Animal whisperer Kira Donovan works at a wildlife refuge taking care of all types of animals. But she has more in common with animals than just being able to communicate with them. Every year, for a certain amount of time, she goes into “heat,” meaning she has to have sex every four hours, or she dies. She takes care of it by hiring farm hands to help her on the refuge, and to help her in bed.

When the two hands she’d hired this year disappear, she’s surprised to find two more on her doorstep, Derek and Tom. She’s immediately attracted to Tom, and fixates on him to help her with her heat. What she doesn’t know is that Tom “Ender” Knight has been sent by ACRO, the Agency for Covert Rare Operatives, to recruit her into their organization. If he can’t do that, he has orders to kill her.

Ender’s been told about Kira’s needs, and he’s ready to do his job, until he meets her. And when he sees Derek, whom he knows is an operative for ITOR, ACRO’s enemy, he knows he has to eliminate him. Then, despite his best efforts, when Kira wobbles on joining ACRO he knows he can’t kill her. But she agrees to go with him to check things out. He just needs to get her there alive, and away from ITOR’s operatives. And they need to survive her heat cycle while they’re on the run from the bad guys.

If you haven’t read any of Sydney Croft’s books in the ACRO series, you’re missing a thrill ride packed with emotion and hot passion. Reading Unleashing the Storm was like visiting old friends. The ACRO bunch is realistic and entertaining, and the fact that they’re trying to save the world makes them that much more attractive to me.

Ender is the ultimate bad boy, carrying around the weight of his job and past deeds. I absolutely adored the way he and Kira blended together, and the way they worked through their problems. It’s one of those books I just couldn’t put down. I loved the first book, Riding the Storm, and now I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the third novel, Seduced by the Storm.

Sydney Croft has crafted a series that is not to be missed. It includes danger, intrigue, romance and sex. What more could a reader ask for? Unleashing the Storm is fantastic, and I am happy to Joyfully Recommend it.