Burn It Down

The Savage Crew, Book 3

By: Julia Wolf, J. Wolf

Narrated by: Wen Ross, Kai Kennicott

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

I’m the smart girl with my nose constantly in a book. The one with the level head who never breaks the rules…until I do.

And wouldn’t you know, the one person who knows about my case of temporary rebellion is the last one I’d ever want to find out.

Gabe Fuller might be Savage River High’s class clown, but as far as I’m concerned, he’s a villain in disguise. Once upon a time, I gave him my heart, but our ending was no fairytale.

As the keeper of my darkest secret, Gabe thinks he owns me. I’ll play along because I have no other choice, but I’ll never bow, and I definitely won’t fall…no matter how good his hands feel on my curves.

©2021 Julia Wolf (P)2022 Julia Wolf

Gabe and Penn burned it down

I love this series so much and really enjoyed Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott narrating Gabe and Penn. They brought so much depth and heart they had me captivated from the beginning. I really enjoyed this series; each character is written with such care and compassion that I felt it throughout this book. This book is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I was super excited to be able to listen and read along with the narrators. This is the first time I got to hear both narrators, they didn't disappoint.

I really loved Penn in this book and really loved to listen to her be brought to life thru Kai. Her voice was amazing and had a lilt to it that I could listen to any time. Penn is determined, stubborn, and trying to deal with a lot on her plate. Gabe is the tall, dark, and hot goofball everyone loves. This is the first time I got to listen to Wen Ross, and he did an amazing job with Gabe. Both narrators did fantastic bringing all the characters to life and told the story with heart and emotion I had tears at some points.

Amazingness!

Okay! I listened to all three books, and I have to say that Gabe & Pens story was my favorite! I loved all the stories. But I feel like the story was more than the others. The story of Gabe and explaining deeper into his life. Explained, to me at least, why he was so full of life and how big his heart truly is. 10/10 on this book and all three books!

Gabe and Pen are awesome

Burn it Down by Julia Wolf is a fantastic. This story is book 3 in the Savage Crew series. I enjoy reading bully romances and this one did not disappoint. I listened to this on a very long road trip, it made the miles fly by in no time at all. This audio book is straight up addicting and I loved every second.

This is also a second chance romance, involving Gabe Fuller who is a popular, charismatic, hot, high school soccer star who is hiding a deep secret hurt and in the process has to distance himself from what he truly wants. Penelope Shade is a smart, sweet, feisty young woman who has been trying to forget the boy who broke her heart 4 years ago.

This story had everything I look for in a book, romance, super hot loving, mystery, a little danger and we get to catch up with the characters from the previous books in the series.

The narration was great, pretty close to what I imagined in my head when I read the book.

I recommend this audio book for all the reasons listed above but also because Julia Wolf is such a fantastic storyteller.

Book 3 but can be listened to as a standalone

This is the third book in the The Savage Crew series, but it can be read as a complete stand alone other than there may be slight spoilers about some prior characters. Just as when I read the book, I am struggling with my review and rating on the audio. I actually finished listening to this book a few days ago and am hoping by writing my review up will help me in my rating. I struggled with the narrators in what I would call them being more monotone or flat in delivering the story. Gabriel (Gabe) and Penelope (Pen) have a history and it does take time to fully learn why they feel and act the way they do. The author writes with a lot of breadcrumbs to the story that do get revealed in the end and at times when I felt like I couldn’t listen to the narrators any longer, they started to bring the story slowly to life. Then fell flat again. There are times in the book that are very emotional and I just didn’t feel that emotion coming from the narrators. I like to have the story come to life and hear those laughs or cries or even the frustration/anger the characters are feeling, yet it wasn’t always there. It was worth sticking with because as I said there were times when everything from the story to the narration had me not wanting to turn the book off and seeing how things turned out, redeemed my frustration with the story.

Colossal feels and raw emotions

Gage and Penelope give your heart one seriously brutal workout in this second chance bully romance. The colossal feels are only second to the raw emotions, as this tale takes you on a twisted pathway of sweetness, poignancy, pain, drama, shocking revelations, humor, stunning betrayals, action, heartbreak, danger and steam. I have fallen hard for every single couple in this series but I have to say that I thought there was something truly special about these two. Maybe it was the fact that there actual relationship time was longer, or how hard and complicated their journey toward a HEA was or it could be that I have my own "Gabe" in my life. Whatever it is, this book is truly deserves a one-click and/or the top spot on your TBR pile because a romance that is this beautiful, powerful and moving does not come your way every day.

All the yes!

Already loved reading this book and decided to listen while working. Absolutely love the way they brought this book to life.

"....we were our own kind of beautiful.”

Julia Wolf, once again, does not disappoint. Gabe and Pen's story is fantastic. It never ceases to amaze me how well-crafted and emotional all of her stories are. Each one is completely different and completely mesmerizing. Plus she always writes strong, female characters who come in all shapes and sizes and are not ashamed of their bodies.

Pen and Gabe have a painful history. They were summer sweethearts until Gabe cruelly broke Pen’s heart in front of the entire school. When Gabe begins blackmailing Pen to tutor him, will it ignite a hidden passion?

Pen is great character. She’s smart, independent and owns her curves. She’s not afraid to stand up for herself and she has the biggest heart. I absolutely loved her.

Gabe hides his painful past and present with humor and it absolutely broke my heart. He can be cruel and quick with his cutting words, but underneath the rough exterior, his heart is so loving. He’s fierce and protective and will do anything for those he loves.

Pen and Gabe were absolute magic together. Their chemistry was smoking and almost lit my kindle on fire. Pen is sexy and curvy and Gabe absolutely LOVES it. The banter between them broke my heart in some places and made me laugh in others. They truly understood and saw each other and were a perfect fit for each other. I think they made each other better.

Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott knocked it out of the park in their narrations of Gabe and Pen. Their voices embodied every emotion that the characters were feeling and brought the story to a whole other level. I was mesmerized by their telling of the story.

While bully romances are not usually my favorite, I have loved each and every book in the Savage Crew series. Burn It Down is phenomenal and the BEST of the series. I’m so glad that Julia Wolf has more stories to tell in this world.

Great book!!!

I am Julia Wolfs biggest fan at this point!
This is book three in the Savage Crew Series and I enjoyed every single one.
I never knew I would love Angsty bully romances but I so do, Julia Wolf writes in a way that just grabs your attention pulls you in and never lets you go! Gabe and Pen may be my favorite in this series. There’s twists and turns that will break you and then the HEA. Please read it don’t take my word for it.

Burn it Down by J Wolf - 3⭐️

Tropes/Themes:
-MF high school bully romance
-Second chance (they were briefly together 4 years earlier when they were 14y/o)
-Poor Hero x Rich Heroine
-Curvy heroine
-Dual POV
-Book #3 in an interconnected standalone series

This was easily my favorite book of the series. I appreciated that the bully aspect of the romance didn’t get dragged on too long. I also felt like a lot more time was spent building the chemistry and relationship between Gabe and Penelope, which really worked for me.

CWs for substance abuse, loss of a loved one, blackmail, sexual assault

Story: 3/5
Audiobook: 5/5 (narrated by Wen Ross & Kai Kennicott)
Length 10h26min