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A review by kfriend
In Too Deep by Skye Jordan
4.0
In Too Deep is a delightfully sweet, second chance romance chock full of small town charm, heartwarming female friendships, and sexy romantic chemistry. This quick summer read will give you all the swoon-worthy feels as we dive into a story about a woman who finds her love just where she left him- in the charming Wildfire Lake.
Our leading lady Laiyla, on the cusp of the big 3-0 birthday, is heading back to her grandfather’s cabin at Wildfire Lake to meet up with her two besties, KT and Chloe, whom we met in the prologue. Her grandfather passed away a few years ago, and in her grief, Laiyla avoided coming to his cabin, and she finds his property to be much neglected. Laiyla wants to rebuild her grandfather’s marina and restore his legacy, but the townsfolk resent her for not coming back. Who will help her? Her high school sweetheart, Levi, whom she left in the dust broken hearted twelve years ago for a life in Paris. And, enter all the swoons, as these two try to navigate working with each other and learning who they are as people now while trying to make sense of the romantic pull that is still between them. The chemistry is sweet but passionate, with drama present but quickly resolved, letting this story unfold smoothly.
I adored Levi- he’s relatable, grounded, and so charismatic. He’s understandably wounded and distrustful, but he’s such a sweetheart as his core. He’s a total dreamboat, and his long term love for Laiyla, the feeling he’s held on to, just made me love him more. Laiyla took a minute for me to fully adore- especially because I don’t love the oppressive parents trope- particularly in characters who are full adults. And, her passiveness there wasn’t in line with the sassy, strong willed character we saw in Wildfire- but we all know, our family can make us do weird stuff. She warms up though as we start to see her through Levi’s eyes as they reconnect. And, in the moments when she put her foot in her mouth or didn’t stand as strong as I wanted her too, she quickly and gracefully adjusted course, showing some relatable character growth.
The prologue, which takes place a few years before the rest of the book, was quite unexpected. I must admit, for a minute I was worried I was in the wrong book- just where was this going? Turns out Skye was building the foundation for the central thread of this new series- the relationship between these three friends whose sisterhood was cemented by their support of one another in weathering a storm- literally. While I found it a bit lengthy, I also found it to be with the investment later on since KT and Chloe are huge parts of this story- and the center of future books. This prologue wasn’t the prologue for this story alone- it is setting up the interconnections that will drive the series, and I loved this friendship. There were times where it stole the show a bit - they bring the best out in each other and share an unbreakable bond and HEALTHY bond which is all too rare in female friendships in romance novels. I appreciated Skye’s attention to detail with the friendship as well as her careful setting building. Wildfire Lake is so real, so beautiful articulated- I feel like I live there. Given what an important role this place played to these characters individually but also to the landmarks of their relationship- where it started, ended, and began anew- I loved how well we got to know this place as the perfect backdrop and tone setter for this cute second chance story. I’ll be curious to see where Skye goes with this series next!
Our leading lady Laiyla, on the cusp of the big 3-0 birthday, is heading back to her grandfather’s cabin at Wildfire Lake to meet up with her two besties, KT and Chloe, whom we met in the prologue. Her grandfather passed away a few years ago, and in her grief, Laiyla avoided coming to his cabin, and she finds his property to be much neglected. Laiyla wants to rebuild her grandfather’s marina and restore his legacy, but the townsfolk resent her for not coming back. Who will help her? Her high school sweetheart, Levi, whom she left in the dust broken hearted twelve years ago for a life in Paris. And, enter all the swoons, as these two try to navigate working with each other and learning who they are as people now while trying to make sense of the romantic pull that is still between them. The chemistry is sweet but passionate, with drama present but quickly resolved, letting this story unfold smoothly.
I adored Levi- he’s relatable, grounded, and so charismatic. He’s understandably wounded and distrustful, but he’s such a sweetheart as his core. He’s a total dreamboat, and his long term love for Laiyla, the feeling he’s held on to, just made me love him more. Laiyla took a minute for me to fully adore- especially because I don’t love the oppressive parents trope- particularly in characters who are full adults. And, her passiveness there wasn’t in line with the sassy, strong willed character we saw in Wildfire- but we all know, our family can make us do weird stuff. She warms up though as we start to see her through Levi’s eyes as they reconnect. And, in the moments when she put her foot in her mouth or didn’t stand as strong as I wanted her too, she quickly and gracefully adjusted course, showing some relatable character growth.
The prologue, which takes place a few years before the rest of the book, was quite unexpected. I must admit, for a minute I was worried I was in the wrong book- just where was this going? Turns out Skye was building the foundation for the central thread of this new series- the relationship between these three friends whose sisterhood was cemented by their support of one another in weathering a storm- literally. While I found it a bit lengthy, I also found it to be with the investment later on since KT and Chloe are huge parts of this story- and the center of future books. This prologue wasn’t the prologue for this story alone- it is setting up the interconnections that will drive the series, and I loved this friendship. There were times where it stole the show a bit - they bring the best out in each other and share an unbreakable bond and HEALTHY bond which is all too rare in female friendships in romance novels. I appreciated Skye’s attention to detail with the friendship as well as her careful setting building. Wildfire Lake is so real, so beautiful articulated- I feel like I live there. Given what an important role this place played to these characters individually but also to the landmarks of their relationship- where it started, ended, and began anew- I loved how well we got to know this place as the perfect backdrop and tone setter for this cute second chance story. I’ll be curious to see where Skye goes with this series next!