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Trust Fall
An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!
From the 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?
From the 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?
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 29, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,886 reviews
Want to Read
March 12, 2026The way i was rejected this arc :(
——
The cover omg?
I want this book so bad
Please be good please be good
——
The cover omg?
I want this book so bad
Please be good please be good
Want to Read
March 13, 2026Me after reading that title:
Want to Read
March 13, 2026OMG! This is so Gilmore Girls coded! 😍
Live Laugh Love Lynn Painter 🫶🏻
Live Laugh Love Lynn Painter 🫶🏻
October 9, 2026
short and simple: this was cute, but it really didn’t give off the cozy fall vibes i was expecting and i wasn’t fully invested in the characters.
⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ what to expect ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰
» YA romance
» NYC and private school setting
» rich, Upper West Side MMC
» normal, small town FMC from Nebraska (but her family suddenly inherits money and a beautiful brownstone in NYC)
» some small town vibes in parts
» quite a bit of profanity
» enemies to lovers
» dual POV
» some familial conflict
⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ what i enjoyed ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰
» it was… cute. as many YA romances are, it was just nice to read and easy to read.
» the snobby private school and Upper West Side settings were really fun
» the plot set up was interesting and unique (the FMC and her family inherit a bunch of money and move from rural nebraska to NYC and start living a completely different lifestyle)
» Lynn’s writing flows very well and is so pleasant to read
» i loved learning about Remi and his life
» i loved Bernard/Bernie
⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ what i didn’t love ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰
» there weren’t nearly enough fall vibes considering the title and the cover of this book, in my opinion. sometimes Lynn would throw in a tiny bit of atmosphere such as leaves on the ground or a chilly breeze, but overall this book didn’t revolve around feeling autumnal like i thought it would. i could’ve used some cozy outfit descriptions, more fall scenes/activities, more pumpkins, more coffee, more festivities, more cozy, more SOMETHING.
» i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again – it was cute. but that’s about it. was it memorable? i don’t really think so, to be honest.
» i didn’t really connect with our characters. the bad boy and rebel MMC was never really… bad? he was pretty normal
» the latter half of this book felt a littttttle rushed
» profanity can be used to a certain degree, but i do believe it was overused here to the point of detracting from the story or the sincerity of the characters. occasionally, it’s fine. people curse. i curse… but multiple uses of “shit” and “fuck” on a page kind of pull me out of the story. (i’m sure someone will come up with a s-bomb and f-bomb count for this book soon and i’d love to see it)
» without any spoilers, i don’t really love the compromise the MMC came to at the end of the book. i could’ve used a little more closure for both characters (and their families)
overall consensus: cute, sweet, easy to read, slightly forgettable, pretty predictable, too much profanity for my liking, and not as autumnal as i wanted. not bad, but not perfect.
i’d still recommend for fans of Lynn Painter, as a palate cleanser, and as something cute/short/sweet for October (or any time of year). this would be really good for anyone in a reading slump, as well!
⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ what to expect ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰
» YA romance
» NYC and private school setting
» rich, Upper West Side MMC
» normal, small town FMC from Nebraska (but her family suddenly inherits money and a beautiful brownstone in NYC)
» some small town vibes in parts
» quite a bit of profanity
» enemies to lovers
» dual POV
» some familial conflict
⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ what i enjoyed ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰
» it was… cute. as many YA romances are, it was just nice to read and easy to read.
» the snobby private school and Upper West Side settings were really fun
» the plot set up was interesting and unique (the FMC and her family inherit a bunch of money and move from rural nebraska to NYC and start living a completely different lifestyle)
» Lynn’s writing flows very well and is so pleasant to read
» i loved learning about Remi and his life
» i loved Bernard/Bernie
⊱ ─── ⋅ʚ what i didn’t love ɞ⋅ ─── ⊰
» there weren’t nearly enough fall vibes considering the title and the cover of this book, in my opinion. sometimes Lynn would throw in a tiny bit of atmosphere such as leaves on the ground or a chilly breeze, but overall this book didn’t revolve around feeling autumnal like i thought it would. i could’ve used some cozy outfit descriptions, more fall scenes/activities, more pumpkins, more coffee, more festivities, more cozy, more SOMETHING.
» i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again – it was cute. but that’s about it. was it memorable? i don’t really think so, to be honest.
» i didn’t really connect with our characters. the bad boy and rebel MMC was never really… bad? he was pretty normal
» the latter half of this book felt a littttttle rushed
» profanity can be used to a certain degree, but i do believe it was overused here to the point of detracting from the story or the sincerity of the characters. occasionally, it’s fine. people curse. i curse… but multiple uses of “shit” and “fuck” on a page kind of pull me out of the story. (i’m sure someone will come up with a s-bomb and f-bomb count for this book soon and i’d love to see it)
» without any spoilers, i don’t really love the compromise the MMC came to at the end of the book. i could’ve used a little more closure for both characters (and their families)
overall consensus: cute, sweet, easy to read, slightly forgettable, pretty predictable, too much profanity for my liking, and not as autumnal as i wanted. not bad, but not perfect.
i’d still recommend for fans of Lynn Painter, as a palate cleanser, and as something cute/short/sweet for October (or any time of year). this would be really good for anyone in a reading slump, as well!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
WHY DID I JUST READ THIS NOW???? i could’ve read this a long time ago and fell in love with it then, but it had to be during this month wherein it’s kind of a tough month for me.
i don’t think i’ll be able to give this book justice with my review but here goes nothing:
୨ৎ julia. honestly, i didn’t really know what to feel about her at first. i had a hard time connecting with her personality for some reason, and it took me a while before i started warming up to her. she definitely grew on me as the story progressed, though, especially as i got to understand her more and see where she was coming from. i love her petty side so much, i can relate to it so bad lol!
୨ৎ damion. first of all, his name literally reminds me of damian from spy x family, so yes, that comparison was living rent-free in my head the entire time. but beyond that, damion was such a charming character. i loved how patient he could be with julia (as her tutor), especially when he wasn’t actively trying to annoy the hell out of her. he really knew how to push her buttons, but there was also so much care underneath all that teasing. and can we PLEASE talk about how much of a physical-touch type of guy he is??? because i absolutely ate that shit up. i love a man who isn’t afraid to show affection, and damion definitely gave me everything that.
this book honestly gave me spy x family vibes 😆 iykyk, and i was absolutely living for it. i wasn’t completely convinced at first that i was going to love this. it felt like it still needed to pick up its pace before i could really get invested in everything that was happening.
but, lynn painter, i am once again asking you to PLEASE stop putting so many pop culture references in your books. sincerely, all readers.
BUT HOLY HELL, this book ended up being such a ride that i absolutely loved. somehow, it went from me questioning whether i was even enjoying it to having me completely emotionally invested. the pacing picked up so quickly, and once it did, i was SAT. i genuinely couldn’t put it down because there was always something making me want to read just one more chapter.
and when i say i cried real tears reading this book, i mean FULL-ON SOBBING, NEEDING-TISSUES kind of crying, especially the last chapters. 😭 i definitely wasn’t expecting the story to hit me that hard, but some of the emotional moments really got to me. what surprised me even more was how much i loved damion’s pov. ALL OF IT. getting to see his thoughts about his uncle, his dreams, and especially julia gave me such a better understanding of him. and the way he thinks about her as his julia??? I FUCKING LOVE HIM.
his grief over his uncle’s death also hit me harder than i expected. i didn’t even know his uncle personally, obviously, but the way damion talked about him and continued to honor his memory made him feel so real. it was like i was able to understand the kind of person he was simply through the way damion remembered him. there was so much love behind his grief, and i think that’s what made those parts especially heartbreaking for me.
overall, this definitely started off slow for me, and i genuinely wasn’t sure if i was going to end up loving it. but once the story found its footing, it picked up its pace so well, and i ended up having such a great time reading it. julia took some time for me to warm up to, but damion? yeah, that man had me sold. the romance, the banter, the emotional moments, and especially damion’s pov made this such an enjoyable read for me. lynn painter’s ya books really never fail to amaze me, and somehow she managed to make me go from “i’m not sure about this” to “holy shit, i fucking loved this.”
Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and the author for the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.
・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・
pre-read:
eeeeek another buddy read with my arc partner, ivy!! 🫧💞💌 what a great way to start september with a fall book to get into the feels, right?! there’s no fall in my country, btw LOL!! we’re vv excited with this one and i hope we get to love it 🤎🍂
・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・
pre-release:
AAAAA i got the arc for this one 🥰 I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!! i’m so excited i’m like rushing to read all my current reads rn 🥹💗
OK SO WDYM I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER FOR THIS BOOK? I NEED IT NOW
i don’t think i’ll be able to give this book justice with my review but here goes nothing:
୨ৎ julia. honestly, i didn’t really know what to feel about her at first. i had a hard time connecting with her personality for some reason, and it took me a while before i started warming up to her. she definitely grew on me as the story progressed, though, especially as i got to understand her more and see where she was coming from. i love her petty side so much, i can relate to it so bad lol!
୨ৎ damion. first of all, his name literally reminds me of damian from spy x family, so yes, that comparison was living rent-free in my head the entire time. but beyond that, damion was such a charming character. i loved how patient he could be with julia (as her tutor), especially when he wasn’t actively trying to annoy the hell out of her. he really knew how to push her buttons, but there was also so much care underneath all that teasing. and can we PLEASE talk about how much of a physical-touch type of guy he is??? because i absolutely ate that shit up. i love a man who isn’t afraid to show affection, and damion definitely gave me everything that.
this book honestly gave me spy x family vibes 😆 iykyk, and i was absolutely living for it. i wasn’t completely convinced at first that i was going to love this. it felt like it still needed to pick up its pace before i could really get invested in everything that was happening.
but, lynn painter, i am once again asking you to PLEASE stop putting so many pop culture references in your books. sincerely, all readers.
BUT HOLY HELL, this book ended up being such a ride that i absolutely loved. somehow, it went from me questioning whether i was even enjoying it to having me completely emotionally invested. the pacing picked up so quickly, and once it did, i was SAT. i genuinely couldn’t put it down because there was always something making me want to read just one more chapter.
and when i say i cried real tears reading this book, i mean FULL-ON SOBBING, NEEDING-TISSUES kind of crying, especially the last chapters. 😭 i definitely wasn’t expecting the story to hit me that hard, but some of the emotional moments really got to me. what surprised me even more was how much i loved damion’s pov. ALL OF IT. getting to see his thoughts about his uncle, his dreams, and especially julia gave me such a better understanding of him. and the way he thinks about her as his julia??? I FUCKING LOVE HIM.
his grief over his uncle’s death also hit me harder than i expected. i didn’t even know his uncle personally, obviously, but the way damion talked about him and continued to honor his memory made him feel so real. it was like i was able to understand the kind of person he was simply through the way damion remembered him. there was so much love behind his grief, and i think that’s what made those parts especially heartbreaking for me.
overall, this definitely started off slow for me, and i genuinely wasn’t sure if i was going to end up loving it. but once the story found its footing, it picked up its pace so well, and i ended up having such a great time reading it. julia took some time for me to warm up to, but damion? yeah, that man had me sold. the romance, the banter, the emotional moments, and especially damion’s pov made this such an enjoyable read for me. lynn painter’s ya books really never fail to amaze me, and somehow she managed to make me go from “i’m not sure about this” to “holy shit, i fucking loved this.”
Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and the author for the e-ARC in exchange of my honest review.
・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・
pre-read:
eeeeek another buddy read with my arc partner, ivy!! 🫧💞💌 what a great way to start september with a fall book to get into the feels, right?! there’s no fall in my country, btw LOL!! we’re vv excited with this one and i hope we get to love it 🤎🍂
・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・。・
pre-release:
AAAAA i got the arc for this one 🥰 I CANNOT BELIEVE IT!! i’m so excited i’m like rushing to read all my current reads rn 🥹💗
OK SO WDYM I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER FOR THIS BOOK? I NEED IT NOW
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.75💫
honestly this book was everything.
the setting was chef’s kiss— New York at a fancy prep school in autumn? can’t get any more perfect than that. it was giving Gilmore Girls in a way and that’s one of my favorite shows so i was obsessed!
the Lowell family is from Nebraska and suddenly inherits millions of dollars from an old man after he passes away. the only stipulation is that they must move and live in his New York home for six months and attend Gardenwood. enter Damion Rutledge- the great nephew of Remington and whose family got nothing after he passed. when they hear some random family got their money, they were out for revenge to take it all back.
