Review: Trust by Kylie Scott

Trust by Kylie Scott

Publication Date: July 18, 2017

Rating: 4 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

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.

What I liked:

This is the first Kylie Scott book I've read, despite wanting to read one of her books for a long time. She has a lot of interesting-looking adult romance books published, and several are on my TBR. This book, Trust, is a Young Adult contemporary romance novel. Usually I don't go after YA contemporary, but this one came recommended by Nick @ Nick & Nereyda's Infinite Booklist. I really enjoyed the book!

The story starts with the terrifying scene of Edie being held hostage at gunpoint in a convenience store by a man who was on drugs and definitely off his rocker. She is saved by a young man named John, who was also at the store. As it would turn out, John is a senior at the high school to which Edie has transferred. Edie and John form a strange but strong bond, trusting each other with their experiences and feelings, becoming friends over the terrible event. John is not someone Edie would take home to her home - he used to sell weed, he used to sleep through his classes, he still has a bad-boy reputation. But John becomes an important part of Edie's life, and she needs him as her friend. But things get complicated when Edie decides she wants to punch in her V card, and John offers to help her with this first. This story is about two teens going through a life-changing event, coming back from the trauma, and discovering life after it. 

This book had a Katie McGarry vibe to it and I love that. If you've not read any of McGarry's books (Pushing the Limits, Dare You To, etc., I highly recommend you do so). Or Kami Garcia's The Lovely Reckless. This book is right up there with those amazing YA contemporary romance novels. 

Edie is one of the most interesting and unique YA heroines I've coming across. She is full of spunk and confidence, though she has her insecurities and vulnerabilities. She is somewhat fat and she is just fine with her size, but she gets bullied a lot for her weight. People say things to her, pick on her, judge her, and it hurts her. But she is such a strong and confident girl and she stands up for herself. Edie has a toughness and a likable nature that made it hard not to adore her.

John has the cool, calm, and collected thing going on. He is a quiet brooder, a guy of few words, a smart student who just needs a chance. He used to deal marijuana, and he has a player's reputation among the ladies, and the teachers in school don't give him a chance. But he cleans up his act after the robbery incident, and he starts to do better. John has a bad-boy vibe that I loved, but he is also so much more. I like that he is has that tall, dark, and handsome persona, but he also has insecurities and weaknesses. He isn't a perfect guy and that makes him more likable. I love how protective he is, how he would do anything to help and protect Edie and make her happy. He is a closet sweetie!

I'm going to be honest - I love the good-girl/bad-boy romance trope. I am sucker for the trope - it's probably second only to hate-to-love romances. Edie used to go to a private all-girls school and she got excellent grades. Now she goes to the public school. John has that bad-boy vibe, and he really is a little "bad" (dealing marijuana when you're underage is illegal, no matter which state you're in). It's opposites attracting, and in this case, a good, sweet girl and a bad, brooding boy.

The romance is sweet and subtle and swoony! Edie develops a crush on John fairly quickly after meeting him in the high school (after the robbery incident), but she wants to be friends with him because she needs the friendship (it is good for her). When they have sex (for Edie to lose her virginity - John offered because he wanted her first time to be with someone she liked and trusted, not with a random guy from school), things change. The romance was fun and sweet and tender, and the chemistry (especially once lose-my-virginity thing comes up) gets pretty hot. These two are a great couple, in terms of chemistry and emotional bond. They have a strong friendship but they also have a good physical connection.

This story is so much more than a romance, though the romance is very important. I love that it deals with certain tough issues, like Edie dealing with the bullies, body positivity, second chances, drugs, family, trust, good friendships. Edie has several great girl friends, and John has a really great guy friend, and all of these friendships are strong and healthy.

I didn't expect to pick up this book because I'd barely even heard of it, but I'm glad I decided to take a chance on it. The story was so wonderful and uplifting, even in the slightly dark moments. I love how there was so little drama in the romance (and the story in general), and how communication was done well (i.e. there was no miscommunication drama). This was a wonderful YA contemporary romance story, one I may come back to in the future!

What I Did Not Like:

I can't think of anything specific! I liked this book a lot and I'm going back and forth between 4 stars and 5 stars.

Would I Recommend It:

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes YA contemporary romance, or tough-issue YA contemporary. I don't typically enjoy YA contemporary but when there is a strong, swoony romance, I'm in. This book was very well-written, very engrossing, and so worth the read. It was funny, it was sad, it was heart-warming, it was swoony. 

Also, like I said, this is Young Adult! Not New Adult or Adult. The sex scenes aren't super explicit (but they exist). So readers of many ages can try this one, no need to worry about well-detailed sex scenes or anything like that. (I love adult romance, so I'm not knocking well-detailed sex scenes!)

Rating:

4.5 stars. I'm rounding down to 4 stars as per my usual policy but I may change my rating and round up in the future - perhaps if/after I reread the book. I will definitely be rereading it! This is a YA contemporary romance novel that you do not want to miss, especially if you're a fan of Katie McGarry or Kami Garcia, or even Huntley Fitzpatrick.

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