Deeper (Caroline & West #1) by Robin York

Summary: 

In this New Adult debut by 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.

My Review: 

I went back and forth A LOT on how to rate this and I am sticking with it being a five star read…

It’s no secret that the genre of New Adult tends to leave me cold. I am not sure if it’s the mass magnitude of it lately or honestly the unoriginality of it but it’s just not IT for me. Having said that they are a few that have knocked my socks off and Deeper is now on that list.

This was no where on my radar. Not even in the same virtual book store as I have not read a book without two men as the MC’s in at least six months let alone m/f New Adult in at least 10 months.  But a friend read it and her reaction made me curious enough to attempt it. I went in thinking this would be the same old story and roll my eyes and that is so not what I got. Is this story something I haven’t read before? Yes and No. It follows a same pattern of the good girl with money and the bad boy with none but what the author does is give these two lost souls depth I was not prepared for.

First I have to say; the inability to quote this is driving me insane because I highlighted the holy hell out of it but the ARC has its limitations and I will follow them. Just know; both MC’s have fantastic things to say that made me laugh, cry and oh West how you made this girl swoon.

The blub sets this story up well so I won’t go into that. Caroline has had one hell of shitty thing done to her, it’s awful as anyone could imagine. To do something with a person you love/trust and have it tossed back at you in such a vindictive manner is sick. There is no way around that. What I love is that she doesn’t become this whiny girl getting lost in it. Sure, she thinks about it a lot but who wouldn’t and yet at the same time she takes action against it. She is trying to control all of it and you just can’t do that. No one is that strong and thank goodness the bad boy across the hall from Caroline has a thing for her and has some strength…oh West do you ever!

West…I have no shame and I am totally crushing on a boy who isn’t old enough to buy beer. I will freely admit that. Not only is he absolutely swoon worthy when you first meet him on the page but learning his back story made me fall head over heels for him. In this genre, you cannot get better than a boy of this quality. I loved reading who he was, what he was doing and where he wanted to go. You see, both Caroline and West have these plans, they have a future ahead of them and this crap that happens to Caroline can either derail that or enrich it. It becomes a bit of a mess at times but they way they deal with it, I loved it. Sure there is drama involved, some that I was ready to be over and done with before it was handled on the page but it’s all there where it needs to be.

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did, I will say that again. West…oh boy, yeah I am fixated on him at the moment. This boy ranks up there with Lucas from Easy, Noah from Pushing the Limits and Josh fucking Bennett from The Sea of Tranquility. Those boys are wonderful written characters who yes are the bad boy, the broken boy but each of them stole my heart in different and yet the same ways.

Deeper…I was not prepared for this at all. I was actually pretty damn sure I would go into and not be able to finish it, boy was I wrong. I read it at my desk today and openly sobbed at that ending. I so did not think that would happened but that snuck up on my and punched me straight in the heart. Good Lord! I knew where this all was headed but I did not want it to go there at all and I held my breathing repeating WTF in whispers as I turned page after page. I wasn’t aware there was a second book and MY GOD  I am so happy that there is but I need that book LIKE NOW! NOW! What happens? I can’t be left with just that, it’s impossible…come on July!

***ARC provided by Random House Publishing Group – Bantam Dell via NetGalley***