Damion was kind of a pain in the ass at first… but you could tell he wasn’t like the other kids at Gardenwood. he actually had a heart and wasn’t as self-centered as the other rich kids. although he started tutoring Julia as a way to get close to her family, he took his role seriously which i loved. again, you could see the heart he had as he actually cared whether the people he was tutoring were understanding and learning. swoon. the further you get in the story, the hotter he gets and you can’t help but love him. he’s so flirty and teasing Julia alllll the time. i had the biggest grin on my face sometimes from the things he said. it’s safe to say he fell first and harder.
Julia— my poor girl. she was bullied sooo much for being “new money”, but i don’t really get why her twin brother didn’t get the same treatment ??? that’s my one problem with this book- Liam didn’t get bullied, but also didn’t help her get the bullying to stop?? the two girls who actually liked Julia at this school also didn’t step up at all either to stop it or defend her (that i can recall). my girl also needed major help with math to raise her grades so that she didn’t flunk out of the school and disqualify them from keeping the inheritance- like this girl couldn’t catch a break! overall, i really liked her character though. like she punched Damion after first meeting him because she thought he pick-pocketed her wallet 😝😭 like okkkkk queen shit. she was impulsive, quirky, kind, and had a big heart. i just wish the other kids at Gardenwood saw her like that. she was awkward and had some social anxiety, but she didn’t deserve the way she was being treated at all.
Remi/Lou. although he was dead the entire book, you could just feel his love and major impact on these two kids. he was so lovable, supportive, fun and real. he was family to them, especially to Damion who really needed a good father role model in his life because his parents didn’t care for him. i love the cute touch of how every chapter started with a quote of Remi’s that related to what was happening in the chapter.
overall, i adored this book. lynn never lets me down!🙂↕️ i can’t wait for all of you to get your hands on this one in September. it is the most amazing fall read, perfect for fans of gilmore girls, gossip girl, and the inheritance games. thanks again netgalley for the arc!!
Read if you like:
🍂he’s her tutor
🍂NY prep school setting
🍂gilmore girls
🍂enemies to lovers
🍂small town —> big city
🍂autumnal reads
🍂he falls first and harder
🍂inheritance drama
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ — preread:
GUYS!!!! I GOT ACCEPTED FOR THIS TODAY OMG IM GONNA CRY!!! IM SO EXCITED!! 🥹😭🧡 i just know i'll absolutely love this one because lynn painter never lets me down🤞🏼
Release date: September 29, 2026 (OUT NOW!)
many thanks to netgalley, simon & schuster, and lynn painter for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
honestly this book was everything.
the setting was chef’s kiss— New York at a fancy prep school in autumn? can’t get any more perfect than that. it was giving Gilmore Girls in a way and that’s one of my favorite shows so i was obsessed!
the Lowell family is from Nebraska and suddenly inherits millions of dollars from an old man after he passes away. the only stipulation is that they must move and live in his New York home for six months and attend Gardenwood. enter Damion Rutledge- the great nephew of Remington and whose family got nothing after he passed. when they hear some random family got their money, they were out for revenge to take it all back.
Damion was kind of a pain in the ass at first… but you could tell he wasn’t like the other kids at Gardenwood. he actually had a heart and wasn’t as self-centered as the other rich kids. although he started tutoring Julia as a way to get close to her family, he took his role seriously which i loved. again, you could see the heart he had as he actually cared whether the people he was tutoring were understanding and learning. swoon. the further you get in the story, the hotter he gets and you can’t help but love him. he’s so flirty and teasing Julia alllll the time. i had the biggest grin on my face sometimes from the things he said. it’s safe to say he fell first and harder.
Julia— my poor girl. she was bullied sooo much for being “new money”, but i don’t really get why her twin brother didn’t get the same treatment ??? that’s my one problem with this book- Liam didn’t get bullied, but also didn’t help her get the bullying to stop?? the two girls who actually liked Julia at this school also didn’t step up at all either to stop it or defend her (that i can recall). my girl also needed major help with math to raise her grades so that she didn’t flunk out of the school and disqualify them from keeping the inheritance- like this girl couldn’t catch a break! overall, i really liked her character though. like she punched Damion after first meeting him because she thought he pick-pocketed her wallet 😝😭 like okkkkk queen shit. she was impulsive, quirky, kind, and had a big heart. i just wish the other kids at Gardenwood saw her like that. she was awkward and had some social anxiety, but she didn’t deserve the way she was being treated at all.
Remi/Lou. although he was dead the entire book, you could just feel his love and major impact on these two kids. he was so lovable, supportive, fun and real. he was family to them, especially to Damion who really needed a good father role model in his life because his parents didn’t care for him. i love the cute touch of how every chapter started with a quote of Remi’s that related to what was happening in the chapter.
overall, i adored this book. lynn never lets me down!🙂↕️ i can’t wait for all of you to get your hands on this one in September. it is the most amazing fall read, perfect for fans of gilmore girls, gossip girl, and the inheritance games. thanks again netgalley for the arc!!
Read if you like:
🍂he’s her tutor
🍂NY prep school setting
🍂gilmore girls
🍂enemies to lovers
🍂small town —> big city
🍂autumnal reads
🍂he falls first and harder
🍂inheritance drama
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ — preread:
GUYS!!!! I GOT ACCEPTED FOR THIS TODAY OMG IM GONNA CRY!!! IM SO EXCITED!! 🥹😭🧡 i just know i'll absolutely love this one because lynn painter never lets me down🤞🏼
Release date: September 29, 2026 (OUT NOW!)
many thanks to netgalley, simon & schuster, and lynn painter for the arc in exchange for an honest review!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
࣪ ˖ ֪ꮽ᱖܄ 3.75 stars˚ִִ꒱꒱ ִ݂
⤻ no spoiler review .
་ 💭 ⊹ ࣪୨୧ preface. the lowell family mysteriously receives a beautiful & historic brownstone in west side - the only stipulation is that they need to live there for 6 months & attend the prestigious greenwood academy. Julia Lowell has just recently separated from her ex bf and looking for a new start, and this enigmatic offer is the perfect chance for her to escape. however, it turns out that Damion is the great-nephew of the man who left his house to the Lowell family, who also happens to go to greenwood academy, where they are fated to meet.
𐑺゛🎨 general thoughts . i think lynn painter is back !!! this was such a fun book and i read it in 2 days ( partway due to my determination, but still ) because of how addicting it was. when i requested this book, I was mainly looking for a cute 2000’s autumnal-coded read, and that was exactly what i got served. i’ve had some issues with YA books recently where they’re so cringe to the point where i want to DNF, but there were relatively few pop culture references in this book that i enjoyed it to its full extent. the New York descriptions were OUTSTANDING in this book ( exactly what you would imagine west side would look like in autumn ) and really made me enjoy reading this. i highly recommend listening to vintage autumn jazz while lighting a candle to really maximize your experience with this book 🍂🎃🌔.
𖥻 ׁ ׅ characters ! ﹒ ◡◡
・・・୨୧ julia & damion. they were so mature for teenagers that i thought for a second at the beginning that we were reading an adult romance 👀 but honestly, i appreciated that, because if they were the average 17 year old, i think i would actually lose it. their decisions were actually incredibly mature, and i don’t think we even get this level from actual adult romance books. this made me enjoy the story much more, because i didn’t have to roll my eyes everytime they talked to each other. i loved how they created a little bubble for themselves with a few other people and treated that like their safe space from the real world. made me yearn to be a teenager falling love in new york city 🥹🤎
ꕤ ⧽ overall, i had so much fun with this book! i’m really trying to read autumnal books for the season and this was the most perfect addition / start to it 🐈⬛🥮
છ˖ lastly, thanks so much to netgalley for gifting me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹ ﹒ ⁺ ﹒ ⊹
˒ 🍂 pre read ˒˒࿐・xxvi 𖦞.˖
ꕥ ⸺ 9/1 ⋆˚✿˖°
happy september + fall everyone!! cannot believe we're already in autumn 🤎 going to be reading as many autumnal books as possible this year 😌 starting off with this one because it looks like the most perfect 2000's pumpkin spice nyc romance ever ☕
𖦞.˖ buddy reading with my one and only ARC partner, rei <3
ᝰ⋆ thank you to netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
🍁˳༄꠶🥧 ✩3.5 stars✩🥧 ˳༄꠶🍁
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Now playing:
[August - Taylor Swift]
2:11 ———♡——— 4:21
↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺
Summary: A small-town Nebraska girl named Julia inherits millions of dollars and a mansion in NYC. After moving, she meets Damion, who initially resents her, but their relationship evolves into something more
Tropes: enemies to lovers, opposites attract, tutoring
TWs: grief, bullying, family deception
Spice: 🌶/5 - kissing only
🍁˳༄꠶🥧˳༄꠶🍁
I love Lynn Painter with my entire being!! She always writes these magical rom-coms that never fail to bring me joy. Although I didn’t love this one as much as some of her other books, I still thought it was absolutely adorable! 💕
The premise was every girl’s dream: moving into a fancy town with a fancy school and fancy classmates. Lynn Painter did a beautiful job creating an alluring atmosphere, and I loved the fall theme.
The writing style with dual POV was fantastic. 🤩 Every time it was “Damion’s chapter” I immediately grew excited, because I just loove reading about boys simping over a girl.
The plot of this story was entertaining, and it also felt layered. The characters had such complicated backstories and interesting personalities, and that made the story so much better! This book had me staying up until 1am to finish!
My one issue with the book was that I feel like the whole conflict between Damion & Julia could have been avoided so easily. 😐 But honestly, this didn’t stop me from loving it!
Julia - Curly-haired icon. I loved her innocent joy for simple things, and her happiness was infectious. 🙂 Her social anxiety was super relatable, and I felt so horrible for her and what she had to deal with
Damion - Preppy, glasses-wearing boy that stole my heart. I wasn’t sure about him at first, because he just seemed kind of obnoxious, but he quickly proved me wrong. His love confession had me totallyyyy melting. 🥰
The relationship - freaking adorable!! The tutoring dynamic was so sweet and their chemistry and banter were totally peak!
Overall, this was a super cute and cozy read, and I would definitely recommend
Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Lynn Painter for the arc in exchange for an honest review
🍁˳༄꠶🥧˳༄꠶🍁
Pre read:
AAAHHH I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT THE ARC! 😆 I’m starting this right now
SPOILER FREE REVIEW
Now playing:
[August - Taylor Swift]
2:11 ———♡——— 4:21
↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺
Summary: A small-town Nebraska girl named Julia inherits millions of dollars and a mansion in NYC. After moving, she meets Damion, who initially resents her, but their relationship evolves into something more
Tropes: enemies to lovers, opposites attract, tutoring
TWs: grief, bullying, family deception
Spice: 🌶/5 - kissing only
🍁˳༄꠶🥧˳༄꠶🍁
I love Lynn Painter with my entire being!! She always writes these magical rom-coms that never fail to bring me joy. Although I didn’t love this one as much as some of her other books, I still thought it was absolutely adorable! 💕
The premise was every girl’s dream: moving into a fancy town with a fancy school and fancy classmates. Lynn Painter did a beautiful job creating an alluring atmosphere, and I loved the fall theme.
The writing style with dual POV was fantastic. 🤩 Every time it was “Damion’s chapter” I immediately grew excited, because I just loove reading about boys simping over a girl.
The plot of this story was entertaining, and it also felt layered. The characters had such complicated backstories and interesting personalities, and that made the story so much better! This book had me staying up until 1am to finish!
My one issue with the book was that I feel like the whole conflict between Damion & Julia could have been avoided so easily. 😐 But honestly, this didn’t stop me from loving it!
Julia - Curly-haired icon. I loved her innocent joy for simple things, and her happiness was infectious. 🙂 Her social anxiety was super relatable, and I felt so horrible for her and what she had to deal with
Damion - Preppy, glasses-wearing boy that stole my heart. I wasn’t sure about him at first, because he just seemed kind of obnoxious, but he quickly proved me wrong. His love confession had me totallyyyy melting. 🥰
The relationship - freaking adorable!! The tutoring dynamic was so sweet and their chemistry and banter were totally peak!
