A review by loiereads
Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.0

I love a wholesome LGBTQ+ book, and this one was a lot different to something I would usually read. My fiancé loves Formula One, so when I saw this book, I thought it would be super interesting to read. Like, gay Formula One?? Bring it on, BUT sadly there’s no denying that I was expecting more. 

This one fell a little flat for me. The storyline was quite stale and I was always hoping that something more dramatic would happen. I mean the F1 is one of the most dramatic and gripping sports out there, so I feel as though this book didn’t really capture that. Every time there was a race, we would get like maybe a page about it - without much depth - and that would be it. Now listen, I’m not a motor racing expert AT ALL but from what I know about the sport, I really don’t think half the stuff that happens in this book would be tolerated in real life, so it all just felt unrealistic enough for it to become distracting. 

I didn’t like the characters or their relationship: it felt forced and unbelievable and didn’t make me feel all cute and giggly like I was hoping it would. 

There were also quite a few grammatical errors in the book, which felt disappointing to see. 

Another thing to note: I listened to the audiobook of this whilst reading along and boy did I HATE the audiobook. The narrator for Harper was SO QUIET. He did a lot of whispering and breathy voice work and it was very hard to hear what he was saying at times. Audiobooks aren’t cheap as well, so I do feel as though I’ve been cheated a little. And I do think that the quality of the audiobook has tainted my enjoyment of the book overall.