Just One Bite

Pav S. (pav_sanborn_bookworm)

Omg this plot was CRAZY. Videos have been leaked showing a mother not treating her little girl well, to say the least. The mother has an empire on TV and everyone around her including her husband believe the videos!!! We all know social media, and fake content is everywhere. Can the mom proved her innocence? Adding to the story she suspects her nanny, who turns up dead on their property! The ending had me STUMPED and I never saw it coming.

advanced-copies-arc

781 reviews26 followers

Review of advance copy received from Author

June 3, 2026

You know I’m always excited when this author releases a new book, and I can’t wait to dive in! Watching authors grow and improve with each new installment is such a joy, and this latest one is no exception!

Brittany Cole, a celebrity chef known for her wholesome brand, faces a PR crisis when a video of her yelling at her daughter goes viral. This incident escalates as more deepfake videos emerge, leading to public backlash, sponsor withdrawals, and her husband's divorce filing. As her life unravels, a close associate is murdered, prompting police inquiries. Brittany realizes she must uncover the identity of the person orchestrating this campaign against her before it becomes life-threatening...

Meet Brittany, a successful figure who’s almost like a celebrity. Despite her achievements, she’s working hard and often finds herself stretched too thin. When you’re juggling so many responsibilities, something’s bound to slip through the cracks—especially if it involves your child. In today’s world, the public can be merciless when they see a parent fail. Then there’s her husband, Tyler, who comes off as a bit of a leech, living off Brittany's hard-earned fame and fortune. And we can’t forget Charlene, Brittany’s mother-in-law, who always wanted the daughter she never had. It’s no surprise that family dynamics can get sticky and complicated—who doesn’t know that feeling?

I’ve really grown to love Miranda’s books, having read nearly all of them in the past two years. Each time, they seem to ramp up the suspense and venture into more thrilling territory! It’s exciting to see an author push beyond their comfort zone, and it definitely pays off in this story. Every event is described so vividly that you can truly feel the dread, helplessness, and sheer desperation to put the pieces together before it’s too late. At times, I felt like I was watching everything unfold in real-time but couldn’t quite pinpoint the culprit. After all, what if there’s more than one?

The level of gaslighting and manipulation in this book is astounding! As when you think you have it figured out, the plot thickens! We also tackle a new adversary: AI and its potential to wreak havoc on your life. Just imagine someone gains access to your photos and private moments, manipulating them to their advantage. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not, and technology will only get more sophisticated over time. You really need to think twice about what you share out there, because one wrong move could send your life spiraling out of control!

If you’re up for some family drama, plenty of gaslighting, and unpredictable twists, this book will surely keep you hooked, especially on your vacation. It’s fast-paced and impossible to put down! The tension builds as the plot unfolds, keeping you guessing about what will happen next. The author masterfully hides the clues, and when you think you have it all sorted out, they reveal not one but two major twists! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to toss those cupcakes I got from my mother-in-law, trust me! Ha!

Thank you, Miranda and Booksprouts, for the DRC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

booksprout-2026 reading-challenge-2026

Barbara Schultz

4,350 reviews313 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

2026-gr-challenge 5-stars-2025-2026 arc

Book: Just One Bite
Author: Miranda Rijks
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Pub Date: June 28, 2026
My Rating: 4.5 Rounded up
Pages: 305

Celebrity chef Brittany Cole has it all~ fame and success as she has two TV shows to prove that success. She also has the perfect family- husband Tyler and four-year-old daughter Aster and they live in a restored farmhouse outside Burlington, Vermont.

Brittany is super busy and constantly on the move. She has Nanny Riley McDonnell caring for Aster. However, Riley is out of town visiting relatives, so Brittany hires a temporary nanny through an agency. However, as she is preparing to leave for a shooting of her upcoming show, the nanny is a no show. Brittany has no choice but to take Aster to work. Which is no place for a four-year-old.

Things are not working out for either of them. So Brittany takes Aster out for a late lunch and suddenly remembers the 3:00 Birthday party Aster wanted to attend. Aster has a temper tantrum about not being able to attend the party- this was too much of a terrible day for this four-year old and announces that her mother is” THE Worst Mom” and wants Riley.

