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ACRO #4
Taming the Fire
Power. Pleasure. Danger. It doesn't get any hotter than this.
He came to the underground London club for a night of extreme sex play with the enigmatic “Mistress Rik.� But the special agent known as Trance is really on a search-and-rescue mission to keep her alive. Part predator, Ulrika “Rik� Jaegar possesses feral powers that make her a danger to others—and to herself. That’s why the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives (ACRO) wants to recruit her to their side�.To do so, Trance will have to pull off the impossible: capture and control Rik, both woman and beast.
On the run from the deadly agency that changed her into a pleasure-seeking shape-shifter, Rik uses sex to rein in her own raging desires. Operating on pure instinct, she trusts no one…especially the magnificent alpha male with the power to seduce her into submission. An undercover agent with unique hypnotic gifts, Trance is surprised by his instinct to hold Rik and keep her safe—but he has a job to do. And as he hunts her down, as Rik and Trance are thrust into the ultimate game of domination and submission, they’ll enter a place where surrender is their sole hope of survival—and the only thing that can tame the wild beast in both of them.�
He came to the underground London club for a night of extreme sex play with the enigmatic “Mistress Rik.� But the special agent known as Trance is really on a search-and-rescue mission to keep her alive. Part predator, Ulrika “Rik� Jaegar possesses feral powers that make her a danger to others—and to herself. That’s why the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives (ACRO) wants to recruit her to their side�.To do so, Trance will have to pull off the impossible: capture and control Rik, both woman and beast.
On the run from the deadly agency that changed her into a pleasure-seeking shape-shifter, Rik uses sex to rein in her own raging desires. Operating on pure instinct, she trusts no one…especially the magnificent alpha male with the power to seduce her into submission. An undercover agent with unique hypnotic gifts, Trance is surprised by his instinct to hold Rik and keep her safe—but he has a job to do. And as he hunts her down, as Rik and Trance are thrust into the ultimate game of domination and submission, they’ll enter a place where surrender is their sole hope of survival—and the only thing that can tame the wild beast in both of them.�
309 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
29 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Sydney Croft
15books606followersSydney Croft is the alter-ego 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 behind Sydney Croft live in different states and communicate almost entirely through email, though they often get together for conferences and book signings.
The authors behind Sydney Croft live in different states and communicate almost entirely through email, though they often get together for conferences and book signings.
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October 20, 2021
Ulrika (Rik) a reluctant shape shifter and Trance an excedo (super strength and speed) with also hypnotic abilities.
November 29, 2010
Slight Spoilers
3.5/4 stars. This book turned a corner for me overall in the ACRO series, but I have to say that I think the ending fell flat for me, and that led to the 3.5/4 star rating rather than a 4/4.5 star rating.
I had a difficult time warming up to Rik in the beginning of this book. For one, I really disliked her calling Trance "boy", but that is due solely to personal reasons. Additionally, I had a hard time at first picturing her as a sexy, enticing woman, because as she was described as a Dom, and foreign to boot, for whatever reason, my mind imagined her as the butchy foreign female in "Dodgeball". As such, I forced my self to picture her as Heidi Klum so to get a more feminine picture of her in my mind. It helped. :)
I really liked how this book focused on so many different characters, and I was unsure for some time what was driving me more to read with every opportunity I had...was it Trance and Rik, Ryan and Meg (Coco), or Dev and Gabe? Even Marlena's bit had me interested! Overall, I loved the progression of all of these stories. I'm so glad that things really came together for Ryan and Meg, and I'm very enticed and excited to read more about Dev and Gabe. It's been a hard road for Dev, and I'm glad that Oz sent someone special to be in Dev's life. And once I got over my idiosyncracies with Rik, I really liked the development of Trance and Rik as well.
As with all main couples, Trance and Rik had their challenges, they had their very sexy time, they fell in love, and at last, they had another obstacle to overcome in the end. This is where things fell flat for me, though. Everything, right up to the end, had been believable. They overcame some things, discovered that they cared enough about each other to build a true relationship, and then Trance realized something about Rik's past that made it impossible for him to be with her, a huge obstacle. Did I think that they could work through it eventually? Yes. Did I think that they would work through it the way they did? No. He forced her away from him, he wouldn't even reach out to her, but then all of sudden, they just ran into each other, made whoopy (instigated by her), and then he asked her to move in with him. Really??? It seemed like he got over the huge obstacle all of a sudden much too fast.
Anyway, as I said earlier, this book really turned a corner for me, even if I thought the ending was too contrived, too easy. While there were really steamy scenes, and sex was a part of the plot device (as it has been for all the books in this series), the book did not revolve around sex or steamy time, and there was a lot of story and character development. I think that there was a very solid mix of plot and sexy time, and that one didn't dominate for the sake of the other. I'm very interested to see if that will hold true for the remainder of the series.
3.5/4 stars. This book turned a corner for me overall in the ACRO series, but I have to say that I think the ending fell flat for me, and that led to the 3.5/4 star rating rather than a 4/4.5 star rating.
I had a difficult time warming up to Rik in the beginning of this book. For one, I really disliked her calling Trance "boy", but that is due solely to personal reasons. Additionally, I had a hard time at first picturing her as a sexy, enticing woman, because as she was described as a Dom, and foreign to boot, for whatever reason, my mind imagined her as the butchy foreign female in "Dodgeball". As such, I forced my self to picture her as Heidi Klum so to get a more feminine picture of her in my mind. It helped. :)
I really liked how this book focused on so many different characters, and I was unsure for some time what was driving me more to read with every opportunity I had...was it Trance and Rik, Ryan and Meg (Coco), or Dev and Gabe? Even Marlena's bit had me interested! Overall, I loved the progression of all of these stories. I'm so glad that things really came together for Ryan and Meg, and I'm very enticed and excited to read more about Dev and Gabe. It's been a hard road for Dev, and I'm glad that Oz sent someone special to be in Dev's life. And once I got over my idiosyncracies with Rik, I really liked the development of Trance and Rik as well.
As with all main couples, Trance and Rik had their challenges, they had their very sexy time, they fell in love, and at last, they had another obstacle to overcome in the end. This is where things fell flat for me, though. Everything, right up to the end, had been believable. They overcame some things, discovered that they cared enough about each other to build a true relationship, and then Trance realized something about Rik's past that made it impossible for him to be with her, a huge obstacle. Did I think that they could work through it eventually? Yes. Did I think that they would work through it the way they did? No. He forced her away from him, he wouldn't even reach out to her, but then all of sudden, they just ran into each other, made whoopy (instigated by her), and then he asked her to move in with him. Really??? It seemed like he got over the huge obstacle all of a sudden much too fast.
Anyway, as I said earlier, this book really turned a corner for me, even if I thought the ending was too contrived, too easy. While there were really steamy scenes, and sex was a part of the plot device (as it has been for all the books in this series), the book did not revolve around sex or steamy time, and there was a lot of story and character development. I think that there was a very solid mix of plot and sexy time, and that one didn't dominate for the sake of the other. I'm very interested to see if that will hold true for the remainder of the series.
May 11, 2009
5 stars � Paranormal Romance/Erotica
The ACRO series by Sydney Croft, which is an alias for the powerhouse author team of Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler, is a truly inventive, intensely thrilling, and deeply erotic paranormal romance series. The ACRO, Agency for Covert Rare Operatives, series centers on superheroes/heroines with paranormal abilities/powers battling it out with uber-villains to save the world, while having lots of steamy hot sex in the process. ACRO agents use their enhanced abilities and powers for the greater good and battle Itor and other evil agencies who want to twist things for their own gain and of course engage in the usual end-of-the-world scenarios. I’m a big fan of this phenomenal series and waited anxiously for “Taming the Fire�, and it did not disappoint.
