This is an extremely fascinating story of suspense, romance and thrill. Alexandra Ivy did an extraordinary job with the plot, the characters and the narration!!

Lovers reunited in the wake of a tragic murder lead to an investigation that could leave their world shaken forever and one or both of them in the grave…or bring them back together for a lifetime of love. Alexandra Ivy returns us to her world of Romantic suspense in the Agency series as we get to know more about the Marcel brothers and their investigative skills. Ash Marcel gave us his shield five years before when his partner was murdered, his fiancée almost killed and his world rocked by a vicious serial killer known as the Chicago butcher. When his brother arrives at his office with the news that a body has surfaced, matching the killer’s MO and looking almost identical to his former fiancée, Ash refuses to let the killer escape justice again or let them have another chance at killing the love of his life. Remi Walsh lost everything five year earlier at the hands of this killer, but when Ash returns and tells her the killer is at it again and her life is in danger, she’s not sure she can handle being around Ash while he protects her and investigates the murders. As the killings become more and more terrifying, Ash and Remi learn more about the past and several truth of their past begin to unravel into the lies they truly were, but the love they had for one another is as strong as ever. Falling back into each other’s arms is a dangerous proposition for them both, but the passion and heat is uncontrollable and becomes too much for them to deny. When the killer gets close enough to make them fear for their lives, Remi and Ash has to decide if they can trust their rebuilt relationship or if he foundation is too rocky to hold together. Because this killer is coming after Remi once and for all, and their lives truly do hang in the balance this time. Ash is the kind of guy that leads every woman to roll their eyes at least once—so protective he will run away instead of sticking close, in some stupid attempt to make it better, which only makes it worse. His brain is certainly a work of art as he works through all of the clues the killer leaves behind, working to unmask them as quickly as possible, but his greatest strength is his heart and determination to protect his loved ones, even if he doesn’t do it in the best ways sometimes. I enjoyed getting to know him and see him as he comes to terms with his pain and found his way back to love with Remi. Remi is the kind of woman that has had to force herself out of her box all her life to get what she wanted, just not fitting in with her mother or her lifestyle and needing to find her own path in life. Losing her father, her fiancée, and almost her life left her on shaky ground, but she has managed to build a pretty decent life for herself despite all that. I loved seeing the way she stood up to Ash and forced him to see the true woman she was, not just who he thought she was all these years. The heat and connection between Ash and Remi was obvious from the beginning and the love was there as well, making this second chance romance sweet and sexy. And just so you know, you will never guess the killer on this one until the very end. I cannot wait for the next book in the series where the final Marcel brother will fall in love (I hope) and find a woman to meet him step for step as well. The Agency series is shaping up to be another great one that will be on my recommendation list for a long time to come.

I skimmed to page 80 and could not relate to the characters or the story. I thought about skimming further but as the story did not appeal to me and it did not hold my interest opted to stop reading and not write a review. It really did not make sense to me as a second chance romance and I didn't see why the two broke up or would get together again. Thank you for the opportunity, though, as I have not read the entire book I will not be writing a review.

I would particularly like to thank the Kesington books Zebra editions and the Netgaley website for allowing me to read this book which is the fourth in the series: "The Agency".

It all starts when a body is found on a cold steel plate, everything leads us to believe that the author is the famous butcher of Chicago. It seems that the victim looks like the former fiancée of Ash Marcel Remi Walsh.

As for Remi, he managed to escape from a killer thanks to his father who died from it. Today Remi is back with Ash telling him that he is in danger. It would seem that the killer would attack Remi's look-alikes and Ash has every intention of unmasking this famous butcher.

A book read in one go, so much so that I hooked into the story, so captivating, addictive, full of suspense and twists and turns with endearing characters. Can't wait to read the complete series.

This is a great book in what I’m hoping will be a new series. I love Alexandra Ivy’s suspense books. The characters pull you right in, and you feel like you are there with them. I absolutely recommend this book.

The Intended Victim (The Agency #4) by Alexandra Ivy
Loved this book and this series... this is Jax and Remi's story...and what a story it is.. full of angst, terror, some laughs, some tears, steamy stuff, mystery and when I though I had it figured out ... then I was sure I was wrong. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time... Great job Alexandra Ivy.

Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Happily Ever After Easy-to-read Unpredictable Romantic Haunting Page-turner Action-packed Twisted Wonderful characters Entertaining Tear-jerker Great world building Tragic Scary Steamy

Decent suspense, good romance, and excellent mystery. There are a few nitpicky things. But overall, it was good.

This was a pretty good mystery. I loved the unraveling of the crimes and the twist in the end. The second-chance romance was ok. I felt that Ash should’ve/would’ve known better, given Remi a little space, and then came back. Not go that long and only when the murders started back up. Other than that, I enjoyed the story and characters. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

The Intended Victim by Alexandra Ivy is a mystery/romance novel.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Kensington- Zebra Books and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. However, in the future, please state up-front that this is part of a series. This has been one of the reasons for my long delay in reviewing.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

The Butcher is back in Chicago.  Five years ago, this serial killer preyed on young women, slashing their throat and leaving a crescent shaped cut on their breast.

