This is a page-turner of a thriller, I can't lie.

It caught me by surprise and I needed time to process this one. There are a lot of plot twists and Erica is truly a good villain and a mean alcoholic but written in a way where you emphasize with her for her disgusting husband existing.

I am really glad I picked this one back up and finished it - I was just getting to the good part! The script name, and the Book Name! I loved the creativity of the plot twist at the end!

The additional format of the texts is wonderful and makes the book quite fun. I also laughed several times throughout the book.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC.

I really enjoyed Samantha Vérant's latest - a slow-burn domestic thriller that keeps you on your toes - just when I thought I had figured something out, along came another plot twist. A twisty page-turner to enjoy in one or two sittings!

dual-narrators, psychological-thriller, chef, celebrities, unpleasant-boss, lies, secrets, revenge, jealousy, greed, pet-cat, wealthy, suspense, verbose, SoCal****

I am not the target audience, but I have a few friends who will love it madly.
The tale is written in dual perspective where Julia is the chef from France who has an interesting past.
Erica Drake is the celebrity employer with the poisonous personality, lecherous husband, and hangers-on. There is a spate of accidental deaths, but with all of the lying and hiding the truth I had trouble keeping it all straight. Sorry. I'd give it a three, but the bits I shared over coffee intrigued some friends, so I bumped it up to a four.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected advance review copy from Storm Publishing via NetGalley.

Overall this book was…. Okay.

I didn’t love it or hate it. I felt like it was all over the place - it all came together in the end but the middle was wild.

Julia is a new private chef for the famous Drake family, a screenwriter and actress. The wife has constant mood swings and the husband has a wandering eye. She soon starts to realize people close to the family have accidental deaths, and wonders if she should get out.

I do enjoy when I can’t figure out who I’m rooting for in a story, and some of the twists at the end definitely got me.

Thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for my ARC! Pub date 10.17.24

Samantha Vérant's The Private Chef is a dual perspective thrillery book filled to the brim with betrayal, deceit and revenge. Characters caused me to roll my eyes in frustration but I settled in and enjoyed the escapist ride, including the surprising ending.  

In upper-crust Malibu, appearances are everything. Julia Fouquet from Paris is lured by big money and perks to be the private chef for Erica and David Drake. But it doesn't take long to realize even her paid private accommodation and gorgeous chef's kitchen doesn't compensate for Erica's moodiness and odd requests. The couple isn't the most loving and the household is on tenterhooks. Julia has a past, too, and isn't above cooking up lies. Wealth and name dropping is a sport.  

I really liked the writing and chef slant. Though very happy not to be immersed in the lifestyle of the rich and famous, it is interesting (and sad) at times to read about the lengths others go to in pursuit of materialism and knowing the right people. 

My sincere thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this engrossing novel.

I was so excited to be approved to read this galley. Thank you to the publisher! I so enjoyed this novel and will be purchasing a physical copy for my library.

I wanted so bad to love this book. I made it to 57% and had to stop. It became so repetitive and almost absurd. I could not connect with the characters at all. I appreciate the opportunity to read this arc but it was not it for me.

The Private Chef is unlike any mystery/thriller that I’ve ever read.
I loved the dual POV and the fact that both seem to be hiding something.
The private chef, Julia, has a lot to gain and lose in this story. I promise you won’t regret reading this one! 🔪🥗

Thank you @netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

#bookstagram #theprivatechef #thriller #booksbooksbooks #arcreader #arcreview #bookaddict

Julia Fouquet gets a dream job working as a private chef for a glamorous star, Erica Drake. She's thrilled to have a luxurious, beachfront place to live as part of the package. However, each encounter with Erica leaves Julia anxious and confused due to Erica's erratic mood swings. Each of them are harboring secrets as well.

