How far are you willing to go for your dreams? Follow Sadie as she navigates through this question in an absolutely unputdownable thriller. This was a very engaging and somewhat cozy thriller with some unexpected twists.

One Last Bite follows the Sadie, an ex con with a dream of running her own restaurant, and how she becomes involved in one of the trendiest, Michelin star restaurants.

As the book progresses, we find out about Sadie’s past and her dreams for the future and how far she is willing to go to get these, we learn about the restaurants owners and staff, and the secrets they hold, and uncover a number of lies which have had severe consequences. Partway through we switch narrator and hear the story from another perspective, and personally this made me change my opinion on some of the characters. I didn’t find Sadie a particularly sympathetic main character though, she comes across as quite entitled and arrogant, so I wasn’t rooting for her to succeed in the story but this didn’t change my enjoyment of the book.

Overall I good suspense story, well written and a good read.

this book not only made me hungry but i devoured the story. Such a great thriller. and that last twist was amazing. definite reommend

thanks netgalley and publisher. all thoughts and opinions are my own

What an engaging thriller. It felt really cozy, if that makes sense. The author created a sense of cozyness that enveloped me. The restaurant on a farm with cabins had a rustic charm that added to the sense of cozyness. An inviting atmosphere. Making it the perfect setting for a thrilling tale.I loved Sadie's character at first and Despite my diminishing opinion of Sadie due to her choices, I couldn't help but still root for her. Her flawed decisions added a layer of complexity to the story's development, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I eagerly awaited the consequences of her actions.The big twist happened in the middle of the book which was disappointing because I was looking forward to more shocking twists of the story. This is a quick and entertaing story story I'll always remember.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkubator for a ARC copy of this book. This was a honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and incubator Books for this ARC. This story was such an enjoyable thriller with an unexpected ending. I was very delighted to hear all about the delicious food mentioned within this book! This story is basically about a chef called Sadie who goes to work in an upscale restaurant called Thistle.. Sadie slowly uncovers some dark secrets about the owners of this establishment. She also finds a strange cabin in the back as well. I loved all the mystery suspense and unexplained happenings in the story. I will definitely read more from this author and I would highly recommend this book. I couldn’t put it down and it held my interest from beginning to end. Definitely five stars .

Let me start by how I actually had a good time with this book. The first chunk reads like a very cozy thriller and I was having a blast with it. I liked our main character, Sadie, and the culinary world we were inserted into as well. However, as you may be guessing by my rating, it also had its issues.

Sadie is a passionate and ambitious character, traits that made her very likeable in the beginning, unfortunately ended up betraying her and the rest of the book at the end. She is easily enamored and blinded by a character's charisma even after getting pretty incriminatory clues on how something wrong is going on with them. In one chapter she seems to want to know what's happening, but then when she has the clues in her hands, she doesn't suspect or tries to think them through. This got hastly annoying.

Besides the many times her lust/desire clouded her judgement, it was also frustrating how she says one thing and does the other. She knows that mixing business with pleasure doesn't work, like it also happened to her in the past, but she gets easily swayed and past a few chapters she is all in. And with someone who is highly suspicious of what is going on too? Like, c'mon now...

Sadie also made a stupid and straight up wrong assumption about telling something to a character with fear of them don't believing her, although this person was the one, the first and only, to warn her about those certain people???

The characters felt superficial which made the book extremely shallow and, inevitably, forgettable. The pace was great, I read it very fast, but nothing was ever explored deeply. It's those type of thrillers to read and never think about again. The biggest twist happened in the middle of the book which was kinda disappointing because I was looking forward for more shocking twists that never came. By a certain mark, it seemed like I already knew what was going to happen.

Lastly, one thing that got really annoying really quick was the use of interrogation sentences like:
"But now?"; "What I don't say?"; "But for me?"; "And the worst part?", etc...
There was SO MUCH of this, it took me out of the story. Just narrate normally for a bit, please!!! The writing was fluid and easy to flow with, but so repetitive!

Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable read to devour in one or two days. Recommend it for people who are looking for a fast-paced, non-intense thriller.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc in the exchange of an honest review.

✨Spoiler Free Review✨

Title-One Last Bite
Rating-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What an amazing popcorn thriller! The captivating storyline and unexpected plot twist made it impossible to put down, I read it in one sitting and enjoyed every moment of it.

Chef Sadie Jackson is ready to escape a troubled past, so she’s overjoyed when she’s offered the chance to work at Thistle, a new restaurant owned by her culinary heroes the legendary Devon and Norah Winthrop.
Even though she’s starting out as a dishwasher, Sadie’s willing to do whatever it takes to impress the golden couple.
But she soon discovers that something is off in the Winthrops’ seemingly perfect world. Sadie hears whispers of money troubles. Illegal activities. She sees the strange bruises on Norah’s arms.
And then there’s the mysterious cabin at the back of the property. Why is there always a light on at night? Who is staying there?
Sadie begins to understand that the Winthrops have a very dark secret. A secret which, if it’s ever revealed, will destroy their perfect lives. And that makes her wonder just how far they’ll go to protect their glowing reputation.
She’s about to find out….


Thank you @netgalley Inkubator books, and Leah cups for this advanced copy.

Thank you for the ARC! I really enjoyed this book and the story line, however there were some plot-holes where facts were incorrect or it just skipped to different scenes. I look forward to reading other books by this author!

Whilst I did enjoy the multiple POV’s and the way Sadie’s anxieties were portrayed I did find this story a little slow, it did pick up around 60% but by then I had lost interest. I found the plot to be predictable but I can see some people really enjoying this, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.
———————
Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the opportunity to review this book.

The beginning was way too slow for my liking and the pacing doesn't really pick up until about halfway through the book. Some readers may appreciate that, and I do as well, but not for the thriller genre.

The character growth was steady but I just couldn't connect. Despite that, Sadie's character was thoroughly written and while I couldn't relate to her, I felt like I had a good idea of who she was, and it helped a lot with getting myself excited to push through one more chapter.

I wouldn't mind reading this again once it's gone through a proper editor. There were some inconsistencies that took me out of my immersion, but not so prevalent that I would be frustrated.

Thank you for the arc of this book!

I did enjoy this but kinda felt like I was also losing my mind since there's a few continuity errors and plot holes so I had to keep doubling back to check I hadn't just made up bits.... I hadn't! That said, it was still a decent enough story. Definitely more of a slow burn but I did like the premise and the twists. Could just have done with a bit more editing possibly

While I found myself anticipating some twists, the journey to the revelation was thoroughly enjoyable. The detailed scenes vividly brought the story to life, and I appreciated the shift in points of view. However, I wished for more depth in Norah's character development.

Despite some unanswered questions about certain character arcs, the satisfying ending left me wanting more. I couldn't help but wonder if there might be a sequel to tie up loose ends.

Overall, I rate "One Last Bite" 4 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to fans of psychological thrillers. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing an advance copy of this captivating read.

This started out so good. Lots of suspense and tension with a fast pace. But there needs to be some fact checking done because the storyline has quite a few plot holes that yanked me right out of the story until finally I just didn't care what happened anymore.

I love the cover!

I enjoyed the book and it was what i expected due to the synopsis! The character build and they worked well with the well written storyline!

The author did great writing and i would recommend this to other readers.

I would read more by this author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

This was a pretty good thriller. The beginning really was giving me 'The Housemaid' vibes. I am not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but it did allow me to figure out some of the plot. The fast pace of this novel is what kept me intrigued and wanting to keep turning the page. Part II twist was definitely twisting because I had no idea that it was coming. The shorter chapters are always a plus and I really do believe that is what keeps me going and continuously saying "one more chapter" until I am actually done. I have never wanted to be a chef, but seeing the way that these meals were described and presented reminded me of some of my favorite chef shows. The restaurant/culinary setting really made for an amazingly unique opportunity that I truly believe Leah executed perfectly on. All I know is that I was rooting for Sadie from the very beginning so when the second POV came about, I was not too thrilled, but it did not make or break the quality or rating of the book. I would definitely recommend this to thriller lovers.

