My review of Trust in You, by Julia Firlotte

As I mentioned in my last post, Julia Firlotte and I agreed to trade honest reviews of each other's books.  Julia's review of my smutty novel Mindgames is here.  I am delighted to return the favor with Julia's soon-to-be-published novel, Trust in You. 

Trust in You is a romance in the tradition of Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey.  As in those books, a young, inexperienced woman becomes involved with, and swept up in the deep problems of, an older, richer, sophisticated man.  The heat content of Trust in You is halfway between the G-rated Twilight and the R? X?-rated Fifty Shades. 

There are some things that Trust in You does extraordinarily well.  (Mild spoilers ahead.) 






The scene in which heroine Ella loses her virginity to bad boy hero Adam is one of the best I have read.  I love that Ella is one hundred percent all in for having sex with Adam, and that he double and triple checks -- in words -- that she wants to have sex with him.  I love that Ella has already had an orgasm, that she is ready for more, that Adam is gentle . . . and that having sex still hurts. And that it hurts the next day, too.  That is the truth for so many women.  The realistic portrayal makes it easier for me to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the romance of the scene. 

I also really enjoyed Ella's character.  She has too many responsibilities for a woman of her age (18).  She is not unrealistically smart or competent.  She makes mistake after mistake.  But throughout the book, she tries to do better.  She wants to be braver, cannier, and more independent.  Sometimes that desire just leads her into more trouble, but I can't help admiring her.  In ten years, she will be force to be reckoned with.

That leads me to the one major criticism I had about the book, which is the age difference between Ella and Adam.  Ella is 18 and Adam is in his late 20's.  It sometimes makes his interest in her borderline creepy.  Nothing would be lost by aging Ella up by five years, and I wouldn't be asking myself what's wrong with Adam that he can't find someone his own age to date.

Trust in You is the first of a series about Ella and, I think, her sisters.  I look forward to reading more.