Last updated on 09/27/2026
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?
Preorder here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Trust-Fall/Lynn-Painter/9798347100217
Review:
Oh, this book! It gave me alllll the feels (and totally made me feel like I was living in that scene from When Harry Met Sally when they’re walking in the autumn in NYC and she’s wearing her hat…even though Julia kept pushing the You’ve Got Mail vibes, my brain kept going back to WHMS of its own accord)
Julia and Damion’s story is the kind of YA story my teen heart craved in the 1980s but that didn’t exist yet. Its opposites attract, fish out of water, and enemies to lovers vibes were impeccable. They live in the NYC that everyone who loves a Nora Ephron rom com wants to–but they go to school in a prep school with a Mean Girls/10 Things I Hate About You-esque student body. I envied Julia’s family’s rags-to-riches life, but I did not envy the time she had in her new school. Yikes.
Damion’s one of those characters that was definitely made more likeable by the fact that this is a dual POV–if we didn’t know what was going on from his side of things from the beginning, it would have been a whole lot harder to buy the romance that eventually develops. But we do know, and I was here for his growing attraction to *Julia Nebraska* Even when he was being a bit of a jerk about it.
Nothing would have saved his parents though–OMG they were pieces of work. They try to redeem themselves in the end somewhat, but…yikes.
Though I am bummed that the readers didn’t get to see Remi/Lou on the page, he lived on through Julia, Damion, and Bernard, and the quotes (from his letters to Damion, I’m guessing) were a fun touch. But that last letter–ugh, it wrecked me. Have tissues handy when you’re getting near the end of the book, because boy did I need them.
Only my second Lynn Painter book (after First and Forever )–I’m so happy that she’s got a backlist for me to enjoy while I wait for her next one!
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Be First to Comment