ABOUT ROBIN
Robin York grew up at a college, went to college, signed on for some more college, and then married a university professor. She still isn’t sure why it didn’t occur to her to write New Adult sooner. Writing as Ruthie Knox, she is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary romance, including RITA-finalists About Last Night and Room at the Inn. She moonlights as a mother, makes killer salted caramels, and sorts out thorny plot problems while running, hiking, or riding her bike.
Caroline Piasecki never imagined the guy she dated for several years and trusted implicitly would ever do something so … horrible to her.
What she thought was an uneventful breakup ends up being anything but when her d-bag of an ex decides he isn’t happy with Caroline’s decision to end things.
When Caroline wakes up to find pictures of her … ones she trusted the man she thought she loved at one point with… all over the internet, she feels like her future is destroyed. The plans she had for her future are in jeopardy and there is nothing she can ultimately do.
West Leavitt isn’t exactly the person he’s made Caroline think he is. Known around campus for dealing pot and random hookups, he’s doing everything he can to not get involved, but he can’t keep his fists to himself when Caroline’s ex starts making comments about what he’s done.
West and Caroline aren’t friends though… even though she makes her way to the bakery that West works at on her sleepless nights and they talk and they listen and they learn about each other.
West’s history is complicated though. He hasn’t had the life that Caroline has and they can’t pretend that it doesn’t and won’t impact their future.
Enough about the plot though! York has created amazing characters full of depth and passion in this first book in the series and I was blown away by how much I found myself caring about them.
West’s circumstances, while dark and heavy, definitely weigh on you, but that didn’t change how I felt about him at all. His determination to survive and to help his family are things that made me care even more than I expected.
And Caroline’s story is hard to swallow. The fact that this man… no wait… this asshole that she trusted could do something so heinous to her and then not even care or think about the repercussions it could have on her and her future … it makes me angry just thinking about it again while writing this.
I haven’t told him about the pictures. I can’t.
I’m a mouth with a boy’s dick in it, a body to look at, legs to spread.”
yeah… I definitely want to murder someone and his name is Nate. And the sad thing is, this isn’t something that the author made up… it happens a lot. (you can read about it in her author note at the end of the book)
Not only is Caroline dealing with the backlash of fellow students, random strangers are now harassing her and the way York portrays Caroline’s story felt so spot on for me. Her journey from the start of this book to the very last page was amazing and so wonderful.
The security she finds through West… so completely unexpected, was lovely.
That’s how it looks to me. Like the stars are in Caroline, and the whole world is just me and her.
But he doesn’t just help her hide, he pushes her to get back to her life… to stop letting him victimize her over and over.
And of course that trust and friendship evolves and the pacing of their relationship was done so perfectly. It wasn’t instant love and to be honest it wasn’t even instant friendship, but you see the evolution of the actual relationship, you can see why they start to care for each other and along the way you can’t help but cheer them on… and of course the sexy moments between these two were amazing to read.
I didn’t plan this, but her lips shape the welcome I’ve been waiting for my whole life, her arms are the anchor I need, her body is my home.
We’re right together, Caroline and me. Even if I’m doing this wrong, completely fucking wrong, it doesn’t matter.
We’re right.
Now… I will say this. The end of this book is very open ended. Not a cliffhanger at all, but you’re not sure where York is going to take it in book 2. I have every confidence that I will eventually be happy, but be forewarned… you may have some tears
If you’re looking for a story that is beautifully written but tackles a tough issue, a story that is filled with some swoon worthy moments and wonderful chemistry, a story that has some angst and sadness wrapped in a story of love and friendship, then you need to pick up Deeper when it arrives in January.
Now…. GIMME BOOK TWO!!
Thank you to Bantam and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
All quotes are taken from an advance copy and could change in publication.
Erin’s Thoughts
Deeper by Robin York
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved this one.
Robin York writes a story that draws the reader in from the very first page. Caroline, the main character, experiences something that could happen to anyone. In the world of New Adult books, this one is well done and stands out as an example of why I always come back to the genre.
Caroline is in her sophomore year of college and has just recently broke up with her boyfriend, Nate, of three years. He was her first everything and during their relationship, she allowed him to take some pictures that she knew were a bad idea but because she trusted him, she let it slide. At this point, here is where I say, “Mistaaaaake.”
Nate’s an ass and he does a really assholish thing by taking the pictures and loading them onto some pornography sites after their break up. Caroline knows that this can hurt everything she has worked for and impact her chances to getting a great internship as well as into law school. At first she is very much a victim and reacts like one. She avoids going out and tries to avoid Nate but luck would have it that as she is leaving class one day she runs into (literally) West and Nate having an argument. Afterward, she hunts West down to find out what he was thinking and this becomes the beginning of their relationship.
West has grown up in a family where he has had to take care of everything. His father isn’t much of a father and his mother can’t be trusted to take care of his little sister Frankie consistently. He has done some things that he isn’t necessarily proud of but would most likely do them again if it meant he would be able to provide a better life for his sister. In his attempt to ensure that Frankie is cared for, he has decided he will do whatever he can to make a better life for them and that includes going away to college. The day he makes it to college is the day he meets Caroline and he definitely makes an impression on her. For a year they try to avoid each other but every time they meet, they seem to be drawn to each other. The day that West fights Nate is the day things start to change.
I loved that West made Caroline face everything. If he hadn’t pushed her to realize that things happen and life isn’t always perfect, she probably would have just gone along saying everything was fine and probably never would have gotten to a point where she takes charge of everything going on in her life. By doing so, she faces her father and forces West to figure out what he wants. The build of their relationship was perfectly done. There was definitely sexual tension and when they finally did something about it…wow! That is all I will say.
I am excited to see where York takes West’s and Caroline’s stories so to say I want the next book would probably be understated. She killed me with the way things were left and the airport scene….GAH! I need more of these two and I really hope Caroline gives Nate a kick in the balls at some point. Definitely check this one out when you can, you won’t regret it.
Thank you to Netgalley and Bantam for the review copy.
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