A Review for Deeper (Caroline & West #1) by Robin York

Posted by Donna
Release Date: March 6th, 2013
Finished Date: March 16, 2014

Publishers: Pitakus
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: For Review

Format: Paperback
Pages: 391

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

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 defence 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.

The Review: 3.5 flowers!

I’ve been on a huge New Adult kick lately, so when I saw Deeper by Robin York popping up on my news feeds on Goodreads and Facebook, I knew I wanted to read it because of the events that happen to the main character, Caroline.

Caroline has just started college when her ex-boyfriend releases pictures of her on the internet for all her classmates and the world to see. And they’re not just normal pictures, but pictures of her half naked. Caroline does the only thing she can think of and that’s shutting down, becoming someone who shies away from everyone and everything, and all she can think of is the pictures and the nasty comments that have been said about her. People aren’t forgetting as quickly as she’d like. It’s not until the one guy her father warned her to stay away from; West, comes to her defence and hits her ex-boyfriend. Somehow, Caroline ends up in the middle but it finally gives her the opportunity to talk to West, something she’s wanted to do for a while. But she’s not prepared for how she feels when she’s around him, and she’s totally not prepared for how he reacts around her. She knows he has some issues of his own, but if you combine them with her issues, can these two really have some form of a relationship when they can't even be honest with each other?

"Revenge Porn” is a subject that I don’t recall ever reading about in a book before. So this was a new story for me and I liked that it was something new. The act itself was horrible and I wouldn’t wish it to happen to anyone, but things like this do happen and it’s very sad that people would violate someone else’s privacy, especially if they once had a relationship with that person. Our main character goes through the same thing and I have to say, I thought she did a good job of handling it the best she could, without trying to get her parents involved. I do wish she’d told someone or got help from someone, but I could see her reasoning for not wanting too.

Caroline was an okay character. I can’t say she was fantastic nor did I hate her, but she was likeable. West, I liked better. However, his consistent back and forth in the book was at times, a little annoying. I understood his reasoning’s for backing away; I just didn’t think they warranted that much back and forth. As friends or as lovers, these two characters we’re much more enjoyable together than apart. When their together, sparks fly and it’s intense. But when they’re not together, the story was sometimes a little slow. It was definitely the baking scenes that left a mark in my heart. You could feel and see how much the characters struggled with their feelings for one another, and it really added the intensity to the story.

The ending does leave on a little cliff-hanger so you will be definitely left wanting more. So I know I’ll be reading the sequel when it’s released, and in the meantime, I’ll be checking out some of the authors other books that have been released under her real name, Ruthie Knox.

Favourite Quote: “When you've got a shot at deeper, you have to fist your hands in its T-shirt and pull it closer. Tug until fabric rips. Yank at it, reel it in until it's naked up against your belly and you're starving and full, desperate and satiated, dizzy and grounded.”

Thank you Pitakus for the opportunity to review this book, in exchange for an honest review.