As I've learned to expect, a beautifully written and fun read. McNally writes wonderfully believable stories with flawed but truly good heroes and heroines

This was quick, sweet read. The books from Harlequin are always feel good books, that I prefer when I want to change it up!

I found the Hero too much of a bully to get invested in their story. I have no patience for characters, especially Heroes, who are not sympathetic & protective of the heroines. Unfortunately this was not an enjoyable read for me.

Where is Gallant Lake? Who is Cassie Smith? Who is Cassidy Zettecci or Nick West? Nick happens to be one of my favorite male heroes I think. How and why does he get an idea of what is going on with Cassie? Who are Blake, Amanda, Nora, Mel, Cathy, and Don? How do they all know one another? What does Nick do to help Cassie? What happens when he finds out exactly what is going on? What happens that causes her to run? Where does she go? Read and see!

RECEIVED THIS BOOK AS A GIFT FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin' With M. Brennan.

A Man You Can Trust is the first book of Jo McNally I read, but it certainly shall not be my last. Jo McNally is a talented writer who writes emotional, uplifting and poignant contemporary romances that will touch your heart and warm your soul.

Cassie Smith does not trust easily. After the acrimonious end of her relationship which had left her broken and terrified, it had taken all of her strength and courage to stop living in the past and to forge forward and build a new life for herself. Although she is still haunted by the shadows of the past, Cassie has slowly managed to gain back control of her own life and has a job working at the Gallant Lake Resort which means everything to her – even if she knows that the past might come back for her when she least expects it and force her to give up all that she holds dear to her heart. Men are strictly off the agenda and Cassie has got no interest in pursuing a relationship with anyone – least of all the new director of security Nick West who has just arrived at the resort and turned her entire life upside down. Nick is good-looking, funny, charismatic – and someone she is determined to give a very wide berth to – if only her boss hadn’t asked her to work closely with him!

When Nick first met Cassie, he almost got hit by a stapler in the head and although he loves and jokes with everybody at the resort, he finds himself having to tread carefully with Cassie. He can sense that beneath her prickly exterior lies a woman with hidden depths who hasn’t had the easiest of lives and when Cassie’s fears nearly result in him having to go to the ER, Nick decides to teach her some self defense moves which will hopefully stop her from attacking him – only pretty soon, Nick realises that it’s his heart that will end up needing the most protection as the more time he spends with Cassie, the more he finds himself falling for her.

Yet, Cassie has made it perfectly clear that she simply is not interested in a relationship – even if she is falling for Nick. However, when her safety is threatened once again, Cassie finds herself forced to choose between running away or staying put and being with the man who has come to mean everything to her. Will happiness ever be within Cassie’s reach? Can her and Nick ever have a future together? Or will she continue to be held hostage by the past?

A Man You Can Trust is a terrific read that you are simply going to love! Jo McNally ticks all the right boxes and has written a charming, emotional, intense and uplifting romantic read about hope, renewal and fresh starts that will bring a tear to your eye and make you smile.

Cassie and Nick are fantastic characters – wonderfully nuanced and believable, they are so beautifully drawn that you cannot help but cheer them on to get the happy ending they so richly deserve.

A brilliant romantic read that will go down a treat with fans of RaeAnne Thayne and Debbie Macomber, A Man You Can Trust is not to be missed.

I great read. Cassie and Nick are wonderful together. Cassie is recovering from an abusive relationship. Nick is a free spirit or aleast that is what he wants everyone else to believe. He likes to spring surprises on people. His an Cassie's first meeting almost gets him hit with a flying object she throws.
This story touches on the subject of abusive relationships and the victim and survior guilt.
Both Nick and Cassie have some truths to face .....Can she overcome her issues to trust a man who would never bring her harm? Can Nick face his demons and guilt to see that Cassie is a survior? Read and find out.....

I was provided this copy for and open and honest read. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book, but at times I didn't care for either main character. They were different in so many ways and pushed each other. They both have their baggage that they need to work through, some pretty heavy baggage! Can they overcome it?

This for me was an almost perfect book and that’s the reason for the four-star review. You’ve got a great story line, wonderful characters, and a beautiful setting. Cassie has fled her life and gone into hiding. She left her husband, finally, after he tried to push her down the stairs. This wasn’t her first domestic assault by him, but she was going to make sure it was the last. Normally, one would be able to go to the police and the courts with this kind of problem, but her husband happens to be a respected officer, so when it went to court, things happened with the evidence and a mistrial was called. In order to protect herself, she fled. After she set up a life, her husband found her, so she fled again. This time, she ended up in Gallant Lake, working at a resort. Nick has fled his job as a police officer after his partner was killed by a shot gun blast to the back from a man who had been arrested previously for domestic violence. He blamed himself, and in doing so, he felt that everyone else involved (from his partners widow, to fellow officers) blamed him as well. Nick has also ended up at Gallant Lake, as the new head of security.
Nick and Cassie are great together in my opinion. They work well as a couple and they work well together at work. As they get to know each other, they bring out the best in the other. I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the characters, I enjoyed the writing. I think for me though, if you’re going to have suspense in a story, please make it suspenseful. I wanted the thrum one gets when reading the suspense parts, and it was lacking her. It was basically phoned in (when you read the story, you’ll understand). That’s the reason for only four stars for me. I did read it in one sitting, it is a fast paced story that will draw you in.