Like all the previous books in the series, “Taming the Fire� features great writing, intriguing, well-developed characters, exciting action, a clever plot, witty, sexy dialogue, and erotic romance so sizzling that it actually scorches the pages.
This time around, ACRO tasks special agent known simply as Trance, who’s an excedosapien (inhuman reflexes, eyesight, speed, strength, and healing ability) with a hypnotic gift of the eyes (hence the name Trance) to go undercover at an extreme BDSM club in London to capture a former enemy operative, wolf shape shifter Ulrika “Rik� Jaegar, who’s now on the run and hiding out there from the evil agency Itor that tortured and experimented on her to make her into a monster/weapon to use at their disposal. Rik’s feral powers are a danger to herself and others, so ACRO needs to find and recruit her (by force if necessary) before Itor does, and Trance is just the Excedo-man for the job!
“Taming the Fire� has quite a bit of extreme BDSM activity. Trance has a history as a Dom but has to relinquish his usual restraint and self-control to masquerade as a submissive in order to ensnare Ulrika since she’s hiding out from deadly Itor by posing as the Dominatrix “Mistress Rik�. Soon the tables are completely turned and it’s a battle of wills as to who exactly will be the one doing the submitting. The scenes with Trance and Ulrika are intense, dramatic, and smoldering. Trance desires love, but has long resigned to never finding a woman who he can truly be himself with out of fear of his dangerous strength, which is why he insists on being a Dom to maintain control. Rik longs for someone to trust and love, but has lost faith after enduring unspeakable abuse and fears losing control to her inner wolf. Can they heal each other by surrendering to the undeniable passion that ignites between them and find love in the process?
Most of the previous characters make appearances in “Taming the Fire� and animal whisperer Kira and Excedo Tom “Ender� Knight from “Unleashing the Storm�, two of my favorite characters of the series, play a vital role in this. There’s also a new romantic interest introduced for ACRO leader Devlin, who’s still mourning the loss of his lover Oz, named Gabriel, who’s a volatile, reluctant new recruit. I imagine there’s a lot more to come on that front in the future ACRO ‘Fire� books.
“Taming the Fire� is a smokin� hot addition to the action-packed, kick-butt, spellbinding, erotic ACRO series! I can’t wait for more from this awesome series! 5 stars!
The ACRO series by Sydney Croft, which is an alias for the powerhouse author team of Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler, is a truly inventive, intensely thrilling, and deeply erotic paranormal romance series. The ACRO, Agency for Covert Rare Operatives, series centers on superheroes/heroines with paranormal abilities/powers battling it out with uber-villains to save the world, while having lots of steamy hot sex in the process. ACRO agents use their enhanced abilities and powers for the greater good and battle Itor and other evil agencies who want to twist things for their own gain and of course engage in the usual end-of-the-world scenarios. I’m a big fan of this phenomenal series and waited anxiously for “Taming the Fire�, and it did not disappoint.
Like all the previous books in the series, “Taming the Fire� features great writing, intriguing, well-developed characters, exciting action, a clever plot, witty, sexy dialogue, and erotic romance so sizzling that it actually scorches the pages.
This time around, ACRO tasks special agent known simply as Trance, who’s an excedosapien (inhuman reflexes, eyesight, speed, strength, and healing ability) with a hypnotic gift of the eyes (hence the name Trance) to go undercover at an extreme BDSM club in London to capture a former enemy operative, wolf shape shifter Ulrika “Rik� Jaegar, who’s now on the run and hiding out there from the evil agency Itor that tortured and experimented on her to make her into a monster/weapon to use at their disposal. Rik’s feral powers are a danger to herself and others, so ACRO needs to find and recruit her (by force if necessary) before Itor does, and Trance is just the Excedo-man for the job!
“Taming the Fire� has quite a bit of extreme BDSM activity. Trance has a history as a Dom but has to relinquish his usual restraint and self-control to masquerade as a submissive in order to ensnare Ulrika since she’s hiding out from deadly Itor by posing as the Dominatrix “Mistress Rik�. Soon the tables are completely turned and it’s a battle of wills as to who exactly will be the one doing the submitting. The scenes with Trance and Ulrika are intense, dramatic, and smoldering. Trance desires love, but has long resigned to never finding a woman who he can truly be himself with out of fear of his dangerous strength, which is why he insists on being a Dom to maintain control. Rik longs for someone to trust and love, but has lost faith after enduring unspeakable abuse and fears losing control to her inner wolf. Can they heal each other by surrendering to the undeniable passion that ignites between them and find love in the process?
Most of the previous characters make appearances in “Taming the Fire� and animal whisperer Kira and Excedo Tom “Ender� Knight from “Unleashing the Storm�, two of my favorite characters of the series, play a vital role in this. There’s also a new romantic interest introduced for ACRO leader Devlin, who’s still mourning the loss of his lover Oz, named Gabriel, who’s a volatile, reluctant new recruit. I imagine there’s a lot more to come on that front in the future ACRO ‘Fire� books.
“Taming the Fire� is a smokin� hot addition to the action-packed, kick-butt, spellbinding, erotic ACRO series! I can’t wait for more from this awesome series! 5 stars!
September 10, 2015
3.75/4 Stars
At the beginning of this book I liked Trance a lot. The glimpses we get into his mind and his feelings made me feel for him from page 1. However, when we started to throw Rik into the mix, I didn't like her at all at the start. Their relationship eventually develops, and I went through ups and downs between liking them and not liking them. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that some of their sex scenes were just not for me. Maybe it's just that I didn't like Rik 100%. I did feel bad for her and how she's had to live her life. The twist at the end of who she had actually killed I thought was a pretty hard thing to recover from, and I was a bit thrown off about how easy it was after so much tension for things to patch up and for them to end up together. Also, I didn't like that after the collar came off, Rik's personality changed completely.
That being said, I love the secondary characters. After Oz's death in the previous book I couldn't imagine Dev being with anyone else. But, as Oz promised, he has sent someone new for him. Gabe. I just loved Gabe. And did I mention that he has the coolest power!?!? Invisibility. Except he can't control it well. When Dev was watching Gabe and Annika training and Gabe went invisible and next thing Dev feels is hands caressing him.... I almost died. And Gabe is determined, as is Oz and Marlena, to make sure they are together. I wanted to read more and more about these two!
Marlena.... what can I say? Even though she plays a small role in this book, we get a glimpse of what her life is like and the curse that she has. I do want to read the next book as it is her in her new role as a Seducer. Will be interesting to see how that will play in with her curse.
Ryan and Meg were sooo cute. Compared to all the other couples in this series they might be considered a bit normal and vanilla, but there was so much emotion there. It was sweet to see Ryan's memories come back, or how his feelings would show through even when he couldn't remember a thing. And this also ties in ML, who I wouldn't mind reading more about.
Not a lot of action in this book, plenty of sex, there is BDSM, some light, some a bit more extreme, and yes, some m/m. Other ACRO operatives made cameos in this book: Kira, Ender, Wyatt, Faith, Creed and Annika.
