Ramen Assassin: Book OneWhen life gives Kuro Jenkins lemons, he wants to make ponzu to serve at his Los Angeles ramen shop.Instead he’s dodging bullets and wondering how the hell he ended up back in the Black Ops lifestyle he left behind him. After rescuing former child star Trey Bishop from a pair of thugs in the middle of the night, he knows it’s time to pick up his gun again. But it seems … up his gun again. But it seems trouble isn’t done with Trey, and Kuro can’t quite let go… of either the gun or Trey Bishop.
Trey Bishop never denied his life’s downward spiral was his own fault. After a few stints in rehab, he’s finally shaken off his Hollywood bad-boy lifestyle but not his reputation. The destruction of his acting career and his relationships goes deep, and no one trusts anything he says, including the LAPD. When two men dragging a dead body spot him on a late-night run and try to murder him, Trey is grateful for the tall, dark, and deadly ramen shop owner he lusts over—not just for rescuing him, but also for believing him.
Now caught in a web of murders and lies, Trey knows someone wants him dead, and the only one on his side is a man with deep, dark secrets. Trey hopes Kuro Jenkins will stick around to see what the future holds for them once the dust settles, but from the looks of things, neither of them may survive to find out.
more
As always I can’t fault Rhys’s books. Her story telling is so effortless, so engaging that I forget where I am for a little while and simply immerse myself in her characters, in her plots and her unique style of writing. This author’s voice is one that flows seamlessly and with Kuro and Trey and their antics trying to stay alive, shaking off the bad guys and wreaking havoc wherever they go, you are transported to another world. A gritty, oft dark world of child abductions and terror, of men willing to do what it takes to save the fragile balance between good and evil. Highly recommended.
I would rate this 4.75 stars.
Kuro Jenkins owns a ramen shop in Los Angeles. Rescuing former child star Trey Bishop one night leads him back into a lifestyle he thought he left behind. Trey has his own past he is trying hard to shake. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Trey’s life is in danger, but as a recovering addict, no one believes him. Growing close as they try to figure out who’s trying to kill them, is it just proximity and convenience, or something more?
Every time I feel like I’m being mean, not giving higher star reviews, I read something like this to remind me why I’m just being honest. This author describes scenes I can picture in my mind, with so many little details stuck in, they create snapshots. Her words tease all my senses, giving me characters I care about and can root for. This is like an action adventure, yet so intimate. The writing is a rat-a-tat style that fits this genre well. Here, the secondary characters shine–especially the females. The plot twists actually move the story forward with nice symmetry. This is a spy tale–ex-spy tale–so the reader should expect some suspension of disbelief. Overall, this is a gripping, sweet and totally smoking romance, with a few dead bodies and a satisfying ending.
As usual for this author, this first in a new series is rich in descriptions and is seasoned with humor despite all the dead bodies. I look forward to the next book, though I hope that it gets an edit for clarity this one didn’t. There were several times where I lost who was saying what in the sameness of Kuro and Trey’s speech patterns. I’d have appreciated an identifying name here and there. I didn’t/don’t always get along with my sisters, but Trey’s, yikes. As always, the supporting cast is excellent.
I don’t know what to think about this book. There are parts I really like, parts I found silly and stupid, and parts that just underwhelmed me. Rhys Ford is a wonderful writer, and I enjoy her writing style, and this book was just as well written as her other work. The problem I had with this book was the strange plot – it was a mixture of over the top action and a nonsensical mystery – as well as some strange characterizations of supporting characters.
First, the plot: I’m all for suspending my disbelief and going along for the ride with a high-pace thriller plot, but that’s not what happened with this book. First, we are introduced to Kuro Jenkins, a special op agent (although it’s never clear what agency he worked for, although I’m assuming it’s based in the U.S.A.) during one of his covert missions that ends up blowing his cover. Apparently a blown cover means he’s no longer valuable and is kicked out of the agency, which confused me. I can see Kuro leaving the agency because he was ready for retirement, but just because you can’t do undercover ops doesn’t mean that such a specialized and well-trained agent isn’t valuable in another position. But I shrugged that off and continued with the book. However, throughout the book Kuro’s black op/special ops background keeps being brought up by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from their astonishment that he’s licensed to own everything up to tank (that was a paraphrase quote from one of the detectives) to how they’re suspicious they can’t find anything about him. It just felt so corny and because it felt corny, I had a hard time suspending my disbelief (because FYI, that’s now how any of this works in real life – a retired agent is a considered a civilian and they still won’t own a tank or any firepower that they might once have had access to when they were still working in that field – at least not legally). Then there was the mystery portion of the plot, which I had a hard time understanding what the motivation was for the need to murder Trey Bishop. I can understand murdering him to cover up another murder, but the other portion seemed super far-fetched, especially considering that situations like that would be fought in civil court.
