I really thought this was silly. Could not get into it. Read like a book for an elementary student. It started out slow then they had some adventures but it was all so silly and ridiculous even the modest adventure parts of it couldn't save it. I understand it is a young adult book but I can't imagine a teenager wanting to read about these two dummies at all.

I won’t lie and say I didn’t have a hard time with this, especially towards the middle. But, as always, the ending snagged my interest, so it’s fine. Indiana Jones and Lara Croft are two stories you’ll see this being compared to often, because the parallels are staggering. Yet,, the journey’s and the harrowing escapes(?) started to become repetitive and I started to have so many questions. And even when things were explained, I could barely keep up. However, M as one of our POV’s was… probably my favorite part of the book. She was smart, I can’t even lie; she was witty and driven and knew just what she wanted and what she needed to get it done. Ash was the one who I did not trust… for a while. He had a mysterious, not-so-good past; it was obvious the two were opposites. Watching them learn to trust each other during the journey was a bit nerve-wracking, But I came to like him, especially in the end.I did appreciate the discussion of religion and such. There are honest discussion and though M does tease him a bit (she’s a firm believer in things having explanations), but again— honest conversations and ultimate respect. Speaking of the end, it definitely leaves things open for a sequel. There’s absolutely no doubt about it. And I’m not opposed to it.

I Do Not Trust You is quite an interesting novel. It's about cults, ancient Egypt, and symbols. It feels like a YA The Da Vinci Code!

I really enjoyed the main characters. M is a strong, capable young woman who speaks multiple languages, knows martial arts and is super smart. Ash has a secret past, and I was really intrigued by him ... and his developing relationship with M.

The adventures M and Ash had together were packed full of adventure and fun. They had a lot of mishaps along the way, but as the book developed, the adventures did begin to bore. Just because they didn't really lead up to anything, they were just obstacles to overcome and weren't mentioned again. I was still hooked reading the book, but it did take me a while to read.

While I ultimately enjoyed the book, the actions scenes dwindled a little for me, although the main mystery kept me intrigued.

This was not my cup of tea. I hate to say that this story and style did absolutely nothing for me. Maybe it’s a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”

DNF at 47%

It takes a lot for me to DNF a book, but this one was just really not doing it for me. The mixing of mythologies led to a lot of confusion, and overall, the novel just felt so unfocused. I couldn't tell what it wanted to do, where it wanted to go, or what it wanted to be about. Everything was so rushed, with little to no introduction to the characters and their circumstances before it took off like lightning. Something was just missing here to make it a thrilling adventure. While I loved how headstrong the characters were and found the concept intriguing, it just simply wasn't for me.

3.5/ 5 stars
I received an e-galley from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review, this did not skew my opinions.

I Do Not Trust You was nothing like I expected. I expected more of a mystery to it, but instead this book was more similar to Indiana Jones of Tomb Raider. I definitely still enjoyed it and would recommend it to others though.

The first half of the book was really slow with a lot of back and forth on whether or not M and Ash got along or trusted each other or not. Because it was so slow during the first half I had a much harder time getting invested in the story.

The second half of the story had a lot more action and intrigue. Ash and M develop a friendship and it helps a lot with the story. They begin to trust each other and the banter gets more interesting. There's a lot of information about each individual place they go, I'm not sure if the information/ history is true, but it was nice to have more backstory to add.

Ash is very timid in the book and eventually becomes more confident and his character goes through a lot of growth throughout the book and I actually really liked his character in the end. M is a very outspoken, egotistical, intelligent girl and comes off a bit annoying in the beginning but slowly changes as her friendship with Ash evolves. The characters definitely made this book.

I Do Not Trust You tells the story of an ancient relic of the Egyptian god Set that’s been broken into pieces which have been strategically placed throughout the globe in sacred sites to prevent anyone from acquiring the power to destroy the world. after her father’s death, Memphis, M for short, has inherited a map to these archeological sites, and she’s the only one who knows how to read it. Ash, a member of an intricate cult worshipping of the Egyptian gods, needs M’s map for reasons of his own. but to read the map, he also needs M. the two embark toward a complex series of adventures through archeological and sacred sites to prevent the power of Set from being unleashed.

this book was so much fun!! i went into it absolutely blind, so the plot really surprised me. from the cover i was honestly expecting yet another generic mystery/thriller, but i really like the fact that this was so much more!! despite being pleasantly surprised, though, objectively this was a bit of a lukewarm read. nothing too overwhelming, nothing too underwhelming. for the sake of a comfortable and organized review, i’ll divide this one into positives and negatives.

