On The Edge by K. Bromberg

Narrated by Robert Hatchet and Kit Swann

Contemporary F1 Racing Romance. Book 2 in a series but easily stands alone.

I was gifted a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

On The Edge is the second in K. Bromberg’s Full Throttle Series but it completely stands alone. In fact, if there was any crossover from Off The Grid I didn’t even catch it. So have no fear if you just want to jump right into this one, because YOU NEED TO. Full disclosure, I am an F1 Girlie, it’s the only sport I watch. It’s also the wealthiest, sexiest, and fastest sport in the world, so it’s always surprised me that there weren’t more F1 books. It seems that will be changing this year, but I can’t imagine one better than On The Edge by K. Bromberg. (I will have a list of all the F1 romances I can find next week).

You absolutely do NOT need to know anything about F1 to love this book. Kristy did a great job of introducing any newbie to the sport without it seeming like she was teaching. But just an FYI: there are only 20 drivers from around the world that are in F1, and their contracts range from 1 million to 55 million per year not including huge sponsorship deals. And most of them are also HOT!

Cruz Navarro is one of the top racers on one of the top teams. His grandfather was an F1 legend, his father was an F1 racer, and it’s up to Cruz to bring back the family glory. His family life looks good for the cameras but behind the scenes, it’s toxic as hell, so he blows off steam by partying and being a playboy. As he’s about to sign a huge branding deal, the company throws a wrench in the plan—no deal until he cleans up his act. And to do that, he needs a steady girlfriend.

“What are you willing to sacrifice to get to the next step?”

They have a list for him to choose from, but he chooses the “wallflower”—the intern sitting against the wall in her first big branding meeting. Maddix Hart is down-to-earth, has a wonderful family, and has lived a sheltered life. She is promised a promotion if she goes along with the ruse, and why not? She will get to travel the world in private jets! Maddix knew nothing about F1 and had no idea what she was really in for—especially since paparazzi often bribes hotel staff so they have to make it look REALLY real by sharing a bed!

“If we’re going to fake it, is it so bad if we enjoy it while we do?”

On The Edge by K. Bromberg had a perfect balance between the sport and the romance. The racing scenes were exciting but Kristy found ways to weave the romance through those scenes as well. Cruz is from Spain (check out Carlos Sainz when he was at Mclaren for my vision), and he comes from a very prestigious Spanish family and the family scenes were emotional and added so much to the story. The story is similar to the real-life story of Jos Verstappen, Max Verstappen’s (the current world champion) father who was known to abuse him to make him a better racer. So it felt very realistic.

“She’s the only high I’ve ever chased that’s stronger than the track, and I’m not sure what to do about that.”

Likes:

I loved Maddix.
All of the traveling around the world.
Maddix’s family.
It stood alone without any problems, I didn’t even catch if there was crossover.
Flawless pacing.
Superb balance between sport and romance.
Amazing character growth.
Exciting racing scenes.
Just the right amount of sex. It was hot, the scenes were numerous, but it never took me out of the story, and it never felt like more sex than story.
Both characters felt REAL.

Dislikes:

NONE

The Narration:

Robert Hatchet and Kit Swann are both new or fairly new narrators to me and they were both phenomenal! As much as I love audiobooks, I find that I usually don’t get as deeply connected as when I read, but these two, plus K. Bromberg’s writing were a perfect combination. I think the audio even made it better.

The Down & Dirty:

Hands down, On The Edge by K. Bromberg will be at the top of my Best of 2024 list. I know it’s early to say that, but since I only had five 5-star reads last year, it’s not an easy rating for me to give, but I didn’t even have to think twice here. Even if you know nothing about Formula 1, it doesn’t matter, Kristy explains it all without it feeling like she is talking down to fans of the sport. You also don’t have to read the first in the series if you don’t want to because this stands alone. The pacing, the dialog, the characters, the action, the families, and the emotions were all just amazing. K Bromberg has written a lot of books I have loved but she has outdone herself, making On The Edge my new favorite.

Note: Want some real-life F1? The season starts back at the end of February, but in the meantime, check out Drive to Survive on Netflix.

Rating: 5 Stars, 3.5 Heat, 5 Narration

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