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A review by madanxiety
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Ali Hazelwood is as freaked out as ever, lol. But damn, it is refreshing to read a romance that's actually decently written. A lot of these romances are so cringey and corny. I mean, a lot of people would cringe at the horniness of this book, and I did at certain points, but the actual plot of it is more genuine, realistic, and interesting than a lot of other cliche shit that's out there, which is what keeps me coming back to every Hazelwood release. From the start, the love triangle aspect had me viscerally anxious, but I like where Hazelwood went with it. Pen was hurtful, but not a senseless villain like Clarissa kind of set her up to be. I'm glad Hazelwood didn't go that route, instead showing how people's wounds can lead them to poor judgment that can ultimately be reconciled. Much more hopeful than conflict triggered by completely irredeemable characters.
This book was a little horned out even for me, so I don't think I prefer it to some of her other books, but I do appreciate the perspective. At the same time, some of the writing of the kink stuff did, indeed, feel pretty degrading. Of course, some people are into degradation, but I think the narrative itself acknowledging the patriarchal contentions with the straight, BDSM dynamic took me out of it. Like, if you're gonna have a woman refer to herself as an object that exists only to be fucked by a man, don't remind me how antifeminist that is lmfao. In this way, I much prefer other BDSM depictions I've read or watched (The Secretary movie is an all-time favorite). That said, the sex in this book felt pretty vanilla still. Sure, Scarlet got bruised up a bit, but for all their talk of rope and ball-gags, they didn't pull out any toys or tricks. I'm not even into any of this stuff per se, but I feel like every time I read a self-describing kinky/BDSM book, it's not really that subversive. The craziest part of this novel was that they fucked in so many public places. But I guess the message of the novel is not that BDSM is crayzay and more that it provides structure, trust, and safety that is healing for a lot of anxious, traumatized people. That's the part I connect most to.
Now, give me a novel like this with two women and I'LL go crazy.
This book was a little horned out even for me, so I don't think I prefer it to some of her other books, but I do appreciate the perspective. At the same time, some of the writing of the kink stuff did, indeed, feel pretty degrading. Of course, some people are into degradation, but I think the narrative itself acknowledging the patriarchal contentions with the straight, BDSM dynamic took me out of it. Like, if you're gonna have a woman refer to herself as an object that exists only to be fucked by a man, don't remind me how antifeminist that is lmfao. In this way, I much prefer other BDSM depictions I've read or watched (The Secretary movie is an all-time favorite). That said, the sex in this book felt pretty vanilla still. Sure, Scarlet got bruised up a bit, but for all their talk of rope and ball-gags, they didn't pull out any toys or tricks. I'm not even into any of this stuff per se, but I feel like every time I read a self-describing kinky/BDSM book, it's not really that subversive. The craziest part of this novel was that they fucked in so many public places. But I guess the message of the novel is not that BDSM is crayzay and more that it provides structure, trust, and safety that is healing for a lot of anxious, traumatized people. That's the part I connect most to.
Now, give me a novel like this with two women and I'LL go crazy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent
Minor: Stalking