Book Club: Podium Perfect by Lexi Richards

Welcome back to the paddock blog! This time we’re talking about Podium Perfect by Lexi Richards — out now on Kindle and in paperback. Huge thank you to Lexi for sending us a copy to review for y’all! We absolutely love getting to share new books with our listeners every time, and this one brought vibes, travel, drama, and a whole lot of feelings.

I picked it up thinking I’d read a few chapters… and then suddenly it was midnight, my tea was cold, and I had fully inhaled the entire thing in one sitting. No regrets. To me, this book blended motorsport energy with a soft, emotional, heart-squeezing kind of romance that kept me hooked from page one. In this blog, we’re gonna talk about what worked, what made me scream, and why this one just worked for me as both a racing fan and a romance lover.

What is Podium Perfect About

The story opens with Avery Silver, daughter of the owner of Silver F1 and chair of the team’s foundation. She’s determined to build an identity separate from her family name — not just “the owner’s daughter,” but someone with purpose, ambition, and her own place in the paddock. She knows the F1 world inside and out, but everything shifts when she meets Teddy, the team’s new Scottish driver with a complicated past and some secrets of his own.

When Avery’s mom starts pressuring her about bringing a date to the foundation’s annual gala, Avery panics and blurts out that she is bringing someone. That someone becomes Teddy, who not only agrees to go but floats the idea of fake dating to help her save face — and to help him cover up a few personal matters he’d rather keep private.

From gelato in Milan to stolen moments in Amsterdam, their picture-perfect fake dates start feeling suspiciously real. While trying to juggle the gala, her family’s expectations, the foundation work she cares deeply about, and her not-so-fake feelings for Teddy, Avery finds herself facing the truth: secrets eventually surface, and she has to decide whether love is worth the risk of stepping fully into her own life.

Vibe Check

Genre: Sports Romance, Slow Burn, Friends-to-Lovers Energy, Secret/Fake Dating

Tone: Glamorous, cozy, emotional, lightly angsty, sweet with a dash of drama

Content Warnings: Parental pressure, family trauma, mentions of addiction, workplace stress

This one is a great escape read — perfect if you love glamour, travel, and romances that take their time. If slow burn is your jam, this book is basically built for you.

Our First Impressions & Themes

The cover art grabbed all of us immediately. It also stood out to us that it’s been a while since we’ve read a single-POV romance for the book club, and honestly? We missed it. Even though we all would’ve loved Teddy’s POV at times, seeing the progression strictly through Avery’s eyes made the slow burn and the emotional payoff feel really intentional.

This book leans heavily into themes of finding yourself, navigating complicated families, stepping out of someone else’s shadow, and choosing what you want even if it scares you. The Silver family dynamic is instantly memorable — supportive at times, frustrating most others, and full of unspoken tensions that clearly shaped Avery into who she is when we meet her.

If anything confused us, it was that for a book called Podium Perfect, there weren’t as many podium moments as we expected. Teddy wins races, sure, but we definitely wanted a couple more on-track scenes or celebratory moments. We also would’ve loved more time with both Avery’s family and Teddy’s family — especially Teddy’s, since his mom appears once and we were dying for more context.

Let’s Talk Characters

Teddy: We had to laugh because his name is also my dog’s name, so I had to mentally separate those two very fast. Teddy is the definition of a slow-burning MMC — closed off, calm, quietly chaotic, and carrying a surprisingly heavy family history. The whole thing with his dad trying to bet on his races ( and SPOILER ask him to throw one!?) is villain behavior of the highest order.

He’s warm once you get in, but getting in is a mission. And listen… we all had moments of wanting to shake him. Hard.

Avery: This girl needed to grow, and thankfully, she did. She frustrated all of us at different points, either by shrinking herself or refusing to speak up, or by getting irritated at her dad in ways that hit differently depending on your own family experiences.

On the flip side, her sensitivity to being labeled “the owner’s beautiful daughter” made total sense. She doesn’t want to be reduced to a nepo baby when she knows she brings value. The growth journey she goes on — finding her place in the family, the team, and the world — was honestly one of the strongest parts of the book.

The Silver Family: Michael, Sharon, Ben, Adam, and Sadie — this entire group had us heated at times (okay maybe not the niece). There’s love there, for sure, but so many unspoken wounds too. Sharon, in particular, felt layered in a way that made us want more backstory, especially with her past addiction and how that plays into the emotional distance between her and Avery. Ben and Adam have great moments, but we definitely wanted more of their dynamic too.

This family would absolutely benefit from group therapy. Like, fully.

The Silver Team: Brandon, Alan, Zippy, Nora… we didn’t spend enough time with them to form deep opinions, but we loved what Caroline and Stacey brought to the story. Every girl needs ride-or-dies who show up with honesty, snacks, and emotional reinforcement, and Avery had them. Caroline’s character growth was a bonus we weren’t expecting.

Josh: We all liked Josh… until the charity event. The shift from friendly to possessive was a red flag parade. It felt real. TOO real. That “give an inch, take a mile” thing that so many women have experienced, but yeah, by the end, we were mentally escorting him out of the paddock.

Favorite Scenes & Reactions

We are all absolute suckers for a preface set in the future. Starting a book like that instantly hooks us — it feels like watching a movie trailer for the ending before the story even begins.

Then there was the moment after Teddy and Avery’s first kiss where he quietly says “sex” in response to what he wants to drink… and then clarifies “with you, in case that wasn’t clear.” We screamed. We wheezed. I threw the book.

The Miami crash scene gave major Zhou Silverstone energy. And the moment Cody breaks Teddy’s trophy? That is straight-up Lando Norris behavior. Zero complaints about the inspiration.

And then Chapter 34… Teddy says, “Keep it casual and then maybe someday it becomes more.” Sir. SIR. You almost died. Read the room — and her face. The book was thrown again.

F1 Parallels — What Felt Real, What Didn’t

Could this be an F1 fan’s favorite book? Honestly, yes — if you’re in it for the romance with a reasonable amount of paddock vibes. The book doesn’t go super deep on racing details, but the balance between track life and storyline feels smooth. Race order is shuffled (which we’re kind of used to at this point), but nothing was so inaccurate that it pulled us out of the story.

We didn’t really picture any real grid drivers for Avery or Teddy, though Cody is absolutely Lando-coded and we will be accepting no arguments. The Scottish element also had Amy hearing DC’s voice in her head while reading Teddy’s lines.

Final Thoughts & Ratings

This was such a fun read for me. It was warm, slow-burny, and full of emotional growth. The spice is minimal and mostly behind closed doors, which actually fit the tone really well. The slow burn is very slow (18 chapters for one kiss, I counted), and the third-act breakup had us groaning, but the epilogue tied things up beautifully.

I’m giving this one 4 out of 5 helmets, and honestly? I devoured it in a single day with zero regrets. From the moment I picked it up, it had that perfect mix of easy-flowing romance, fun character chemistry, and enough paddock-adjacent vibes to keep me fully locked in. It’s the kind of book where you tell yourself “just one more chapter,” and suddenly you’re 200 pages deep, emotionally attached, and refusing to do anything else until you know how it all wraps up. 

PGP Rating: 4 out of 5 helmets 🏁 

Was it groundbreaking? Not necessarily. But was it cozy, bingeable, and exactly what I needed? Absolutely. This is a curl-up-on-the-couch-with-a-snack read, and I stand by my impulse consumption of it. In the end, we all agreed: if Lexi turns this into a series, we’ll be first in line!