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A review by xvicesx
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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
4.0
Based on the amount of reviews that are either frustrated with how kinky this book is and the amount of people who complain that the warning at the beginning was entirely unwarranted because there is a very limited exploration of kink here my takeaway is that there is no pleasing some people.
I enjoyed this book. Potentially not as much as other Ali Hazelwood books, but it was a fairly enjoyable trip. As usual there is an interesting exploration of people being people I suppose, showing an intersectionality that you don't get in so many books crossing over student athletes with sexual exploration, with mental health, with dealing with past trauma and bonding over it with other people. Mostly it's the kind of exploration that you've come to expect when you're reading something that is labeled Ali Hazelwood, to be fair.
My favourite was probably Lukas with how entirely dedicated he was into the relationship with Scarlett and to his appreciation of her boundaries and her needs from their budding relationship even though he was all in from the very beginning whereas she took quite some time to get to a place where she felt comfortable to accept her feelings about him.
As I said there's some nice exploration of intersectionality with some genuinely interesting characters and as usual it's a fun journey. I think it could have done with a bit more pairing down, in a couple of moments I was losing interest a little bit, but that may be a little bit of maybe editors not wanting to mess around too much with the goose that laid the golden egg and but it would really suit for Ali to receive slightly more critical feedback on waffling. But that aside? It's fun and definitely enjoyable.
I enjoyed this book. Potentially not as much as other Ali Hazelwood books, but it was a fairly enjoyable trip. As usual there is an interesting exploration of people being people I suppose, showing an intersectionality that you don't get in so many books crossing over student athletes with sexual exploration, with mental health, with dealing with past trauma and bonding over it with other people. Mostly it's the kind of exploration that you've come to expect when you're reading something that is labeled Ali Hazelwood, to be fair.
My favourite was probably Lukas with how entirely dedicated he was into the relationship with Scarlett and to his appreciation of her boundaries and her needs from their budding relationship even though he was all in from the very beginning whereas she took quite some time to get to a place where she felt comfortable to accept her feelings about him.
As I said there's some nice exploration of intersectionality with some genuinely interesting characters and as usual it's a fun journey. I think it could have done with a bit more pairing down, in a couple of moments I was losing interest a little bit, but that may be a little bit of maybe editors not wanting to mess around too much with the goose that laid the golden egg and but it would really suit for Ali to receive slightly more critical feedback on waffling. But that aside? It's fun and definitely enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail