The Race Girl: A Moretti Racing Family Saga (The Moretti Racing Family Saga)
The Race Girl by James Herbert Harrison
James Herbert Harrison’s “The Race Girl: A Moretti Racing Family Saga” is a riveting story of high-speed exhilaration and high-stakes drama. This book deftly blends the worlds of racing with gripping legal and personal conflicts to produce a complex and engaging story that holds readers’ attention from beginning to end.
I grew up in and around Martinsville, Virginia, which had a huge NASCAR track there. The family would regularly go to see races, and some of my cousins and second cousins were also drivers themselves. We also had a popular dirt track amateurs could race at on the weekends. Everyone would load up in their cars with coolers, folding chairs and blankets, and head out to the dirt track. Watching the races like this was a common way to enjoy a fun Friday night.
All that said, I have not read a lot of motorsports books or motorsports romances, so I was intrigued by this one. The cover caught my attention and the blurb got my curiosity. I was delighted to receive a paperback copy of this novel, so that I could read it for myself. It is a long book – over 450 pages – so be prepared for a true “saga”, as the title implies.
I did enjoy it, so let’s take a deep dive (spoiler free) into The Race Girl, so I can tell you my favorite parts.
The Race Girl – A Review
First up, we meet young Alex Moretti, a gifted driver navigating the treacherous seas of his family’s racing team legacy. Moretti Motorsport is at the center of the narrative, and Alex will find himself barreling off track due to some major life events. Alex’s world is flipped upside down when a catastrophic tragedy jeopardizes a lucrative sponsorship contract and hurts Amanda, the team sponsor’s daughter. After a series of unfortunate events, Alex is fired from his team and faces serious legal issues. What will this mean for him? For the family? For the Moretti name in the racing world?
This is part of what I loved most about this story – the character development. I felt like I knew these people, and I wanted to root Alex on as he found his way back from his troubles. His transition from a well-known young racer to a controversial character to someone looking for atonement is a fascinating and well-drawn story.
Supporting cast is great, as well, especially Amanda. Amanda gives the plot a great deal of emotional depth and complexity because she is both his love interest and the unintentional reason behind his failure. Her bravery and unwavering commitment to standing by Alex in the face of intense personal and familial pressure set her apart and makes you want to cheer on her success as well as the relationship. I felt the connection between them was believable and I wanted to see them together in the end.
A Nice Balance
The story does a great job of striking a balance between the technical parts of racing and understandable language so that readers who are not familiar with motorsport can still get a kick out of the mystery and excitement of the races. Harrison’s familiarity with the racing industry gives the racing scenes realism and authenticity, which makes them thrilling. Although I grew up in the scene, I’ve been out of it for years in my adult like and reading it felt like it was bringing back a lot of memories for me. But I also think it’s important to know you don’t have to be a die-hard racing fan to enjoy this book.
The novel’s examination of family dynamics and business intrigue is another one of its strong points. The plot moves forward with a dramatic and compelling conflict that is created by the rivalry between the families of Moretti and Cook against the corporate backdrop of motorsport sponsorship. The compelling judicial drama that develops brings the novel’s themes of loyalty, treachery, and the pursuit of justice to life.
The story moves along at a great pace, with each chapter raising the stakes and tension until it reaches a satisfying and thought-provoking climax. I think that’s really important, since it is a long novel. There were not parts where I felt it got too slow or that I was bored. Conversely, I never felt like it was speeding ahead and I was left behind, confused about the plot or what was going on. The delicately written romance subplot between Alex and Amanda serves as a poignant diversion from the intense drama of racing and court cases and is really what rounds out the entire story.
The Race Girl Conclusions
To summarize, “The Race Girl: A Moretti Racing Family Saga” is an exciting and deeply moving story that expertly blends the greatest aspects of romance, legal intrigue, and sports drama. Anyone who likes novels where passion, ambition, and resiliency propel the story forward will find it to be an engrossing read. Fans of intricately planned drama and motorsport enthusiasts alike should read “The Race Girl” because James Herbert Harrison has created a world that feels both vast and very personal.
It’s 5 stars from me and I’d be interested in reading more in this timeline and from the Moretti family if he makes it a series.
This book is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover and Kindle editions. It is also available in Kindle Unlimited.