Taken by Fire [Paperback]

When I picked this series up it was with a lot of faith in the my fellow reader's Amazon reviews and in Larrisa Ione (one of the two authors of this series, since she was the only one I had read). I do not typically read erotica because of the lack of character development and emotional connection I've frequently seen in the genre. But this series was extremely satisfying on every level. And I am so glad that it isn't going on and on and on like some series (yes, I am talking to your series Kresley Cole)with no end in sight. I love that after 6 books there is a definite and satisfying conclusion to the overarching plot lines in the series, and to all the lesser plot lines too. And that I can now go back and RE-READ it all, visiting my new friends again!

I can't wait to see what the team of Sydney Croft comes out with next. Cause I will be standing in line eagerly awaiting whatever it is they come up with. Great job guys, keep up the good work!

After watching his friend burn to death, ACRO agent Stryker will do anything to find the woman with the pyrokinetic abilities who murdered him. But when he finally catches up to Phoebe, he discovers that she isn't who she seems. Melanie wants nothing to do with the evil organization ITOR that her sister Phoebe is a part of but thanks to a genetic experiment, both women share the same body. Melanie is often left to deal with the aftermath of Phoebe's violent and some times sexual dealings. When Stryker shows up with a knife in hand, Melanie convinces him that she's also a victim of her sister's cruelty and will do anything to help stop ITOR.

Melanie and Phoebe could not be more different. While Phoebe has the skills to set things on fire and thoroughly enjoys doing so, Melanie is capable of making ice and dreams of being able to fall in love. Stryker wants to hate Melanie because she has the face of Phoebe but it soon becomes obvious to him that she is nothing like her sister. She has an innocence to her that appeals to Stryker and makes him want to protect her, even from his fellow ACRO agents who want revenge for their fallen comrade. Part of what made me really like this pairing was how difficult it was for them. They have everything working against them but they take on each obstacle together and give everything they have to make their relationship work. What's the other part that had me liking their relationship? The sex. It's hot, up against the wall and sometimes involving interestingly shaped icicles sex. Aside from the physical part of the act, when they were intimate together there was a passion that would build each time and become more intense as their relationship progressed.

ACRO and ITOR are both secret military type organizations where the agents have different types of psychic abilities. The difference between the two agencies is that ACRO looks to help humanity while ITOR sales its services to the highest bidder. In Taken By Fire, the final installment in the ACRO series, ITOR has devised a plan to violently take over the world and ACRO and the information they can extract from Melanie about their enemy is all that is standing in its way.

All my favorites from the previous books are back for the final chapter. Annika and Creed are about to have a baby and Creed is worried about a deadly prediction his brother Oz made some time before he died. Speaking of Oz, who was also the lover of ACRO leader Dev, he steps in when Dev's new relationship with Gabe is in jeopardy right before his spirit completely crosses over. Both relationships have been dear to me since their beginnings and the authors really toyed with my emotions with uncertainty and possible deaths. Though I would have liked there to be a little more page time for each relationship, I was satisfied with how things ended.

Taken By Fire is everything you'd want a finale of a series to be. The final battle between ACRO and ITOR is everything that it was built up to be and Melanie and Stryker join a fantastic array of relationships after a emotionally and physically painful road. With a decent amount of action mixed in with complicated romance and a lot of steamy sex, Taken By Fire ended up being my favorite book of this series. If you haven't already picked up the ACRO books, I suggest starting at the beginning. There are a couple book in the middle that were less than stellar but overall this was a fast paced, action and smut packed series that I highly enjoyed reading.

For this last installment in the wonderful ACRO series, I'm going to do a little different format for the review. By now, we all know that this is the final showdown with the big bad Alek, head of Itor, and the book had 3 storylines going, our lead couple Stryker and Melanie, Annika and Creed and finally Dev. This review will focus on the characters, their place in this book and the overall series.

