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.

This book was so good in so many ways! Twisty turny creepy combined with a solid story of found family. I loved the relationship between Summer and Leo and their grifter nomadic life. Sure made living in a van sound like fun! But at the same time, a few points felt incredibly unbelievable. Yes, it is fiction, but some type of realism needs to be maintained. I have questions. Lots of questions. But, as the story unfolds, I was able to push those aside because I needed to know how it was going to end. My biggest advice: pay attention to dates at the beginning of each chapter. The unique way the story is presented plays a big part in how you might feel about what is going on.

This is how you write a thriller! The story of two grifters looking for a big score with a billionaire takes place over a long weekend on a remote island off the coast of California. When one of the women goes missing, her best friend comes looking for and finds more than she is expecting. This novel is fast-paced with tight writing that doesn't waste the reader's time. There's a lot of action, but it's not overwrought or too much. The alternating chapters between the two main characters works well and the author fills in their backstories without dragging out the suspense. You'll find yourself rooting for Leo and Summer to succeed.

I love a good thriller and I find long cons fascinating, so I was excited about this book that combines the two. I was NOT disappointed!

I loved Summer and Leo's found family relationship. It was fascinating to see how their backgrounds led to the way the lives that they live now. The thriller was compelling and kept me reading. Watching the con play out was fascinating too.

Overall, the characters of Summer and Leo were well-developed, but I would have liked more backstory on the rest of the key characters. I took one star off because parts of the big reveal felt like they relied too much on coincidence for me.

Loved every word of this nailbiting thriller, so fun! Leo and Summer are grifters, living in a Land Cruiser and surviving by their pickpocketing skills. They actually have a pretty good life, enjoying the freedom and anonymity of living off grid, until Leo goes for the big bucks with tech billionaire Michael Forrester. They hit it off and, on a whim, Michael boats her out to his private island where Leo simply vanishes. Summer goes after her by getting invited to an event on the island and finds herself in something much more sinister than she could have imagined. This was so cleverly written, keeping me balancing on the edge of needing answers about Leo and then the next chapter would plop me back into one of the girls backstories to reveal more of who they are. I loved this so much, I can’t wait to dive into more of Wendy Heard’s backlist. Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing House-Ballantine, and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on June 13, 2023

4.5/5 stars (rounded up to 5 stars on here)

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Summer and Leo have found their ways to each other and consider each other to be sisters, even though they aren’t blood related. They both have their own sets of tricks up their sleeves in order to help them get through life. However, when Leo disappears, Summer decides she wants to figure out what happened to her and figure out what really happened.

Yas!! This is going to be such a good book to read over the summer! It is a popcorn thriller full of twists and secrets that you don’t see coming! I loved the relationship between Leo and Summer and loved learning about them along the way. This book totally had me gripped and left me wanting more!

This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

This upcoming novel is twisty and weird in a good way! Two girls (Summer and Leo) living off the grid in California get more than they bargained for when they planned on conning a big fish (rich guy)! Honestly I’ve read more twisty thrillers so this one was a bit more calm and I wanted a bit more. However, it was a good story and I’ll be interested in what more this author has in store! (I’m rounding 3.5 up!)

This book was a fast, easy read and juicy! The characters were easy to root for and that surprised me. It was hard to put this one down and I read it in 2 sittings. There were some twists and turns and though some were predictable it didn't take away from the excitement of the story. I loved it and I can't wait to read more by this author.

Ooh, this was so good! It was the best thriller I've read in awhile. I loved the relationship between Leo and Summer, and the twists from each of their paths that caught up with their present. Interesting and different!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Wendy Heard for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for You Can Trust Me coming out June 6, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Summer and Leo would do anything for each other. They’ve bonded over being alone in an unforgiving world, and united by the need for an open road, they travel around California in Summer’s Land Cruiser. It’s not a glamorous life, but it gives them the freedom they yearn for from their traumatic pasts. But even free spirits have bills to pay. Luckily, Summer is a skilled pickpocket, a small-time thief, and a con artist—and Leo, ready to pay her own way, has learned Summer’s ways.

Eager for more, Leo catches Michael Forrester, a 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 excess. She anticipates returning with photos that can be sold to the paparazzi, jewelry, and endless stories to share with Summer.

Instead, Leo vanishes.

On her own for the first time in years, Summer decides to infiltrate Michael’s island and find out what happened to her. 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 days. Trapped in a scheme she helped create, could Summer have finally met her match?

I received this book directly from NetGalley and I feel like they know my favorite genres so well, haha. This is the first book I’ve read by Wendy Heard. I was pleasantly surprised that I loved it so much! I wasn’t sure what kind of story it would be, but it was so good. I loved Summer and Leo as characters. I was definitely rooting for them. I was a little afraid I wouldn’t be sympathetic to them using people and stealing from them. But there’s a lot more to their characters and the situation they find themselves in. So it becomes more of a survival story.

I would recommend this to anyone who loves survival thrillers!

I really enjoyed the beginning of this story. Who doesn’t love a good con woman and her bff lifting wallets and tips from unsuspecting men?

I thought that was a great start, and I couldn’t wait to see how that would play out in the next part of the book - the mystery.

But really, it doesn’t. It just kind of goes away and doesn’t even help the girls in the long run, which seemed weird, considering it was a huge part of their lives.

I thought the creepy artist was a nice touch, and I liked the back story that brought them together.

What I really did not like was that the girls are absolutely unchanged in the end. A person goes through what they go through and they go right back to their exact same way of life. It seemed disingenuous to me.

Gripping thriller that truly had me on the edge of my seat to see what would happen. Leo and Summer were a great set of characters, each with unique qualities. Lots of twists and turns, and the plot gets more mysterious as it goes on. Excellent beach read.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am shooketh. This book was riveting. Fast paced. Loved the friendship between my 2 fmc. I loved the past and present pov. I loved the mystery. The ending was chefs kiss.

This is the kind of popcorn thriller I live for.

The relationship between Leo & Summer absolutely made this book for me! You Can Trust Me is the perfect summer beach read!

What starts out as a fun popcorn thriller about two feminist grifters turns darker and twistier than I expected and I loved every second of it.

The comparisons to White Lotus aren't wrong, this is the book Mia would write if she was an American van-life girlie instead of an Italian sex worker.

You Can Trust Me was full of twists and I had a hard time putting it down. This book kept me guessing until the very end. I have not ever read anything by Wendy Heard before but this will not be the last one I read. Excellent beach read that will keep you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens next. Highly recommended read!

5⭐️

Wow this was really incredible. It took a little bit to get going in the first third of the book, but once we're on the island with Leo and Summer the book really takes off and didn't slow down.

Leo and Summer are not related by blood but from their own trauma they're as close as sisters. They are also nomadic grifters looking for the text pawn and scheme. This time Leo is going to get a tech billionaire Michael. After Leo goes missing after a date with Michael, Summer does everything she can to find her. Going to a secluded island for the weekend and a group of rich executives,

I really had a great time with this story. I loved Summer and Leo's relationship. They were fierce and not to be underestimated. The ending was a tad bit predictable but still great.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bantam, and Random House for this advance reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites close or on publication.

I absolutely LOVED this one.

I was obsessed with this from the very first page. It was thrilling and entertaining and oh so cleverly done.

It kept you guessing right to the end.

Plus, Summer and Leo are fantastic characters. You can't help but love them.