The Butcher did leave one victim alive.  Remi Walsh survived, but her father did not.  Neither did the relationship with her fiancé, Detective Ash Marcel.  They both felt grief, and anger, and guilt.  Remi pushed Ash away.   He left town and became a teacher.  Remi works with the homeless.  

But Ash quickly returns home when his brother (also a detective), notifies him of the body in morgue.  She bears a striking resemblance to Remi, and her murder has all the characteristics of The Butcher.




My Opinions:  

Still no idea why these books are considered a series.  They don't have the same characters, and do not carry on from the last book.  They are complete stand-alone books.

Now, I dislike "romantic suspense".   I don't object to swearing, nor sex scenes, but excessive romantic thoughts just about kill me.  It feels like these men and women walk around all day long "thinking" about sex.  If that is the case, they should get a real life.  Anyway, I have continued to read this so-called series of books even though they are filled with this romantic nonsense.  Yes, the first reason is because the book was given to me for free.  However, the other reasons -- the mystery is always good, the writing is good, the pace is fast and they are quick, light reads.  Oh, and the twists are good.

So I just had to get passed all the innuendos, and the "his hard body", "her soft skin".....  It has hard (no pun intended).  There was A LOT of that in this book.

However, if I disregard all of that...., I enjoyed the book.

Well written story. Kept me engaged the entire time. A page turner for sure! Looking forward to reading more books by this author!

Jax lost his partner, who was also going to be his father-in-law, and the love of his life to the Chicago Butcher five years ago. Now the Butcher is back and Jax is determined to keep Remi safe and to convince her to give them another chance. As Jax and Remi close in on the Butcher, they are surprised at where the trail leads.

A nailbiter! The Intended Victim was sooo good. it had the dark, twisty, and shocking turns I love in a thriller. I did not realize this was part of a series, so I guess I am off to read more from this author!

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

Great story with enough mystery and character development for me to race right through the book.

I love a suspenseful novel with a well thought out evenly paced plot and flushed out characters. A good story is often ruined when the characters don't stir your emotions. I will look for more from this author in the future.

This was a great story. This isn’t an overly complicated book and although some of the main characters are policemen or former officers it wasn’t terribly bogged down by the investigation. I would imagine it still falls in the realm of a police procedural. I found the main characters Remi and Ash’s to be fully thought out and interesting. The book has some suspenseful moments and I found myself rooting for them to find the killer and save Remi before it was too late.

I found the storyline to be interesting overall, but I really wish the backstory with Gabe and the hidden file had been more in-depth. I would have loved to see the overall plot pulling together at different angles. But kudos on the ending I didn’t see it coming. If you like a murder mystery check it out.

I received this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books for an honest review.

Great characters and a wonderful mystery. I was glued to my kindle on the edge of my seat.
Awesome twist, I'm still reeling.

Holy cow what a story. I really enjoyed the fourth installment in The Agency series. I found Remi and Ash’s story to be full of twists, turns and suspense. I found the storyline to be interesting and well thought out. The cast of characters are so real you feel and emotional connection to them. I did think this story was a little too long and found the story dragging at times, but I don’t think it took away from the story.

I was drawn to this book by the cover. I thought this book was just as I hopes it would be. The story made me want to keep reading more. I have not read the other books in the series but I did not feel left out. I was on the edge of my seat and I loved every minute of it. I am so glad I got to try this book and this author. I will look into the other books in the series. "This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review."

Remi escaped a serial killer and unfortunately her father died trying to save her....or is that what really happened? A good thriller is always having the unexpected happen in a story and that is definitely what this author has done! I thought it was going to be a simple book about another serial killer and the girl that got away well this was not that story . I was pleasantly surprised by all the twists and not knowing until almost the end the full story of what happened to Remi. Great book! Lots of thrills and Remi is a great character . Loved this book . I would recommend reading !!

I have to say up front, I’m a huge fan of Alexandra Ivy’s paranormal series, so when I saw she was branching out into the mystery/thriller genre, I jumped on the chance to read them.

This story follows Remi, who survived an attack by a serial killer five years earlier. Her father did not survive the encounter, but Remi is blank on what happened, her memory is gone. The aftermath of her inability to recall what happened and the stress of it all drove her and Ash apart.

Now we are five years later and bodies that have been murdered and surgically enhanced to look like Remi start showing up. Ash’s brother is on the case and lets Ash know what’s going on. Ash won’t Remi face this new threat alone and returns to Chicago. The Chicago Ash left, with the woman he loved, his detective career and home behind.

The story was enjoyable, with twists and turns that took a pretty shocking outcome. The Intended Victim has a pretty good suspense-filled plot. The romance was a stretch for me, since the tension was minimal with Ash’s return but overall a good read. 3.5 stars

I received this copy of The Intended Victim from Kensington Books - Zebra. This is my honest and voluntary rewiew.