Book Review Seduced by the Storm by Sydney Croft

Seduced by the Storm
Sydney Croft

Book Description:
DANGER IS THE ULTIMATE APHRODISIAC.

They met in a steamy Florida bar—then spent a night of mind-bending passion. Two secret agents who each possess unique telekinetic gifts—and whose combined sexual powers leave neither of them unscathed. For ex–Navy SEAL Wyatt Kennedy, assigned by the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives to the most treacherous mission of his career, the woman in black leather and lace has just become more than a one-night stand. Because Faith Black is the sole barrier to the success of his mission—and not even Wyatt’s legendary seduction skills can penetrate her deep cover.

Faith’s psychic gifts make her one of the world’s most dangerous women—but she hides a secret pain she shares with no one. Until Wyatt. And Faith has an agenda of her own: using her unique powers to save someone close to her—a move that pits her against a man she thought she’d never see again. For as a deadly hurricane is unleashed across the eastern seaboard, desire reignites between Faith and Wyatt, exposing secrets that thrust them both into harm’s way. With the hurricane sweeping closer—and their erotic hunger for each other growing—these two wary hearts must come together to heal, to trust . . . and to harness the power of a storm that could consume everything in its path.


Stacey’s Review
Rating: 5/Fabulous and Extremely Hot


Okay so let me tell you this much. I am so glad I didn’t stop reading at the second book because this one made up for all the bad spots of the last one. I absolutely loved Wyatt from the very beginning. This book is about Wyatt and Faith’s story and we find out where Wyatt has been. His assignment has been to infiltrate the ITOR oil rig where Haley (the parameterologist from the first book) found they were keeping the weather machine ACRO has been searching for. Wyatt’s mission is to destroy the motherboard after disabling the machine. Faith’s on a mission to steal the motherboard from ITOR not destroy it. She needs it to turn it over as ransom for her long lost sister, Liberty, but she intends to hold on to the motherboard after rescuing her sister in order for her agency to study and learn from it. They do agree to work together to steal the motherboard in order to rescue Liberty, but Faith isn’t completely honest with Wyatt and leaves out the part that she has plans for her agency to keep and study the board afterwards. So as you can see major conflict!
Wyatt is presumed dead for the benefit of this assignment, but it appears as the book goes on that other ACRO agents besides Dev now know he is alive. From the first two books we learned that Dev believed there was a spy among ACRO so he gradually became more secretive of any missions and other vital information. He was, or course, trying to narrow down the leak, but as we found out and saw it was dealt with in the second book, the leak was Dev. So it’s presumed from the open conversation about Wyatt’s whereabouts that it’s safe to continue business as usual.
I don’t see how you could not love this book. Wyatt is so hot and the chemistry between him and Faith is probably one of my favorites in a while. I don’t know if it is the telekinetic abilities of the two that connects them immediately, but they are definitely drawn to each from their first meeting in the bar (which by the way neither of them knows the other is an agent yet). Faith and Wyatt’s emotions for each other are very strong right from the start.
Wyatt’s power is telekinesis and a hidden power of seduction that goes way beyond that of any seducer ACRO has. We find out later that his seduction is tied to a third power and NO, I’m not telling what it is either!! The pitfall of his seduction power is that any woman he sleeps with doesn’t remember him beyond their initial meeting. So when Wyatt and Faith unknowingly end up on the same oil rig together, both undercover working for different agents, Wyatt isn’t expecting Faith to remember the mind blowing sex marathon they had the night before after leaving the bar. When he runs into her and tells her what a shame it was she left so quickly from the bar, she points out it was him who left suddenly from her bed the next morning with only a kiss and a quick goodbye. He is utterly and happily shocked. The fact that she remembers last night means something very important and Wyatt isn’t going to let the woman go easily. His strong feelings for Faith over whelm him and immediately he closes in on her. Without a second thought he blurts out, “I don’t want you with any other man”. Be still my ever-loving heart!!! I love a sexy alpha male and from what I read Wyatt is definitely an alpha. Too Sexy!!
The way that Wyatt and Faith just click is so sweet!! It’s obvious throughout the book that Wyatt and Faith are very protective of each other and meant to be together. It takes Faith a while to be completely honest with Wyatt about her mission, but it doesn’t stop the heat between them and, wow, does Wyatt know how to get information when he wants to! Totally hot!! I loved reading how Faith helped Wyatt deal recover his missing past memories so he could finally heal and what Wyatt learns from the experience makes it even better.
Also, in this book is the continuing story of Creed and Annika, Dev and Oz and Remy and Haley make an appearance also. Remy and Haley are working to stop the damage the weather machine is creating so they are kept busy fighting the storm and in the process Haley reveals good news to Remy! Creed and Annika’s relationship is so sweet and heartbreaking. Creed is trying so hard to keep Annika and get her to admit to her feelings while at the same time Annika is trying just as hard to not admit her feelings. She wants to go back to not having emotions because it brings with it so much more than she feels ready to deal with. Creed helps her and once she realizes she is going to finally lose him she breaks down on him and lets him in, but is it ever really that easy? Of course not; they still have things to work out between each other, like Annika’s relationship with Dev. Which Creed can’t stand at all!! Also, there is something big we learn about Dev, Oz and Creed. Oz has such a big heart and we see just how much he loves Dev in this book.
So if you haven’t read this one yet you definitely are missing something. It’s worth reading through the second one just to get to Wyatt and Faith’s story!!