starting off with the negatives, i think this book had quite a few plot holes. the storyline is way too complicated for the length of this book. that’s a good thing in my eyes, though! i love me a complex, well developed plot. except that in this instance, i think a lot of the details of both the cults and the characters’ lifestyles went pretty much unexplained to the point where it almost felt like the authors actively chose to neglect the details for the sake of saving themselves the bother of just a little bit of world building. most of the magic systems also go completely unexplained, and M, a logical and analytical thinker, actually questions this several times in the book. most of all though i just really REALLY wanted to know where all the money they were using was coming from. these kids were out here buying plane tickets and decoys and staying in fancy hotels and buying expensive clothes to hang out in some PARIS CATACOMBS like nobody’s business!! i know they’re using the cult’s money but why does the cult have so much money!!!!

anyway, on to the positives. like i said, this book was a really fun read!! the jumping between countries may have been monotonous at times since it seemed repetitive at some points, but i really like the fact that Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz really aimed for this book to be an international thing, and to represent different cultures other than the USA/UK setting for YA books that we’ve grown so used to seeing. i’ll admit i was even a little excited over the fact that both of our main characters were mixed-race!! that’s also something that isn’t very common in YA and i loved it!! i also like the different representation of religion in this book. M and Ash travel through sooooo many different countries and always end up in archeological and sacred sites, and religion and mythology were a huge thing every single time.

overall, i think this book is very unique for the YA scene, and i really enjoyed myself while reading!! if it weren’t for those few plot holes and that ridiculous fight scene near the end, this definitely would’ve had a higher rating for me. thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books!!!!

I received a copy of I DO NOT TRUST YOU on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher and author.

FOUR stars and here's why:

This author duo rocked it. It’s a Laura Croft meets Indiana Jones with a twist of The Mummy mixed in for good measure. What’s great about this YA, is that it’s full of history set in the modern world with gorgeous locations and mythology laced throughout it.

If you love hella-hot guys and sassy girls with attitude, then this book is for you. Highly recommend! Can’t wait to read more by this author duo!

Book: I Do Not Trust You
Author: Laure J Burns and Melinda Metz
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me this ARC. You know this is actually the second Wednesday Books book review I’ve written this month-so thanks and please keep them coming.

So anyway, yeah, this is for sure a lot different than most young adult books. I kind of got a National Treasure feeling from this action packed read. This book is a treasure hunt and full of lots of action. The pace is fast moving and the events are so quick that there really is not a wasted page. Not only that, but we have really smart characters, who use their brains to actually achieve something. Our main character, for example, knows a lot of languages, ancient cultures, and knows how to take care of herself. Not only that, but we get a little bit of religion, history, and archology. Now, let’s throw in some ancient relics that we have to hunt down to prevent a curse from being unleashed. What isn’t there to like?


Well, sadly, there was something missing from the story and I can’t really figure it out. Don’t get me wrong, I really did enjoy the book, but there was just something missing.

It wasn’t really the characters that were at fault either. I thought they were all well developed and complex. I mean, how many books do you read where we have a female lead in such an actiony role with a male sidekick? Not very many! I did like M, our main character, but at times, I really wanted to see her fail. It was almost like no matter what she did, she was good at. That is not something I like in books. I want to see them struggle a little bit-you know, have that little mental break down about midway through the book.

Ash was okay. It was very clear that he was the sidekick. Now, he is the one character that we really didn’t know that much about going through the story, which was fine with me. I like that little bit of mystery surrounding characters. It really adds to the story in my book.

I know that Laure and Melinda were trying to get some kind of romance going between Ash and M-if not, sorry, but that’s what it sure seemed like when I was reading. The tension that the authors were trying to get across the page just wasn’t there. I know they were trying to make them warm up to each other and all of that good stuff, but everything was just flat. I think had that part of the book been left out, then I may have bumped my rating up a little bit.
Now, the discoveries, as many people have pointed out, started out strong, but just kind of fell apart. It was almost like the story lost its momentum halfway through. The only way I can think of how to fix that is to maybe cut the story down a little bit. It’s only 320 pages, so really that should not have happened anyway. I don’t know, but it just felt like the story got really repetitive after awhile.

So, I do agree with the current Goodreads rating of a 3.41. I mean it is a good book, but there is just something missing from it that doesn’t drive such a promising book home. I will be reading more of Wednesday Books’, but I think I’m going to go back to more of Ruth Ware route. Anyway, I Do Not Trust You comes out on September 11, 2018.


(Review posted on Goodreads and will be posted on Amazon on release day.)

The blurb for "I Do Not Trust You" immediately brought to mind HERInteractive's Nancy Drew computer games and the Indiana Jones movies, two franchises I love dearly. There's not a lot of YA that focuses on archaeology so I was really excited to give this a try.