At the beginning of this book I liked Trance a lot. The glimpses we get into his mind and his feelings made me feel for him from page 1. However, when we started to throw Rik into the mix, I didn't like her at all at the start. Their relationship eventually develops, and I went through ups and downs between liking them and not liking them. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that some of their sex scenes were just not for me. Maybe it's just that I didn't like Rik 100%. I did feel bad for her and how she's had to live her life. The twist at the end of who she had actually killed I thought was a pretty hard thing to recover from, and I was a bit thrown off about how easy it was after so much tension for things to patch up and for them to end up together. Also, I didn't like that after the collar came off, Rik's personality changed completely.
That being said, I love the secondary characters. After Oz's death in the previous book I couldn't imagine Dev being with anyone else. But, as Oz promised, he has sent someone new for him. Gabe. I just loved Gabe. And did I mention that he has the coolest power!?!? Invisibility. Except he can't control it well. When Dev was watching Gabe and Annika training and Gabe went invisible and next thing Dev feels is hands caressing him.... I almost died. And Gabe is determined, as is Oz and Marlena, to make sure they are together. I wanted to read more and more about these two!
Marlena.... what can I say? Even though she plays a small role in this book, we get a glimpse of what her life is like and the curse that she has. I do want to read the next book as it is her in her new role as a Seducer. Will be interesting to see how that will play in with her curse.
Ryan and Meg were sooo cute. Compared to all the other couples in this series they might be considered a bit normal and vanilla, but there was so much emotion there. It was sweet to see Ryan's memories come back, or how his feelings would show through even when he couldn't remember a thing. And this also ties in ML, who I wouldn't mind reading more about.
Not a lot of action in this book, plenty of sex, there is BDSM, some light, some a bit more extreme, and yes, some m/m. Other ACRO operatives made cameos in this book: Kira, Ender, Wyatt, Faith, Creed and Annika.
June 14, 2015
The fourth book in the ACRO series and as the others Taming the Fire had three stories running.
The main story involved Trance, an excedo (super strength and speed) with a touch of hypnotic abilities and Ulrika (Rik) who was a shape shifter. Rik's family and clan were captured by Itor and after years of experimentation, she was the only surviving member. Itor turned her (in werewolf form) into an assassin. Rik was on the run from Itor when this book begins and ACRO has sent Trance to bring her in. ;-)
Trance was formerly into BDSM and had to return to "that world" in order to get close to Rik who needed BDSM to control her werewolf. Some of the scenes between them in the beginning had me raising my eyebrows, so be prepared...
The second story that flowed throughout Taming... brought back the double agent, Ryan. He is first mentioned in an earlier book(s) when his cover is blown and he falls off the ACRO radar. ACRO assumed he was killed by Itor, but he resurfaces here. His memory has been scrubbed and he is left with new (fake) memories of a BDSM fettish and believed he liked to hurt women. He re-encounters Meg, a computer genius that he chatted with before the mind scrub. Though they never officially met, prior to this book, they worked up a lot of sexual tension via Internet chatting. I liked Meg. She was such a neat character. I feel, we may see more of her brother, Mose, too.
The third story was a continuation of Devlin (Dev) and his lovelife as a bi-sexual. His saga has flowed throughout the series and, so far, he has not settled down into a happily ever after. Fortunately, his portion of the books are relatively small. I'm not a fan of male-male romance, but the small amount of time spent on his love life was not a problem for me. The scenes are not graphic, but I felt his emotions and torment.
Dev is the head of ACRO and has an ongoing sexual relationship with his secretary, Marlena. Marlena's character grows here and she is supposed to be one of the main characters in the next book. Her curse is she will fall in love with any MAN she has sex with. Naturally, she loved Dev, but knew he preferred men to women. She realized she can't take it anymore and changes departments. I was rolling my eyes at the department she chose to move to. Oh boy!
Dev may have met the "love of his life" here, but they have a lot to work out. So, he'll be rolling through another book in this series...
There are other characters from earlier books popping in and out of Taming.... Kira, Ender and Anika appear frequently. Faith and Wyatt have miner rolls, but nice to get an update on their lives.
In the previous books of this series, the characters start having sex right away. This one, they don't go "all the way" until the ending, allowing for a lot of sexual tension to build. I liked that. The suspense was good, some twists and turns here and there. All characters were likable and developed well. But I thought, at times, the writing stopped and started too abruptly. Scene changes weren't smooth and I felt it was more obvious that two different people were writing. There were times when a scene would end and pick right back up with recaps of what just happened, which I find annoying as heck.
The main story involved Trance, an excedo (super strength and speed) with a touch of hypnotic abilities and Ulrika (Rik) who was a shape shifter. Rik's family and clan were captured by Itor and after years of experimentation, she was the only surviving member. Itor turned her (in werewolf form) into an assassin. Rik was on the run from Itor when this book begins and ACRO has sent Trance to bring her in. ;-)
Trance was formerly into BDSM and had to return to "that world" in order to get close to Rik who needed BDSM to control her werewolf. Some of the scenes between them in the beginning had me raising my eyebrows, so be prepared...
The second story that flowed throughout Taming... brought back the double agent, Ryan. He is first mentioned in an earlier book(s) when his cover is blown and he falls off the ACRO radar. ACRO assumed he was killed by Itor, but he resurfaces here. His memory has been scrubbed and he is left with new (fake) memories of a BDSM fettish and believed he liked to hurt women. He re-encounters Meg, a computer genius that he chatted with before the mind scrub. Though they never officially met, prior to this book, they worked up a lot of sexual tension via Internet chatting. I liked Meg. She was such a neat character. I feel, we may see more of her brother, Mose, too.
The third story was a continuation of Devlin (Dev) and his lovelife as a bi-sexual. His saga has flowed throughout the series and, so far, he has not settled down into a happily ever after. Fortunately, his portion of the books are relatively small. I'm not a fan of male-male romance, but the small amount of time spent on his love life was not a problem for me. The scenes are not graphic, but I felt his emotions and torment.
Dev is the head of ACRO and has an ongoing sexual relationship with his secretary, Marlena. Marlena's character grows here and she is supposed to be one of the main characters in the next book. Her curse is she will fall in love with any MAN she has sex with. Naturally, she loved Dev, but knew he preferred men to women. She realized she can't take it anymore and changes departments. I was rolling my eyes at the department she chose to move to. Oh boy!
Dev may have met the "love of his life" here, but they have a lot to work out. So, he'll be rolling through another book in this series...
There are other characters from earlier books popping in and out of Taming.... Kira, Ender and Anika appear frequently. Faith and Wyatt have miner rolls, but nice to get an update on their lives.
In the previous books of this series, the characters start having sex right away. This one, they don't go "all the way" until the ending, allowing for a lot of sexual tension to build. I liked that. The suspense was good, some twists and turns here and there. All characters were likable and developed well. But I thought, at times, the writing stopped and started too abruptly. Scene changes weren't smooth and I felt it was more obvious that two different people were writing. There were times when a scene would end and pick right back up with recaps of what just happened, which I find annoying as heck.
July 22, 2010
4.5 stars.
I loved this one and book 2 the most. This series is so different from everything else I have been reading, it's very intense. I really got into this book.
What I love about this series, which I usually don't, is the fact that each book tells more than one love story, so we see many romances developing at the same time. I mean, they all happen at the same time. I really enjoy to see so many different point of views because we get to know many character very well.
What can I say? Every book I'm more and more happy with Dev's relationship. I didn't like much Oz, so I didn't care much for them at the beginning. But Gabriel is HOT. I love bad boys and this is definitely one. Although in this installment we get to know him a bit better, and we get to know his secrets, which make me think how they will influence in the future books. Can't wait to read more about them, which I can't believe because I really don't like M/M relationships at all, but I love this one.
