ŷ������

3.5 stars rounded up

Redeemed required some suspension of disbelief and the energy was a little chaotic at times, but it was cute and fun with some major feels. The way the book begins with Santiago (H) in a race car crash and having his whole life upended, was devastating. Then the book jumps forward a few years and we meet Chloe (h) who's also navigating some deep emotional pitfalls, even though hers are more of a constant hum than a traumatic event. I liked that Chloe had her BFF, Brooke, to support and push her. It's due to Brooke, that Chloe ends up in Italy in a search for the father that she never knew. That search is why Chloe ends up in a tree on Santiago's property which leads to a very much not meet-cute. Santiago believes she's a reporter or fan trying to catch a glimpse of him in his fallen glory, while she thinks he's a psycho.

(Un)Fortunately for Chloe, she loses her phone in the encounter and when she returns to break in and retrieve it, she interrupts Santiago with his family and he claims she's his girlfriend. That's where the chaos was a bit unbelievable, the instigation of their fake relationship and then the continuation as Chloe claims the fake relationship on her end to be closer to her possible father. But the banter was hilarious and the circumstances ended up having a lot of humor, sweetness and emotions. The main focus of this romance was on Santiago being brought back to life while Chloe found a place of belonging. Written in first person, dual POV. No ow/om drama and neither were virgins (H seemed to have gotten around prior to his accident but hadn't been with anyone in over a year and h only did hook-ups).

The book mostly takes place in Santiago's gloomy, castle-like home, where he's hidden himself away for years. He's an amputee and still struggles with his identity with the partial loss of his leg. Chloe refused to treat him differently and she definitely doesn't react in the ways that he expects. I loved how she helped him revive his self-esteem and I really loved that she refused to engage in sex with him until he was able to be with her fully, without hiding parts of himself. Their relationship does seem easy in places, but also challenging in others with the mental hurdles and post-trauma processing that occurs. The book does have detailed spicy scenes, though it's more of a slow burn and takes time to develop that physical intimacy because of what's mentioned above. Santiago does take care of Chloe and shows her what it means to be cared for, while she gives back to him with love and support so the romance had a lot of emotional intimacy and care to it.

Their fake relationship does mean forced proximity and that Chloe spends time with his family and he spends time with her possible father. I loved Santiago's family and esp the somewhat antagonistic relationship he had with his brother-in-law, while his BIL also just wanted him to not waste away. Brooke is mostly on page via long distance sadly, she was a character and so enjoyable. I wasn't sure how I felt about Chloe's father for much of the book and then the climax of the book left me more conflicted until things evened out. Chloe's mother is a monster and I really, really wished that she had horrible things happen so that was a bit of a let down, please don't expect a comeuppance there.

The climax of the book left me feeling wishy-washy. I anticipated the reveal. I didn't love how Chloe reacted esp given the lies that she had put out there prior to the climax. I understood that she was coming from a place of her own personal trauma, but I was still frustrated with her. The resolution was also so quick, although it was so cute, that I wished it had been built differently. But then the last chapters and the epilogue, y'all the last chapters had me melting and then this epilogue had me crying and I loved it. I just loved it. I don't know if I'd recommend this or not, I've read and enjoyed other books by Lauren Asher more, however some of my friends on here have this as their favorite book by her.