One Hell Of A Ride

When Joe Cariello sees the young lad, Cas, standing in the doorway of his old friend's ranch, he has no idea his friend has just been murdered and that he'll be viewed as the most likely suspect. He's a drifter, not a killer. Now he's determined to find out what happened to his old friend, and if it means working alongside Cas, he has no problem doing so. That is, until he delves deeper and realizes, everything is not as it seems. At first, Cassie Sorrento is suspicious of the drifter, but something about him convinces her to accept the help he offers in solving her grandpa's death. She’s so impressed with his, take charge attitude, she hires him. But she soon realizes she’s in uncharted waters with Joe, and if she's not careful, her carefully guarded secret might be revealed. Now Cas must decide, should she reveal her secret to Joe and take her chances or should she continue her charade and let him drift on out of her life, when the job was done? This presented a challenge to Cassie, and having never been one to back down from a challenge, she does not intend to now; although she's well aware that in this instance, she might bite off more than she can chew. But Cassie realizes she’d give up everything if it means having Joe in her life, permanently. She wants to go riding with him, all things considered, riding with Joe will be, one hell of a ride!

Reviewed by Sefina Hawke for Readers' Favorite
One Hell Of A Ride by Ju Ephraime is a westernhistorical romance novel that would appeal most to a mixed audience ofmature young adults and adults who enjoy western romance and who do notmind explicit language and sexual situations. Cassie Sorrento's life is turned upside down by a ruggedly handsome drifter by the name of JoeCariello, who claims that he used to know her grandfather. CassieSorrento is skeptical of the drifter's claim because of the agedifference between her grandfather and Joe. When Joe Cariello saw Cassie standing at his old friend's house and introduced himself, he had noidea that he would become the most likely suspect for a murder, nor that he would meet the one person who just might be able to cause him to put down roots.

One Hell Of A Ride by Ju Ephraime has a beautifully shadowed cover thathinted at a western mystery with some hot romance mixed in. I loved therealistic feel of the western setting in this book and Ju Ephraimeclearly put a lot of effort into giving it an authentic western feel.The characters were all well developed with their own personalities,wants, and dislikes that made them feel like real people that couldalmost walk off the pages of the book. Joe Cariello became my favoritecharacter because of how much he came to care for Cassie; I loved theway he wanted to work with Cassie to find out the truth. The interaction between the two of them clearly showed the building attraction and thehope Joe began to have of staying with Cassie. I have to say that Iwould love to see more of Joe and Cassie in the future!