Ryan and Coco were amazing. I loved how they got to know by hacking each others computers, it was so sweet,lol. And then he lost his memory and only remembered her. I really loved them, since the beginning. They were the couple I like the most in this book.
Rik and Trance, well, didn't care that much about them. I didn't like the beginning at all, sorry but I really don't like the whole BDSM thing. So the first half of the book when they were at that, well, not for me. But then they get through that and the story gets so much better because we see how he helps her to get through all her problems. I don't care
Overall, loved the whole book. I definitely recommend this series, even for those who don't like the genre erotica because it is really, really good.
I loved this one and book 2 the most. This series is so different from everything else I have been reading, it's very intense. I really got into this book.
What I love about this series, which I usually don't, is the fact that each book tells more than one love story, so we see many romances developing at the same time. I mean, they all happen at the same time. I really enjoy to see so many different point of views because we get to know many character very well.
What can I say? Every book I'm more and more happy with Dev's relationship. I didn't like much Oz, so I didn't care much for them at the beginning. But Gabriel is HOT. I love bad boys and this is definitely one. Although in this installment we get to know him a bit better, and we get to know his secrets, which make me think how they will influence in the future books. Can't wait to read more about them, which I can't believe because I really don't like M/M relationships at all, but I love this one.
Ryan and Coco were amazing. I loved how they got to know by hacking each others computers, it was so sweet,lol. And then he lost his memory and only remembered her. I really loved them, since the beginning. They were the couple I like the most in this book.
Rik and Trance, well, didn't care that much about them. I didn't like the beginning at all, sorry but I really don't like the whole BDSM thing. So the first half of the book when they were at that, well, not for me. But then they get through that and the story gets so much better because we see how he helps her to get through all her problems. I don't care
Overall, loved the whole book. I definitely recommend this series, even for those who don't like the genre erotica because it is really, really good.
December 24, 2013
Ulrika is a tortured wild thing on the run. She's been turned from a peaceful loving person to a ravaging beast. The only way she can control the beast is to let her anger come out through punishing males in a BDSM club.
Stop. Yes, she's a dominatrix with an axe to grind with human males. What is it that we say in BDSM? Don't do it angry. Women into Femdom because they want revenge on males...F.U.C.K.I.N.G bad idea. But this is a fictional story so this is the way it goes. Not to say this doesn't happen in real life. However, those are the women healthy people stay the hell away from.
The BDSM in this story is pretty hawt from a scene set up perspective. I love bondage through restraints and I really enjoy capture and pursuit themes. The sounding completely caught me off guard and was enjoyable. Is the BDSM in here set up realistic? No. Is this what you would expect in a BDSM club? Eh, not a good one. Still, from a reading perspective, darn panty wetting fun.
The focus of this book isn't the BDSM. It's about betrayal, forgiveness and love. I confess to reading this book out of order so I'm a bit lost with a few of the connections. I did find the storyline interesting and the world building is right up my alley. Paranormal covert agency to combat evil, come on, I'm salivating to read the book already! I'm a sucker for these kinds of themes. To have three separate love interesting going on at the same time just ups the pleasure. I now really want to read the next book, which I fortunately have. I'll be reading that one posthaste.
This paranormal romance is recommended for those who enjoy kinky suspense.
Stop. Yes, she's a dominatrix with an axe to grind with human males. What is it that we say in BDSM? Don't do it angry. Women into Femdom because they want revenge on males...F.U.C.K.I.N.G bad idea. But this is a fictional story so this is the way it goes. Not to say this doesn't happen in real life. However, those are the women healthy people stay the hell away from.
The BDSM in this story is pretty hawt from a scene set up perspective. I love bondage through restraints and I really enjoy capture and pursuit themes. The sounding completely caught me off guard and was enjoyable. Is the BDSM in here set up realistic? No. Is this what you would expect in a BDSM club? Eh, not a good one. Still, from a reading perspective, darn panty wetting fun.
The focus of this book isn't the BDSM. It's about betrayal, forgiveness and love. I confess to reading this book out of order so I'm a bit lost with a few of the connections. I did find the storyline interesting and the world building is right up my alley. Paranormal covert agency to combat evil, come on, I'm salivating to read the book already! I'm a sucker for these kinds of themes. To have three separate love interesting going on at the same time just ups the pleasure. I now really want to read the next book, which I fortunately have. I'll be reading that one posthaste.
This paranormal romance is recommended for those who enjoy kinky suspense.
September 6, 2010
It has been a very long time since I've picked up a book and have read it cover to cover in one day. Taming the Fire was pretty fantastic. A solid 4.5 stars. Not once did I get bored and wonder when the story would pick up. Loved every minute of it!!! Three complete storylines, all characters pulling at my heartstrings from the beginning. I think the authors have done a great job of starting to close out the series. Which is hard to say since each book has better and better and I don't want to end. :( Up until today #3 was my favorite, but now that spot has been take over my #4. And I said it earlier and I'll say it again, I really wish I had a gaurdian angel like that watching over me!!!!
May 25, 2022
by
Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense
4.75 Stars
Loved it!
Grabs you immediately and doesn't let go.
Superbly written.
There is nothing bad to say about this book.
It brings all the characters to life.
It makes you Believe the ACRO world is real & viable.
Genres: Adult, Crime, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense
4.75 Stars
Loved it!
Grabs you immediately and doesn't let go.
Superbly written.
There is nothing bad to say about this book.
It brings all the characters to life.
It makes you Believe the ACRO world is real & viable.
September 19, 2010
The story between Trance and Rik was very interesting and how it evolved. The particular parts of the BDSM was...interesting and weird ~ esp when u have no idea about that kind of stuff!!
i really enjoyed the back story of Dev and Gabe and couldve used more of that! The letter in the car made me cry!
The third couple (which i wont name so i wont spoil anything) was good. I was glad to read about them but as with all these books, I would've liked to read more.
i really enjoyed the back story of Dev and Gabe and couldve used more of that! The letter in the car made me cry!
The third couple (which i wont name so i wont spoil anything) was good. I was glad to read about them but as with all these books, I would've liked to read more.
December 24, 2013
I read this whole ACRO series in 2010. They were all exceptional, five-star reads. If you like FM Paranormal, don't miss this series.
March 28, 2024
Ulrika “Rik� Jaegar, Trance, Ryan Malstrom, Meg, Devlin O'Malley, Gabe
The book is mainly about Rik and Trance, but we do get POVs from the other characters mentioned.
Trance is undercover at a BDSM club to "recruit" Rik to ACRO. Rik and her family were taken by a rival agency and all were killed in their experiments except for Rik. That doesn't mean that her life was better. She was tortured and used by them until she was able to escape.
She doesn't trust people easily, but especially men. She uses dominance to keep her beast at bay, so she doesn't accidentally kill someone. Trance is acting as a sub, but in the past he was a Dom until he gave up that life.
Ryan is after Rik for the rival agency, but he's also trying to figure out what happened in his life prior to 8 months ago. He has amnesia and the only thing he really remembers is the name CoCo (Meg), so he's also trying to figure out who that is to him and hope they can help fill in the gaps.
Devlin is the leader of ACRO and not long ago lost the love of his life. Now besides dealing with the agency. Someone is throwing Gabe into his life.
Overall, I liked this, but I do not like the way the agency "recruits" or how heartless several characters came across.
