Drive Me Crazy – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Graceless Heart

Author: Isabel Ibañez

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 488

Publication Date: 1/13/26

Publisher: Saturday Books

Categories: Historical Fantasy, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Saturday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

LOVE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS MAGIC.

As a sculptress, Ravenna Maffei has always shaped beauty from stone but she has a terrible secret. Desperate to save her brother, she enters a competition hosted by Florence’s most feared immortal family, revealing a dark power in a city where magic is forbidden.

Now a captive in the cutthroat city of Florence, Ravenna is forced into a dangerous task where failure meets certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the immortal family’s mesmerizing but merciless heir. But as he draws her closer, Ravenna realizes the true threat lies beyond Florence’s walls.

The Pope’s war against magic is closing in, and Ravenna is no longer just a prisoner but a prize to be claimed. As trusting the wrong person becomes lethal, Ravenna must survive the treacherous line between a pope’s obsession and the seductive immortal who might be the end of her ― or surrender her power to a city on the brink of war.

Content Warning: misogyny, violence, death, religious trauma

Set in 15th century Italy, during the Renaissance, this story took me on a journey to the past but with magic involved. I loved the setting of Florence, during a time when the Medici ruled the city, while the Pope was ruling the country from Rome. I was immersed in the food, clothing, culture, architecture and really felt transported back in time. This is told in 3rd person but with multiple POVs.

Ravenna is a sculptress, but she has a secret magic. It’s her skill as a sculptress and her connection to Nightflame magic that she wins a contest, and is taken from her family, to retrieve Nightflame stones from 5 slabs of rock to help the immortal Luni family. One family member, Saturnino, their assassin, is keeping an eye on her, and she feelings things for her enemy that she shouldn’t she can’t help it.

With the Medici family and others involved against the Pope, there is a lot of political intrigue and Ravenna is caught between both and tries to play both sides. As for Ravenna, I loved her strong character, but she is human and embodies a lot of the qualities to Saturnino’s irritation. She’s compassionate, she where’s her heart on her sleeve, and makes some crazy decisions. There were times I wanted her to be sharper, more cold, but that’s not Ravenna. I will say sometimes she acted younger than I expected but I know this is adult fiction, so I was surprised at how she acted at times.

There is magic, story of witches, a wizard and even a vampire. Ravenna is raised in the Catholic church so she is torn apart with guilt about her magic. She knows the fight for power on either sides leaves many victims, but now she is caught in the middle as well. I liked how the story questioned what people would do to survive, and if what they did was forgivable to an extent. Each character

Ravenna is the fire to Saturnino’s ice. Saturnino has lived for a long time now, and Ravenna finally melts his cold heart. I thought their romance was filled with a lot of tension, but it’s clear Ravenna has no defenses against him. She’s too honest and he tries to take advantage of that until he realizes he doesn’t want to hurt her anymore. There’s some spice, but just enough. I was definitely rooting for their love.

I felt like the story was very strong in the beginning, I couldn’t put it down, but sometime near the middle, it started to slow down – I think because Ravenna kept getting twisted into another problem with no fix in sight and then the fix came in a rush at the end.

Final Thoughts:

Beautifully written, this story transported me back in time and I loved everything about the setting and time period. I loved the tension between Ravenna and Saturnino. The politics were intriguing, and even though Ravenna had a soft heart that got her into trouble a lot, it showed her human side – something that was missing in Saturnino but what he was clearly drawn to. Ravenna was a caught in such a web of secrets and betrayal it helped the story move quickly. I do think the ending felt a little rushed but overall I thought this was magical story and really enjoyed it!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

What the River Knows by. Isabel Ibañez | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What The Library Hides by. Isabel Ibañez | Audiobook ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (I’m surprised I forgot to post a review for this one!)

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: Drive Me Crazy

Author: Lizzy Dent

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 1/6/26

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Sports Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sparks fly when an up-and-coming team principle and her new hot-shot driver—and former childhood crush—are forced to work together to save their careers and team in this deliciously winning Formula 1 romance.

Can they navigate the twists and turns of love without crashing and burning?

As one of the first female team principles in Formula 1, Chloe Coleman is determined to prove herself and transform her failing team from underdogs to champions. Nothing can ruin her strategy—except maybe the surprising new addition of a cocky, top-tier driver who’s lost his edge. And he just so happens to be her estranged childhood crush who still sends her heart racing.

Matt Warner needs a comeback. A former champion, he hasn’t won a race since the disastrous crash that landed his best friend and teammate in the hospital. If there’s a silver lining to this scandalous demotion, it’s his fierce and familiar new boss, Chloe. But as the competition heats up, so does an unexpected spark that turns dangerously and passionately hot. With the world watching and pressures of the season mounting, will their chemistry lead them to victory, or spin them out of control?

Content Warning: sexism

+ F1 racing romance? I was definitely intrigued and I am not a race car watching girlie, so I was looking forward to learn something about F1 racing and I did! So I enjoyed that.

+ Chloe and Matt grew up together as kids, and Chloe had the biggest crush on him but Matt went on to do big things in the racing world, leaving her brokenhearted. Now, the race team Chloe is working for as the first female principal, has acquired Matt to race for them. Matt has been struggling with some things like anxiety and PTSD, after being in a race car crash that hurt his teammate. And being forced to work together, brings all the old feelings back for Chloe and new feelings for Matt.

+ The romance between Chloe and Matt has to be hidden from the team, since they work together – she’s the principal for the team, and he’s the race car driver, so they had to hide what was growing between them from the press. There some spice between them too. I like how this romance fit into the world of suspense that racing brings – I think it heightened the relationship between Chloe and Matt because so much was at stake with their team.

+ I really liked how even though there is a romance going on, Chloe and Matt, are trying to better themselves in their personal lives. Chloe is principal for the first time and a lot is riding on her. Matt has to deal with his PTSD and anxiety which affects his driving a lot. So I liked seeing both of them grow, I was rooting for them.

~ I loved Chloe, she’s a nice person, but I kind of was surprised how naive she was about the press, and how they can spin things to create their own narrative. I’m surprised because she was raised in this world and as principal who seems to have to deal with the press a lot, I would expect her to be a bit more savvy even if she was new to her role. She grew up in this world.

~ I wanted a little more about Chloe and Matt’s childhood since that’s where she fell for him.

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a cute romance, with a little spice thrown in, and I learned about F1 racing! I loved the tense situations that came with the racing world in this story from the high stakes about making it to the podium, and careers on the line. Overall, I enjoyed this one.