Review Unleashing the Storm by Sydney Croft

Unleashing the Storm
Author: Sydney Croft

Book Description:

Feel the heat. Hear the roar.

The fever has begun.

There’s a storm rising. Electricity crackles in the air. For Kira Donovan, it’s that time of year again: when the need floods her flesh, when almost any man—the bigger and the stronger the better—will do. For Kira, an animal psychic, the heat is a matter of life and death, and this year it has come at just the right time. Tom Knight, a natural born predator, has arrived at her isolated Idaho farm—for reasons all his own…

At first Kira isn’t interested in Knight’s motives. She only needs him—his body, his hands, his scent. But soon, through a daze of desire and distrust, Kira discovers Knight’s world—the world of a covert operative, one man among dozens of secret agents waging an astonishing global war. Knight’s mission is to bring Kira--kicking and screaming if necessary--into the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives and harness her extraordinary gift. He never expected the powerful emotions she would ignite in him, or the fierce desire to keep her safe from harm. For as darkness gathers around them, Kira is feeling the heat once again, leading them both on a wild ride of delicious thrills…and terror beyond imagining.

Stacey’s review:
I decided to go with two ratings for this one: 3-for the romance, but 5-for hot sex scenes

I hope the next book is better because this one especially wasn't for me so let me just get started with the review. Here we go: Oh wait! Let me first say this, take out of your mind the ideal that these are your typical PNR because they aren’t. Alrighty, let’s begin:
From the very beginning the premise of this book is that Kara is a female in heat. Literally! Basically, Tom/Ender (he is going under his real name for this undercover assignment) is assigned the job to get her to join ACRO or kill her. From the first meeting we learn Kara is an animal whisperer and from the research ACRO has done, one they presume could be used as an ultimate biological weapon by ITOR against the world. They predict she is a greater threat (in the wrong hands) than any they’ve seen so far.
Okay the premise sounds good. I’m curious, I’m reading. WHOA!! Hold the page because from the sentence where I read that Kara hires her ranch hands for a little more than ranching and then comments, Tom had no idea how handy he’d be to have around, I’m feeling a little icky. There is something to be said for wanting or needing to feel the touch of another, but not the way it is for Kara (you’ll know what I mean when you read for yourself.) So, I’m wondering where the story is going. Apparently she needs to be serviced routinely during her heat cycle. (Yes heat cycle, like a dog) and lines up men to do the job, seriously? I am not a fan of turning a women into nothing more than a dog in heat, how degrading and then to find out that it isn’t about her finding her release that’s important it’s about the fact that she needs the release of the male to calm the fire in her loins and keep her from dying!! (Yes that statement was cheesy, but so is the whole idea of Kara’s situation, well it’s cheesy or it’s just plain icky. But I already said it was icky so the next reference was cheesy!!) Maybe it was the way they kept making references like she was a female animal. Don’t get me wrong, I love my shape-shifters, but this wasn’t the same. I am all for shape-shifters and having a mate and then going through the motions, but when this women doesn't shape-shift or do anything that is a true shape-shifter, but act like a dog in heat, I’m having trouble making any connection to what the authors might have been suggesting. The shape-shifter books I have read don’t describe the female as having to be serviced by multiple men because one can’t handle the job. What kind of romance story does that set up?
