Throttled

Dirty Air #1

by Lauren Asher

What happens when my brother's rival becomes my secret crush?

Noah Slade is a Formula 1 legend in the making.
Focused. Unapproachable. Ruthless on and off the track.
A man with walls higher than the Grand Canyon.
And my brother's new teammate.
I want more of the prince who disguises himself as the villain.
But while I crave a happy ending, he wants to destroy his.

Maya Alatorre is a forbidden temptation.
An ambitious post-grad I should stay far away from.
And chaos wrapped with a bow.
We're a ticking time bomb, about one wrong move away from exploding.
I want to trip the wire, detonating together in passion and pain.
Because in the end, all's fair in lust and war.

Genres: Romance, Sports Romance, Sports, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook

377 pages, ebook

First published January 9, 2020

About the author

Join my Facebook group for exclusive content and sneak peeks: https://bit.ly/BandiniBabes

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About Me:

Lauren Asher is a New York Times, USA Today, Sunday Times, Globe and Mail, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of contemporary romance. She enjoys writing about flawed yet relatable characters you can’t help falling in love with and fictional worlds you wish were real.

Her favorite activities outside of writing include DIY projects, binging old episodes of Parks and Rec, and searching Yelp for new restaurants before choosing her trusted favorite. She works best after her morning coffee and will never deny a nap.

Reviews

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO MFFF CUTEEEEE plssss! such a good start to the dirty air series. Maya was an angel, and I loved that she was a vlogger & so relatable. Noah was unexpectedly spicy… I wasn’t ready 🥵 I adored them together!!!! The first couple in a series is always so soft and fluffy, we love to see it. & the epilogue? in usual Lauren Asher form… it gave. it always gives.

I’m so excited for Jax & Santi’s books… I have no words🤠

“Maya?”
“Yup?”
“Keep talking. I love hearing your voice.” <3

[lineeralgsikici.35 · Rating 1 out of 5]

it is so bad i want to give you a zero, but that's not possible so I give you... a one.

[pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9/5 ⭐️

I didn’t hate or dislike the book, but I wasn’t super in love with it either. There are parts of the dialogue that I think could have been excluded. The entire story occurs within ten months or so, so as it progresses from chapter to chapter, you’ll get some where several weeks pass by vs several days.

This is as much romance as it is somewhat diving into their world as race car drivers, which is obviously the entire appeal of Noah Slade. The sarcastic, successful jerk who the media dubs as a playboy who takes no shit from anyone.

I’m just not really too into the pace of the book. It felt kind of... long? Like a lot happens while also not very much?

I also obviously want to acknowledge that I very much hyped this book up for myself, but I also kept an open mind going into it because I’ve never read a Formula 1 romance before, much less other works from the author.

I was invested with Noah and Maya and they had some really sweet moments. Some of their witty banter was great, some fell a little bit flat for me.

Found tons of additional descriptors in their dialogue which I felt like ruined the delivery. For example, “There’s a shit ton of smoke coming from the car, making it hard to breathe.” When read in context of the chapter, I feel like dropping that last part would have made it more charged, except it read as internal thoughts and not the descriptor dialogue it was meant for.

They’re a cute couple, I just wanted to be obsessed with them and I wasn’t. 😔

[Zoë]

dnf@ 26%


I feel as if I have been mansplained.............by a women

[lisa ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

omw to ask my brother to become a F1 driver so i can travel the world with him and meet noah slade brb

[Clace · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25!

“'Maya'
'Hmm?'
'Keep talking. I love hearing your voice.'”

Lemme start by saying that I love that part of the book so much where Maya talked to Noah through the radio (very unrealistic) but such a good moment, my dumbass was smiling wildly at that scene 🙄

The writing style, especially for a debut author was so amazing. Do not get me wrong it was not anything extraordinary but it was so gripping and hooking, so accessible that I actually read the first 300 pages in one day!! It was well done, well researched and well thought but most importantly well executed. Lauren foreshadowing other couples in this book was also something that I liked and this book having no third act breakup was honestly one of the best decisions ever. Lauren Asher writes such fast paced books with small chapters and dual POV's which I absolutely love in romance novels!!

“And that wicked smile he sends me when the cameras stop rolling? The one promising more? Yup. I see it. Oh man, I’m in trouble.”

Maya Alatorre, I loved her so so so so much. An FMC who has a backbone? makes the man grovel? AND makes vlogs about F1?? How can you not love her. She honestly has the dream job and ugh befriending other drivers 😫 I WANT THAT! I really liked her relationship with her brother, it was actually one of my favorite parts of the book because they were just so cute.

I think what Lauren really nailed with Maya's character was her bringing a brighter side of Noah, a better side and I loved it because that man improved so much and even went to therapy for her 😫

“I think you’ve ruined me.”

Noah Slade, I actually did not like him during the first half but as the story progressed, I fumbled and fell so hard for him. That man went to therapy for her, acknowledged how much she changed her and how she brought his good side and how much he liked and he also acknowledged how she made him realize how she had made him see life from a different perspective.

I also liked how well Lauren managed his relationship with his toxic and abusive family and how he tried to be better than that!

BUT.........Santiago easily stole the show for me , I was hooked and I want his story more than anyone else's. I LOVED HIM!

“Love the way she pushes me for more. To feel, to live, to breathe her in and never let her go.”

The romance was enjoyable and fine....nothing that really stole the show for me which is somewhat of a let down in a romance book but whatever we got from Noah and Mayas journey together I really enjoyed and the spicy scenes were also very enjoyable but nothing that I have not read before. It did not stand out for me but it was still enjoyable and made the book more fun to read.

“Fear is not always a weakness. It's what you do with the fear that shows your true strength. Most of all, I like how she makes me want to be a better person. For her, for me, for the whole goddamn world.”

The F1 part of this book, I love when sports romance actually focus on the sports and the sports in this book was very prominent and formula 1 being my favorite sport made me love this book so much more because it was done well, I did not have many problems with it and despite some things being unrealistic I still did not mind it. That part of the book was easily the best. I can not wait to get to the next books because each couple intrigues me so much.

Overall, I would recommend this book, definitely and it is wayy more enjoyable than The fine print!
-
Tomorrows the first race day of the year! So, I might as well just pick this up!!

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters)]

Mmm, yeah okay.
See you never again, book.




(DNFing this at 13% because everything about this whole thing -characters, writing, DIALOGUE- annoyed me to the point I was considering attending an F1 race only so I could throw myself under a speeding car and blame my desperation on this book)

[SK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way better than what I expected. Ngl compared to her Dreamland Billionaire series, this is a FAR BETTER written book. Formula 1 paired with forbidden romance and brother's rival 🤭🤭 Let me tell ya, I ate it up. I had so much fun with this book.

