Book Review: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Title: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Release Date: 4th February 2025
RRP: $24.99
Publisher: Sphere (an imprint of Hachette)
Rating: 5/5 stars
Synopsis:
Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford 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, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist 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...
Review:
I know Ali Hazelwood is an intelligent author, but her writing in Deep End just takes the cake. I am in serious awe over the fact that this woman is a neuroscience professor AND a best-selling Romance author. The fact that she incorporates her studies into creating empowering women in STEM characters makes me adore her that much more. Being a woman in engineering myself, I really appreciated the technical talk sprinkled throughout the book. I never thought I’d see the day where I read the word “MATLAB” in a Romance book! 🤭
Deep End reads so differently from all the books I’ve ever read. Ali Hazelwood’s writing stands out amongst them all with her disarming character dialogues and inner monologues. Again, I am in genuine awe of this author, because it clearly shows from her writing how clever she is. I love the fleshed out characters and the relationships that adds so much to the story. The romance was great, but I thought the friendship and paternal relationship were what made the book so strong. Scarlett’s growth in character through spending her time with her friends and step-mom was such a joy to see 🥹
The story flowed so well. This book is 400+ pages long but I kid you not, I was literally flying through it. It could have been 800 pages long and I would still feel like it’s not enough. I loved the initial hesitance between Lukas and Scarlett developing into something intimate and, ultimately, endearing. I LOVE that both characters are reserved, yet we see how comfortable they are with one another. Anyone who knows me would know that I’d take yearning over smut any day, and while people say that this is Ali Hazelwood’s spiciest book, I would say that this is the most caring and passionate book of hers.
Obsessed is putting it lightly over how Lukas feels for Scarlett. She is literally his entire world. I love the push and pull between them and how compatible they are - emotionally and intellectually. I LOVE Scarlett’s initial distrust and treading on shallow waters. Then we have Lukas’ surety, his sharpness and maturity that melts Scarlett’s fears away and makes her feel safe. Their chemistry was undeniable, and their story just flows SO incredibly well. How many times can I say I am in awe of Ali Hazelwood’s writing? This woman is a genius. Her writing is truly SO different to anything I’ve ever read.
Tension-filled, emotional, endearing, and wholesome. I literally have no notes. The way I tabbed this book and was afraid that my set of tabs would run out before I finished the book 😂 This was just incredible.
A HUGE thank you to Hachette and The Bookish Type for sending over a beautiful ARC in exchange for an honest review <3
