Trust Me

RLU #2

by Carlie Jean

Jasmine
I can’t believe it’s already my senior year of college.
And I find myself roommate-less.
That is until I strike a deal with the devil.
Elio Mazzo. Retired NHL legend and my father’s friend.
Which makes him completely off-limits.
We can never cross that line, no matter how much we want to.
But you know what they say, you always want the things you can’t have.


Elio
I never pictured returning to RLU to complete my senior year of college, but here I am.
After an injury that left me unable to continue playing in the NHL, I decided to return to school to figure out what’s next for me.
Not only am I a student again- I’m also the new assistant hockey coach to my mentor.
All while I’m secretly living with his daughter.
Inviting her to live with me has resulted in my own personal hell.
She’s tempting and I can’t have her.
But when tensions run high, I find myself not caring about the consequences.
I’ve always gotten whatever I wanted, and I don’t plan on changing that now.

Genres: Sports Romance, Romance, Hockey, Forced Proximity, College Romance, Sports, College

344 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 20, 2024

About the author

Hi! My name is Carlie Jean, a girl who loves to write new adult romances featuring protective males and strong heroines with a side of spice, tension, laughter, and a hefty dose of scenes that give readers butterflies.

When I’m not teaching little ones, you can find me cozied up at home, either writing or reading. And when I’m not being a couch potato, I enjoy walking my dog, playing volleyball and baseball, and traveling.

Reviews

[elara · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’d let this man degrade me

[Salma]

*read for developmental editing

[readbydj 🧺 · Rating 3 out of 5]

my expectations were too high and i was left wanting more. elio and jasmine had potential to show a healthy relationship and instead it was majorly focused on how many smut scenes the author can fit in.

[María · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 ⭐️) No entiendo porque ella lo “odiaba”, era perfecto. Jugaba hockey, tenía tres gatitas llamadas como las chicas superpoderosas, era italiano, le gustaban las caricaturas ¿cómo vas a odiar a alguien así? Literalmente PERFECTO.

[Ruth♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐

Después de que su amiga se mudará del departamento que compartían Jasmine necesita encontrar un nuevo compañero pero su búsqueda no ha dado frutos, hasta que un día Elio uno de los estudiantes le ofrece vivir con el a cambio de que le cuide a sus gatos cuando sale a los partidos y también quiere ayudarle a su canal de cocina para que despegue, entre ellos hay una chispa pero ninguno puede hacer nada por varias razones, primero él es un poco mayor, segundo trabaja con su papá como entrenador del equipo de hockey y tercero es de los mejores amigos de su papá y él no los quiere ver juntos.

Un amor prohibido 🙂‍↕️😏

Es un romance deportivo lindo, quería seguir con libros con trama sencilla y clichés, y este me pareció lo mejor, el primero me sorprendió lo mucho que me gustó y este no se quedó atrás, también estuvo bueno, siento que al inició estaba perdida por qué no recordaba nada de los personajes y me costó un poco sumergirme en la historia pero una vez que pase eso lo disfruté mucho, además yo no sé que tienen estos libros que se me hacen muy hot 🔥

El conflicto fue justo lo necesario, sin tanto drama y así me gustan, el romance no se da tan rápido, el como hacen cosas sencillas y así se van enamorando.
En fin lo recomiendo y ya quiero leer los que vienen.

[Crystal Holland · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the definition of an open door book. I mean it was A LOT. I skipped whole chapters and then ultimately just read the last chapter to find out how the conflict was resolved. I am counting this as read even though it isn’t really because my eyes deserve a consolation prize.

[ceci · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way that i knew i was going to love them since i first heard about them, was so true.
The way that they are together and how they belong to each other was something that i loved about this book. Elio and Jasmine mean so much to me, they are everything in the worl. They built a friendshio and they CAN´T DENY THEIR FEELINGS, it was so magical.
Elio is a CAT DAD, he is everything good in the world.
Jasmine was like me, with her romance books with everything that she does, i love her even more.

Tropes:
- college romance
- forbidden romance
- forced proximity
- age gap
- found family

Thanks to Grey´s Promotions for the Arc.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️The ultimate “I can do it on my own” girl and the “I know you can, but I want to do this for you” boy 😍

Elio and Jasmine are SO CUTE. This man’s love language is Acts of Service AND. IT. SHOWS. The little things he did to show he cares was the best parts of this book!