This was a good light read with some darker moments. It felt like one of those stories you can be completely immersed in without needing to overthink what was happening. I really enjoyed the way Sadie was so passionate about becoming a chef, and the detail that was included because of this, and didn’t mind that the action took a while to wind up.

The author did a great job of making me sympathetic to Sadie’s situation, but there were a few things she did that had me questioning her judgement. (Which I won’t mention because I don’t want to spoil anything).

The twist in this one was set up well, and I didn’t suspect what it might be when I started reading (I really love when that happens)!

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for the ARC in exchange of an honest review

Who doesn't love a good, fast-paced thriller? One Last Bite was had an engaging plot and interesting characters. I enjoyed the split POV, the build-up and the constant twists. A popcorn thriller for lovers of Freida McFadden

This one just wasn’t for me.

There were some continuity errors that took me out of the story. At one point Sadie says it’s only her second day working as a dishwasher, but a few pages later she says she’s been sleeping in her car since she started the job. Every night after work she’s driving a couple of miles away to find a quiet place to park and sleep and it’s taking a toll on her body. Which is it? Is it her second day there or has she been working there for a while? It happens again when she thinks about how she’s been working at the restaurant for a few weeks. A few pages later she’s talking to Brian and thinks about how just last week she was slinging food at the diner. Again, which is it? Has she been at the restaurant for one week or several weeks? There are a few more instances like this throughout the book. I know this isn’t a big thing for everyone, but I just found it distracting.

Sadie’s character was well fleshed out. We get to know her well and understand who she is and her motivations. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a very likable character which made it hard to root for her. Although her character was well fleshed out, it was harder to understand the other characters and their motivations. There wasn’t as much depth to them and we didn’t get to know them as well. Our knowledge of Devon’s character, especially, seemed very superficial.

A lot of the scenes in the book were also too convenient. Sadie was always in the right place at the right time to see or hear things that piqued her interest and made her suspicious enough to do more investigating. The resolution was also too easy. Everything just fell into place so that it all worked out for Sadie and the others.

The idea for this story was a good one. It just fell flat on the execution.

Thanks NetGally and Inkubator Books for the advanced copy.

This is a fast paced read with a lot of intrigue surrounding what is happening currently at the restaurant as well as the details surrounding various past events that are mentioned.

I was definitely not expecting the twist that happens at the beginning of part II, which is a credit to the author. Cupps does a great job of wording things to either slightly misdirect or mislead the reader so that it’s difficult to suss out the plot twists.

The first half is a tad slow and there is quite a bit of repetition, especially regarding appearances. For example, “sharp green eyes”, “pale green eyes”, “glaring green eyes”, etc. It gets to be a bit much and at one point Devon’s good looks and thick auburn hair are mentioned by the same character just a few paragraphs apart. There’s different ways of describing a person’s appearance and readers don’t need to be constantly reminded of character’s physical traits in that manner. Hopefully Cupps works on that for future books.

I also recommend reading “One Last Bite” either on a full stomach or having snacks on hand, because you will get hungry reading about all the delicious sounding recipes being prepared!

All in all it was a quick & good read. It’s not a super intense thriller but it does keep your interest & has some pretty decent twists.
3 stars

Sadie Jackson finds her dream job of becoming a Chef at Thistle, a Michelin Star restaurant, but she soon finds out she has bit of more than she can chew. Sadie is on parole and soon finds out that Thistle is hiding a dangerous secret that may land her back in prison if her parole officer finds out she is involved. Should she continue ignoring what she has discovered or turn her information over to the police. Sadie soon finds herself at the mercy of her boss, who is holding that decision in his hands.