Overall, this was a super cute and cozy read, and I would definitely recommend
Thank you to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Lynn Painter for the arc in exchange for an honest review
🍁˳༄꠶🥧˳༄꠶🍁
Pre read:
AAAHHH I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT THE ARC! 😆 I’m starting this right now
September 29, 2026
This was such a good and refreshing read 🥹🍂🫶 I think that’s exactly what I needed after reading a fantasy book 🙂↕️
But if I had read it under different circumstances, I probably would’ve rated it slightly lower 😭 Not because it was bad, but because there were a few chapters that gave me “filler” vibes 🫤 Excluding those chapters, this would’ve been a solid 5-star read 🥹🥹 It had that much potential 🙂↕️
This rating is still so much better, tho 🥹🤭 So I’m calling it a WIN!!!!! It gave me all the vibes and cozy feelings I was expecting from this 🍂🫶 Lynn Painter did her magic again 🤭
The writing style, as usual, was addictive 🙂↕️🤭 I didn’t even have to worry about that 🫂
The main characters were SO good 🥹 I’m, like, totally obsessed with them 🙂↕️ Tho, some of the side characters really tested my patience 😃😃 Whew, that was a difficult one. I barely made it through 😂 But Julia and Damion stole all the moments 🥹👀 By the end, I had completely forgotten about those certain characters 🫂
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read 🥹🫶 I think this could honestly be a cure for a reading slump 🫂🥹 But be prepared to get annoyed by some of the characters 😭🫂
Yea, that’s it guys. Love y’all 🫶🧡
————————————————————————————————
⊹₊ ⋆ ☕🍂🧺🧸⊹₊ ⋆ pre-read ⊹₊ ⋆ ☕🍂🧺🧸⊹₊ ⋆
Y’all are giving me FOMO 😔 So ig it’s time to join the cult 😋🧡
But if I had read it under different circumstances, I probably would’ve rated it slightly lower 😭 Not because it was bad, but because there were a few chapters that gave me “filler” vibes 🫤 Excluding those chapters, this would’ve been a solid 5-star read 🥹🥹 It had that much potential 🙂↕️
This rating is still so much better, tho 🥹🤭 So I’m calling it a WIN!!!!! It gave me all the vibes and cozy feelings I was expecting from this 🍂🫶 Lynn Painter did her magic again 🤭
The writing style, as usual, was addictive 🙂↕️🤭 I didn’t even have to worry about that 🫂
The main characters were SO good 🥹 I’m, like, totally obsessed with them 🙂↕️ Tho, some of the side characters really tested my patience 😃😃 Whew, that was a difficult one. I barely made it through 😂 But Julia and Damion stole all the moments 🥹👀 By the end, I had completely forgotten about those certain characters 🫂
Overall, it was a really enjoyable read 🥹🫶 I think this could honestly be a cure for a reading slump 🫂🥹 But be prepared to get annoyed by some of the characters 😭🫂
Yea, that’s it guys. Love y’all 🫶🧡
————————————————————————————————
⊹₊ ⋆ ☕🍂🧺🧸⊹₊ ⋆ pre-read ⊹₊ ⋆ ☕🍂🧺🧸⊹₊ ⋆
Y’all are giving me FOMO 😔 So ig it’s time to join the cult 😋🧡
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
i’m mildly disappointed <\3 this wasn’t terrible but the characters were just too surface level for me. damion’s whole bad-boy reputation got old pretty fast and i never bought into the enemies dynamic between him and julia. they barely even scratched the surface of disliking one another remi was probably the highlight of the book.
ⓘ thank you to netgalley + simon & schuster for the arc!
ⓘ thank you to netgalley + simon & schuster for the arc!
October 5, 2026
4.25/5 🌟
⊹₊ ⋆ ☕🍂🧺🧸⊹₊ ⋆
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"(Welcome To New York -Taylor Swift)"
01:23 ━━━━●───── 03:43
ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤ
Premise: Julia's a regular small-town Nebraska girl whose family suddenly inherits millions from her elderly neighbor, who turns out to be a secret billionaire. The catch? They have to move into his NYC mansion for six months and she has to go to Gardenwood, the fanciest academy ever. Enter Damion, the old man's great-nephew, whose family got nothing and now wants everything back. He basically decides to make her life miserable.
Julia: She's awkward in the most believable way, second-guesses everything, and money doesn't magically turn her into a confident queen. She's still just a Nebraska girl figuring out where she belongs. And she's the Pretty Woman sorta beautiful, wild curls and everything.
Damion: Omg Damion my multilingual boy(acting like I'm not one as well), I melted when he spoke another language in front of her. He's so charming it's so hard to not like him. Even though he was a douchebag at first but it turns out his bad boy act is a mask for a kid who never felt accepted. He gets so much better, so he's forgiven. (Tortoiseshell glasses though? I'm doomed.)
Remington: Remingtons quotes were the best thing from this book. He was a Gen-Z in an old man's body. It touched my heart, the way everyone talked about him. He was definitely very loved.
What I didn't like: I honestly don't love modern slang and pop culture reference in books, like they mentioned a lot of them like Rupi Kaur and Bridgerton. The writing was a bit different too, took me some time to adjust
The bullying is a BIG part of the book. Julia gets targeted constantly for being "new money," and it's not just snobby teens either. Rich adults jump in too, and honestly it got exhausting.Liam is her twin brother yet he's getting a different treatment, which is so absurd to me. He pissed me off later on, he knew his twin was getting bullied and suffering and he was too busy spending time with his new friends. Her parents were a bit careless about this too, they were too busy settling in .
But overall such a cute book. I absolutely loved them in the end
⊹₊ ⋆ ☕🍂🧺🧸⊹₊ ⋆
𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴:
"(Welcome To New York -Taylor Swift)"
01:23 ━━━━●───── 03:43
ㅤ ㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ ㅤ
Premise: Julia's a regular small-town Nebraska girl whose family suddenly inherits millions from her elderly neighbor, who turns out to be a secret billionaire. The catch? They have to move into his NYC mansion for six months and she has to go to Gardenwood, the fanciest academy ever. Enter Damion, the old man's great-nephew, whose family got nothing and now wants everything back. He basically decides to make her life miserable.
Julia: She's awkward in the most believable way, second-guesses everything, and money doesn't magically turn her into a confident queen. She's still just a Nebraska girl figuring out where she belongs. And she's the Pretty Woman sorta beautiful, wild curls and everything.
Damion: Omg Damion my multilingual boy(acting like I'm not one as well), I melted when he spoke another language in front of her. He's so charming it's so hard to not like him. Even though he was a douchebag at first but it turns out his bad boy act is a mask for a kid who never felt accepted. He gets so much better, so he's forgiven. (Tortoiseshell glasses though? I'm doomed.)
Remington: Remingtons quotes were the best thing from this book. He was a Gen-Z in an old man's body. It touched my heart, the way everyone talked about him. He was definitely very loved.
What I didn't like: I honestly don't love modern slang and pop culture reference in books, like they mentioned a lot of them like Rupi Kaur and Bridgerton. The writing was a bit different too, took me some time to adjust
The bullying is a BIG part of the book. Julia gets targeted constantly for being "new money," and it's not just snobby teens either. Rich adults jump in too, and honestly it got exhausting.Liam is her twin brother yet he's getting a different treatment, which is so absurd to me. He pissed me off later on, he knew his twin was getting bullied and suffering and he was too busy spending time with his new friends. Her parents were a bit careless about this too, they were too busy settling in .
But overall such a cute book. I absolutely loved them in the end
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3 stars(?)....rtc.
-------
pre-read: ahhh, i've been looking forward to this
and it's a buddy read with the sweetest maddi.
-------
so I got the arc 🫣
-------
pre-read: ahhh, i've been looking forward to this
and it's a buddy read with the sweetest maddi.
-------
so I got the arc 🫣
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I took a chance on requesting this ARC for a couple of reasons: one, I've been reading a lot of fantasy and romantasy lately, so I haven't really picked up much contemporary romance this year, and even less YA contemporary romance. Two, I hadn't read any Lynn Painter books before, but her books generally seem to be well received, and my friends who enjoy the same things I do tend to rate them pretty highly. So I thought, why not? I might just end up loving this one! Plus, the cover is very fall-themed, and considering my house basically looks like it's autumn all year round (my furniture and wall paints are all browns and deep reds), I figured I'd have a good time with it. A weird connection to make, but if you get it, you get it.
And I was pretty much right! This wasn't anything extraordinary, but it was entertaining, sweet, and even made me tear up toward the end. Lynn Painter is really, really good at writing emotional conversations, especially when it comes to breakups and the feelings that follow. Like, wow. The way some of these chapters were written made me feel like I was watching a movie.
Longer thoughts here: https://plotdamn.substack.com/p/the-problem-with-writing-for-the
CHAPTER 51, BITCHHHH. My heart. Oh, that was SO good. I've gone through something very similar to what Julia and Will went through, except I never got to have that closure after-it-all-blew-up talk afterwards. Reading that scene made me cry fr 😭 And then every chapter after that was perfection. I have so many feelings about this book, and the last couple of chapters were just eueuueeueuu 🥹😭😭🥲😭🥹😭🥲🥹
The premise reminded me a little of The Inheritance Games, where a seemingly unrelated family finds itself named in the will of a crazy rich man. And similar to TIG, the catch here is that the Lowells have to live in his Gardenwood home for six months and send the children to Gardenwood Academy. In return, they stand to inherit millions of dollars. Of course, things get complicated when the Rutledge family (related to the deceased man), especially Daimon, his great-nephew, decide that Julia's family has no business being there and set out to uncover the truth.
I have A LOT to say about the characters in this book because there are so many of them, and my feelings about most of them were all over the place. The beginning was rough. Oh, how I hated Damion. Like, can you PLEASE give the poor girl her wallet back instead of acting like a first-class jerk? When Julia headbutted him and broke his nose, all I could think was, he deserved it. I have a very low tolerance for male nonsense in my books. The genre doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm going a bit off track here, back to the book itself.
Even after the first meet-ick, Damion remained a major dick for a good half of the book. I genuinely couldn't understand why he had to be so mean to Julia. Yes, his beloved Remi-House was being taken over by a girl from Nebraska and her family, but if he loved Remi as much as he claimed to, wouldn't he at least consider that the man might have had a reason for leaving the house to them? That there could have been a plan behind it? He improves SO much by the end of the book though, so I guess he's forgiven 🫶🏻
Julia, on the other hand, was a sweetheart, although I did have some issues with her character. Her POVs were very YA-coded in a way that reminded me of reading someone's blog, or their journal. The misplaced punctuation, the sudden inner ramblings, repetition of random thoughts and letters, the italics, the constant asides... you know what I mean. The overall tone leans towards a younger, very online audience, with multiple pop culture references and memes put into the narration. I think there are two broad styles of YA writing: one that feels more timeless and another that is very much rooted in the internet culture of its time. This book definitely falls into the latter category. And that's not inherently a bad thing! It's just not something I particularly enjoy, especially because it dates the book immediately. I can already tell that I won't be rereading this one, partly because so much of the narration feels tied to the present internet culture. I also wish Julia had developed a little more of a backbone.
The interactions between Julia and Damion made sense to me for the most part, but I struggled to understand some of Julia's thoughts and reactions. Did she actually believe that people would accept the whole "I don't even know him" excuse? Girl, you have had a boyfriend before. Surely, some things should be obvious to you by now.
Remington... I get what Lynn Painter was going for with him. He's supposed to be the endearing, slightly eccentric comic relief, but also someone to look up to and whose presence continues to shape the narrative even after his death. But the little quotes attributed to him under each chapter title? Oh lord. Pretentious as fuck. No human being talks like that. I agreed with maybe a third of the things he supposedly said, but the rest of the time, I just wanted him to shut up. Can you imagine that? Me wanting a fictional character who is already dead to shut up because his quotes were annoying 😭
I loved Bernard though. The way he handled the Lowell family and helped them integrate into Gardenwood society was entertaining, and his interactions with Julia were some of my favourite moments. Also, when he taught Julia to dance? So sweet 🥹 That's a man I respect 🫶🏻
The setting was fab!! I wanted to live in Gardenwood. The descriptions were absolutely gorgeous, and I loved how Lynn Painter incorporated smell into the setting multiple times. It's something I don't see used very often in YA books, and I thought it was done well here.
That said, I do think this could have benefited from some more aggressive editing. Some plot points were repeated so many times and there were moments when I felt like the story was going in circles, and I really don't think every single thought or emotional reaction needed to be revisited quite so often. This also ties into my general belief that romance books simply do NOT need to be over 300 pages. Maybe 350 if you're really stretching it. But 400 pages? For this particular story? I just don't think the plot needed that much room.
The pacing also felt off and the ratio of inner thoughts to actual events was... bleh. There was so much time spent inside the characters' heads that the story barely moved forward in some chapters. You know how Kindle tells you how many hours you have left to finish a book in the bottom-left corner? This one was so slow that every time I turned a page, the estimated reading time INCREASED INSTEAD OF DECREASING. I'd finish a chapter and then I would not want to continue because the story was moving at a snail's pace.
