Trust

By: Kylie Scott

Narrated by: Andi Arndt

Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's Summary

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, 17-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.

©2017 Kylie Scott (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

YA Romance BRILLANCE!!

I'm a big fan of Kylie Scott's contemporary romances AND I love YA romance so I couldn't wait for the release of Trust. IT WAS EVERYHING I HOPED IT WOULD BE.

The story is a slow burn. Taking time to build the relationship, the TRUST. It included the right amount of everything a YA romance should angst, uncertainty, fear, hope, friendship and letting go of your inhibitions.

Now for the best part...Kylie brings her hot, steamy tasteful adult sex scenes to YA BRILLANTLY! She has written the most realistic and honest "first time" scene I have EVER experienced in a YA book. I have been waiting a long time to see this done right and Kylie nails it (no pun intended)! And the shower scene is...well...all I can say is WOW! It hit so many firsts I remember as a YA. All that said, I do recommend this for the slightly older YA 14-15+.

I was a bit surprised that Andi Arndt was narrating this book. I love Andi and Trust was my 6th Andi Arndt narrated book this year. Andi does mostly adult romance so I did have to switch gears a bit and remember I was in a YA book. But as Andi never fails to do, she won me over about mid way through the book with her smooth delivery and with all the right feels in all the right places. There were some production glitches in the first 1/2 of the book but it all cleared up by the second 1/2 half.

HIGH RECOMMEND...Stick with the slow beginning, it is soooo worth it in the end! This is a standalone so no cliffhanger ending, no waiting for the second book.

A different direction for this author; winner!

Sometimes when authors spread their artistic wings, they can lose the audience they worked so hard to build. In this case, however, Kylie Scott still manages to keep you entertained despite the traumatic beginning of this young adult love story. Both character were well developed, mature beyond their young years and appealing to this 50 something reader/listener. Scott's wit, sarcasm and humor or beautifully performed by the talented Andi Ardt. I was not sure how I would respond to this change in genre, but I give five beautiful stars of approval. In this reader/listeners opinion it is well worth a credit or money. I look forward with great anticipation for Scott's next book in whatever genre it may be!!

Love and trauma...

I have always liked Kylie Scott's books and this audiobook was a little different from her usual stories. The main characters were a lot younger, high school kids, for example. The story itself was about the aftermath of a violent crime on two people who survived it. It dealt with PTSD and young love, romance and apprehension. I liked the way the story proceeded and liked the ending as well. Narration was excellent.

Great story, but would have liked a younger voice

Trust by Kylie Scott was a different read for me. I am not usually a YA reader, but I enjoy Kylie Scott’s writing and there was good buzz surrounding this, so I bought it on audio. It was pretty mature for YA, so I would say it straddles YA & NA. They are Seniors in high school, and the themes are very real. It deals with guns, drugs, sex, PTSD, bullying and more, but it never felt morose. There was a hopeful feel throughout the book.

17 year old Edie goes to a snobby private school. She is a bit overweight and a bookworm and does not fit in there. She is bullied at school, but still has a best friend. One night she heads to the local convenience store for munchies for a sleepover with her friend, when a meth-head with a gun comes in to rob the place and holds the gun on her.

"I was going to die, here, tonight, in the Drop Stop in my (effing) pajamas. This was it."

Wow, that first scene was intense and so real-feeling. There was another good-looking young guy in the store that was able to talk to the gunman enough to save her life. He then risked his life to save hers.

After, with the press going crazy, her ‘best friend’ just looking to get in the spotlight, and the attention from the bullies, Edie has changed her attitude towards life, and decides she will not go back to that private school, and enrolls in the local public school. And, you guessed it. The gorgeous boy who saved her life goes there.

“He was beautiful and I . . . I was nothing. An out-of-her-depth girl who wore too much black and feared the bulk of society.”

Edie is having nightmares. Everything has changed since the shooting. But at the same time, she is making friends at her new school, and they seem pretty great. I loved seeing how much she grew during the story.

“Now I know how much there is to be afraid of and it terrifies me. But at the same time, I feel like if I could live through that, what happened to us, then I can survive anything. Like, what is there really to be afraid of?"

Everyone had a crush on bad-boy John. He was the school’s weed dealer before the hold-up, but after, he wanted to change, become a better person. If only everyone would stop asking him for weed. Edie was there for him. She understood what is was like to go through such a life threatening scare, so the two bonded. But John knew he was a bad-boy and she was a good girl. As much as he wanted and needed her, he couldn’t ruin her too.

"Why did you tell yourself not to come here?"
"Because I'm poison." His eyes fixed on mine. "I don't want to drag you down... There's no coming back from that."

