Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Deep End

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

202 reviews

teeshbakeesh's review against another edition

4.25

emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

sdupont's review against another edition

4.25

emotional funny slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ali really did it with this one! Lukas is such a babe, like sign me up to be a swimming fan girl. He was so thoughtful and caring, making sure he met Scarlett where she was at and being what she needed. And our girl Scarlett? We love a comeback story and hers with diving is no different. I loved seeing her find her way back to her groove and love of the sport. Lukas and Scarlett were so well matched (and not just talking about the kinks of it all). They were two puzzles pieces that just fit together. They saw each other, while others didn’t understand them. I do wish they communicated more openly about their feelings. It felt a little dragged out. Also, I have to say it- I did not like Pen at all and didn’t want redemption for her. Despite that I really enjoyed this book. I recommend this if you are looking for hot af spice paired with deep emotional connection.

Content Warnings

carlyjoann's review against another edition

4.25

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I haven’t ever read a book with this specific kind of sexual content but I found that it really played into the relationship so well. It just made sense for them and even if this book had a lot of smut it didn’t feel like too much because it played a huge part in the relationship building throughout.
I love Scarlett and Lukas! They are very cute and their chemistry was off the charts. I was giggling like an idiot so much because of their cute conversations and inside jokes!
I enjoyed the diving and pre-med content as well. I really liked that it was different than other Ali Hazelwood books I have read to throw the sport in and it worked so well! I enjoyed that the characters were involved in multiple passions and to see how they balanced them.
I really loved the cameos of characters from The Love Hypothesis too!
The most off putting thing to me in the whole book was Pen.

The whole time I couldn’t see her as anything more than a toxic mean girl. When Scarlet got warned by another diver about Pen I figured we’d get a big reveal of how horrible she has always been, and while we sort of did it wasn’t as explosive as I expected. I saw Pen’s outburst at Scarlet and Lukas coming and it was horrible of her to do that to Scarlet in that moment. But then Pen ends up apologizing and Scarlet accepts it way too easily and apparently they stay besties. I guess maybe my own feelings about girls like that has tainted my belief that she would “change”. She seemed like a good friend at moments, but I just assumed that it was all a ploy so it was hard to reconcile that she wasn’t as bad as I had made her out to be in my head.

Content Warnings

yarisbooksandbevs's review against another edition

4.0

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I really liked this book and the spice was SPICY. Lukas is absolutely precious and also so hot. My biggest gripe with this book was the whole Pen situation

I don’t understand why things had to be kept on the dl. That was the first Pen red flag. I think her apology and forgiveness was too easy bc she was a terrible friend but maybe I just hold grudges lol

. All in all fantastic book. Would listen again.

Content Warnings

brekkerlun's review against another edition

2.0

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Did not like the main female character or any of her friends for that matter. In fact, the only mildly interesting and bearable character is the mmc, as all the others seemed to be the same childish, annoying person, with only slight variations in their traits, and a wig. The setting sounded exactly like something I'd love (college campus, following student-athletes) but unfortunately it was too overshadowed by

the dynamic of their sexual relationship, mainly explored via bdsm

, which I wasn't really interested in at all. I also absolutely despise when vulnerable moments between characters are interrupted with sexual jokes and/or straight up smut scenes, specially when it does not further the plot at all, and actually just takes me out of the book. Those happened often enough to disrupt my reading experience and prevent me from finding any of it believable.

It was a quick read for me and you can always count on Ali Hazelwood to write something at the very least entertaining, thus the two stars, but for me it's nowhere near to being her best work. I'd say it's a lot of smut, no plot and just vibes, so if you're needing a read like that, it might be for you.

Content Warnings

unwantedimagery's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

🌶️🌶️

Content Warnings

loopread's review against another edition

3.5

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Besides all the spice or smut (which you are able to skip out of your own free will), this is an unironically good beginner romance book. Nothing toxic, everything was consensual and it was only corny once, or twice, and probably thrice.

Only thing that bothered me was Pen. How the FMC didn’t immediately square up? Idk.
I need better morals.

Content Warnings

carrietherose's review against another edition

4.75

emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

takarakeireads's review against another edition

3.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is not my fav of Ali's books, but I did still enjoy it. Just didn't really blow me away *shrug*
We didn't get to see a lot of Scarlett and Lukas together outside of sexy times which makes sense logistically cause they're traveling, busy athletes, and also they are not actually dating. I personally think we could've gotten a bit more swoony romance, if they had entered into this sexual arrangement, but then they like: couldn't stop talking, even on trips, or did spend more time together. The moments they are together, Lukas is being Scarlett's pseudo-therapist, which like, we love a supportive man. IDK I just wanted more!
Someone told me Deep End is to kink relationships as Bride is to omegaverse - and I think that sums it up perfectly.
For a sports romance there is a good amount of actual sports (diving, barely any swimming) as someone who knows nothing about that sport it seemed accurate, but a diver might have a different opinion?

Pen is actually the worst friend ever and she treats both Scarlett and Lukas horribly, and they forgive her for what reason? idk she needs to go to therapy herself.
Also like what did happen to those other divers who suddenly weren't able to compete? Was Pen's test a false positive like they said or was there funny business? I know that's not the point of this book, but it seemed funny to bring up all these like bullying girls and nefarious possibilities and in the end it was just all coincidence?

Anyway, of course Ali is good at writing men so Lukas was great and I really appreciated the storyline of Scarlett's mistrust of men in general (so real) and how that was handled so delicately from Lukas entering her life and this relationship.

I did also realize that Swedish accents? not my thing

Content Warnings

belletheblogger's review against another edition

2.75

emotional funny tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The first half was great and then my excitement faded and the friend drama made me want to kms. I was so frustrated with the characters I almost dnfed. Also the mc was so fucking frustrating and there wasn’t really any “kink” just them saying kink every 5 seconds. I was so exited for this book but it was really disappointing.

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