Series: Trust Trilogy Book One
Author: Cristiane Serruya
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Number of pages: 464
Book Description: 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?
Buy Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble
4 out of 5 starsTrust is a complex story that is wonderfully developed with enough mystery and suspense to keep the reader guessing the whole way through. The character development in Trust was fabulous. The characters have their own issues, are not perfect, but are wonderful each in their own way. They were easy to relate to, especially Sophia, and by the end of the story I felt that I knew them personally. Their stories were interesting to say the least, and once they crossed paths their lives were woven together in an exciting, breathtaking way.
The author's writing is beautifully descriptive, sometimes overly so; it is nice while reading a story for some of the little things to be left up to the imagination. The brand name dropping was a bit much as well. However, the emotion the author was able to put into the story through her words was incredible, full of ups and downs. I really love book that makes me feel for the characters. And after that ending, I will definitely be looking for book two in the Trust series.
See all my reviews.
Q & A with Cristiane Serruya
Hello, Sheri. Thanks for hosting me at your amazing blog. I’m so happy to be here with you today and talk a bit about myself and my trilogy.
Q: Introduce us to your main characters, Sophia, Ethan, and Alistair.
A: Oh! There is a lot of me in Sophia and in Gabriela. Many things that they have experienced I’ve drawn from my own life. For example: I could read when I was three years old and I started my first University when I was fifteen. I wish I was more courageous as Sophia is and knew how to answer and stand my ground.
Ethan is a intelligent, wealthy and handsome man. But deep troubled and hurt in his soul. He is like so many deranged and troubled people who infest our world today. He’s the fruit of horrible parents, who, one way or another, profoundly hurt their offsprings because they are selfish, criminally negligent or perverted. I do believe in John Locke’s principle that people are born tabula rasa. Children need care and education. They need limits and love, so they can grow healthily and learn to live in society.
Alistair, as Ethan, is very intelligent. He had a very kind and gentle family. However, intelligence doesn’t mean that the heart is protected. Alistair has a very high-sex drive and he was tangled in his late wife’s web that only wanted his status, wealthy and stamina. She has had a gorgeous woman, selfish and manipulative. She introduced him to BDSM and when he stablished some rules, she rebelled and in the end killed their daughter and herself in a car accident. She transformed his gentle and caring soul in an angered and tortured man that believes he doesn’t deserve to be loved and lives to punish every woman that wants him.
Q: Sophia is described as a strong lead female. What do you see as her strengths? Her weaknesses?
A: A special hint for your readers: Sophia is strong, an alpha female, but as any human being she has flaws. She is not that lovely and nice woman the readers will meet in TRUST: A New Beginning.
Imagine a very boring person: A perfect wife and a very good, loving mother, an incredibly intelligent lawyer; a sexy, beautiful woman who doesn’t care about her beauty. And to top it, she does charity and pro bono. This is not Sophia! I could not relate to Sophia if she were just this.
Sophia has imperfections. Oh, yeah! Many. She gets angry, she is anguished, she is stubborn, so on and so forth.
I like characters that have imperfections, it shows that they are human.
In TRUST: Betrayed, Sophia will show her true colors and the secret that haunts her is not a small one… Wait and see. *grin*
Q: What was your favorite scene to write?
A: Oh, Sheri! This is so unfair! I loved writing all the scenes, but if I had to choose one… Well... It would be the one at Galewick Hall, where all the characters are gathered together and the tension is at its peak.
Q: What do you see as influences on your writing?
A: Real life is what inspires me to write. Look around you, listen to your family’s stories, your neighbors’ daily lives, read the newspapers. There are so many stories waiting to be told and not enough time to write about them. I don’t want to give away to much, but one of the subjects treated in my book, especially the relationship between Alistair and Sophia, is being talked about by everyone and it's very similar to my Law School thesis.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I have travelled a lot already, but I’m dying to go to Asia; Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Maldives, China and Japan. So many places, so little time.
Q: As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: You won’t believe, *grin* but I wanted to be a doctor - a pediatrician - but I lost a very dear friend of mine when he was ten years old and I decided I didn’t want to see children die. Then when I was fourteen and was applying for University, I decided I wanted to be a painter. Six months after, I applied to Law School. Well, I majored in both: Fine Arts and Law, but I decided to be a lawyer as my grandfather, father of my father, and my parents were also lawyers.
From the first time, I started to research about abuse against women and children for Humans Right …., I fell in love with the subject and I could never let go. Now, that I’m not as active as a lawyer as I were, I continue to talk about the subject in my books.
Q: Do you have any hidden talents?
A: Hmmm, this is supposed to be a secret, but I’ll tell you: I play the piano, I cook mean cakes and sweets, I like to sing, and I love babies. If I could I think I’d have ten children, at least.
Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I’m re-reading The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa. On my huge TBR pile, there are all the Rick Riordan’s books. My eldest daughters says he is the best and so I have to read them all. I'm also looking forward to reading 1Q84, by Murakami and the last two new releases from Gena Showlater and Kresly Cole.
Well, as you can see I have very eclectic taste in books. When I was young, I loved Barbara Cartland, Charlotte and Emile Bronte. As I grew, Kafka, Becket, Anouill, Victor Hugo, George Orwell and many others made their way into my library. And, of course, the Greek classics and lots and lots of romance. I’m kind of obsessed about books, so I have a kindle and the kindle app on my iPad, iPhone and iMac besides lots of physical books. I read in traffic, in the doctor’s waiting room and a few hours every day at home. My youngest daughter call my Kindle *grin* the enemy.
Thank you for the opportunity to share your work and thoughts! I'd like to thank you for this interview and for helping me promote my book. Hearing from readers is very important to me. It always helps me to do a better job. So, I want to invite everybody to leave a message on my website http://cristianeserruya.com.br
About the Author: I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with my husband and two daughters. I'm a lawyer, who specializes in cases of sexual abuse and violence against children and women. I also have a Masters in Business Law and a BA in Fine Arts.
I've always loved to read, write and listen to music. I lived and studied in England, France, Italy and Switzerland. Traveling is one of my passions - as is keeping fit and healthy.
After twenty-two years of practicing law, I decided to give writing a go. And - amazingly - it was just the piece that was missing in my life.
www.cristianeserruya.com.br
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6583811.Cristiane_Serruya
http://www.librarything.com/author/serruyacristiane
https://www.facebook.com/cristiane.serruya
http://pinterest.com/crisserruya/
@CrisSerruya
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00A85DHT8
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trust-Trilogy/438618339550623
@trustrilogy
May 14 - http://reviewinginchaos.blogspot.com
May 16 - www.skypuringtonwrites.blogspot.com
May 22 - bookbitchesblog.com
May 24 - http://fandomfanatic.blogspot.com/
May 29 - www.christina-mcknight.blogspot.com
May 30 - http://www.jodysbookreviews.com
June 4 - http://mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/
June 4 - www.faerietalebooks.org
June 5 - http://www.simplyinfatuated.com/
June 6 - www.immortylcafe.com
June 6 - http://2bibliophiles.blogspot.com/
June 7 - pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com.
June 7 - http://booksbycenteno.com/
Cristiane talks as an intelligent woman. The book must be amazing! Thanks for this...
ReplyDelete