Wow, this ended up much twistier than I anticipated from the description. I flew through this in order to get to the reveal, and read it in 24 hours!

You better have plenty of extra time if you start this one, because you won’t be able to stop reading! I was sucked into this immediately and didn’t stop until I finished it. It was sooo good.

This is the story of two young women. Through life's circumstances, they have chosen to become grifters, con women and pickpockets. Their goals are set high as they go for diamonds and credit cards.

A mystery develops as the younger of the 2 women disappears after she was last seen in the company of a highly esteemed tech giant.

I have mixed feelings about this book. Their illegal activities are totally against my moral standards. And, the two women are not particularly likeable. But, a small part of me could not help but be intrigued by their lifestyle and the fact that they had been able to get away with it for a long time. Not very realistic, but certainly interesting. I think I would have liked more of their street life as opposed to the way it played out.

There were a few twists and turns. But, the story goes off the rails. The second half of the story is bizarre and convoluted. And, not in a good way. It was too dark for me, bordering on evil. And, not believable.

The narration/timeline was difficult to follow in the second half. The chapters alternated between the two women but a couple of days apart.

Once again I invoke my saying, Not every book is for everyone. There are lots of positive reviews, so there is a readership out there for this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Summer and Leo are friends, but their relationship is more that of sisters. They live together and travel around California looking for a good life. Summer learned to be a pickpocket at the age of eight and is a seasoned con, they’re skills shes taught Leo. Leo finds a big tech billionaire she has her sights on. This con is going to take a lot. When Leo disappears after spending the night with him, Summer is all alone after years. Will Summer be able to figure out what happened to Leo? Or is she just gone without a trace?

I really enjoyed both Summer and Leo as characters. They were so well developed and thought out! I loved how the book alternated between chapters from both points of view. It really added to the story and provided some additional depth. I also really enjoyed the flashbacks – they were great and added context for how both Summer and Leo are. I felt so much for both characters! This book kept me guessing the entire time – I never knew what was going to happen. The pacing was also great and kept me waiting for more and engaged at the same time.

If you’re looking for a wonderfully twisty close proximity thriller, then make sure to check this one out on June 13th! It would be the perfect poolside or beach read.

Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam, @randomhouse, Netgalley, @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

*My review will be posted online two weeks prior to the release date (slated for 6/2/23); this review will be updated with the appropriate links once live.

Summer and Leo are con artists, and Leo has her sights set on a big score… Until she disappears. Is Leo giving Summer the slip? Or did something go majorly wrong with the mark?!

I love literally every single thing about a thriller with FEMALE CON ARTISTS!!! I feel like the book *technically* started slow, like we didn't get to the mystery and thrills for a while, but these two women conning people/exploring the lifestyle was interesting and kept it moving enough that I wasn't even worried about where we were going or when we'd get there.

I typically don't LOVE when a book has flashbacks and/or alternating POVs, and this one had both…. BUT done really well! The flashbacks were just the right amount and kept relatively short so that I wasn't impatiently waiting to get back to today. They also fed directly into the narrative at hand, so it wasn't extraneous or jarring while we jumped back and forth. Finally, the alternating POVs were ABSOLUTELY necessary and added A LOT to the story, especially when the thrills were hitting and I was at the edge of my seat.

One of my favorite books of the year! It's rare for the main takeaway from a thriller to be about how great the characters are but that is absolutely the case here. I loved both Leo and Summer and devoured each chapter quickly as I could to learn more about each woman and what would happen to them. They are such interesting and genuine characters with an unconventional friendship and you can tell how much they care about each other. There are also plenty of characters I loved to hate!

The plot has plenty of twists but also enough breadcrumbs for the reader to slowly piece things together themselves which is my hallmark of a fantastic thriller. The setting was claustrophobic and creepy while also sounding like a perfect tropical paradise in some parts.

This book blew me away and I can't wait to read more from Wendy Heard.

I found this to be flat and had a weird timeline. I typically enjoy books that go back and fourth from past to present, but the story didn't flow for me. The book took me weeks to finish because I couldn't get into the story, until around 150 pages. Then, when the story went back in time it gave a nonchalant clue and I immediately figured out what was happening. I did like the friendship the 2 main characters had so that gets it 2☆.

Thanks to #RandomHousePublishingGroup & #Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review

DNF @ 46%

I usually love Wendy Heard’s books, but grifter/con-man stories have to walk a fine line to keep the tension going and this one didn’t quite make it. The flashback scenes didn’t serve the story in any way up to this point - since everything we really needed to know about Summer’s relationship with her mother, we got in her internal monologue/conversations with Leo.

