A review by wellwrittenautisticrep
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved Scarlett’s journey with her sport and how she’s come back from her injury, it felt well-written especially as someone who swam competitively for seven years! Her emotional growth was so beautiful to read, even as things were getting messier relationships-wise at the end. The way that this story explores her being almost an unreliable narrator in her depictions of her trauma and therapy felt so genuine to me as well, of course she didn’t see how harmful her father and ex were leading up to her injury, and of course she didn’t see how she needed to work through that to heal. She’s young and growing and healing, after having gone through a lot of emotional and physical trauma. Additionally, I think this book had a new rhythm to it amongst Ali Hazelwood’s books which I loved. Her and Lukas’ relationship felt like it grew through trust and genuine comparability which I loved, and their personalities were well-developed and different than I usually read for romance novels. They were both very introverted and goals-focused in a way that I enjoyed reading. The sex was also fantastic, very well-navigated kink and I feel like it developed as they did! Ultimately I think the best part of this book was seeing how their relationship supported her healing and growing as a person and in her sport and career. I will absolutely read it again, and my copy is soooo pretty with the water surface sprayed edges! 
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