Stryker & Melanie

I've been looking forward to Melanie's story for quite awhile and it doesn't disappoint. Melanie shares a body with her sister Phoebe. They are not split personalities, but 2 separate individuals, who have to share a body. Only one person can come out at a time and they are total opposites. Phoebe, to put it very mildly is a total crazy psychopath. She's an agent with Itor, Alek's daughter and wants nothing more than to see ACRO and especially Dev go down in flames. She hates Melanie with a passion and is just a horrible person. Her talent is fire, whereas Melanie's is ice and when Phoebe's in control she's out for blood. Melanie is the sweetest person and has been trapped in a life she desperately wants out of. Phoebe has so many enemies that when Melanie is in control of their body, she can't leave the house for fear of those enemies mistaking her for Phoebe. She has her gift of turning everything and everyone into blocks of ice, but beneath that, she's not a fighter. She longs for a normal life, one with a husband, kids, a career, but with having to share a body with Phoebe she can't risk having any of that. Phoebe would destroy any life Melanie tried to make for herself out of spite.

Enter Stryker. He's out to get Phoebe who killed his partner and when he finally catches up to her, its Melanie he faces. It takes him quite awhile to reconcile the fact that they are 2 very different women and while he's falling in love with Melanie, he still wants to end Phoebe. Melanie teams up with ACRO in the hopes of finding a way to keep Phoebe from taking over permanently. Dev wants to use her to help bring an end to Itor, and I wanted Melanie to just be happy! It's a tough road for Stryker and Melanie, Phoebe does her best to ruin everything for between them and have I mentioned that she is 100% evil? There's one scene specifically that shows the length that Phoebe will go to ruin Melanie. I don't want to spoil the scene, but the total sum of everything she does in that moment shows how full of hate Phoebe is. It was a hard scene to read, and makes it clear that Phoebe has no conscious, no care for anyone if they stand in the way of what she wants.

Stryker and Mel go through a lot of angst, and I wondered throughout most of the book how it was going to be possible for their relationship to work. They're a great couple to cheer for and as is the case in all the previous ACRO books, sex plays a huge role, not only with how it's needed to counter the agents extraordinary abilities, but what starts out as sex by necessity turns into so much more.

Creed & Annika

Hands down, they are my favorite ACRO couple. At one time, I longed for them to have their own full book, but it's almost better that we got their supporting storyline running through the entire series. We had Oz's vision coming to the forefront in this story and their ending was so emotional and perfect, I couldn't have hoped for anything more for this couple. Thinking about where Annika was at the beginning of the series to now being on her way to motherhood, committed to Creed, having a family that includes Dev, she's come a long way. It made me laugh to read about her waddling around when we're so used to her running around and kicking ass.

**********
Annika eyed the couch and then decided that if she sat, she'd be turtled and never get up again.
**********

Creed goes through the emotional wringer in this one. He worries about Oz's vision of Annika, his child's birth, things that happen during the final few scenes and finally losing someone who's very close to him. If ever a couple deserved an HEA, it's Creed and Annika.

Dev & Gabe (& Oz)

Gabe has stuck by Dev through quite a bit, even when Dev couldn't and wouldn't give all of himself to Gabe, he still loved him and waited. Waited for that time when Dev would finally be able to move past the loss of Oz and open himself up to finding love again. Oz played such a wonderful role in this story and was the driving force of finally giving Dev closure and bringing Dev and Gabe together for good. The path was rocky, as it always is, but in their final scene I had tears threatening to fall and was cursing Oz for making me grab the tissues! Dev deals with so much pressure running ACRO and worrying that each decision he makes could lead to being the wrong one for his agents and with Gabe and eventually Melanie, he's found a soft place to land. He's only ever longed for love and family and in the end he's surrounded by it, more than he probably ever hoped he would be. It's of course not easy getting there for him and those around him, but if ever a guy needed some happiness, it's Dev.

While this story focused on Stryker and Melanie and their relationship, the final showdown with Alek and Itor didn't disappoint. We get to see all the ACRO agents in action and they all come out blazing with their special abilities. I also love that we get a really nice final scene, giving us a little bit of info about where each of our favorite ACRO couples are, their families and perhaps if Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler ever give Sydney Croft a chance to spinoff or continue this series, we may have met the next generation of ACRO agents by books end.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 13 reviews  4.8 out of 5 stars