Brittany rushes her daughter to the party. The moms are impressed that she is there until someone checks Instagram and sees the video of Brittany shouting at her daughter. Yikes it goes viral.
It’s a PR nightmare that threatens to destroy Brittany’s squeaky-clean image.
Soon more videos of Brittany are released this time showing her abusing Aster. Brittany knows these new videos are NOT real, so it means someone is trying to destroy her life.
Sure, enough they are succeeding, as Brittany's perfect life is being destroyed. Her sponsors flee, her husband Tyler isn’t supporting her, and something happens to Riley and Brittany is being blamed.
The police questions Brittany and after seeing videos they arrest her.

Brittany knows she needs expert help and hires Kai Underwood an expert in cybersecurity. She realizes that she is a
victim of ‘Deepfakes.
(This was very interesting as well as somewhat scary as it really is happening!)

This story kept me turning pages~ I am a big psychological thriller fan so know to suspect everyone. Must admit whodunit it was a surprise.

Ms. Rijks does not disappoint!

BTW: Ms. Rijks liked to use characters names in her stories that her readers suggest.
So, if you want to be in print --- sign up for her newsletter and she will tell you when she is ready for her next thriller.

Want to thank NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Day Scheduled for June 28, 2026.

Gary

3,164 reviews429 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Just One Bite, is a psychological thriller by Miranda Rijks. This is a fast paced novel where a modern day media technology causes public shaming.

Brittany Cole is a celebrity chef who sis living the best life. She has successfully built a wholesome, multi-million dollar lifestyle brand trusted by families across the nation and represents the ultimate aspiration of fame, professional success, and a picturesque, perfect family. But in the digital age, perfection is highly volatile. While out in public, Brittany’s four-year-old daughter throws a standard toddler meltdown. Frustrated and exhausted, Brittany snaps, yelling at the little girl. A bystander captures the brief outburst on camera, uploads it, and within hours, Brittany has gone viral, and her squeaky-clean image is plunged into a total public relations nightmare.

Brittany becomes the focus of an online attack, as videos begin to appear on social media feeds. Each video shows Brittany as an abusive mother which is far from the persona that she has adorned. The video’s depict Brittany as a bad mother and causes the hashtag #bitchmom to trend globally. Brittany is distraught, especially as she knows she never recorded those videos, and she never hurt her child.

An anonymous predator is attacking her image with sophisticated AI deepfakes to systematically dismantle her existence. This isn’t a random internet troll, it is a calculated attack by someone who has been closely monitoring her home, her cooking studio, and her marriage to gather the raw data needed to fake her life. The digital assassination places Brittany’s life in a tail spin, corporate sponsors cancel contracts, causing potential financial ruin. Her husband, unable to handle the toxic fallout and public shame, abruptly files for divorce. The psychological warfare turns bloody when someone close to Brittany is brutally murdered. With her digital reputation in tatters, the police look at the viral footage and begin asking hard questions that Brittany cannot realistically answer.

I really enjoy Miranda Rijks novels, they are fast paced, addictive and entertaining. Just One Bite is a little bit different because the weapon isn’t a knife or a gun, it’s an attack using media technology. An online attack that leaves Brittany fighting for her survival, and it becomes crystal clear that the internet hacker doesn’t just want to cancel Brittany online, they want her dead.

I really enjoyed this novel and found it difficult to put it down.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Inkubator Books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Daniella

122 reviews1 follower

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

June 2, 2026

Miranda Rijks has done it again.

I picked up Just One Bite hoping for a gripping psychological thriller, and instead I became completely obsessed. This was one of those books where I was constantly sneaking in a few more pages, thinking about the story when I wasn’t reading, and desperately needing to know what fresh nightmare was about to land on the main character.

Brittany Cole is a celebrity chef, devoted mother, and the face of a successful brand. When a disturbing video surfaces online, her life begins to unravel in spectacular fashion. The less said about the plot, the better, but readers should prepare themselves because poor Britt is about to go through absolute hell.