The book is mainly about Rik and Trance, but we do get POVs from the other characters mentioned.
Trance is undercover at a BDSM club to "recruit" Rik to ACRO. Rik and her family were taken by a rival agency and all were killed in their experiments except for Rik. That doesn't mean that her life was better. She was tortured and used by them until she was able to escape.
She doesn't trust people easily, but especially men. She uses dominance to keep her beast at bay, so she doesn't accidentally kill someone. Trance is acting as a sub, but in the past he was a Dom until he gave up that life.
Ryan is after Rik for the rival agency, but he's also trying to figure out what happened in his life prior to 8 months ago. He has amnesia and the only thing he really remembers is the name CoCo (Meg), so he's also trying to figure out who that is to him and hope they can help fill in the gaps.
Devlin is the leader of ACRO and not long ago lost the love of his life. Now besides dealing with the agency. Someone is throwing Gabe into his life.
Overall, I liked this, but I do not like the way the agency "recruits" or how heartless several characters came across.
October 17, 2018
Everything I’ve come to expect from this ARCO series - action, adventure, intrigue & super-human sexy time PLUS in this book, BDSM! Hellllo! 🙌🏼🙌🏼
Loved it. And I gotta say how fantastic it is that amongst all of those things mentioned above, these talented authors are still heaping doses of emotional feels into each book.
ANND I’m loving the continuity w little snippets featuring couples from past books.
ANNNND the endless weaving of threads of the *still* building sub plot.
On to book 5!
Loved it. And I gotta say how fantastic it is that amongst all of those things mentioned above, these talented authors are still heaping doses of emotional feels into each book.
ANND I’m loving the continuity w little snippets featuring couples from past books.
ANNNND the endless weaving of threads of the *still* building sub plot.
On to book 5!
July 14, 2022
Trance is an ACRO excedosapien with the ability to hypnotize people with eye contact. He’s sent to recruit Ulrika who is an escaped Ikor operative/prisoner whose family believed they shared their bodies with an animal spirit half. After Ikor’s experiments, Rika now has a beastly temper that she needs to control. And how does she control it, you ask? She’s currently employed as a BDSM mistress at a private club which lets the beast exercise her control over and punish humans. Gotta love these odd premises in this series. This book is plenty spicy with lots of power and control issues plus a love story. As silly as the whole thing sounds, I actually enjoyed it. I read the ebook. 3.5/5
March 23, 2016
Review originally posted at .
I’ve really been enjoying this series. It has taken me a while to work my way through the series, but I’ve really been enjoying it. It is sorta of a take on the X-Men. There are people with special abilities of all different kinds. There are different organizations around the world who are seeking out these people for their own reasons. The two biggest groups are ACRO (good guys) and Itor (bad guys).
In this story, Trance has been sent out to try to bring in an escaped and on the run Itor agent. She is a dominatrix. He has a past in the scene, though he hasn’t been in the scene in a long while. Also, he was never a submissive, ever. He even comments about how some doms will submit to another dom so that he/she will know what they submitting on their own submissives, but he would never allow that on himself, until he has to do it for this mission.
Ulrika, “Rik�, uses her dominate nature to help control the beast inside of her. She was captured and forced to become an Itor agent after they captured and killed her entire family. They had other plans for her, but after a few experiments, they decided to use her as an assassin instead. While her family always had an animalistic side, they couldn’t shift, that is until after Itor did their experiments on her.
There are a lot of trust issues between Trance and Rik and for good reason. As you think they are making strides, then something would happen and that trust would dissolve and the pair would back at square one. I think because of these outside influences, it makes their trust between the two to eventually grow even further, though it does take a while.
As per normal for this series, this is not the only romance going on, it is just the main one. There is also the return of Ryan, who meets someone from his past in Meg. Meg and her brother, Mose, grew up Amish. She is now a computer geek who is known for stealing money electronically. Mose does money laundering now. Meg and Ryan have a thing from way back when before Ryan even joined ARCO.
Then there is Dev and a new kid called Gabe. They never give his age, but he does leave the ARCO campus to go to bars, so I assume he must be at least 21. Dev is 36, so I can see why he keeps calling him “kid�, even if that isn’t the case. It is a weird relationship between these two. It is one that they both fight, but can’t seem to at the same time.
As per usual for me lately, it is more of the overall story arc that pulls me into this story than the romance here, especially with this series. This series always seems to have more than one romance going on, so you really have to enjoy the whole story more than the individual romance, at least for me. I’ve really enjoyed the world that they’ve built. While this series has always had more sex in it than the vast majority of PNR on the market, more of paranormal erotica. This one really has more the BDSM aspects, though there are scenes that don’t have those aspects. This series continues to intrigue me. I’m a little sad that I only have a few books left.
I’ve really been enjoying this series. It has taken me a while to work my way through the series, but I’ve really been enjoying it. It is sorta of a take on the X-Men. There are people with special abilities of all different kinds. There are different organizations around the world who are seeking out these people for their own reasons. The two biggest groups are ACRO (good guys) and Itor (bad guys).
In this story, Trance has been sent out to try to bring in an escaped and on the run Itor agent. She is a dominatrix. He has a past in the scene, though he hasn’t been in the scene in a long while. Also, he was never a submissive, ever. He even comments about how some doms will submit to another dom so that he/she will know what they submitting on their own submissives, but he would never allow that on himself, until he has to do it for this mission.
Ulrika, “Rik�, uses her dominate nature to help control the beast inside of her. She was captured and forced to become an Itor agent after they captured and killed her entire family. They had other plans for her, but after a few experiments, they decided to use her as an assassin instead. While her family always had an animalistic side, they couldn’t shift, that is until after Itor did their experiments on her.
There are a lot of trust issues between Trance and Rik and for good reason. As you think they are making strides, then something would happen and that trust would dissolve and the pair would back at square one. I think because of these outside influences, it makes their trust between the two to eventually grow even further, though it does take a while.
As per normal for this series, this is not the only romance going on, it is just the main one. There is also the return of Ryan, who meets someone from his past in Meg. Meg and her brother, Mose, grew up Amish. She is now a computer geek who is known for stealing money electronically. Mose does money laundering now. Meg and Ryan have a thing from way back when before Ryan even joined ARCO.
Then there is Dev and a new kid called Gabe. They never give his age, but he does leave the ARCO campus to go to bars, so I assume he must be at least 21. Dev is 36, so I can see why he keeps calling him “kid�, even if that isn’t the case. It is a weird relationship between these two. It is one that they both fight, but can’t seem to at the same time.
As per usual for me lately, it is more of the overall story arc that pulls me into this story than the romance here, especially with this series. This series always seems to have more than one romance going on, so you really have to enjoy the whole story more than the individual romance, at least for me. I’ve really enjoyed the world that they’ve built. While this series has always had more sex in it than the vast majority of PNR on the market, more of paranormal erotica. This one really has more the BDSM aspects, though there are scenes that don’t have those aspects. This series continues to intrigue me. I’m a little sad that I only have a few books left.
