Tag Archives: The Agency

Cruel Offer (The Agency 2) by Stella Gray-review tour

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💙Cruel Offer (the Agency 2) by Stella Gray-review tour💙

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https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206002324-cruel-offer

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 30, 2024

I’ll make her the most desired woman in NY…but that means letting her go.

The Agency was always going to choose Piper-Lily’s husband.

Her father’s name opened doors, but he needed the money a good match could bring. Turns out, no amount of money was going to fix the Ponzi scheme he was running. Overnight, Piper-Lily went from my most anticipated client to persona non grata.

But she wasn’t willing to let her father’s mistake ruin her future. Not when she could force her way into my office and offer herself as my little project.

She’ll pretend to be my girlfriend until her value is high enough for an auction.

An auction that includes her first time.

So I’ll move the little princess into my apartment. I’ll take her out and show her off, buy her pretty things to wear.

But when I take them off of her later, I’ll have to keep reminding myself that she isn’t mine. That the lessons I offer will be used to please another man. That there’s a limit to what we can do.

No matter how much she begs for more.

••••••

REVIEW:CRUEL OFFER is the second instalment in Stella Gray’s contemporary, adult THE AGENCY erotic, romance series focusing on a group of investors who own and manage The Quattour Agency, an agency that arranges high profile marriages between billionaires and young socialites. This is Nathaniel ‘Nate’ Windemere, and nineteen year old university student/dancer Piper-Lily Barclay. CRUEL OFFER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Nate and Piper) CRUEL OFFER follows in the wake of the spiral and arrest of Piper’s father who was found guilty in an elaborate Ponzi scheme that left the family destitute but to Piper’s horror, her father had made an arrangement with the Quattour Agency, to sell her ‘virginity’ to the highest bidder. Desperate to protect someone she loves, Piper approaches the Agency to make a deal, a deal that will destroy her heart. What ensues is the building but contemptuous relationship and arrangement between Piper and Nate, and the fall-out when Nate pushed Piper out of his life.

The world building focuses on Nate’s abuse of power over our story line heroine. Under the guise of training Piper for her future husband, Nate takes control of Piper’s life, a control that would destroy her heart. As Piper begins to fall for Nathaniel Windemere, Nate has other plans for the woman with whom he is falling in love.

The relationship between Nate and Piper begins as a contract; an arrangement in which, at the end, Piper would receive millions when Nate auctions off our story line heroine but Nate never expected to fall for our story line heroine, the woman who would find herself in the face of losing it all. The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative .

The secondary and supporting characters are charismatic and dynamic. We are introduced to Piper’s parents, her best friend Chloe, as well as Nate’s parents, and his sister Eliza. Theo, Becker, and Sebastian Argos return as Nathaniel’s business partners.

CRUEL OFFER is a story of power and control, betrayal and trust, secrets and lies, forgiveness and acceptance, understanding and love. The premise is emotional and heart breaking; the romance is seductive; the characters are broken and desperate.

Click HERE for Sarah’s review of book one SECRET OFFER

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Stella Gray is an emerging author of contemporary romance. When she is not writing, Stella loves to read, hike, knit and cuddle with her greyhound

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Secret Offer (The Agency 1) by Stella Gray-review tour

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Secret Offer (The Agency 1) by Stella Gray-review tour

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk / Amazon.au /

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date February 8, 2024

We’ll marry her off to the highest bidder…but I’ll pay the price.

The Agency is an open secret among men of a certain tax bracket.

You need a wife who understands your lifestyle? We’ll hand-select options from the eligible daughters of men who’d love to cement a business alliance with you. Sometimes, the daughters don’t even know they’re being set up.

That’s my specialty: I run a Caribbean resort so exclusive it doesn’t even have a website, arranging meet-cutes between rich men and their future trophy wives.

I wasn’t looking for love myself.

Blair found me, brooding on a beach the week before my next client showed up.

She made me break my rule about never going back for more. Over and over again. Our one-week stand was hotter than July on the island.

And then my client introduced me to the daughter who doesn’t know he’s signed her with the Agency. The woman I’m in charge of setting up with one of the men her father has chosen for her.

Blair.

•••••

REVIEWSecret Offer is the first in Stella Gray’s new Agency series. While this author is newer to me, I am happy to have found her. This new series is a mis between found family, arranged marriage and billionaire romance.

Sebastian is a man with a broken heart, one that he is finally starting may be ready for mending. But after spending time with, things start to change. Brooke loves her family, but spending a week of vacation with them is not what she would call relaxing. Brooke wants to enjoy the time; she just graduated college and before she starts working for her family’s business, she wants to spread her wings and live her life.

