Here's my book review for the final instalment of the Dirty Air series. Enjoy!
Redeemed by Lauren Asher – Dirty Air #4
Fake Dating: 9.5/10
Grumpy/Sunshine Trope: 9/10
Emotional Rollercoaster Read: 9.5/10
Sports Romance: 9/10
Steam: 8.5/10
Redeemed is rated 9/10 for grumpy/sunshine, and not higher, because The Fine Print by Lauren Asher is the best book of this trope in my opinion. But Redeemed is a very close second.
I was so excited to read Santiago’s book. Ever since I met him in Throttled, I wanted to know his story. But let me tell you, I was NOT expecting what happened. Oh my goodness, the beginning of Redeemed pulled at my heart strings. It was…I have no words. Lauren Asher certainly knows how to make you feel – and I mean FEEL!
Santi’s story is the final instalment in the Dirty Air series, and it is a grumpy/sunshine, fake dating story. It follows the sexy Spaniard and the bubbly Chloe Carter from NYC. Being one of the best racing drivers, Santi is at the top of his game racing for Bandini alongside teammate, and brother-in-law, Noah. Santi is known for taking calculated, yet sometimes risky, moves on the track and one proves to be his most dangerous. That one moment changes everything. His life gets torn apart; his world isn’t the same; and he becomes a shell of the cheeky Spaniard he once was. He hides away in Italy for three years, only having minimal contact with his family and friends. Until one day when a certain American girl falls at his feet. Literally.
Chloe Carter desires a family. Growing up with an abusive mother and never knowing her father is a hard life and one that Chloe wishes more for. Her best friend, Brooke, who she met in the foster care system, helps Chloe have the chance of finding her father. This adventure of family lands Chloe in Italy, where on her quest to meet her dad, she falls out of a tree only to be discovered by Santiago – the gloomy, serious man who owns the castle (Chloe’s words!) of which the tree belongs. They’re enemies from the start, with a simmering chemistry that’s just waiting to be unleashed.
The following night, the two meet again. But this time, Santi isn’t alone. Maya and Noah are with him and their beyond-cute son, Marko. Maya assumes that Santi has been hiding Chloe, his “girlfriend”, to keep her all to himself, not knowing they only met 24 hours ago. Santi, reverting back to his old cheeky self when in Chloe’s presence, agrees with his sister. And so the fake dating begins.
Chloe slowly helps Santi come to terms with the new life he has been surviving in, and teaches him how to live. In exchange, Santi helps Chloe grow closer to her father. But not all is as it seems when twists and turns are thrown into the mix, forcing the fake couple to brake slightly, navigating the sharp corners that their lives hold. The banter in Redeemed is some of the best I’ve read – I properly laughed out loud that I kept messaging my friend with little updates throughout my reading journey! Chloe and Santi’s chemistry is tangible and hot…and I mean, HOT!
Santiago Alatorre is the sexy, single Spaniard whose life gets flipped upside down, spun around and launched into the unknown. The heart-breaking start of Redeemed makes you feel his pain, as does later scenes with his insecurity. He lives as a recluse in a town where people don’t bother him; his sister and her family are the lights of his life, especially little Marko who thinks Santi is Iron Man. He survives, and only realises there’s more to life when Chloe comes along and lights a spark in his heart that has him craving for more.
Chloe Carter. The fiercely independent sunshine, who wishes in a journal and doesn’t let hard times define her. Chloe loves her best friend, her own-made family, but knowing her father is what she dreams of. And when the opportunity arises she can’t say no. She can, however, flirt and banter with the mysterious (not-so-famous – in her case) Santiago, who cooks for her and takes on the boyfriend role very well. Santi helps Chloe grow close to her father and slowly tears away at her smiley exterior, much like she does with the steel walls around his heart.
Together they learn to lean on each other and as time goes on, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur, and the fake dating isn’t so fake.
Lauren Asher is hands-down one of the best authors I’ve read and Redeemed will make you laugh, shed a tear and book a plane to Italy to break in to someone’s house and hope it’s a mysterious, very good-looking Spaniard who knows how to cook! Just kidding…I didn’t book the plane.
Redeemed is a definite must-read!
Click the cover below to buy on Amazon or get it for free on Kindle Unlimited.
