You Can Trust Me is the second book by Wendy Heard that I've read this year. She jumps from YA to adult thriller/mystery and did it with 2 female main characters that I wasn't too sure about.
Leo and Summer are two women that con their way out of life. Summer is basically a professional pick pocketer and Leo has learned a bit from Summer to be in the long con game with rich men. But these two work together to survive. They live out of their car that they've made into a home, all while trying to give off the 'rich California vibe' for their cons.

Told from both Leo and Summer's POV and from their past and now present lives, we slowly uncover what happened in their pasts that made them into the people they are today. How they became homeless, how they used their "skills" to lie, cheat and steal to survive and how these two needed each other more than they knew.

While I wasn't 100% sure about either of these characters at the beginning, the past allowed me to understand them better and to root for these girls that had their youths taken from them in very different yet drastic ways. Once these two are in the game of a long con for Leo, I was curious how Summer would react and she did not disappoint. Two women taken separately to a secluded California island have to learn to survive and use their 'skills' they were given without technology on their side. When Leo has picked her mark and then goes missing, the story turned into something much darker and sinister than either of them could've imagined. How far would each of them go for each other?

This story started off with a slow build that got me intrigued by the two women, even if I wasn't too sure about either of them. I got to know their game and plan, but didn't necessarily like them. Once the marks and island came into play, I couldn't put this book down. I had to know more and had to know how it would end. These two women were stripped of their power when it came to the island and the people that were there with them, but I couldn't look away and had to know how they were going to pull themselves together and find what they needed in order to make it out alive.

A thrilling and exciting ride that I didn't want to get off of, You Can Trust Me is an action-packed story of friendship and morals with a twist. It will keep you on your toes and have you rooting for these "Robin Hood" type characters to make it out alive and successful.

Summer and also live on the road; no home, no responsibility, and nobody to answer to make them the perfect pair. But when they set their sights on a tech billionaire as their next conquest, they realize they are in over their heads. A weekend on a private island reveals secrets and connections nobody ever saw coming, and they might not make it out alive.

I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. It was very suspenseful with a couple of unexpected twists. I liked how it moved back and forth between Summer and Leo in the present and both of their pasts. Both were likable characters that you wanted to see survive and succeed. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

I was so excited when the publishers sent a widget of this upcoming release before I even requested it and I couldn’t wait to dive in! The premise of two friends who are grifters and conning their way onto a private island with a billionaire sounded like the perfect summer read. If you like lighter, popcorn thrillers with a little spice, that require some suspension of disbelief and have bingeable chapters that make it impossible to read “just one more”, this is the book for you!

Huge thank you to Random House Publishing and Bantam for the arc!

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes suspense and mystery. Best friends Summer and Leo come from completely different backgrounds. Not tethered to possessions they make their way by thieving and deceiving. When Leo inserts
herself in the path of billionaire Michael, she imagines a big pay out, however, she gets caught in his twisted world.
Both women come full circle to their pasts in this intriguing story. It is increasingly tense and builds to a satisfying conclusion.

✨Book Review✨
You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This book was very different from what I expected, but I really liked it. I loved Leo and Summer's relationship, I loved that they were con artists, I loved the way the story was told from each of their perspectives, and I really loved that this turned into a thriller more than I expected it to.
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I will say that I did guess one of the twists pretty early on, but that didn't ruin my enjoyment of reading it. I don't want to give anything away, but I definitely recommend this one if you like a good atmospheric thriller!

Two young women on their own, making their way in the world by hook and by crook, until they meet a billionaire who has his own agenda.

I have learned my lesson: never read a Wendy Heard thriller before bed, because sleep will never happen. I could not put YOU CAN TRUST ME DOWN, completely sucked in by Heard's prose and her con artist main character Summer. I can happily put this on our thriller table front of store, and can't wait to yell about it after release!

You Can Trust Me was a story about tucan artist. Although I've read books by con artists in the past, this one was really engrossing. I felt myself entangled into their mysteries and intrigues and it was a fun read.

after reading wendy heard’s novel a few years ago, SHE’S TOO PRETTY TO BURN, I knew her writing was just too good to pass up. the way she writes captivating stories that are slightly ridiculous and unbelievable are fun, sexy and mysterious!!!

this one was no exception.

in a more adult scene, summer and leo end up in the middle of a businessman scheme, by the name of michael forester. add in a few heists, murders, mysterious disappearances, and what more could you want from a summer thriller like this one?

while the story itself was a bit out there and predictable for me, I enjoyed the locked door remote style and the cat and mouse chase plot so much!

thank you to netgalley and random house for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: napa valley sauvignon blanc

You Can Trust me is an absorbing thriller about 2 vagabond young women who are con artists. Everything is going great until the cons start getting conned. I found the plot to be implausible and the characters underdeveloped. That being said, there was a good amount of action that get me riveted. It was a decent debut and I thank Bantam Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review..

This book will make you question the people in your own life. It was a very well written novel and I enjoyed it immensely. Ms. Heard knows how to write an entertaining story and did not disappoint!

