Member Reviews
Woohoooo... let me just start out by saying that cover is hot damn!!
Wendy Heard definitely knows how to write her thrillers and this one is nothing short of her talent. The story alternates between Summer and Leo mainly in the present time. These two ladies are con artists where the target seems not be who he should be and it takes a dark turn.
I was taken right away by Summer's character. She is quite the strong voice and intriguing. Both of their stories contain flashbacks and we are taken into the lives of both Leo and Summer.
Boy, did this story take you on a ride. I felt like you never knew where it was going and Heard throws out those twists and turns nicely. Ive always felt Heard has such strong characterization in her stories and boy did she hit the park with these characters.
I continue to be pleasantly surprised at Heard's talent and can't wait to see what she comes out with next!!
4/5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for my arc in exchange for an honest review.
Pub date: 6/13/23
Published to GR: 6/5/23.
Leo and Summer both had storied pasts that led to them meeting and living off the grid together. They travel up and down the California coast, living in the back of a Land Cruiser grifting their way through life. They got in over their heads with a scam and end up trapped on an island off the California coast, separated and scared for their lives.
This was a fun read about a pair of grifters, as close as sisters. I loved the aspect of the secluded private island owned by an environmental philanthropist. It was the perfect setting for this suspenseful read. I enjoyed the bond between Summer and Leo - found family, who would do anything for each other.
This was a perfectly fine summer read. I enjoyed the female loyalty bonds, the con artist angles and the island retreat. However I found it a bit predictable and silly in the end. Again a fine poolside read but nothing shocking or to rave about.
Unique and exciting mystery with the added bonus of sisterly bonds and unexpected predators. Summer is hard and soft at the same time and being in her head is a rush. The “playing the player” angle puts our heroines in hot water, but they’re savvy girls!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free copy. These opinions are my own.
Summer and Leo are like sisters. They travel around living in a van, and stealing from people that deserve it. Leo is determined to score big, but has also spoken of taking off recently, so when she disappears, Summer has trouble deciding if she ran off or something happened with Michael. She quickly finds a way to get to his private island for the weekend.
I have to say, I could not put this book down. This is for sure a single day read by the pool for perfect summer reads! I loved that we switched between Summer and Leos perspectives and found out what each was facing during the time apart. I did figure out one of the twists, but certainly not everything! Even thinking I knew the one twist, it did not take away from the fact that I could not stop reading.I really enjoyed this book and recommend it for a good summer thriller!
Ooo y'all this one definitely took me by surprise. Definitely a suspenseful novel with twists and turns you didn't see coming! Great characters and the writing throughout really draws you into the storyline from the very beginning.
Leo and Summer are a team. Sisters, but not sisters, depending on each other for survival and companionship. They live in Summer's Land Cruiser and survive by picking pockets and conning wealthy men. But one night, Leo spends the night with the wealthy Michael Forrester and never returns. Summer is determined to find her and soon finds herself on a remote island among the uber-wealthy that won't tell her where her friend is.
This was an edge-of-your-seat thriller mystery. I wasn't sure going in (mostly because the other female main character is called Leo) but I was quickly drawn in and then I couldn't put it down. If you're looking for an intriguing summer read, this is it.
When you read this, be sure to pay attention to the days/dates at the beginning of each chapter or you will be confused like I was.
Thank you to Bantam and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Available June 13, 2023.
Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam, and the author for the eARC.
This book is told by dual POV and two time lines. I liked learning about Summer and Leo's past and definitely made it easier to see why the two of them ended up where they did.
It took me a bit to get into the book but once they got to the island things really moved. The suspense was great! Just when you think you know what is going on there's another plot twist.
What a wild ride! A mix of suspense and mystery, I loved the setting of this book (I love you Cali!) and I loved the story of two badass best friends who would do anything to protect each other.
This was such a treat. Will def read more from this author.
4.5 stars rounding up to 5 stars on Goodreads
Wowza! This book is so great!!!! Wendy Heard created a thriller master piece that will keep you on your toes until the end. The ending will leave your head spinning.
If you are anything like me that loves an isolated island mystery, this book will take you on a wild ride. You need to add this book to your TBR!
***** Many thanks for PRHAUDIO, Random House Publishing - Ballantine, Wendy Heard, and NetGalley for the ALC, and ARCs as they were provided to me in turn for an honest review.
Review will be posted on 6/7/23 on Instagram (6/7/23).
3.5⭐️ rounded to 4⭐️! It took me a few chapters to get into this book but once I did, I was hooked! I wanted to know more about Summer and Leo, two best friends/ con artist. The whole book revolves around when Leo meets Michael, a famous billionaire, and what happens when she goes missing. Man, Summer was my favorite and I loved how smart/quick she was on her feet. This would make such a good summer beach read!
Summer and Leo survive by using their talents and wits to make money. Leo catches the eye of a billionaire and he takes her to his private island, where she disappears. Summer goes to find her.
