Crash Test by Amy James
Genre: romance, M/M style
Vibes: angsty!
Tropes: secret affair, sports, adrenaline junkies, self-acceptance
HEA: you betcha
I was offered an early copy of this book by the publisher a few months ago, and I almost hesitated. Formula 1 isn’t really my thing, and I wasn’t sure I cared. But I’m so glad I said yes! It’s so well written, and so interesting, too.
In the first place, the book’s structure is sort of inside out. It starts with a terrible crash, and devastation. Then you jump back in time and get the glimpses at the earliest parts of this love story. Neither of these two guys were ready for each other when they first met.
Some of it is painful. They have a lot of work to do to find each other, even after Jacob wakes up. If you don’t like to see your heroes hurt each other, this book might not be for you. But it’s the kind of bumpy ride that’s 100% worth it.
More about Crash Test by Amy James
Formula 1 meets Red, White, & Royal Blue in this contemporary romance in which an F1 phenom battling for the championship is sent spinning after his secret love is involved in a massive crash.
Twenty-four-year-old Formula 1 driver Travis Keeping is halfway through an incredible racing season, with the championship well within his sights. But when a massive crash in Formula 2 leaves driver Jacob Nichols in critical condition, Travis’s world is flipped upside down. No one knows, but he and Jacob have been dating for almost a year.
Now the only boy he’s ever loved is clinging to life, his F1 team can’t understand why his performance is faltering, and he’s locked in a cold war with Jacob’s parents, who want him as far away from their son as humanly possible. Travis is sure everything will get better when Jacob wakes up, but he soon realizes he’s underestimated Jacob’s parents’ influence on their son.
As the F1 season barrels on, Travis and Jacob find themselves alone and miserable on opposite sides of the globe. But with some new friends by their sides, both drivers will be pushed outside of their comfort zones and onto a journey of self-discovery—one that just might lead them back to each other in the end.
