BLOG TOUR: I Do Not Trust You — Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

September 10, 2018

I Do Not Trust You by Laura J. Burns

TITLE: I Do Not Trust You
AUTHOR: Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz
RELEASES: September 11th, 2018; Wednesday Books
GENRE: Adventure/Mystery
AGE RANGE: YA
ACQUIRED: ARC

SYNOPSIS: Memphis “M” Engle is stubborn to a fault, graced with an almost absurd knowledge of long lost languages and cultures, and a heck of an opponent in a fight. In short: she’s awesome.

Ashwin Sood is a little too posh for her tastes, a member of an ancient cult (which she’s pretty sure counts for more than one strike against him), and has just informed Memphis that her father who she thought was dead isn’t and needs her help.

From the catacombs of Paris to lost temples in the sacred forests, together they crisscross the globe, searching for the pieces of the one thing that might save her father. But the closer they come to saving him—and the more they fall for one another—the closer they get to destroying the world.

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If there’s one genre I loved as a kid, but don’t see much in the YA age range nowadays, it’s the action/adventure story. While I Do Not Trust You is being marketed as a mystery novel—and I can see certain aspects of that, too, don’t get me wrong—I think this book would be fantastic for anyone who loved action-packed, suspenseful tales of people being sent on wild missions, full of unexpected obstacles and enemies.

It is said that the battle between Set, god of discord and mischief, and Horus, god of kings, will continue until the end of time, when chaos will overrun harmony and the waters will swallow the earth.

I knew that the story would involve Memphis—or M, as she goes by—being sucked into a shocking search for lost artifacts to save her father (who she thought was dead—surprise!), but I didn’t realize just how heavily involved the mythology in this story would be, and that was such a pleasant surprise! I grew up obsessed with ancient, lost myths, especially those of Egypt and the Greco-Roman periods, so that entire theme of this story honestly just made my inner child geek out so happily. It’s been a long time since I studied any of that mythology, so I can’t speak with certainty for how thorough the research was, but it never felt disrespectful or blaringly wrong to me.

“I don’t question anyone’s religious beliefs,” she said. “And I don’t question the ancient Egyptian belief in Horus, or Set. So I shouldn’t be dismissive of you still believing it even though it sounds bananapants to me.”

There’s also a very heavy religious theme in the story, though not in a conversion-geared way; it’s just part of the history they’re researching, and part of Ashwin’s daily life as a follower of Horus. I actually really enjoyed the idea of this modern character being depicted as belonging to an ancient pagan religion, since that is something I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a book set in today’s timeframe. Unfortunately, the downside to this is that, halfway through the book, some fantasy elements come in on the religious side of things, and it made it a lot harder for me to appreciate Ash’s beliefs at face value. I strongly believe that I Do Not Trust You would have benefited greatly from leaving out any of those fantasy elements at all.

He wanted to keep going the way they had been, getting along, having fun, building trust. Until he had to betray her.

The only other thing that genuinely lacked for me in this story was the blossoming romance, which I was never able to really connect to. This may have been just a personal problem on my part; despite loving M’s character (she is such a clever, tough young woman and I genuinely enjoyed watching her bust everyone’s chops nonstop), I didn’t care much for Ashwin from the start, and never was able to develop any legitimate fondness for him. I didn’t hate him, and he didn’t get on my nerves—he was just sort of there, so it made it incredibly difficult for me to care much about what happened to him or to their friendship/potential relationship.

Maybe there’s a spark of the divine anywhere someone worships with pure intent.

Minor complaints aside, I Do Not Trust You was a remarkably fun read and I enjoyed it a lot. It flew by, and I kept thinking while reading that it would make a perfect YA adventure film with the right casting choices and a little more humor thrown in. I would definitely check out work from this writing duo again in the future, and can safely recommend this one for anyone who enjoys adventure stories and a bit of mythology.

All quotes come from an advance copy and may not match the final release. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

13 Comments
    1. You make a few good points I didn’t really think about tbh. The one about the relationship, for example, it does kind of just happen without any sort of effort from either.

      1. Thank you! Yeah, that was probably the weirdest thing for me after I finished it, was looking back and realizing how sudden and unprompted it felt to me. I guess I felt some chemistry from his side, but not any at all from hers, really! (though I did love his jealousy over “Mike” haha)

    1. I read Sanctuary Bay by this duo and loved it, and was quite disappointed when they didn’t do a sequel. Ever since then I’ve thought about trying more of their stuff- this one might just fit the bill.
      The mythology angle has me really interested- I love mythology! Seeing a Set vs Horus conflict makes me so curious!

      1. I had never heard of them before the publisher contacted me about this book, but I enjoyed it enough that I would definitely be willing to check out more work from them! I would love to hear your thoughts on it as someone who has read prior work from them. 🙂

    1. I’m only a few chapters into this one, but enjoying it so far. I can already see some of the points you made in your review, though. I always find it interesting to see books feature a character with devout faith of some kind presented in a positive way. 🙂

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