What made this book such a standout for me wasn’t the twists, although there are plenty of them. It was Brittany herself. Miranda Rijks has a gift for creating characters who feel like real people rather than pieces being moved around a plot. I became incredibly invested in Britt and found myself rooting for her from the very beginning. Every setback hit hard because I cared so much about what happened to her.

And trust me, there are a lot of setbacks.

Every time I thought Miranda had surely thrown the worst possible thing at this woman, she somehow found another way to raise the stakes. Public humiliation. Betrayal. Suspicion. Secrets. Accusations. The woman cannot catch a break. Yet somehow it never felt repetitive because I was so emotionally invested in seeing her fight her way through it all.

The chapters are not particularly short, but Miranda writes with such momentum that I flew through them anyway. The pacing is relentless, and the story constantly evolves in ways that kept me glued to the pages. More than once I confidently thought I knew where things were heading, only to realize there was another layer waiting to be uncovered.

What ultimately earned this book five stars wasn’t the mystery. It was the emotional investment. By the end, I wasn’t reading to find out who was responsible. I was reading because I desperately wanted Britt to be okay.

A final note to Miranda Rijks: how many catastrophes can you pile onto one woman before it becomes a human rights violation? Apparently more than I thought. I spent much of this book wanting to wrap Brittany in a blanket and tell her everything would be okay. Somehow, despite all the suffering, I could not stop turning pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. This was an easy five-star read for me.

Holly LaPat

175 reviews1 follower

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

June 1, 2026

Alfred Hitchcock once said, “Some films are slices of life. Mine are slices of cake.” This thriller – the first book I've read by Miranda Rijks – is definitely a slice of cake. And that’s not a bad thing.

Brittany Cole is the somewhat-reluctant host of a cooking show, "Just One Bite," a project launched by her husband Tyler, who co-owns the production company. Brittany is also the frazzled mom of their 4-year-old, struggling to juggle her work duties, caring for her daughter, and the pressure to look good doing it. After all, her public image as a wholesome, together mom is definitely part of the job description.

Any woman with children, even if she doesn't have TV cameras aimed at her, will be able to relate to Brittany’s struggle to balance her multiple roles. Yes, she has a nanny to help, but that's another source of guilt -- is she missing too much of her daughter's childhood? And is her stress giving her too short a fuse? When her daughter has a meltdown in a grocery store, and a stressed-out Brittany loses her temper, suddenly cellphone cameras are all around her. But the video that appears online a few hours later shows Brittany’s reaction as much more extreme than she remembers. She's sure the video is a deep fake. But then a few more "episodes" show up online, with Brittany lashing out at her child in the privacy of her home, and she has a hard time convincing her husband and friends that these scenes aren’t real. She even begins to doubt it herself.

The situation escalates until the nanny, who Brittany fired just the day before, turns up dead. Brittany quickly becomes the prime suspect. She keeps trying to get out in front of the story, but even her husband (not the nicest guy) keeps looking at her sideways. And the more she takes matters into her own hands – some of these moves are really bad ideas, Brittany! – the worse things look for her. But I rooted for her all the way.

The fast pace and growing tension of Brittany’s predicament kept me guessing, and I was pleased to find my guesses were wrong. There’s a final twist near the end, and I didn’t see that one coming either, although the additional scenes may not have quite as much punch as what came before. But I I thoroughly enjoyed “Just One Bite,” and I’m sure I’ll be back for another slice of Miranda Rijk’s cake.

NOTE: Thank you to Inkubator Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Amanda

386 reviews24 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Hard to relate. The main character is checked out and stressed out. She’s a mother trying to do it all, telling herself to do better, but it ends up as a negative cycle of self talk and no action. It’s anxiety producing. Her in laws dote on her grandchild, have a standing luncheon, and you’re going to be upset that they like bigger parties? I want to shake her and say “tell them what you’re planning! Involve them!” She’s trying to be secretive and I dislike it.