Look, I get that some people hate Noah and claim he is a womanizer. BUT that was the first half Noah. In the second half, the man redeemed himself and worked on himself before jumping into anything serious. We all love second chance romances but when the time comes to give people a second chance, we back off. Like wtf 👁️👄👁️ Noah's character was a typical bad boy with a heart of gold who was always ready to man up for the woman he loves and honestly, I admired that.

Maya was sweet, patient and kind. She's the type of girl you wanna be best friends with. I didn't get her and Sophie's friendship tho, felt a bit odd to me but it's okay. I liked how supportive and unproblematic Maya was. She knew exactly what she wanted and she wasn't afraid to set boundaries and I loved seeing that.

The romance started off as insta lust with occasional cringe dialogues, which is why it's a four star rating for me. The chemistry between Noah and Maya was indeed explosive. Some of the scenes were so swoon worthy. I was giggling and kicking my feet, these two made me smile so much. The two were always encouraging towards each other and owning up to their own damn mistakes. The spice was hot and sweet and I got no complaints there.

The ending and especially that epilogue was sooo adorable. Although I have read just book 1 in the series, am already in love with Santiago- so looking forward to reading his book the most. Liam seems like the type who might frustrate me and I got no opinion on Jax. So let's see how it goes 👀🤷‍♀️

Read this cause my bestie @Leonie loves it and I had to check it out. Also, her recs rarely do me wrong. Love ya babe 😉❤
~•~•~
My bestie will unalive me someday if I don't read it. Also first F1 romance, LET'S GOOOO

[martina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book: Throttled
Rating: 2 stars
Trigger Warning: Physical and Verbal Abuse

Summary
This was about a F1 Racer, Noah and Maya his teammates sister. This was a bit of a forbidden romance since Santigo, Maya’s brother, hates Noah. This also had the cliches of an manwhore athlete as the hero and the family-oriented woman as the heroine.

Review
I saw a review before I read this that said this was like a well written Wattpad book. And I am not gonna lie, that literally is the best way to describe this book.

It had almost every cliché in the book, especially with Noah. He was the typical manwhore with familial issues that did not want to settle down but that one girl – Maya – changed everything. To be honest sometimes the manwhore act works for me but this time it sure as hell didn’t. Let’s start with this darling quote from our amazing hero:

“I got shit-faced last night, where one drink turned into five and here, I am, being called a dick by another chick. Some consider me nice. I make sure she comes multiple times before I do because my nanny raised a gentleman after all, no thanks to my parents.” ➟ this quote reminded me why I hate men.

Anyways, Maya wasn’t any better. I can’t really put on an exact thing that I didn’t like about her, but she was just annoying to me.

This might be a reach, but this book also was very similar to Off Campus. Noah was kind of like Garret. Similar dad issues. An athlete. His three other friends. Never wanted more until THE girl. It seemed like the deal, but the race car version.

Also, I hate when authors are describing someone who isn’t white as exotic. There really is no need for that.

I didn’t like the romance between Maya and Noah either. It felt forced. I didn’t see any connection or chemistry between them.

The only good part about this book was that the hero went to therapy. Most manwhores usually have commitment and trust issues but they NEVER go to therapy. So, I am glad Noah did before he tried to be in a serious relationship with Maya.

And it did make me laugh sometimes.

[Kim Charlotte · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book actually made me lose my mind.

The story is set during a fictional Formula 1 World Championship. As a Formula 1 fan for over 7 years, I am aware of the system F1 is based on and the basic workings of the sport. And if you use an actual sport (or city) in your story, it can get risky. If things are inaccurately or nonsensically portrayed, it will fall flat and cause considerable criticism, since it can indicate poor research on the author's behalf.

Although Lauren Asher is a lover of Formula 1, according to her Instagram, reading this felt like she only watched 3 episodes of Drive to Survive and 15 laps of any random race. There were so many hiccups with her trying to explain F1 as a sport that if you are a seasoned watcher, it does nothing but make your blood boil.

"The crew and I roll up to the front of the group, situating me in the P1 spot while testing my radio connection. I grin to myself beneath my helmet. Pole position will always be the most ideal for the whole Prix, and pride fills me that I claimed it. Have to start the year with a boom.
My heart pounds in my chest, the rhythm similar to the shaking of the engine. The team slips off my tire warmers before they rush off the pavement. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Five red lights shut off."

First of all, where is the goddamn formation lap? These tyres have to be warmed up properly on the track. It isn't a matter of tyre warmers off, engineers gone and then we start.

An additional thing I hated is why are there so many damn people over the radio? The team principal? The engineer? A mechanic? Usually only the head engineer communicates with the driver, so there will be minimal distraction for the driver while racing. The reason why it is the head engineer only is because they are able to understand what to do when the driver for example mentions there are vibrations or loss of power.

This is one of the many examples of inaccurate portrayal of Formula 1, and it makes me absolutely infuriated. Another big gripe is the attitude that is assumed the media has about F1. This should take place in 2019 or something, but my god, everyone here still assumes F1 and their mindsets are still stuck in the 1970's.

""I've been reading gossip about those different drivers. Men like Liam Zander and Noah Slade pop up all the time, and you should see what women say about them. Don't get my started on Jax, that man has trouble following him like a bad smell." Her voice fails to hide her disdain. "

Apparently the media is so obsessed with the drivers (particularly their love and sex lives) that it is almost as if they have dedicated a whole section of the Daily Mail to them. F1 journalists are usually the most gossipy during transfer season, and overall, their private lives are left for what it is. Journalists in the sport usually focus on the facts. But in here they treat the F1 media has if they are all tumblr/twitter people who have no life and lurk for the latest scoop.

Since the background of this story didn't do anything but disappoint me and infuriate me, let's talk about the main characters in this story.

Noah Slade

A dark-haired, blue-eyed (like the Barcelona coastal waters (this is how it is described by the female lead, I am not joking), 30-year-old American driver. We get introduced to him 2 years before the actual story takes place, when he wasn't able to crown himself as a World Champion.

This man.

It feels almost like an insult to call him an F1 driver at this point. This man is literally just the embodiment of a cliche Wattpad bad boy, but instead of riding motorbikes (he actually does that too, but more as a hobby) he rides F1 cars! Wow!

With coming as a Wattpad bad boy reject, there is also a plethora of other stuff that comes with him as baggage. Playboy lifestyle, daddy and mommy issues, you know the gest. Charles Leclerc should get financial compensation for being used as the faceclaim of this asshole.

So he is a F1 driver, and two years after the incident that cost him the WC, he gets a new teammate in the form of Santiago 'Santi' Alatorre. A twenty-four year old Spanish prodigy who debuted in Formula One at twenty-one (which is supposed to be revolutionary, while in real F1 drivers have debuted at the ripe age of seventeen), who in fact was the only bearable character in this whole story. And that is when he meets Maya.

Maya Alatorre.

