Taken By Storm
Tami Hoag
1992
Bantam Books
The hero of this story, S.T. “Storm” Dalton, won my heart on page one, because Hoag drew him in perfect balance as a romantic lead: rugged and sexy, with a vibrant streak of humility and heart. The reader sees his vulnerability right away, in a deep wound of his own making that only one person—one woman—can heal. Storm spends the better part of the book finding that healing with her, and having a blast doing it.
Yes, he’s a take-charge man, maybe a little bit too much so for some readers. But the thing to keep in mind is that all of his cock-sure moves are executed for one purpose; to prove to Julia McCarver that he has grown out of the fears of his past, and that he is worthy of her love.
What I love most about this book is watching Julia, along with the rest of the world, experience Storm’s ability to rebuff the typical selfish, egocentric, womanizing, opportunistic athlete to show the man he’s become, in several situations. I don’t thing there is anything I didn’t like about this book, except maybe one place where Julia calls Storm “cowboy” too many times in a row.
Finally, their chemistry sizzles. And I don’t mean sex, although there are some well-placed steamy love scenes. Sex is hardly believable, and reads just like bad porn, without real chemistry between the two characters, which Hoag delivers.
While the story begins just after Storm’s retirement from professional football, the reader certainly gets a sense what life on the field was like for him. And if you loved Storm Dalton, you’ll love Jack Cartwright, wide receiver-cum-sports show host in My Brother’s Keeper. And like Storm, he’s been in love with Samantha Griffin since he was 17. Only he’s denied it, because Samantha is his best friend’s baby sister, and the Griffins adopt Jack to get him away from his abusive father and finish high school. But like Storm, Jack is hopeful that he and Samantha can overcome tragedy, along with a dark secret from her past, to finally find the love they’ve denied for so long. Kindle version of the Second Edition only 99 cents Feb 12-14. Read an excerpt here!