sport—and it shows. Overdrive by Caitlyn P. Tajon definitely belongs in the latter group. Whether you’re new to F1 or a longtime fan, I think you’ll be happy with how the sport is portrayed in this book. I especially loved that each section included a track map with unique features of the circuit. But let me warn you up front—this is higher spice than any of the other F1 romances I have read.

I didn’t realize when I accepted the ARC that this would be a 5-book series following the same couple. I assumed it would be about different drivers in each book. But nope—this is all about Callum and Aurélie. I can handle two, maybe three short ones, but five? That’s a lot. And Overdrive isn’t short either—it’s 460 pages. Five 150-200 page books? Sure, no problem, but five 460 page books? Unless I’m OBSESSED, I’m out.

The first half of the book was great. Aurélie Dubois steps into Formula 1 from F2 after her brother crashes and has to sit the season out. As the first female F1 driver, she has everything to prove, especially after living in her brother’s shadow for most of her life.

Callum Fraser is a four-time world champion at the top of his game. But Aurélie is his kryptonite. He’s followed her career for years, and now that he’s met her, he’s completely obsessed. And when I say obsessed, I mean it reads almost like a fated mates thing—from both of them. Their obsessive all-consuming longing for each other quickly takes over the story, and the racing, and the story in general, starts to fade into the background.

The public notices their longing glances, and they become the biggest story in F1, with fans even writing fanfic about them. Once they finally give in to their carnal urges, the book becomes a lot more about sex than racing. The smut is definitely good, but I wanted to get back on the grid! There just wasn’t much story left—so if you’re in it for the spice, you’ll probably love Overdrive.

“You keep talking back to me like this and I might bend you over the car and show you how I really take the inside line.”

I also thought parts of it were a little overdramatic. Like when Callum sees Aurélie laughing with her teammate at a club, his reaction is:

“Something in me cracked straight down the middle. A hot, throbbing wound I couldn’t touch, couldn’t name. I exhaled sharply, dragging my hands through my hair, fighting off the irrational, unbearable feeling curling inside me.”

They are both so obsessed with each other. But she keeps running away… sort of. I get it—it’s not going to look good that the first female driver, who’s also a rookie, hooks up with the reigning champ.

“He made me feel soft and strong, wanted and wrecked. Feminine in a way that made me ache, not because I was weak—but because he made me feel seen. My brain stuttered, caught between fight and surrender.”

That “fight or surrender” thing is the vibe of the whole second half of the book, in between really hot sex scenes.

Likes:

The author is very knowledgeable about F1.
I loved the track maps and the little circuit details.
I loved the racing scenes.
Good sexy banter.
The fans shipping them and writing fan fiction was fun.
The sex scenes were hot and not cheesy (except there was a “will it fit” moment).
Each chapter started with a quote from the other (though the font was too tiny!).
Short chapters made it easier to binge.

Dislikes:

There is no way this should be more than a duology—three books max. I’m sad it’s going to be five. I can’t commit to that.
There were several small inconsistencies in some scenes.
There were very few physical descriptions. Other than hair and eye color of the main characters, I couldn’t picture any of the characters. There were also no details about the liveries or race suits… but I know about her pink underwear.
The second half was all push and pull—either hot sex or them pining over each other with a quick race thrown in.
The obsession and pining were so over-the-top.
The cover feels like a placeholder to me. (UPDATE: The cover has been changed and the new one is AWFUL, there is NO WAY I would have read it at all with the new cover).

The Down & Dirty:

Overdrive by Caitlyn P. Tajon had a ton of potential in the first half. The F1 content was fantastic, and it’s obvious the author knows the sport. But once the characters gave in to their desire, the story became more about lust than racing.

The spice was definitely hot, but it felt like 70% of the second half of the book was just sex, and the rest was them obsessing over each other. If the series were just a duology or even five novellas, I’d probably stick with it. But five very long books about this couple feels like way too much.

Rating:

I don’t know how to rate this book. If it was going to be a duet, I would absolutely continue, and would probably rate this 4 stars. But knowing that it’s five long books before I get a resolution? That drops it down to a 2. So I am going with 3 stars. The heat is a solid 4.