"I Do Not Trust You" has an action-packed plot, exciting settings (like the catacombs in Paris, a personal favorite of mine), and a super cool premise. The book was interesting and a nice change from what I've seen released in YA lately.

The book felt like it was missing something that would've made the story a bit more compelling to me. M and Ash were interesting characters with complicated backstories but at times they came across as flat. Some of the decisions, particularly those made by Ash, seemed out of character and didn't make sense. I wish the ending had been a little bit longer as it left a lot unresolved. I would've loved a few more scenes between characters I won't name -- as it seemed like there was a lot of baggage there to discuss -- but this makes me want to keep an eye out for a potential sequel.

Thank you to Goodreads and Wednesday Books for my winning giveaway copy of this book and for netgalley approving the read. The cover is gorgeous and it’s a young adult book, so I figured it would be right up my alley!

Memphis is an intelligent, spunky, adventurous high schooler who was raised by parents just the same. M has come across some bad fortune as of recently: her archaeologist father has died in a crash and she is stuck with a guardian couple who don’t follow her love and affection for adventure. One day, a gorgeous British man named Ash shows up and tells M that her father is still alive, being held captive by cultists who want to bring an Egyptian God back to life. M is the key to saving her father because she has the map that the cultists need and desire. Is her father really alive? Is she willing to risk her life to save him? What is this mystery behind this cult group?

This is a modern day Indiana Jones story to me. I went in on this read blindly and, at first, felt like it helped me enjoy the story, but not for long. I was hooked by the first few chapters, but completely lost in the mumbo jumbo of archaeology history. History is not my forte in general, so I found this story to be dull. I was expecting more detailed adventure than what was given. I felt like the ending I was expecting came too late and happened way too fast. I would’ve enjoyed the story a lot more if it were a movie so I’ll keep my eye out for that.

2/5 Stars

Originally wanted to read this book because of the archaeology and anthropology aspects. I actually graduated with a bachelor's degree in anthropology so I figured I would really enjoy this type of story. I liked how strong M's character was but I felt the dynamic was kind of forced and strange between her and Ash, for obvious reasons I guess. I feel like if there was more romance I would have liked it more. It had a sort of The Mummy/Indiana Jones type of feel to the story line and initially I loved that but I started to lose interest about half way through. DNF.

The Quick Cut: A girl finds out her father isn't actually dead, but kidnapped by an ancient Egyptian cult. Drama happens as she and a guy traipse around the globe trying to save her dad... And the world.

A Real Review:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Being that I'm a not so closeted fan of Stargate SG-1, my live for Egyptian mythology and its use in modern entertainment runs deep. It can add a great angle (along with some history education!) to a beautiful story that needs a little more spice. However, after reading this book... I found myself highly underwhelmed.

Memphis, more commonly referred to as "M", is mourning the loss of her dad when Ash comes into her life and lets her know that he's actually alive. Having been kidnapped by a cult trying to raise the ancient Egyptian god Set, he is trying to get his hands on the real map that M is holding onto and keep the required items out of their hands. M agrees to help get the items as long as Ash helps save her father - which leads to their journey around the World.

M is Lara Croft with an attitude problem, which makes her less likeable. Although I get where shes coming from with her dad, she's mean at times (especially to Ash) when it doesn't do her any good or serve a purpose. The personality doesnt feel fully fleshed out and for that reason, it's not a character I connect with.

Ash really does play the embodiment of the sidekick here. Although they play him up as a lead role with issues and stoeylines of his own, the way he acts around M and is submissive many times gives that sidekick vibe. He spends most of his time not fighting with M arguing with other people in his life, so you never really get to know him as a person.

Although the book takes you through some gorgeous locations and uses legendary mythology, it ends up all feeling just a bit too rushed. Nothing is fleshed out as much as it should be, so before you can truly get into whats happening - you are already moving onto the next location. Either they shouldve used less locations or written over more pages to get the needed detail in.

With a story that entertains, but underwhelms on the details - you will be left disappointed by the results of this mythology oriented book.

My rating: 2.5 out of 5

I feel as if I should have liked this book more than I actually did. Not to mention that this book was not what I thought it would be (that is of course my fault), but then I think about the books that are similar to this one that I did like (like Six of Crows, The Wrath and the Dawn, etc.) and realized that I Do Not Trust You just fell short for me in the long run. It wasn't me, it was the book.

Memphis, or "M" as her friends and family call her, was like a modern day (and female) Indiana Jones. The concept of the story was fascinating and overall creative in many ways but the book got really repetitive and monotonous. By the halfway mark I was tired of reading the same thing over and over by the half-way point but still kept pushing on. Some of the dialogue even seemed repetitive to me.