Summer and Leo aren’t your ordinary next door neighbors or friends. Their address is sketchy and evolving along the CA coastline, like their identities. These two have become friends, much like sisters. They are hustlers, cons, pickpocketing for survival. They fit in like a chameleon, dressed and adorned to blend in, not stand out. It can be an asset to know how to leverage cleavage. It was easy to get invested in these two and follow their crazy adventures. Each has some messed up family issues and past demons that haunt them. I was holding my breath, expecting an arrest at every escapade.
The chapters alternate between the two and works in some past with the current timeframe. Leo has finagled an invitation to an exclusive private island weekend event. She’s baited Michael, a tech billionaire, in hopes of making a big score. Michael has his own agenda with more secrets than Leo and Summer combined. The island is unsettling, creepy with cameras everywhere. Rich businessmen, wives, staff and luxury aren’t enough to hide the underlying plans Michael has devised. Summer gets worried when she doesn’t hear from Leo and doesn’t know where she is. Summer’s attempt to find her friend is full of twists and nonstop action.
A very good mystery by an author I had not read before, she’s on my radar now. Enjoyed reading this!
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy of “You Can Trust Me” by Wendy Heard, published by Random House, Bantam Books. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Wendy Heard once again proves she’s one of the queens of bad-ass female-driven novels. I have quite literally never been disappointed with one of her novels and that streak continues with You Can Trust Me.

Summer and Leo are a team. Small-time grifters, living in a van they are on the precipice of a huge score! When billionaire Michael Forrester crosses her path, Leo can’t pass up the opportunity to draw him into her web.
The next day, Summer realizes Leo is gone and she is determined to find her. But infiltrating the island of a billionaire—and his weekend business getaway—is no easy feat. Surrounded by people she has nothing in common with—and who have no loyalty to her—Summer has only a few days to figure out what happened to the one person she trusts.
Told in a dual point of view (Summer’s as she searches for any clue about what happened to Leo, and Leo as she makes the fateful decision to grift Michael) Heard has done an amazing job of drawing the reader in and taunting them with so many dark possibilities! Each character has a unique voice and journey through this story, but neither is less compelling than the other. There’s just so much damn intensity! The pacing is good, I felt drawn into the story immediately (I do love a grifter story!), and Summer and Leo were so easy to empathize with. This is a truly engaging and memorable story!

You Can Trust Me will be available everywhere on 6/13/23 and I highly recommend you grab your copy!

*I received a copy of You Can Trust Me from Random House Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I love a good Wendy Heard book, and I was thrilled to dive into You Can Trust Me.

Summer and Leo would do anything for each other. Inspired by the way each has had to carve her place in a hostile and unforgiving world, and united by the call of the open road, they travel around sunny California in Summer’s tricked-out Land Cruiser. It’s not a glamorous life, but it gives them the freedom they crave from the painful pasts they’ve left behind. But even free spirits have bills to pay. Luckily, 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.

Eager for a big score, Leo catches in her crosshairs Michael Forrester, a self-made billionaire and philanthropist. When her charm wins him over, Leo is rewarded with an invitation to his private island off the California coastline for a night of fabulous excess. She eagerly anticipates returning with photos that can be sold to the paparazzi, jewelry that can be liquidated, and endless stories to share with Summer.

Instead, Leo disappears.

On her own for the first time in years, Summer decides to infiltrate Michael’s island and find out what really happened. But when she arrives, no one has seen Leo—she’s not on the island as far as they know. 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?

I *devoured* this book. From page one, I was engrossed in the friendship and could not put this down. Leo and Summer's relationship was everything I was hoping for: sarcastic, refreshingly honest, and deeply rooted in a core desire to protect each other despite every instinct telling them they should look out for themselves. The inherent trust that runs beneath the surface of the conflict propels the story. The way the mystery unravels is successful not only in Heard's superior storytelling capabilities, but also because you become invested in the characters. Flashbacks aren't added for exposition's sake, and I really enjoyed how, through Summer and Leo, Heard showed us that the past doesn't define you, but it sure as hell can have teeth.

10/10 add this to your tbrs immediately.

Huge thanks to Ballantine and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

This is the story of two stray women, alone until they find each other.
Part charmer, part pick-pocket, this duo is definitely dynamic.

Leo and Summer.

Leo finds herself in a predicament on an island with a rich tech guy.
Summer is left wondering where Leo went.
The ensuing story is one of loyalty, bravery, badassery, and cunning.

Good plot, GREAT characters, good pacing, this book was an easy one to enjoy.

I give it 4 shining stars. :)

This was my first book from this author and it didn’t disappoint.

First Impressions:
I loved the cover and the colors. It seemed like it was in direct competition with the danger and action in the book.

Multiple Points of view from the main characters, Summer and Leo. They live a nomadic life style and survive on theft and con-artistry. They met, started traveling together and became like sisters. Until Leo disappears on a mysterious island owned by a billionaire.

The theme of sisterhood is re-occurring and we get flashbacks of Leo’s childhood and her own sister who disappeared.

Page turner with lots of action. A great setting for a thriller; mysterious, privately owned island with an equally mysterious research facility. For fans of revenge horror and thrillers.

Leo and Summer. Two women with rather tragic pasts, traveling in and around California. They make their living by pickpocketing and the occasional rich man gifts.
Leo finds a billionaire whom she hopes will lead to generous gifting for her. What she doesn’t know is that he is a lot more dangerous than he appears.
Rapid paced, edge of your seat, can’t wait to see what happens next. Enjoyed this very much.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me this ARC. I do recommend.

Honestly, this story grabs you right from the beginning and keeps you swept up in the drama and universe of drifter, and grifters. I LOVE anything about ulta-rich and this trope fell right into that. Summer and Leo were so unlikeable but then you kind of see why they are the way they are and start rooting for them. I liked that Summer took Leo under her wing. Characters are riveting, the mystery keeps you guessing the entire time. I loved how it twisted and turned the entire time and felt like it was SUPER action packed.

This book is about two con artists and their friendship. It was an ok read but felt it dragged in spots and just didn’t hold my interest.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review the book