I love Ruthie Knox's work, so that's what led me to her NA series-- and Caroline and West don't disappoint. One thing I like about Knox/York's writing is that she doesn't rush her stories or her characters. It takes a long time for these two to get together, and then it takes a long time for them to understand each other, and then it takes them a long time to understand themselves-- and it's all worth it. The main plot of the book is about revenge porn and at first that was overwhelming to me-- the scenario of Caroline's sex photos circulating through her college and overshadowing everything she did was horrifying and I didn't want to think about it or even know about it. But York gets Caroline through that-- and us as readers too, I guess. It's an impressive feat -- all the while creating great characters and hot sex scenes. An amazing piece of writing! ( )

You can find this review and others on my blog:


This was a very hard read in many ways.
Don't get me wrong, the writing style was really sublime. But the subject matter, the very serious issue of revenge porn, is something that is so very emotional that it's almost difficult to read. I definitely would not recommend this if you react badly to this kind of topic. That said, I'm happy that I read something as serious as this because I think that it really allows you to see, and more importantly feel, the way that revenge porn affects a victim.

For me, the subject matter and it's effects was executed so well that the other aspects of the novel fell flat. It definitely took me a while to get into the book and to like some of the characters, such as West.
I won't lie, I didn't like him at all for quite a few chapters. I don't know if this was intentional, that he was portrayed in a way that made the reader progressively accept him in the same way that Caroline did, or if I am simply too judgmental in my voice of male protagonist. Most likely the latter, I'm pretty picky.

My least favourite aspect of the novel was actually the relationship between Caroline and West. There were times when I found myself rolling my eyes or just staring blankly at the page, hoping for some kind of punchline. For instance, this little gem surprised the hell out of me:

"That’s how it looks to me. Like the stars are in Caroline, and the whole world is just me and her.
Because I’m stoned.
And because I’m in love with her."

Also I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel about the ending, because I'm not sure I can really consider it an ending.. Truthfully, I was expecting another chapter.

I feel as if Deeper focused mainly on Caroline and her gradual fight to overcome the revenge crime of which she was a victim. I'm hoping that the sequel will focus more on West's own issues because lord knows the boy had plenty..

I would also love to see more of the relationship between Krishna and Brige!

Over & Out, T xx ( )

You can find this review and others on my blog:


This was a very hard read in many ways.
Don't get me wrong, the writing style was really sublime. But the subject matter, the very serious issue of revenge porn, is something that is so very emotional that it's almost difficult to read. I definitely would not recommend this if you react badly to this kind of topic. That said, I'm happy that I read something as serious as this because I think that it really allows you to see, and more importantly feel, the way that revenge porn affects a victim.

For me, the subject matter and it's effects was executed so well that the other aspects of the novel fell flat. It definitely took me a while to get into the book and to like some of the characters, such as West.
I won't lie, I didn't like him at all for quite a few chapters. I don't know if this was intentional, that he was portrayed in a way that made the reader progressively accept him in the same way that Caroline did, or if I am simply too judgmental in my voice of male protagonist. Most likely the latter, I'm pretty picky.

My least favourite aspect of the novel was actually the relationship between Caroline and West. There were times when I found myself rolling my eyes or just staring blankly at the page, hoping for some kind of punchline. For instance, this little gem surprised the hell out of me:

"That’s how it looks to me. Like the stars are in Caroline, and the whole world is just me and her.
Because I’m stoned.
And because I’m in love with her."

Also I'm not a hundred percent sure how I feel about the ending, because I'm not sure I can really consider it an ending.. Truthfully, I was expecting another chapter.

I feel as if Deeper focused mainly on Caroline and her gradual fight to overcome the revenge crime of which she was a victim. I'm hoping that the sequel will focus more on West's own issues because lord knows the boy had plenty..

I would also love to see more of the relationship between Krishna and Brige!

Over & Out, T xx ( )

I knew Deeper was going to be an emotion filled story. Revenge porn is all too common now and it can happen to anyone. Caroline is every girl. She is normal. She was in a relationship with her boyfriend for YEARS. She trusted him. When she broke up with him, he ruined her life.