August 8, 2009
Book 4 in the ACRO series and the authors' are maintaining the intensity. This one has two primary plots. In the first, Trance, an excedo with super strength and the ability to hypnotize with a look, has been sent to bring in Ulrika [Rik:] who is an escaped ITOR operative. Rik is a victim - her family destroyed by ITOR as they experimented with them - only she survives and has been mutated into a shapeshifter. ITOR controls her with a collar she has been unable to remove [it contains a bomb among other things:] and she has been running, trying to stay beyond the range of the controller. Rik has been hiding in the BDSM community in London and to meet her Trance tries to play the part of a sub. Through the course of the book, and especially this portion, some very wild sex occurs [several times way beyond my comfort level:]. In the second, Ryan, who was tortured and had his mind scrubbed in an earlier book, is provided with false memories of his life as an ITOR agent and sent out to take or kill Rik. Along the way Ryan kidnaps Meg who is the only person he remembers from his old life but he only remembers her existence, no details. He is hoping she can help him regain his memories and find out if he really is the ugly person that ITOR tells him he is...
The parallel plots of Trace and Rik and Ryan and Meg dominate the book but significant events are occurring at home, as well. The past and the present collide clouding the future... And the next book isn't due out until 2010. Sigh.
Read these in order!
ACRO
Riding the Storm (2007)
Unleashing the Storm (2008)
Seduced by the Storm (2008)
Taming the Fire (2009)
and another called Tempting The Fire is scheduled for 2010
The parallel plots of Trace and Rik and Ryan and Meg dominate the book but significant events are occurring at home, as well. The past and the present collide clouding the future... And the next book isn't due out until 2010. Sigh.
Read these in order!
ACRO
Riding the Storm (2007)
Unleashing the Storm (2008)
Seduced by the Storm (2008)
Taming the Fire (2009)
and another called Tempting The Fire is scheduled for 2010
October 14, 2010
This one is about three love stories, like the other books. First there's Rik and Trance. She's a shapeshifter that been used and abused by an evil agency. He's sent to bring her in to the good side. I liked the story, but not as much as the others. Trance was a dick and made me cry. The next love story is Dev and Gabriel. When Oz died he told Dev to watch out for a man who would need him and he would need Gabriel. Dev fights his feeling - which is fine because he really loved Oz - but it takes him forever to acknowledge that he has feeling for Gabriel. And poor Gabriel, Dev says such awful things to him. And then Ryan and Meg, he was caught by the evil agency and his memory was scraped. Meg had an online romance with Ryan, they fell in love, were supposed to meet in person and then he chickened out so she stole a lot of money from him. Now 5 years later, all he can remember is her and he wants her to help him remember who he was. Another of those yo-yo love stories.
I'm going to give this book 3.5 stars because I didn't enjoy it as much as the others, but it was still really good.
I'm going to give this book 3.5 stars because I didn't enjoy it as much as the others, but it was still really good.
January 9, 2011
The writing is excellent, the dialogue is great, and you are sucked into this world of ACRO and spy agents with super powers of all kinds. I wasn't into the BDSM parts, as that's not my thing, but I am invested in the series and want to see it through and learn about all the characters, especially Devlin.
I really enjoyed Trance and Rik as characters. The scenes were smokin hot with them in it. Albeit a bit much for me.
I never knew you could do that with a metal instrument and a penis *shudders*
A few characters make appearances, Creed and Annika, Marlena, Kira and Ender, Wyatt and Faith. I teared up a bit at what happened between Rik and Faith when Rik was under Itor's control and their attack werewolf assassin.
Gabe... I'm not sure yet. I reserve judgement on Gabe and Dev mainly because it seemed to happen so fast, although from the last book to this book has been a year or so. I did, however enjoy OZ delivering Gabe to Dev :wink: it was funny, and heartfelt IMHO
I really enjoyed Trance and Rik as characters. The scenes were smokin hot with them in it. Albeit a bit much for me.
I never knew you could do that with a metal instrument and a penis *shudders*
A few characters make appearances, Creed and Annika, Marlena, Kira and Ender, Wyatt and Faith. I teared up a bit at what happened between Rik and Faith when Rik was under Itor's control and their attack werewolf assassin.
Gabe... I'm not sure yet. I reserve judgement on Gabe and Dev mainly because it seemed to happen so fast, although from the last book to this book has been a year or so. I did, however enjoy OZ delivering Gabe to Dev :wink: it was funny, and heartfelt IMHO
September 13, 2016
3-3.25ish stars for me. Lost a point as this reminded me how much I really don't like Devlin O'Malley. Yes, I'm sorry he lost Oz the way he did but I dislike the whole Marlena storyline - man sucks to be her. I hope she gets her own book with a HEA - hope she wasn't just filler for him. The unnecessary drama Devlin pulled on Trance at the end - what an ass Also Trance couldn't find it in himself to search out Rik and apologize without 'stumbling' upon her. He searched her out to let her know he was pissed though after his chat with Devlin. Bummer as I really really liked Trance up until this point. He didn't even really apologize - the wolf did all the work!?! Ryan groveled more to Meg than Trance to Rik and he was a side character.
September 20, 2010
Taming the Fire is about ACRO agent Trance and his mission to bring back a former agent of ACRO's opposing agency. Ulrika “Rik� Jaegar is the last of her kind and is on the run after escaping from her captors. Unfortunately she still has the collar used to control her on her neck and lives in fear of feeling a familiar jolt of terror. Trance's mission is to capture her and bring her to ACRO to put her abilities to use. But Trance soon realizes that this mission will be something more.
I liked the first part of this book. And I liked the parts of this book with Dev and Gabriel. But I felt like something was missing with this book. I really didn't care much about Trance and Ulrika and they didn't seem to me like their relationship was as believable as previous couples in the series. But it was decent enough for me to finish the book and still want to continue the series. I would just have to say that this was probably my least favorite in it though.
I liked the first part of this book. And I liked the parts of this book with Dev and Gabriel. But I felt like something was missing with this book. I really didn't care much about Trance and Ulrika and they didn't seem to me like their relationship was as believable as previous couples in the series. But it was decent enough for me to finish the book and still want to continue the series. I would just have to say that this was probably my least favorite in it though.
September 1, 2010
Wow. I am worn out. Do any of these ACRO books NOT take you through every emotion you possess within your soul? I had read a few reviews of this book and saw that several people did not like this book as much as the others in the series. However, I have to say that I did. I loved the main story, and the side stories of the other couples were so sweet and heartwarming. But the main characters, Trance and Rik? OMG!!! I cried so hard. They tore me apart. The story was so full of intrigue and tragedy. Event after event piling on you, taking you through emotion after emotion. The characters were so well written, so real. I felt like I had fought tooth and nail, clawed my way to this HEA and loved it when I finally arrived there.
This series is so very well written. The stories are so amazing and draw you into this fabulous world that keeps you on the edge of your seat and anxious about turning that page. Loved it!
This series is so very well written. The stories are so amazing and draw you into this fabulous world that keeps you on the edge of your seat and anxious about turning that page. Loved it!
April 5, 2011
OMG...I love you guys for reccomending this series....I am addicted...
I do not want to do spoilers....But Ryan is found and ohhhh so glad....Trance is sent on a mission...We just met him briefly last book. To bring in Ulrika/aka Rik This is one sizzling romantic story....I have never really delved into Bondage and SM and if this would bother you....this is warning....I as a grammy learned more than I ever cared to but it was not repulsive....LOl
The way these characters are inter twined I love it....Oz is trying to fulfill his promise to Devlin....Ohhh Gabriel...Wowza
Next book is Marlena...She is cursed by her sister to fall in love with every man she is with and no one will ever love her....Nice sister???? Cannot wait to see if this can be reversed....
If you have not read this series....YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING!!!!!