What I’d define as choppy storytelling - we had a scene with the producers about how they needed more space, but then skipped to a description of her house. What was the purpose?

A million “Netflix” “Spotify” throw-in-brand-here! Unnecessary details. It isn’t stopping me from getting more intrigued in what’s happening in Brittany’s life!

35% in and I’m getting Yellow Wallpaper vibes.

Feeling like the choppy maybe sort of on purpose? Just got to the part w the dissociative identity disorder, and hmmm.

49% through, it’s the husband and the builder is his lackey.

Ooooook here folks! Brittany didn’t lower my anxiety, but yellow wallpaper is right! She’s driven insane by the isolation, the fake facts, the lack of trust and support from her closest circle. Holy buckets. Fresh off the ending, I needed another paragraph or two for my adrenaline to wear off.

I wasn’t ready for that fake epilogue - also a little sneaky that Ms Rijks did that too! Kudos for the ending, once we hit 49%, the rest was addicting like chocolate cake. It didn’t flow exactly, and there were some questionable word choices that stick out. I still wouldn’t love to be friends w the main character as it feels she never learned to be honest with others, continuing to skirt around issues. She did throughout the whole thing, relate to me on her kid- maybe that’s the driving emotions that made me feel so much in the latter half.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy! My first advanced copy, and boy was it a good one.

This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.

Carrie Shields

1,816 reviews202 followers

Review of advance copy received from Author

June 1, 2026

𝐈𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐭.

Celebrity chef Brittany Cole has built an empire around her wholesome image, but when a video of her losing her temper with her young daughter goes viral, everything begins to crumble. What starts as a public relations disaster quickly spirals into something far more sinister when increasingly damaging deepfake videos appear online, threatening her career, her family, and eventually her life. 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐓𝐄 is a pulse-pounding thriller that feels terrifyingly relevant, tapping into some of the biggest fears of our digital age.

It was insane just how timely this plot felt. You do not have to be an influencer with millions of followers to understand Brittany's panic. All it takes is one bad moment, one clip taken out of context, one mistake caught on camera, and suddenly strangers feel entitled to judge your entire character. Miranda Rijks takes that very real anxiety and pushes it to its most frightening conclusion. As the lines between truth and fabrication blur, the tension becomes almost unbearable because the premise never feels far-fetched. It feels possible.

I absolutely flew through this book. The pacing is relentless, the twists kept me second-guessing everyone, and the sense of helplessness Brittany experiences practically radiates off the page. More than anything, this story made me think about how fragile reputations have become in a world where seeing is no longer believing. Equal parts cautionary tale and addictive thriller, this was the kind of book that had me muttering "just one more chapter" long past the point when I should have gone to bed. Many thanks to the author for the early copy that will publish June 28, 2026.

Sacha

2,162 reviews

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

3.75 stars

Brittany is a well-known TV personality/chef with a great career, a seemingly charming family (husband and young daughter), and money. At least it seems that way from the outside. Readers come to learn quickly - faster than Brittany does, it turns out - that appearances do not equate with reality in this world. There is some much more sinister force afoot, and it is coming straight for Brittany's picture perfect existence.

Things are starting to shift for Brittany ahead of this, but a major inciting incident is the release of a video in which Brittany is going off on her young daughter. While the clothes and setting are right, the behavior simply never happened. This has to be a deep fake, but no one in Brittany's circle is particularly well educated about this, so there are a lot of assumptions and uncertainty. Once they figure out what is happening, they have to find out who is responsible. Obviously, this person has a specific vendetta against Brittany, and it's hard to track down who this might be because so many people have so much access to her. While there's much more to the mystery and thrills, these elements of modern life - access, exposure, and AI - really enhance the terror and questions about what can happen to us with the wrong mix of factors.

I found this to be well paced, engaging, and intriguing, and while those modern elements are certainly at play, one must never forget that the real evil still exists in people. This book presents some creative reminders of this fact.

This is a great beach read and a fun thriller in general.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Inkubator Books for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Supriya K

147 reviews9 followers

Review of advance copy received from Netgalley

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📱 One viral video destroyed her life.

