Review: Tempting the Fire by Sydney Croft

EXTREME HEAT. EXTREME HUNGER.


A JUNGLE EDEN ABLAZE WITH TEMPTATION.

Deep in the Brazilian rain forest, a team of Navy SEALs has been nearly wiped out by something sinister and superhuman, sending shock waves through the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives (ACRO). Now ACRO agents Sela Kahne and Marlena West head to the world’s most unforgiving jungle to find and kill a mythical monstrosity with a taste for human blood. But to succeed in their mission, they will need the help of two men, each hiding his own dark secret.

Sela is an expert on cryptozoology with a sideline skill that could prove invaluable: When she makes love to a man, she engulfs his innermost thoughts. Teamed with Marlena, Sela makes contact with the lone SEAL survivor, Chance McCormack. Meanwhile, Logan Mills, the man who rescued Chance, leads his private company on a hunt that has nothing to do with saving lives. Soon, Sela will put her supernatural charms to work on Logan, determined to extract information about the creature they are seeking. But in this sweat-drenched realm of danger and deception, Logan is more than just a passive target. He has the power to lead a highly trained seducer into a jungle without any rules, without any limits—and with no end to the heat.

And this is a very good story.  Whew.  I was worried after my less than happy thoughts about Taming the Fire.  For whatever reason, I didn't enjoy it, so I was skeptical about Tempting the Fire.  (From a money standpoint, it's hard for me to convince myself to spend $15 on a book when I wasn't gung-ho about the previous book, no matter how much I've enjoyed the author's other offerings.)  Tempting the Fire, however, likens back to the first three books of Ms. Croft's series, and the result is scorching. 

We're introduced to new ACRO agent, Sela.  She's an interesting mix of confident and timid.  When she's paired with Marlena for an operation to the Brazilian rain forest, well, Sela believes Marlena will work sexual magic while she uses her smarts to obtain ACRO's desired result.  The mission, of course, isn't that simple.

As we go back and forth between Sela, Marlena, Chance and Logan, we're reunited with Annika and Creed.  [This may have been what Taming the Fire was missing: a core couple from one of the first three books, characters we already knew and were interested in.]  Their relationship has never been easy, though that's part of their charm.  Add Annika's involvement in Sela's and Marlena's mission, and things get dicey quickly.

If you're a fan of the paranormal (and some mighty sexy romance), I wholeheartedly suggest this author.  It's action from the word Go, whether that be on the battlefield or in the bedroom.