One thing I was not happy with was the many plot holes. This seems to be a peeve of mine in a lot of books because I find myself unhappy and dissatisfied whenever I read a book and I'm left hanging with lots of scenarios that never even get touched on. I can keep up with a lot of stuff, I promise! so please don't ever be afraid to answer the many burning questions that arise throughout your book! I can't really say what they were without spoiling, so if you read this book, PLEASE let me know your thoughts on this!

Memphis was a fun character. She was witty and driven and knew just what she wanted and what she needed to get it done. But that was about it. She stayed the same the entire way through. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, it was just kind of on the flat side to me. I think the book would have had some added excitement had the author put more into the character development side of this story.

Maybe this book just wasn't a very character driven book and there is nothing wrong with that. I just tend to enjoy those type of books more. There was no character growth and a lot of the things between the characters felt forced which in return led to no connection to me as a reader and them as a character.

I Do Not Trust You was a fun read and unlike anything that I have read in a while, but while it was fun it lacked in many departments such as plot holes, character development, and repetitive plots. The writing was good and the concept of the story was better, the execution just wasn't there for me.

At first, I didn't think that I was going to like this book. The first couple of chapters were really slow and it was hard to get into what was going on. But, if you ride that out, this gets really fun. I'm a lover of mythology and as soon as I realized that this book was going to be centered around mythological gods and magic, I knew I would love it. It's pretty average length but I found myself reading it in large gulps and only putting it down when I had to because I always wanted to know what was going on next. This kind of reminded me of the Percy Jackson series, which was awesome because, once again, I love mythology.

The characters in this book are really interesting in a way that not many can be in young adult novels (at least not in the one's that I've come across). There was so much depth and so many secrets and religion played a really big part here. Usually, that alone would scare me away but it was never daunting in the least. This was probably because it was about a religion based around a mythological god that I had no knowledge of, so I got to learn some new stuff with this one. I also thought it was really amazing how so many different countries, ruins, and real life places were involved in this story.

I think that my biggest issue here, albeit not actually being a big issue, was that there had to be romantic feelings involved between M and Ash. For a good 60% of the book I was expecting to get through without any lovey-dovey stuff playing any role, but alas, I was wrong (remember this because it really doesn't happen all that often). This wasn't really that big of a deal though because it thankfully took a back seat to everything else going on in the book. I just think it would've been nice to have a guy and a girl work well together without it having to involve romance... but would it even be a YA contemporary without it?

Overall, I really enjoyed this ARC and I think that anyone who loves a good mythological tale will, too!

While little bit of a departure from my normal psychological thrillers, I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz is a 5🌟 read that has a little bit of everything a reader could want- lots of adventure, mystery, history, a bit of magic, and a strong female who would do anything to save her father. Seriously, what is not to love?!?


And the story goes...


Memphis "M" Engel spent most of her youth traveling the world with her archeologist father, exploring different cultures and their languages, learning martial arts, going on archeological digs, and uncovering long lost relics. But after her dad died, she spent much her time trapped in her Boston home with her boring guardians, trying to decipher an ancient map her father had left her (with the help of her friend Mike). Until one night, when she's followed by a man on her way to a high school party.
Instead of running, she confronts the stranger and is shocked by what he has to tell her- that her father is not dead, but kidnapped by the Set, an ancient Egyptian cult out to destroy the world.

The stranger, Ashwin Sood, informs her that her father sent him to recover the map, which is the only thing that can save the world from the Set. As a follower of the deity, Horus, Ash discloses things to M that only her father would know, forcing her to trust him if she wants to save her father and the world. But can he really be trusted? As they set out to solve the clues in the map, their unlikely alliance leads them all over the world, from underground catacombs of Paris to a sacred forest in Norway to the Buddhist Temples in Thailand... but can they trust one another enough to figure out the map in time??


My thoughts...


While YA is not my typical genre to read, I thoroughly enjoyed that the main character is strong female who is not only intelligent and witty, but doesn't need to rely on a man to protect her.
 If you enjoy Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider type adventures, then make sure to pick up I Do Not Trust You on September 11! You will not be disappointed!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the advance reader's copy for my honest review!

This book had a lot of potential. The premise was giving me a ‘National Treasure’ type of vibe and I loved the idea of this cross-continent scavenger hunt. Unfortunately, though, the execution was a little off for me. There was just this weird lack of urgency when it came to searching for the pieces of the statue. On paper, I knew M had to go through all this to save her father’s life, but aside from the situation being mentioned now and then, I never felt that rush of adrenaline of them racing against the clock. As it was, the pacing was pretty slow and it just seemed like M and Ash weren’t in any real hurry. I think the excitement level could have been upped if the villains had played a bigger part in the storyline instead of them being M.I.A. for the majority of the book.

