*I received a free copy of Taken by Storm from Harlequin Desire via Author. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
Taken by Storm by Cat Schield Series: Dynasties: Secrets of the A-List #2
Published by Harlequin Desire on June 1, 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 224
Format: eARC
Source: Author
“You don’t believe in romance?
Let me change your mind…”
Concierge Isabel Withers vows to turn The Opulence hotel into Seattle’s top romantic destination. But first she has to convince Shane Adams, her no-nonsense boss, that the project has merit. When a freak storm strands them at the hotel—leading to a night of passion—it more than demonstrates her point! But is the self-proclaimed romance expert in over her head this time?
Taken by Storm is the second installment in the Dynasties: Secrets of the A-List series – a collection of stories each told by a different author. CSchield is a new-to-me author and I was eager to “meet” her as well as continue the story which began in Tempted by Scandal.
Taken by Storm not only continued the overall story, but continued Liam and Teresa’s story as well as delivering the romance between Isabel and Shane. I truly enjoyed watching Isabel and Shane’s romance blossom.
Isabel is the epitome of a romantic. Her job at The Opulence Hotel as the romance concierge capitalizes on those traits. She’s sweet and hard-working but she also has a bite. I admired that she wouldn’t allow herself to be walked on. Shane is rather a workaholic. He doesn’t believe in love or romance and even if he did, he wouldn’t have time for it. So of course it was fun seeing Isabel, who’s had a crush on him forever, change his mind.
The drama between Teresa and Liam continued in much the same way it started. Liam still can’t seem to trust Teresa and his back-and-forth, push-and-pull not only annoyed Teresa. It annoyed me as well. Even the epiphany I had concerning his behavior is wearing thin as an excuse. The author who finishes their story has a tough row to hoe in making me want Teresa to forgive him and wish for his HEA.
I really am liking this series overall and how it’s being told. I’ve never read a story written in this way but these author’s styles – well, Booth’s and Schield’s anyway – flow well together. Taken by Storm was engaging and well-paced. I’m eager to read the next installment.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Brandee is a mom of 3 and a soon-to-be empty nester. She is also an avid reader, a genre omnivore, and a compulsive one-clicker - but she's in recovery. Besides being a reader, she's also a writer and hopes to divide the vast quantities of spare time she'll soon have between reading and finally publishing her first book.
I’ve only read a couple series where a different author takes each book. It is very neat to see them tie the stories together like that. A romance concierge? How cool is that? The other couple sound like they do have som big trouble to deal with.
Ahh Teresa… what a FANTASTIC name for a character lol… I am always intrigued by the idea of one story with multiple authors. Great review!