Trust Fall

by Lynn Painter

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

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

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

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

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

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Rom Com, Enemies To Lovers, Young Adult Romance

416 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 29, 2026

Reviews

[levi (speak tf up about 🇵🇸 and &#x1f1f1]

The cover omg?
I want this book so bad

Please be good please be good

[molly lou]

Me after reading that title:

[✨Julie✨]

OMG! This is so Gilmore Girls coded! 😍

Live Laugh Love Lynn Painter 🫶🏻

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡]

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

[lauren ౨ৎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!


many thanks to netgalley, simon & schuster, and lynn painter for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

[jae ⟡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

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!

[Grace Quan · Rating 5 out of 5]

🍁｡° 🕰️༄⌞ 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

[vxmpslibrary [hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

.💌 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-

[vita ౨ৎ (inactive)]

ꕤ 🍁☕️ 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 ࿐ ͎. ｡˚ ° ⊹ ˚.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⤿ release date: september 29

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? THIS IS SO GILMORE GIRLS CODED!!! I LOVE YOU LYNN 🧸🤎

[cat (gone until july 26th)]

・❥・⁀➷ pre-release

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 🤭

[ellie (semi ia)]

cover reveal + title reveal on the same day? WHAT IS LIFE. THE RELEASES KEEP GETTING BETTER N BETTER

[jasmine ☆₊⁺&#x1f9a2;&#x1fabd;₊⁺★]

in lynn painter i will always trust 😌 she has never failed me and i just know this one is gonna be so good! and the cover?! 😩 #needthatasap

[ava ⋆˙⟡]

|🍂| 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

[dawn ౨ৎ [camp hiatus]]

the title. the prettiest lynn cover ever. the man who looks fine af on the front cover. 🤭🤫

i trust im going to fall for this book

IM SCREAMINGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

[&#x1d538;&#x1d558;&#x1d55f;&#x1d556;&#x1d564;]

PRE-RELEASE:

WHAT?! THERE'S GONNA BE A NEW BOOK THIS YEAR?

*screams into the void*

AND LOOK AT THAT COVER--SO CUTE!

AND A GUY WITH GLASSES?

*faints*

[Ss]

|𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 ⋆｡🕰‧˚ʚ📜ɞ˚‧🍂｡⋆

𝖶𝖠𝖨𝖳!!! 𝖶𝖤'𝖱𝖤 𝖦𝖤𝖳𝖳𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖠𝖭𝖮𝖳𝖧𝖤𝖱 𝖫𝖸𝖭𝖭 𝖯𝖠𝖨𝖭𝖳𝖤𝖱 𝖡𝖮𝖮𝖪??!!!!!!! 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝖺𝗅𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗒 𝗌𝗈 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽. 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖢𝖮𝖵𝖤𝖱?!! 𝖫𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗀𝗈𝗋𝗀𝖾𝗈𝗎𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗌𝖾 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖺𝖼𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗅𝗈𝗈𝗄! 𝖠𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗏𝗂𝖻𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗀𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗌?!!! 𝖨 𝖢𝖠𝖭'𝖳 𝖶𝖠𝖨𝖳𝖳𝖳

[Dawn Solaris]

♬ ᗩᑎTIᑕIᑭᗩTEᗪ .ᐟ

⭑𓂃 Trust Fall?

Yeah, these days, my trust IS in the trenches when it comes to Lynn Painter.

But the cover called for me and here I am. Should I trust her one last time?

[jo ୨୧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

huge thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts are my own

FIVE STARS

🤎🎃🧡
cue ghostbusters theme
best believe i'll be trust falling into lynn painters arms when this releases BECAUSE GIVE ME RIGHT NOW

lynn painter never freaking misses with her ya romances. this also topped fake skating for me because i feel that every single vibe and character gave the most elite fall feeling. it was giving light academia school with rich kids and classic lynn humor. sure the miscommunication was there but it's so better than fake skating.

i just want everyone to know that if suddenly i vanish it's because i got a rich inheritance and fell in love with a bad boy (not) rich character because why is it only in fictionnnn.

damion is the definition if he wanted to he would. i think this man set the standards so high because what do you MEAN he flew to nebraska to clear up confusion and tell her his feelings. LIKE YES KING if you want to come to my house you also can clear up stuff 🤭😏

and julia even though she lowk pmo at times however she actually was such a fun likeable character who had me rooting for. i loved her humor and her entire vibe was legit perfect. she needed fashion help but she slayed.

and beckett. guys, why did i like beckett even more than damion. like beckett was that guy who is a frat bro who also is annoying but like yeah i like it, im into it. he was hot and i genuinely was giggling reading his lines.

some of the genz language pissed me off but it's typical lynn (howeever there was no taylor swift lyrics and that's a praise for me idc)

tropes
- enemies to lovers
- its giving prep school private school rich kid vibes
- money money money (must be funny)
- he's tutoring her 😏😏
- HE WEARS GLASSES
- he wears glasses
- he wears glasses
- hes hot idc


: pre review
damion & beckett. that's it. that's the review. purr

nah i'm kidding, full review to come once i recover from how adorable that was.

[manas (traveling)]

NEW BOOK!!!

NEW BOOK!!! AHHHH

WE KEEP EATING!!!

[Mira]

Pre-read: Omg, I got the ARC!🥹

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[joni ౨ৎ]

so i know basically nothing about this book but YA & lynn painter? 🫱💳

the glasses, the uniforms, ugh im obsessed !!!!


can we talk about this cover??

2026 is filled with such GOOD releases i truly cannot wait !!!!!

[Aashita]

I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT FOR 29th September!! I AM SO SO SO EXCITED TO READ THIS ONE AND OMG THE COVER, release it alreadyyyyyy🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

[Hadley]

🍁🍂Pre-Release🍁🍂
3/12/2026

ANOTHER LYNN PAINTER BOOK!! *screams* I CANT WAIT TO READ THIS! THE COVER IS SO PRETTY!

[♥ Autumn ♥]

Pre-release: OHMYGOSH WHAAAAT IS THIS THE NYC ROMANCE I RECENTLY-ISH HEARD ABOUT?????!!!! AHHHHHHHHH I CANT WAIT👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[Alice]

PLEASE dont let me down lynn not with this gorgeous cover 😓 the children yearn for a fall romance

[lyn]

thank you for feeding us lynn painter 🤭🫶

[emma (wes’ version)]

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 a five stars book.

[kami {rip Argentina&#x1f97a;⚽︎}]

prepared to read this with a coffee, blanket, and dog by my side

[belle ໑ৎ]

ꮽ᱖ || pre-release: SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP, like yes, give me a NYC prep school enemies to lovers. HELLO? Also, the cover? SAY LESS. I'm beyond excited to read about Damion and Julia, like there are soo many new releases, it's insane and like the best thing ever.

[erin ౨ৎ]

PRE-RELEASE
I'M SO EXCITED EEK!! I was waiting for a YA book announcement from her!
I really wasn't the biggest fan of Fake Skating, so fingers crossed that this one is more promising.