On a wander around; Brooke finds herself walking down who other than Sebastian’s private beach. When Seb and Brooke meet, they hit it off, so much so that she thinks she can fall in love with the guy. Too bad when she finds out that her parents are here to auction her off to the highest bidder, who just happens to be the mysterious man she found on the beach. Seb doesn’t care though, he is smitten with Brooke; she is smart, funny and a ray of sunshine in his bleak life.

The storyline moves quicker than I would like it to, but the plot is fun and easy to read. Gray’s characters are always entertaining and make the reader want to befriend them. Plus; who doesn’t love a wounded billionaire reading to find love again?

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sarah

Stella Gray is an emerging author of contemporary romance. When she is not writing, Stella loves to read, hike, knit and cuddle with her greyhound

Connect w/Stella:

Facebook: https://stellagray.pub/Facebook
Instagram: https://stellagray.pub/Instagram
Goodreads: https://stellagray.pub/Goodreads
Bookbub: https://stellagray.pub/BookBub
Amazon: https://stellagray.pub/Amazon

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The Intended Victim (The Agency #4) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

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THE INTENDED VICTIM (The Agency #4) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

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About the book: Release Date December 31, 2019

ONCE, SHE GOT AWAY
The body lying on a cold steel slab bears all the hallmarks of the Chicago Butcher. There’s a cruel slash across her throat, deep enough to sever the carotid artery, and a small crescent carved into her right breast. Her delicate features are painfully familiar to Ash Marcel, once a rising star in the Chicago PD. But though the victim resembles his former fiancée, Remi Walsh, he knows it’s not her.

BUT THIS TIME
Though Remi escaped a serial killer five years ago, her father died trying to save her. Grief and guilt caused her to pull away from the man she loved. Now Ash is back in her life, insisting that Remi is still in danger.

IT’S A DEAD END . . .
Someone is targeting women who look just like Remi. With or without a badge, Ash intends to unmask the Butcher. But the killer isn’t playing games any longer. He’s moving in, ready to finish what he started, and prove there’s nothing more terrifying than a killer’s obsession . . .

••••••••

REVIEW: THE INTENDED VICTIM is the fourth instalment in Alexandra Ivy’s contemporary, adult THE AGENCY romantic suspense series. This is former Chicago police detective / college professor Ashland ‘Ash’ Marcel, and youth center counselor Remi Walsh’s story line. THE INTENDED VICTIM can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous instalments is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Remi and Ash) and first person (killer) THE INTENDED VICTIM follows in the wake of the possible return of a serial killer. Five years earlier Remi Walsh was the intended victim of a serial killer known as The Butcher but Remi’s call to her father, police officer Gage Walsh, resulted in the death of her father, and Remi with no memory of what happened that day. Fast forward to the present, wherein a series of murders where all of the victims have been surgically altered to look like Remi Walsh, pull Ash Marcel, Remi’s former fiancé into the investigation. What ensues is the rebuilding romance and relationship between Ash and Remi, and the potential fall-out as the killer hits too close to home.

Ash Marcel was destroyed the day Remi Walsh walked out of his life but Remi struggled in the aftermath of the death of her father, the attack on her life, and Ash Marcel’s obsession with finding the killer. Ash Marcel had never stopped loving our story line heroine and a change in careers meant pulling away from the life that he loved.

The relationship between Remi and Ash is one of second chances; a rekindling romance between two people torn apart by death and destruction, and brought together by memories from the past. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are introduced to Remi’s mother Liza, and Ash’s brother Detective Jax Marcel. There is a large list of suspects who are questioned yet remain a person of interest.

THE INTENDED VICTIM is a romantic suspense thriller; a story of betrayal and obsession; family, friends, jealousy and madness. The premise is intriguing and entertaining; the characters are colorful and dynamic; the romance is seductive and captivating.

Reading Order and previous reviews
Pretend You’re Safe
What Are You Afraid Of?
You Will Suffer

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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You Will Suffer (The Agency #3) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

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You Will Suffer (The Agency #3) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 29, 2019.

