Big thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for the widget to read You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard! My first from this author and I enjoyed this story. It gets 3.75 stars from me.

Would recommend if you like: Billionaire trope, stranded on an island, strong sisterly relationship, multi POV & timelines, all-around good mystery.

This takes place over several days and is told in alternating POV of Summer and Leo. Summer's timeline gets a bit ahead of Leo's so we are unsure while reading what parts of the story she is being told about Leo are true and what is made up. Meanwhile, Leo is trying to understand what is happening to her and a lot more. I thought the timing of this worked really well.

I thought both the main characters were well-developed enough that we understood what their motivations were in every situation they'd find themselves in. ALSO I adored their relationship and that when they both find themselves in dangerous situations they think "what would Summer/ Leo say or tell me to do, or what advice would she give." Their relationship was an absolute favorite part of this story for me.

The author gives enough of a backstory for Summer that you'd almost feel bad for her and understand why she lives the kind of life she does (she's a pickpocket, that isn't a spoiler). At first I struggled with feeling anything but annoyance for her but as we learn her story and how she came to this point in her life, I started to feel a little differently for her.

I took a guess around 55% of the "big" twist and was right; I imagine it would be super easy for most seasoned mystery readers to pick up on. There are other twists though and some I didn't expect. The ending wraps up nicely for both women which I loved.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Summer and Leo are nomads, living out of a van, each with their own secrets and deceptive skills that complement each other. When Leo opts to pull a scheme to catch a billionaire, there were no worries, she has conned money before, but this time is different. When she meets Michael, he whisks her away to his private island, leaving her BFF summer unsure of her whereabouts. But Summer trusted her gut and realized something was wrong, so she used her skills to catch an invite to the island to investigate. Once there, who to to trust? Each woman experiences interesting interactions, what is real, what is not, all eyes watching. The second portion goes by so quickly as if you are on the run with each woman.

I love the con artist trope and the secluded island vibe. I loved the dual pov and I also liked how you didn’t know who you could trust. I will read more by this author.

A wild ride of a book that was almost too over the top for me. Summer and Leo are friends and con artists that picked the wrong mark to mess with. The story is told in both Summer’s and Leo’s POV about both their pasts and present. Some instances were just too over the top to be coincidental and as the book neared the ending the tension from the first part dropped off.

But if you’re looking for an easy read of a summer thrill ride set in sunny California about two con artist friends, you’re going to like You Can Trust Me. Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this eARC.

3.75 rounded up. This was a good twisty popcorn thriller great for the beach type of read. Twisty good fun as the story follows two grifter friends where one meets a rich guy perfect for a mark and then disappears soon after. The other feeling this is unlike her friend attempts to find her by going to the private island of where said guy is currently residing to look for her. From there, buckle up for the fast pace bumpy ride of this summer thriller.

Leo and Summer live the life of nomads, doing what they can to make money the illegal way while trying to live their lives on their own terms. Neither has had an easy life and because of this they come together like sisters, doing anything for each other.

But then their luck runs out. Things don't go the way they're supposed to, and according to Summer, Leo disappears. Summer knows something is very wrong and she decides to use every trick she's learned on the streets to get Leo back.

This is a fast paced thriller with twists around every single turn. I could not put it down, and the ending is just ridiculously incredible. It's a great read for lounging by the pool - just don't get sunburned when hours go by while you're sucked into Summer and Leo's world.

This book was a wild ride and the perfect (to me) summer read. It had beachy vibes, but also was very suspenseful! It also had that locked door/private island setting which never disappoints.

Summer and Leo are both basically homeless/runaways. But they come together and live like nomads. Scamming, pickpocketing, doing what they must to survive.

When Leo goes missing after a night with a tech billionaire, Summer is determined to find her, no matter what it takes.

Fast paced and a quick read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙄𝙣 𝙖 “𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙥 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚”, 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙖 𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙚—𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙖 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙬𝙧𝙮.

I requested this book because I thought it would be the perfect summer read, and while it was, it definitely was not what I was expecting.

I did really enjoy Summer and Leo’s friendship, but I never felt like I knew enough to really care for them. They both have a backstory, but I didn't care for the actions/decisions they made. Summer is a pickpocket artist and Leo has wealthy men fall in love with her so she can steal from them financially.

I did like that this book was set in California, I think the setting was perfect for the story. It was interesting trying to piece together what happened on the island and what happened to Leo. While I do think this is the perfect summer read to pick up by the pool/beach, there were some moments I did not find too thrilling.

I liked the beginning of this book a lot more than the ending, the ending felt over the top. The way everything wrapped up felt so cheesy and I really wish it took a different direction - it had potential.

Overall, I liked the beginning, the concept, and their friendship. However, the ending wasn’t for me and I felt like the characters were tough to resonate with and root for - at times they felt like teenagers with their decisions. This is a good summer read, it just wasn’t a favorite of mine.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Bantam for the eARC and PRH Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

When I think upon my read of this book my first two thoughts are propulsive and fun. This book serves as a great vacation read as you get pulled in quickly and do not want to put it down.

