Deeper by Robin York
Series: Caroline & West #1
Publication date: January 28th, 2014
Pages: 402
Synopsis (according to Goodreads):
In the New Adult debut from beloved contemporary romance author Ruthie Knox, writing under the pseudonym Robin York, a college student is attacked online and must restore her name--and stay clear of a guy who's wrong for her, but feels so right.
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.
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Review:
Working at a used bookstore I see all manner of books come through that door. Eager customers wanting to trade in even their most favorite reads so others can benefit from the author's poignant stories and make someone feel the way they did when they read the book. I had seen the sequel to Deeper called Harder sitting on our store's shelf for a while. On a whim I decided to give the series a chance. It's new adult set in a college atmosphere with a troubled girl and a misunderstood bad boy... why wouldn't I want to see what this debut series was all about?
Caroline's life is over. Not her physical life, that would be too simple. Her social life and even her future are all crushed under the weight of a vengeful ex-boyfriend. Caroline thought she was giving her ex exactly what he wanted when she allowed him to take those pictures of her. Pictures of her in sexual situations with him. She thought they were just for him. That he would never share them, even after they broke up. Caroline was wrong. Her pictures are plastered all over the internet and perverted men are commenting on every aspect of her. They are ripping her apart and she allows herself to believe everything they say about her. She lets it sink in and get under her skin where it festers... until she finds solace in the boy determined to prove she is anything but what people say about her.
West has pined for Caroline from the moment he first laid eyes on her. He watched her from a distance as she allowed herself to be overshadowed by the smug ex she clung to. He knew she deserved better, especially after that same ex did the unforgivable and attacked Caroline so vehemently. West attacks her ex and Caroline gets caught in the crossfire. What seems to be an unfortunate accident turns into a shaky friendship between the two. However, the closer the two get the more they realize that their feelings for one enough are stronger than friendship. Deeper.
I have seen things in the media about revenge porn. Spiteful exes sharing pictures of the people they feel wronged them on the internet in hopes of hurting the person in question as much as possible. It's an epidemic. I was drawn in from the first chapter and could not put the book down the entire night. When 4am rolled around and I had read the last sentence in the book, I started scrolling through my library to find the next installment. I was addicted. I was consumed. I was utterly enthralled with the world Robin York had created and the tough subject matter she brought to light. I admired Caroline finding her strength and West finding some of his own in helping her do so. Caroline and West are two souls so much alike but from completely different backgrounds. Some how the two of them just complete each other. They are each the yin to the other's yang. I loved their chemistry.
Sometimes you find a book that doesn't just make you feel, it makes you think. It changes your perspective on things and shakes your world up. Deeper shook me up to the point of not knowing where the fictitious world ended and my reality began.
