Unleashing the Storm by Sydney Croft

Posted February 11, 2008 by Casee in Reviews | 6 Comments

Genres: Paranormal Romance

Book description:

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.

Kira Donovan has long since accepted the overwhelming urge to mate that comes once a year. Having decided that being pro-active is best, Kira makes sure she has men available to see to her needs. Working on an isolated farm in Idaho (seriously), Kira has found a measure of peace in taking care of animals that no one wants but her. As an animal psychic, Kira is able to bond with animals in ways that few other people can. When Tom Knight shows up at her doorstep looking for work, Kira can’t afford to let him leave. Not only does she need the help, but the more men around means the easier things will be for Kira.

Tom “Ender” Knight has a very simple mission. Bring Kira onboard with ACRO within 48 hours or kill her. Ender knows that the reason he was brought in was because he is just about the only agent that would kill an innocent woman if necessary. Soon after arriving, Ender learns that he’s not the only one after Kira. What he does know is that he has to get into Kira’s confidence, and fast. When her “heat” begins, Ender is more than happy to see to her needs…for the first 24 hours. It’s not until he finds himself having feelings for Kira that he wonders what he has gotten himself into.

Soon Ender and Kira are on the run from Itor, the other agency that wants Kira. The difference between ACRO and Itor is that ACRO will teach her to help where Itor will force her to hurt. Even with his growing feelings for Kira, Ender still knows that he would have to kill Kira before letting her fall into Itor’s greedy hands.

This was the second installment in the ACRO series by Sydney Croft. I really enjoyed the first book, Riding the Storm. I think the world that Croft has built with this series is an interesting one. As paranormal readers know, there is so much out there to choose from, if you come in as a new author you really have to stand out. Croft definitely does that. Though I was a little turned off with how Kira needed sex from someone, no matter who it was, it wasn’t long before I found myself really sympathizing with her. She is a character that has been beaten down so many times, but she keeps getting back up. She protects animals even though her ability to communicate with them has basically ruined her life. She’s a strong character who looks at her gift as exactly that. A gift. After finally finding one man that can satisfy her during her heat, Kira doesn’t want to let him go.

Croft also has some intriguing secondary stories going on. There’s Devlin O’Malley, the man that runs ACRO. A big bomb was dropped on him in this book. There’s also Annika and Creed, the hot couple from Book 1.

I really think this series is going places. I highly recommend paranormal lovers give it a try.

4 out of 5.

This book will be released on Feb 26th. You can pre-order it here.


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6 responses to “Unleashing the Storm by Sydney Croft

  1. Well that’s different! I’ve never read a book where a character is an animal psychic before. I wonder what that’s like?

    The constant mating thing isn’t very appealing to me either but if the story is good I’m willing to over look it (Angela Knight has a similar thing with her werewolf females in their “Burning Moon”.)

    Oh and the guy’s part of the plot sounds a bit like Anne Stuart’s books about the Committe and their members, although they don’t have any paranormal elements. I’ll have to see about picking up the first book in the series. Great review!

  2. I saw these at another blog (forget just where at the moment) and was so intrigued I ordered them both – Riding the Storm and Unleashing the Storm. I’ve already got the first one and I’m waiting for the second!.

  3. This is the first I have heard of this series. It sounds interesting though. I will have to add it to the list. If possible, whose writing style would you compare Croft to?

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