Total Book Geek: Robin York

In Robin York’s provocative new novel, two young ex-lovers find themselves together again in the shadow of tragedy—and an intense, undeniable attraction.

Caroline still dreams about West. His warm skin, his taut muscles, his hand sliding down her stomach. Then she wakes up and she’s back to reality: West is gone. And before he left, he broke her heart.

Then, out of the blue, West calls in crisis. A tragedy has hit his family—a family that’s already a fractured mess. Caroline knows what she has to do. Without discussion, without stopping to think, she’s on a plane, flying to his side to support him in any way he needs.

They’re together again, but things are totally different. West looks edgy, angry at the world. Caroline doesn’t fit in. She should be back in Iowa, finalizing her civil suit against the ex-boyfriend who posted their explicit pictures on a revenge porn website. But here she is. Deeply into West, wrapped up in him, in love with him. Still.

They fought the odds once. Losing each other was hard. But finding their way back to each other couldn’t be harder.

*I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Sometimes I wonder why authors write two books about a couple when it could've easily been one. That is how I feel about this story. It could have all been told in one book, but now it's spread out in two and that felt unnecessary to me.

The last time we saw West and Caroline they each went their own way. West back home to Silt and Caroline home to prepare for her civil suit against Nick. She's been doing pretty well overall. Of course she misses West, but so far she's been able to focus on other things. When West calls her in the middle of the night in crisis, she's on the first plane.

Things between them are weird. West is very distant and Caroline wants to be there for him, but so far all she had to do was look after Frankie. His little sister is his world. Seeing where West came from is still a bit of a shock for Caroline. He just becomes a different man there.

This time it's actually West's story. His struggle to break clean from his past and daring to give himself a future he wants and deserves. All this while also taking care Frankie and maybe even finding a place for caroline in his life.

We already know these characters, so it was easy to get back in the zone with them. Though due to the fact that this whole book felt unnecessary to me, I had some troubles with it. It was a pretty slow read to me and I never truly got sucked into the story. So honestly it was a bit boring.

It was well written and I liked the dual pov. The struggles West had with his sister Frankie was interesting, though in general I felt a certain distance towards the story. It took me a while to pick up this one and while reading I just couldn't fully get into it. I really liked the first book in this duology. Caroline's predicament was bold, refreshing and very current. While West's story was interesting, it wasn't enough for me.

Caroline & West - Reading order and purchase links

Deeper: My review - Amazon - Kindle

Harder: Amazon - Kindle

The Author

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 andRoom 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.

Connect with Robin York:

Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

*I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

When Caroline Piasecki’s ex-boyfriend posts their sex pictures on the Internet, it destroys her reputation as a nice college girl. Suddenly her once-promising future doesn’t look so bright. Caroline tries to make the pictures disappear, hoping time will bury her shame. Then a guy she barely knows rises to her defense and punches her ex to the ground.

West Leavitt is the last person Caroline needs in her life. Everyone knows he’s shady. Still, Caroline is drawn to his confidence and swagger—even after promising her dad she’ll keep her distance. On late, sleepless nights, Caroline starts wandering into the bakery where West works.

They hang out, they talk, they listen. Though Caroline and West tell each other they’re “just friends,” their feelings intensify until it becomes impossible to pretend. The more complicated her relationship with West gets, the harder Caroline has to struggle to discover what she wants for herself—and the easier it becomes to find the courage she needs to fight back against the people who would judge her.

When all seems lost, sometimes the only place to go is deeper.

Review:
Deeper doesn't feel like your typical New Adult novel. Just the theme alone is different. In this day and age revenge porn happens all too often and unfortunately in most states it is still legal. When Caroline finds out her ex-boyfriend did this to her, her world nearly collapses. Knowing so many people have seen her naked and performing, fills her with shame. Now she is constantly haunted by the comments men leave online after seeing those pictures. This leaves her all very raw and wary, making her doubt every clothing choice, every look thrown her way.

The story starts when Caroline finds out what her ex-boyfriend has done and her gradually learning how to cope with the consequences of that. It seems that almost everyone blames her for what happened and she believes them. Though with the help of a certain guy and just her becoming stronger, she realises who really is to blame and to step above it all. It's not because of the guy that suddenly everything was alright, rather him standing by her side and showing her that those pictures don't define her.

The relationship between West and Caroline isn't instant, certainly not. West is so driven and works so many jobs, to give his sister the life she deserves, so he doesn't need anyone else in his life. He is focused on his goal and he mustn't deviate from his path. This does not mean that there isn't any attraction, on the contrary. From the moment they first met (one year ago), they were very aware of each other. After what happened to Caroline they grow closer.

She starts hanging out at the bakery he works at night and those moments show you how their relationship evolves. From easy banter, to serious conversations and learning how to make bread. All flows very naturally and gives them the time to grow beyond the physical attraction.

Deeper is not a fast paced novel, some parts got a bit dragged out and that made it just more dramatic. It doesn't end with a cliffhanger, though there will definitely be a second book. West and Caroline's story isn't over. It was an emotional story about love, friendship and acceptance.