So about Maya. Maya is twenty-three, Spanish (VERY emphasised in the story only when convenient, but also in such a stereotypical fashion that my Spanish friend actually got insulted by it) and Santi's younger sister. This is one of the first things that we know about her:

" Five grueling years and two major changes later, I can happily say I graduated. Turns out I wasn't cut for a biology degree; I fainted during a dissection lab when my partner cut into a baby pig's stomach. And pre-law didn't exactly work out for me; I threw up in a nearby trash can during my first debate, forfeiting before the questions begin. People would count these restarts as failures, but I think they built character. That and resilience for messing up. "

The author probably wrote this with the idea that this was quirky, and that she is a strong female that overcomes adversity. But all this did was infuriate me because how badly can you screw up your university choices? And for what reasons? It just makes me feel that she has no direction, no aim for life, and that she has to pay the price later. Yes, I am those people that consider this as a failure instead of a restart.

But in what did she graduate? Arts in Communications. What does she want to do with this? Become an influencer.

So her brother getting into one of the big F1 teams at the time is very stonks for her. She can follow him around in the name of vlogging and establish herself as a vlogger, and something more than Santi Alatorre's sister. But oh no! She has the hots for her brother's new teammate! Being in kahoots with your brother's rival is an absolute no-no.

____________

Since we have established a bit of the setting and the characters, let me list a bit of the stuff that I absolutely couldn't stand.
- The poor portrayal of Formula One as a sport : I have already described how important accurate portrayal is of an existing sport, and Lauren Asher completely missed the mark here. A good portion of this book was me screaming to the book at how badly everything was shown here. Some points I hated, in addition to the points mentioned above:
- Drivers NEVER strap themselves in the car. An engineer does that.
- There is NO steel in the car anywhere.
- Drivers will absolutely never miss out a practice because they SLEPT in.
- I have never heard a Grand Prix be called a Prix by someone. Literally. It is either GP, Grand
Prix or race. Never just Prix. It is said in this story a whopping forty-three (43) times.
- A good portion of the races in real life are really, really boring. Particularly Monaco. You literally can't drive side by side in Monaco.

I probably missed some more, but all these things made me pissed off for at least a good half of the story.

- Maya and Noah's characters : Maya is like bland coffee and Noah is just the same. And two bland coffees can't make good chemistry.

Maya is literally portrayed as American, even though we have to believe she is Spanish. She went to an American school in Madrid, speaks with no accent whatsoever, and actually talks in miles instead of kilometers. But no, she is still Spanish: she loves sangria and paella and her mother knows they are her favourite things to eat. She has the fiesty personality, the tan. Things that make her look a bit more 'exotic', a bit different than the other girls.

But she just feels so bland and at times so incredibly stupid? I get it, you want to sell romance, but Maya NEVER bothers to know more about the sport and how it works. Instead, she spends her time constantly hanging out with the same 4 unseasoned guys plus her brother and depending on them in order for her channel to take off. It takes her until the second race to realise she could make a weekend vlog of the Grand Prix (screw this story, I will never call it a Prix). And the content she makes for it, definitely belongs in the somewhat cringy category. Usual travel vlogs, wannabe Buzzfeed questions with drivers. How this can reach 900.000 subscribers by the end of the season Can only be explained by peak nepotism energy.

She keeps pining for Noah ever since the beginning of the book in the least subtle way possible, but what is there for him?

Spoiler: Noah isn't much more interesting than Maya.
(at this point I am getting tired of writing this review, so excuse me if it gets sloppier)

Noah is coming straight from Wattpad. And I think that establishes a lot on his character. Lack of daddy love, shallow mother, never experienced any genuine love, the 'brooding' type. Spends his days with racing, alcohol and women. Until that one (1) girl and he wants to settle.

- Their whole relationship : It is just so boring? While the first half made me angry over the poor F1 portrayal, once they have established they like each other and are borderline boinking, the story gets so incredibly BORING. There is nothing interesting for them. The one fight Noah had with Santi had more chemistry than these two had in the entire book.
We don't know what either of them genuinely likes, and what they think is attractive about the other beyond the physical features. Of course, before that there had to be a commitmentphobe!Noah in the picture because there has to be conflict, but this isn't anything original either since as a reader you will know that they will boink eventually. It was boring to wait for the inevitable and even during/after that it was boring.

1 star solely because Noah has the balls to go to therapy at last and Santi is the only character with braincells here.

tl;dr : for the sake of your sanity pretend you know nothing about f1. also this story would be way better with Santi and Noah as the main leads.

[bruna · Rating 2 out of 5]

★ 2.5 stars

𝅄 𓂃 𖥻 “I think love is about happiness and sacrifice. Comprising instead of arguing. Having someone who is always there for you even when you don't deserve it. Loving someone means you want to spend the rest of your life with them on the good days and the bad days and everything in between.” 𑇛 ˚

i only picked this book up because i needed something silly, easy to get through that didn't require much critical thinking to get rid of my reading slump and this one did the job. but while i can say that it helped with my slump, i can’t say that it was a good book. those are two different things.

well, for starters, i honestly didn’t even expect much from this story, so i won’t tell you that i’m disappointed, because i’m not. i predicted that that this book wouldn’t be an absolute masterpiece filled with originality and depth, which means that i can’t say i was disappointed or even surprised when my predictions turned out to be true. if i had expected more from it, i’d definitely be disappointed right now — but luckily, i didn’t commit that mistake.

i did, however, feel very underwhelmed. the plot was so freaking tedious, bland and painfully predictable. sure, i didn’t expect the best plot ever written, but i did think that at least it would manage to keep me somewhat engaged. it didn’t. if i wasn’t listening to the audiobook, i’m completely certain that i would’ve dnfed it early on.

i could’ve forgiven the bland plot a little if at least the main characters were captivating or loveable, but they were not. far from it, actually.

Maya Alatorre (FMC) was absolutely insufferable and infuriatingly dull. the author tried so hard to make her seem fun, quirky and cutely awkward, but she was just... pathetic and embarrassing. nothing else. Maya multiple times gave off ‘not like other girls’ vibes, which i don’t even have to say that it was irritating. who likes that? no one. she sometimes said a few sexist things as well and i came to a conclusion that she’s definitely not a girls girl. unsurprisingly, there’s nothing really likeable or even memorable about her character.

