TRUST ME ON THIS by Lauren Parvizi is a quick read with likeable characters, two sisters who seem so dissimilar due to different mothers, different life experiences, and different dispositions. Zahra Starling is older, divorced, angry, and abrupt. Aurora (or Aura Star, her professional name) is younger, vulnerable, more naïve, and generally optimistic. Their father, a powerful force in their lives, tells them he is quite ill and asks to see them together. Thus begins a crazy road trip from Los Angeles, through Paso Robles, to Seattle. Along the way, there is plenty of angst with each of their Moms, a budding romance and a horribly broken one, plus reflection by each on her career goals. Of course, it turns out that these sisters need each other even if they cannot see it at first. Zahra "prefers stability to surprises," finds cooking to be "an equation she could solve," "a form of active meditation." Aura is a people pleaser which has created deep conflicts for her. The growth that both experience – largely due to emulating aspects of the other's personality – pulls in readers who will be rooting for both sisters to overcome trauma and learn to forgive and to trust each other. Parvizi writes with empathy and insight: "you spend so much time wondering when and how your number might be called, but once it happens, the specifics hardly matter .... It was impossible to remember the last time you did the smallest things you took for granted, and it was usually those things you wished you could remember most." Evoking abundant emotions, TRUST ME ON THIS is a family drama filled with descriptions of wonderful food and scenery (e.g., the cathedral of redwoods). Enjoy the journey.

Trust Me on This is a tender and delicate book. Lauren Parvizi has written a book about family, trust, love, and discovery. We follow two half-sisters as they journey to be with their dying father. 

At the start, I found Zahra a little unlikeable (but her food descriptions delicious and rich!), but in time and as we understood her withdrawal from the world I started to open up to the idea of her character. And although Aurora is famous (and therefore meant to be totally out of our reach), she is entirely relatable in her feelings, her zest and ambition for life.

By the end of Trust Me on This I felt each of the sister's feelings, their broken parts and their love. I enjoyed Parvizi's easy writing style, at parts it was lyrical and in parts it realistic and gritty.

Thank you NetGalley for this eArc!

I still don't know what my feelings are about this book, but here goes. Two half sisters (who have not been close to each other, ever) are sharing a road trip to visit their father, who has been an absent father to the older one. Their father has called them to his side on his deathbed because he has something to reveal.

So, we have the basic feature of many books, Secrets. Basically, one big secret. This book is a slow burn. Most of it takes place over the course of two days in the car. The book is about relationships: not just the two half-sisters, but also about people connected to each of them. It's also about a lot of self-realization, for both ladies. And, there is a ton of drama, especially toward the end.

This book had all the elements of a story that I should enjoy. But, somehow, it just didn't come together for me. Usually, I enjoy stories about families and their interactions, especially sisters. But, I could not relate to any of the characters this time. In fact, I couldn't even find them very likable. Likewise with the secondary characters.

I'm glad that I seem to be in the minority. Most of the other reviews I see are positive. It reinforces my belief that “every book is not for everybody” and that's ok. I didn't hate it, I thought that it was ok.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

I’m here with a book that I haven’t seen much press about yet - and it publishes soon! Thanks to Sara Confino for putting Trust Me on This on my radar - and thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for early access in exchange for my honest opinion. I really enjoyed reading this one over the weekend!
Trust Me On This centers around two sisters - I mean half-sisters. Zahra is older at 38 and established in her chef-adjacent job of developing recipes for cookbooks, restaurants, etc. Aurora is 12 years younger and a new up-and-comer in Hollywood, having been surprisingly nominated for an Emmy against the co-star of her current show, who also heads the production company with her husband. The girls are not close, with Zahra having some long-held anger that their shared father was absent for much of her childhood yet seemed to spend time fathering Aurora. Aurora just wants everyone to be happy and look on the bright side of life, and Zahra has experienced too much life and loss for that to be the case. When their father requests they come visit him together so he can tell them something in person, and it needs to be soon, as he has terminal cancer, the girls take the road trip together (plus a stray cat) from LA to Seattle to see him. The trip was definitely bumpy, but I felt like I got to know them and their baggage, and I couldn’t put this book down - until I got near the end and then I kept trying to set it down for a bit to make it last longer. If you like family drama and road trip stories, I think you’ll enjoy this book. There are some serious (and sad) points in this mostly-fun story, but I thought the book was well written and relatable. It will be available everywhere Tuesday 4/8!

I can see this being an absolute favourite read for some people. It's got coming of age, sisterhood, fame and earns its spot in the literary fiction genre. But I needed more momentum, and for a road trip book, this one lacked movement for me.

But let me talk about why it might be for you. Firstly, both Zahra and Aurora were great characters to follow, it was an honour. They are so different but share their own individual trials and tribulations just it different fields and ways. Zahra comes from a cooking background which was such an interested lens to capture her POV through and definitely helps differentiate her character from Aurora's. There's some truly gorgeous sensory imagery all the way through where we don't watch her cook, we feel it. By the end of the book, I fully understood why Zahra had fallen in love with food/cooking and her relationship with the process of cooking was nothing short of fun to watch. Parvizi really went to town on the descriptions and it didn't slip my radar, I thoroughly enjoyed them.

