Suspense and passion lead the way in this exciting novel. This book was very entertaining and kept me guessing until the very end. Recommend this great read!

Thrill Ride by JD Carothers was a very well written book. I loved the flow of the book and the characters. I would defiantly look for more books by this author

The idea of this premise had a lot of potential ; however, I was lost on the characters and their voices. It pulled me out of this 3 way POV murder mystery read that I had so much hope for. I could not connect with any of them, but especially not the instalove couple. Overall, it tied up nicely by the end, but i did have to mentally work for it and push through.

These characters were so boring, it was almost impossible to read this book. Can’t say anything else, actually, since I forced myself to read this and was too focused on not sleeping to pay attention to the last 60% of the book.

This book is part insta-love and part who done it. J.D. Carothers wrote Thrill Ride as her debut novel and I'm pretty impressed. Are there things that I think need improving, yes. Are there areas that could be stronger, yes. But overall, I really enjoyed this book. Cassie, a lawyer by trade decides to enter a cooking competition on a whim. When she is chosen as the alternate, she is flown to Las Vegas to watch the competition unfold. Putting her career on hold for her love of cooking, she takes the risk - and winds up being a person of interest when multiple chefs in connection with the competition wind up dead. Then there's Evan - a royal prince from Europe who's hiding out under an assumed identity. He and Cassie fall in love IMMEDIATELY and there seems to be no turning back for either of them. I enjoyed the romance, though I wish there was a little more development there and less insta-love. The mystery was also an interesting story line woven throughout. This was a fun read, and I'll be looking for more stories by J.D. Carothers in the future.

This is a good book. The two main characters are Cassie and Evan. Cassie is an attorney and want a be chef. Evan is a secret prince. They meet in Las Vegas Cassie is competing in a cook off and Evan is friends with the owner of the hotel. There has been a murder one of the chefs participating in the cook off. There is an instant attraction with Cassie and Evan. They help the police to find the killer. They fall in love.

Good book! I'm haven't really been into romance books lately just mystery thrillers but this book had a bit of both! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, romance and a great who done it! The storyline was very interesting and had me glued to my Kindle! I will definitely recommend reading this book! It was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

From the book cover and title I was expecting a different type of book. It looks like a spicy book but it’s really not. I think it would be better to focus on the cooking competition for the cover and title so readers know what to expect.

The story was entertaining but the writing lacked realism, especially in the dialogue.

I was skeptical to read the novel at first but I am happy that I finally read it. I absolutely loved the novel.
All my favourite things like cooking, grand luxurious hôtels stay, mystery, the royal prince and the royal love story.
All of it packed together made the novel just perfect.
I was thrilled by the ending. Would definitely recommend to read this once..!!!

I will be honest, I couldn’t get into it at first and it took me a while to finally finish it, I loved the potential and the concept of the overall plot though.

As a debut novel, the author does a great job, particularly with character development and plot detail. I loved the foodie aspect of this book and how believable Cassie is as an untrained cook. The dialogue and romantic scenes could use some work. I think it would have been better to have kept the romance completely closed-door rather than use cringey decriptions, e.g. her channel of ecstasy.
The mystery is good. Las Vegas is a great setting because of how zany and modern the place is.
The side characters have well-drawn-out backgrounds. I'd love to see Sean get his own book. I'm also intrigued by Evan's brother and how he's going to manage his upcoming nuptials. There's definitely scope for more books with these characters so I'll be following this author to get new release updates.

Well this was a fun little book with a couple of twists.
I do like my romance books to involve a little more romance but you know what I didn’t actually mind too much.
I actually enjoyed the murder mystery aspect. I think the characters could use a little more refinement, but again it didn’t really take away away anything from my enjoyment.
My main problem with this book was it made my belly rumble lol

Cassie, struggling as a 30 year old corporate lawyer, is living an overworked lifestyle, working for an ungrateful boss, while being the low person in the company. However, she is too busy working and not able to pursue her true passion.......cooking. Growing up, her parents being lawyers always working and never taking time off, no vacation, that is all she has ever known. Fast forward to when she sees an opportunity that allows her to potentially pursue her dream and ultimately change her entire tradgetory in life she will not only accomplish this but she also meets and falls head over heels in love with royalty himself, Evan, who sweeps her off her feet. Tragedy strikes twice......Is Cassie really innocent? Will she stop at anything to be able to achieve her dream at any cost? Time will only tell. This novel is a great story of grit, loyalty, honest, even love will prevail at the end. People are not always who you think they are......

