Review: Pretend You're Safe (The Agency #1)

Pretend You're Safe (The Agency #1)

by Alexandra Ivy 

Blurb:

HE SEES YOU

First came the floods. Then came the bodies. The victims—strangled, then buried along the shores of the Mississippi—have finally been unearthed, years after they disappeared. He remembers every satisfying kill . . . each woman’s terror and agony. But there’s only one he truly wanted. And fate has brought her within reach again . . .

HE KNOWS YOU

Jaci Patterson was sixteen when she found the first golden locket on her porch. Inside were a few strands of hair wrapped around a scrap of bloodstained ribbon. Though the “gifts” kept arriving, no one believed her hunch that a serial killer was at work. Now Jaci has returned home . . . and the nightmare is starting once more.

AND HE’LL NEVER LET YOU GO

Back then, Rylan Cooper was an arrogant deputy sheriff convinced that Jaci was just an attention—seeking teen. It was a fatal mistake. There’s a murderer in their midst, someone determined to settle old scores and keep playing a twisted game. And it won’t end until Jaci is his forever . . .

Themes: Romantic Suspense

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

So there are many of us that have been long time fans of the paranormal magic of Alexandra Ivy, but this novel is an all new side of one of my favorite authors as she ventures not out of the dark of the demon world and instead into the dark and disturbing side of the human mind. This story revolves around a woman that has been haunted for decades by the fears conjured when she was a teen and that has carried into her adulthood and now that there are bodies popping up around her small farm town she knows her worst fears have come to pass. Jaci has a unique ability to hold on to her innocence despite the darkness stalking her and that sweetness draws the protective nature of her neighbor and her former crush, who has returned home to care for his father.  Rylan never imagined when he returned home to take care of his father, that he would find himself the central character of a murder plot and having to protect a woman that has always drawn him in even when he tried to resist her.  As they work together to try to keep Jaci safe and help the police unravel the mystery of the killer stalking her, Rylan and Jaci become closer to one another and slowly he begins to understand that the feelings he resisted all those years ago might have been even deeper than he imagined.  Jaci was an interesting woman, always looking for the best in others, despite all evidence to the contrary, but that ability is what allows her to look past the hurt and find a way to work to find this killer.  Rylan was also an interesting character that had to overcome a lot of his mistakes of the past in order to get Jaci to trust him and allow him to keep her safe, but once he forced her to accept his help and let him in she was unable to resist him.  He was sexy, bossy, alpha and more than able to handle himself in any situation, but the best part of him was his intense protective nature and the way he refuses to let anything take the love of his life from him.  The love between Rylan and Jaci builds slowly as they spend more time together, building on their feelings from their youth, and slowly they each come to understand that their passion for one another is undeniable and not something to lose.  I enjoyed every second of this story, even as there was some seriously scary moments and I cannot wait for the next suspense novel that Alexandra sends my way.  A whole new shelf to add Ms. Ivy to, but one I can see her filling quickly with her magic!

*ebook provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.