I would go as far to say that Zahra is anti-love in the beginning of the book. But the POVs were written so well that it didn't feel like a surface level dislike of dating and guys but something much deeper and relatable ('done with lust, done with men...learn to live with the voice, learn to give the gaping hole a wide berth, tiptoeing its blurry contours only if she had to'). The romance subplot we did get for Zahra was handled so delicately and wonderfully. I really enjoyed watching Zahra pretend to not care about her little admirer, Elian. The whole 'big show of rolling her eyes, snorting her disapproval' felt so so real and just absolutely classic of the initial denial you experience when you like someone more than you want to admit. A minor detail, but a wonderful one regardless. Also, adding a romantic subplot was clever because it was perhaps the only thing that added momentum to the road trip other than the inevitability of them getting to their destination to see their dad.

Aurora, on the other hand had so many fun pockets of drama. Don't get me wrong, Zahra's plot was interesting in it's own right but Aurora being a famous actor added an element of glam to the whole spectacle. The road trip felt like it had such a different purpose than it did for Zahra, it almost felt like watching a mole go into recluse (in a good way). And it just added a fun, new dimension when Aurora transformed her appearance and was simultaneously trying to avoid getting recognised throughout the trip.

I also think it was really clever to have only one sister be famous. Zahra could've been written as a famous chef, but she wasn't and that made Aurora's fame feel much more poignant and comparable to the non fame lifestyle that we saw in Zahra. At times, it felt like fame was an extra passenger on this trip that was along for the ride which definitely contributed to the undeniable dynamic between the two sisters.

On the note of them being sisters, the sister dynamic was captured so so well! It is hard to write adult siblings in a way that doesn't feel juvenile and childish but equally feels rounded enough that you believe the characters are related and have been stuck together their whole lives. Parvizi nails that dynamic. We see Zahra's protective instinct, as the older sister, over Aurora time and time again. And it's interesting to watch her observe her little sister, who is not so little anymore since they're both adults, and not always intervene as a cornerstone of a mature sisterhood. But there were also plenty of classic sibling teasing that we see throughout this and I think that is partially thanks to the fact that contextually most of the scenes do follow solely Aurora and Zahra as they are on the road trip together.

Okay, so other than the aforementioned slow momentum that really dropped this rating for me, there were some other points that got on my nerves a tad. We switch POVs between Aurora and Zahra and there were a couple instances where, for continuity and plot purposes I assume, we would experience a POV then it would switch to the other sister but we'd also go back in time...? Not like a flashback, but it felt like the scene had been rewinded a bit so you could understand both sister's POV of the same event. This didn't happen loads, but when it did it was both confusing and a bit jarring to readjust the timeline whilst reading.

Another thing that I wasn't a super fan of was the transitions. It did feel like a lot of the stops were abrupt. When the car breaks down, it felt like they magically appeared at the strangers' house. When they met Zahra's mum, it felt like they magically appeared there and even when they visit the grandma it also felt like they'd just appeared without any lead up. It's a small thing, but it did contribute to the flow of the plot.

Overall, a great book for some but just lacked so much momentum for me. The road trip had stops so in theory it should've kept me entertained but it became a bit of an effort to get through after we were familiar with Zahra and Aurora and the pacing could've been a bit quicker for me.

There’s something about books involving sisters that always touches my heart. It could be because I have three sisters scattered around the world, and I miss them dearly.
This book was simply beautiful!
It tells the story of two sisters on a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and understanding the true meaning of family. Even though it was a bit emotional, it was also funny, refreshing, and heartwarming. This story will stay with me for a long time.

Estranged half-sisters, Zahra and Aurora, find themselves caught up in their father’s last-ditch effort to bring them together when he calls them from his deathbed.

Zahra is more than a little conflicted about whether she’s willing to make the journey to see a man who has never shown up for her, but still, she somehow finds herself embarking on a roadtrip to Seattle with her annoyingly positive younger sister. Meanwhile, Aurora has always been looking for an excuse to be close with Zahra and this trip couldn’t have come at a better time for her, just when she needs to get away.

I opened this book right after I finished watching The Life List on Netflix, and it didn’t escape me how fitting the whole thing felt in that moment because this story isn’t just about learning to live freely in the aftermath of loss; it’s also about those moments that lead up to the pain—the preparation to bearing witness—and what that does to a person and to their relationships.

The thirteen-year age difference between the two sisters was very prevalent in the storytelling and evident in the ways they carry themselves, the problems they face as individuals, and their approaches to the problems they face together. Aurora acts as if her life is happening to her, and her celebrity status factors in making her feel passive and out of control. Zahra, on the other hand, has lived; she’s already bypassed the hope and excitement of her youth and been wearied by her hardships.

I personally found myself gravitating toward Zahra’s character, particularly because of her connection to food—likening her with my own mother, who has told me on more than one occasion that all of her memories revolve around the foods, the meals, that were had and shared in those moments. Zahra says that food is her whole life and she cherishes so much because of the connection it gives her to her late grandmother.

