Trust Me
Laura Florand
Paris Nights Series
Release Date: April 4, 2017
Blurb from Goodreads: She’s nobody’s damsel in distress…
Top Parisian pastry chef Lina Farah is used to fighting for her success. But when a violent attack shatters her security, she needs a new tactic to battle her dragons. What better way to banish the monsters under her bed than by inviting a sexy SEAL to tangle the sheets?
He’s a professional dragon slayer…
Elite operative Jake Adams has never stayed in one place long enough to form a lasting relationship. Lina’s fire and beauty tempt him to give her the hot affair she craves. But her spirit and courage make him long for more. Can he convince a woman seeking forgetfulness to dream of ever after…with him?
I feel like there are a handful of writers who I can trust to always provide me with an enjoyable read. That list has grown and shrunk, currently more the latter, over the years because some writers cave to the pressure of publishers who demand that they fulfill a particular niche supposedly requested by the readers. That means that in the past few months I have read a startling number of romances between a man and his best friend’s sister, which is supposed to be a taboo relationship. (Erm, talk about redefining taboo!) Seriously, there seem to be three or four go to tropes lately, take your pick, throw in stock characters, cue sex scenes, voila, novel!
Which brings me to Trust Me by Laura Florand. Throw out clichés. Throw out stock. Throw out standard because this novel breaks all of those molds. Florand has even broken some of what might have been her own previous “molds.” Yes, the language is still imbued with a romantic lyricism that has always differentiated her novels from most romances on the market. Yes, the relationship is still complex. But there is an added element of philosophy, of characters considering their place with each other and in this world. It’s thoughtful, unrushed, eloquent.
Lina and Jake are in some ways typical Florand characters. They are strong, yet vulnerable. They are playful. But probably more than any of her previous characters, while Jake and Lina are still products of their environment, they are also more importantly citizens of the world. So, no, this probably isn’t a typical romance novel–it’s better.
Lina’s happiness felt like a great big swell coming in, dangerous but beautiful, and she wanted to be a surfer, to know how to capture it and ride it all the way in to the beach
Seize it. Every beautiful possibility life could hold.
Never again in her life would she be able to just trust that she had a tomorrow.
Last week, I talked about writers versus storytellers. What I didn’t say in that discussion, is that it’s always possible for an author to be both. By telling a believable engrossing story with rich lyrical prose, Florand proves that she is both.
Lastly, I am a huge believer in that grand gesture in romances and while I haven’t been keeping count, I can’t point to many since I have been blogging. So I was more than thrilled with the one in Trust Me, which was touching and beautiful and wove together so many of the charming elements of the story.
Oh, one more thing. Jake has freckles. Lots and lots of kissable freckles on a studly bod– put that together with smart and kind and you have one helluva a kickass hero. Just sayin’.
If you haven’t read a Florand novel, do. Trust Me can be read as a standalone, but at the very minimum, I would suggest you read Chase Me, which is the second book in the Paris Nights Series. Or go for them all and start with All for You.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Happy Reading!
To purchase from Amazon: Trust Me
rating: 
(5 out of 5 butterflies)
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