Happy Release Day to Kylie Scott's debut YA novel, Trust! As a massive Kylie Scott reader, this is definitely not her usual, but it was definitely an entertaining read. I've got a review, an exclusive excerpt, and a book trailer, so stick around!
Trustby Kylie Scott
Published on July 18th, 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
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Being young is all about the experiences: the first time you skip school, the first time you fall in love…the first time someone holds a gun to your head.
After being held hostage during a robbery at the local convenience store, seventeen-year-old Edie finds her attitude about life shattered. Unwilling to put up with the snobbery and bullying at her private school, she enrolls at the local public high school, crossing paths with John. The boy who risked his life to save hers.
While Edie’s beginning to run wild, however, John’s just starting to settle down. After years of partying and dealing drugs with his older brother, he’s going straight—getting to class on time, and thinking about the future.
An unlikely bond grows between the two as John keeps Edie out of trouble and helps her broaden her horizons. But when he helps her out with another first—losing her virginity—their friendship gets complicated.
Meanwhile, Edie and John are pulled back into the dangerous world they narrowly escaped. They were lucky to survive the first time, but this time they have more to lose—each other.
Kylie Scott's New Adult novels are like a drug to me. Anything she releases, it immediately makes its way to my e-reader because I'm fairly confident her books will give me that fix I've always been craving. Her writing has grown tremendously since her Stage Dive series and finding out her plans to release a YA novel somehow threw me off the loop... in a good way, I guess.
I admit I'm a little wary about trying out things that I'm not quite certain of. I'm a picky YA reader, but with Kylie Scott being one of my favourite authors, I surely had to give her the benefit of the doubt.
And I don't regret doing so.
Trust was a whole different level of YA. It dwelled in the mature side of adolescence; sex, drugs, bullying, mental health, teen rebellion, and even crime. It features the story of two incredibly flawed and broken teens brought together by a series of unfortunate events, starting from a mini-mart robbery gone wrong. Edie and John weren't just victims, but survivors of a tragedy, but surviving came with a price in the form of nightmares, PTSD, anger, and hate.
Kylie Scott's diversity among her characters, albeit small, was something I truly appreciated, especially with Edie being a plus size heroine. I related to her so much, as a girl who has struggled with her weight her whole life. However, despite John not being physically different to most cute YA heroes, his personality stood out and got me hooked. I also enjoyed the side characters brought into the novel; Hang, Edie's new found Asian best friend as well as Anders, John's hilarious buddy.
I enjoyed how Edie and John found solace from each other as they work on dealing with their trauma and getting back on the right track. It was entertaining to read how their relationship slowly progressed to a romantic relationship, but still never strayed away from the realistic teenage romance: awkward, embarrassing but nonetheless, full of raw emotion. Although, I admit--even if it goes against everything I stand for when it comes to romance novels--this book could've also done well without the romance.
Kylie Scott definitely has potential in writing YA novels but frankly speaking, it isn't her strong suit, despite Trust being an enjoyable read. Although, I'd have to say, Kylie Scott can surely write a kickass suspense novel! The suspense in Trust was incredibly gripping and chilling, and surely kept me on the edge of my seat.
Reading Trust was an emotional rollercoaster. It's honest, raw, crass, gripping, and somehow the epitome of a teen's life, kinda of without the 'survivor of a robbery-turned-hostage' situation bit. This book isn't for everybody, but then again, life isn't all rainbows and butterflies. I'd suggest getting into this book with an open mind, should anyone decide to pick it up. But I assure you, this book will keep you entertained and on your toes from beginning till end.
Massive thanks to Inkslinger for my ARC!
READ AN EXCERPT
“You were going to give it up to Duncan Dickerson?” he sneered. “Are you serious?”
I halted, staring at him. This was not good. “How do you know about that?”
“Anders overheard you and Hang talking.”
“Bastard.”
“Well?” he demanded, acting all authoritarian. Idiot.
“To be fair, I didn’t know his last name was Dickerson,” I said. “That’s unfortunate. Though, I wasn’t actually planning on marrying him, so . . .”
“Not funny.”
I shrugged.
“You barely know the guy.”
“Um, yeah. None of your concern. We’re not talking about this.” How mortifying! My face burned bright. People should just gather around and cook s’mores. “I appreciate that we’re friends. You mean a lot to me. But this is going to have to fall under definitely none of your damn business, so go away please.”
“We’re talking about it.” He advanced a step.
“No we are not.” And I retreated.
“You were going to let a complete stranger touch you.” Advance.
Retreat. “People do it all the time. You do it all the time.”
“But you don’t,” he said, taking the final step, backing me up against the side of his car and getting all in my face. “Edie, this is your first time we’re talking about. Isn’t it?”
“Yes, and it’s going to be messy and painful and probably horribly embarrassing and I just want it over and done with.” I tried to meet his eyes but failed, settling for a spot on his right shoulder.
“You’re not a girl; you wouldn’t understand. Also, last time I checked, you’re not the gatekeeper of my hymen, John Cole. So back the fuck off.”
He said nothing.
Deep, calming breaths. “Look, someday I’ll meet someone I really like and we’ll have a deep and meaningful relationship and go at it like bunnies. But I don’t want to be the dumb virgin in that scenario.”
He slowly shook his head.
“Also, I do not want to die a virgin.”
“What? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Hey, you and I both know death can occur at any time.”
“This is crazy.”
“I’m seeing a therapist!” I told his shoulder. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m a little bit messed up these days. It’s hard for me to trust people. That’s not going to change anytime soon.”
He screwed up his face at me. “Wha—”
“I’m just trying to be practical.”
“Well, you’re being ridiculous. None of this makes sense.”
“It does to me.”
Again, he said nothing.
In fact, he said nothing for so long that I finally looked him in the eye. The anger had left him, replaced by an emotion I didn’t recognize. Worst of all, he still smelled like summer. A little sweat and the open night air, everything I loved. Liked. I meant liked.
“What?” I said, finally.
He let loose a breath. “I’ll do it.”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
KYLIE SCOTT
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Kylie is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author. She was voted Australian Romance Writer of the year, 2013 & 2014, by the Australian Romance Writer’s Association and her books have been translated into eleven different languages. She is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet. You can learn more about Kylie from http://www.kylie-scott.com/
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