Every small town has a secret…and this one is worth killing for. The rolling fields outside Curry, Oklahoma, are a beautiful spot to ramble on an early spring day…and a lonely place to die. Among the prairie grass and wildflowers, a killer kneels beside a curled-up figure, plunging a syringe beneath skin to deliver the fatal dose. And as the victim’s last breath mingles with the air, it sends a warning out to the world: this is just the beginning. Rejecting her judge father’s prestigious connections, Ellie Guthrie opened her own law firm in Curry. But something strange is going on. Ellie’s tires are slashed. Dead rats are dumped on her patio. Her neighbour, former FBI agent Nate Marcel, insists on watching out for her. And then bodies begin turning up – supposed overdoses that Nate suspects are something much more sinister. There’s a killer in town, toying with her, drawing both Ellie and Nate into a web of murder and vengeance. To find answers, she’ll have to unearth this small community’s dark and twisted past…before it’s her turn to die. Look for more page-turning suspense from Alexandra Ivy with Pretend You’re Safe and What Are You Afraid Of?, out now

•••••••••••

REVIEW:YOU WILL SUFFER is the third instalment in Alexandra Ivy’s contemporary, adult THE AGENCY romantic, suspense series. This is retired FBI Agent Nate Marcel, and attorney Ellie Guthrie’s story line. YOU WILL SUFFER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Ellie and Nate) as well as first person (murderer) YOU WILL SUFFER follows the search for a killer(s). With a recent spate of murders and disappearances in the small town of Curry Oklahoma, local attorney Ellie, and her neighbour retired FBI agent Nate Marcel begin an investigation of their own only to find themselves in the line of fire. In the hopes of trying to connect the pieces of the growing puzzle, Ellie and Nate will soon learn about the mysterious past of Curry Oklahoma, and a group of well-connected and prominent people whose secrets are about to be revealed. What ensues is the building relationship between Nate and Ellie, and the fall-out as our couple’s investigation begins to reveal a dark and dangerous past.

YOU WILL SUFFER is a story of betrayal and vengeance; secrets and lies; power, fear, and control; mystery and suspense. A killer is on the loose in Curry Oklahoma, a killer who is determined to destroy those who destroyed their life. More suspense thriller than romance, YOU WILL SUFFER focuses on the clues-both the past and the present-and the victims whose ties to one another reveal a dark, sordid and dangerous history, a history that seeks revenge for sins of the father, and sins of the past. The cleverly written premise is intriguing and intense; the colorful supporting characters are numerous ; the romance is secondary to the overall premise

Reading Order and previous reviews
Pretend You’re Safe
What Are You Afraid Of?
You Will Suffer

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What Are You Afraid Of? (The Agency #2) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

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WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF ? (The Agency #2) by Alexandra Ivy-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 27, 2018

SHE’S LEARNED ALL ABOUT KILLERS
They aren’t the kind of women anyone misses. Truck-stop hookers, runaways . . . no one would even notice they’d disappeared if the killer didn’t photograph their lifeless bodies, posed in the back of a semi-trailer. Exactly like the infamous Trucker murders. But this isn’t just a copycat. It’s a vendetta.

NOW HE’LL TEACH HER
Carmen Jacobs interviewed the world’s most terrifying serial killers for her bestselling book, The Heart of a Predator. The police might not believe her, but she knows there’s a monster out there, paying homage to other murderers. The only person who can predict where he’ll strike next is Griffin Archer—a reclusive software millionaire with ample reason not to help her.

HOW TO DIE . . .
Carmen has charmed her way past Griffin’s defenses before. He didn’t intend to let it happen again. But with a psycho sending her trophies of his kills, he has no choice but to get involved. The clues point to a killer obsessed with Carmen—someone who knows her work, her past, her secrets. Someone who won’t be satisfied until he has made all her deepest fears come true . . .

••••••

REVIEW: WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? is the second instalment in Alexandra Ivy’s contemporary, adult THE AGENCY romantic suspense series. This is IT specialist Griffin Archer, and best-selling author Carmen Jacobs’ story line. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from several third person perspectives including Griffin and Carmen WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? follows the hunt for a serial killer-a copycat killer who is re-enacting the murders profiled and researched by our heroine Carmen Jacobs. With the upcoming, paper back release of her best-selling book Carmen finds herself the victim of a stalker, a killer who is copycatting the murders and sending her the pictures of his latest ‘achievements’. Needing additional assistance when the local police refused to help, Carmen contacts an IT expert who isn’t thrilled with Carmen’s re-appearance. Enter Griffin Archer, IT specialist, and the man with whom Carmen will fall in love. What ensues is the building romance between Griffin and Carmen, and the potential fall-out as a serial killer ups the body count in direct proportion to Carmen’s best-selling novel.

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? is a suspense-filled, thrill ride but the ‘guilty’ party(s) is alluded to early on thus avoiding the twists and turns that I would have expected. The predictability was disheartening as were the likely and forseeable reasons behind the copy-cat killings-sometimes too much information imparted to the reader unravels the mystery before it begins. The premise is engaging; the characters are intense-we are reintroduced to Rylan Cooper from Pretend You’re Safe (book one); the romance is a slow build towards a happily ever after.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one-PRETEND YOU’RE SAFE.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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