Review: Trusted by Taylor L Stimac

Happy Wednesday! The sky is blue in London. A few days ago that wasn’t the case. We had rain and wind. But the storm has cleared and my internet is up and running again. Good thing since today I want to share my review of Trusted. But first, here’s the synopsis from Goodreads:

When fifteen year old Tegan Summers catches the eye of local radio personality Rake Johnson, she finally feels like a normal teenage girl. Everything about their relationship feels perfect, except for the unexplained presence that makes her believe she should stay away.

On the same day she meets Rake, another man makes his way into her life: Officer Damien Sanders. His mysterious and often intense warnings urge Tegan to trust him and to end her relationship with Rake. As she works to uncover Damien’s motive, she begins to realize that he may end up playing a vital role in her future.

Discover what Tegan must do in TRUSTED, the debut novel by author Taylor L. Stimac.

Would you trust a stranger?

When Taylor emailed me asking if I would review her novel I was intrigued by the premise. Teen romance with paranormal elements. Sign me up. There was much that I liked about the book. And there were some things that I didn’t. One aspect that puzzled me was the character Damien. The entire time he is warning Tegan not to get involved with Rake, but I wasn’t entirely clear as to why. I know his character was supposed to be mysterious, but he was a little too mysterious for me. I needed more explanation so I wouldn’t think he was just some creep. I’m not saying the author needs to spell everything out for me, but some hints would be helpful. Also, I was a little disappointed that the paranormal elements were so spread out. At times I forgot that I was reading a paranormal book.

Whew, got the bad stuff out of the way. Now, I must say that I really like Tegan. She’s the type of main character that draws readers in. Awkward, but funny. Tegan is an innocent teen, who doesn’t drink, swear, or sleep around. And yet, she doesn’t come across as some prude that I would hate. She’s just herself and that makes her a wonderful character.

I had a hard time with Rake. On the surface he seems nice, but with the warnings from Damien that Tegan should stay away, I was wondering if he wasn’t what he seemed. I’m still not sure and I’m really curious to read the next book to find out more. However, I think this is a good aspect of the novel. I like the unsure feelings I had about him. It added to the whole suspense.

Then ending is pretty intense and left me wanting more. This is a good start to the series and I’m hoping the next book will round out Damien’s character more and I’m anxious to find out more about Rake. Is he really the perfect guy?