Fueled by K. Bromberg

Narrated by Tatiana Sokolov & Sean Crisden

Editor’s Note: This review contains spoilers for Driven, the first book in the Driven Trilogy.

Fueled continues the emotionally charged story of Rylee Thomas and Colton Donovan, two people trying to learn how to overcome their pasts in order to figure out if they can possibly share a future. With over 17,000 ratings on Goodreads averaging a 4.6 rating, it’s safe to say that this story has captivated and captured the hearts of many romance enthusiasts. Add in the talented narration by Tatiana Sokolov and Sean Crisden, and you have a solid listen for lovers of contemporary romances, particularly those who enjoy today’s vastly popular “billionaire with emotional issues” scenario. But be forewarned, in addition to ending in another explosive cliffhanger, this second book (unlike Driven) delves rather deeply into a very sensitive subject, child sexual abuse, and therefore may not be suitable for all.

The opening scene of Fueled begins where Driven left off. After a passionate, arguably perfect night with Rylee, Colton, a superstar racecar driver and well-known playboy, has a vivid flashback to his childhood abuse that causes him to cruelly push Rylee away. Rylee, being a trained social worker who works with abused children, recognizes the signs and selflessly resists her impulse to run, determined to show Colton that their relationship is different and worth fighting for.

While our heroine is a rather admirable character in Driven and the beginning of Fueled, this hot and cold romance (and the whiplash of such complete about turns) starts to take its toll. Rylee becomes more exposed to Colton’s public life, including his bevy of willing former “arrangements” who make no qualms about letting her know that they are more than happy to troll around waiting for him.

Soon we see a significant deterioration of Rylee’s good qualities leading to some very disappointing and frustrating behavior. While arguably some of this behavior was justified, it carried on for such an extended period of time in the last third of the book that it grated on me and even caused me to want to fast forward through these scenes. Moreover, at one point, Rylee and Colton are so upset with one another that they start hurling barbs at one another just to hurt the other.

Whereas Driven is almost purely a recounting of a relationship driven by passion, Fueled explores the inevitable growth and interdependence when passion is fueled by an emotional connection. Not surprisingly, in many respects, Fueled, takes on a different style and reads like a very different tale as compared to Driven. While Driven was written entirely from Rylee’s perspective, thereby adding mystery and intrigue to Colton, Fueled is written in Rylee’s and Colton’s alternating point of views allowing the listener to gain a more intimate understanding of Colton’s scarred past. The dual narration employed further highlights this technique.

Surprisingly, whereas Tatiana Sokolov’s performance took a while to grow on me in Driven, I loved it in Fueled. She did a marvelous job of carrying over the same voices from the prior book, so from the very beginning I was fully immersed in the story. Moreover, her delivery of the emotion-filled passages was spot on, from the incredibly sexy scenes to the highly tense doubt ridden moments. She did a great job of communicating what the characters were experiencing.

Sean Crisden was added to the cast to narrate the chapters written from Colton’s POV. I enjoyed his style as well and interestingly found that his intonations for Colton were somewhat similar enough to Ms. Sokolov’s depiction that it allowed for an easy transition from his chapters to hers. My only observation with respect to Mr. Crisden is that his female portrayals are too deep to sound genuine, but as these were very minor parts of Colton’s chapters, it did not detract from his performance.

All in all, I enjoyed both the story and narration of Fueled. Interestingly, while I liked the narration more, I didn’t enjoy the story to the same extent as Driven. Nonetheless, it is still a listen that I would recommend to anyone who enjoyed Driven.

BJ

Narration:  B+

Book Content:  B-

Steam Factor:  For your burning ears only

Violence:  Domestic Violence (including past child sexual abuse)

Genre:  Contemporary Romance

Publisher:  Tantor Audio

Fueled was provided to AudioGals for review by Tantor Audio.