Gwen’s review of Riding the Storm (ACRO Series, Book 1) by Sydney Croft
Contemporary paranormal romance released by Delta 28 Aug 07

Alicia gave this an A- review.  You could say I didn’t like it quite that much.

The hero, Remy, and his abilities are presented interestingly and they’re uniquely described. He is a suitably tortured hero and is appealing. Haley not so much. I also didn’t like their dialog, what there was of it. For example, toward the end of the book, Haley says, “I need you too, Remy. With you, I can be so much more than a meteorologist.” WHAT? LOL I don’t know why, but that just struck me as an idiotic thing to say at that moment. The rest of the Remy/Haley story felt iterative – like I’ve read it before again and again. I was more interested in Creed and Annika’s relationship, and Del and Oz’s.

This was a good book. Not a great book, but it shows promise for the next in the series. There was too much boinking for me to take it too seriously (gads – did that sentence come out of my keyboard?), and some of the secondary characters were flat. Also, I didn’t like the way the men didn’t always act in character – it felt like they were written by a woman who doesn’t understand men, let alone military men, very well. Plus I think I already know who the mole is – bummer.

I can recommend this book if you’re a fan of supernatural ability books, or if you’re looking for a hot read and find it on the used books shelf.

Grade: C-

Blurb:

     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.

     Read an excerpt.