Overall, while I absolutely loved the previous book I read from these authors, I wasn’t as invested in this one as I wanted to be. That said, if this was ever adapted to a movie, I would probably be all about it.

I really, really liked Memphis. That said, the whole story was a bit too much for me. I mean you got Ash, which was a plus, but then you add in a cult, ancient cultures, multiple languages, mysteries, and obstacles and even with all that- the plot never seems to go anywhere.

Unabashedly badass girls are probably my favorite types of characters in all of YA. Lately, I’ve been on a kick of reading thrillers that center these amazing female characters who defy the odds and expectations with their wit and strength. One of my favorites has been I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns and Melinda Metz.

Memphis “M” Engel fiercely loves her archaeologist father who showed her the world and taught her how to read ancient languages from an early age. So when she finds out he might be alive and in danger from aloof, but adorably posh Ashwin Sood, M will do anything to get him back. Sure, she’ll go on a globetrotting treasure hunt for pieces of an ancient Egyptian statue that has to power to bring back an evil god with a boy she doesn’t know and barely trust.

If you’ve been dying for a female-led Indiana Jones meets The Amazing Race, this is your book. I loved it, and I can only hope that others will enjoy this smart, funny, endearing but also nail-biting thriller.

M and Ashwin are both such fantastic, complicated characters. M is badass, but headstrong. She struggles with the challenge of saving her favorite person in the world and she also struggles with her strictly logical and rational viewpoint, which conflicts with Ashwin’s own messy network of devotion and obligations. The dynamic between these two will keep you on the edge of your seat until literally the last page.

A discussion I’ve seen come up again and again about YA is the want, or rather the need for, more representation of religion in YA. What I Do Not Trust You excels at is weaving a beautiful and complicated discussion of what it means for a place, for an object, for beliefs to be sacred in the context of an adventure that by its nature allows the reader to explore what that meant for different people under different belief systems living in different times, across the East and the West. This book will take you to almost every continent and most of it takes place outside the United States.

Along these same lines, what really worked for me in this book was the way the belief systems and world views of M and Ash conflicted so much and the way in which the narrative unfolds, showing how they begin to work with each other. So much of this plot also runs on dramatic irony and the secrets that M and Ash keep from each other. The fact that this dynamic is done so, so well and told in a limited third person perspective impresses me so, so much.

The writing is also fantastic. The voices of these two very headstrong characters come through so strongly in the narration. The dialogue is full of bite and banter. There are so many subtle and fun twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I Do Not Trust You is a fun, worldly thriller that I recommend to anyone looking for a sincerely fun and heartfelt story about family, trust and what it means to be sacred.

"M”, short for Memphis, is still reeling from the death of her father when she is followed one evening by a young British man by the name of Ash. He has a lot of revelations for her and one is a real zinger - her father is not dead but being kept captive by the cult of Set. She is naturally shocked but not overly so, her father’s kidnapping makes sense as he is able to decipher symbols and has vast knowledge of Ancient Cultures and their language. To make things even more interesting, Ash is also a member of a "cult", this one for the Egyptian deity Horus. M sneaks out of the home she shares with her guardians and leaves with Ash to save her father.

Ash informs M that the cult of Set will release her father if she can locate the missing pieces of their God. Sounds easy enough, right? So, the pair begin to globe trot to various locations including the catacombs in Paris, cave diving, mysterious islands, and lost temples. Along the journey, they must decipher symbols and find the pieces for both to get what they need.

M is a strong and witty young woman who speaks several languages, is skilled in marital arts, knows lot about ancient cultures and their customs. Her knowledge comes from traveling the world with her father while he worked.

Ash did not have a happy childhood and found acceptance with the followers of Horus. He has a past he does not like to talk about and may or may not have his own agenda while helping M find the pieces she needs to save her father.

The characters are interesting, and their first adventures are interesting and fun. I was right there enjoying the action. Then things seemed to become stagnant. They had more adventures and mishaps but nothing overly exciting happened. Sure, they had some obstacles to overcome, the main obstacle is learning how to trust each other, but the book began to lose some of its momentum in terms of action/thrills/excitement. They are on an adventure a ‘la tomb raider, Indiana Jones, or Percy Jackson and I was hoping for more thrilling scenes. With an adventure book, I would hope to be on the edge of my seat, turning the pages as fast as I could read and that was not the case with this book.

Although I enjoyed the story, I wanted more. More angst, more adventure, more conflict and more thrills.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.