Noah Slade (MMC) was even worse. he’s your typical and cliché book bad boy: is a manwhore, is horny 24/7, has daddy issues, and is straight up arrogant. i understand that this is a popular thing in romance books, that it’s meant to show us how bad the male character is initially before he finds the love of his life that consequentially makes him change and become a better person — but, most of the times, i’m not a fan of how misogynistic it is portrayed. i personally believe that you can write a protagonist with those typical bad boy traits without making him a disgusting misogynistic, but apparently, most authors don’t believe that. it irked me so badly to see the terrible things that Noah would often said about women and how he treated them. obviously, he later gets better and starts to respect women, which is great, but in general... is it really enough? well, it wasn’t for me. i didn’t like him, not when he was awful, and not when he redeemed himself. sorry. he just didn’t manage to have a positive effect on me.

this might not seem shocking after i had such negative opinions on the main characters, but the romance (if we can call it that) was also not good. i wasn’t a fan. it was, for a lot of reasons, so atrociously cringe. and i couldn’t see a profound connection or actual chemistry between the protagonists, for the majority of book all we saw was psychical attraction and psychical attraction only. for a long period of time i honestly didn’t believe that they actually liked each other, it seemed like they wanted to bang each other and that was it. their interactions and their individual internal monologues were mostly revolved around lust, that explains why it was hard for me to see an emotional connection there and root for them to be together. the author should’ve focused more on giving their relationship a satisfying build-up and a good development.

all in all, i’m thankful that Throttled helped me with my reading slump (this is the sole reason why i’m being generous enough to not give this book a one star rating), but generally speaking, i didn’t necessarily had a fun time reading this book.

[shei · Rating 3 out of 5]

—— 3.✰ stars.

‘I’ll always be okay and come back to you. Those cars are built for a bomb. I love you’

・❥・ Mood of the book: Womanizer by Britney Spears

OKAAAAAY, let's start by saying that the reason for these 3.✰ stars is the F1 stuff. If it were just for the romance, this book would easily be 2✰. stars. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Even though it was not an incredible book, I am glad to have started the year with it, because it a very fast read, and above all, because my baby, one of the most important people of 2023 for me, aka, giuls, have been waiting for this moment since we met, so amo mio, this is for you.

'My favorite lullaby is the noise of the car'

Im sorry in advance since I feel this is a very bland and mid review, but the book didn't make me feel enough anger to do a rant neither enough happiness to praise the shit out of it, so mid book = mid review. hehe.

✧*̥˚🏁 about the plot: 🏁*̥˚✧

We follow Noah Slade, an F1 legend, womanizer, with an ego higher than the Empire State Building and teammate of Santiago Alatorre, Maya's brother. It is the start of the F1 season, and Santi offers Maya to follow him to all the racing destinations, there she meets Noah, and although they are attracted to each other, taking into account that the relationship between Noah and Santi does not start very well, Maya must stay away from Noah. But hey, it's a romance book, we all know what happens right?

'Behind glitz and glam, people live with lies and unhappiness'

✧*̥˚🏁 about the characters romance: 🏁*̥˚✧

'Loving someone means you want to spend the rest of your life with them, on the good days, bad days and everything in between'

I'm not going to talk about them individually, as I don't think there was much depth to them, so I'll discuss the romance.

In my humble opinion, there is no romantic development between them, everything is too instantaneous, insta love, insta lust, insta everything. I was insta annoyed.

Noah is obsessed with Maya from the beginning and not only Noah, a certain part of him too, he was going full salute every time she… prepare yourself, SMILED! Yes, girly was throwing her head back and laughing and this guy got a fucking boner, lol.

I have to admit that, yes, there are cute moments between them, which made me smile, but also others that made me cringe, especially Maya's attitude, who was trying to be funny and what she made me feel was second hand embarrassment.

The smut wasn't bad, have I read better smut? Definitely. Have I read worse? Yes, a wide variety of Ana Huang + Flawless books lol.

This was a sports romance, so let's talk about the sports part, I didn't know I was going to enjoy the sports scenes so much, I was always waiting for them to arrive, especially if Noah narrated them. I can't say that I am an F1 girly, but I can say that I am a fan in the making, and that the main reason why I continue with the saga is the F1 content. The sport is a big and main part of the book, with scenes dedicated to it and the entire book revolving around the F1 season. So if you don't like reading specific sports scenes, this is not a book for you.

✧*̥˚🏁 some quotes I enjoyed: 🏁*̥˚✧

'Can't be corrupted by something that made you'

'Her soft and breathy laugh makes the tripod shake, and damn if it isn't the best sound I'll hear all day'

'I nod because I'd do just about anything with him smiling at me the way he does'

'I can't change who I am to be what you want'

Last but not least, do I recommend this book? Meh, I guess??? if you like Lauren Asher books definitely yes, and also if you enjoy sport scenes or you are a fan of F1!!

Dirty Air Series:
╰┈➤ Collided , 2. ✰ stars.

ೃ⁀➷ 𝓹𝓻𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓲𝓮𝔀:
ok…👀 rtc!
jan 03: first read of the year let’s hope this doesn’t disappoint 💅🏻. giuls, my amo, this one is for you🩵

[Maria Costa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine a guy going to therapy so he can get better for you, damn...

[Devina · Rating 1 out of 5]

before i’d read this book, i’d made hating on the spanish love deception my main personality trait but now it’s hating on the spanish love deception AND this book. yes, i did know that this would be terrible because i very intentionally asked for bad book recommendations (thank you diana, i am traumatised) but i still expected something better than this.

i don’t read books for their plot but the it was SO terrible. maya’s brother is an f1 racer and because she is unemployed, she decides to tag along with him while trying to be a successful youtuber. along the way, she falls in love with her brother’s riVaL noah (he has blue eyes that challenge the caribbean ocean) and because noah (with the blue eyes) is santiago’s rival, maya wants to keep it a secret.

i really tried to like maya but she was just so annoying. and honestly, i can see why she’s unemployed because she is SO INFURIATINGLY STUPID??? the only reason her vlog was successful was because she had a supposedly famous brother and because noah (don’t forget his blue eyes) made guest appearances in her vlogs. i have nothing against vlogs, and i’ll admit that i enjoy watching vlogs because who doesn't want to know unnecessary details about someone's life but something about maya’s youtube channel was just so juvenile. i was surprised to see that this book was published in 2020 because she was still doing cringy shit like 'tequila talks' and the newlywed game on her channel (i don’t remember what the games were called but they were drinking games you'd only see single people who base their self-worth on their relationship status in low budget christmas movies playing). i thought we left that behind in 2016.

her most original idea for her vlogs was ripping off the web’s most searched questions interview. maya was also a marketing prodigy, she pulled the boss move of making her instagram private so that she could get more viewers.

as you can see over here, maya really said it’s big brain time:
“I keep a translated list of popular phrases from each country we visit to prevent making myself look like a fool, at least not more than usual. *Note to self: double-check what phrases sound stupid.*"

and don’t even get me started on noah (he has blue eyes btw). for more than half the book, he acted like an asshole and then pinned all his shitty behaviour on his mommy and daddy issues? as? if? that? just? fixes? everything? he’d do something terrible, feel bad and then say, “sigh... if only i didn’t have daddy issues. if only my dad’s gaze wasn’t cold enough to rival the arctic ocean... i’d be a better man.”