She's about to lose everything.

Her daughter.

Her husband.

Her career.

Her reputation.

The entire world has already judged her.

There's just one problem...

The video wasn't real.

🧁 Just One Bite🧁

By: @mirandarijksauthor

Publisher: Inkubator Books

Pub Date: June 28, 2026

Mystery & Thriller, Psychological Thriller, General Fiction (Adult)

Thank you! @NetGalley @InkubatorBooks for the ARC.

My Screams: 😮

It's 3 AM. I can't sleep. I pick up a book.

Next thing I know, it's 8 AM and I've finished the entire thing.

#Unputdownable

Celebrity chef Brittany Cole's perfect life explodes when a viral video turns the internet against her. But what if the videos everyone believes aren't real?

This was such a fresh concept. A twisty, mind-bending psychological thriller that had me suspecting everyone. Every time I thought I had figured it out, the author proved me wrong.

The tension, frustration, anxiety, and paranoia were through the roof. The pages flew by faster than my heart rate.

I loved Brittany. She frustrated me at times, but she was also strong, determined, and refused to give up when her entire world was falling apart.

What really stayed with me was the discussion around deepfakes, online trolling, and how quickly people judge someone's life based on a single video.

Reading this made me think differently. A viral clip never tells the whole story.

I finished two other books yesterday, but this was the one I ran to Instagram to post about first.

This is my 7th book by Miranda Rijks, and every time she hits the spot.

My May was a blast...

And June has started with a hit. 🔥

A Must Read!

#JustOneBite #MirandaRijks #NetGalley #PsychologicalThriller

Sue

934 reviews

Review of advance copy

May 29, 2026

Just one Bite Miranda Rijks Obtained via BookSprout.

Miranda Rijks has done it again! I love her books, and this one was no exception.

Brittany is a loving mother with very little time to spend with her child. She has two TV shows and is constantly on the move.
She is filmed in a store shouting at her daughter, and the clip appears on social media. But Brittany insists that the clip has been doctored in some way - what is shown is not what happened.

Everyone was a suspect!! I can't say I trusted one person in this book!
AI is getting out of hand in the real world, never mind in this book. Lives were ruined, and Brittany struggled to prove her innocence.

Like I say, everyone was a suspect in my mind, and I would never have guessed the reveal....although it was one of my suspects!

I cannot recommend this book enough. I have read more than half of Miranda's books, and follow her on Facebook, and I truly think she is a gifted psychological thriller writer.

5/5 stars.

Janine

2,205 reviews18 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

May 30, 2026

This my first book by this author and I dint think it will be my last. Great psychological thriller with a fair among of twists you don’t see coming.

Celebrity chef, Brittany Cole, is riding fame high. She’s got a high rated TV show, a beautiful daughter, Alisa, a handsome husband, Tyler, and a recently remodeled Vermont farm house. So when her four year old daughter has a meltdown on her TV, a video of Brittany abusing Alisa suddenly goes viral. Only the video is not accurate - Brittany knows that but her audience doesn’t. She seeks refuge at her Vermont farm only to have more bad things follow - one of which is a murder. Brittany is fighting not only for her freedom but for her family.

I thought the story was paced nicely. I liked Brittany in a way but she was a bit too trusting and when you hand off responsibilities like childcare without being vigilant bad things can happen. I think the author might have been trying to show that wealth doesn’t always give you everything.

My thanks up NetGalley and Inkubator Books for granting me access to this ARC.

2026-netgalley

TBR

242 reviews1 follower

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

June 1, 2026

Brittany was a television personality whose fame came unexpectedly and overwhelmingly. With two shows on Netflix, and a four year old daughter, Brittany was doing the best she could. Her life felt like it was spinning out of her control even with a handsome husband, a sprawling mansion, full-time nanny, and additional television deals in the horizon, Brittany’s marriage and relationship with her daughter were suffering as a result of her success. Things took from a hectic turn to dark and sinister when videos of her seemingly abusing her daughter surfaced online. Videos she was only almost certain were deepfakes. As secrets about her marriage unraveled after her nanny was found dead on her property, Brittany began to unravel as well. The writing was engaging and the pacing grew gradually more intense as the story progressed. What it lacked in atmospheric narrative style, this book made up for it with compelling characters. The ending felt both satisfying and somewhat anticlimactic.

