Every 2 weeks or so we’re reviewing books that we found interesting. These books may range from nonfiction to fantasy to informative to escapism. Our hope is that we find something for everyone, and to broaden awareness, access, and information pertaining to sex, sexual health, pleasure, and\ beyond!
Book Review: Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood is a romance novels that follows two student athletes at Stanford, a diver and a swimmer, as they enter a friends-with-benefits situation based on mutual interests in exploring more kinky sexual experiences. While the dialogue can sometimes be cringe-inducing and slightly unnatural (not many people tend to start conversations with phrases like “Hi you sexually perverted weirdo”), the book offered great conversation around consent and discussing kinks and boundaries within relationships. There were also interesting discussions on how behaviour during sex does not equate to the way people want to be treated in day-to-day. At times the view of what “kinky sex” is, wasn’t nuanced and instead overly simplified, with the character thinking that sex without a power imbalance was automatically vanilla, but overall it wasn’t a bad portrayal of people entering into a new sexual relationship.
In addition to the sexual aspects of the book, the plot and character development of the main character Scarlett, stood out as she overcomes her mental block in diving. The book also does a good job of explaining diving as a sport in a way that even those not familiar with the sport, would be able to understand the competition aspects of the plot.
Some trigger warnings to keep in mind: the characters enjoy a sexual relationship with unequal power dynamics (with one character being more submissive and the other more dominating), the characters also have dacryphilia (arousal due to tears and crying) so the main character Scarlet cries frequently during intercourse.
Overall this book provided a good portrayal of kink based relationships, even if overly simplified, and would be a good options for anyone looking for a romance novel that explores kinky sexual relationships that also has a good plot about student athletes finding each other during the uncertainty of finishing university.