I also had a hard time believing that Leo was as naive as she was after living on her own / as a grifter for almost 10 years. It made it really hard to buy into the series of really dumb decisions she made.

Summer was much more interesting as a character, but again the plot and pacing didn’t really compel me to invest my time and energy in it.

Time to try Heard’s most recent YA book instead!

You Can Trust me is an intense read that will have you reading long into the night.

Summer and Leo are two drifters who met by chance and now are best friends and consider themselves sisters.

Con artists, pick pockets and scammers but they capture your hearts.

Enter tech billionaire Michael who captivates Leo.

He seems to good to be true. Can Leo trust him, can he trust Leo.

The rest of the journey I leave up to the reader but I will say with every page the tension mounts and its a roller coaster of a read that will have you biting your nails and holding your breath.

Wendy Heard you have a new fan.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine, Bantam for a wild ride.

Summer and Leo are working together to get through life. They look for opportunities to make a quick buck, and when a “big fish” comes along, Summer and Leo both think it’s a great opportunity to score big! They will soon find out, however, that people are not always what they seem. This was a twisty, suspenseful story that fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy!

Summer and Leo are two girls living on their own after unfortunate events turn them into runaways. Living off of scams and constantly on the move, they only have each other. When a night goes wrong trying to get in with a billionaire, it becomes a thriller of a story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard
Publishing Date - 06/13/23
Rating (5/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you Netgalley , Random House Publishing House - Ballantine, and the author for this eARC. This one is an intense and exciting thriller. This fast - paced thriller kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen next. Will definitely read another from the author’s backlog in the coming months and watch for future new releases.

Really enjoyed this thriller! Told in alternating POVs and time periods, you don't know what happened until the very end! It was fast-paced and I didn't want to put it down! I was rooting for Summer and Leo! Some parts were a little predictable and some parts were a little far-fetched but I enjoyed the ride.

Summer is a skilled pickpocket, a small-time thief, and a con artist—and Leo, determined to pay her own way, has learned a trick or two. They travel around sunny California in Summer’s tricked-out Land Cruiser. Eager for a big score, Leo catches in her crosshairs Michael Forrester, a self-made billionaire and philanthropist. He invites her to his private island, where she hopes to return with photos and jewelery that can be sold. Instead, Leo disappears. Summer decides to infiltrate Michael’s island and find out what really happened. But when she arrives, no one has seen Leo. Plus, there was only one way on the island—and no way off—for the coming days. Trapped in a scheme she helped initiate, could Summer have met her match?

Predictable but an entertaining quick read that would be good for the beach or by the pool.

You Can Trust Me is the perfect summer beach read. This novel is about Summer and Leo are best friends who travel around California in their truck surviving by pulling cons. They would do anything for each other. When one of them gets wrapped into a long term con and goes missing, the other knows she has to do whatever she can to find her. While the twist of this novel was pretty obvious before the end, this was still a fun page turner. Loved Summer and Leo's characters!

Thanks NetGalley for the advance copy of this book. I really enjoyed this twisty thriller about two con artists traveling through California. It would be great for fans of Janelle Brown. In the acknowledgments the author also describes the book as a love letter to California and I think she really does nail the sense of place of California which added an extra layer of enjoyment for me. I will definitely check out what this author does next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Bantam for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
This was a fast read with momentum building through quick chapters. I love how the timelines alternated between the two MCs, Summer and Leo, where you'd read about one of them, then go backwards for the other one's perspective. Both of them really grew on me and I found myself rooting for them even after a questionable start - who roots for the pickpocket/grifter/scam artist? This could have gone bad so many times but the author handled the story so deftly, it kept you interested and dying to find out what happened. Even if you figure out a big plot line, the ending is still very satisfying. I would definitely read this author again. Highly recommend.

This is a popcorn thriller - fun, twisty and entertaining in the moment but not going to stay in your mind when you finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Predictable but the perfect quick summer read! Great for a day at the beach/pool. For fans of The Butterfly Garden.

Several years ago Summer and Leo found each other and became friends and companions, living a nomad lifestyle up and down the coast of California. Summer grew up in this life with her mother, learning at an early age how to pickpocket. Leo had circumstances in her life that caused her to abandon the home life she had known. An unlikely pair, but a powerful bond is shared as they rely on each other to live, for safety, and constant companionship.

I enjoyed the book. It was a refreshing departure from the military/political thrillers that are a staple in my personal library. The plot seems a little far fetched, but it was interesting to watch the story evolve, the characters' thought process, and various reveals along the way.

A perfect summer read for the beach, the mountains, or even sitting on the porch enjoying a sunny afternoon.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book in exchange for my thoughts and opinions.