Thrill Ride (Black Knights Inc., #4)

by Julie Ann Walker

[Cocktails and Books]

Thrill ride has all the ingredients (handsome, alpha hero, beautiful heroine, and an intriguing plot) for an awesome read. However, the author lost out on her opportunity to capitalize on all of the things that could have pushed this book from average to excellent. It was just an okay read for me. There was nothing about it that pulled me into the story or compelled me to read it in one sitting. It simply didn't grab me to that extent. The storyline kept me mildly interested, and I was easily able to finish it and just as easily able to forget it.

Rock Babineaux is our hunky former CIA agent on the run because he is accused of murders that he didn't commit. Vanessa Cordera is the agent that believes in his innocence and is determined to find him. They outrun CIA agents with orders to shoot to kill on site, fake a murder, and redeem Rock's name. Sounds exciting right...well that's what I thought until I began reading.

Vanessa is introduced into the story immediately. Her character doesn't have anything special that makes you identify with her or root for her to win her man throughout the book. The author was very repetitive in describing her dark, Latin beauty but did a poor job of conveying other characteristics. You see some vulnerability and emotion but the frustrating part is that you want to slap her and tell her to get over it and get moving. Rock rebuffs her advances several times while on the rune and each time she meekly tucks her tail and retreats because he says he doesn't and will never love her. I kept waiting for the moment when she took the lead and seized the fact that his body was showing all the signs of him wanting her and use that to her advantage. It never really happened. She was just so timid in terms of intimacy.

Rock was described as being a French Cajun and used french terms throughout the book to utter comments. I last studied French in high school and I eventually stopped caring enough to look up what he was saying so I could decipher the meaning. It took away from the plot and dialogue in a major way for me because the author defined the French terms in some areas and in others they weren't. It was also farfetched considering I don't live far from Cajun country in Louisiana and very few people use any French language at all. So it was pointless and detrimental to this reader's enjoyment because it felt like she was going for perceived stereotype versus identifiable reality.

The first time Rock and Vanessa make out is on the back of an old, rusty motorbike. I mentally tried to envision the acts the author was describing and literally there was no way the scenes could have happened. There was another motorcycle scene towards the end and finally they made it to a bed. There was very little romance or sex and really no chemistry between the two. The author did a great job of building up the intrigue, mystery, and suspense surrounding Rock and his fight to clear his name. The romance part just sort of felt like it was an add-on.

Reviewed by Michelle for Cocktails and Books