Caroline was a 'good girl'. She had 1 boyfriend her entire life. She started dating Nate when they were in high school, and through their 1st year of college. But, Caroline decided that it just wasn't working and she tried to end things with Nate on good terms. He didn't take it well, posting nude pictures of her on the internet. Caroline had plans to go to law school, become a judge, maybe even a government official. Now, she spends her time trying to scrub naked pictures of herself off the internet. The other students at her tiny university all treat her like a slut and she just wants everyone to forget.

West used to live across the hall from her. She had always found him interesting. But really, they didn't talk all that much. Now, West is the only person she feels she can be honest with about how horrible her life is. Bridget (Caroline's BFF) is supportive and helpful, and outside of West, pretty much the only support Caroline has. West has a slew of his own problems though. A worthless mom who wants money from him, a 9 year old sister who he is desperate to keep safe, 3 jobs to pay his college tuition, and this desire he has to 'fix' Caroline is just not in his plans. But, they form a friendship of sorts late at night in the bakery. My struggle with West was that he is a very typical character in New Adult. This bad boy who is doing all the wrong things for good reasons. Do the ends justify the means? It seems that is the question in every new adult hero.

I think my eyes leaked pretty much the entire book. Caroline's life is in such shambles and it is so easy to think of how it could have happened to anyone. I wanted her to really let West in, and I wanted West to fight for her. These two danced around each other so much though! So, in addition to the angst of the revenge porn, you have the angst of these two pushing each other away. I typically don't like the overly angsty new adult reads, but the plot of Deeper is so compelling, I couldn't put it down. The angst isn't stupid drama-llama stuff; its real and it happens all the time. Its not manufactured angst like a miscommunication or something, so I didn't feel that the story was manipulating my emotions or creating angst just to be angsty. York's writing is emotive and flows well so you will be able to immerse yourself in the story.

My biggest struggle was that the book is so angsty, I couldn't read much of it at a time. I just can't seem to binge on stories with THIS much angst any more. I think its because I'm old and I don't have the patience, but whatever the reason, this book had to be read in small doses.

Cover notes: So, the cover is a bit confusing to me because the girl on the cover looks like a dancer to me. But, Caroline is not a dancer. Am I the only one who sees dancer when they look at the cover?

 

• POV: dual 1st


• Tears: yes


• Trope: crazy ex, college


• Triggers: Caroline is the victim on sexual harassment by her boyfriend and others on campus once the pictures of her are published. This may be a trigger for some women who have experienced this type of victimization.


• Series/Standalone: series


• Cliffhanger: yes


• HEA: ??-at the end of this book, they are not together

Wet by Stacy Kestwick, Finding Honor by Ripley Proserpina, Carter Reed by Tijan...then you will probably like Deeper!

 


Deeper





See full review on The Book Disciple ( )

Si alguien puede cambiar el estigma de que los personajes de libros NA son unidimensionales y clichés, esa persona es Robin York.

Caroline es el antítesis de las típicas protagonistas a las que estamos acostumbradas. Nada de angelical virgen, nada de mártir, nada de insegura y celosa, nada de aguantarse que la traten como una alfombra. En cambio de eso tenemos a una protagonista que a pesar de ser humillada y denigrada, no se victimiza. ¡Al fin una mujer equilibrada!

West, a primera vista sí puede parecer el típico mujeriego, pero a medida que vamos leyendo desde su punto de vista nos vamos dando cuenta que es mucho más complejo que eso.

Los personajes distan mucho de ser perfectos, por lo que son perfectamente humanos.

A pesar de que el nombre del libro es deliberadamente sexual, Deeper no es una historia erótica. Sí, claro, tiene escenas de sexo -y muy bien escritas- pero no son el eje de la trama.

Es refrescante leer un New Adult en donde el sexo sea un complemento natural del desarrollo de la historia, en vez de ser LA historia.

El final es bueno... a su manera. No es un cliffhanger como tal, pero tampoco da una conclusión a la historia, por lo que algunos tal vez prefieran esperar que salga el segundo libro antes de leer éste. ( )