Second, the supporting characters: The supporting characters all felt like they were pulled straight out of 80s and 90s Hollywood movies. The cops weren’t just bad – they were incompetent and unprofessional to the point of it being a reason for termination from the police force. I could MAYBE see this being believable for a small, dinky Sheriff’s office out in the remote boondocks, but not the LAPD, one of the biggest police forces in America, and one that is used to dealing with people from all over the world, plus celebrities, on a daily basis. The way the cops acted would not be tolerated by the LAPD (maybe in the 80s, but this book was recently published and it felt like it was supposed to be in the current time period). Plus, there are no Police Departments that would allow a detective to work on a case that centered on their family member as either the suspect or victim. I feel like that’s common knowledge, and that even a quick Google fact check would provide that answer. I don’t expect authors to have an in-depth knowledge of police departments, police procedures, or investigative work, but I do expect authors to have some common knowledge, and maybe even supplement it with a few Google checks (it’s not hard to search and read about the LAPD on the internet). Overall, the supporting characters all felt super sloppy and like stereotypical caricatures instead of interesting and dynamic secondary characters.
What I did like was the portrayal of the relationship between Kuro and Trey, and watching Trey grow in confidence and move forward in his life. I also enjoyed the sex scenes between the two main characters, and found their tenderness towards each other very touching. I also, as I first mentioned, really enjoy Rhys Ford’s writing style and humor. Plus, the description of ramen (real ramen, not that insta-stuff) was delicious and made me want to go eat ramen immediately.
Overall, this was a 2.5 star read for me, but I’ll still recommend it for anyone who enjoys Rhys Ford’s books and is looking for some action and mystery. If you don’t really care about caricatural depictions of characters and just want a thrill with a solid dose of love and protective Alpha male, then this book will serve you well.
Rhys Ford is one of the few authors I pre-order as soon as a new book goes up on Amazon, and when I saw the title for this one, Ramen Assassin, I couldn’t wait.
In true Rhys Ford style, she paints a vivd world of sight, scent, and sound. Readers can easily visualize the stage that Trey and Kuro’s romance plays out on. It’s gritty, sometimes dark, but full of so much life.
Trey is a fantastic character, struggling as a recovering addict who’s burned his family one too many times and lost their support.
Kuro is a man who’s seen too much death in his life and just wants to peacefully make food and live quietly.
When the two come together, it’s a beautiful buildup of trust, friendship, and love. As unlikely as their pairing is, they’re exactly right for each other.
Set against an action packed murder mystery complete with high speed chases and shootouts, this is a must read and a solid addition to my Rhys Ford collection.
I loved Ramen Assassin, which isn’t a surprise. I love Rhys Ford’s books and this was no exception. I love books with cooking and Ramen Assassin was interesting to read about ramen. And who doesn’t like a good murder mystery wrapped up in a hot, sexy romance. This ticked all the boxes for me and I can’t wait to read more of this series.
After this amazing (and tasty 🙂 ) appetizer , I need more, many more Ramen Assassins stoies! They are packed with action, fun, great characters and I cant get enough of them.
As with all books by Ms Ford that I’ve read, she creates imperfect quirky characters that you can’t help but love. The city of Los Angeles comes alive with all its smells, tastes and colors. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Kuro Jenkins – fiercely protective yet oh so caring assassin turned ramen shop chef. He projected calm and steadied Trey. Despite all the rumors about Trey, he saw something worth saving and caring for in the young man who didn’t see any value himself. There should be more men like Kuro who stand by their words and prove them furthermore with actions. Plus all the delicious noodle recipes made me salivate!
Trey Bishop is a child film star who burned too bright and has fallen too hard. After so many setbacks he is finally picking up the pieces of his life, when being in the wrong place at the wrong time sets a target on his back. Trey needed somebody to believe in him when his fledgling self-confidence was taking a beating from all sides. I had mixed feelings about Trey. His downward spiral was horrendous described through short flashbacks – rich talented boy with everything handed to him and throwing it away. But when I looked at his family: uncaring self-serving mother and despot of a father, I figured that Trey sought attention and affection from his TV show family and crew, only finding acceptance of the wrong kind – at the bottom of the bottle and every possible addictive substance known to man. But in the present I admired his will not to succumb to the craving.
