Grading system:
1 star — wallbanger, don’t waste your time
2 stars — mildly interesting but still flawed
3 stars — average
4 stars — good read
5 stars — excellent
 

Trust Me
Publisher: Mira
ISBN: 9780778324126
Grade: HHHH

By Kimberly Van Meter
While TRUST ME isn’t a RITA contender, the author Brenda Novak is up for a RITA for an anthology so, it technically fits under the RITA umbrella of reviews for this batch I’ve undertaken. Novak is an amazing author who is not only talented but an incredible humanitarian. Her juvenile diabetes auction just closed, raising more than $300,000 to search for the cure.

The Blurb:
Four years ago…
Skye Kellerman was attacked in her own bed. She managed to fend off her knife-wielding assailant, but the trauma changed everything about her life. As a result of that night, she joined two friends — also survivors — in starting The Last Stand, an organization to help victims of crime.
But now…
Her would-be rapist is getting out of prison. Skye knows that Dr. Oliver Burke hasn’t forgotten that her testimony cost him his reputation — and his freedom.
Sacramento detective David Willis, who investigated her case, believes Burke is a clear and present danger — and guilty of at least two unsolved murders.
And now Burke is free to terrorize Skye again. Unless David can stop him. Unless Skye can fight back. Because Oliver Burke has every intention of finishing what he started. And that’s a promise. Trust me.

My Take:
I enjoyed this book. I was looking for a straight contemporary romantic suspense without any paranormal elements and I got what I was looking for in Novak’s TRUST ME. It’s the start of a series so if you enjoy connected books, this is a good place to start. No doubt, Novak’s writing style appeals to me, so in all it was a great read. What prevented this book from being a five-star read for me were the hero’s wishy-washiness and the heroine’s reckless behavior when it came to her own safety. Both annoyed me at times. But overall, a good read for a quiet weekend, which is handy since summer is nearly here.

Kimberly Van Meter, romance novelist, offers reviews (her opinion) on current fiction-length, traditionally published novels that catch her fancy.