Trust Fall Review

Hello, all!

Let's chat about Trust Fall by Lynn Painter. Big thanks to the publisher for the copy!

Pub Date: 9-29-26
YA - Contemporary

Julia and her family live a quiet life in a small Nebraska town. But they’re suddenly thrust into New York City's upper society when they inherit a fortune from a kindly neighbor. Inheriting a historic brownstone and moving to a bustling city would be any teen's dream, but not Julia's. She immediately doesn't fit in with the rest of the kids at her new prep school, and even worse, her test scores aren't up to the school's standards. She's been assigned a tutor to get her back on track, and it just so happens to be the handsome stranger she ran into on her first day in town.

Damion's walls went up the moment he met Julia because, unbeknownst to her, he's the great-nephew of the man who left her everything, and he doesn't believe for a second that the man he considered a second father to him would leave his home to strangers. Damion takes it upon himself to earn Julia's trust and dig into her family's background to prove they're hiding something. Unfortunately for Damion, he falls for Julia instead, but what happens when she learns the truth?

I'm a card-carrying member of the Lynn Painter fan club, so I couldn't wait to pick this up. While I liked it, it felt like something was missing. It still had all the signature banter and wittiness I've come to expect with Painter's books, but something about the characters felt lacking. Julia felt naive and was a pushover for most of the book. I wanted her to stand her ground with all the catty kids at school (who felt like they were ripped from a CW teen drama), and show a little backbone. It was nice to see her get a little feisty with Damion, but I just wished she had that same sass with everyone else. Damion was cute, and I liked the whole bad-boy-who's-secretly-hurting thing he had going on. This book is also very long, and there wasn't enough to the plot to justify the length for me, but it was still a fairly quick read. I also liked the setting of fall in NYC. While it's not a new favorite of hers, I would still recommend it if you're looking for a new YA romance to read.

Rating: 3/5

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