Yall it was VERY spicy! 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ for the being the goody-two-shoes-virgin-girl…. Dang they spiced it up quick and often 🤪

Really enjoyed this one and I can’t wait for the next story!

Carlie Jean, you’re my girl! 🫶🏼

[Sonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I want to give it a 1 but that feels mean

[filipa:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

first of all i wanna send a huge thank you to the author, carlie, and her team fir allowing me the access to the ARC of this gorgeous and amazing book, im extremely thankful for this opportunity!!

now onto the actual book and all my thoughts!!

jasmine, elio’s dolcezza and the best girlie out there!! she was so incredible, i love her character and i love everything that is jasmine parks. she is seriously one of the most relatable characters i have ever read about and i loved seeing her become the happiest version of herself, it was so damn heartwarming. alsoooo i love that she was a book girlie like all of us🤭

elio, jasmine’s babe (even tho im a hater of the word ‘babe’)!! he was a sweetheart really!! he did the boy obsessed trope so damn well like oh my fuck, this man was so beyond whipped and it was beautiful to see. he was always there to see jas getting her gorgeous big wings and flying so beautifully!!

elio and jasmine, they were the cutest couple really!! i loved seeing how they just had such a deep connection that ran deeper than their own blood!! i adore them immensely and this book was everything i could have expected and more🫶

also, honorable mention to the aurora and cameron cameos, those two are way too fucking adorable and i loved seeing them again in trust me🤭🤭

[ess · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC Review

I want to first thank Carlie for the opportunity to read this as an arc, which makes me feel bad that I am giving this book such a low review by my standards.

This book wasn't bad, I want to preface this by saying that. I just felt some components were lackluster for me as a reader compared to book one in this series.

The first 40% of the book was amazing, I loved the banter between Elio and Jasmine and how they were playful at times and cold at others. The book fell flat for me after that, because once these two got together, I felt their storylines just dissolved.

Before their relationship, we learned that Jasmine has a complicated relationship with her parents with being an only child. She's an only child and one of her hobbies she enjoys is chess. I would have loved to see more of Jasmine and the difficult dynamic with her parents because it was such an important part of her and her story. Seeing more of her with her friends and playing chess would have given me a deeper connection to her character.

As for Elio, we learned that he is a caretaker and loves to "fix" things. He had plans to help those in need who couldn't help themselves so to speak. He was also the assistant coach for the school's hockey team and happened to also like chess. More scenes of his coaching and at games would have made his backstory as a retired NHL player standout.

These two were both college students and we rarely saw them in class which I felt was necessary because it is again a huge part of their stories.

There was a point in the story when they first got together where Elio told Jasmine she could call him her boyfriend, but he never asked and then a few chapters later they were together. I felt like we missed out on that cute moment between the two.

My main reasoning for this having such a low rating, by my standards, was that I didn't feel these two had an emotional connection. Once they crossed that line, there was hardly a chapter that went by where they did anything other than have sex which felt unnecessary after a while. Like I get it, y'all are really attracted to one another, but let's do something else. When they did do something outside of having sex, it was told and not seen by us as the readers which kind of bummed me out. I found myself being on autopilot whenever there were sex scenes because they felt never-ending and it appeared that was all they did and it was just cringe at times like this one scene where the two couldn't even get through a wedding without sneaking off to have sex. Like, please... I like spice don't get me wrong, but the spice seemed to overshadow the plotline of the story.

This review is by no means anything against Carlie and I still thoroughly enjoy her writing and will be looking forward to the third book in the series, this book in particular was just not for me and that's okay.

tropes
🏒 age gap
🧁 virgin fmc
🏒 dad's friend
🧁 secret dating
🏒 roomates
🧁 college sports romance

⭐️ 3.25

[Stephhh✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gawdddd! I have been looking forward to Jasmine and Elio’s story since I read Promise Me. I loved Jasmine so much in Trust me and omg I love her even more not.

Jasmine is starting her senior year of college. Elio, retired NHL star, new hockey coach at RLU, and the best friend of Jasmines father (so completely off limits, right?). When Elio finds Jasmine secret baking channel, Minniebakes, he presents an offer that Jasmine can’t refuse. Move in with him, work on her channel together to make her social media account blossom and be 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙚𝙨. Jasmine has been attracted to Elio since she met him 3 years prior but they always believed the other to be off limits.

