I received a digital advance reader’s copy (ARC) of Deep End by Ali Hazelwood. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general.

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood follows Scarlett, a competitive diver at Stanford. She’s a junior, still recovering from an injury a couple years before, and trying to get into med school. She has no time for relationships, but when she finds herself pushed unexpectedly in a certain someone’s direction, she isn’t sure how to resist. That certain someone, of course, is Lukas Blomqvist, Swedish Olympic swimmer and fellow classmate. The two of them realize they’re very compatible and start hooking up, but things get complicated—and emotional—very quickly. But Scarlett isn’t sure how to juggle everything she’s grappling with, and if she can handle a real relationship right now… even with a man she could love forever.

I have read a couple of things by Hazelwood before and thought they were okay, but this new novel piqued my interest because of the swimming and diving aspect. I was a competitive swimmer in high school, so I wanted to make sure the author portrayed the sport and its culture accurately. Granted, this book features that at a collegiate level, and a lot more diving content than swimming, so my knowledge is somewhat tangential.

That said, I enjoyed seeing Scarlett’s world of diving. It’s a terrifying sport, personally, but it’s cool to see why she both likes and dislikes it. Her arc regarding her injury and recovery was well-done and gave her character some depth (pun intended).

As for the rest of the story, there’s more going on here than the spicier scenes (which we’ll get to). Not only is Scarlett struggling to find her groove in diving, she also is dealing with succeeding in her pre-med classes, drama with her friend Pen, and lots of self-doubt. This is a smutty romance book, but it does have some substance beyond that.

If you’re mostly in it for the sex scenes though, no hate at all. There’s plenty of sexual content, some of which seems a bit over the top to me, but also explores an aspect of sex that I haven’t often seen portrayed in romance novels (though I’m sure it’s out there). The way that kink is portrayed here is, I believe, well done, allowed to be nuanced and very very consensual. I like how much Lukas respects and defers to Scarlett, even if, ostensibly, he’s the one in the position of power when they’re having sex. She feels safe with him, and that’s the key.

On the other hand, sometimes I was frustrated with Lukas. He isn’t great at communicating outside the context of sex for a lot of the novel, and is very romance-novel-levels of in love with Scarlett. By this I mean some of his confessions of love simply didn’t sound like how people talk in real life. But hey, the universe is infinite, so maybe I’m wrong about that.

Still, in the end, Deep End isn’t bad. There is decent character development, especially for the protagonist, and a good amount of self-exploration and overcoming inner struggles. I didn’t love all the sex scenes (did there have to be so many?), but if that’s what you want in a book, rock on. I also enjoyed the glimpses into the world of competitive diving, and Hazelwood got a lot of those details right as far as I can tell. This book didn’t exactly sweep me off my feet, and I doubt I’ll ever touch it again, but it was a fun light read nonetheless.

Deep End will be published on February 4th, 2025!