A review by ssconsequat
Throttled by Lauren Asher

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I want to forward this review with the following: 
  • i did not read this book for the plot, i read it simply because i am an F1 fan with a lot of free time 
  • Personally, I’m not a huge fan of adult romance and have not read a lot of it 

Now let’s move on to the review:
I gave this book a 2.75 because it deserves it overall. 
Technical writing wise i’d give this book a 4 because it’s incredibly well done! 
For a debut novel? It’s stellar. My bigger issue lies within the F1 universe and it’s connected parties (characters, terminology, etc.) that continued to bother me throughout the book.

!Spoilers below! 

Maya’s lack of f1 knowledge
  • it bothered me greatly how maya who spent her “...weekends growing up included following my brother everywhere. Kart races, real races, all the Formula phases. He has the talent.” She seems so? Out of touch? Like she’s so far away from any formula 1 knowledge so much that she’s in shock at how “hip” sponsor events are, she is suprised at how relaxed the Liam and Noah are during presscons: “It’s surprising how they let you get away with taking shots at one another, and at the reporters too.” when all she has to do is go back to 2018 and see Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen throw towels and water at each other or even older to 1999 and watch Eddie Irvine and Mika Häkkinen get into a water fight or see Sebastian Vettel take the piss out of the longest question in F1 with “can you repeat the question?” She mentions in great stress how “Santi didn’t even go to college, so he could race to make money.” when it’s a common fact that most F1 drivers don’t and later on it’s mentioned that not even Noah went to college. Her brother is a world champion! She should know these things at the bare minimum but it feels as if she’s completely new to everything as if her brother just entered his rookie year.
Why is Santi treated so lowly?
  • Let’s pitch the timeline of events, Santi is 24 in December at the start of the book, and two years prior (estimated 22) he became world champion. And it is mentioned that “all at a world-record-breaking age of twenty-one years old.” Santi entered the Formula 1 racing world. Although that final ‘record-breaking’ feat isn’t all too record-breaking in real life, the fact that Santi won a world championship when he was 22 is. The youngest F1 world champion is Sebastian Vettel at 23 and Santi beats that by a mile. There is no reason for Nicholas Slade to say, “What are they thinking? He’s barely proven himself.” When he has broken multiple records by simply being there. Since we are also unaware of the specific seasons and dates, there is reason for us to state that Santi won his first world championship in either his first or second year in Formula 1; doing this is an impressive and incredibly amazing feat. (The only driver that comes to mind who won a world championship in his second year is Lewis Hamilton)
Explanation of Terminology
  • a more technical complaint but one i have nonetheless, the concept of “pole position” was explained to us very quickly in the form “first-place grid position” and I was actually delighted that the author went out of their way to try to help explain certain terminologies but as the book progressed it seemed as if the author began to put stress in the wrong places. The term “Home Race” is repeated with vigor and it’s importance capitalized despite the general public knowing this already. The term “flyaway race” was a term both I and Maya were unsure of and unlike the rest of the previous terminologies, it wasn’t explained and it took me quite a while to piece what it was together and at the end I only have a semblance of what it could mean. The term “track walk” is also excessively explained as: “earlier walk-through of the course.” When I’m sure the term “track walk” would more than suffice.
Team Radio 
  • The minute you open the book you get slapped in the face by a prologue detailing the events of the final grand prix race of the year and who is talking in Noah’s ear? Just a mechanic. Wrong! Every racer is assigned a race engineer, a very specific engineer just for them and the relationship between these two are what create championship winning drivers. The rapport and absolute care that goes into what these guys have with each other? Show-stopping, spectacular, amazing! And i am honestly fuming that it’s not highlighted here. They’re more than just “mechanic” they’re the ones who give racers advice, help them manage, watch over their stats and help push them in the right way towards the finish line and I’m honestly duped at how it’s brushed away like this. Yes, team principals talk on radio! But they’re also busy managing the whole team, they do tap in but they don’t do it always. On two side notes: 
              1) People announce themselves before just dropping in, this I believe just helps minimize confusion and distraction for the drivers and is just idk? professional? 
              2) Team radios are usually short, repetitive, and concise messages. These help once again, minimize confusion and direct everything very clearly. Drivers CAN hold whole conversations but usually don’t because of the need to focus or there’s so much sound.
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