i didn’t make the arctic ocean part up, that was actually in the book.
“Cold eyes land on me, two blue orbs as inviting as skinny-dipping in the Arctic Ocean. He
 keeps his dark hair slicked back and his suit perfectly pressed with not a wrinkle in sight. To others he comes off as welcoming, but his deceptiveness covers up all the darkness simmering beneath his skin.”

not to mention how noah (his eyes are bluer than the bluest thing you can think of) was always and i mean ALWAYS horny. he needed to see a doctor more than anything, it’s like he had the opposite of erectile dysfunction.

noah (with the sapphire eyes) was a creepy guy. he’d just randomly walk up to maya and start kissing her, even though she had not openly expressed her feelings towards noah (blue eyes). he was just super touchy even when she claimed to hate him, or after their unsuccessful date.

for example (and this is one of many), when they were returning from some party:

““Maya and I can ride back together since we’re staying at the same hotel.” His hand possessively splays across my stomach, holding me hostage. I like it as much as I hate it. My body tries to wiggle away from him, but I stop once my ass rubs against his front. I choose to ignore the bulge I feel pressing against me.”

and (this is from noah’s pov):

“I haul her over my shoulder like a fireman’s carry. She squirms about, making it difficult for me to hold on to her. My hand smacks her ass playfully to get her to stop.”

or when he’s talking to maya’s dad:

““Take care of my little girl.” Hidden meaning fills his statement. I don’t try to get into his daughter’s pants, I just think about it a lot. But I’ve been respectful compared to the way I act with girls I want to fuck. He should be grateful.

Call me an entitled prick. Fuck if I care.”

idk i just did not like that man, he kept licking his lips and it made me uncomfortable. every word that left his mouth made me cringe. and when he started talking about himself, it was even worse. i’m going to refrain from pasting his little speech where he elaborates how he himself is his biggest threat.

the only thing i liked was how noah went to therapy instead of getting 'fixed' by maya but let's face it, lauren asher probably took that idea from one of those tiktoks that give unsolicited advice on how to make your partner fall in love with you.

the spelling in this book was terrible, the word ‘fazed’ and ‘unfazed’ were constantly misspelled as ‘phased’ and ‘unphased’. and not to be that person but this is a published book so here are some instances of the wonderful grammar in this book

“You act like your God’s gift to Earth.”
need i explain?

“Sometimes she seems in to me, but stuff she does makes me uncertain.”
mmhm she’s in to him😼

some parts of this book were so terribly written that i audibly laughed. noah (with the blue eyes, remember?) would crack what i believe was his version of a joke and then maya would be scandalised and offended. this would lead to noah (with the smurf coloured eyes) apologising and internally he’d start his too-broken-for-you routine and channel his inner jughead. he really gave off that "in case you haven’t noticed, i'm weird. i’m a weirdo. i don't fit in. and i don't want to fit in. have you ever seen me without this stupid hat on? that's weird” energy sometimes. maya would get offended by absolutely anything that came out of his mouth but when sophie asked her how her english is so good even though she was from spain, she was happy about it??? if someone asked me how i could speak english even though i’m not from *insert country that largely speaks english*, i would be so so SO annoyed.

and finally i would like to bring your attention to the main conflict of this book, which was that santi would be pissed if he found out noah (his eyes are so blue that billie eilish sang about them) and maya were together. maya is a grown woman. i don’t know why she was so scared of santi’s disapproval. santi and maya don’t have a normal brother-sister relationship. i know some siblings are more appreciative of each other but theirs was borderline creepy. maya would dive into chapter-long essays on why her brother was so special and amazing. if my brother ever tried to control ANY aspect of my life, you best believe he’s not my brother anymore. and here she was having a sEcRet relationship because of her brother??? idk anything about racing but the rivals thing was very hard to buy. what happened to sportsmanship?? they were all so childish and immature. it was all incredibly stupid

noah (with blueberries for eyes) and maya confessed their love to each other so quickly. they barely knew each other but all the characters lacked depth and there wasn't much to know.

do i recommend this book to anyone? yes, if you want to read about a horny man, this is definitely the book for you seeing as how noah (guy with the denim orbs) is constantly turned on. if you would like to preserve your braincells, then you should stay away from this book.

this book has furthered my fear of fictional men with blue eyes.


buddy read with MyBookJourney, you can read her hilarious review here

[aly ☆彡 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crack open the kindle because it’s time to take a couple of pointers on which sports romances to read next because I am just so consumed with it lately and so I decided to read one of the talks of the towns to see if it lives up to the hype. The verdict? I don't know where the book stands. It was enjoyable and easy to go through, but it also did not hit the mark as I expected it to.

To begin with, the dialogue is what bothered me the most. It seemed incredibly unnatural and was written as informational dialogue for the reader rather than as actual individuals conversing with some parts that got me cringing with secondhand embarrassment. Unless you're creating literary fiction with a lot of introspection, dialogue, and dialogue framing will make up most of your book and you definitely don't want to write it poorly. I am no killjoy, I love cliche and simply a well-written book, but this comes off as a little bit underwhelming.

On the good side, I can be meek; so the dialogue does not entirely deter me from continuing this —but I reached satisfice when I find the plot to the characters to be equally mundane. The narrative doesn't benefit from the lengthy page count at all. Throttled tends to drag at times and lacks the angst I would anticipate from a romance of this length. It lacks tension with a less inviting and uneventful love story.

I adequately like the characters but they did not pique my interest enough to remember them. Due to Noah's parents' less-than-ideal relationship, he is cynical when it comes to partnerships, but none of the crises appeared to have been given the necessary weight; instead, they all seemed to have been thrown in as a quick attempt to create a multifaceted character but lacked elements from other literary genres that would have given the protagonists a sense of struggle on their road to redemption. That's Noah, who.

Meanwhile Maya? I am fond of her sweet character but she mostly appeared as a doormat throughout the novel. There are a few qualifying moments, but they are few and far between. We never learn that much about Maya and her personality outside of F1 and the vlog and the bar is in hell with Asher's female character. There was no redemption made from Noah to prove that he is capable of being in a serious relationship, especially after the "date"— he didn’t demonstrate any growth to her and she simply caved in. That itself is simply a disgrace (you can do better Maya) 🥴.

All criticisms aside, I love the insights we get about F1 here. I've been reading a few other sports romances from the mainstream field, like football, hockey, and rugby, so this is a breath of fresh air. It is compelling to read about the racing intricacies, pre-race rituals, galas, and everything else in between, making the series unique on its own. Although the writing could use some overhaul and mending, the simple writing style makes this casual to read than most as well. If you want a quick read in between hectic schedule, might as well pick this one up.

Eventually, I did not plan to continue the series, but later received a lot of encouragement that it does get better. I also just made aware that this is Asher's debut book which probably explains a lot of the blatant flaws. So, isn't two stars seem too harsh? Well, I still don't think it deserves to be on my three stars bookshelves either. Throttled is just something predictable that I ended up reading because sometimes, we just love cliche and this one happens to be deliberately prosaic. Having good faith for whatever comes next though!

[EmBibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

You know how we as reviewers always say “this was so good for a debut book” or “I can’t believe this is a debut book”? Well, I totally can see that this is just a basic debut book. Totally believable. Nothing memorable about it. I didn’t like the writing, it lacked something. Like it was all so monotonous if you know what I mean? I was stuck with one facial expression through it all. It didn’t make me feel anything. Both characters lacked any kind of depth. They were so forgettable. The story was just so meh. Honestly, this felt like a long introduction for the whole series. I hope it gets better for my sake because I bought the whole series.

[Bryce Rocks My Socks · Rating 5 out of 5]

not me putting this book down to start binge watching formula 1. will be making this book into my whole personality brb

[Uswah · Rating 4 out of 5]

NAH BECAUSE THAT’S EXACTLY THE SPORTS ROMANCE I NEEDED 🏎️🏎️🤭

Finished Throttled and suddenly my soul is cleansed?? I feel REBORN LOL 😂

The MMC being the FMC’s brother’s rival?? pls 👀 I knew it, and I ate it UP 🤭 Maya and Noah’s tension??? The banter?? The brother's rival trope with extra forbidden vibes? Yes please 🙋‍♀️

The book came in HOT—like from the Prologue alone, I was like ohhh this about to be MESSY (in the best way) 👀🤭 The tension?? The setup?? Instant hook 🫶♥️🏎️

Then Maya enters and I’m like YES queen 😭 She's sweet, funny, and that sibling bond?? TOO WHOLESOME 🥹🫶 Literally obsessed with her and her brother’s dynamic.

Noah Slade??? Oh we’re talking emotionally damaged, broody, hot F1 driver with family trauma??? 😮‍💨 He had me feeling things. I wanted to hug him and maybe throw hands at his family a little. He deserves better 🥹 but now he has Maya soooo 🤭🫶🏎️

And the F1 scenes?? Ate. Devoured. Left no crumbs 🙂‍↕️ I was actually stressed at one point LMAO but thank god it wasn’t that bad 😮‍💨 Like not just romance—actual stakes, speed, adrenaline, a little danger?? Chef's kiss on pit lane 🏁

I can already tell this series is gonna own me. Next up is LIAM & SOPHIE??? 🤭 Say less, I’m READY. And Santiago?? 👀 I can feel he’s gonna ruin me and I will let him.

Overall this book?? So fun, super readable, cute sibling/friend vibes, and characters you wanna hang out with.

4.35 STARS BABYYY 🏎️🏎️🏎️ Honestly, 4.35 stars is so fair. That book had it all—fast cars, forbidden love, emotional baggage, and just enough spice and sweetness to leave you grinning. 🏎️💨


—————————————
Pre-Read

I'm in the mood for some F1 romance, so here I am. 🙂‍↕️🏎️

[Lotte · Rating 1 out of 5]

The one star I’m giving this is for myself, for actually finishing it.

[Júlia · Rating 2 out of 5]

How many times do you think he looked her up and down while biting his lips? You don’t wanna know.

I also got this on audiobook and please, next time you want to represent Spanish culture and the Spanish accent, just hire someone who’s bilingual and actually has the accent.

Thanks

[abigail ❥ · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star
The tension and epilogue were the only redeemers.

Yuck! This was a disgusting read... I actually expected better, for once, based on the hype around it. I try to go into hyped books without preconceived opinions or expectations but I've just only heard good things about this series. After reading, I truly don't understand the appeal of this book. I was nauseous for the majority, literally having my fight or flight senses tingling nonstop, especially during the intimate scenes.

I get it. This is supposed to be a smut forward book but all the ogling and constant talks about sex or sexual things were honestly such a turn-off more than its supposed purpose of being a turn-on for the reader. I mean truly... not everything revolves around sex. Sex is a plus, and we readers know that, but it was utterly gag-inducing, mainly coming from Noah but also from Maya.
"It's only human to check people out and think about people in sexual scenarios!"
Correct, but almost every other sentence? ICK

Now let's get into these intimate scenes... Gut instinct always had me wanting to run away. THAT is not something good for something we are supposed to like. Noah was always overpowering Maya, never asking permission, and always coming off as a predator and a creep. He's a sleezebag and yes, his character was made that way but my God that is not something we should want, and this is coming from a dark romance reader! I'm a simp for murders and MANY red flags on the daily. This was like a creepy old man coming up to you in a bar and putting his hand under your dress type feel. RUN GIRL RUN! His dirty talk sucked and the smut wasn't anything great. In another type of intimacy, Noah only praised Maya in his thoughts for how she was in bed...

The tension between them during outings and while trying to avoid each other was the only thing that kept me reading (well, also because this is a book club read for me). Take the gross remarks out and I enjoyed those interactions to a point. The epilogue was sweet, I will give it that.

[Krysta ꕤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If he breaks her heart, I'll run him over with the car he loves more than anything."

"Loved more than anything.”

i liked this more than i thought i would, but i preferred the story and dynamic more when Maya and Noah were pining after eachother over when they officially got together. i liked both characters well enough but i can’t say i had much interest in either of them outside of their interactions with one another. Maya has barely any character development and Noah doesn’t bring anything new to the table either, despite some attempts at him wanting to be better due to his upbringing and going to therapy. there were some genuinely cute moments but they’re all kinda overshadowed by something sexual almost immediately after every single time, whether that’s them having sex or thinking about having sex.. it just got a bit boring after a while.

”The idea of a future with Maya makes me edgy with anticipation. The good kind. The best kind. The kind of high I want to chase for the rest of my life with her.”

i liked the side characters, so i’ll still be continuing on in the series. i seriously hope as it goes on that the dialogue will get a little less corny too💀. my favorite part of this book was actually how much of it is focused on Noah’s racing career and Formula 1 as a whole. that’s always a complaint of mine with sports romances cause they usually lack the sports aspect in order to focus solely on the romance. this doesn’t have that issue and i appreciated that cause i randomly got so invested in the races and thought all those scenes were well written. i also appreciated that there was no third act break up and that Maya’s brother Santi didn’t make a big deal out of his “rival” dating his little sister. i didn’t hate this, but i didn’t love it either so it’s right in the middle for me.

my second F1 romance 🏎️

[April (Vacation hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I think love is about happiness and sacrifice. Compromising instead of arguing. Having someone who is always there for you even when you don’t deserve it. Loving someone means you want to spend the rest of your life with them, on the good days and the bad days and everything in between.”


I'm a racing girlie and love everything from Nascar racing, drag racing (my hubby drag races) to Formula One! When I saw this series, I had wanted to read it, but there were mixed reviews on this book. It wasn't until I heard that it gets better with each book that I decided to give it a try.