I do not want to do spoilers....But Ryan is found and ohhhh so glad....Trance is sent on a mission...We just met him briefly last book. To bring in Ulrika/aka Rik This is one sizzling romantic story....I have never really delved into Bondage and SM and if this would bother you....this is warning....I as a grammy learned more than I ever cared to but it was not repulsive....LOl
The way these characters are inter twined I love it....Oz is trying to fulfill his promise to Devlin....Ohhh Gabriel...Wowza
Next book is Marlena...She is cursed by her sister to fall in love with every man she is with and no one will ever love her....Nice sister???? Cannot wait to see if this can be reversed....
If you have not read this series....YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING!!!!!
April 25, 2014
Too many turn offs in this book for me to truly enjoy it.
Mistress Rik reminded me of Nurse Diesel from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Calling Trance 'boy' and walking around in her whips and chains and German accent. Nope, couldn't do it.
Ryan the resurrected superspy and Meg the virginal, Amish computer geek super-thief. Nope, couldn't do it. (Aside from the fact that as a couple they become 'Meg Ryan', which is infinitely worse than the 'Bennifer' phenomenon.)
Dev and Gabriel. Nope, not that one either.
The ending was a letdown. Of course but does it have to be the last 30 pages of the story? What's the point of this? Any extra angsty spot before we can end on a happy note of BDSM love and chains?
Mistress Rik reminded me of Nurse Diesel from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Calling Trance 'boy' and walking around in her whips and chains and German accent. Nope, couldn't do it.
Ryan the resurrected superspy and Meg the virginal, Amish computer geek super-thief. Nope, couldn't do it. (Aside from the fact that as a couple they become 'Meg Ryan', which is infinitely worse than the 'Bennifer' phenomenon.)
Dev and Gabriel. Nope, not that one either.
The ending was a letdown. Of course but does it have to be the last 30 pages of the story? What's the point of this? Any extra angsty spot before we can end on a happy note of BDSM love and chains?
September 19, 2011
4.5 stars..***MILD SPOILERS***
They say there can be a whole lot of pleasure in a little bit of pain. Taming the Fire, the 4th installment of he ACRO series, confirms as much. Meet Trance, former Army MP, now ACRO agent. Trance, an excedosapien, possesses extraordinary strength and the ability to hypnotise. As Maroon 5 would say, "look into his eyes and he'll own you.." Trance isn't new the underground BDSM scene, though for this mission, he must step out of his comfort zone. Trance must pose as a Sub. Something this alpha Dom won't find easy to do. That is until he sets his eyes on his target, or "Mistress Rik" as it were.
continue reading my review at
They say there can be a whole lot of pleasure in a little bit of pain. Taming the Fire, the 4th installment of he ACRO series, confirms as much. Meet Trance, former Army MP, now ACRO agent. Trance, an excedosapien, possesses extraordinary strength and the ability to hypnotise. As Maroon 5 would say, "look into his eyes and he'll own you.." Trance isn't new the underground BDSM scene, though for this mission, he must step out of his comfort zone. Trance must pose as a Sub. Something this alpha Dom won't find easy to do. That is until he sets his eyes on his target, or "Mistress Rik" as it were.
continue reading my review at
September 12, 2012
Another interesting read in this series. I read this book in pretty much one sitting, and when I was finished I wondered why I waited so long to read it. For fans of this series, this one was just as good as the previous books, and I enjoyed all the new characters and catching up with some old favourites.
March 9, 2011
It took me a bit to get 'into' the main couple but after a few pages I was hooked..again, what is it with these books? there just awesome! love the Gabe/Dev storyline and my girl Annika finally getting in touch with her feelings..Yay!
January 27, 2012
Loved it! Another great read, from this fantastic series.
October 12, 2018
4 - 4.5 Stars
Contains a few minor spoilers
One of the best aspects of this story was that their was a decent plot, and the sex didn't overpower it like it did in Book 2 (my least favourite book). Book 2 had too much sex in it and wasn't interesting to read because it just overshadowed the whole story. I'm so glad the writers decided to tone things down and also make the effort to make the plot engaging, because it was. And it made it a more enjoyable read :)
There were many elements that I liked about this book. But, there was a lot that happened, so I'm going to break this review down into sections.
1. Firstly, the "main" characters that featured in this book were Trance and Ulrika 'Rik' Jaegar. I had a few pet peeves that I didn't like at the beginning of this book, one being Rik calling Trance "boy" as a term during sex when being the 'dominatrix'. Also, I just didn't like the way it began; it felt disjointed and a bit uncomfortable to read... especially because Trance thought that "there was nothing safe, sane or consensual" about what they were doing.
Having said that, things did pick up. It was interesting to see in the beginning how Trance being a Dom himself, had to submit to Rik as he was on a mission to bring her in. What happened to her wasn't a secret to the reader and we knew right off that bat that she was running for Itor, because they experimented on her and mutated her genes enough for her to now transform into a wolf, who due to long-term abuse and neglect was feral and dangerous� and she wasn't able to control that side of her. Also, really interesting that she had a collar around her throat which she couldn't take off, as it would otherwise explode, and it was a way for Itor to track her. (That storyline, coincided/overlapped with Ryan which had an unexpected twist). After that, things picked up pretty quick, and it was interesting to read how Rik fell for Trance, but when it finally came out that he was an undercover ACRO agent.. lets just say all hell broke loose. And damn Aneeka, I love her! It was great seeing her appear.
Anyways, once Rik is brought to HQ there's so many angst moments between her and Trance, and just as you think things are going perfectly, there's a huge twist which leaves them both devastated. The thing is, this story obviously ends in a HEA for this couple, but the ending was very abrupt and sudden. Trance was so confused and deeply disturbed by the actions that had transpired with Rik when she was with Itor, that the last 20% of the book, he just couldn't see him having a future with her. And then literally, in the last 1% of the book, they unexpectedly meet, and he just declares his love for her and everything's supposed to be okay? � BULLSHIT! Come on, things were going so well in this story, and you had to end it like that? Please make it more realistic.
2. Now onto the second part/ feature of this story - Ryan and Meg (aka, Coco). They were another couple who featured throughout this book. Ryan was an undercover ACRO agent who was spying on Itor but was found (which I'm sure was mentioned in Book 2 or 3). Itor then had his memories erased so he couldn't remember anything, apart from what Itor had told him. But, he kept having a strong feeling and memory associated to a woman called Coco, who we later find out is a hacker called Meg. Before he joined ACRO they fell in love through online dating, but due to confusion and some reckless and rash actions their "relationship" (not sure that's the right word, but what the heck) fell apart, and Meg never heard from Ryan again. Throughout this book we see Ryan come to terms with who he really is, and try and overcome the mindwash Itor put him through and recover his memories, as well as his feeling for Meg.
3. Lastly, the third couple to feature in this book (yes I know soo many couples and storylines) is Dev and Gabe. So Gabe is basically a new recruit and new character who is introduced, and he is Dev's love interest, and seems to be sent by Oz (who is Dev's deceased lover). Their story/ relationship seems like it has a long way to go, but theres a mystery surrounding Gabe's powers, as well as why Oz sent him and how. But Dev and Gabe have this intense attraction and sexual relationship.
Okay, phew so that's done. The main problem I had with this story was that there were toooooo many storylines going on at once. It would have been better to flesh out one couple completely, or have the Trance/Rik storyline and Ryan/Meg storyline. Yes Gabe and Dev are interesting and may later play a crucial role in this story arch but then they perhaps should've just thought about not including Ryan here. I don't know, but there were just too many things happening, and it kept switching back and forth. Even though its not that difficult to catch up, I found it irritating.