I think that’s what this whole story is really about: finding those connections to the people we love and holding them close, and letting go of the grudges we hold for our pasts that keep us from embracing what matters most.

Thank you, NetGalley for the e-ARC.

This story covered many bases….touching, charming, crazy and funny. I enjoyed getting to know the Starling sisters and I wanted to know what they learned from their father.

Zahra was a prickly personality who was hard to like until I started picturing her like Sandra Bullock. She certainly had good reasons to withdraw from the world. Aurora was easy to like—she was the Starling “darling” who was loving and kind, but naive. The two of them together were an entertaining duo who I grew to love. I cheered them on as they learned how to help each other grow stronger and healthier.

The food descriptions made me hungry and I could totally relate to Zahra’s interest in her grandmother’s recipes.

Zahra’s landlady was, Preeti, was a charming addition to the story. She was wise and kind, no matter how guarded Zahra was with her.

A favorite quote:
“See, see? There it is. The resistance. Trust me, life is so much easier as a sponge than as a Brillo pad.”

Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

I grew to love these sisters despite what initially annoyed me about both and always love a road trip as a setting for a book. Even if it's actual big life check things off the list road trip over the see these things road trip. Free advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Zahra and Aurora are nothing alike. Or are they? The half sisters on a road trip to see their dying father discover things about each other and themselves. Zahra is a foodie, Aurora an actress and Parvizi creates good worlds for both of them. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A story about sisterhood.

Trust Me On This by Lauren Parvizi

Zahra and Aurora Star, estranged half-sisters living very different lives, set out on a road trip to see their dying father who has something to tell them. Along the way they confront their past mistakes and forge a new understanding, but not without some serious challenges.

Oh I loved this book so much! Fabulous characters with really interesting back stories which made for a very eventful road trip. Lots of themes and meaning within the sisters' stories - loss, grief, trust, fame, childhood, parenting and so many more. And the food, wow my mouth watered a lot! Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Parvizi, in her lyrical way of writing, captures the essence of sisterhood...stradling the intersection of nature versus nurture. Her main characters (Zahra and Aurora) are both endearing and broken, which readers will appreciate. By the time you get to know them, you'll feel like you are riding in the car with them as they journey--literally and metaphorically--through their struggles, emotional baggage and all. Couldn't put it down. Brava!

Thank you so much to Lake Union Publishing for the gifted book!

I was sold on this one based on the gorgeous cover and the fact that the audiobook was narrated by Brittany Pressley. She always does the most wonderful job bringing a story to life, and this was certainly no exception!

I am always a sucker for a good sister/family drama especially when the reader is promised major secrets revealed, etc. Throw in a last minute road trip and I'm sold! The relationship between the two sisters felt so authentic to how things would be in real life. All of their emotions were so clearly shown/told.

There were definitely a couple parts that almost brought me to tears!

I would definitely read more from Lauren Parvizi in the future!

3.5 rounded up

If a book about a road trip in California with an actress and a foodie pair of sisters sounds good you’ll love this book. We have a great plot even if maybe neither sister is particularly likeable. This book is a story of a modern family with complicated sibling and parental relationships. It’s relatable and warm and a bit funny. The California setting was a bonus for me as were the Hollywood and foodie careers of our sisters. The ending might have been a bit too tidy but there’s a twist or two and I think it's the conclusion the book needs. I read it in one day and that's always a good sign! Compelling and easy to read for sure. Thanks to the author, netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had the pleasure of reading an advance copy of Trust Me On This through NetGalley. Thank you. I enjoyed the story of two sisters on a road trip to see their father during his last days. It is the stops along their way and the secrets they share and find that kept the pages turning. A very relatable story. A good read!

I loved this story of two mostly-estranged step-sisters who go on a road trip together to see their sick dad. I loved that they each had unique 3-dimensional personalities. I loved the little bit of romance and I loved that we also got to see both of their moms in their own homes. I loved the tiny details around the cars, the cat, the food. I loved the food.

By the end of this story, I was attached to both of the sisters and felt like I was rooting for them and riding along the journey with them. There's a twist at the end that I am not sure was necessary. It didn't ruin the story for me but it also didn't really add to it, in my opinion.

I still loved how this book tackled both the complexities of the trauma each sister carried and navigated the texture of sisterhood. (even if a step-sisterhood.)

with gratitude to netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

I’m always drawn to books with dual points of view, and this one was no exception! I quickly became attached to both sisters and felt a strong connection to their journeys. While I truly enjoyed the story, there were a few moments that felt a bit slower. I definitely wanted a Caesar salad after reading this!

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Lake Union Publishing

3.5 stars rounded up
This was a heartwarming read that kept me engaged throughout. I loved the road trip aspect and the character development of the sisters. I paired the print and audio and enjoyed reading this way.

There was something that I can’t put my finger on that kept me from truly loving the book. But I want to 100% acknowledge that this is much more of a reader preference thing than a reflection on the writing.

My thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

4⭐️

[a copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher from netgalley. thank you!]

a sweet and heartwarming book about a road trip and familial love and relationships. the writing style was gorgeous and the characters were well-developed.