I loved this book!!! With this new release I have a new addition when it comes to my favourite books. We follow Scarlett und Lukas and how they fall in love with each other. We see our FMC struggle through mental health and our MMC help her with it. I just had a really good time with this book and will recommend it to every one who wants a new and refreshing book a la Ali Hazelwood.
Just awesome!

well im also in love with Lukas so Scarlett isnt special now is she - Ali hazelwood, the woman you are...

I don't think there is anything Ali Hazelwood can't do.

Deep End is even spicier (Can't believe that's even possible) but here we are!

I hope this isn't the only sports romance we get from her because there will never be enough.

you'll love every character, the plot is the perfect balance of spicy and story and just LOVE LOVE LOVE

Whatever Ali Hazelwood writes, I read. It's simple.

I loved Deep End. I loved seeing brilliant students be equally brilliant at something different (sports), all while travelling internationally, writing post-graduate level papers, taking on lab work and falling in love. More college sports STEM romance, please!

I also enjoyed the nuanced portrayal of female friendship, which I felt was explored more deeply than Ali's other books. It's lovely to see how an author grows in their storytelling and layering abilities with each new book, and I cannot wait to read what Ali has in store next for us.

ATEEEEE like always! Theres nothing miss Ali cant do like wdym this is a real book she wrote... oh she will always eat

Ali, as always, absolutely knocked it out of the park. Deep End explored a controversial topic in such an approachable way. Hazelwood's writing is only getting better with every book published.

By now I know that I’m an Alli Hazelwood girlie, and that I’m probably going to love what I read, and Deep End was no exception. It was as addicting as ever, and I fell hard for the characters. I loved watching them fall in love, even as they tried to deny it. I also really loved the sports part of the sports romance, which added a refreshing new element to Ali Hazelwood’s winning formula. Though American collegiate sports continue to baffle me, like what do you mean they’re competing in the olympics whilst also completing pre-med and applying to med school ??? That is simply Too Much.

This book was almost perfect. I loved the heavy details on the sports and the impact it has on mental health. However, I was way more invested in Pen and Scarlett's relationship than I was for her and Lukas. I felt like their development of feelings didn't feel authentic. Scarlett crying every time they had sex was also an annoying description that irked me. I had no issues against the sex and kinks, but it would have been nice to see more of the kinks they listed? Or some more aftercare, as it seemed light on the details there.

Deep end is Ali hazelwoods step into sports romance, while holding on to the ‘steminist’ vibes you expect from her books. This was probably her best book yet, with so much tension and angst throughout the book. It was emotional, funny, charming, and smart - but most of all hot. The kink element was well done, sexy but not over the top. It felt realistic with just the right amount of drama to keep you gripped. Scarlett’s emotional journey throughout the book was beautifully done and I found her to be such a relatable character. Even when she wasn’t at her best, I felt as the reader I was still empathically rooting for her. Lukas Blomquist as it turns out definitely fucks. I loved his character so much and seeing how much he clearly loved Scarlett even when she wasn’t ready was perfect. There was tension, chemistry, and so much pining I wanted to die. Pen was the perfect realistic ‘villain’ - narcissistic, unreliable, and the right amount of mean when she needed to be. She felt like every imperfect (sometimes backstabbing) friend I’ve had and I enjoyed her as a conflict to Lukas and Scarlett’s romance.

I love the way Ali Hazelwood writes. So many moments where inconspicuous sentences made me choke/laugh. I also feel like my vocabulary dramatically improves every time I read one of her books. Though a couple of the bdsm terms I could have lived without knowing.

Bonus points for Olive and Adam’s cameos.

Ali Hazelwood never misses and this was amazing, I read the physical books while listening to the audiobook and that made my reading experience even better, I loved Lukas and Scarlett together, they were so cute and hot and loved reading about their romantic development and also about their introduction to kink and seeing how safe they felt together.

I absolutely adored this book. This book was perfection!! Ali hazelwood is a wonder with words and feelings and will never fail to make me fall in love with her mmc. I loved the exploration of kink, i thought it was done extremely well considering these are 21/22 year olds discovering themselves. I thought the mental blocks vandy was going through felt extremely realistic and the pressure!! Honestly another 5 star for Ali

Just finished The Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, and it’s everything I wanted tightly wound ambition, unbearable tension, and a refreshingly nuanced take on power dynamics. TikTok went into a frenzy about the inappropriate amount of spice, but I think it’s absolutely perfect, love and passion come in many shades, and this is a beautifully safe exploration of BDSM for anyone basking in the gray shades. Scarlett and Lukas navigate Olympic-level pressure alongside something far more intimate, making this a romance with real depth, intelligence, and just the right amount of surrender.

Another hit from Ali Hazelwood. The spicy scenes were frequent and perhaps a little too spicy this time for me (I LOVE The Love Hypothesis!) but there was real depth to the characters and their stories and I feel like Ali improves with every book.
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the read.

The author’s writing has grown, weaving a romance that feels both raw and intimate, filled with moments of passion, heartbreak, and healing. The connection between the protagonists is beautiful, unfolding with a natural grace that makes every glance, every touch, and every whispered word feel profoundly meaningful.