But overall, I had a really enjoyable time with this one, despite all those ^^ complaints. The setting was lovely, the romance had some sweet moments, and this absolutely delivered when it came to the emotional scenes.
── .✦ pre-read 𖹭.ᐟ
got approved for this arc! 🤭 hopefully I'll be able to put out a review by release day
And I was pretty much right! This wasn't anything extraordinary, but it was entertaining, sweet, and even made me tear up toward the end. Lynn Painter is really, really good at writing emotional conversations, especially when it comes to breakups and the feelings that follow. Like, wow. The way some of these chapters were written made me feel like I was watching a movie.
Longer thoughts here: https://plotdamn.substack.com/p/the-problem-with-writing-for-the
CHAPTER 51, BITCHHHH. My heart. Oh, that was SO good. I've gone through something very similar to what Julia and Will went through, except I never got to have that closure after-it-all-blew-up talk afterwards. Reading that scene made me cry fr 😭 And then every chapter after that was perfection. I have so many feelings about this book, and the last couple of chapters were just eueuueeueuu 🥹😭😭🥲😭🥹😭🥲🥹
The premise reminded me a little of The Inheritance Games, where a seemingly unrelated family finds itself named in the will of a crazy rich man. And similar to TIG, the catch here is that the Lowells have to live in his Gardenwood home for six months and send the children to Gardenwood Academy. In return, they stand to inherit millions of dollars. Of course, things get complicated when the Rutledge family (related to the deceased man), especially Daimon, his great-nephew, decide that Julia's family has no business being there and set out to uncover the truth.
I have A LOT to say about the characters in this book because there are so many of them, and my feelings about most of them were all over the place. The beginning was rough. Oh, how I hated Damion. Like, can you PLEASE give the poor girl her wallet back instead of acting like a first-class jerk? When Julia headbutted him and broke his nose, all I could think was, he deserved it. I have a very low tolerance for male nonsense in my books. The genre doesn't matter. Anyway, I'm going a bit off track here, back to the book itself.
Even after the first meet-ick, Damion remained a major dick for a good half of the book. I genuinely couldn't understand why he had to be so mean to Julia. Yes, his beloved Remi-House was being taken over by a girl from Nebraska and her family, but if he loved Remi as much as he claimed to, wouldn't he at least consider that the man might have had a reason for leaving the house to them? That there could have been a plan behind it? He improves SO much by the end of the book though, so I guess he's forgiven 🫶🏻
Julia, on the other hand, was a sweetheart, although I did have some issues with her character. Her POVs were very YA-coded in a way that reminded me of reading someone's blog, or their journal. The misplaced punctuation, the sudden inner ramblings, repetition of random thoughts and letters, the italics, the constant asides... you know what I mean. The overall tone leans towards a younger, very online audience, with multiple pop culture references and memes put into the narration. I think there are two broad styles of YA writing: one that feels more timeless and another that is very much rooted in the internet culture of its time. This book definitely falls into the latter category. And that's not inherently a bad thing! It's just not something I particularly enjoy, especially because it dates the book immediately. I can already tell that I won't be rereading this one, partly because so much of the narration feels tied to the present internet culture. I also wish Julia had developed a little more of a backbone.
The interactions between Julia and Damion made sense to me for the most part, but I struggled to understand some of Julia's thoughts and reactions. Did she actually believe that people would accept the whole "I don't even know him" excuse? Girl, you have had a boyfriend before. Surely, some things should be obvious to you by now.
Remington... I get what Lynn Painter was going for with him. He's supposed to be the endearing, slightly eccentric comic relief, but also someone to look up to and whose presence continues to shape the narrative even after his death. But the little quotes attributed to him under each chapter title? Oh lord. Pretentious as fuck. No human being talks like that. I agreed with maybe a third of the things he supposedly said, but the rest of the time, I just wanted him to shut up. Can you imagine that? Me wanting a fictional character who is already dead to shut up because his quotes were annoying 😭
I loved Bernard though. The way he handled the Lowell family and helped them integrate into Gardenwood society was entertaining, and his interactions with Julia were some of my favourite moments. Also, when he taught Julia to dance? So sweet 🥹 That's a man I respect 🫶🏻
The setting was fab!! I wanted to live in Gardenwood. The descriptions were absolutely gorgeous, and I loved how Lynn Painter incorporated smell into the setting multiple times. It's something I don't see used very often in YA books, and I thought it was done well here.
That said, I do think this could have benefited from some more aggressive editing. Some plot points were repeated so many times and there were moments when I felt like the story was going in circles, and I really don't think every single thought or emotional reaction needed to be revisited quite so often. This also ties into my general belief that romance books simply do NOT need to be over 300 pages. Maybe 350 if you're really stretching it. But 400 pages? For this particular story? I just don't think the plot needed that much room.
The pacing also felt off and the ratio of inner thoughts to actual events was... bleh. There was so much time spent inside the characters' heads that the story barely moved forward in some chapters. You know how Kindle tells you how many hours you have left to finish a book in the bottom-left corner? This one was so slow that every time I turned a page, the estimated reading time INCREASED INSTEAD OF DECREASING. I'd finish a chapter and then I would not want to continue because the story was moving at a snail's pace.
But overall, I had a really enjoyable time with this one, despite all those ^^ complaints. The setting was lovely, the romance had some sweet moments, and this absolutely delivered when it came to the emotional scenes.
── .✦ pre-read 𖹭.ᐟ
got approved for this arc! 🤭 hopefully I'll be able to put out a review by release day
Currently Reading
March 13, 2026|𝐏𝐫𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 ⋆‧˚ʚɞ˚‧⋆
Here I come Lynn 🏃♀️ The vibe the book is giving seems to be a perfect one for this weather 🍂✨
Here I come Lynn 🏃♀️ The vibe the book is giving seems to be a perfect one for this weather 🍂✨
Currently Reading
August 26, 2026🧇🍂 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝: finally got my hands on this cutie and heard such good things! Praying we don’t get a cussing addict MMC 😟
🍁 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: I am trusting you Lynn that I will fall in love with this book 😛
🍁 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: I am trusting you Lynn that I will fall in love with this book 😛
![Profile Image for vxmpslibrary [hiatus].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1786018920i/123295506._UX200_CR0,33,200,200_.jpg)
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
.💌 4.45 stars.
- publishing date: Sept 29th, 2026.
Trust fall follows Julia Lowells , a small town girl living in Nebraska peacefully. When her elderly neighbour - who is a secret billionaire - passes away and gives the will to Julia's family, she's swept away to New York and to live her life as one while attending the most rich academy.
I feel like words would genuinely fail to express how I do feel about this book. It's something special, a feeling that makes me smile half of the times.
Lynn Painter manages to make every scenario in such a loveable rom-com, but the way she added dark academia also settled in the vibes. When I first heard of the book, I couldn't believe my eyes, the aesthetics were so beautiful and I genuinely was so excited to unravel this story.
And I finally got to do it!
Her writing style is something that is so beautiful, yes it's young adult, but when she writes about feelings, it's something so sacred, it's like yearning and poetry, it tugs on your heart and stays with you for awhile. That's how I felt when she described their feelings. I felt so many emotions, it brought tears to my eyes, I was smiling a lot, I let out a chuckle. I did love this romcom.
This book was also somehow INTENSE at so many aspects and I had to take so many breaks whether it's due to second hand embarrassments or due to some intense scenes. Such as the bullying scenes, the intensity was A LOT i could feel myself frowning most of the times and the one with Julia and Quinn ugh I hate that dude.
˚₊‧꒰ა .characters. ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Julia 📚 ,
MY LOVEE! She deserved the world and I wanted to hug her. Lynn Painter manages to make all her characters relatable in a sense, but here, I felt like she was so me in so many aspects. Whether it's academic, anxiety or anything particular sorts, my girl literally deserved so much more. Though whenever she lied made me wince at the second hand embarrassment but otherwise I totally get her.
Damion🍷 ,
He's like one those jerks that I definitely was like 'hes such a jerk oh my god' but over all that, there's a real personality inside him that I loved. I admit his perspective was so entertaining and living that I loved being inside his head more. I wanted so much more of him, even though he's almost there in screen but I wanted more of his aspects like everything of his dreams, ambitions etc.
Liam well he was okay, I really liked him in the start but then I didn't. I felt like for someone who's supposed to be protective did nothing sort of things to help Julia when she was being bullied, because word travels fast right? He could have complained, I know that's not what Julia would have wanted but for Liam to hit Damion for hurting Julia but then not doing anything for the bullying she received is just so weird.
They both are such lovesick fools it makes me giddy and nauseous, like stomach churning. I felt like the development of the relationship was done perfectly well, the pacing was also done quite right for the development. The way Lynn writes yearning is like a character is yearning without even realising he is. That one chapter I was so shocked, I felt this tug in my heart and I was so surprised of the monologue. They both deserved each other and whenever they both are happy it makes me the happiest. They could be somewhat similar to other lynn's characters, but I genuinely can make a difference because of how special their moments were💗.
I have highlighted so many words and quotes because Lynn Painter had me obsessed and loving those lines. She writes feelings in details and I'm left wondering if someone would feel like that in real life. There were other side characters that I loved too and the Remington is just one of them. When Damion had tears in his eyes, somehow the writing got blurry and I wasn't able to read it ugh.
I like this book more because this was what I needed, something rom-com that would make my day better after I gave a test and my day was going a bit bad. Despite that, yes it did had some aspects that needed to developed but somehow they weren't and were left behind.
🫧.final thoughts. - I would definitely recommend this book! i actually loved it and had a great and awesome time! The characters made me feel so many thingsss and I genuinely love how this book gave me so much to chuckle and swoon at💗
Thank you so much Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Publishing House for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review💗.
_
OH MY GOD RTC
the amount of instagram breaks I have taken is ridiculous
┆ ⤿ 💗 .preread.
I have a test on Monday but anyways I'm so excited to read this book!! the message of recieving this honestly made my whole day hah😝💗.
9/7/26
EVERYBODY STAY CALM I GOT THE ARC-
- publishing date: Sept 29th, 2026.
Trust fall follows Julia Lowells , a small town girl living in Nebraska peacefully. When her elderly neighbour - who is a secret billionaire - passes away and gives the will to Julia's family, she's swept away to New York and to live her life as one while attending the most rich academy.
I feel like words would genuinely fail to express how I do feel about this book. It's something special, a feeling that makes me smile half of the times.
Lynn Painter manages to make every scenario in such a loveable rom-com, but the way she added dark academia also settled in the vibes. When I first heard of the book, I couldn't believe my eyes, the aesthetics were so beautiful and I genuinely was so excited to unravel this story.
And I finally got to do it!
Her writing style is something that is so beautiful, yes it's young adult, but when she writes about feelings, it's something so sacred, it's like yearning and poetry, it tugs on your heart and stays with you for awhile. That's how I felt when she described their feelings. I felt so many emotions, it brought tears to my eyes, I was smiling a lot, I let out a chuckle. I did love this romcom.
This book was also somehow INTENSE at so many aspects and I had to take so many breaks whether it's due to second hand embarrassments or due to some intense scenes. Such as the bullying scenes, the intensity was A LOT i could feel myself frowning most of the times and the one with Julia and Quinn ugh I hate that dude.
˚₊‧꒰ა .characters. ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Julia 📚 ,
MY LOVEE! She deserved the world and I wanted to hug her. Lynn Painter manages to make all her characters relatable in a sense, but here, I felt like she was so me in so many aspects. Whether it's academic, anxiety or anything particular sorts, my girl literally deserved so much more. Though whenever she lied made me wince at the second hand embarrassment but otherwise I totally get her.
Damion🍷 ,
He's like one those jerks that I definitely was like 'hes such a jerk oh my god' but over all that, there's a real personality inside him that I loved. I admit his perspective was so entertaining and living that I loved being inside his head more. I wanted so much more of him, even though he's almost there in screen but I wanted more of his aspects like everything of his dreams, ambitions etc.
Liam well he was okay, I really liked him in the start but then I didn't. I felt like for someone who's supposed to be protective did nothing sort of things to help Julia when she was being bullied, because word travels fast right? He could have complained, I know that's not what Julia would have wanted but for Liam to hit Damion for hurting Julia but then not doing anything for the bullying she received is just so weird.
They both are such lovesick fools it makes me giddy and nauseous, like stomach churning. I felt like the development of the relationship was done perfectly well, the pacing was also done quite right for the development. The way Lynn writes yearning is like a character is yearning without even realising he is. That one chapter I was so shocked, I felt this tug in my heart and I was so surprised of the monologue. They both deserved each other and whenever they both are happy it makes me the happiest. They could be somewhat similar to other lynn's characters, but I genuinely can make a difference because of how special their moments were💗.
