Books As You Know It: Blog Tour: Trust Me, I'm Trouble by Mary Elizabeth Summer {Review+Giveaway}

Trust Me, I'm Trouble (Trust Me #2)
by Mary Elizabeth Summer
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: October 13th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller

Rate: 3 STARS

Synopsis:

The sequel to TRUST ME, I’M LYING

Staying out of trouble isn’t possible for Julep Dupree. She has managed not to get kicked out of her private school, even though everyone knows she’s responsible for taking down a human-trafficking mob boss—and getting St. Agatha’s golden-boy Tyler killed in the process. Running cons holds her guilty conscience at bay, but unfortunately, someone wants Julep to pay for her mistakes . . . with her life.

Against her better judgment, Julep takes a shady case that requires her to infiltrate a secretive organization that her long-gone mother and the enigmatic blue fairy may be connected to. Her best friend, Sam, isn’t around to stop her, and Dani, her one true confidante, happens to be a nineteen-year-old mob enforcer whose moral compass is as questionable as Julep’s. But there’s not much time to worry about right and wrong—or to save your falling heart—when there’s a contract on your head.

Murders, heists, secrets and lies, hit men and hidden identities . . . If Julep doesn’t watch her back, it’s her funeral. No lie.

Trust Me, I'm Trouble continues Julep adventures as a private investigator and deals with the aftermath of the death of golden boy, Tyler, who everyone loved. My favorite about this plot was how connected it was to Julep's personal life. We see more references to her mom and all the pieces to a jigsaw puzzle that'll probably be solved in book 3. The suspense had me flipping the pages until the very end.

It wasn't all action and thriller, the characters definitely added humor to the story. Julep is one sarcastic character and at time she can sometime come off as immature despite everything she has done and gone through but in the end she's just a very reckless, daring, "I've got this handled" type of girl. Murphy, Dani, Mike, and new character Lily all really help tone that down and accept the help they can give. Speaking of, Lily was an unexpected but welcomed addition to Julep's group and I loved her role in the story. Mike is one of my favorite characters (Sam will always be my #1) and I loved seeing the father-daughter/older brother-younger sister relationship Mike and Julep start to have and just having that adult figure in Julep's life makes it so much funnier because of curfew and new rules that she has to follow (she totally doesn't).

This was probably just me but I was not a fan of Julep's relationship with Tyler (in book 1) or with Dani in this one. Don't get me wrong, I think Dani is an amazing character and has helped Julep grow and has become such a great and close friend of Julep's but I just don't feel as much of a connection as I usually would with a couple. They definitely did have better chemistry than Julep and Tyler in my opinion. I did love that we got to see a very natural relationship between both girls and how their feelings for each other and the plot wasn't overshadowed by that fact. So maybe in book 3, I'll hopefully start to root for them because I really do like them.

Fans of Trust Me, I'm Lying and fans mystery/Veronica Mars/Leverage (the tv show) should definitely give Trust Me, I'm Trouble a chance! It has a cast of characters you'll love and an intriguing case that keeps on revealing. Happy Readings!! If you're into grifting, hacking, conning, etc. this is the book series for you :)

Mary Elizabeth Summer is an instructional designer, a mom, a champion of the serial comma, and a pie junkie. Oh, and she sometimes writes books about teenage delinquents saving the day. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her daughter, her partner, and her evil overlor–er, cat. TRUST ME, I'M LYING, a YA mystery, will be released by Delacorte in Fall 2014.