Customer Reviews

Riding the Storm

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Here's a phrase I never thought I'd use: There's just too much sex in this book. I love erotic romance. It's difficult for me to get through a kisses-only romance because I crave the steam, the passion, and the electrically-charged encounters in a spicier book. But I also crave romance. I want to see relationship development and the day-to-day interaction that doesn't involve throbbing, dripping sex organs and screaming orgasms. In PNR and adventure romance, I want to read about science and problem solving. I want the book to engage my inner geek as well as my inner romantic. I want to get to know the characters, and I don't want to sacrifice plot for steam. Above all, I want balance. Riding the Storm isn't balanced.

This book left me feeling cheated. When I first read about a book series that combined science, sex, and superheroes, I thought "Wow! This series is so for me." I've always been a fan of weather phenomena and I'm a bit of a storm chaser, so the weather element of Haley and Remy's story in Riding the Storm really appealed to me. When I opened the book, I was looking forward to geeking out with technical weather lingo, superhero action, and descriptions of cool weather-tracking instruments. I was disappointed to find relatively little superhero action and even less science. What I got instead was an endless sex scene and a less-than-believable romance that equated immediate intense sexual attraction with true love. Love at first sight is difficult enough to pull off, but love at first orgasm really tests my ability to suspend disbelief.

Riding the Storm isn't all bad (far from it!). Remy and Haley are interesting people. They have amazing sexual chemistry and good relationship chemistry (though the latter wasn't explored in detail). Remy is strong and powerful, and Haley is calm and steadfast. Neither is hesitant or afraid to yield to the other when it's appropriate.

Dev, the leader of ACRO, is a pretty cool guy. While he wasn't my favorite character, I enjoyed learning his back story and seeing how he related with the ACRO team. I really enjoyed reading about Wyatt and Ender as well, and I'm hoping their stories are stronger than Remy's story.

I loved the side story about ACRO team members Creed and Annika. Creed is a powerful man that can communicate with ghosts and spirits. He's huge, pierced, tattooed, and hot, and he's clearly in love with tough chick Annika. Annika can control electricity. She can kill with just a touch. No one is immune to her deadly powers except the one man that drives her crazy with both anger and lust. Whew. Their story is sizzling. Apparently Creed and Annika's story runs throughout the series, and they haven't gotten a full book yet. I really hope they do because they're just absolutely amazing together and Creed is one of the hottest Alpha males I've ever met in a book.

The sex, although overwhelmingly abundant and in need of some toning down, is fantastic. Stephanie Tyler and Larissa Ione write amazing sex scenes. I'd call them love scenes, but unfortunately most of them really are just sex. My favorite sex scenes were the ones between Remy and Haley during the worst storms, and all the ones between Creed and Annika.

The superhero element still excites me because it's so rare in erotic romance, and the last third of Riding the Storm did deliver some good superhero action.

Riding the Storm is a good book. What's disappointing to me is that it easily could have been so much better. The book was interesting enough that I went ahead and bought the second and third book, and I do plan to read them. I'm interested in the superhero storylines and I love the characters. I just hope books 2, 3, and beyond focus more on the interesting characters and the fascinating world Ms. Ione and Ms. Tyler have created, and less on the sex that distracts us from the story.

For me this book falls somewhere between a B- and a C+. For readers that don't mind sacrificing plot for incredible and creative sex scenes, it might be an A.

Former Navy SEAL Remy Begnaud can really make a girl feel all tingly inside. Literally. All his life, Remy has been able to call storms. Lightning, rain, hail, tornadoes and hurricanes come at his command, and sometimes without it. Mother Nature is very demanding of him. He never wanted the gift, but he's got it. When a storm is brewing outside there's also a storm brewing inside Remy, which can only be released by intense sex which has always frightened the women in his life.

Parameterologist Haley Holmes works for ACRO, the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives. Although she doesn't have a rare gift such as telekinesis, or being a medium, she loves her job. Her boss has sent her to Bayou Blond, in Louisiana, to investigate Remy Begnaud to see if the reports of his abilities are true, and if so, to see if he can be recruited for ACRO. She's heard that he's a firecracker in a storm and Haley have never shied away from sex, and she doesn't plan to start now.

Remy and Haley meet with a bang, and it doesn't let up from there. He's skeptical at first, but when ACRO's rival, the Itor Corporation, shows up to try and recruit Remy, all hell breaks loose, and Remy realizes that he's found the one way he can control his gift: making love with Haley.

This is a tough review for me to write. When I started reading Riding the Storm, I thought, "If this is going to be a lot of sex scenes mixed with a little bit of story, then I'm going to be mad." But the more I got into the book, the more I realized that the early sex scenes were the perfect way for Ms. Croft to showcase Remy's talents, and the troubles that those talents have given him.