I have highlighted so many words and quotes because Lynn Painter had me obsessed and loving those lines. She writes feelings in details and I'm left wondering if someone would feel like that in real life. There were other side characters that I loved too and the Remington is just one of them. When Damion had tears in his eyes, somehow the writing got blurry and I wasn't able to read it ugh.
I like this book more because this was what I needed, something rom-com that would make my day better after I gave a test and my day was going a bit bad. Despite that, yes it did had some aspects that needed to developed but somehow they weren't and were left behind.
🫧.final thoughts. - I would definitely recommend this book! i actually loved it and had a great and awesome time! The characters made me feel so many thingsss and I genuinely love how this book gave me so much to chuckle and swoon at💗
Thank you so much Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Publishing House for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review💗.
_
OH MY GOD RTC
the amount of instagram breaks I have taken is ridiculous
┆ ⤿ 💗 .preread.
I have a test on Monday but anyways I'm so excited to read this book!! the message of recieving this honestly made my whole day hah😝💗.
9/7/26
EVERYBODY STAY CALM I GOT THE ARC-
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'm a big Lynn Painter fan, but I have a confession to make: I think I've officially reached the point where I look forward to her YA releases even more than her adult romances. And that's saying something because the woman could probably write the back of a cereal box and I'd still read it.
Last year, Fake Skating completely stole my heart and became my favorite YA romance of the year. I honestly thought, "There's no way she can top this anytime soon."
Well, apparently Lynn Painter took that as a personal challenge.
Because Trust Fall is not only my favorite YA romance of 2026 so far, it's currently sitting comfortably at the top of my Goodreads Choice Awards list. Could another book come along and dethrone it? Sure. Is that likely? Let's just say the odds feel about the same as me inheriting a Manhattan brownstone from a mysterious millionaire neighbor.
Speaking of which, what a ridiculously fun premise.
A small-town Nebraska girl suddenly becoming fabulously wealthy and getting dropped into the intimidating world of New York City's elite private schools? Add one brooding rich boy with secrets, a tutoring arrangement, plenty of emotional baggage, and Lynn Painter's signature banter, and I was sold before I even turned the first page.
Also, if my social media stalking skills are correct, I believe today is Lynn Painter's birthday. So happy birthday to the queen of romantic tension, awkward heroines, and fictional boys who consistently set unrealistic standards. My wish for her is simple: please never stop writing romances. I'll happily keep showing up, reading them in one sitting, and annoying my friends by forcing them to add them to their TBR piles.
Now, let's talk about Julia.
I adored her.
She's awkward in the most believable way, constantly second-guesses herself, struggles to fit in, and spends much of the story feeling like everyone else received an instruction manual for life that somehow skipped her mailbox. She's not instantly transformed by money or magically confident because of her new circumstances. She still feels like the same Nebraska girl trying to figure out where she belongs, and that made her incredibly relatable.
And then there's Damion.
Lynn Painter has mastered the art of creating male love interests who begin as walking red flags only to reveal themselves as giant green forests.
At first, I wanted to shake him.
Then I wanted to hug him.
Then I wanted to tell Julia to stop wasting time and kiss the boy already.
Watching him go from suspicious, snarky, and emotionally unavailable to completely, hopelessly, undeniably gone for Julia was one of my favorite reading experiences of the year. Every chapter from his perspective was a gift. The yearning? Immaculate. The tension? Delicious. The emotional vulnerability? Inject it directly into my veins.
And can we please take a moment to appreciate Lynn Painter's dialogue? Nobody writes witty exchanges quite like she does. These characters actually sound like teenagers—funny, messy, awkward, occasionally dramatic, and entirely lovable. I found myself smiling through so many scenes and more than once caught myself thinking, "Oh no, I'm attached."
The setting deserves its own standing ovation. New York in the fall feels like a character all by itself. The brownstone, the changing leaves, the private school drama, the cozy moments—it all created the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to book a plane ticket immediately and wander around Manhattan with a coffee in one hand and a romance novel in the other.
But what surprised me most was how much heart this story has.
Yes, it's funny. Yes, it's swoony. Yes, it gave me butterflies.
But beneath all of that, Trust Fall is really about grief, trust, identity, family, and finding your place in a world that suddenly feels unfamiliar. It's about learning that money doesn't fix everything, that first impressions can be spectacularly wrong, and that sometimes the people who understand us best are the ones we least expect.
By the final chapters, I was smiling like an idiot and simultaneously dreading the moment I would have to say goodbye to these characters.
And that's always the sign of a great book.
Lynn Painter continues to prove why she's one of my favorite romance authors writing today. Trust Fall is sweet, heartfelt, funny, and absolutely irresistible. It reminded me why I fell in love with YA romance in the first place—the butterflies, the first love, the hopefulness, and the feeling that anything is possible.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be over here impatiently waiting for whatever Lynn Painter decides to write next.
My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for sharing this sweet and irresistible YA romance with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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Last year, Fake Skating completely stole my heart and became my favorite YA romance of the year. I honestly thought, "There's no way she can top this anytime soon."
Well, apparently Lynn Painter took that as a personal challenge.
Because Trust Fall is not only my favorite YA romance of 2026 so far, it's currently sitting comfortably at the top of my Goodreads Choice Awards list. Could another book come along and dethrone it? Sure. Is that likely? Let's just say the odds feel about the same as me inheriting a Manhattan brownstone from a mysterious millionaire neighbor.
Speaking of which, what a ridiculously fun premise.
A small-town Nebraska girl suddenly becoming fabulously wealthy and getting dropped into the intimidating world of New York City's elite private schools? Add one brooding rich boy with secrets, a tutoring arrangement, plenty of emotional baggage, and Lynn Painter's signature banter, and I was sold before I even turned the first page.
Also, if my social media stalking skills are correct, I believe today is Lynn Painter's birthday. So happy birthday to the queen of romantic tension, awkward heroines, and fictional boys who consistently set unrealistic standards. My wish for her is simple: please never stop writing romances. I'll happily keep showing up, reading them in one sitting, and annoying my friends by forcing them to add them to their TBR piles.
Now, let's talk about Julia.
I adored her.
She's awkward in the most believable way, constantly second-guesses herself, struggles to fit in, and spends much of the story feeling like everyone else received an instruction manual for life that somehow skipped her mailbox. She's not instantly transformed by money or magically confident because of her new circumstances. She still feels like the same Nebraska girl trying to figure out where she belongs, and that made her incredibly relatable.
And then there's Damion.
Lynn Painter has mastered the art of creating male love interests who begin as walking red flags only to reveal themselves as giant green forests.
At first, I wanted to shake him.
Then I wanted to hug him.
Then I wanted to tell Julia to stop wasting time and kiss the boy already.
Watching him go from suspicious, snarky, and emotionally unavailable to completely, hopelessly, undeniably gone for Julia was one of my favorite reading experiences of the year. Every chapter from his perspective was a gift. The yearning? Immaculate. The tension? Delicious. The emotional vulnerability? Inject it directly into my veins.
And can we please take a moment to appreciate Lynn Painter's dialogue? Nobody writes witty exchanges quite like she does. These characters actually sound like teenagers—funny, messy, awkward, occasionally dramatic, and entirely lovable. I found myself smiling through so many scenes and more than once caught myself thinking, "Oh no, I'm attached."
The setting deserves its own standing ovation. New York in the fall feels like a character all by itself. The brownstone, the changing leaves, the private school drama, the cozy moments—it all created the kind of atmosphere that makes you want to book a plane ticket immediately and wander around Manhattan with a coffee in one hand and a romance novel in the other.
But what surprised me most was how much heart this story has.
Yes, it's funny. Yes, it's swoony. Yes, it gave me butterflies.
But beneath all of that, Trust Fall is really about grief, trust, identity, family, and finding your place in a world that suddenly feels unfamiliar. It's about learning that money doesn't fix everything, that first impressions can be spectacularly wrong, and that sometimes the people who understand us best are the ones we least expect.
By the final chapters, I was smiling like an idiot and simultaneously dreading the moment I would have to say goodbye to these characters.
And that's always the sign of a great book.
Lynn Painter continues to prove why she's one of my favorite romance authors writing today. Trust Fall is sweet, heartfelt, funny, and absolutely irresistible. It reminded me why I fell in love with YA romance in the first place—the butterflies, the first love, the hopefulness, and the feeling that anything is possible.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be over here impatiently waiting for whatever Lynn Painter decides to write next.
My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing | Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for sharing this sweet and irresistible YA romance with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
medium blog
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
— 3.75 ☆ .ᐟ 🍁 spoiler free + mini review
⤷ will miss the fall vibes this brought omg
୨ arc @netgalley
⋆˚࿔ 87th review of the year
⌗ ꒰ my thoughts ꒱ 🪶
⤷ okay despite the avg rating, i LIKED THIS!! i honestly has such a fun time and am VERY appreciative of the arc 🍁 my first lynn painter ya arc hehe. but besides that, i wasn't as connected to the characters/story as i wish i was! at first, i wasn't a huge fan of our mmc (damion) but i really enjoyed our fmc (julia) and her character!
i love how everything got resolved in the end.. but MAN do i not like damion's parents 😭😭 overall, lynn still kept this book super engaging and fun to read. im already eager to see what she does next for her ya books!! i would trust this book and don't be surprised if you fall for it <3
⌗ ꒰ tropes ꒱
⋆ academic rivals
⋆ ya romance novel
⋆ dual pov
⋆ elite school
⌗ ꒰ info ꒱
⤷ find my book review on goodreads @elliexreads
⤷ this is recommended for young adult readers (14+)
⤷ YA romance novel
publish date: september 29, 2026
₊‧ all ratings and opinions are my own ₊‧
⤷ thank you to netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review!
------------
𐔌 ♯┆9.6.26
⤷ WOO so happy to finally be reading this!! im alr 50% of the way thru and it is the perfect pallete cleanser and book for autumn 💌 im curious to see where the end goes! always happy to be back in a lynn painter world <3 thank you netgalley for the arc! 🪶🪶
mar, 12, 26
cover reveal + title reveal on the same day? WHAT IS LIFE. THE RELEASES KEEP GETTING BETTER N BETTER
⤷ will miss the fall vibes this brought omg
୨ arc @netgalley
⋆˚࿔ 87th review of the year
⌗ ꒰ my thoughts ꒱ 🪶
⤷ okay despite the avg rating, i LIKED THIS!! i honestly has such a fun time and am VERY appreciative of the arc 🍁 my first lynn painter ya arc hehe. but besides that, i wasn't as connected to the characters/story as i wish i was! at first, i wasn't a huge fan of our mmc (damion) but i really enjoyed our fmc (julia) and her character!
i love how everything got resolved in the end.. but MAN do i not like damion's parents 😭😭 overall, lynn still kept this book super engaging and fun to read. im already eager to see what she does next for her ya books!! i would trust this book and don't be surprised if you fall for it <3
⌗ ꒰ tropes ꒱
⋆ academic rivals
⋆ ya romance novel
⋆ dual pov
⋆ elite school
⌗ ꒰ info ꒱
⤷ find my book review on goodreads @elliexreads
⤷ this is recommended for young adult readers (14+)
⤷ YA romance novel
publish date: september 29, 2026
₊‧ all ratings and opinions are my own ₊‧
⤷ thank you to netgalley and publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review!
------------
🍁 — pre-read .ᐟ ⌗
𐔌 ♯┆9.6.26
⤷ WOO so happy to finally be reading this!! im alr 50% of the way thru and it is the perfect pallete cleanser and book for autumn 💌 im curious to see where the end goes! always happy to be back in a lynn painter world <3 thank you netgalley for the arc! 🪶🪶
mar, 12, 26
cover reveal + title reveal on the same day? WHAT IS LIFE. THE RELEASES KEEP GETTING BETTER N BETTER
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I almost skipped this arc since YA hasn’t been hitting the same lately. But this is Lynn Painter, and I remember loving her debut, so of course I had to give it a chance.
The beginning hooked me right away. After getting some unexpected news, Julia’s family moves to NY, and this leads almost immediately to a hilarious meet cute with Damion.
That said, their interactions in the beginning were giving ‘he’s mean to you because he likes you’ and I’m not sure how I feel about that. While some teasing was harmless, other times he was genuinely mean for no good reason.
Thankfully that improved as they got closer, and the romance turned into pure cuteness and yearning. Younger me would be swooning over Damion, I’m sure. And as someone who loves bread, I loved when Julia mentioned her bread obsession, or baguettes made an appearance.
