Taken by Storm (Perfect Storm #1)
By: Mari Carr
Blurb:
There’s a storm coming… and he’s not taking no for an answer.
Life has dealt Kasi one blow after another. Following her mother’s untimely death, her family implodes, leaving her alone to run the farm. Fatigue and stress have become her new best friends, every day passing in a blur of work, work, and more work. When Levi Storm, her lifelong crush, keeps her from face-planting due to exhaustion, she’s mortified…and more than a little bit turned on.
A person could set a clock by Levi’s daily routine, right down to his afternoon trip to the Mills’ farm market to buy one of Kasi’s delicious pies. He’s known Kasi her entire life, so when the beautiful young woman faints in front of him, coming to in his arms, Levi is stunned by the sudden realization that she’s meant to be his, and he’s prepared to move heaven and earth to claim her.
Kasi should at least try to shake the sexy new six-foot-five shadow she’s acquired, but Levi’s much-needed help around the farm, his comfort as she struggles with grief, and his breath-stealing kisses are reigniting the hope and happiness she’s lost.
Until reality crashes in again, forcing her to choose between the dominant, possessive, amazing man who makes her heart race and her family’s beloved farm.
Themes: Contemporary
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review:
We have been dying for this series and the wait is finally over—the Storm is finally arriving and in a big way. If you are a fan of Mari Carr you first met the Storm Clan in the finale of the Italian Stallions series, Kiss and Tell, where Lucy Storm met and fell in love with the men that would change her life forever. With this new series Carr is exploring the Storm family, consisting of seven brothers and their four female cousins, of which one was Lucy, and I for one cannot wait to watch them all find love and see the trouble they get into as they hopefully earn their HEA. The series really kicks off with the oldest brother Levi finally opening his eyes and seeing the woman that has been in front of his eyes for decades in an all-new light and then being up for the fight of his life to convince her that she is his. I love every moment of this story, watching Levi and Kasi circling one another, sniping, tussling, loving, and ultimately challenging one another to be better people. I cannot wait for more in this series and can already tell this one just might be giving her Wild Irish series a run for its money as being one of my favorites.
Kasi Mills is struggling to keep her world moving and her family farm from going under, she truly cannot handle anything else going wrong in her life, but the one bright spot in her days is seeing the gorgeous man she’s crushed on since childhood. Levi Storm is still the man od her dreams, even if her dreams are permanently on hold, so when he rescues her after fainting from exhaustion, she doesn’t want him to see just how much of a hot mess she is. Levi’s life changes forever when he catches Kasi as she passes out, opening his eyes and heart to the woman she has become and flipping a switch in him, and now that his heart has decided she belongs to him there is nothing and no one that will keep him away, not even Kasi herself. Now Levi is putting himself directly in Kasi’s business and forcing her to accept his help, help that she desperately needs even if her pride is hurting to accept it from the sexy man that stole her heart and never really gave it back. Now Kasi has to try to come to terms with the sudden change in her relationship with Levi because the sensual bossy man is not letting her get away, and she is coming to believe she doesn’t want to get away. But with her family’s farm in desperate straights Kasi has to find a solution even if it breaks her heart and forces her to turn Levi away, unless Levi and his family can give her the ultimate resource and give Levi and Kasi the happily-ever after they so greatly deserve.
Oh man I was so NOT prepared for this story, but I loved every single moment of it and let me tell you why. First Levi—PHEW what a hot Dom, even if we didn’t label him as such. This guy is such a sweet stream-roller and I positively loved seeing him taking charge and forcing Kasi to finally take care of herself after so long of neglecting her needs so she could care for others. Levi is obviously one of those men that knows his mind and takes care of business in all aspects of his life, be it personal, professional, or otherwise. When his heart told him that Kasi was his, he wasted not a single second taking charge, despite her protesting, and forcing her to take better care of herself, but he didn’t just give orders, he jumped in a started taking things off her plate, helping her and forcing others to start pulling their weight as well so that she had all the help she needed to finally breathe again. He was sweet, sensual, bossy (in the best ways), caring, tender, sympathetic, adoring, and gave Kasi the time he didn’t really have so that she knew how much he loved and appreciated her. Second, Kasi was the kind of woman that I love, one that doesn’t let anyone really take over her life, even though it might seem like it. While Levi forced her to finally take the help she needed, once she was finally not totally overwhelmed and snowed-under, she began to stand up to him, clashing with him just as much as she let him have his way, and those sparks made their fun times even more passionate. She certainly made mistakes by not being totally honest with him about the scope of her problems, but I respected her for not wanting to burden her lover with her family issues when she didn’t fully understand just how invested he really was. However, I was a little angry with her for not forcing her FAMILY to come to terms with their issues sooner, leaving her alone to handle things, but thankfully everything worked out for the best. Lastly, I loved seeing the way Kasi blended so seamlessly into the Storm family, her long-term friendship with Remi easily shifting into allowing her to be accepted as Levi’s woman and its obvious when these two families blend together the connections will be strong and deep, making the whole Clan even healthier.
Overall, I can say that just like Kasi I was Taken by Storm as I read her love story and watched her lose her heart all over again to Levi and I can definitely see this story being one I will reread often. Kasi Mills is one of those characters that makes you laugh, cry, scream and wish you were her in turns, but in the end, you can see that she grows and changes as she falls in love and finds a way to build a life with the man of her dreams. Levi Storm is definitely a hero for our time, one that reminds us of the good men that are so hard to find, but that unquestionably do still exist, ones that will devote themselves to making their woman’s life better and showing their love and devotion to her while providing and better life for her and their family, whatever it takes. I loved the sparky chemistry between these two as soon as Levi’s eyes were opened to the woman that was always in his life, honestly, I had to hunt up some ice water even in the dead of winter! I cannot wait to see more of these two in future stories because I cannot imagine that passion won’t still be obvious as their relationship continues to grow (baby Levi or Kasi will surely be coming soon!). The next brother to lose his heart and soul to love will be just as fabulous I imagine, and the wait will kill us all as Mari works to build a whole new world of sensuality and fantasy in the hills of Virginia on this amazing farm filled with gorgeous people. Pure gold, Mari.
*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review. No compensation was provided.