User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
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
Rating: really liked it
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. 😔
Rating: really liked it
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.
ReviewI 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.
Rating: really liked it
omw to ask my brother to become a F1 driver so i can travel the world with him and meet noah slade brb
Rating: really liked it
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!
Rating: really liked it
Imagine a guy going to therapy so he can get better for you, damn...
Rating: really liked it
it is so bad i want to give you a zero, but that's not possible so I give you... a one.
Rating: really liked it
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
Rating: really liked it
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!
Rating: really liked it
not me putting this book down to start binge watching formula 1. will be making this book into my whole personality brb
Rating: really liked it
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.
Rating: really liked it
the dialogue was corny as hell sometimes but the smut?? was very much giving. i liked this book i just don’t think i cared about the characters as much separately as i did together but i thought it was so good!
Rating: really liked it
So hyped up on bookstagram and for what exactly? it worked like a sleep inducing pill for me 😭 TW: domestic violence.
I honestly had high expectations for this after watching this series EVERYWHERE and how much I loved The Fine Print (my first book by this author), but man... this left me tired and ready to take a nap. There was nothing wrong with the characters or anything, it's just that the plot was bland and I ended up skimming a lot waiting for something more interesting to happen. There were literally only 3 chapters that held my full attention; the one with the most googled questions about Noah, the one in which Maya guided Noah in the final race and the epilogue.
Also, him fucking another woman on the same day he went on a date with Maya just because she rejected his proposal for a physical relationship without feelings... what a champ!! Now I don't know whether to leave this here or continue with the next installments waiting for this to get better, or maybe skip directly to Santi's book.
Rating: really liked it
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:
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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.
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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
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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.
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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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Rating: really liked it
This book was so good omg!! I've never read a book about F1 drivers but I'm now obsessed. You all 100% need to give this book a read