My only issue was the sheer amount of drama. High school bullies, multi-millionaire bullies… the characters felt flat. I also couldn’t stand Julia’s parents. Even when other adults were ganging up on Julia right in front of them, they just stood there. And they’re supposed to be the ‘good’ parents? They were clueless half the time which contradicted how they were described.
Overall, though, the romance was sweet and this was easy to read. It’s been a while since I finished a book in under a day and this was worth it. To think I almost skipped it. Criminal.
─ ✦ ────
✎ᝰ.┊ pre-read: do i have a pile of arcs already? yes. did that stop me from grabbing this? absolutely not. am i ashamed of my lack of self control? a little… oh well
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!
The beginning hooked me right away. After getting some unexpected news, Julia’s family moves to NY, and this leads almost immediately to a hilarious meet cute with Damion.
That said, their interactions in the beginning were giving ‘he’s mean to you because he likes you’ and I’m not sure how I feel about that. While some teasing was harmless, other times he was genuinely mean for no good reason.
Thankfully that improved as they got closer, and the romance turned into pure cuteness and yearning. Younger me would be swooning over Damion, I’m sure. And as someone who loves bread, I loved when Julia mentioned her bread obsession, or baguettes made an appearance.
My only issue was the sheer amount of drama. High school bullies, multi-millionaire bullies… the characters felt flat. I also couldn’t stand Julia’s parents. Even when other adults were ganging up on Julia right in front of them, they just stood there. And they’re supposed to be the ‘good’ parents? They were clueless half the time which contradicted how they were described.
Overall, though, the romance was sweet and this was easy to read. It’s been a while since I finished a book in under a day and this was worth it. To think I almost skipped it. Criminal.
─ ✦ ────
✎ᝰ.┊ pre-read: do i have a pile of arcs already? yes. did that stop me from grabbing this? absolutely not. am i ashamed of my lack of self control? a little… oh well
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
˚₊‧꒰ა 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥 ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
rating :
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
SIX BILLION TRILLION MILLION HEARTS
⋆ also sorry, its been a hot minute since i’ve written a review.. i’ve been super busy! ⋆
୨୧ ───────── ୨୧
thank you to netgalley and simon & schuster publishing for sending me this arc! i am so honored to be chosen!!
*no spoilers*
now playing ˎˊ˗
⤷ be my baby — the ronettes ౨ৎ
01:04 ━━━━●───── 02:40
ㅤㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ㅤ ↻
𐙚 ⋆｡˚
❛❛ the night we met i knew i needed you so ❜❜
𐙚 ⋆｡˚
pre-read˚.🍂⋆ ˎˊ˗
⤷ oh my goshhh i’ve been waiting for this to be released since the beginning of the year and then i get an arc for it?!?! this is honestly my favorite author ever and i was overjoyed to get this arc! thank you sosososo much to netgalley and simon & schuster publishing for sending me this arc!!ˎˊ˗
𓆩♡𓆪
❛❛ and if i had the chance i’d never let you go ❜❜
𓆩♡𓆪
• ꒰ overall thoughts ꒱ •
❛❛ i cried. no, i sobbed. LYNN PAINTER I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS. i felt so emotionally attatched to this story and the characters omggg! first of all, the book overall was giving such gilmore girls vibes, i loved it! secondly, the cover! i absolutely loved this cover, it was stunning and it fit the story so well! next, the characters. i’m going to rant about this so sorryyyy! but i LOVED the characters. they felt so relatable and i adored how it was sort of “opposites attract”. and the mmc was her tutor.. i kind of want a cute tutor now! also, the mmc reminded me SO MUCH of wes bennett. they could secretly be brothers, you never know SHRUG EMOJI ADD HERE. additionally, i loved the fmc! i loved that she was unique and she was such a diva! overall, when the fmc and mmc were together, i was kicking my feetttt they’re so adorable! next, the plot. omfg this is where the book got me. the ending was fine but as soon as i read the epilogue i was sobbing. these two characters were just perfect for each other. but anyways, the plot was just amazing. lynn painter added so many small, but important details in the story that just made me love it even more! for example, damion would always call julia “honey” or just flirt with her. i found that so charming! additionally, i adored that both damion and julia had somebody that they both loved and that sort of connected them (even if julia didn’t know it). i cant say too much more since i don’t want to spoil anything, but i will just say that julia and damion are perfect for each other! lastly, the setting. it takes place in new york city/nebraska. i live really close to nyc so it was cool that the story took place nearby! i also just enjoyed the overall city atmosphere! so overall, this book was actually the best book i’ve ever read. when this is released on september 29, you all better be running to the store to get this!! i am stunned lynn painter omg. ❜❜
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
❛❛ we’ll make ‘em turn their heads every place we go ❜❜
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
• ꒰ ratings ꒱ •
plot ୨୧ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
characters 𐙚 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
romance ౨ৎ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
chemistry ⋆｡° ✩ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
spice ᵕ̈ ♥♡♡♡♡♡
pacing ☾ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
ending ❀ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
𐙚 ───────── 𐙚
❛❛ so won’t you, please (be my, be my baby)❜❜
𐙚 ───────── 𐙚
• ꒰ characters ꒱ •
—▷ julia ౨ৎ
wait she was soo cutesy! i loved how throughout the book she would notice something about damion, like “his glasses are so hot” and then she would try to convince herself that he was a jerk. you could tell she was slowly falling for him haha! and also i loveddd her hair. i know i couldn’t see it because its a book, duh, but i loved that she had curly hair!
—▷ damion ౨ৎ
WHEN HE CALLED JULIA “nebraska” i fell in love with him too. forever am waiting for a bf who has a cute nickname for me ! but he was actually such a perfect friend and boyfriend to julia! i loved him sooo much! also i adored his glasses, i used to wear glasses hehe!
—▷ beckett ౨ৎ
he is very odd. the “birthday daddy” shirt had me DYING.
—▷ donovan and jasmine ౨ৎ
i am so glad that julia had them as friends <3
—▷ “skins” ౨ৎ
they pmo so much.
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
❛❛ be my little baby (my one and only baby) ❜❜
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
• ꒰ recommendations ꒱ •
age ୨୧ 13+ years old
interests ୨୧ fall // small town —> city // cute tutor // fancy school genre ୨୧ romance tropes ୨୧ enemies to lovers // restricted romance // opposites attract
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ 𐙚 ࿐
❛❛ say you’ll be my darlin’ (be my, be my baby) ❜❜
୨୧ ───────── ୨୧
thank you so much for taking the time to read my review! i hope it was helpful in your reading experience. if you enjoyed this review, please consider following me to receive more valuable reviews! xoxo, alexandra ୨୧
rating :
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
SIX BILLION TRILLION MILLION HEARTS
⋆ also sorry, its been a hot minute since i’ve written a review.. i’ve been super busy! ⋆
୨୧ ───────── ୨୧
thank you to netgalley and simon & schuster publishing for sending me this arc! i am so honored to be chosen!!
*no spoilers*
now playing ˎˊ˗
⤷ be my baby — the ronettes ౨ৎ
01:04 ━━━━●───── 02:40
ㅤㅤ◁ㅤ ❚❚ ㅤ▷ㅤ ↻
𐙚 ⋆｡˚
❛❛ the night we met i knew i needed you so ❜❜
𐙚 ⋆｡˚
pre-read˚.🍂⋆ ˎˊ˗
⤷ oh my goshhh i’ve been waiting for this to be released since the beginning of the year and then i get an arc for it?!?! this is honestly my favorite author ever and i was overjoyed to get this arc! thank you sosososo much to netgalley and simon & schuster publishing for sending me this arc!!ˎˊ˗
𓆩♡𓆪
❛❛ and if i had the chance i’d never let you go ❜❜
𓆩♡𓆪
• ꒰ overall thoughts ꒱ •
❛❛ i cried. no, i sobbed. LYNN PAINTER I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS. i felt so emotionally attatched to this story and the characters omggg! first of all, the book overall was giving such gilmore girls vibes, i loved it! secondly, the cover! i absolutely loved this cover, it was stunning and it fit the story so well! next, the characters. i’m going to rant about this so sorryyyy! but i LOVED the characters. they felt so relatable and i adored how it was sort of “opposites attract”. and the mmc was her tutor.. i kind of want a cute tutor now! also, the mmc reminded me SO MUCH of wes bennett. they could secretly be brothers, you never know SHRUG EMOJI ADD HERE. additionally, i loved the fmc! i loved that she was unique and she was such a diva! overall, when the fmc and mmc were together, i was kicking my feetttt they’re so adorable! next, the plot. omfg this is where the book got me. the ending was fine but as soon as i read the epilogue i was sobbing. these two characters were just perfect for each other. but anyways, the plot was just amazing. lynn painter added so many small, but important details in the story that just made me love it even more! for example, damion would always call julia “honey” or just flirt with her. i found that so charming! additionally, i adored that both damion and julia had somebody that they both loved and that sort of connected them (even if julia didn’t know it). i cant say too much more since i don’t want to spoil anything, but i will just say that julia and damion are perfect for each other! lastly, the setting. it takes place in new york city/nebraska. i live really close to nyc so it was cool that the story took place nearby! i also just enjoyed the overall city atmosphere! so overall, this book was actually the best book i’ve ever read. when this is released on september 29, you all better be running to the store to get this!! i am stunned lynn painter omg. ❜❜
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
❛❛ we’ll make ‘em turn their heads every place we go ❜❜
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
• ꒰ ratings ꒱ •
plot ୨୧ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
characters 𐙚 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
romance ౨ৎ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
chemistry ⋆｡° ✩ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
spice ᵕ̈ ♥♡♡♡♡♡
pacing ☾ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
ending ❀ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♡
𐙚 ───────── 𐙚
❛❛ so won’t you, please (be my, be my baby)❜❜
𐙚 ───────── 𐙚
• ꒰ characters ꒱ •
—▷ julia ౨ৎ
wait she was soo cutesy! i loved how throughout the book she would notice something about damion, like “his glasses are so hot” and then she would try to convince herself that he was a jerk. you could tell she was slowly falling for him haha! and also i loveddd her hair. i know i couldn’t see it because its a book, duh, but i loved that she had curly hair!
—▷ damion ౨ৎ
WHEN HE CALLED JULIA “nebraska” i fell in love with him too. forever am waiting for a bf who has a cute nickname for me ! but he was actually such a perfect friend and boyfriend to julia! i loved him sooo much! also i adored his glasses, i used to wear glasses hehe!
—▷ beckett ౨ৎ
he is very odd. the “birthday daddy” shirt had me DYING.
—▷ donovan and jasmine ౨ৎ
i am so glad that julia had them as friends <3
—▷ “skins” ౨ৎ
they pmo so much.
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
❛❛ be my little baby (my one and only baby) ❜❜
˚₊‧꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
• ꒰ recommendations ꒱ •
age ୨୧ 13+ years old
interests ୨୧ fall // small town —> city // cute tutor // fancy school genre ୨୧ romance tropes ୨୧ enemies to lovers // restricted romance // opposites attract
𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ 𐙚 ࿐
❛❛ say you’ll be my darlin’ (be my, be my baby) ❜❜
୨୧ ───────── ୨୧
thank you so much for taking the time to read my review! i hope it was helpful in your reading experience. if you enjoyed this review, please consider following me to receive more valuable reviews! xoxo, alexandra ୨୧
Want to Read
April 7, 2026・❥・⁀➷
pre-release
august 20th- wym my request was denied 🥺🥺 so sad right now. day ruined 😔
april 7th- this cover?! 🧡💛🤎 i’m actually obsessed!! i’m so here for the vibes it’s giving off!! can’t wait for this to come out 🤭
august 20th- wym my request was denied 🥺🥺 so sad right now. day ruined 😔
april 7th- this cover?! 🧡💛🤎 i’m actually obsessed!! i’m so here for the vibes it’s giving off!! can’t wait for this to come out 🤭
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
₊˚ ౿ RTC
— Rating: 4.25 ★ .ᐟ
This was so cute!! It did take me a month to finish but that’s honestly just because of how busy I’ve been 😅 Also LOVED the fall vibes
— Rating: 4.25 ★ .ᐟ
This was so cute!! It did take me a month to finish but that’s honestly just because of how busy I’ve been 😅 Also LOVED the fall vibes
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
🍁｡° 🕰️༄⌞ 𝟓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔 ⌝ ༄☕️｡°🍂
Trust Fall is without a doubt Lynn Painter's best work in my opinion. It delivered a really interesting premise that had an excellent follow through.