I enjoyed the mystery which was both unorthodox and a bit bizarre. This book is very fast-paced, and is more focused on men as individuals as if setting the stage for the future relationship. The initial strong feelings develop fast, and both men are ready to discover if what they feel will last. The family dynamics also show both Kuro and Trey in different light. I enjoyed this new series beginning, and I can’t wait to read Kuro and Trey’s shenanigans! I highly recommend it!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
When Trey witnesses a dead body being dragged into a van, and then he gets shot at, he never thought the guy who has invaded his dreams would be the one to save him. He makes noodles all day, how can the man possibly pack more fire power than the bad guys, huh? Kuro thought he had left all that behind in the blaze of bullets that followed him to the embassy. But no, here he is, standing over the cute guy who comes in most days, shooting at the bad guys trying to shoot Trey. And then someone shoots at him. And Kuro sees red. Someone has to stand up for Trey, cos his own sister won’t!
You never EVER know, from reading a Ford blurb, which way a book will go. You all do it, you read a blurb and your brain goes, Yup, thats what is gonna happen and then you start reading and whatever you had in mind goes right up in smoke!
so, Devastating? check. Emotional? check. Deadly? Murderous? check. Sexy? check, check and check!
I loved Kuro and Trey, both together and seperately. The way their stories mesh together is brilliant. I loved that they had both been eyeing each other up, but neither one wanted to make a move. The fact that Kuro let Trey sit at the back table every time he came in, had not gone unnoticed by his staff. The eyes Trey made at Kuro had not gone unnoticed either.
Trey’s history could be any child star in today’s world. A rise to fame, from a very young age, and a meteoric fall from grace that left him in everyone’s bad books, his family especially. I hated his sister! She was so mean to Trey right when Trey needed her, and when Kuro takes up his case, Kuro gives Trey’s sister such a piece of his mind, it’s a wonder the woman wasn’t reduced a pile of goo!
The whodunnit is a long winded (and long planned out!) and complicated plot, and I loved how it all went down!
This is billed as book one in the Ramen Assassin series. I have no idea whether Kuro and Trey will be the centre of each book, or some of Kuro’s associates will be, I don’t really care, to be honest! I just wanna read them!
And oh! The food! The food Kuro cooks sounds so yummy! Even when he does what I would call a “cupboard dinner” basically, whatever was in Trey’s cupboards and fridge, it was yum! I was drooling, for God’s sake! I can only hope Ms Ford does some sort of recipe thing with the book tour, I will have to switch the ramen for rice noodles, but Lord, PULEEEEZE let there be recipes!
I love Rhys Ford, you know I do, and I have so MISSED the way she spins her tales! One sitting read, 200 odd pages, 2.5 hours, and boom! More, I need more!
5 full and shiny stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I love all of Rhys Ford’s books but the mystery suspense/romance are my favorites. I also like unique
characters so I jump at assassins..( I mean bad boys…oh yeah!) The prologue in this book is so intriguing and like sticky paper… once you start reading you are stuck on the story!!
Kuro is not really a hired assassin but more black ops kinda guy ( I don’t know exactly what he was, but he keeps saying not an assassin). His covers were blown in a big (kinda funny way) and he was very injured to boot so now he is a ramen shop owner.
Trey is a washed-up child actor that is from a very wealthy, mixed up family and after his last drug escapades, his family has practically disowned him. He is on last legs with his dad and living in a bungalow on a mansion his dad still owns and one of his ex-mistresses and Trey’s best friend runs and lives in. Trey witnesses something horrific gets seen and tries to run, Kuro hears the shooting and steps in to protect the man and sees its one of his customers. This sets two things in motion. A slow burn romance between Trey and Kuro and a price on both men’s heads.
I absolutely loved both Trey and Kuro. They are perfect for each other. Trey though has his issues is no pushover. Kuro the hot, dark avenger. There are lots of other good characters as well. The plot was good, hard to figure out, twisty, and intriguing. If you like a good romantic suspense I highly recommend this one. I can’t wait to see more of these guys!
A new series from Rhys Ford and O.M.G what a start. I have a serious crush on Kuro! At the same time I want to stand in Trey’s corner and cheer him on. As is totally appropriate and expected from this author we have gunfire, murder, blood, bereavement. We also have new love, the start of a lasting relationship and Food. Lots of delicious sounding Food. There are secondary characters I would really like to punch even though I can sort of see their point of view. So… yes the start of another must have auto buy series for me.
Rhys Ford wrote another great start to a new series , where she combined her love for good food with her usual knack for mystery, action (or should I say murder & and mayhem) humor and hot, complicated men. As usual the story is full of turns and twists. Writing is excellent with her usual attention to the detail, so it’s easy to imagine the world she created. Side characters are strong and interesting. She took the usual heat down a notch, but it did not hurt the story. If you want to know what a former, hot as hell, dark opps operative turned ramen chef and former child star actor and addict have in common dive in. At the end you’ll probably want to own a hairless cat and Kuro to cook for you – just so you can watch him doing it. The ending is a solid HFN and it could be a standalone but I’m really hoping to read more about this couple. It’s a page turner.
I won a copy in an ARC lottery and this is my honest opinion.