Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
SYNOPSIS
Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A junior at Standford and a student athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships - at least, that’s what she tells herself.
Swim captain, world champion, and all-around aquatics golden boy Lukas Bomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.
So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water…
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Deep End, the highly anticipated Ali Hazelwood sports romance absolutely DELIVERED! I definitely find that Hazelwood thrives in the college space. Her best works take place in that undergrad setting and it’s always fantastic. I will say, after many books based solely on academics, it was fun and new to have sports as the main focus (without sacrificing the academia). Typically Hazelwoods Main Male Characters (MMC) are very obviously (to the reader) in love with the main character from the get-go but in Deep End, I had a harder time reading into when Lukas got to that "down bad” point which made it even harder to put this book down. The tension was top tier an did not dissipate through the entire story. After being disappointed by the last couple of Hazelwood adult releases, I’m happy we seem to be back. On top of this being a great smutty romance perfect for Valentines, this book also dug deep into topics of mental health, recovery, and healthy relationship growth and fostering. I already want to reread it.
Scarlett has been mentally blocked since a bad injury and as she works to bette her performance, she makes friends with a supportive teammate, Pen, (Yes, I’m one of the few who LIKE Pens character). Pen, by chance, steers Scarlett into the path of the Dom of Her Dreams. Lukas, an olympic swimmer, has been searching for a good parter to match his needs and is entranced by Scarlett from even before their official first meeting. Their circumstances are WAY more complicated, however, than your typical “boy meets girl”, leading us on a tension-filled journey through a year of pool-based sports competitions and a budding romance. And the stakes have never been higher.
I loved the straightforward communication in this book. As much as I love most of Hazelwood’s works, this author does tend to lean on the miscommunication trope a whole lot and, while there were elements of that in here, our two characters definitely had a very straight forward communication channel. It didn’t come easy to them to be so open with one another, but they tried their best knowing that was the best way to begin such a relationship dynamic. And yes, I’m talking about BDSM. It’s very tame in this book so no need to clutch your pearls and start banning books, but it’s very much a major theme of the story. And in being a major theme, communication and honesty was KEY for our main characters. It was such a refreshing take on the Hazelwood relationship dynamic. I have heard complaints that it was “too vanilla” but I think context is key in that we’re reading about two COLLEGE KIDS who are exploring these kinks for the very first time, obviously it isn’t going to be expert level (and if you go in expecting that and are disappointed, that’s your own fault).
I also loved that we focused a lot on our main characters recovery. The entire reason she finds herself in this situationship is that she’s blocked, and she’s looking for a release of some sort and, although this relationship is a great distraction, it also helps her be free of some of her fears. Having chapters interspersed throughout the novel of her working through these thoughts in therapy was such a realistic and relatable part of the book. I love when books delve into characters and their mental health journey because it’s such an integral part of what makes us tick and the driving force behind a lot of decisions including relationship dynamics. It also really helped the reader understand the reasonings and pacing behind each of Scarlett’s relationships and their growth both platonic, and romantic.
Even though this was a five star read for me, there were a couple of things I would change. I did like Penelope and their growth from acquaintances to friends. I know some people hate Pen but I do think she also needed to grow up and we got to see that off page a bit. I just wish she wasn’t so one dimensional. She’s lauded as becoming Scarlett’s best friend (by Scarlett) but she was mainly only there as a plot crutch for our two main characters to have a reason to hold back on fully committing. I also felt like the climax was a bit blurry (no that’s not a pun). What was the main goal? It felt like each competition was just a side quest and I’m still unsure if the Olympics was the main goal for our characters personal journey? And, of course, the too quick ending. Hazelwood loves to wrap things up super fast and I find myself not getting the closure needed to move on from the book (maybe that’s by design? But it frustrates me).
Overall, a fantastic read, and great for Valentines Day. Hazelwood just gets better and better with her writing and relationship dynamics and I’m excited to see that growth from fanfic to published works. If you liked Love Hypothesis and Check & Mate, this one is definitely a great fit for you.