Riding the Storm (ACRO, #1) in Alpha Heroes & Spitfire Heroines

Feb 29, 2008 Auntee rated it really liked it

Shelves: romantic-suspense, paranormal-romance, men-in-uniform

I'm trying to get my thoughts together about this book and it's a little difficult. There's lots to enjoy about this book--first, it has a very original storyline about Remy, an ex-Navy SEAL who has a gift/curse of being able to control the weather but the weather also controls his libido. Apparently, when a storm is brewing, Remy's got to have sex, and often. Second, it starts out with a bang--immediate action and lots and lots and lots of hot, down and dirty (literally) hot sex (in the mud, on I'm trying to get my thoughts together about this book and it's a little difficult. There's lots to enjoy about this book--first, it has a very original storyline about Remy, an ex-Navy SEAL who has a gift/curse of being able to control the weather but the weather also controls his libido. Apparently, when a storm is brewing, Remy's got to have sex, and often. Second, it starts out with a bang--immediate action and lots and lots and lots of hot, down and dirty (literally) hot sex (in the mud, on the floor, outside in the rain, etc.)between Remy and parameteorologist Haley, the heroine who is sent by her agency to study him. Third, there's an exciting battle between the agency that Haley works for (ACRO, which stands for Agency of Covert Rare Operatives), who want to recruit Remy and use his powers for the good of the country, versus the bad guys of a rival agency who want to use him to control and possibly destroy the country.

This is not an easy read. There's lots to digest and keep track of, especially if you're not familiar with the paranormal world of mediums, psychics, telekinesis, ghost hunters, etc. Lots of characters are introduced, each with their own special paranormal powers, and I felt like I needed a scorecard at times to keep track of them. However, if you stick with it, you'll be rewarded. Although things get a little bit violent toward the end, it does get very exciting. And there's plenty of sex and romance to keep you entertained in between the action scenes!

I loved Remy and Haley together. I felt bad for the life Remy had led--he really felt like an outcast his whole life because of his special 'gift' and he desperately needed someone to love and to be loved. Haley was the same--she never felt the love and affection from her parents, never felt like she fit in anywhere until she joined ACRO, and wasn't sure if she could even 'do' love. I was glad that these two characters connected so well, not only sexually but emotionally. And I especially loved when Remy slipped in a little Cajun French when he was loving Haley--very sexy!

Since this was the first book in the series, there was a little bit of a set-up of the series which I've come to expect, and at times I felt a little overwhelmed with all the characters introduced. But, every character had something unique and exciting about them, and I look forward to reading their individual stories. If you enjoy a paranormal with an unusual premise, lots of erotic sex-- including a brief m/m scene-- and plenty of action, then I doubt that you'd be disappointed in "Riding the Storm". ...more

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Jan 20, 2009 Shawna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: erotic-romance-erotica-romantica, hero-bayou-cajun-french-nola, hero-alpha‎, i-read-own-faves-keepers, satisfying-secondary-romance, psychic-special-abilities-powers, scifi-futuristic-fantasy-misc-pnr, hero-expert-skilled-voracious-lover, cop-bodyguard-govop-merc-military, yowza-hotness

4 ½ stars – Paranormal Romance/Erotica

A super cool series about superhumans/heroes with a diverse range of paranormal gifts/powers working for a private agency called ACRO, Agency of Covert Rare Operatives, to battle the bad guys intent on using their paranormal prowess for destruction. It’s described as “erotica meets the X-Men”, and I think that’s a very accurate depiction for the series.

I’m a little late getting on the ACRO band-wagon, but I’m glad to say better late than never because this s ...more

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May 06, 2008 Julie (jjmachshev) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2009-reads

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 st ...more

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Jun 05, 2008 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: hotness, arco

This was a pretty good book. No wasting any time jumping right to the sex scenes though!

The premise is about an organization that employs supernatural people. Remy, the male lead, can control the weather but he is not part of this organization. They send in Haley to recruit him before the "bad guys" get to him and use him for nefarious purposes.

Like I said, it starts out with a bang, slows in the middle a little and then picks back up at the end when more people from ARCO join up with Remy and H ...more

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Dec 07, 2008 Sayuri_x rated it it was ok

Shelves: paranormal, erotica, 2008

Spolied a freaking awesome premise and some interesting charachters with relentless bad sex. Really ugly, harsh sex. And I like my smexin. Too much sex, not enough plot and world-building. Did I mention there was too much sex?