As they both healed and changed together, it was wonderful to see. The things that are really important to most high school kids seem ridiculous after you almost die. Nobody else can really get that unless they have been through it as well.

"So my thighs were thick and my belly bulged. So what. I was alive and allowed to take up space. "
——
"I found it hard to care. I mean, what did it matter? Life went on; no one had died as a result. The principal said it would go on my permanent record. Permanent? Please. Bullets were permanent. Everything else was temporary."

This was a sweet romance about first love as well, and though there is sex, it was tasteful enough for about 15 and up.

"I couldn't get close enough, no matter how I tried. Eyes hazy and lips wet, he kissed me slow and sweet. It seemed endless, as necessary to life as breathing."

Likes:

•Unique and compelling storyline.
•So real, deals with so many of the issues kids face daily.
•Great side characters.
•So much depth to the storyline.
•The way the characters evolved and changed.
•The sweet first-love romance.

Dislikes:

•Kind of an abrupt ending.

Narration:
I enjoy Andi Arndt as a narrator but honestly thought she was all wrong for this for two reasons, she is very overused and we have heard her do very hot, mature books very often, and her voice is just too old for a 17 year old. I would have been much happier with a younger, less-known voice.

The Down & Dirty:
Trust by Kylie Scott is an older young adult book that deals with some pretty serious and very real issues for teens. It was a compelling and unique story and I hung on to every word. Despite some of the upsetting themes, it still had a hopeful, almost happy vibe. I really loved the main characters and their friends and reading a YA was a good change of pace. Though I love Andi Arndt as a narrator, I did feel that her voice was a little too mature for the book, but of course, she was still pretty great. I highly recommend this one, but for me, I think I would choose the book over the audiobook.

Rating: 4.25 Stars, 3 Heat, 3.5 Narration

THIS WAS A GREAT STORY!!!

Any additional comments?

This was super great!! I am impressed with the way this story went, and as a YA book from this author...it was fantastic....Edie and John are put through a very traumatic experienced, and it changed both their young lives...both for the better and ultimately brought them together, where they help each other to heal!! I love this!! I want more!! lol

Totally recommend..you will love this too!!!

My Two Pennies

The way this story begins with Edie going through a traumatic experience and survived because John choose to be a hero and help in the event left me hanging on every second. I love seeing how although Edie is struggling through what happened she’s grown a confidence within and even developed a very close deep friendship with John. This is a great young adult story with the characters are 17-18 years old, usually these storylines don’t hold my interest but I was delightfully surprised and wanted to continue on. Trust holds so much power and yet it’s so hard to have at times as we see with Edie and John. The highs and lows brought smiles and jaw dropping moments that are unforgettable. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.

A refreshing cast of characters and a great story

My favorite thing about Trust was how gloriously healthy the relationship between Edie and John was. Combined with diverse and interesting characters, a touch of a slow burn, and some drama, I can see why so many people have been loving this book. I know I did.

Edie was a relatable heroine who, much to my delight, was curvy without too much self-loathing (and without the main goal of losing weight). And one of my pet peeves was graciously not present: I could see why John was attracted to her. Their relationship was well developed and the chemistry came through loud and clear from the beginning.

And then there was John. Oh, John. An 18-year-old who understands consent and is protective without being overbearing -- don’t get me wrong, I like the occasional pushy alpha -- but John was a breath of fresh air without being a pushover.

I loved the contrast of how Edie handled the trauma vs. how John handled it and how they balanced one another out. This was such a well done friends-to-lovers story.

Excuse me while I go hunt down more books by this author.

Audiobook Performance

There were a few areas in which I could tell there must’ve been some audio added in post-editing toward the beginning of the audiobook, but I only vaguely noticed. Andi Arndt is a great voice actor. I definitely hope to hear more of her work in the future!

WOW!

A different style of writing for Kylie Scott but I love it!
Edie and John are put through a very traumatic experienced and they got threw it.

great listen

I loved it, finished it in one sitting even tagging it when I couldn't listen!

Another fantastic read by Kylie Scott

Although her first in a new genre, Kylie knocks it out of the park with Trust. Her storytelling is spot on, drawing you in and keeping you there. Between her stellar writing and Andi Arndt's fantastic performance, I was unable to put this one down, inhaling it in a single, non-stop session. Her characters were totally identifiable and she nailed the high school experience, as well as the insecurities that prevail at that age. I was rooting for Edie and John, loving how their friendship and relationship developed. I want to check in with them in ten years and see them still together, closer and more bonded than ever. Like a really good story should, it left me wanting more.