Jasmine is a virgin and never been kissed. Elio can’t help his attraction to her sassy personality and beauty. He does whatever he can to support her as her “roommate” and soon to be friend. But these two have chemistry from the beginning that is way more than friends. I loved the witty banter between these two. The relationship felt authentic and organic and I loved how Jasmine opened up to Elio.

Elio is literally 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 (𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠) 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙. He’s so sweet, attentive, caring, present. Ugh, I think I love him even more than Cameron and I LOVED Cameron. Elio and Jasmine were just perfect for one another. Jasmine was able to explore her sexuality with Elio because he made her feel safe and protected her. Of course, all hell breaks loose when her Dad finds out about the relationship but Jasmine 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 stands up for herself, her relationship, her wants and her needs. I was so proud of Jasmine by the end of the book because she was finally able to pursue her dreams with the help and love of Elio by her side.

This was literally such a sweet story 🥹🥹 Carlie Jean is officially an auto-read author for me now. She has such a great way of balancing the story line with sweet and spicy scenes that makes your heart simply 𝙛𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧! 💗💗

[Maggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

i want to start this off by saying i love carlie so much (she’s my friend in my head) & i won’t accept slander about her, but this wasn’t my favorite

i feel bad because i loved promise me so much, but this fell flat for me. i think carlie’s so great, but her writing felt different in this book and it wasn’t my style. i did enjoy the plot & the storylines; it was just the writing style itself that wasn’t fully my vibe

i did love jasmine and elio though! i was so excited to get jasmine’s story & to learn more about her! she’s a big people pleaser (relatable) and loves to bake; she’s my girl <3 i get her

elio was so sweet & he cared so much about everyone. he’s also the king of gift giving and i LOVE that for him!!

3.5 stars!

[Kylie ve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start this by saying man I love a good hockey romance book, they are just my absolute favorite. This book is a forbidden hockey romance between our girl jasmine who is in school for a degree she doesn’t particularly want. She secretly wants to be a baker. She is the hockey coach’s daughter.

And then we have Elio Mazzo who is a retired NHL player that has taken the job as assistant coach alongside jasmines dad. I absolutely loved how caring and supportive Elio was with jasmine and her business and wanting to help her grow it. And I am a sucker for a man that takes care of the girl when she’s sick…. Perfection.

These two has such great chemistry together and the banter was so good with them! This was a great book and I’m excited to see what’s next in this series!

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es una historia sencilla.

Me gusto como se va dando forma a la relación de los protagonistas.

Algo que me gusta mucho es cuando hay apariciones de los personajes del libro anterior. Cam y Aurora son tan lindos! La amistad que tienen Aurora y Jasmine es hermosa.

La actitud del padre de Jasmine me pareció un poco hipócrita cuando la madre de Jasmine le cuenta como fue que se conocieron y enamoraron ellos.

[antri౨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
chefs kiss.

[Minnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐|4🌶|3🥵

I got an ARC copy of this book to write an honest review.

This book has a touch of "Never Been Kissed". Because Jasmine is never been kissed. And sure she is a virgin too. Her relationship with her parents isn't easy. She loves them, but they put a lot of pressure on her. I felt so sorry for her. I'm sure it's not easy to live a life you don't really want.
But Elio "blackmailed" her to be his roommate and helps her with so many things. He is so cute. I want Elio!!! He is not only helping Jasmine, he is so cute with "his girls" too. Funny anecdote, I asked my hubby if the names say anything to him. And he instantly knew it. And me? No 🙈 So, maybe hubby is a tiny bit Elio? 🤔
Anyway. Both are off-limits to each other because of Jasmine's father. He told her 3 years ago to don't think about anything about him. We all know, that NEVER helps 🤣 Oh, and Elio is sooo protective and yes even possessive, it gets "touch her and ☠️" vibes.
Elio is sooooo good in "the bedroom". He is a GOD! Honestly. And Carlie knows how to write spice 🥵
Why do I don't mention it as an age-gap romance? They are both in their 20th and 8 years isn't an age gap for me 😎

I'm waiting for book 3 now 😱


Follow me on IG for more
https://www.instagram.com/minnie.love...