The morning after the storm, when Remy and Haley were getting to know one another after their night of passion, I settled in for what became a fantastic read. I liked these two characters separately, and loved them together. Their chemistry is electrifying and will sting the reader, in a good way.

Riding the Storm is full of hunky alpha males and strong, independent women who know what they want and aren't afraid to go after it. For me, Riding the Storm went from a I-have-to-read-for-review book to a I-can't-wait-to-finish-it-and-start-the-next-one book as quickly as a tornado moves through Texas.

Ms. Croft has crafted a Joyfully Reviewed Recommended Read for me, and I'm anxiously awaiting the second book in the ACRO series.

Amelia
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

Riding the Storm is a paranormal erotic romance that pulls the reader into a fascinating world where the race is on to control the world's weather. Remy is a ex-Seal whose sexual desire triggers powerful storms which he can't control. Haley is a parameteorologist who wants to recruit Remy for the agency she works for. But she might have gotten a little more than she bargained for when she and Remy explode sexually.

The chemistry between the two lead characters is powerful and steamy. The book is well-written and engages the reader immediately. The secondary characters, especially Annika and Creed, add even more spice to this novel. Highly recommended for those who enjoy a really good erotic romance.

Like another reviewer wrote, if you like X-men, romance and lotsa sex in your novels, this book is for you. The author has created an interesting world of supernatural humans and the relationships amongst them. I found the heroine(s) to be independent and strong but yet still with the ability to give their hearts to gorgeous supernatural men.

Recommend for people who like paranormal romance with erotic sex scenes.

To say Ex-navy SEAL Remy Benaud is a force of nature would be an understatement. Remy is nature, he doesn't understand his gift, all he knows is that under certain circumstances he attracts weather systems and storms gain strength around him. It is because of this extraordinary power that Remy comes to the attention of ACRO. Following an unexpected phone call from his father, Remy is lured to his childhood home on the Louisiana bayou. He enters his house to find Haley Holmes has taken up residence and his father is nowhere to be found. Remy is naturally suspicious of Haley's story as to why she is there and uses his Navy SEAL training as an interrogator to gradually ferret out what her real motivations are.

Haley is a brilliant, career driven parameterologist and ACRO agent who is dispatched to Remy's home to ascertain if he actually does have the power to control the weather and if so to lure him into the ACRO fold. Haley is a scientist whose fascination with the weather is grounded in scientific fact. She does not believe Remy has the ability to draw and control weather systems and she sets out to prove it to herself and ACRO.

When Remy attracts a storm it causes what can only be described as a cataclysmic need for sensual release. As a scientist Haley is curious about Remy, however she is also inexorably drawn by his inherent sensuality and unspeakable power. There is a special link that this couple share and their union is dare I say explosive?

Haley is in a race against time, her agency wants swift results and another covert group of operatives, which is the antithesis of ACRO bent capturing Remy is closing in. The action is non-stop and the plot is full of twists and turns making for an exciting page turning read.

One of the sub-plots in Riding the Storm introduces Annika and Creed, both ACRO agents with highly unusual gifts. Annika can only be described as a `weapon' both in her skills and training in martial arts and use of weaponry, and in the use of her special talent. Creed is essentially a haunted soul whose special ability allows him to communicate with ghosts. Annika and Creed have become a favourite couple amongst those of us who are ACRO fans and I will say that the story of their special romance weaves through the three books.

Well, what a sizzling series (yes, pun intended) the writing team Sydney Croft has with their 'Storm/ACRO' novels about a group of non-government agents with paranormal abilities. Their organization is locked in a battle with another shady organization of people with similar talents who sell their services to the highest bidder. Almost all the individuals in the organization are emotionally hurt after a lifetime of being 'different'. Now that I've read the first and the second books, I'm only stopping long enough to write two reviews and then back to the third book. Why did I wait to read these? WARNING: Although I wouldn't classify these as erotica, they are filled with hot, sweaty, and sometimes tender sex...a lot of sex.

Haley is one of the few 'normals' at ACRO. Her skills lie in the scientific world of parameteorology which makes her perfect to try and bring in a man who can supposedly control the weather. Not that she really believes that, but once she catches sight of her 'target' she's more than happy to use anything and everything she's got to bring him in...before the other side finds him and uses him as a weapon.

Remy's life has been spiraling out of control lately. He left his SEAL team because he just can't play well with others. When he gets an urgent call from his 'father', the past just doesn't seem to matter and he sets out for their bayou home. As usual he brings the storm with him, but never expected that he'd find a gorgeous woman instead of his father...or that she'd be the one woman who can handle ALL Remy, and mother nature, can throw at her.

Interesting concept with just enough differences to make it memorable from the 'deluge' (LOL) of paranormal books flooding the market. There's a secondary romance that sizzles and I'd want to read the next one just to get more information about these wounded warriors. Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler are the writing duo behind this series and I can't wait to see where it's headed next! Hot, hot, hot!!