Amy Moore

34 reviews

Advance copy from netgalley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

What a fast-paced and addictive thriller! Just One Bite follows a woman whose seemingly perfect life is turned upside down when everything she has built is threatened by the devastating impact of deepfakes.

I flew through this book and was hooked from the very first chapter. The short chapters kept the story moving at a rapid pace, and every time I thought I knew where it was heading, another twist pulled me back in. I was convinced I had figured it out, but the reveal completely shocked me—and somehow the ending managed to surprise me even more.

The main character could be a little frustrating at times, but despite that, I genuinely felt sorry for her and found myself invested in what would happen next.

With its gripping plot, timely theme, and constant suspense, this is a thriller that’s hard to put down. Definitely one I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys twisty psychological suspense.

Jine

337 reviews7 followers

June 2, 2026

This was a wild ride! Kinda creepy with the AI stuff but the story was really interesting
Brittany is a celebrity chef and mom and when her nanny is unreadable she has to take her daughter to work with her and after a difficult shoot she takes her to get food and her daughter has a meltdown so she yells at her not bad but people are looking and someone reposts the video! This was just the tip of the iceberg because more videos are sent to her as blackmail
Her nanny is spying on her and ends up ☠️ and she’s also a suspect in that
She can’t trust her husband who’s cheated annnd screwed up her finances
It’s a big big mess but everything eventually gets figured out but I didn’t see the blackmailer coming or the person behind everything
One thing when the cupcakes came out I was literally yelling don’t eat that! LOL

Danielle

43 reviews3 followers

The information provided in this review is strictly mine. This book was provided to me as an ARC from NetGalley

Just One Bite
By Miranda Rijks
Pub. Date 6/28

Brittany is a celebrity chef married to Tyler owner of a production company. They have a daughter Alisa. What starts out as a story about typical family dynamics and juggling career and motherhood turn into something more deranged. It’s almost as if Brittany may even be losing her mind.

Miranda does a great job building the characters. Even the small characters have an impact on the overall plot. You can’t help but feel for Brittany and at times want to defend her. It’s a great whodunnit with some interesting plot twists. Can you figure out if Brittany is guilty or is there someone else more sinister than her? This was a quick read. Great if you are in a slump and need something to cleanse your palate.

Regina

484 reviews13 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

June 3, 2026

I can always count on Miranda Rijks to provide me with some crazy entertainment, and she has never failed at igniting a fire underneath my skin with her stories. I kid you not, my blood was boiling the entire time. I wanted to rage and scream and hit something on behalf of our FMC. Thank goodness it was a short, fast-paced read. I don't think I could have handled the stress for much longer. The intensity and suspense were to the extreme where I could not stop reading. And the twists! Very unexpected. I was captivated from start to finish and loved every minute of it! I think this may just be my new favorite by this author. I highly recommend! You won't be disappointed.

Thank you to Inkubator Books and NetGalley for granting me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Amelia Nosworthy

13 reviews

Review of advanced copy

I looooove a book with multiple twists at the end!!

Brittany is a TV chef who finds herself on the wrong side of fame - (TW) child abuse, murder accusations.

This was fast-paced throughout and I was hooked within the first few chapters.
It was impossible to trust a single character, I love to guess twists in books but this time I didn’t and just let myself enjoy the suspense.
The character building was good and I love an author that ensures all chapters are relevant to the plot - no fluffy descriptions here!

While the ending was realistic and fit the story, I really wanted a more satisfying ending for Brittany!

Karen Traversy

93 reviews14 followers

Just One Bite
By Miranda Rijks
Pub date June 28, 2026

Miranda proves once again that her books are amazingly twisted. In Just One Bite, celebrity chef Brittany Cole watches her perfect life shatter overnight when flawless AI deepfakes of her go viral.