[Romance_book_obsessed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Carlie and Greys promotions for this ARC!

The RLU series keeps getting better with Jasmine and Elio!
Elio, Jasmine’s dad’s friend and 8 years older, has been off limits for years. Jasmine needs a place to live and Elio becomes her secret roommate….and eventually lover! He’s a millionaire and an assistant hockey coach working alongside Jas’ dad. They secretly begin a relationship and Elio is such a swoony cat daddy! They cook together and have a lot of spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️

You’ll enjoy this if you liked Matching All The Way by Veronica Eden!

Tropes:
Age gap (he’s 8 years older)
Sports (former hockey player)
Virgin FMC
Roommates
Cat Daddy
Baker FMC
No 3rd act break up🧡

[McKenna Noelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 60%

I was so excited for this book since I loved the first one, but I’ve read Wattpad stories written by middle-schoolers that had a better plot and romance than this.

[a · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not read this book. The writing is so cheap. The author tried to make the MMC overly possessive and borderline creepy. There are ways to write and ways not to, and this book was a way not to.

[Karla♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Her words set me on fire, fueling my blood with a feeling like no other. She’s my present, future, and forever.” 🧡🏵️⛸️🏒🍰🍯
TRUST ME (RLU #2) e-arc REVIEW
4/5 ★’s
•
•
•
We’re back at RLU with another adorable read by queen carlie jean! As all of you know, my love for the first book in this series is astronomical, aurora and cam are my forever! But, Elio and Jasmine made my heart flutter just as much, with their sweet chemistry and forbidden love. In a whirlwind of emotions, self discovery and acceptance of new experiences comes these 2 characters utterly different and yet so similar to each other and what they desire the most- to be loved, understood, cared for. Jasmine with her sweet demeanor, Elio with his strong mind and soft personality. The sweetest 2 in the series, a perfect baked treat on a summer’s day. 🧡

Our fmc, Jasmine is your perfect paragon of a goody two shoes. Only child, straight A student, stunning athlete. What more could any parent want? And yet for Jasmine, it never feels like enough. Raised in the limelight of her family; the pressure to be pristine and perfectly aligned her whole life has always weighed down her shoulders. So when Jasmine meets older hockey player Elio Mazzo, also knows as one of her dad’s closest friends, who he practically raised. Where does the line between listening to her fathers orders and listening to her desires dim? With her strong demeanor, fierce personality and sweet personality Jasmine totally won me over. Her fears and passions all lead her to be the glowing character she is in this book, and diving into her thoughts as she battles her own wants and her parents own wants is a thrilling experience to read. The perfect baker, the sweetest doll, she is crafted to be the most beautiful mystery as she discovers herself and the emotions she can feel for the one she loves most.

The mmc, Elio Mazzo is the star hockey player. Deemed a LEGEND in the professional world, he’s known all over as the perfect player and highly popular with women. Retired from playing professionally due to an injury he suffered, he takes up coaching hockey with the man who practically raised him - jasmines father at RLU. But what happens when Jasmine walks in, also known as the girl who’s absolutely off limits under all circumstances . An innocent, beautiful and pure girl who happens to be the most important man in his life’s daughter, dating her, touching her, practically looking at her would a crime. But didn’t they say you want more what you can’t have?

Elio was such a cutie pie to me. I wanted to jump through the screen and just give him this big hug. He’s a big man with the biggest heart in the world. Coming from 2 absolutely different levels of experience and life between jasmine and him, made it that much more noticeable how much he loved her because of how gentle and understanding he was with the experiences they both carried under their belt. His patience , his own understanding of new found feelings that he’s never felt was a developing process and reading it and knowing what it’s like suffer through the journey of accepting and full understanding these feelings of loving and selflessly caring for another person besides yourself. An absolute hockey king and a W man - that’s Elio 🥺

Two characters who make leaps and bounds off the pages, a fast paced story and addictive writing from an author who knows how to perfectly mix the trek of falling in love and absolutely perfect amount of smut between the pages. Trust me is now available! Run to go see and meet my two new faves, J & E forever 🧡

[Mariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foi muito bom regressar a esta saga de college romance, confesso que já tinha saudades e mais que tudo, estava muito curiosa para ver o que a autora iria fazer aqui 🤭