Throttled is the first book in the Dirty Air series that is a forbidden love, brothers teammate/rival, Formula One racing sports romance with drama, sexual tension, banter and rivalry. This had me laughing out loud at times and smiling to myself. There were even some parts that had me swooning.


Noah Slade is a world-famous F1 racer for Bandini, and he is the best. He has three world champioships under him, but his world is flipped upside down when his team hires a new driver to be his partner, Santiago, who is also his rival. Maya Alatorre has just graduated college and decides to travel with her brother Santiago for the season of Grand Prix's, and that's when she meets Noah. She is working on her vlog, trying to get her name out there, and decides to start vlogging behind the scenes about the races and interviews with the drivers growing her viewers. She is warned by her brother to stear clear of the other drivers, but she can't seem to stay away from Noah, and they aren't able to hide from their attraction to one another any longer. When her brother finds out about their secret relationship, will he forgive her?


There are special bonds between some of the racecar drivers, and we get to see the interactions that they have with one another. We meet Liam and Jax, who are on a competitors team, as well as Sophie, the only other female traveling with the race teams. Maya and Sophie quickly hit it off and become close friends hanging out and looking out for one another.


“I’ll let you in on a secret though… Fucking you is the equivalent of winning a World Championship. I could never win again and be perfectly fine so long as you’re by my side. In my bed. Me inside of you. I like you a lot.”

“I didn’t fuck around with her. I love her. I’ll keep loving her through everything, no matter what you or anyone else says, or whatever you try to do to break us up. It’s insulting for you to even think I’d be with Maya to fuck around with your racing. She’s the end game. I don’t hook up with her for a shitty trophy, and sure as fuck not for a Championship win. I want everything with her. Everything after this.”


Noah and Maya have a connection that neither have ever felt before from the very beginning. She makes him want to be a better person, not just for her but for himself, and he even goes to therapy (talk about making me swoon). I love how he is obsessed with her and constantly checks her IG and watches all of her videos. Though there were some cringy and cheesy moments, I enjoyed this and loved watching Noah grow throughout. I can't wait to read the next book, which is Sophie and Liam's.

[vanessa ⋆.☕︎ [semiᝰia] · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rating: 1.25 stars.
Oof. Where do I even begin? I can't believe that this book is written by the same author that wrote one of my favorite romance book series and I'm literally flabbergasted.

This book gave me absolutely nothing. And somehow, even nothing feels generous. I kept asking myself, “What in the actual F1 world is this?” because none of it made sense, not emotionally, not narratively, not structurally. I was bored from start to finish. Constant eye-rolling, constant waiting for something, anything, to happen. And when things did happen? Completely predictable. Every beat, every reaction, every so-called twist felt like I’d seen it a hundred times before.

It read like a standard romance template with a Formula 1 sticker slapped on top. Same character archetypes. Same recycled relationship dynamics. Same storyline. The only supposed novelty was the racing setting, but even that felt hollow, more aesthetic than substance. What’s the point of writing an F1 romance if the F1 element adds nothing? It felt blank. Flavorless. Forgettable.

Honest verdict: not for me, and not something I’d revisit.

Another thing that completely threw me off was how unrealistic the Formula 1 aspect felt. I was so distracted by the story that I kept stopping to question what was even happening. Why do random people have so much involvement in a driver’s personal and professional life? Why are boundaries nonexistent? It all felt strangely off.

I know it’s fiction, but when a book is marketed as contemporary, there’s an expectation of grounding in reality, or at least in something believable. This crossed that line so often that it pulled me out of the story instead of pulling me in.

But honestly? I can’t say I’m surprised. Once I realized how little effort went into making the F1 setting feel authentic, everything else made sense. The story wasn’t trying to be realistic, it was just using the sport as decoration.

And unfortunately, decoration alone isn’t enough to carry a book.


You might say I’m overreacting, but trust me, I don’t give my time freely, and that’s the price. If I’m investing hours into a book, I expect it to earn my attention. When it doesn’t, I’m allowed to say so.

Reading is a commitment. My time is valuable. And if a story can’t respect that, it doesn’t deserve softer criticism.

Simple as that.

── .✦

Starting with the characters, I genuinely disliked both of them. There was no depth, no transparency, nothing that made me feel connected to who they were beyond their surface traits. They each had their own special way of being annoying, and instead of balancing each other out, it just doubled the frustration. I kept waiting for growth, self-awareness, or even a moment of vulnerability that would make them feel real. But it never came. They stayed flat, repetitive, and exhausting to follow.

And when you don’t care about the characters in a romance? Everything else collapses with it.

Maya:
Alright, let’s start with my favorite character before everything went downhill. Because honestly? I genuinely liked her before Noah entered the picture. She had her own life. She was peaceful, independent, minding her business, living freely. No chaos. No unnecessary drama. Just her, traveling the world, existing on her own terms. That version of her? I respected.

And then, boom. Noah appears. Suddenly she’s all flustered, emotionally unstable, overwhelmed by mixed reactions. Girl, breathe. He’s just a man. A man. I truly wanted to see the story where she continued her life without him, where her journey stayed focused on herself. Even the mother–daughter tension she carried was manageable, subtle, something that added realism without consuming her identity.

But the moment she saw him? Her entire personality shifted. Gone was the composed, self-sufficient woman. In her place stood someone impulsive, overly reactive, and frustratingly immature. Yes, he’s a “hot F1 driver.” We get it. But at least pretend to have a backbone.

The number of times I wanted to reach through the page and shake her into sense is unbelievable. Her character had potential, real potential, and watching it dissolve the second romance entered the equation was painful.

Truly painful.

Noah:
I was actually curious going into this book, but the moment he appeared, I knew peace was over. The title of “man I loathe with every fiber of my being” has officially been awarded to Noah, and honestly, a big shoutout to him for achieving that level of irritation.

I’m also deeply sorry that this man is supposedly an F1 driver. As someone who respects the sport, I feel secondhand embarrassment. The name, the car, the so-called reputation, all wasted on him.

Now let’s address the biggest offense: a thirty-year-old man with unresolved mommy and daddy issues so severe they control his entire personality. I understand family relationships matter. But at some point, you are a grown adult. Stand up. Speak up. Take responsibility. Instead, we get emotional paralysis packaged as depth. And apparently, Maya, the spiritual savior, is the magical solution to all of it. Of course she is.

And then there’s the most ridiculous transformation I’ve ever witnessed: a lifelong playboy turning into a devoted, gentle, hopelessly adoring man… for a girl he met two seconds ago. Two. Seconds. I was not swooning, I was yelling at the page.

Nothing about his arc felt earned. It felt forced, exaggerated, and completely detached from reality. And that made every scene with him a test of patience.

In conclusion: rage was achieved. Mission accomplished.

── .✦

And the relationship between them? Something I genuinely hope never to experience, witness, or read about again. It was built on the weakest foundation possible. She liked him because he was attractive and an F1 driver. He fell for her because she was “not like other girls.” That alone made my blood boil.

