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b_addie_readsbooks 's review for:

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
4.5
emotional funny medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Overall: 4.50⭐️
Romance: 4.25🩷
Characters: 4.50👥
Plot: 4.00💥
Spice: 3.75🌶️

When I first started this book around its release everyone was acting so scandalized that for the first like 5 pages I thought Lukas was the sub lol. To my minor dismay he was not and then I ended up taking like a 3 month break.

Once I got the audiobook hold from my library I decided I was finally ready to read the book everyone had polarizing feelings about. I ended up listening to the whole book in just two sittings and already recommending it to another friend halfway through. OMG I could not put it down.

While this book is undeniably very sexy, the amount of character growth made it feel like so much more than just a smutty little romance. I felt such a connection to Scarlet and Lukas on a human level and was rooting for them beyond just their romance. I think there was a great balance between character development and spice that made the reading experience really enjoyable, especially for me as a mood reader who was trying to decide if I wanted my next read to be a smutty romance or a slow burn.  

If you’re a big smut reader, especially dark romance, this book will probably feel relatively tame, but if you’re newer to spicy romances you could get overwhelmed though I think the pacing was done well enough to be considered an introductory novel for a kinky romance curious reader.