This week we delved into Heidi Rice’s My Shocking Monte Carlo Confession, a category romance! Big fans of the MMPB here. Listen to us consider: What is the shocking confession?

But first! We tried some new taglines. Let us know whose suggestion you prefer. [KATE! Maybe we could do a Twitter POLL? For ENGAGEMENT?]

And please enjoy Hanna’s show notes on the website that Kate made:

• Tell me why F1 spells TYRES with a y. 

• We think this was not a secret baby romance so much as a plot moppet romance.

• [KATE PUT THE LINK TO THE LIST OF BOOKS HERE] [THAT’S WHAT YOU TOLD ME TO WRITE IN THE SHOW NOTES]

• How small is Monaco? Smaller than Central Park. Where is it in relation to Nice? About a half hour away.

• If a man talks shit: you owe him nothing. (We will not be linking to “I Did Something Bad” by Taylor Swift until there is a Taylor’s Version–this is an Official Racy Books Pod Policy.)

• We do not have clarification on when a writer can use “F1” and when they need to make up a name like Super League. Please help us.

• Unfortunately, we were not able to work a Walt Whitman reference into this episode.

• The quote that rendered Kate speechless: “Say it, forget it; write it, regret it.” –Dorinda Medley, Real Housewives of New York

• We are expecting to see a lot of rich people in this subgenre: F1 romance = billionaire romance.  

• This was another book that made us want a heroine as the race car driver. Maybe we’ll try this next season. [LINK KATE TO THE CATEGORY YOU FOUND]

• The v important Maisie Peters bridge living rent free in our minds.

• No playlist in this book. . . so we made one!

• Will next episode be a book of our hearts? Read Unfixable by Tessa Bailey and tune in to find out!

• Is Mattia Binotto our hero? (Or could it be the man who bought his son an F1 team and also probably paid for this article?)

Mattia Binotto

This week we read and discussed Kat Ransom’s Lights Out and agreed it’s the perfect title for an F1 romance.

Other things we discussed (though we were remiss not to mention that the hero of this one was LITERALLY BORN IN A CAR) included:

• Whether an F/F F1 romance would be a Pitch-situation. (The F/F F1 romance with the woman driver that Kate couldn’t remember the name is Fast Lane.) 

• The classic F1 pit-stop above-shot.

• Lewis Hamilton’s physio Angela.

• Race-winning radio communications.

• Max “Vex” Verstappen’s park ferme fine vs. Inspector Seb.

• Max Verstappen comments on his €50,000 fine, “I hope they have a nice dinner and a lot of wine.”

• Brave Little Toaster is Disney, but the villain wasn’t a chair, it was a trash magnet, and same, honestly.

• Kate predicted/caused? Sebastian Vettel’s retirement. (He could use a haircut.)

• Have you seen Pierre Gasly’s neck recently?

• “We look like a bunch of wankers.” –Guenther Steiner

• Toto Wolff’s billionaire romance cover.

• If Logan is Mick Schumacher, Alexandr might be Kevin Magnussen. 

Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen

For our inaugural episode of the Racy Books Podcast, we read Samantha Towle’s REVVED and talked about it!

We also went on a few tangents:

• We’re Hanna and Kate and we met in romance book club. Kate has reviewed Hanna’s book ALL THE BEST NIGHTS.

• Our credentials. (Kate, I’ve purposefully left this without a link because we have none.)

• The single F1 email newsletter we subscribe to.

• The controversy of the 2021 F1 Driver’s Championship.

• Our first attempt at reading an F1 romance, which turned out to be a royalty romance.

• There is an F1 for Dummies, but we’re gonna stick with learning the rules from romance novels.

• “My dad. He was a real grease monkey.”

• TUNEMAN, who bikes past Hanna’s house playing Ed Sheeran.

• This video about the turns in Monaco features the correct pronunciation of La Rascasse.

• Possible inspiration for Carrick and Nico?

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg

Join Hanna and Kate for a short explainer episode where we explain what we plan to do on the podcast and introduce some F1 concepts.

Be sure to join us for our first episode! We’ll be reading Revved by Samantha Towle.