Cassie, Sean and Evan are the main characters who each have their own P.O.V.'s shared. I'm just not sure that I really felt the connection between Cassie and Evan even though he did treat her like a princess.
The world building was lavish and detailed; the places and the food in particular.
I just wanted to like it more but it just didn't pull me in like I would have liked. I have to give the author points though for the details and H.E.A.

" I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy of this book, and this is my honest opinion about it.

Thrill Ride by J.D. Carothers
Rating: 2.5/5
Tropes: Murder mystery??, opposites attract, insta-love(?)

I feel like this was just a very silly book. I will admit I've never been big on a murder mystery with romance, but the writing in particular seemed predictable. The dialogue between the characters seemed so elementary for the professions they held.

Also, putting all the details of the book together sound ridiculously silly: cooking competition that ends in a murder mystery, but we have to make sure we finish the competition because it's a lawyer lifetime dream! Oh, and hot man!

There wasn't any investment, the chapters were handled very weird and I skimmed the chapters with character's POV that I just wasn't interested in.

This one didn't hit for me, but I also see the potential of this author.

Instagram: ajewelofabook

This was a fun and light quick read, enjoyable and pleasant enough to pass the time, but it wasn’t something I felt any real sort of emotion with, it was nice but I didn’t get the anxiety or edge of seat feeling I do when I care, it was insta love which I don’t object to, but I’d like a bit more feeling to the characters

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I absolutely loved the concept of a cooking competition set in a Greek-themed Casino/Resort. The story as a whole was fun with a good number of little twists. but I had a hard time with the writing style. there were a lot of conversations that had the characters over-explaining themselves and kind of jumping around trains of thought. it didn't feel genuine like real people talking. Some of the author's descriptions of places or situations gave the same sort of feel. It often pulled me out of the story. outside of that, it was a good story arc. the only thing I wish was that the why of the people responsible was fleshed out a little more. I am hoping there is a second book because otherwise, the ending left some things a little too open.

I am going, to be honest. The book was alright. I think it could use some tightening up but overall was not a bad read if you like instant love. Most of what I had that did not mesh well with the book was personal preference as someone who works in law and lives in Nevada. I absolutely believe the author should keep writing and sharing their stories.

This is Cassie and Evan's story. Cassie is an attorney and feels overworked but it is what her parents wanted her to do so she just went with it but what Cassie really loves and wants to do is cooking so when her best friend suggests that Cassie enters a cooking competition in Las Vegas she decides to take a break from work and go and see what happens. Evan is helping his best friend with a cooking competition that is being held at Grand Athena and tries to keep a low profile of possible but what he didn't expect is to be drawn to Cassie and unable to keep his eyes of her but Even has secrets that can't be revealed but the chemistry between them is so strong and then things start to become complicated as the competition heats up. There are twists and turns along the way that have you turning the pages to see what would happen next and I can't wait to read more book's by this author in the future.

I Voluntarily Reviewed a Copy of This Book.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange of an honest review. This is a story about Cassie, a corporate lawyer who is not enjoying her job but has a passion for cooking. She was chosen to be the alternate to this cooking competition where the winner would have the chance to be the guest chef at this restaurant at this famous hotel in Vegas. There, she met Evan who is best friends with the hotel owner and organiser of the competition. Honestly, I actually liked it. It’s romance + some murder mystery. I liked the mystery aspect and found it interesting. I can’t say the same thing for the writing though and found it to be a bit lacking and stilted. Everything else including the plot was fine except the writing and the characters. I find the characters a bit stilted too so it was hard to be invested in them. They weren’t outstanding and kinda forgettable. That in turn made it hard to be engrossed in the romance. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a nice read but the mystery was carrying the book. I understand that it’s the author’s debut novel and I still think it’s okay. I would still be reading the author’s future books though. I have a feeling it’s Evan’s brother or Sean next.