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May 12, 2008 Julianna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: desert-island-keepers, erotic-romance, paranormal-romance, read-2012

Reviewed for THC Reviews
So far, in my erotic romance reading experiences, I've found that the best books are usually those that focus in on the sex and relationships. With the ones that add other elements, such as science fiction, suspense, paranormal, etc., the plot typically tends to suffer. Not so with Riding the Storm. This novel is like X-Men meets erotic romance, and in my opinion, it was a fabulous story that was a great start to the ACRO series. The overall premise of the series is that Reviewed for THC Reviews
So far, in my erotic romance reading experiences, I've found that the best books are usually those that focus in on the sex and relationships. With the ones that add other elements, such as science fiction, suspense, paranormal, etc., the plot typically tends to suffer. Not so with Riding the Storm. This novel is like X-Men meets erotic romance, and in my opinion, it was a fabulous story that was a great start to the ACRO series. The overall premise of the series is that a group of men and women who possess supernatural abilities (ala superheroes) have banded together as part of a secret government agency to fight the evil versions of themselves (ala super-villains). I've always been a fan of superhero stories. Riding the Storm is just a super-sexy version of a superhero story, and I can't wait to read more.

Remy is a man with a lot of baggage. He was abandoned on a church doorstep as an infant in the middle of a hurricane that he may have caused. Remy's adoptive father had just lost his wife and unborn child in an accident, and saw it as some sort of omen that he was meant to take this child in and give him a home. He knew from the start that Remy was different. He tried to be a decent parent, but his heartbreak never quite healed. As a result he spent a lot of time at the bottom of a bottle, often leaving Remy to fend for himself. Ultimately, his father sold him out, but at least it was to the right people and he felt bad about it afterward. Remy discovered by puberty that he could control the weather, and that the storms and his sexual desires feed off of one another. His ability has always made him feel like a freak. The superstitious residents of the bayou think he's possessed by an evil spirit and have been trying to spell him since he was a child. Even joining the military didn't really give him a sense of belonging, as most of the other guys were freaked out by his seeming connection to the weather. All the women Remy was ever with were frightened of the ferocity of his sexual desires during storms, so romantic relationships have been all but impossible for him. That all changes when Haley shows up. She offers him a place where his ability will be appreciated, not reviled, and welcomes his sexual intensity in a way he never thought possible.

Haley is a parameteorologist who was sent by ACRO to assess Remy's abilities. She is also tasked with bringing him into the agency if he proves to be as powerful as they suspect. I liked that Haley was so accepting of Remy's passionate nature, that she even enjoyed it and met him with a certain intensity of her own. She does initially keep her true purpose for being in the bayou a secret, which leads to some problems for them down the line, but I still think she proved more than once that he had become much more than a job to her. I loved how she was as protective of him as he was of her. She also gave freely of herself to him and put her life on the line to help save him even though she had no special ability to fall back on.

Riding the Storm has a fascinating cast of secondary characters that I can't wait to see again. Devlin is the enigmatic director of ACRO, the agency he essentially inherited from his parents. Dev is physically blind, but through his psychic talents, he can see things most people can't. He is an incredibly sexy and intriguing man who is apparently nursing a broken heart with a series of meaningless sexual encounters. Then there was Creed and Annika, a couple who were every bit as appealing as Remy and Haley if not a little more so. Annika is super-charged with electricity, and much like Remy she feels like a freak. She also has trouble with relationships because of her inability to control her electrical pulses during sex which can fry the poor unfortunate guy. Creed is a ghost hunter who is followed by a possessive female spirit who doesn't want him getting too attached to any other woman, but he appears to be immune to Annika's ability. With his tats, piercings, and bad boy persona, Creed reminds me of one of the brothers from J. R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood. Annika and Creed spend a large part of the story trying to make contact with an unfriendly spirit in Dev's childhood home. Normally, I'm not a big fan of ghost stories, but this one was very engaging. I really enjoyed how they battled the ghost in the haunted house while also battling their growing passion for one another. Both of these characters have fascinating back stories, and yet, I feel the authors have only scratched the surface with this pair. I would love to see this couple get their own story, but as of yet, that doesn't appear to be the case. I'm not sure if their romance will continue to play out as secondary characters, but I certainly hope so. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of them and learning more about this spirit from Dev's past. Last but not least there were the two operatives Ender and Wyatt. These two are like oil and water. Ender is about as unfriendly as Wyatt is friendly, and they seem to enjoy trying to one up each other. Wyatt will become the hero of book #3, Seduced by the Storm.

Riding the Storm was a wonderful and entertaining beginning to what promises to be a sexy and engrossing new-to-me series. Sydney Croft is a pseudonym for the writing team of Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler, both of whom have pretty impressive resumes as individuals. It looks like Larissa probably drew upon her own experience as a meteorologist for the character of Haley. I'm dying to see what else these two come up with together, as well as exploring their individual backlists, because if this book is any indication, they are both very talented authors.

Note: This book is categorized as erotic romance, and while the love scenes are frequent, creative and ultra-spicy, there is nothing that I would describe as kinky. However, there is one scene of M/M sensuality that may offend some readers. ...more

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