Taken By Storm by Tamara Mataya Pages: 156`
Published by Swoon Romance on December 2, 2014
Genres: contemporary, Love & Romance, New Adult, Romance
Source: eARC from Publisher
Leilani’s plan was simple: Return for her father’s wedding, housesit for the happy couple while they went on their honeymoon, then get the hell outta dodge. She’d thought the worst thing would be returning to the town she grew up in (and despised). She was wrong.
A flashflood hits the small town, stranding Firefighter, Ryan, and a few strangers at the local bar. Worst of all, Leilani, his old high school rival – and last night’s scorching one-night-stand – is one of the people stuck in the bar. With waters rising, they need to stick together and wait for rescue.
The power grid’s knocked out, and cell phones aren’t working. When the others panic and leave, Leilani and Ryan are left alone in the dark. Fortunately, words aren’t necessary to keep the former rivals warm. But when they’re forced to leave their refuge, they must cooperate to navigate the flood ravaged town and reach safety.
Rising waters bring them closer together. Rising tempers might tear them apart.
Taken by Storm is a standalone new adult book by Tamara Mataya. I have read another two of Tamara’s books, The Best Laid Plans and Just Breathe and I loved both of them. They were hot and steamy and really well developed and everything that I look for in my romance books. I liked Taken by Storm as well, but I didn’t love it as much as I loved the other books. It didn’t feel as full as they did. That may sound weird, but once I was done, I sat back and thought about what it was that made me feel like this one left me wanting a bit more compared to her other two books. The romance was great. I really liked the characters and the natural disaster element was one that I have not encountered in a lot of books. I came away with the realization that I just wanted more book. It wasn’t long enough for me.
Now it may be possible that I am holding this book to a little bit of a high standard because I enjoyed Just Breathe so much, but that is what I have come to expect from Tamara. And Taken by Storm had all the makings of a truly wonderful story, and I really enjoyed reading it. I just wanted like 75-100 more pages. Taken by Storm clocked in at 156 pages, which may really appeal to readers who are looking for a quick romance. I wanted to savor Ryan and Leilani.
But now let’s talk about everything that I loved about Taken by Storm. And there was a lot that I loved. I really liked the history between Ryan and Leilani. They knew each other in high school and throughout the story we get little glimpses into their past, which was pretty cool and let me see how much they each changed in that time. And obviously their chemistry together was great. Tamara Mataya knows how to write fantastic romances. She really does.
Another thing I really liked about Taken by Storm, was the actual storm. It was terrifying to watch all of the damage that the flood did. When everyone was in the restaurant and the wall of water came rushing at them, I was genuinely scared. I felt like I was there with them. The writing felt very real, which made the book hard to put down. It also could be why I breezed through this book and wanted more. Because I read it in one sitting.
Taken by Storm is told in dual narrative, which worked really well with the flow of the story. Especially since Ryan is a fireman and so much of the story deals with him dealing with and handling the disaster. It was really nice that this book was a standalone as well. It was good to break up all the series I have been reading lately with a “one and done” book.
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kindlemom1
I have been meaning to try this author but maybe I should start with one of her other books first since this one wasn’t your favorite.
Great review Michelle!