The book started out slow, although it did pick up. The back and forth with time always bothers me and it did in this as well. Michael’s character was creepy, although that was definitely the point. Leo and Summer’s loyalty to one another was a strong point in the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is the first book I have read by Wendy Heard. I just added all of her books to my "To Read" Shelf. I enjoyed, "Your Can Trust Me", from start to finish. All of the characters were engaging. Some I loved at the start and hated at the end, but I think that was Heard's intent.
This was a great beach read. I did not want to put it down.
I received this galley from NetGalley.
Get ready for THE thriller of your summer reads that's full of suspense, creepy twists, and is downright unpredictable.
I was captivated from the start by the unique storyline. Everyone in this book has secrets, but who has the biggest secret... and a deadly secret at that. What happens to a con who gets conned? 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.
You Can Trust Me will be available everywhere on 6/13/23 and I highly recommend you grab your copy of this fast-paced and juicy read.
Many thanks to Random House-BallantineBantam Publishing and NetGalley for an eARC.
4.5 stars. An intense thriller, perfect to kick off summer (in reading back before I post, I do notice this inadvertent pun). Summer and Leo are best friends, living off the grid out of their Land Cruiser and running cons to fund their lifestyle. The book alternates between the two women, but we hear the most from Summer, who is the more vividly drawn of the two. Summer is a skilled pickpocket raised and then abandoned by her hippie mother, who never told her her last name or birthdate. Leo focuses on making money through long scams on older, rich men. When she attracts the attention of billionaire Michael Forrester, the women think he will be an easy mark, but Leo completely disappears after her first date with him. Desperate to find her, Summer snags an invitation to an event on Michael's exclusive private island. This story is absolutely wild; there is a healthy suspension of disbelief required to buy in, but Heard's writing is great, the ratcheting up of tension is perfectly paced, and the love and friendship between Summer and Leo is incredibly touching. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine/Bantam for a digital review copy.
I am in a big thriller mood lately and this was a perfect weekend read! Summer and Leo don’t live a traditional life, on the run from different events in their past, these two find each other and partner up. When one of their cons goes horribly wrong, Summer takes action to help her friend.
I loved these women’s friend/sister dynamic and their non-traditional lifestyle. We end up on an island for the majority of the book, so we get the isolated feel I LOVE in thrillers. Short chapters in alternating POVs kept this continually feeling fresh. There were some areas in the narrative that felt less developed and a few loose ends I wish had been tied up. But otherwise, this gave me exactly what I wanted and would recommend picking this up for a pool/beach/lake type of summer read.
I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Intense psychological thriller that is impossible to put down. Summer and Leo are best friends from difficult backgrounds. They live a nomadic criminal lifestyle watching out for each other closely. When Leo finds her next mark in a billionaire climate scientist, she travels with him to his private island for a party being held for his colleagues and their guests. When Leo doesn’t turn up after the party, Summer travels to the island in search of her friend having no idea the fate that awaits her. Fast paced excellent thriller that is not to be missed.
Told in 2 POVs, from Summer and Leo's perspectives, 2 grifters who only have ever had each other to rely on. They've both been living day to day until Leo has billionaire Michael Forrester in her sights. She goes to his private island for what she thinks will be an easy big-score. Instead she disappears. Summer, on her own for the first time in years, Summer decides to investigate the island on her own and discover what happened. But when she arrives, no one has seen Leo. She's not on the island as far as everyone knows. Besides, there's only one way on the island and no way off. So what happened to Leo? Now trapped in a scheme that she helped bring about, can Summer escape with the truth?
*Special thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for this e-arc.*
I couldn’t put this book down once I started it! It was so good!
I don’t know why I thought it would be like Heartbreakers and I thought it would be hard to like the characters, but it quickly turned into an edge of your seat thriller and I couldn’t wait to see how it would end.
Despite their thievery, Summer and Leo were incredibly likeable characters with their own history and motivations that made it easy to empathize with them instead of view them as villains.
I hate to give too much of the plot away because I had no idea what to expect going in and I think that is best, but I loved the twists and turns within the story.
You Can Trust Me was thrilling, claustrophobic, adventurous, and intense. I highly recommend it and it’s definitely going to be a popular summer thriller for your beach bag!
If there is any justice in the world, this will be THE thriller of the summer. Sharp and stylish, You Can Trust Me is the perfect book to pack in your beach bag or to bring the beach to your couch.
Summer and Leo are nomads, surviving by their wits and talents at pickpocketing, conning and sugar babying. When Leo sets out to land her first billionaire it looks like they’ll be set… until Leo disappears. Summer finagles an invite to the billionaire’s exclusive private island with one goal: find Leo.
Propulsive and charming, I couldn’t put this book down and would gladly read an entire series of Summer and Leo’s adventures. Here’s hoping!
Read if you like: Lucia and Mia from White Lotus S2, eating the rich, smashing the patriarchy