Even when the two were supposedly starting to have feelings for each other I just couldn't get into their moments. It was like a chore and nothing more. At one point when she finds out what he is and what he is doing there she is mad at him, but next thing you know she is crawling on top of him to get it on because she has to. PULLLLEASE!!! And I can't get out of my head the description later in the book of her waking up feeling the need, stripping as she makes her down the hall, walking into his weight room and him just dropping his pants for the cause. How is that suppose to fall into anything more than a chore, seriously!! I almost stopped reading at one point. I think about the time she was describing her jail experience. Ewww! (so not going there)
In the end, Kara is brought to ACRO. She is still in heat when she arrives mind you and the whole trip back she and Ender have been getting it on according to her heat cycle, but Ender keeps telling himself, he is just doing his job. Eventually, Ender does become very territorial with Kara and takes her back to his house which is nice considering her other option once she gets to the compound is to have a series of donors lined up to service her!! Again, WHAT????? I totally was turned off by that, well sh*** who am I kidding I was totally turned off way earlier in the book. The sex scenes were hot I’ll give you that, but I guess I kept thinking this book was going to redeem itself at some point. The rare points that were good were not enough for me. Another example of something that didn’t go over for me either was when Ender decided he wasn’t man enough to be a family with Kara so he breaks it off. What does she do to cope with it? She goes to ground!!! I mean literally hides in some bushes and doesn’t come out until Annika coaxes her out. (too weird for me!)
The best redeeming highlight for me was, of course, Creed and Annika’s story. I love them!! I also liked Dev’s story this time. I do so like how the authors keep up the side stories and keep the reader filled in on the whole picture without taking anything away from the main characters. It was good to have more details of what’s going on at ACRO overall and still the story flows smoothly. Very nicely done!!!!
Creed and Annika are one of the secondary stories along with Dev and his situation with the haunting of the escaped spirit from his house. The one Creed and Annika were sent to communicate with in the first book. The spirit escaped from his portal and started haunting Dev. A portal that Oz, Dev’s previous lover/best friend, sealed it into. So guess who is the only one who can help Dev now? You guessed it, Oz, the previous lover. Oz comes back after Creed finds him and shows up just in time to help Dev during a particular moment of stress. Turns out the spirit wants to take over Dev because it believes Dev and him (yes the spirit is a man) have a same common purpose. One that the spirit feels Dev would gladly give himself over to the possession of the spirit in order to get answers and win the fight against ITOR. What Dev finds, out thanks to the help of Oz, is shocking and NO, I’m not spilling the details!! That was interesting part. Oz and Dev make up (you know how!!) and push the spirit away in the process.
Creed and Annika on the other hand are at a draw, so to speak. We have to wait and see what is going to happen between them. There is a way they can be together, but it comes with a price. I for one hope it’s one that they are willing to make. I think their relationship is sweet even if Annika just wants Creed for a hook-up!!! Their story comes across so much better than the way Tom and Kara’s comes across.
So in the end you know Ender and Kara are together with a little surprise to the story. NO again, I’m not telling. Sheese guys! I can’t tell you everything!! (LOL) I do still think you should read the book if you are planning on following the series, but I think you can catch up on any missing pieces from the next book from what I hear (incase you choose to skip this one now). If I have totally busted your excitement bubble about this book I’m sorry, but you should know it’s not what I would describe as real romance. The way I see it, it’s more of a horny itch that needs to be scratched and eventually leads to love, versus starting with love or at least some romance that includes fabulous sex.