Book Club: Faster by Andie J. Christopher

Welcome back to the paddock blog! This time we’re diving into a book that can only be described as fast, chaotic, spicy, and absolutely unhinged in all the best ways: Faster by Andie J. Christopher. We want to say a huge thank you to Andie and her team for sending us copies — we absolutely loved the chance to read and review this for you all!

Before we dive into the drama and reviews, let me just take a moment to warn everyone that this book is very 21+. If our past book club picks were mild salsa, this one is straight to the face. Proceed responsibly, and don’t say we didn’t warn you!

What Faster Is About?

Let’s start with the plot. Here, I want you to imagine three interwoven storylines, all unfolding inside an F1-inspired paddock where the scandals are just as wild as the speed on track.

At the heart of it all is Cece, who catches her world-champion husband, Ethan, cheating. Instead of shrinking, she flips the script and finds revenge (and some drama) with Luca, Ethan’s ex–best friend and current rival teammate. This triangle has enough tension to power a whole grid, and watching Cece navigate her guilt, her desire, and her very expensive lifestyle made for some of the wildest chaos we’ve read in book club so far.

Running alongside that storyline is Micaela, the first female driver in the series, who’s been hired to drive for the team run by her ex-boyfriend Brent’s father, Liam. But, surprise! Liam and Micaela are very much attracted to one another… even if pursuing the relationship is wildly unprofessional, messy, and absolutely guaranteed to send drama rippling down the grid.

And bringing us to our third, and I would say more emotional grounding and least chaotic relationship storyline, is Brent (yes, Micaela’s ex) and his slow-burn arc with Paola, the team’s press officer. Brent spends most of the book trying to figure out who he is beyond his father’s shadow and his ex-girlfriend’s talent, and Paola helps push him toward actually growing up a little (even if she deserves way more page time).

The result is a romance-trio-of-romances that crash into each other constantly, weaving into one big loud, dramatic, spicy-as-hell story.

First Impressions & Themes

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Spice-HeavyTone: Chaotic, dramatic, messy, and unhinged in a fun way

Content Warnings: Cheating, throuple dynamics, workplace romance, age gap, explicit sexual content, emotionally manipulative family relationships

This book does not ease you in gently. The spice hits fast — like “hello, we just met these characters, why is everyone already touching each other?” fast. But beneath the chaos is a surprisingly compelling set of themes:

• Love vs. lifestyle. Cece’s inner conflict between her life before F1 and after hit harder than expected.

• Identity under pressure. Micaela and Brent both struggle with who they are within a very public, very unforgiving sport.

• Ambition, betrayal, and the cost of winning. The characters are constantly choosing between what they want and what the world wants from them.

  
  

And yes… third-act breakups, emotional meltdowns, and more than one “you did WHAT?” moment are part of the experience. If you’re here for something that leans romance-first with a motorsport backdrop, this book delivers exactly that.

Characters: Who We Loved and Who Drove Us Up a Wall

Ethan surprised us the most. Despite kicking off the entire mess, he’s strangely likable and layered in ways we didn’t expect. Some of us are Ethan stans, some are staunchly anti-cheating to our graves, but everyone agreed his reactions were grounded and never gratuitously dramatic, which we respected. 

Luca was beloved immediately. He clocks every emotional shift in a room and somehow balances Ethan’s privilege with a grounded sense of reality. His dynamic with Cece adds so much texture to the story.

Cece herself is a really interesting mess. She’s relatable, flawed, overwhelmed, and trying her best to navigate two men who have shaped her adult life. Her internal tug-of-war was one of the most compelling parts of the book. 

Micaela? We adore her. Full stop. She’s fierce and ambitious, and juggling one of the most unfairly complicated love triangles the sport has ever seen in fictional romance. Liam… had us all side-eyeing him. The age gap? Fine. Your son’s ex? Sir, jail. But he’s also caring, magnetic, and emotionally open in a way that complicates things. So yes, we get it, Micaela. 

Brent is basically Lance Stroll fanfic-coded, and we cannot unsee it. His growth was refreshing but definitely rushed. With that, Paola felt undercooked; we all wanted more from her, especially as she becomes emotionally crucial to Brent’s arc. We all wish we saw more behind the door (and no we don’t mean the spice scenes, that was front and center.)

And then we have the supporting cast — Cece’s mother, Ethan’s parents, Jocelyn with her fame-hungry vibe, and Heka (who is literally Kimi Räikkönen). Some were delightful. Some were infuriating. Some were confusing. All of them kept the story loud. 

Lines and Scenes We Can’t Stop Thinking About

• Micaela making fun of her stepmom’s “unadvised third facelift” sent us into orbit — such a throwaway comment and somehow one of the most iconic lines in the book.

• Brent’s meltdown when he finds out about Micaela and Liam was honestly the most realistic reaction anyone had in the entire story. We support his right to be dramatic.

• The infamous “Would you prefer I went spicy?” line from Brent made every single one of us cringe into the next dimension.

• Liam’s big public moment later in the book? Absolutely feral. You’ll know it when you get there.

• And if you think the Cece/Ethan/Luca storyline doesn’t go there, besties… it goes there. All the way there. And yes, there's Luca/Ethan content. You’ve been warned.

  
  

F1 Parallels: What Felt Real and What Definitely Wasn’t

Let’s start with the obvious: This is not an F1-heavy book. It’s a romance novel wearing an F1 jacket that it bought on sale. The paddock politics, team dynamics, and general vibe feel right enough to ground the story. The race weekend formatting, noting the city, media day, and events posted at the beginning of every chapter, was actually super helpful and clean while you’re reading. 

Some readers will love the light motorsport touch. Hardcore F1 fans might wish for more realism or depth. The good this is, casting F1 drivers into the characters was impossible for most of us — except Brent, who is absolutely Lance-coded. Heka is Kimi. Jack is Jos. No one else fits, and honestly… we’re okay with that. 

Final Thoughts & Ratings

This book is absolute chaos, but like the fun, messy, addictive kind. It’s unlike anything we’ve read for book club so far, and while it’s not an F1-lover’s dream, it is a spicy romance reader’s playground.

Some of us wanted more plot. Some wanted more character development. Some wanted fewer people sleeping with each other at alarming speeds. But all of us had a ridiculously good time reading it. For the overall story, the average PGP rating landed between a 4 out of 5, mostly for the drama, the interwoven storylines, and the boldness of the relationships.

PGP Rating: 4 out of 5 helmets 🏁 

For heat? This book lands anywhere from 6.5 to 9 out of 10, depending on your personal spice tolerance. The scenes aren’t the most graphic we’ve read, but the amount of spice is wild. If you’ve read fan fiction, you’ll be fine. 

Would we recommend it? Yes — but only with warnings, prep notes, a glass of wine, and maybe a fan.

By: Chelsea