Tinha-se dado a entender no livro anterior que a história da Jasmine iria ser diferente...por um lado mais querida, por outro não...isto pelo facto do romance dela ser um age gap - adoro esta trope quando é bem feita, e aqui sem dúvida que foi bem aplicada. 8 anos de diferença não é assim tanto e quando se tem uma personagem tão madura como a Jasmine, então não se nota mesmo nada que não são da mesma idade. Ela e o Elio são fantásticos juntos e descobrir que este suposto bad boy é na realidade um softy cat lover, é inacreditável 🤌🏻

A relação deles é proibida por diversos motivos, mas com o tempo percebem que o que sentem é real e mais forte do que qualquer coisa que os tente separar 🧡

Um romance que demonstra que a realidade por vezes é bastante divergente daquilo que vemos. Por vezes erguemos muralhas em nós e escondemos dos outros quem somos...mas ao fazê-lo estamos também a escondermo-nos de nós 💔

Adorei esta leitura e mais uma vez a autora conseguiu deixar-me curiosa com o próximo livro da saga 🤭
Tenho pena que não seja uma saga muito conhecida, porque sem dúvida que dentro de college romance, está ao nível das melhores - recomendo 🧡

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book we get to know the old roommate of Aurora - Jasmine.
After Aurora leaves home, our Jasmine finds it difficult to find someone to live with her.

That's when our Elio comes in and makes her an offer - to move into his apartment in exchange for her looking after the cats while he's away.

If you find a better match than Elio please let me know 😅 because between him being Italian and playing hockey…I don’t know if there’s better than this!

And our girl Jasmine, she’s definitely one of us with her love for smut books! 😝

Roommates trope is one of my all-time favorites! I love that period where the characters are awkward with each other and at the same time there's that tension between them...🙈🙈🙈and this book doesn’t disappoint AT ALL!

[Tacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew I was going to love Elio and Jasmine the moment I read about them in “Promise Me” and believe me it definitely lived up to my expectations! The romance story, the plot and the SPICE were amazing! I was pleasantly surprised with how spicy this book was. Elio is 😮‍💨🌶️ I loved the slow burn aspect! I can’t wait for the next book because I already know I’m going to love this next couple!

[Florencia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oookey, la verdad es que tenía tanta ilusion por este libro... ¿me gustó? Sí. ¿Me encantó? ...no.

Si bien, me re gustó la trama entre ellos, los tropes, cómo interactuaban, las bromas, etc.; hay algo que le fue quitándole puntuación 🫠: las escenas spicy para mí💀

Una lástima porque yo decia "se lleva 5 estrellas este" re emocionada y le voy a terminar poniendo 3 o 3.5 en el mejor de los casos.

[Annie Carpenter · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Whatever comes our way, we’ll be united. Trust me."

I could not wait for Jasmine and Elio's book and it didn't disappoint! These two had the sweetest friendship and relationship, I couldn't get enough of them! Elio had the biggest heart and was the sweetest man, seeing these two open up to each other and let each other in was so sweet! They truly cared so much about each other, had healthy communication and were honestly perfect for one another.

"I have it all, yet she is all I’ll ever need."

Elio is the sweetest man, the little things he was constantly doing for Jasmine and the way he was always looking out for her and taking care of her melted my heart. He was so protective of her and from the beginning was doing whatever he could to make her feel safe and cared for. Jasmine was so smart and driven - she had so much pressure on her and I loved seeing her stand up for herself and her happiness! She was constantly doing everything she could for everyone and this man wanted to do everything for her that he could🩷

"He’s everything I thought I’d never have, and I’m so damn grateful, because I’ve never known a happiness quite like this one."

🧡 Secret Dating
🧡 Ex Hockey Player
🧡 Baker FMC
🧡 Roommates
🧡 Age Gap
🧡 He Falls First and HARD
🧡 NO Third Act Breakup

Definite recommend this series, it just keeps getting better and I cant wait for more!

[Vic !! · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carlie Jean has done it again! This book didn’t grip me as much as Promise Me, but this was still adorable!!! Elio and Jasmine are gorgeous 🥹💞

[zoe ✧･ﾟ: * · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Laura¡! · Rating 3 out of 5]

elio is one of the best book boyfriends i’ve read about, literally husband material

[Kathe · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Donde esta el Elio Mazzo de mi vida? 🥺💙