Scarlett "Vandy" Vandermere and Lukas Blomqvist are both competitive college level athletes. Scarlett is a diver recovering from an horrific injury that almost ended her career and Lukas is a child prodigy Olympic swimmer who is focussed on all things control, be it in the pool or the bedroom. When Luk and his girlfriend Pen break up due to his wish to be more dominant in the bedroom, she confides in her diving team mate Vandy, who as luck would have it is a willing submissive.

Now I love Ali Hazelwood's books, having read almost all of them now, and as always there was a nice throw back to an earlier one as The Deep End features both Olive and Adam from the Love Hypothesis. But this one just didn't do it for me! There was all the talk of BDSM and then barely anything more than a few slightly spicier than usual sex scenes. Which would be fine if the characters really had that much chemistry. They jump from barely knowing each other to sleeping together, and yes they then start to chat more but they're so frequently in different parts of the world that the story is mainly made up of Scarlett trying to overcome the mental block of her injury and the two characters having fairly vanilla sex.

I didn't hate the story, the way that Lukas is dominant without verging on mentally damaging is well done, and there's clearly some research gone into how divers both train and recover from injury. It was just a bit flat for me. I either wanted a more epic love story that then turned into a kinky one, or full on smut that had less talk and more action, this was neither. And I really missed the STEM elements which this started to go towards and then took a sharp turn away from never to be mentioned again!

Ali Hazelwood’s first sport romance! Scarlett’s a diver and Lukas’s a swimmer (but they’re also brilliant STEM students). What started as casual fling arrangement turned into something more over time and they couldn’t control it.

Scarlett reminded me of the song "this is me trying" by Taylor Swift. She loves being in control of her life, being on top of everything she does. Until she got a fatal injury during a televised diving competition, and her life started to fall apart. Lukas practically is a celebrity athlete but he never act like it matter to him, but one thing that's crystal clear is that he cares deeply for Scarlett. They were set up by Pen who's Scarlett's best friend AND Lukas's recent ex. Now what I want to highlight is that Ali Hazelwood is incapable of writing characters that are NOT compelling. every characters has their charms, and together they have amazing dynamics. I love the banters and laughed out loud many times.

Ngl it’s not my fav from Ali. Too spicy to my liking. But other than that they still make a very good couple, how they're perfect for each other. BTW, Adam & Olive’s cameo were delightful, and I liked the ending. Also now I see Ali's vision with "Whet". It was a perfect title for this book omg what a missed opportunity...

I absolutely loved this one! But I have to admit, I didn't enjoy it as much as Ali's other books. I felt like something was missing that usually gives Ali's book that spark. That isn't to say this book was bad. Not at all! I enjoyed this a lot, and really loved the character's chemistry and story. Ali writes those like no other! Definitely a must read.

this is, without a doubt, my new fav book by Ali Hazelwood!!! I loved this one so much. Scarlett and Lukas were perfection and I didn’t want this book to end!!! their connection, their chemistry is absolutely top notch.
I’m obsessed with them. I need everyone to read this book.
and honestly, Lukas Blomqvist is perfect.

thank you Sphere and Ali Hazelwood for the arc.

I really liked this book, it might be one of the best ones by Ali Hazelwood yet.
The chemistry between Lukas and Scarlett was amazing and I liked that they were friends first and then they decided to move onto the next step.
I love how Ali Hazelwood always has a specific theme in her books, it's fun to read about a topic I wouldn't know anything about if I hadn't read her books.
Furthermore I liked that Scarlett also formed a real friendship with Pen. Its heartwarming to see how they supported each other, I'm really happy that at the end they sorted they differences out.
I really loved this book and I'm gonna buy it for my bookshelf even though you were so kind to let me read it for free. Thank you.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advance copy of this book a month ago, you don't know how happy you have made me because I loved this book from start to finish.

This review may contain spoilers.

I know it's Ali's debut book in the BDSM, sport romance and college boy scene, but I think she nailed it in her own light fun way and with that perfect romantic touch that her main characters always have.

Lukas, this man is amazing, I can't believe he doesn't exist, while I was reading I thought he was real, he is wonderful, every time he talks to Scarlett, how he calls her by her name, HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CALLS HER THAT, how he cares about her and is by her side every moment.

I love that he is so respectful to her and from the beginning he is always direct.

Scarlett is perfect, I have felt very identified with her, she is a bit insecure and doesn't really know if the others are her friends or not although she considers them so and I feel that I am partly her, only that Scarlett is a professional and she is super intelligent and gives 100% of herself always.

The love relationship between them is very nice, I feel that they communicate a lot and they manage to create an explosive chemistry, more than once I blushed with their spicy scenes.

This is the first time I've read about professional swimmers or high jumping in the pool, but I loved it, every time Ali shows me something new, it's awesome.

As always, there is something scientific, and that is that this couple is studying medicine, oh I love them, I love that they are young adults in college and being together from the start, please Ali, we need a book of them as adults.

BTW, WHEN OLIVE AND ADAM CAME OUT I WAS SCREAMING, I love when there are crossovers in their books.

Anyway, I already need the next Ali book.