The story starts with Julia Lowell, an ordinary girl living in a small town in Springfield, Nebraska. When her family suddenly inherits millions of dollars and a historic mansion in NYC—with the one stipulation that they must live in it for 6 months before they can inherit it—it seems they have no choice but to accept.
On the flip side, Damion, the great-nephew of the man who left a portion of his fortune to the Lowells, absolutely hates Julia and her family on sight.
The setup is already intriguing, so that combined with the New York City Autumn, Julia's main character energy, and Damion's charisma, this might just be the perfect book for fall.
༄｡°₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹˚ ₊ ༄
. Tropes:
•Enemies to lovers
•Fancy Prep School
•Inheritance drama
•Opposites attract
•He tutors her
•He wears glasses
•He falls first and harder
•Grief
The plot: First off, I appreciate when a romance book has a substantial plot. I feel like Painter's previous books have mostly just coasted off vibes and banter. But I liked this one immensely; I wasn't just reading a fluffy rom-com, I was reading something with substance and direction.
My favorite part of this book was undoubtedly Julia. She had this wild curly hair that Damion described as Julia Roberts's Pretty Woman hair. It was so fitting to her personality and obviously the reference to that movie was just the cherry on top. I can definitely see her character resonating with a ton of teenage girls. From her awkwardness and social anxiety, to her struggle to fit in with "the popular kids," she was so relatable and easy to empathize with. Girl had such a hard time attending Gardenwood Academy. I felt for her as she was experiencing bullying and trying to navigate this whole new world.
Damion was a fun one to read about too. I loved his funky style and his big tortoise-shell glasses. He possessed a "rebel without a cause" attitude and had the kind of "bad boy" charisma that girls dream about. Overall he was an interesting character, he certainly wasn't perfect, but it's what made him such a multidimensional person.
༄｡°₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹˚ ₊ ༄
Although I am pretty much obsessed with this book, there are a few critiques I'd like to make.
1. Some of the bullying that Julia experienced was a little too intense. It was hard to read at times and could potentially be really triggering for teens who experience bullying. Especially if you have social anxiety, like Julia did.
2. I know some people will take no issue with this, and maybe even enjoy it, but some of the ultra Gen Z language really put me off. I understand that this is Young Adult, but it got distracting at times and really pulled me out of the moment. But on a positive note, there was not a single Taylor Swift reference which I found to be very refreshing.
Ultimately, Trust Fall really was the perfect book for fall. Highly recommend for fans of Lynn Painter, Jennifer Lynn Barns (for that little taste of inheritance drama and mystery), and New York City in the Fall.
༄｡°₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹˚ ₊ ༄
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own.
📆 Publication Date: September 29th, 2026
Trust Fall is without a doubt Lynn Painter's best work in my opinion. It delivered a really interesting premise that had an excellent follow through.
The story starts with Julia Lowell, an ordinary girl living in a small town in Springfield, Nebraska. When her family suddenly inherits millions of dollars and a historic mansion in NYC—with the one stipulation that they must live in it for 6 months before they can inherit it—it seems they have no choice but to accept.
On the flip side, Damion, the great-nephew of the man who left a portion of his fortune to the Lowells, absolutely hates Julia and her family on sight.
The setup is already intriguing, so that combined with the New York City Autumn, Julia's main character energy, and Damion's charisma, this might just be the perfect book for fall.
༄｡°₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹˚ ₊ ༄
. Tropes:
•Enemies to lovers
•Fancy Prep School
•Inheritance drama
•Opposites attract
•He tutors her
•He wears glasses
•He falls first and harder
•Grief
The plot: First off, I appreciate when a romance book has a substantial plot. I feel like Painter's previous books have mostly just coasted off vibes and banter. But I liked this one immensely; I wasn't just reading a fluffy rom-com, I was reading something with substance and direction.
My favorite part of this book was undoubtedly Julia. She had this wild curly hair that Damion described as Julia Roberts's Pretty Woman hair. It was so fitting to her personality and obviously the reference to that movie was just the cherry on top. I can definitely see her character resonating with a ton of teenage girls. From her awkwardness and social anxiety, to her struggle to fit in with "the popular kids," she was so relatable and easy to empathize with. Girl had such a hard time attending Gardenwood Academy. I felt for her as she was experiencing bullying and trying to navigate this whole new world.
Damion was a fun one to read about too. I loved his funky style and his big tortoise-shell glasses. He possessed a "rebel without a cause" attitude and had the kind of "bad boy" charisma that girls dream about. Overall he was an interesting character, he certainly wasn't perfect, but it's what made him such a multidimensional person.
༄｡°₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹˚ ₊ ༄
Although I am pretty much obsessed with this book, there are a few critiques I'd like to make.
1. Some of the bullying that Julia experienced was a little too intense. It was hard to read at times and could potentially be really triggering for teens who experience bullying. Especially if you have social anxiety, like Julia did.
2. I know some people will take no issue with this, and maybe even enjoy it, but some of the ultra Gen Z language really put me off. I understand that this is Young Adult, but it got distracting at times and really pulled me out of the moment. But on a positive note, there was not a single Taylor Swift reference which I found to be very refreshing.
Ultimately, Trust Fall really was the perfect book for fall. Highly recommend for fans of Lynn Painter, Jennifer Lynn Barns (for that little taste of inheritance drama and mystery), and New York City in the Fall.
༄｡°₊˚⊹⋆🍁⋆⊹˚ ₊ ༄
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are entirely my own.
📆 Publication Date: September 29th, 2026
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
“𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆, 𝑵𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒂, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰’𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”
Lynn Painter, we gotta talk... because how dare you make me cry while sitting in a packed airplane... my tears were coming down, and I'm sure someone saw BUT I REGRET NOTHING 😭🧡
Julia and her family inherit what a multi-millionaire left behind. Who would have thought a small-town girl was going to attend an elite private school and live at a brownstone in NYC? No one, including Damion. He lost his uncle and thought he was going to get the house... but a Nebraska family got it instead. He doesn't believe it and will do everything he can to prove it. Enter Julia, needing help with her math, and Damion, being her tutor!!! I love me a student x tutor trope. Did I mention that Damion has glasses and loves a good flirt session!!! AMAZING OKAY 🔥
I love both characters so much. Julia's POV of being from a small town and navigating everything so new really made me empathize with her more, especially when she is very open with her struggles about change and anxiety. She still pushes through and keeps getting up with her chin up, and I JUST LOVE THAT ABOUT HER! 🥹 Damion, when you see past the flirtyness and his "elite" persona, you notice he cares a lot and tries his best to fix his wrongs, and once he falls, he falls HARD. ATE IT UP!!!! 😭
I do want to mention I am so impressed with how accurately Lynn wrote these high schoolers. What do I mean? Meaning the inner monologue that Julia has throughout the book over a man liking her is legit how I was, the little overthinker over here, overanalyzing every single detail lol 👀🫣
This story was so beautiful 🧡 The topics of grief woven into the story were what made me fall in love with this book even more 🥹 The banter and flirtiness between them were amazing, but having it all tied up with the grief of losing something made me LOSE IT OKAY. 😭💔 The ending had me sobbing, and welp, I have a legit video to prove it 😭
I do need to add that to those of you who do not like miscommunication, I definitely suggest you skip this one because this is a huuuuge miscommunication romance trope. Heheh, which is why this was a 5-star book for me. ⭐️ THEY ARE HIGH SCHOOLERS OKAY, obviously they do not know how to communicate entirely... and yes, a simple convo could have avoided the plot, but then where the book gonna go??
Take that what you will, I FOR ONE LOVED IT.
tropes
🧡 enemies to lovers
🧡 student x tutor
🧡 small town girl x city boy
🧡 he falls harder
🧡 fake dating (ish)
Thank you Simon & Teen for my eARC!
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 ❀*･EXCUSE ME WHAT WAS THIS MASTERPIECE OMFG. I WILL SCREAM AT TOP OF A HILL HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS BOOK IS.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 ❀*･I need to giggle and kick my feet so 🤞
Lynn Painter, we gotta talk... because how dare you make me cry while sitting in a packed airplane... my tears were coming down, and I'm sure someone saw BUT I REGRET NOTHING 😭🧡
Julia and her family inherit what a multi-millionaire left behind. Who would have thought a small-town girl was going to attend an elite private school and live at a brownstone in NYC? No one, including Damion. He lost his uncle and thought he was going to get the house... but a Nebraska family got it instead. He doesn't believe it and will do everything he can to prove it. Enter Julia, needing help with her math, and Damion, being her tutor!!! I love me a student x tutor trope. Did I mention that Damion has glasses and loves a good flirt session!!! AMAZING OKAY 🔥
I love both characters so much. Julia's POV of being from a small town and navigating everything so new really made me empathize with her more, especially when she is very open with her struggles about change and anxiety. She still pushes through and keeps getting up with her chin up, and I JUST LOVE THAT ABOUT HER! 🥹 Damion, when you see past the flirtyness and his "elite" persona, you notice he cares a lot and tries his best to fix his wrongs, and once he falls, he falls HARD. ATE IT UP!!!! 😭
I do want to mention I am so impressed with how accurately Lynn wrote these high schoolers. What do I mean? Meaning the inner monologue that Julia has throughout the book over a man liking her is legit how I was, the little overthinker over here, overanalyzing every single detail lol 👀🫣
This story was so beautiful 🧡 The topics of grief woven into the story were what made me fall in love with this book even more 🥹 The banter and flirtiness between them were amazing, but having it all tied up with the grief of losing something made me LOSE IT OKAY. 😭💔 The ending had me sobbing, and welp, I have a legit video to prove it 😭
I do need to add that to those of you who do not like miscommunication, I definitely suggest you skip this one because this is a huuuuge miscommunication romance trope. Heheh, which is why this was a 5-star book for me. ⭐️ THEY ARE HIGH SCHOOLERS OKAY, obviously they do not know how to communicate entirely... and yes, a simple convo could have avoided the plot, but then where the book gonna go??
Take that what you will, I FOR ONE LOVED IT.
tropes
🧡 enemies to lovers
🧡 student x tutor
🧡 small town girl x city boy
🧡 he falls harder
🧡 fake dating (ish)
Thank you Simon & Teen for my eARC!
⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.⋆. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆.
𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 ❀*･EXCUSE ME WHAT WAS THIS MASTERPIECE OMFG. I WILL SCREAM AT TOP OF A HILL HOW BEAUTIFUL THIS BOOK IS.
𝗽𝗿𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 ❀*･I need to giggle and kick my feet so 🤞
October 9, 2026
sigh…. stop it with the tiktok references. PLEASE 👹👹👹
full review to come !!!
full review to come !!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ˋ°•*⁀➷ 4 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 .˚🍂𓍢˖˚🧺𓍢˖˚🤎˚.
this was such a fun read!! it took a while to get into since i started it while i was in a pretty bad reading slump, but i still enjoyed it and it got more entertaining near the end. i lovedd the setting and that it takes place during fall which is my favorite season
» [stupid song- olivia rodrigo] «
0:00 ─〇───── 4:00
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 🍂
౨ৎ new york city setting
౨ৎ kinda enemies to lovers
౨ৎ autumn setting
౨ৎ inheritance
౨ৎ forced proximity
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
ೃ⁀➷ 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯
Ages 13+
𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 🧺
౨ৎ Language- semi frequent f*ck, sh*t, etc
౨ৎ Romance- kissing, innuendo
౨ৎ Violence- idk i dont think there was any lol
౨ৎ Other- grief, i dont remember if there was anything else
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 🤎
⤷ Julia- she was a good main character!! she honestly wasnt quite as memorable as some but i still liked her
⤷ Damion- he wasnt bad, i didnt really like him at first but he definitely got better
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 🩵
first of all, i lovedd the setting!!! i love books set in nyc so muchh idk why but its always such a good setting. i also ofc loved that it was fall, since thats my favorite season and ive always been completely obsessed with it
i also liked the banter a lot! lynn painter is literally always amazing at writing banter, it was so cute and fun to read
it also got to be a lot more entertaining once i reached about 50%, and i liked the writing style! lynn painter really cant write a bad book lmao
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 🍂
first of all, the main reason it wasnt 5 stars is that the beginning was just really hard to get into for me and it started out quite slow and a bit boring lol. it definitelyy didnt help that i was already in a slump, but i wish it had started out a bit more easy to get into
i also just found a few parts there were things i didnt love, like it used a bit too much slang which tends to annoy me in books
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
|🤎| post~read |🍂|
this was good! it was a bit hard to get into at the beginning, but it got more entertaining later, and it was a fun read.