Two nomad friends may try to scam the wrong man and find themselves in unfortunate situations on a privately owned island by a wealthy businessman. This book is best read "blindly" without knowing too much information. While there was a thrilling aspect to this book there is also an exploration of found family and what it means when those you love abandon you early on in life.

I will be picking up Wendy Heard's upcoming and backlist releases going forward.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy!

I have been all aboard the con artist train since the trend started. I have loved reading about their conniving ways. This book was presented as a con artist type, but it was not that. It is more of a fast paced popcorn thriller that was an easy read. Two friends who have been manipulating the elite for their own benefit get caught conning the wrong people. I would recommend this as a great beach read!

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard. Pub Date: June 13, 2023. Rating: 3 stars. Set in summer, this is the story of two girls who travel as nomads in California and get caught up in a wealthy man's world. Summer and Leo are two females who crave freedom, are mysterious and know how to pickpocket with the best of them. They eventually end up on a private island of a billionaire and upon the arrival, weird things start to happen. This thriller is fast paced, but I found it to be far fetched and repetitive at times. A solid read for summer vibes. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. #youcantrustme #netgalley

Summer and Leo are as free and untethered as the California breeze. They live out of Summer’s Land Cruiser and don’t stay in any one place for too long. Thanks to Summer’s expert pickpocket and thievery skills that she learned growing up on the road with the hippie mother who left her behind years ago, they are a seemingly unstoppable (and inseparable) force against the world. When Leo intentionally crosses paths with a billionaire that catches her attention in attempts to score big… their games quickly become deadly.

I enjoyed this one a lot! It had lots of great, thrilling twists I didn’t see coming and it kept my attention the whole time. The plot was unique, well-written, and got right down to business which I love in a book. This was my first time reading Wendy Heard but I’ll definitely look out for more from her in the future!

Thank you so much to PRH/Ballantine Books, Wendy, and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy!

Free e-ARC from NetGalley!

This was a great quick thriller- an excellent beach or poolside read, for fans of Promising Young Woman with Glass Onion (the movie) vibes. Summer and Leo are found family sisters living on the road, making money scamming dudes and some light stealing. When Leo disappears to an island with her new billionaire mark and doesn’t return as planned, Summer must make her way there and figure out what happened to Leo. I admit, I didn’t love the way all the twists and turns went- I found this book to be stressful because I was so invested in the characters. They were all really well written and I was dying to know what was going to happen next. Definitely recommend for this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Heard and Ballentine Publishing for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. It was totally the perfect book for my beach vacation and I flew through it. I saw a few of the small twists coming, but overall I was surprised throughout and really enjoyed it.

A gripping and exciting thriller filled with dark twists and turns. I was engaged the whole time and it was a pretty quick read. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ You Can Trust Me is a fast-paced popcorn-esque thriller that was the perfect thing to listen to on my last long car ride.

Summer and Leo are twenty-something con artists with tragic pasts who’ve been each others’ found family for years. When Leo seemingly disappears while swindling a new target, Summer will do whatever it takes to find her.

I loved the characters, especially because it can be hard to find “bad guys” you actually want to root for! Summer and Leo’s friendship added so much dimension to the plot and the multiple timelines and POV kept me very invested.

The story reminded me a bit of the movie “Heartbreakers” and the book Lucky (which I found incredibly underwhelming). If you’re looking for a fun summer read with fleshed out characters and a propulsive plot, this just might be the book for you!

This book is the perfect summer book. Multiple POVs is my favorite type of style writing. It was a predictable plot line but I still really enjoyed it. I love thrillers whether they are predictable or not.

Summer and Leo are career criminals. It sounds harsh. Really they are more like drifters or dreamers with sticky fingers. Summer was raised by her mom who was a gypsy. She traveled around, never worked an honest day in her life and raised her daughter to do the same. One thing Summer always understood growing up was to take care of yourself always.

But moving around is a lonely life. So when Summer meets Leo, she finds a best friend and sister in her. Leo isn't as talented at stealing. But she's gorgeous and does a good job capturing men's hearts, and then their wallets.

When Leo catches the eye (in a carefully orchestrated scenerio), she knows she's hit the big time. And better yet? He's rich and attractive. On the night of their first date, he whisks her away to his private island and she feels like a princess. At least at first.

She doesn't return home and Summer has no choice but to follow her to the island on the coat tails of a very average employee.

You Can Trust Me is a bit of a friendship novel, a bit of a missing persons thriller, and there are surprises around every corner. All in all, a great beach read!

Special thanks to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is available now.

A fast-paced, twisty read following two women who scam their way up and down the California coast. The characters, their backstories, and their actions keep the reader hooked with one surprise after another. Loved the story line, loved the little surprises, great summer read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #YouCanTrustMe

What a ride! Very fast paced, thrilling thriller. Be prepared to forget all your chores while reading this one and stay up way to late. Awesome! Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review