Trust Issues. Danielle James. 2019. 266 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.]
I’m in a lot of reading communities online, and Danielle James’ Trust Issues came up so much that I had to check it out. I’m happy to say that it lived up to the hype, and threw me for a few loops in the process.
Trust Issues follows the love-hate friendship of Kyla Bradshaw and Maxwell Parker. He’s a financial whiz, and she’s a powerhouse attorney. They’re neighbors who love to fight just as much as they love to enjoy a night of movies and 90s TV show marathons.
I have to be honest that as it became apparent that this book is inspired by a ’90s black sitcom, I started to get turned off. I’m not generally into fanfics, and I was worried that’s what Trust Issues would turn into. I kept on, and I’m glad I did. Although the book is inspired by a show, it stands on its own merit. The characters, while inspired by the show’s characters, have enough nuance to show that the inspiration is simply that. James took the basics and put her own spin on them to develop them all as unique and endearing.
That being said, Trust Issues is filled with comedy. I was not expecting that at all, and loved it. It made the book fun, particularly in the more emotionally charged scenes. The humor came not only from Kyla and Maxwell, but also from their close friends and family. I appreciated that while the topic of dating was the overarching theme of the book, there was enough comedy to make it feel light and not forced.
I appreciated that the characters, while based on fictional characters, were still familiar. I’m sure most people can find someone they know who treats dating like a series of checklists, or know someone who thinks their attempt at playing the field obscures their broken heart. That familiarity is what brings this book out of the shadows of a nostalgic television show and into today’s dating reality.
Overall, I enjoyed Trust Issues. Although I was unfamiliar with James before reading this one, she’s got a new fan in me. I’m excited to see if she follows this up with books that focus on other characters in the book, especially Kyla’s best friends’ new adventure in California or Maxwell’s brothers.
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