Trust: A New Beginning (Trust #1) by Cristiane Serruya

They are beautiful. They are rich. They are strong willed and successful. They have everything, but love. And each one of them has a dark secret looming in their past.

Sophia is a 25 year old Brazilian widow. Intelligent and ravishing, she flees from her own country after a tragic incident. Hiding from everyone and everything, she remains alone, torn between the love for a dead man, the torment of living without part of her memory and the fear of moving on.

Ethan is one of the most important tycoons in the steel industry. As the memory of an awful evening in his adolescence haunts him night and day, he keeps looking for an elusive woman whom he could love - and who would love him - as he never has in all his 35 years... Until he finds Sophia.

Alistair is a 34 year old powerful banker, searching for one–night stands with women who will warm his bed. And that he can punish physically to abate his anger for his late wife's black deeds and his own guilt for being such a debauched man for so many years. Any woman will do, and he has many to choose from, as they all fall instantly for his manly, devilish charming ways.

In Europe, in the months after October 2009, their paths will cross and clash. Who will win the prize of love?

When I first picked up this book I was expecting a typical steamy romance.  But no, this book surprised me.  The many secrets and tragedies in the lives of Sophia, Ethan and Alistair make this book so much more.  Yes there are quite a few steamy scenes (ok, more than a few and they are super descriptive), but it is who these characters are that draw you into the story.   

From the minute that Sophia is offered a ride to Zurich on Ethan’s private jet you find that she is someone you would love to go to lunch with.  She is a modern strong woman who knows how to take care of herself, her daughter and her company.  She sets high standards for everyone, especially herself. But she is still someone who is funny, captivating and a friend you could count on, even though she doesn’t have many by choice.  She is also trying to recover from the tragic death of her husband.  She has run away from her old life in order to try and start fresh.  Unfortunately her secrets are following her, even if she can’t remember them.   

Ethan on the other hand looks like the perfect guy, but he really isn’t that.  I’m sorry but every time there was a scene with him I kept screaming in my mind “run-away Sophia he is a sleaze-ball!”  Soon Sophia finds that out too.  Ethan is horrible to her daughter and demands more and more from Sophia, which she can’t give.  Finally he snaps and luckily she sees him for who he really is.  A broken, sick man.   

As for Alistair, he actually is the opposite of Ethan.  At first you think he is a dark and brooding man who no woman would ever want.  But as Sophia gets to know him she finds a man who has been to hell and back; and who just needs the love of a good woman to help him find his way back to his old self.  He is kind, gentle and stubborn (just as Sophia is); but for all his protests that he is a monster he really isn’t.  Sophia falls madly in love with him and so does her daughter. 

This book is really well paced.  I found I couldn’t put it down.   I wanted to pick up the second book in the series as soon as the first was finished. And I can’t wait for the 3rd and final book to see what will happen and hopefully there is a happy ending.  All of the struggles that Sophia and Alistair go through, they deserve to be happy. 

I thought the plot of this story would be the basic girl meets boy has fun with boy meets another boy and falls for him instead.  Well I was mistaken.  From the minute that Sophia and Ethan first fall for each other the crazy twists start.  I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, as it is filled with tons of juicy bits of mystery and romance that are fun to find out as you read.  Let’s just say open the book and breathe after the Epilogue of Book 1.  Then do the same after each book.  Yep it is that much fun. 

Trust: A New Beginning has many wonderful characters besides the main three.  Sophia’s daughter is one of the cutest kids you would ever want to meet and captures not just the other characters hearts but the readers as well.  Alistair’s family is very supportive of him and they love to tease him.  They have been put through hell because of his bad choice in a wife and are very wary of his new relationship.  But they come around once they see Sophia give Alistair a run for his money (and he has a lot of it!) 

Ethan’s family on the other hand is so disgusting and slimy that you actually start to feel sorry for him.  You come to realize that he really didn’t have a chance to be a healthy person because they really messed him up! 

Cristiane Serruya’s writing style is wonderful.  She has a way of describing not just what her characters are thinking and doing, but what they are wearing (designer names included in case you want to Google something and see what it looks like in real life (yep I did that with Sophia’s watches WOW!!)).  I love how she takes what seems like a simple description of a place and makes you see every detail with shadows and light.  It’s almost like traveling and really being in London, Zurich or Rio.   

This is one steamy book!  If you don’t like explicit sex this will not be for you; but you could always skip those passages and read the rest of the book.  There is enough mystery and romance to keep anyone enjoying this book  I usually don’t pick up books this steamy but boy am I glad I did!!!! I’m so enthralled with Sophia and Alistair that I almost didn’t enjoy our family camping trip.  Try fishing with your Kindle on your lap on the shore of a lake, and your husband telling you that you caught something.  Hee hee, yep almost let that fish get away because I was so engrossed in this book. 

If you like steamy romances with a hint of travel, mystery and secrets this is for you!  Personally I may have to read the whole series again.  I’m just loving it that much the first time around. 

 

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Stephanie