ARC Review: Trust Fall by Lynn Painter

 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Better Than the Movies, Lynn Painter, comes a rags-to-riches rom-com about a small-town girl whose family inherits a fortune and moves to New York City, where she meets a big-city boy hiding an explosive secret.

Julia is just a small-town girl from Nebraska who loves her peaceful life. But when her elderly next-door neighbor—who just happens to be a secret multi-millionaire—leaves everything to Julia and her family after his passing, Julia is swept away to live in a historic brownstone in New York City and attend an elite private school for the super-rich.

It should be a dream come true. Wrong. Julia doesn’t fit in at her new school; worse, she’s failing. Enter Damion, the mysterious and handsome tutor who will get Julia back on track. Except Damion has a secret. He is the great-nephew of the man who left everything to Julia’s family. Damion doesn’t buy for a second that the person who was like a father to him would leave his home to strangers. And he’s determined to prove it.

To uncover the truth, Damion schemes to earn Julia’s trust. Not an easy task with Julia unsure about this rich boy with a rebellious personality. But the more time Damion spends with Julia, the more his plan begins to backfire. Because he is falling for the enemy—and the enemy is falling for him.

As Damion and Julia figure out where they belong, can they see past their differences and act on their feelings, or will the trust Damion has worked so hard to gain fall apart?

Title: Trust Fall

Author: Lynn Painter
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Expected Publication Date: September 29, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love me some YA Painter. It's always so easy to read and so much fun to watch. Don't got into this one thinking about her adult books because it's definitely firmly in YA. Is there kissing? YES! But that's about as much as you'll get for sexy times. Which is just what I'd expect from YA romance.

Julia and Damion are enemies, though Julia doesn't even know it. She and her family have inherited Damion's uncle's house and all he wants to do is prove they are grifters who duped his uncle out of his property and money. But the more time he spends with her, the more he sees she's not who he thought she was, nor is her family. And then he finds himself falling for her when he had no intention of that at all.

Julia is a spark plug. I love her attitude. But I also felt so badly for her because the kids at her new school were so mean to her. The bullying was ridiculous. And no one did a thing about it. Though there were times Damion definitely supported her and shot the bullies down.

I liked how the relationship between Julia and Damion grew. Painter did a good job building their relationship and chemistry. The more time they spent together, the more they wanted to be in each other's presence. And Painter does a great job showing how teens navigate all the angst they are up against.

I really enjoyed the side characters in this story, as well.

The pacing was done well, very typical for a YA story. There's depth to the plot but not too much to hurt your brain. 

If you love Painter's Better Than the Movies series, this one definitely has a similar vibe to it and you should give it a try!

Author:

Lynn Painter is the author of Better Than The Movies. She writes romantic comedies for tweens, teens, and adults, and when she isn't reading or writing, odds are good she’s guzzling energy drinks and watching rom-coms. 

Obscure facts that might make her sound interesting (but probably don't): 

*She can fit an entire cupcake in her mouth. BOOM.

*She threw up all over herself on the first day of 2nd grade.

*She once saw Kelsey Grammar hailing a taxi in Manhattan, so she's pretty much an NYC native who is best friends with celebrities.

*She has a one-inch vertical.

*Her love for spaghetti is brighter than the sun, stronger than The Rock.

*If you see her doing anything crafty, it isn't her; she has literally set things on fire with a hot glue gun and has the motor skills of a preschooler. No offense, preschoolers.

*Her 4th grade teacher moved her desk out into the hallway because she wouldn't shut up. Like, ever.

*She held the record at her elementary school for finding the most bats (vampire, not baseball) in a single year. The little dork located - and alerted authorities to - four potentially-rabid bats.*

So technically, if you think about it, she might've saved hundreds of lives with her nerditude. #hero

*She was the only one to ever find any bats because everyone else had better things to do at recess.