|🍂| pre~read |🤎|
AHHH I GOT AN ARC OF THIS 🤭 I’m literally so excited to read this omg, I’ve loved all of lynn painters books so far and this looks amazing
this was such a fun read!! it took a while to get into since i started it while i was in a pretty bad reading slump, but i still enjoyed it and it got more entertaining near the end. i lovedd the setting and that it takes place during fall which is my favorite season
» [stupid song- olivia rodrigo] «
0:00 ─〇───── 4:00
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 🍂
౨ৎ new york city setting
౨ৎ kinda enemies to lovers
౨ৎ autumn setting
౨ৎ inheritance
౨ৎ forced proximity
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
ೃ⁀➷ 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘯
Ages 13+
𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 🧺
౨ৎ Language- semi frequent f*ck, sh*t, etc
౨ৎ Romance- kissing, innuendo
౨ৎ Violence- idk i dont think there was any lol
౨ৎ Other- grief, i dont remember if there was anything else
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 🤎
⤷ Julia- she was a good main character!! she honestly wasnt quite as memorable as some but i still liked her
⤷ Damion- he wasnt bad, i didnt really like him at first but he definitely got better
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅 🩵
first of all, i lovedd the setting!!! i love books set in nyc so muchh idk why but its always such a good setting. i also ofc loved that it was fall, since thats my favorite season and ive always been completely obsessed with it
i also liked the banter a lot! lynn painter is literally always amazing at writing banter, it was so cute and fun to read
it also got to be a lot more entertaining once i reached about 50%, and i liked the writing style! lynn painter really cant write a bad book lmao
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 🍂
first of all, the main reason it wasnt 5 stars is that the beginning was just really hard to get into for me and it started out quite slow and a bit boring lol. it definitelyy didnt help that i was already in a slump, but i wish it had started out a bit more easy to get into
i also just found a few parts there were things i didnt love, like it used a bit too much slang which tends to annoy me in books
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.
|🤎| post~read |🍂|
this was good! it was a bit hard to get into at the beginning, but it got more entertaining later, and it was a fun read.
|🍂| pre~read |🤎|
AHHH I GOT AN ARC OF THIS 🤭 I’m literally so excited to read this omg, I’ve loved all of lynn painters books so far and this looks amazing
Want to Read
March 13, 2026ꕤ 🍁☕️ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 ࿐ ͎. ｡˚ ° ⊹ ˚.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⤿ release date: september 29
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? THIS IS SO GILMORE GIRLS CODED!!! I LOVE YOU LYNN 🧸🤎
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⤿ release date: september 29
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? THIS IS SO GILMORE GIRLS CODED!!! I LOVE YOU LYNN 🧸🤎
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
. ˚.◜◟ 🍂 ⌗ 09 . 03 . 2026 ☆
Trust Fall by Lynn Painter : ARC review : ★ ★ ★ ½ : 13+
“where Gilmore Girls meets Gossip Girls”
(+ Miraculous Ladybug, if you get the references)
˖⋆ Playlist ⌗ 🗽𓏲
Julia by Mt. Joy
Love Grows by Edison Lighthouse
Packing It Up by Gracie Abrams
Uptown Girl by Billy Joel
Only The Young by Taylor Swift
There She Goes by The LA
traitor by Olivia Rodrigo
Ever Since New York by Harry Styles
Daylight by Taylor Swift
˖⋆ Thoughts ⌗ 📔 𓏲
This book brought me so many controversial cogitations. In fact, the first 15%, roughly, seemed to me a little hurried, so forced—why would Remi give them the money? And WHY if Beckett literally offered himself to tutor Julia, Damion had to be her tutor?—and also boring because I wasn’t getting into the story and didn’t know what to think about the main characters, even though I enjoyed their banter.
However, after chapter 15, things started to get better, thank God, as my interest in the story arose. I loved the scenes in Nebraska and how Damion finally stopped acting like a rich jerk, realizing he didn’t want to be the typical student in GA. And, about that, I think the best thing in the book was how precise the representation of rich teens is. I don’t exaggerate even a tiny bit when I say I know Coco Chattingham personally, and that the “skins” and the “toms” (some cliques in the academy) do exist in real life. I mean I lived in first person a situation similar to the “toms” finding out which Tom their nickname was inspired from (Tom Buchanan, so yeah you can imagine).
Just like Damion noted, there is no main character beside them, if they don’t win, then no one can win. “if you have money you rule the world” is the mentality, and it’s not wrong at all, you just gotta take a look at the dystopian reality we live in.
˖⋆ Them ⌗ ☕️ 𓏲
“you’re a little clingy for a city boy”
⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒ 𝒟amion Rutledge
‧₊˚ ☆ ── dead poet king
“The sluttiest thing a man can wear is glasses”. Like, period.
It took me half of the book to figure him out, the bad and rebellious dude, actually, was only a mask of a boy that never felt truly accepted and loved, apart from a passed away great uncle, who he is now deeply mouring; I understand why he had been mean to Julia at first (but maybe stepping on her books was a little too much). All in all, I really enjoyed his character development: from a typical rich kid to an understanding and amusing guy.
“and you sure are mouthy for a country girl”
⊹ ࣪ ˖ ໒ 𝒥ulia lowell
‧₊˚ ☆ ── nebraska
In the first 15% - 20% she reminded me so much of my 12 years old self, and I was pissed, because, thankfully, I don’t identify myself as the person I was in 7th grade, so reading about a person like that kind of annoyed me. Yet, continuing the book, my opinion of her completely changed. I felt so so bad about the whole bullying situation, because I found myself—present Emma—in that situation. I know what it feels like to be a joke to rich people and that no one likes you, I experienced that on my skin, and I am deeply sad that Julia went through that as well, because she’s such a delicate girl. And probably, thinking about my past self, I’ve been too harsh with her at the beginning.
⁀ ⊹“ side characters
☆ Remington: I mean how can you not love him?! He was such a cutie and his quotes at chapters’ start ended me.
“I want La Masseria’s meatballs in my mouth every minute of my life.” sure, I mean, nothing’s better than Italian’s cuisine, tho it’s obvious that old man (r.i.p.) never tasted IKEA’s meatballs.
☆ Liam: he was my favourite character. Past tense because then I chatted with my friends, and they kind of opened my eyes. Indeed he didn’t do a thing when Julia was being bullied: he didn’t try to stop the rumors, he didn’t tell their parents or the headmaster, he did not even consoled her once. Thinking through, what kind of behaviour is that??? The only thing he did in the whole book was be rude to Damion—which I loved, after the ball and everything that had happened, but still.
☆ Beckett: he is such a nice guy. And, since Liam doesn’t deserve the label of “my favourite character”, he gets it instead. I loved him from the beginning—only character that, alongside Remi, I never had confused thoughts about.
now, Lynn, I don’t care, you write a book about him and Donovan, with a bromance with Liam, don’t invent any cousins of Julia or Damion, we (I) want this.
Overall, do I recommend this book? Yes. Because, at the end, it was a light and fun read; not Lynn’s best, but, I mean, it’s hard to write another perfect YA romance when the last you wrote is Fake Skating.
If you’re looking for a cosy prep-school, hate-to-love story, I think you’ll like it.
˖⋆ Buddies ⌗ 🧸 𓏲
I’m so grateful i got to read this with my dear friends (sir, giada, swami, asia, kristal and not giu: shame on you). We’ll be back buddy reading Behind The Net (hopefully later rather than sooner) and The Selection, I can’t wait for it!! But before you gotta give me time to read some books on my physical tbr, okay?! love you 🫰🏻🤍
this is the best day of my life, thank you thank you thank you net galley for the arc in exchange of an honest review
. ˚.◜◟ 🗞️ ⌗ 08 . 20 . 2026 ☆
I'm still processing it, but... I GOT THE ARC.
Anyway, guys that’s not all, because I’m reading it with my friends sir, giada, swami, asia, kristal, and maybe giu (not sure if she’ll make it). This is going to be the most iconic and chaotic (there are few things in the world as chaotic as our group chat) buddy read of all time, so I’m so excited!!
. ˚.◜◟ 🥮 ⌗ 03 . 12 . 2026 ☆
WE ARE SO BACK BABY
A brand-new Lynn Painter young adult, in a New York prep school, enemies-to-lovers, autumn vibes... what can I say? I’ll fall in love with Damion, I’ll adore this book from the beginning to the end, it’s definitely going to be five stars.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
2.5 stars
I was really excited about reading this book so I’m so disappointed I did not like it. Although there were a few moments were I found myself giggling over the antics of the characters, I felt overall, there was no depth to them. The plot also felt nonsensical at best.
This was my first read by this author so I really wanted to love it but sadly, it just didn’t happen but I’m still looking forward to my next read by her.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Books and NetGalley for the ARC!
I was really excited about reading this book so I’m so disappointed I did not like it. Although there were a few moments were I found myself giggling over the antics of the characters, I felt overall, there was no depth to them. The plot also felt nonsensical at best.
This was my first read by this author so I really wanted to love it but sadly, it just didn’t happen but I’m still looking forward to my next read by her.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster Books and NetGalley for the ARC!
October 12, 2026
I absolutely adored this, the New York setting, the progression, the characters!! I read it one sitting, it really gripped me and I got very attached..
The Lowell family inherits a pretty substantial amount from Remington, an elderly neighbour that died, the only stipulation is that they have to live in his house in New York for six months and Julia and Liam have to attend Greenwood.. Moving from Nebraska to New York is a big change especially for Julia.. Enter Damion, the great-nephew of Remi, whose family thinks Remi got tricked into giving the Lowell's everything.. Damion starts tutoring Julia and he's determined to uncover the truth, but the more time they spend together, the more he's falling for his enemy..
I loved Julia, but it did take a little time for me to warm up to her. I do relate to her in some aspects and I really enjoyed when her personality would shine trough.. I hate the way she was treated in school, the way she was bullied for not fitting in, especially when her brother Liam didn't get the same treatment. My heart broke for her..
I absolutely devoured everything Damion related, I love him so much, the way he would tease and flirt with Julia, how protective and jealous he would get, how hard he fell!! He was such a sweetheart, even when he thought her family tricked someone he viewed as a father, he still made sure she was understanding what he was teaching her. He was so patient, determined and he truly cared. I do wish he told her the truth sooner, but I get it..
I enjoyed the progress of their relationship, we saw them slowly get closer, learning to trust and then fully let go. They were so cute together and I love when his love language is physical touch!! The photo, the Times Square, the dark, the cake, Nebraska, the bench, all the little moments and tutoring sessions, they made me grin so hard my face hurt.
It was also very emotional, the grief and pain from losing Remi, the way he was such an important part in both of their lives. I was honestly sobbing in the last part of the book, it really did hit me hard..
It had everything I needed, gave me all the emotions and this is, thus far, my favourite Lynn Painter book. I really like her writing, but this book made me feel the most and that is such a gift!! I highly recommend it!!
*Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon and Schuster UK Children's for providing me with an ARC.*
The Lowell family inherits a pretty substantial amount from Remington, an elderly neighbour that died, the only stipulation is that they have to live in his house in New York for six months and Julia and Liam have to attend Greenwood.. Moving from Nebraska to New York is a big change especially for Julia.. Enter Damion, the great-nephew of Remi, whose family thinks Remi got tricked into giving the Lowell's everything.. Damion starts tutoring Julia and he's determined to uncover the truth, but the more time they spend together, the more he's falling for his enemy..
I loved Julia, but it did take a little time for me to warm up to her. I do relate to her in some aspects and I really enjoyed when her personality would shine trough.. I hate the way she was treated in school, the way she was bullied for not fitting in, especially when her brother Liam didn't get the same treatment. My heart broke for her..
I absolutely devoured everything Damion related, I love him so much, the way he would tease and flirt with Julia, how protective and jealous he would get, how hard he fell!! He was such a sweetheart, even when he thought her family tricked someone he viewed as a father, he still made sure she was understanding what he was teaching her. He was so patient, determined and he truly cared. I do wish he told her the truth sooner, but I get it..
I enjoyed the progress of their relationship, we saw them slowly get closer, learning to trust and then fully let go. They were so cute together and I love when his love language is physical touch!! The photo, the Times Square, the dark, the cake, Nebraska, the bench, all the little moments and tutoring sessions, they made me grin so hard my face hurt.
It was also very emotional, the grief and pain from losing Remi, the way he was such an important part in both of their lives. I was honestly sobbing in the last part of the book, it really did hit me hard..
It had everything I needed, gave me all the emotions and this is, thus far, my favourite Lynn Painter book. I really like her writing, but this book made me feel the most and that is such a gift!! I highly recommend it!!
*Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon and Schuster UK Children's for providing me with an ARC.*
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