Contains a few minor spoilers
One of the best aspects of this story was that their was a decent plot, and the sex didn't overpower it like it did in Book 2 (my least favourite book). Book 2 had too much sex in it and wasn't interesting to read because it just overshadowed the whole story. I'm so glad the writers decided to tone things down and also make the effort to make the plot engaging, because it was. And it made it a more enjoyable read :)
There were many elements that I liked about this book. But, there was a lot that happened, so I'm going to break this review down into sections.
1. Firstly, the "main" characters that featured in this book were Trance and Ulrika 'Rik' Jaegar. I had a few pet peeves that I didn't like at the beginning of this book, one being Rik calling Trance "boy" as a term during sex when being the 'dominatrix'. Also, I just didn't like the way it began; it felt disjointed and a bit uncomfortable to read... especially because Trance thought that "there was nothing safe, sane or consensual" about what they were doing.
Having said that, things did pick up. It was interesting to see in the beginning how Trance being a Dom himself, had to submit to Rik as he was on a mission to bring her in. What happened to her wasn't a secret to the reader and we knew right off that bat that she was running for Itor, because they experimented on her and mutated her genes enough for her to now transform into a wolf, who due to long-term abuse and neglect was feral and dangerous� and she wasn't able to control that side of her. Also, really interesting that she had a collar around her throat which she couldn't take off, as it would otherwise explode, and it was a way for Itor to track her. (That storyline, coincided/overlapped with Ryan which had an unexpected twist). After that, things picked up pretty quick, and it was interesting to read how Rik fell for Trance, but when it finally came out that he was an undercover ACRO agent.. lets just say all hell broke loose. And damn Aneeka, I love her! It was great seeing her appear.
Anyways, once Rik is brought to HQ there's so many angst moments between her and Trance, and just as you think things are going perfectly, there's a huge twist which leaves them both devastated. The thing is, this story obviously ends in a HEA for this couple, but the ending was very abrupt and sudden. Trance was so confused and deeply disturbed by the actions that had transpired with Rik when she was with Itor, that the last 20% of the book, he just couldn't see him having a future with her. And then literally, in the last 1% of the book, they unexpectedly meet, and he just declares his love for her and everything's supposed to be okay? � BULLSHIT! Come on, things were going so well in this story, and you had to end it like that? Please make it more realistic.
2. Now onto the second part/ feature of this story - Ryan and Meg (aka, Coco). They were another couple who featured throughout this book. Ryan was an undercover ACRO agent who was spying on Itor but was found (which I'm sure was mentioned in Book 2 or 3). Itor then had his memories erased so he couldn't remember anything, apart from what Itor had told him. But, he kept having a strong feeling and memory associated to a woman called Coco, who we later find out is a hacker called Meg. Before he joined ACRO they fell in love through online dating, but due to confusion and some reckless and rash actions their "relationship" (not sure that's the right word, but what the heck) fell apart, and Meg never heard from Ryan again. Throughout this book we see Ryan come to terms with who he really is, and try and overcome the mindwash Itor put him through and recover his memories, as well as his feeling for Meg.
3. Lastly, the third couple to feature in this book (yes I know soo many couples and storylines) is Dev and Gabe. So Gabe is basically a new recruit and new character who is introduced, and he is Dev's love interest, and seems to be sent by Oz (who is Dev's deceased lover). Their story/ relationship seems like it has a long way to go, but theres a mystery surrounding Gabe's powers, as well as why Oz sent him and how. But Dev and Gabe have this intense attraction and sexual relationship.
Okay, phew so that's done. The main problem I had with this story was that there were toooooo many storylines going on at once. It would have been better to flesh out one couple completely, or have the Trance/Rik storyline and Ryan/Meg storyline. Yes Gabe and Dev are interesting and may later play a crucial role in this story arch but then they perhaps should've just thought about not including Ryan here. I don't know, but there were just too many things happening, and it kept switching back and forth. Even though its not that difficult to catch up, I found it irritating.
July 9, 2019
2.9 stars
There were a lot of parts I had to skim because they were hard limits for me. The writing is solid although plot points became irritatingly repetitive. If I read something once or twice about a character I didn't need that same info brought up again every time they had the spotlight. But I have to say, out of the three stories that were packed into one, the one that kept my attention the most were the scenes featuring Meg aka Coco, a hacker wanted by every law enforcement agency on the planet, and Ryan an ACRO agent who then went undercover with their nemesis Itor, got caught, had his mind scrubbed, and ended up working for the enemy. Ryan couldn't remember beyond the last eight months of his life, and Coco hated (yet still loved) Ryan because he stood her up, and girlfriend got revenge on a level of petty that was legendary, lol. One other character that I actually felt something for was Marlena. Cursed to fall in love with anyone she slept with while that person ultimately couldn't love her in return...That's kind of a dumb curse because hey, that can happen to anyone who has sex with a person, but okay, whatever. Essentially she's been cursed to be alone. I found her plight interesting in a strange and sad way. As for the main couple, Ulrika, a cryptid or a shapeshifter, and Trance an excedeo, and former Dom with hypnotic powers, they were okay but again, the evolution of their relationship hit the usual formulaic notes.
This book offers plenty of steam and excels at the continuity of its mythology; however at maybe around 70% I was just ready for loose ends to be tied together and cauterized. Needless to say, I enjoyed it for the most part.
There were a lot of parts I had to skim because they were hard limits for me. The writing is solid although plot points became irritatingly repetitive. If I read something once or twice about a character I didn't need that same info brought up again every time they had the spotlight. But I have to say, out of the three stories that were packed into one, the one that kept my attention the most were the scenes featuring Meg aka Coco, a hacker wanted by every law enforcement agency on the planet, and Ryan an ACRO agent who then went undercover with their nemesis Itor, got caught, had his mind scrubbed, and ended up working for the enemy. Ryan couldn't remember beyond the last eight months of his life, and Coco hated (yet still loved) Ryan because he stood her up, and girlfriend got revenge on a level of petty that was legendary, lol. One other character that I actually felt something for was Marlena. Cursed to fall in love with anyone she slept with while that person ultimately couldn't love her in return...That's kind of a dumb curse because hey, that can happen to anyone who has sex with a person, but okay, whatever. Essentially she's been cursed to be alone. I found her plight interesting in a strange and sad way. As for the main couple, Ulrika, a cryptid or a shapeshifter, and Trance an excedeo, and former Dom with hypnotic powers, they were okay but again, the evolution of their relationship hit the usual formulaic notes.
This book offers plenty of steam and excels at the continuity of its mythology; however at maybe around 70% I was just ready for loose ends to be tied together and cauterized. Needless to say, I enjoyed it for the most part.
September 10, 2020
Good series
I hesitated reading this book, even though I like the series, in general, because some of the reviews of the content gave me pause. While it's true that this story dips into bondage and related themes more than I care for, it's always within the context of the story and not gratuitous. I took those parts of the story as part of the character development of the individual characters involved and focused my attention on the relationship building that occurs throughout the book. This book has a lot of content about the other characters besides Rik and Trance and you don't want to skip it if you want to keep the chain of events in order.
I hesitated reading this book, even though I like the series, in general, because some of the reviews of the content gave me pause. While it's true that this story dips into bondage and related themes more than I care for, it's always within the context of the story and not gratuitous. I took those parts of the story as part of the character development of the individual characters involved and focused my attention on the relationship building that occurs throughout the book. This book has a lot of content about the other characters besides Rik and Trance and you don't want to skip it if you want to keep the chain of events in order.
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