In too Deep is such an emotional book. It deals with some pretty tough and serious topics, but man oh man does it do so in such a phenomenal way. I completely fell in love with this book. Gracie came to life for me almost instantly. And even though there were a few times I wanted to shake her, she was stronger than even I gave her credit for. I really loved reading her story. It was beautiful, in a raw and very very real way.



Unfortunately, the story that Gracie goes through is an all too common one. We got to see first hand the struggle that she faced with Noah. On one hand, she didn't want to let him hurt her anymore and she saw that maybe he wasn't as changed and reformed as she thought he was, but on the other hand she does love him and he does always say all the right things to make her want to give him. A few times throughout the book, I even caught myself wanting to believe him, and I was completely surprised. I think that is a testament to Michelle Kemper Brownlow's amazing writing more than anything else, because normally I would say kick him to the curb and don't look back. But that is the wonderful thing about In too Deep. It kind of grays and blurs all of the lines. You feel like you are in Gracie's shoes and at times you are just as confused about what she should do as she is. She really surprised me with her strength. At first, I pegged her to be kind of a weakling. One of those girls that guys could easily mold and oppress, but then you get to know her and you can see that is not who she is at all. Sure, there were times when I wanted to slap some sense into her and times where I just couldn't stand the decisions she made, but it just made her a more three dimensional character. And we got to see her thought process throughout everything, which just makes you fall in love with her even more. I loved how personal the writing seemed.

I think you can see it coming that I love Jake. He is just sweet and dependable and totally nice. I just want to hug him and smell him. (is that weird?) Gracie deserves someone nice like him. In Too Deep is an emotional journey that I wasn't expecting to be so incredible. I expected to like the book, even love it, but I didn't expect to be as touched as I was by it. This book really spoke to me because it seemed so real. I could just picture this happening at any university, with any group of people. I loved how gritty and real In too Deep was. This is a book that I would confidently recommend to any fan of contemporary, realistic fiction, young adult, new adult, romance...I think you get the idea.