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, Autumn, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Fiction

416 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 29, 2026

Reviews

[levi (starboy) (s.ia)]

The way i was rejected this arc :(
——
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-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

[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!

[ivy]

˒ 🍂 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.

[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!

[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-

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[jenoodle✮⋆˙]

🍁 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞: I am trusting you Lynn that I will fall in love with this book 😛

[aira]

so I got the arc 🫣

[ellie]

🍁 — 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

[cat]

・❥・⁀➷ 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 🤭

[Brianna ᥫ᭡ (hiatus)]

₊˚ ౿ 🍂 pre-read !!
It’s finally fall, and I can’t handle going back to spicy romance books, so I’m finally starting Trust Fall 🙂‍↕️
Lynn Painter has never been a disappointment for me so high hopes! 🤞

[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

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

🍁˳༄꠶🥧 ✩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

[vita ꪆৎ⋆˚]

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

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

[ava ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[emma (wes’ version) (edited bio!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

. ˚.◜◟ 🍂 ⌗ 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.

[kristal ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

── ໒ 🍂 ⋆ 2.75 - 3 stars ★ ´ˎ˗
⤿ ⓘ arc procured by netgalley ┊📰┊

ᝰ┊thoughts . . .

𐔌✒️ Usually Lynn Painter’s books make me feel giddy, happy, in love with love. I find myself feeling empty after finishing her stories and that’s a good sign. That’s why she’s an insta-buy author for me. However, I couldn't care less about these characters or the plot of this book..

my biggest issue with this book was how cringy it was. It gave me the ick many times 😔 I get that it's a book about teenagers, it's meant to be cliché. But memes were mentioned, not in conversations (which might have been fine, because we're all brain rotted anyway) but among the inner thoughts of the characters. There are also fan service references which I might have appreciated a while ago but 1) I think I've outgrown this kind of thing in books 2) it was kinda nonsense how the character said "I barely know him" and Sombr's album 'I barely know her' "popped" into her mind. I know it's weird coming from me because I make references every second of the day BUT if we're talking about books it has to be done right and that's not the case with some of the references here

Overall I think the couple is very cute, like, they won me over at some point even if I felt like their relationship was kinda rushed and 70% of this book fell flat. They still had some cute moments here and there and the autumnal Upper West Side setting was really nice. These are the main reasons on why I'm not sure about the rating.

ꗃ┊characters → I am so sad I couldn't connect with any of these characters honestly

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ Julia  → She was an ok character for me. Didn't really care about her that much I'm sorry. I felt bad for the bullying of course but other than that I felt nothing...

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ Damion  → It's actually insane how irritating I found Damion at first. Listen, I love complex characters so it's not that I mind how he isn't the idealized version of men we usually find in romance books, but to be honest if I were Julia I would've hated his ass. His reputation as a "rebel" is kinda ridiculous because who the fuck calls themselves that, you might be a rebel but chill the hell out you don't have to say it so often jesus

.𖥔 ݁ ˖ side dynamics → I feel like every character here is very much stereotyped. Why is every rich person either mean or stupid. Liam is Julia's twin and his only role is acting like the over protective brother in front of Damion. Which is crazy because where was his protective ass when Julia was being bullied in school??

There's so much talk about the warm relationship Julia has with her family but we don't see any of that. She is constantly with Damion, where is that beautiful family bond they talk about when she needs it?

Julia is hesitant leaving her life in Nebraska behind to move to New York, as she should, but she literally never talks to her friends while she's away even if she claims to miss them and that she doesn't feel as comfortable with her new friends at Gardenwood academy

𐔌✒️ even though I didn't love this book, what I did love was reading it with them emma, sir, asia, swami, gia, had the best time buddy reading with you guys hope we do it again soon! <3 and remember that all roads lead to miraculous ladybug!

─ ໒ 🍂 ⋆ pre-read ´ˎ˗

we are going to ignore the fact that it's still very much summer because I got the arc!! and since lynn painter never disappoints the most chaotic avengers (emma, sir, asia, swami, gia, me, and not giu 😽) assembled to buddy read this. can't wait to read this with you girls it's going to be chaos and so much fun 🫶🏼

[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

[&#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*

[dawn ౨ৎ]

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

[asiaonlyreadstuffshelikes · Rating 3 out of 5]

⟡trust fall⸝⸝.ᐟ⋆ 🍁

overalls
okay this book was a gigantic rollercoaster!
I felt in very different ways while reading it.
At the beginning I wasn't connecting with it, with the characters and the setting. Then I started enjoying it, kinda.
After the 40% mark I was HOOKED and couldn't stop reading.
I was happy because I wanted so bad to like, but the end of the second act felt really really rushed.
But then again towards the end I was smiling while reading, and I really I was glad they got eventually together

julia lowell, nebraska ⸝ 🧣

she ain't got no money
her clothes are kinda funny
her hair is kinda wild and free

I did like her! She was the one who I was rooting for for all the book. At some points I even despised Damion but never her. I don't think she was a perfectly written character but she was rather complex and relatable to me.
And I just felt so bad for her!! Bullies deserve jail.


