Book Review — Throttled by Elizabeth Lee

“You remembered.” She smiled back.
“I remember everything about you.” I promised.

• Buy THROTTLED (Kindle)

SQUEEE!!!! I love love LOVED this book!! 

It’s a gorgeous, heart-warming second chance romance and I’m fully serious when I say I loved everything about it. The hero is a famous Motocross racer who returns to his hometown to realize that the girl he left behind when he went to follow his dreams still holds his heart and this time, he’s willing to do everything and anything in his power to win back her trust and prove that he still loves her more than anything.

This was truly the perfect second chance romance story. I adored every page of it, and by the time I read the epilogue, I just could not stop smiling. I loved him, I loved her, I loved them, I loved the whole story. Everyone just…. READ THIS BOOK!!!!! 😀

He kissed my forehead. “…I want to be the man that protects you. That takes care of you. I want to be the guy that I couldn’t be seven years ago.”

So here’s the basic situation of the book… Reid and Nora fell in love when they were teens. Like real, deep, forever-and-ever love. But, he left town suddenly one day to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional racer. He completely shattered her heart and left her broken. But the important thing was that, even though it was undeniably a huge mistake, he did it out of good intentions. He knew what he had to do with his life, but he wanted her to live one too and not to be tied to his while he was building his career. Yes, that should have been her call, but it was a case of the wrong thing done for the right reasons. Seven years later when he returned to town though, the feelings he had for her that he’d never forgotten came flooding back and he was prepared to go as far as it took to get back the only girl he’d ever loved.

Ok. Now I have to address the big thing that made me fall in love with the book right off that bat and that was the fact that he did not become a manwhore after he left her. Even surrounded by all the temptations that came with being a sexy, famous, hotshot racer, his heart was left behind with her and while I’m not saying he was celibate, he didn’t sleep around or get into relationships with other girls. He’d left with the intention of starting and building his career and that’s exactly what he did.  He too was in pain after he left her but he didn’t use that as an excuse for anything. And that immediately made me respect him and put me in a much more forgiving frame of mind when it came to him winning her back.

I honestly feel like that was the make-or-break factor with this book. If he’d left her all those years ago and gone and slept his way through every girl that came his way, then I wouldn’t have been able to forgive him if he’d come back to down and tried to get her back. BUT because of the way he acted when he was away from her (even though they were broken up), the responsibility with which he treated his career, and the way it was clear that he never really let go of the girl he left behind, made it so that I was able to believe him when he returned to town and wanted to try to earn her forgiveness, trust, and love again. It’s like his behaviour proved the strength of his intentions more than any words ever could.

“Just because speed is my thing with my job doesn’t mean I live my entire life that way. I want to take my time with you… Do it right. I don’t expect you to just forgive and forget what happened back then. I know I will have to earn your trust again. And, I will.”

Another thing which many of you have asked me about is whether there’s a triangle (because it says in the blurb that she’s dating another guy from town at the time that Reid comes back) and the answer is honestly… to me, this isn’t a triangle. Or, not in the way you’d think. The other guy just wasn’t a viable love interest. Apart from being a douche, he was kind of a meaningless attempt from her to build a life after Reid had left, but it was just always clear that she wasn’t actually in love with him. Her initial hesitation to get back together with Reid wasn’t because she was torn between the two men, it was because she was (understandably) wary about getting her heart crushed again. To be honest, I actually thought she handled this whole situation really well. Given the way he’d left her seven years before, the recovery wasn’t going to be overnight, and even though she’d never stopped loving him, I really liked that she didn’t just jump back into his arms. He had to prove himself to her. And luckily, he had every intention of fighting for her.

“I’m over it.”

“No, you’re not.” I trapped her hand underneath mine and stood to face her. “You feel my heart beating right now,” I said, moving her hand directly over my heart. “You feel how fast it’s racing. I bet yours is beating just as fast… After all these years, we still have an effect on each other… I still make your heart race.”

Speaking of which, I LOVED how relentless and determined Reid was to fix things. He may have made mistakes in the past, but he fully owned up to them, took responsibility, and wasn’t going to give up. He was willing to go as far as it took to show her that he was sorry and that she was the only girl for him.

I love reading about functional couples. Seriously. Yes, I get that people make mistakes, and I get that things don’t run smoothly — that’s life — but I love when you can just tell that the intentions are good and their hearts are in the right place and that they’re just trying their best to make things work. I get positively giddy when I find books like this — where there’s no stupid drama, and it’s just two people trying to find their way back together… and where you just KNOW that they’re meant for each other.

“I absolutely, one-hundred percent, still have feelings for you. And, they are just as strong as the day I left.” I pulled her hands up to my best and took a step toward her. “I never stopped loving you. I can promise you that… You know I’m going to fight for you?”

“Yeah, I know.” The slightest of smiles tugged at her lips even though tears still glistened in her eyes.

And THE FEEEEEEEELS!!!!! I teared up a few times! Especially that heart-wrenching scene when she told him the secret she’d held back all these years. *sniff* But this story was not only full of feels, but it was also sexy, steamy, and intensely romantic. Yup, it’s hot too! I was definitely fanning my way through some of those steamier scenes! Ahhhh it just had everything!!! And it had the perfect epilogue with just the right amount of gorgeous, heart-warming emotions to beautifully wrap up and conclude this couple’s story.

I absolutely LOVED this book and highly recommend it for everyone!!!

PS: Did I mention he has tattoos? 😛

Rating: 4.5+ stars!! Standalone Adult romance.

• Buy THROTTLED (Kindle)

This is the first standalone in a series of standalones. Each book will focus on a different couple. There is a fully resolved ending in this book (with epilogue).