Only a desperate call from his dad would bring former navy SEAL Remy "T-Remy" Begnaud home especially in this horrendous weather. Although the truth is hurricanes do not disturb him as he has created some nasty storms in his life with his power to control the force of a storm. However, what does bother him is that parameteorologist Haley Marie Holmes is waiting for him at his father's house.

She tries to persuade Remy to let her and her paranormal skilled operatives help him harness his power, but fails even when she tries seduction as the electricity between them ignites the Bayou. Instead he attempts to defuse his power on his own, but instead T-Remy unleashes his gift. Now he needs Haley and her associates to help him harness his out of control storm that makes Katrina look like a drizzle.

This exhilarating romantic fantasy creatively uses paranormal meteorology skills to tell the tale of people with the ability to control the weather. The key to this superb thriller is the flaws each of the lead pair has in their make-up; especially that of T-Remy who wants nothing to do with his power yet finds he is in the eye of the storm. Haley is pulled in two directions as lightning strikes her heart with her attraction to Remy, but is assigned to bring him in voluntarily or not. Fans will enjoy this fine weather thriller although some subplots are left out in the rain for apparently future parameteorological tales.

Harriet Klausner

RIDING THE STORM
SYDNEY CROFT

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Navy Seal Remy Begnaud has an unusual ability, a talent he's had since he was a small child. He can control the weather, particularly storms, with his emotions. After leaving the Navy, Remy wants to head home to the Bayou for some peace and quiet, but he's in for a big surprise. Instead of his father waiting for him, he arrives home and finds sexy meteorologist Haley in his place, a situation he may not entirely mind, but the question remains: what is she really doing there?

Haley Holmes, an agent for the paranormal group ACRO, has been sent to the Louisiana Bayou with one objective only - to get Remy to join them - a task easier said than done. She has to investigate the ex-Seal, and is given carte blanche to seduce him into joining forces with the highly secretive paranormal group. She will do what's necessary to keep him from falling into enemy hands. When it's all over, seducing Remy may be the easiest thing she's ever done. Because fulfilling the rest of her mission may be harder than she ever expected.

RIDING THE STORM is really like no other book I've read before, a phenomenal mix of action-adventure, paranormal and erotica. The chemistry between Remy and Haley is ignitable from their first meeting and doesn't let up. Remy's unique abilities make him more alpha than he'd probably be as a regular navy seal and Haley is out to prove herself as more than a simple meteorologist. I really liked the way Haley managed to break through Remy's walls and vice versus. Remy and Haley's story is interspersed with a subplot of two other ACRO agents who I hope we get to see more of in future books. Filled with action, suspense and sizzling sex, this is one book you don't want to miss.

What a way to kick off a series! RIDING THE STORM is an amazing read. This is a story that pulls you in from the first sentence and doesn't let you go. I read this book cover-to-cover in one sitting. One of my favorite scenes from the book is when the rival paranormal group tries to get hold of Remy for their own personal use, sending Remy and Haley on the run through the Bayou. The tension is palpable and the action fast, making it a great part of the book. If you like your romance hot and sexy, this is definitely a read for you.

Ms. Croft is the pen name of two published authors who came together to blend their very different writing interests into adventurous tales of erotic paranormal fiction. Together, they developed a world where people with extraordinary abilities, like the power to control storms, could live and work with others like them. The series has been described as "erotica meets the X-Men", and is unique in its own "erotic super hero romance" niche. The authors live in different states and communicate almost entirely through email, though they often get together for conferences and book signings. Visit them online at www.sydneycroft.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
June 2008

Riding The Storm is book one of a fantastic new action-packed and very hot & steamy series that will leave you breathless...
The two main characters Remy and Haley are wonderful together, the chemistry between them is sizzling hot.
so if you enjoy paranormal stories of hot & steamy sex combined with The X-Men you will love this book.

until you get to the middle of the book, then the action picks up.

the first half is all about sex, sex, sex which probably stands to reason since the hero of the book - Remy - has a power that is connected to sex. he can manipulate the weather. cool power except there is a downside to it. the storms energy builds up inside of Remy and he needs to release it and yep, you guessed it. the way he releases it is with sex. So that is what the first half is all about - Remy releasing that enery with sex, sex, sex. Haley -the heroine - is more than happy to help him with that.

If your like me, I really don't find sex scene after sex scene enjoyable. one or two, fine. Anyway, i was about to give up on this one, but like I said, when you get to about the middle of the book. the story really becomes noticeable. think of X-men minus the school.

Big fat note: there is a homosexual scene in this one. those of you out there who don't find this kind of, ahem, stuff enjoyable, skip it. Trust me, it won't take anything away from the story if you do. All it does (obviously Ms. Croft had a need to put it in there) is tell you the guy - Dev (Dr. Xavier)- is gay which you pretty much guessed from the get-go.