damion rutledge, new york ⸝ ☕

might share a face
and share a last name
but we are not the same

okay now.
i hated him at the beginning. i couldn't wrap myself around the fact that he was the main character because he was so rude and mean 😔 now, I know this is an enemies to lovers but maybe it's just not lynn's usual trope but the initial part, as I already said, was meh.
But I can't deny he became sweet with julia and I do understand him for his family situation.
Not the best mmc but that's fine


damion&julia ⸝ 🎫
i don't know about them. I have very mixed feelings. On the one hand most of the time I was smiling at them because they were SO SWEET
on the other though their relationship was so sudden and unreal to me


the best thing about this book was undoubtedly reading it with the best buddies emma, kristal, gia, sir and swami
I love you all so much and thank you for hyping me up for my hair 🫂💐

ⓘ review of an advance reader copy procured by netgalley

[sir (taylor's version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 . ݁₊ ⊹ 🧣. ݁ ⟡ ݁ .
ⓘ 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

❝ Falling in love in New York? In the fall? It’s absurd that someone could be so lucky.” — Remington ❞

──────

⌗ 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 . ݁⋆🐈‍⬛ ݁˖ . ݁
⤷ 𝟑.𝟐𝟓 ★

──────

⌗ 𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘵 . ݁⋆☕️ ݁˖ . ݁
Imagine being a regular girl in a quiet Nebraska town and waking up, all of a sudden, with a million dollar inheritance. It’s what happens to Julia, the protagonist of Lynn Painter's novel when a family friend dies leaving her and her parents an unexpected fortune, their life gets turned upside down. There’s only one condition to get your hands on that money is to pack everything up and move immediately to New York.

──────

⌗ 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 ⊹🗽 ˖ ໒꒱
What to say about this novel? To put it briefly, I didn't dislike it, but it's not among the best romances I've ever read either. It's the classic pretty basic read full of clichés, it reads smoothly, but on the other hand it didn't leave me with much. Even though I found the beginning slow, the story luckily picked up. Remi and the “mystery” behind his figure are among the main reasons why my final rating for the book is higher. In my opinion, if the mystery part had been broader and more complex, it definitely would have gotten a few extra points. In my view, in fact, because of how the story was told, a good conversation between Julia's family and Damion was enough to avoid half the book. It must be said though, in the author's defense, that this is not her genre of writing. One of the highlights remains the setting. Lynn was not wrong at all to aim for New York in the fall and an elite high school, and I also loved the description of Nebraska and the contrast between the two cities.

But let's talk about the c͟h͟a͟r͟a͟c͟t͟e͟r͟s͟ ...

𝐉ulia is not the type of protagonist I usually read about. Being very different from her, for a good part of the book she didn't fully convince me. But her story, in some way, made her human and more realistic compared to many other characters. I would have liked to read more about the “real her” in Nebraska, instead of seeing her solely as a victim of bullying. Not by chance, one of my favorite parts of the whole book is precisely the scene where she and Damion are at the park together.

About 𝐃amion, instead, I have mixed opinions. On one hand I'd like to label him as a liar and say that Julia shouldn't have forgiven him so soon, but on the other hand I can understand why he acted a certain way. He's the classic character who has never received love from anyone, except from his uncle, and who tried to be the perfect son for his whole life, ending up getting tired of that label. Right here, though, comes a point in the story that makes me turn my nose up: did he really fall in love with Julia or did he just love the idea of her? The fact that she was everything his parents weren't and didn't want? Who knows.

“𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.”

Another thing that didn't convince me about him is his continuous change of character: one moment he's the “rebellious” guy (if we can call him that…), a second later the asshole on duty and immediately after the perfect boy next door. It didn't convince me either how he fell in love so quickly with Julia. Literally, the second before he hated her and would have destroyed her family, and the chapter after he protects her from bullies and declares eternal love to her. Overall, I am sure of the fact that his character is not described well, despite the various chapters from his point of view.

As for 𝐋iam, I must say that I liked his character (yes, I'm changing my mind about perfect golden boys, okay?!) and I really hope Lynn writes something about him in the future. The only thing that left me puzzled is that, despite his sister being bullied, he never did anything even though he was perfectly aware of it. He could have told his parents, teachers or the principal, and instead he did absolutely nothing, except argue with Damion one moment and the other too.

And as far as the love story goes, can I say it? At first I really didn't think there was chemistry between them. Several scenes seemed forced to me, as if the author wanted at all costs to make us believe there was this crazy bond between the two, when in reality you could barely feel it. Then yes, with the turning of the pages the situation improves and there are cute moments (Damion who without thinking twice goes to Nebraska to her?!), but there still remains the impression of a story born too quickly, without the time to see them get closer in a natural way. And anyway, I bet you anything you want, Damion and Julia will break up before college. When and if it ever happens, don't say I didn't warn you.

All in all, for me it remains a 3 star book, a light read, to be finished in a couple of afternoons with a great fall atmosphere, enjoyable if you don't have too many expectations.

──────

thanks girls ( giada , emma , swami , asia, kristal ) for the buddy reading, it was absolutely fun (yes, i'll complain again soon about what an absurd name damian is...). when is the next read together?! all i ask is that the next read isn't behind the net, but you tell me...

──────

⌗ 𝐩𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 — .✦ ˖ ݁🍂⋆˙⟡
⤷ ゛i'm just telling you that when i got the arc i started jumping around the room like a crazy. i can't wait to start it, not even my friends know how hyped i am. a book by lynn painter set in new york city in the fall? ok, i am immediately sat ˎˊ˗

[Ss (s-ia)]

|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

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC
_____
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.

[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?

[naz]

I need to giggle and kick my feet so 🤞

[jo ❣︎ · 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.