Oldie Review – Riding the Storm by Sydney Croft

Publisher: Random House
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: Pima County Library

A storm’s rage. A woman’s desire.

A man with the power to set them both free.

He can summon lightning at will. Emerge unscathed from the center of a tornado. Strip a woman down to her barest defenses through the sheer force of his sexuality. He’s gorgeous, dangerous, and the target of parameteorologist Haley Holmes’s latest mission. Haley has been dispatched to the Louisiana bayous to investigate the phenomenon known as Remy Begnaud–a man with a gift he never wanted: the ability to control a storm’s fury. But even a woman trained in bizarre weather phenomena has no defense against the electrifying power of the ex—Navy SEAL…a power his enemies would kill to control.

With her agency monitoring their every move, Haley’s job is to seduce Remy, gain his trust–and help him harness his extraordinary gift. But who will protect her from this voracious lover who’s introducing her to a new world of erotic thrills—a man who grows increasingly insatiable with each new weather event? Haley knows a big storm is approaching—and with it will come unexpected delights. But so, too, will the storm unleash her greatest fears: an enemy bent on destroying Remy. And her worst fear of all—falling in love with this magnificent man, then having to betray him.
*Blurb from Goodreads*

When I first found out that Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler teamed up together, I knew I had to read their books. When I realized they write erotic paranormal romance suspense…. well I was absolutely sold, my four favorite genres in one? YES!  I hightailed it over to my local library and checked it out first thing.

Riding the Storm is the first in the ACRO series that follows a company who employs people with superhuman powers. Haley is just a regular ACRO employee, no special talents except for her genius in meteorology. Because of that, she is sent to go and recruit Remy, a man with the supposed ability to control the weather.

As Remy and Haley get closer and their feelings for each other extend to more than just the current weather pattern, will Haley’s secret about who she really is affect their budding relationship? Then, to make matters worse ACRO’s competition Itor is looking to get their hands on Remy, even if they have to go through Haley to get him.

I really enjoyed this book. I love the idea of everyday people having extraordinary abilities. Although most of the operatives from ACRO have accepted and embraced their abilities, I was happy to see Remy struggle with his. I adored his character, he was a super strong alpha type male, and although he constantly radiated strength and confidence, it was also evident that his history and past made a huge impression on him. There were times I just wanted to cuddle him in my arms and tell him everything would be okay.

I was a little surprised at first that Remy and Haley jumped into bed (or in their case, the floor) together so quickly. Although Haley seemed to think that would be the only way to convince him to come work for ACRO, and even went so far as to go through seduction training before going on this mission, they both seemed so ready and willing to jump into a relationship, even though they couldn’t even get along their first night. But once we found out that Remy’s abilities with the weather are tied to his libido, I felt a little bit better about it, but still thought it was a little sudden.

I really enjoyed Haley’s character. She is this nerdy weather loving chic that is used to sitting in a lab, not out on the front lines. I liked following her journey, watching her struggle and overcome her insecurities about working in the field. It was great to see her struggle with the Itor agents, and finding her own way in a a team of trained fighters. I chuckled when she got back to their home base, and demanded self defense and more field training.

I was a little frustrated that the story jumped back and forth from Remy and Haley to Annika and Creed, another set of agents for ACRO. While I liked getting background information on other operatives, and ACRO as a company, I was hoping for a lot more development in the Remy and Haley story line. It felt as if almost half the story was devote to the subplots, and as interesting as they were, I wanted more of Remy and Haley.

I’m really excited to see where this series goes. There was talk throughout the entire first book about a possible traitor inside ACRO, and I’m anxious to see how that all gets resolved. I hope that we get to see as much of Remy and Haley in future books as we saw of the remainder of the ACRO agents in this one. I’m anxious to see if Annika and Creed get together. (Loved all their angsty sexual tension!)

All in all, I give Riding the Storm an A.