Trust Me, I'm Lying by Mary Elizabeth Summer // Con Artist-Protagonist to the Fullest

Trust Me, I'm Lying (Trust Me #1), by Mary Elizabeth Summer
Publication: October 14, 2014, by Delacorte Press
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Thriller
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 

Julep Dupree tells lies. A lot of them. She’s a con artist, a master of disguise, and a sophomore at Chicago’s swanky St. Agatha High, where her father, an old-school grifter with a weakness for the ponies, sends her to so she can learn to mingle with the upper crust. For extra spending money Julep doesn’t rely on her dad—she runs petty scams for her classmates while dodging the dean of students and maintaining an A+ (okay, A-) average.
But when she comes home one day to a ransacked apartment and her father gone, Julep’s carefully laid plans for an expenses-paid golden ticket to Yale start to unravel. Even with help from St. Agatha’s resident Prince Charming, Tyler Richland, and her loyal hacker sidekick, Sam, Julep struggles to trace her dad’s trail of clues through a maze of creepy stalkers, hit attempts, family secrets, and worse, the threat of foster care. With everything she has at stake, Julep’s in way over her head . . . but that’s not going to stop her from using every trick in the book to find her dad before his mark finds her. Because that would be criminal. 

My Thoughts: 

Are you ever stuck in one of those time-warps where you feel the need to read something like you've read before? Because I know that I never am stuck in that case, that's for sure. Trust Me, I'm Lying is one of those books that you expect to be disappointing because of how tough it can be to master the subject which the author focuses on, but it ends up fabulous anyways, especially by the end. I definitely recommend it to all who need a little boost and information on the lives of con artists and people who aren't afraid to be reckless.

I tend to read books that feature protagonists who are either A. totally like me or B. the complete opposite of myself. Julep, Mary's protagonist, is the complete opposite of me. Woot. She's kick-butt and totally knows exactly what life plans out for her and how her career could expand her reputation to others, including the ordinary rich teenage girls who go to her Chicago-bound private school. Everything that occurs in this book is developed and lies by money and how it doesn't lie on trees, leaving you fighting for everything you'd like. It's basically everyone's lifestyle, thrown into a teenage girl's life, having to deal with everything on her own.

"I want to be a real person—to be me. I know it sounds strange, but I don't actually know who that is anymore. When you can be anybody, you become nobody. Does that make sense?" (146)

Trust Me, I'm Lying features practically anything that you'd want in a great novel. A fabulous plot, interesting characters and one of those forbidden romances that'll surely catch your eye are all present. And I must mention that those forbidden romances usually catch my eye. Was Summer's a little too overwhelming? You'll figure out the answer as I go on with my thoughts. *smirks* But what was the most important, prominent part of the book to me were the character relationships and the action. Surely you must expect some guns, mystery appearances and secrets being unfolded, surely something Nancy Drew and Veronica Mars would approve of. It's such an appealing novel.

Although I actually finished reading this one a while ago, the events and plot are actually still stuck in my mind. That's a good thing, if you're wondering. Julep, our sassy protagonist, is a con artist, which she learned and inherited from her father. But then her father disappears, leaving just a clue that her house has been ransacked. And yeah, a love triangle forms as she discovers she needs help from two guys: Tyler and Sam, one who she just met and the other as her partner-in-crime best friend. And you can kind of guess the story from there.

I can't stress the fact that this book was fabulous enough. I firmly believe that anyone who has ever worked in the crime department or enjoys reading about it would find this true to the word. Summer captures Julep's perspective perfectly, not that I know anything about what it's like to be a con artist. But she gave us that experience, like it was wrapped in a gift handed straight to readers. I wouldn't trade "this experience" for any other book, although perhaps for the sequel if I already knew what this one was about and... you probably get the idea from there. It's such a quick read that you'll never want to set your eyes off of. 

So basically this is a mystery slash thriller, with lots of tweaks of contemporary. Since I am a total obsessed fangirl of contemporary romance, this completely spoke to me. It dealt with subject matters that not many YA authors seem to touch upon on in modern literature, and it squashed my feels together. I promise you that you'll actually feel all of the emotions that you'd like to feel, including rage and anger. Don't forget about the fictional-lust you'll have for Sam. *blushes* I truly support this best friend, friends with benefits relationship.

"I want to be normal, but I want to be the best at it.' [...] 'Well, I can't imagine you as ordinary. But extraordinary's not a stretch at all."

I did and most truly enjoyed the relationship, love triangle which Summer added into this book. It's not totally gone into detail of, but you'll catch those few paragraphs of intimacy where you'll surely blush, I promise. I just turned out to be such a huge fan of Sam from the start as he wasn't the type of guy who Julep would have to keep secrets from BECAUSE HE'S HER PARTNER IN CRIME! Agh, excuse me but I'm going to have to take a moment to fangirl and blush of happiness. Discovering that this perhaps is a duology and that the sequel is RELEASING THIS YEAR just made all of my days and I can't wait to read about the continuation of something magical. 

Trust Me, I'm Lying may not be for everyone. If you'd like all mystery, all detective-stuff, then I'd suggest backing away. This is your more modern day mystery/thriller taken place from the perspective of a young girl who's trying to discover who she is and how to be ordinary and normal, when we all already know that you can never be classified as normal anyway. Not that I'd want to take Julep's job... but I'd want to live a day in the life of her because it's just so damn interesting. 

Two sentences. Brace yourself for pleasure, it's gonna be good. Also, brace yourself for betrayal and hate for someone—I'm actually not going to name their name for fellow blogger-reviewer-hate on me. *winks*

So, friends. What are some wacky, fabulous novels that features con artists? I can't think of many, that's for sure.