There was no meaningful connection, no emotional depth, no gradual bond forming through shared experiences or genuine understanding. Just instant attraction disguised as destiny. It felt shallow, cliché, and painfully outdated.

Romance should make you believe in something , in chemistry, in growth, in vulnerability. This did the opposite. It made me question how such a relationship could be written with complete seriousness.

At no point did I root for them. I only waited for it to end.

── .✦

And of course, a huge, heartfelt thanks to my sweet Lina for buddy-reading this book with me. I genuinely don’t think I would’ve survived the ups, the downs, the endless rants, and the dramatic reactions without you. Sharing every scream, every swoon, every “did that just happen?!” moment together made this experience ten times more fun. I’m so grateful we got to obsess over this chaotic ride side by side, truly, it wouldn’t have been the same without you.

>>> ──────── .✦

₊♡₊˚ 🍒₊✧ Okay, I’ve been wanting to read an F1 romance for so long, and this one is literally screaming my name. Forbidden attraction? Rivals? Sneaking around between races?? Yeah… I’m already obsessed, and I haven’t even opened the book yet. Noah already sounds like the kind of man who will ruin my expectations for real life, and Maya? I can already see myself giggling, kicking my feet, and wanting to protect her at all costs.

And the best part? I’m buddy reading this with the lovely bestie Lina, which means the chaos, the screaming, and the live reactions are going to be elite. So let’s see if this book delivers the fire I’m expecting… because if it does, I already know I’m not sleeping tonight.<𝟑 .ᐟ

[luna_inthesouth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im 80% sure i wrote a review on this one, and it's Gone? Or im being delusional?!
_____
Updated!!! I'm not delusional, and it's actually gone!cuz now i can see the comments . What the actual Fuck

[audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

i want noah to visit a gynaecologist because his 'dick twitches' way too much necessary

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡 · Rating 4 out of 5]

╰┈➤ 4.25 stars!

this was the first book that i've read that was written by lauren asher, and i loved it!

౨ৎ maya. my girl was really there setting boundaries for her own good!!! preach to that because i'm so used to reading books where the fmc is timid, but maya wasn't afraid of telling people what they should hear!!! she literally made THE noah slade grovel omg!! her relationship with santi made me sooo happy, they were so cute.

౨ৎ noah. i get that he hadn't been the best man in the first half of the book, but this man did everything that he could to be deserving of maya. even though it was the bare minimum, not every man would've done that, and i will always admire him for that.

overall, the book was enjoyable for me. i think it made me more curious to F1 because it seems so cool to read about it!

౨ৎ favorite lines/quotes:

"Damn my chest tightens at her smile, proof of how much of a sucker I am for them lately."

"She's the end game."

"My therapist said I needed to face my past to embrace my future. Looks like I went to hell and back, scoring an angel along the way."

[Madison Kait · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ♡

[Nina · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 23% read!

If I DNF a book, I usually don't give it a rating unless I've actually read at least half of it. However, there are books out there that I've read and that very quickly made me realise that I don't need to read the first half of them to know that they deserve a low rating and Throttled unfortunately is one of those books. I simply can't get myself to read another page of it and reading some of the other reviews that were left for this book showed me, that Throttled is not going to get any better if I continue reading it. I don't really feel like writing a long review on this book right now, so I'm just going to leave a list of things here that bothered me about it:

- the writing style: I think this is Lauren Asher's debut novel, so maybe the writing is a bit better in some of her newer novels, but the writing style in Throttled unfortunately was very similar to what you can find on websites such as Wattpad and I just really didn't enjoy it.

- the hero Noah is such an unlikable guy and also a bit disgusting, I just didn't like him at all and after hearing what apparently happens around the halfway point of the novel, I just know that reading the rest of the book wouldn't change my opinion on him

- the way F1 is portrayed: I'm a huge F1 fan and have been for most of my life, so I was excited to read a romance set in the sport but I wish the author had done a little more research. Firstly, random team members, mechanics and the team principal kept talking to the driver over the radio during the races while the driver's race engineer only came onto the radio like once. That's very inaccurate, the only person talking to the driver during a race is their race engineer because it would be incredibly distracting and not at all helpful if everyone could talk to him and the drivers constantly heard their reactions to the race. The team principal might come onto the radio if they have to use their position in the team to give an instruction to someone or intercept if things get too heated out there. The author also described how the driver was strapped into his car and rolled right onto his grid sport before the race and how the mechanics then took off the tyre blankets and 5,4,3,2,1 off they went. The drivers usually do one or several reconnaissance laps before they are greated by their team at the back of the grid and are then rolled to their starting position. Those laps are used to check if the car is running fine and to do things such as a radio check. Furthermore, the drivers go on a formation lap before the race actually starts so that everyone can get their equipment and themselves off the grid and back to the pit lane before the lights go off.

- the heroine's (Maya's) reaction to the hero: Whenever Maya and Noah were in the same room, the only thing Maya could think of was how hot and handsome and sexy Noah was. She could barely think of anything else anymore and it was incredibly annoying.

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[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Great debut!

Noah is one of the best F1 racers in the world. His father is a legend in the industry, so racing is practically in his blood. You would think that would make his parents supportive of him and his career, but you would be wrong. They fake enthusiasm and love in public, but in reality, they use him as a status symbol they can control. It's no wonder Noah isn't a feelings kind of guy. He's a playboy that uses women like Kleenex, but when he meets a certain dark haired beauty at a press conference, his curiosity is peaked like never before. 

Maya is the newly college graduated sister of his former rival turned teammate, Santiago. Santi and Maya are super close, so when he invites her to come along with him as he travels the world, she graciously accepts. Santi's very protective of his sister and Noah's reputation proceeds him, so Maya tries her best to stay away from Noah despite their attraction. ....Too bad, the heart wants what it wants. 

Throttled is Lauren Asher's debut novel, and I have to say, I'm pretty damn impressed! I've read a lot of debut novels, and this one is definitely a standout. The author's writing is fantastic, and her knowledge of F1 racing makes the story even more interesting and immersive. I flew through the book with ease, and when it ended, I had a big smile on my face. 

Noah and Maya's romance is super cute. Expect lots of flirty banter, strong chemistry, and plenty of sweet and sexy moments! If you're a person that doesn't love a lot of angst, this should be a safe bet for you. Noah and Maya confront each other with any issues they have instead of hiding it and letting it cause problems between them. 

This author deserves bonus points for making me enjoy a sweet, slow burn romance, because it's not the type of book I normally gravitate towards. On top of that, the steam is on point! It's way better than I expected it to be for the author's first book. Overall, I enjoyed Throttled, and I look forward to seeing what Lauren Asher comes up with next!

If you're looking for a book with hot guys, fast cars, and an adorable romance, this one's for you!