This was just a so-so read for me. A lot of it seemed plain silly, and I didn't really connect with either of the main characters, so I didn't care what happened to them in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Private Chef
by Samantha Verant
Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A gripping and utterly compulsive read that will have you racing toward the last dramatic page. Fans of The Housemaid, The Perfect Marriage and anything by Lisa Jewell will be up all night reading The Private Chef.
This is a new author for me, but I really liked this book!
"The Private Chef" is a captivating tale that weaves together revenge, deception, and intrigue into a compelling narrative. The author skillfully manipulates the characters, turning them into pawns in a high-stakes game of deceit. The dual perspective intensifies the story, keeping the reader thoroughly engrossed. The characters are well-developed, the premise is intriguing, and the unexpected plot twists kept me eagerly turning the pages from start to finish.

GORGEOUSLY awesome in all he best ways. who's lying? who's not? who's lying about lying? And who is watching? Who knows???

The private chef is a thriller told from 2 different POV. I so badly wanted to love this book. Unfortunately it just didn't work for me. The story was convoluted and the characters didn't hold my attention. I'm thankful for the opportunity to read this ARC, and I wouldn't hesitate to try another book from this author, but this just wasn't for me.

The Private Chef is a wild ride, with many twists! Julia is going to be a private chef for the Drakes and all of them have secrets and lies! Loved the charecters even the unlikable ones. This book had a great pace and I was hooked right from the start!

The Private Chef
By: Samantha Verant

4 Stars

When Julia gets a private chef job for a big-name actress and her producer husband, she is super excited until she meets them. Erica and David are not at all what they seem. That's okay, because neither is Julia.

This was a crazy story that slowly revealed the "real" bad guy. It is steeped in drama and secrets with a flair of Hollywood glamor. The concept behind this was really interesting. The scripts, what??? Very interesting indeed and mentally grasping. The characters are a bit all over the place, but by the end, you know who the real bad ones are. The ending was written well and had me shocked.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

The story of The Private Chef is told from dual perspectives, and it’s really not as it seems. Unexpected turns fill the plot, forcing you to question if the characters you’re introduced to at the start are the bad guys or just regular folk in a bad place. This is just the kind of book I enjoy, one that keeps you guessing until the end. I highly recommend this to all thriller lovers!

I want to thank Storm Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is full of hidden agendas and extraordinarily consummate liars. It's hard to tell who is playing who and what their motivations are. There is a complex web of deceit to unravel and it is mind-blowing how deep the lies go. Left is right, up is down and it just gets more complex as things begin to unspool. The characters are untrustworthy and pretty unlikeable as their stories unfold. Truly a delicious guilty pleasure!

I really, really wanted to like The Private Chef. Unfortunately, I just didn't. The storyline was overly convoluted and difficult to follow, and the final twist felt pointless. I didn't particularly care about any of the characters, and many of their actions made no sense. The ending was also very abrupt; I was left thinking that somehow I had missed reading pages. Overall just not for me.

Julia and Erika tell the same story from different views. I found this book a little repetitive and flat and struggled to engage with it. No fault of the author just not my cup of tea but I am grateful for the chance to read the arc.

The Private Chef is a dual POV thriller where everything is not quite as it seems. Everyone has secrets and hidden motivations. It fell in roughly two halves for me, with layers slowly being peeled back to reveal the full story. You know that what you're being told is absolutely not reality, so you are engaged and eager to keep going.

I enjoyed this story; at no point was I bored or disengaged. I felt like the ending fell a little flat as I accurately predicted the twist, but it was still highly enjoyable. I would recommend it to those looking for a thriller on the lighter side as a means to introduce you to the genre or take a break.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm Publishing for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I was quite excited for this as it is my first ARC read via NetGalley—an advanced read in exchange for my honest review. Firstly, thank you to the publishers for choosing me!

I will say, the beginning was the best part! I was immediately hooked and excited for what was to come.

Sadly, the rest of the book wasn’t quite what I expected. There were plenty of twists and “OMG!” moments throughout, but it felt very long winded and the constant song references felt very out of place for what it was.