book review: throttled by lauren asher (dirty air #1)

booktok romance reviews: #6

what made me fuzzy:

i really enjoyed reading about how the chemistry between noah and maya naturally progresses throughout the chapters. though it is definitely more of a slowburn-esque sizzling type of chemistry between them, which is what i genuinely like reading about. it doesn’t feel rushed, it doesn’t feel fast paced, it feels as natural as it could be if i have to be honest with myself. the thing about this book being my first ever F1 new adult romance is that i had absolutely zero expectations going into the book. despite reading the blurb and what not, there was still a bit more curiosity about what the book was going to be exploring into more depth. i definitely haven’t been disappointed in the slightest at all, and i am definitely not complaining about how the chemistry between noah (the mmc) and maya (the fmc) is progressing so far.

what i adored:

it is evident that there is definitely quite a bit of worldbuilding involved, which isn’t very commonly seen in romance novels in comparison to other genres. i am definitely not complaining about the level of worldbuilding that is involved throughout the chapters, because it has definitely been keeping me hooked and those little worldbuilding details have an addictive quality to them that just makes me want to continue reading. most importantly, the character development is absolutely felt for both noah and maya which adds substance so its not just sizzling chemistry and nail-biting sexual tension between them. all of those little details combined together make for really interesting story arcs that are genuinely attention catching, and have a lot of depth in terms of emotional complexity. even the sexual tension between noah and maya doesn’t feel forced either, as it progresses quite naturally from chapter to chapter of course.

what i disliked:

although i do genuinely understand where noah’s commitment issues come from (as it is explained throughout the chapters) and why maya wants to commit (which also explained-ish through out the chapters), i do think that the balance of these things could be better executed. like i get that it is probably the reason why he has a bit of a slowburn-ish dynamic with maya, but certain actions that he has done are things that i don’t agree with and would rather not elaborate on such either. i do also think that this whole about noah’s parental issues has been a focal subplot, though i do think it has overshadowed a lot of the character arcs and the subplots that could have been explored and highlighted. it is such a shame that there also wasn’t that much substance to noah’s parental issues being a subplot, aside from noah’s mother being invisible (in terms of her parental role) and noah’s father being an absolute asshole. other than that, i don’t really have much commentary to offer because i do think that even the less important character arcs and subplots had the potential to be a bit more developed.

what could be executed better:

i do think that some of the platonic subplots that had been introduced in the book definitely could have been more nuanced, especially with the whole subplot about noah’s parental issues that barely had any substance and easily could have been a prequel novella on its own considering it dragged on for quite some time in the book. that, and i don’t think that any of the platonic subplots had been quite rushed in terms of execution. which is something that has definitely contributed towards me not liking how these platonic subplots in the book had been fleshed out. if they had been executed better, they probably would have been more enjoyable to read instead of barely adding any substance to the main couple and the primary romance arc between them for that matter.

what could have been added:

i don’t really think that there is much to add, but it would have been lovely to see maybe an extra bonus chapter of maya and noah becoming parents! not that it would make any difference, but i honestly would have loved to see it and i’d definitely enjoy quite a bit of fluff amongst all that sexual tension and chemistry in the book (good god i sweating for sure).

thoughts about the characters:

dare i say that noah and maya both have been absolutely one of my fave lauren asher fmc’s and mmc’s, very much on par with alana and callahan, as well as dahlia and julian! noah was exactly described how i imagined him to be, and i would lie if i said that i wasn’t giggling and kicking my feet the entire time either. when it comes down to maya? literally 10/10 and i won’t accept any maya alatorre slander, period. each of them individually make so much sense when it comes down to their sexual chemistry/attraction/tension and everything else beyond that. but they also make equally as much sense as a couple, and i certainly do not regret having a soft spot for them at all.

thoughts about the execution of the plot:

see, i had virtually little to no expectations when diving into the book and certainly didn’t peg myself to genuinely liking to read about a F1 new adult romance. but here we are now, i’ve gone down the rabbit hole and there is absolutely no way can crawl myself out of this either. not that i am complaining considering that i finally have the full dirty air series for the best experience, of course. but i’d say that the plot itself definitely had me on my seat a lot of time, and i definitely liked the fact that there were obviously plenty of racing scenes throughout the book! that was quite a nice experience, because it made me feel like as if i was actually there and that made reading the book so much better.

overall opinion:

it’s been a hot minute since i read something by lauren asher, but i am pleasantly surprised by how much i have taken a liking towards this book and have very much enjoyed reading it too. thinking about it, saying all of these things is making me consider to re-read the book all over again because goodness GRACIOUS was this book addictive! i genuinely couldn’t put it down, and i can see why considering that the main couple are literally chef’s kiss.

final thoughts:

to conclude, this book was very much a wild ride and definitely made my heart race (pun intended) which is very obvious. because erm, noah slade is one of my top book boyfriends and i want him all to myself, haha. jokes aside, somebody needs to tell lauren asher to write more F1 romances (especially a second gen series spinoff) because i would genuinely read it for sure!!

rating (out of 10):

8.75/10