*I received an ARC of this story from Netgalley and this is my honest and voluntary review

A Man You Can Trust is a sweet, heart-warming romance that is sure to pull at your heartstrings. The characters are well-written and develop nicely as the story progresses. I found this to be a fast=paced read and wished that it was a longer book because I did not want the story to end. I really enjoyed reading A Man You Can Trust,

A MAN YOU CAN TRUST follows Cassie and Nick on their path to a relationship. Cassie escaped her past and is now a highly successful administrative assistant at a resort where she excels at her work. She has a history with men, and one in particular, that has led her to constantly look over her shoulder and never trust men.

Nick has left his job as a police officer after a traumatic event and is now running security at the resort with Cassie. He notices that she is a little jumpy and offers to help her out by training her in self-defense. He is also determined to bring her out of her shell and into the outdoors.

As they spend more time together, they start feeling quite a bit of attraction. However, Nick spends a lot of time victim blaming, worried that if Cassie is not a fighter, she is a victim. He has no patience or understanding when it comes to what he calls "victims," and I found this particularly disturbing. This pretty much ruined him for me. Not everyone has to be a fighter, and everyone copes with tragedy and hardship differently. Cassie was a strong character, and I liked her a lot, on the flip side, but I couldn't really get into their romance for all the fear of her maybe being a "victim." This may have just been not explained well, but not sure.

Overall, I found that this one hard to get into as I did not personally care for Nick very much. Cassie was great, and I enjoyed her development. This was easy to read in a sitting also, as it is relatively short and fast paced. Please note that I received a copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Cassie has escaped her past and created a new life for herself in Gallant Lake Resort. She lives under the stress that her past may find her, and she tries to not allow anyone close but neither her co-workers or the residents in town are willing to let that happens and that includes Nick, the newest employee where she works.

After a tragedy Nick left his career as a police officer behind and is the new Director of Security at Gallant Lake Resort. He is drawn to Cassie but when he experiences first-hand the fear she lives with he is determined to teach her self defense so that she can protect herself.

As they spend time together the chemistry between them ignites but will the pain from both their pasts destroy what they have together, or will they be able to heal each other?

I really enjoyed both these characters and the evolution they made as the story progressed. Cassie became a stronger version of herself while Nick accepted that the guilt he felt about the past was not his fault. They couldn’t be more different but together they were able to meet in the middle.

Nick is the new security at Gallant Lake Resort and Cassie is a timid little thing who is supposed to help him out to make him feel welcome. They never expected to meet each other quite the way they did but things seems to work out for the better as he helps teach her how to defend herself to the point where shes gained the confidence to get out of her shell. But there is a past that seems to make her want to pack up and go and things are starting to get comfortable and she doesn't want to prepare to leave again.

This was a sweet and heart warming book. While Cassie was timid and shy she was rightfully so but I loved seeing her gain the confidence to open up and really do things right when it came to defending and being a bit more out here for others. I loved seeing that romance between the two and it was just such an enjoyable book. I loved getting to know more about he characters, both of them had baggage and back stories to back it up and it was interesting. I loved seeing how the book played out and it was clear she was running from something it was interesting seeing how it played out there. Overall it was a quick and easy book to read and I really enjoyed reading it.

A Man You Can Trust is a decent contemporary romance. The hero and heroine both moved into town to escape their past. She was physically abused by her ex-husband. He lost his (police officer) partner during a domestic violence well check. When he joins the resort company where the heroine is an executive admin, she is very weary to trust a man and he’s not really looking for any entanglements. She’s twitchy, understandably so, and he’s a jokester, albeit with a kind heart. Their relationship is obviously inevitable, but I never really felt much chemistry between the two.

The ending feels like a HFN rather than a HEA. I’d have loved to seen at least one more chapter where the possibility of danger exists and she doesn’t run. Then we’d get to see her actually reach out to the hero and them work through it together as they agreed (twice now) despite it not yet playing out that way. As it currently stands, the book ends with the agreeing to trust and believe and work through things, but we never get to see proof that the heroine can hold up her end of the bargain.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A heartfelt story of the consequences of domestic violence, the ripple effects it can have in the community, and how learning to live again is possible if a long and difficult journey for all involved.
There is this wholesome, solid vibe in the tale, the small community it is located in, and the people in the center of it. I loved the meddling friends and family, their support and loyalty, their curiosity and cheerful spirits.
Cassie Smith is a capable, smart, and sassy as she comes out of her protective shell she was forced to built to protect herself. She has secrets and for reasons is shying away from people, but the new man in the resort is not allowing her to hide, and the sparks are flying, all possible kinds.
I liked the energy and connection between Cassie and Nick, there was a fragile attraction but even more than that, there was a genuine friendship building in between them, no matter how much they fought against it. Nick is loud, funny, friendly, and outdoorsy, everything opposite to Cassie, yet they find a way to compromise, and learn to spread their interest as they dare to new challenges.
This was a sweet story about healing and finding your way again, finding your strength after being shattered. It has lessons of learning to forgive yourself, letting your past be history, instead of constant present hinderance of joy and love in your life.
An engaging and inspiring tale of life and love
~ Four Spoons

She's very paranoid.

Changed her name?

I never thought much about self-defense. This is interesting.

Did he just give her a noogie?

She's a fun drunk.
.
Shut up, Judgy McJudgerson.

Her parents liking him should have been her first clue.

Baked kale?

Calling a time-out is controlling?

This was my first Jo McNally book and I’m a fan. This book had emotion, drama, great story, great characters and felt so real. Cassie went through so much. I love how Nick had his issues too but he helped her become a stronger person. This book had a great group of additional characters and a creepy ex.