Title: Deep End
Author: Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley
Genre: Romance
Pages: 464
My Rating: ❤️❤️❤️🖤🖤
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Deep End
Scarlett Vandermeer is a dedicated student-athlete specializing in platform diving. She’s focused on getting into med school while still recovering from an injury that nearly ended her career. The dive that caused her injury continues to haunt her, and despite working with a therapist, she struggles to overcome the fear. With so much on her plate, Scarlett has no time for distractions—especially not relationships.
Luke Blomqvist, a Swedish swimmer, is at the top of his game. At first glance, he and Scarlett seem to have little in common, but they soon discover they share one undeniable interest. What starts as a simple arrangement quickly turns into something more. Much more.
Review
I either really enjoy Ali Hazelwood’s books, or I find myself getting bored while reading them. Unfortunately, this one fell into the latter category for me. But that’s just how it goes sometimes—not every book resonates the same way for everyone. And clearly, plenty of people love this one since it has a 4.15 rating! It wasn’t a bad book by any means—I’ve definitely read books I liked far less—I just wasn’t as invested in it as I’d hoped to be.
Let’s start with the positives. I’ve read a lot of sports romances, but I don’t recall ever reading one about a swimmer and a diver. That felt fresh, and I appreciated that. The characters were likable enough, and I was happy to see Scarlett’s personal growth, especially in the last part of the book—she was mentally getting stronger, which I loved. Luke, on the other hand, was just okay for me. I didn’t dislike him, but I didn’t feel particularly attached to him either.
The storyline itself was solid. It balanced spice with an actual plot, which I appreciated. Both Scarlett and Luke are competitive athletes training for the Olympics, which added an interesting layer to the story. Bonus points for the Amsterdam/Netherlands mention! As someone from the Netherlands, I always think it’s cool when my small country pops up in books. Also, this book briefly made me want to learn Swedish—though considering I’m already relearning French on Duolingo and also want to tackle Spanish, Korean, and Italian, I’m not sure Swedish will make the cut.
Now, onto the part that didn’t quite work for me. This book revolves around the fact that both characters share a specific interest in the bedroom. They even go as far as making a list of their kinks, ensuring they’re on the same page. Naturally, this gave me some Fifty Shades of Grey vibes (even though I never actually read those books). So, I was expecting some wild spicy scenes. And sure, there were steamy moments, but they were just standard rough sex—not exactly what I anticipated given the buildup. It felt odd that the book made such a big deal about their shared kinks, only for it to not really deliver on that front. There was even a content warning at the beginning, which made me expect something a little more intense.
Overall, this book was just average for me, mainly because I wasn’t emotionally invested. I didn’t really care what the characters were doing or what happened in their lives. I think part of that comes down to not feeling any personal connection with them—except maybe relating to Scarlett’s perfectionism a little. And, again, the whole buildup about their kinks leading to… pretty standard spice was kind of weird. I went in expecting Fifty Shades, and it just didn’t deliver.