The sheer momentum of the plot creates a breathless, paranoid atmosphere where you cannot trust a single character. The "unraveling life" trope, dropping clever red herrings before pulling the rug out from under you with a wicked, jaw-dropping reveal.

It is a fast-paced, addictive, and deeply unsettling psychological thriller that you will easily finish in a single sitting.

I highly recommend any of her books

miranda-rijks

Oggiesbooks

117 reviews

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Good heavens, talk about a book to give you nightmares and make you want to rethink everything. Brittany had it all and one day, thandks to a psycho family member and spurned lover of her husband, it all went wonky. This book was wonderfully creepy and a great thriller. There were twists that I never saw coming. While reading it, I kind of kept wanting to peak over my shoulder because of feeling watched, kind of like Brittany. The characters were well written and really felt like they could be your local neighborhood crazies. It's a must read in my opinion.

Received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kim

173 reviews7 followers

June 6, 2026

Another winner from Miranda Rijks! I tend to stay away from books regarding influencers- I’m not sure why. I am so glad I was able to read this! The author reveals the real life stress and life of an influencer. In a world of people that base their self worth on all forms of social media-Brittany was definitely caught up in it and this book reveals the effect that it has on the family. She was very successful- but at what cost? Great characters and very well written. I really enjoyed this book and the ending definitely shocked me! Thank you to NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Miranda Rijks for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. Definitely one of my favorite authors! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Vee

26 reviews

June 6, 2026

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC of Take A Bite by Miranda Rijks!!

Take A Bite surprised me in the best way! Once I started it, I didn’t want to put it down!! One of those books that actually stresses you out and makes you frustrated with the characters.

This book wasn’t just a thriller, but a realistic tale of AI and advancing technology and how it can be used for harm. It also highlighted the nature of the media and social privacy in ways I never thought of before.

I really liked Take A Bite and had a very engaging reading experience! I’ve never read anything like this before and I will definitely check out more from this author!

2026-reads netgalley-arc

Rachel Browning

854 reviews11 followers

“Just One Bite” by Miranda Rijks was an absolutely crazy, twisty ride from start to finish. The story follows a celebrity chef whose life is turned upside down when fake videos targeting her go viral, threatening her reputation. With deception, murder, and an obsessive enemy determined to destroy her, the tension never lets up.
I was completely hooked from the first chapter and ended up reading it in one sitting. Fast-paced, suspenseful, and packed with surprises, this was a gripping thriller that kept me turning the pages.

Sara

34 reviews1 follower

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Just one bite is a gripping, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that hits uncomfortably close to home. Miranda Rijks takes the very modern terror of deepfakes and weaponized social media and crafts a taut, fast-paced story that’s impossible to put down. Brittany Cole is a compelling protagonist — flawed but sympathetic — and watching her perfect life dismantle piece by piece is both devastating and addictive. With twists that keep coming right to the end, this is Rijks at her best. A timely, chilling read

Deb

674 reviews29 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an early copy of Just One Bite. The cover was delicious looking! I wasn’t going to request this book honestly because of the title but I AM SO GLAD I GOT IT!!! What a Plot, that scene at the birthday party made me cringe and hyperventilate. I knew Tyler was a nasty piece of work. What an insightful look at deepfakes, horrible reality. The ending caught me by SURPRISE! A very fast moving book and I truly did not know who the culprit was. GREAT read, loved it, thank you again.

Ann

508 reviews12 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley

June 3, 2026

WoW! There are a lot of twists in this one! This my new favourite Miranda Rijks book. I’m always fascinated with celebrity character stories and how perfect their lives are perceived to be only to be exposed as something very different. AI -the possibility of deepfake videos- is cleverly woven into the storyline along with so many twists. I didn’t know who/what to believe. I’m always anxious to dive into a new title by Miranda- Just One Bite does not disappoint!
Thank You to NetGalley, Inkubator Books, and Miranda Rijks for the opportunity to thoroughly enjoy this ARC.

Cindy

351 reviews2 followers

Review of advance copy received from NetGalley