The more lines they cross, the deeper they get…
Top cadet Lana Marsden lives by the rules. The most important rule of all: no messing around with an officer. She learned that one the hard way.
Now her only desire is to survive the grueling DEEP Training program and leave that scandalous past behind.
When she reports to Station Six amid wild rumors of erotic hazing rituals and sadomasochistic games, she’s not prepared for any of the rumors to be true—or for her insatiable attraction to Sergeant “Catch” Durant, her tattooed rebel of a trainer.
One touch from Catch, and Lana knows she’s in trouble. One night of white-hot ecstasy, and the rules melt away.
Catch knows sweet, sexy Lana is forbidden. She’s his trainee, and her overprotective brother is his best friend. But one taste and Catch knows the last woman he’s supposed to touch will be the one to bring him to his knees. Which is exactly where he wants to be…
A cadet with a secret.
An officer with a secret kink.
A whole lot of rules to be broken.
DEEP is the first full-length novel in the DEEP Series. Contains hot men (and women) in uniform, a violated Code of Conduct, and ice cream. Intended for adult readers, 18+.
I’m sitting here thinking
about Deep and not really sure how I feel.
I knew upfront that this was a “to be continued” book. And while I was expecting a cliffhanger I
prayed that we were getting a series. I like the writing, the story, and the characters
development. I like just about
everything until the last chapter or so.
I’m trying but can’t wrap my head around the ending at all. I’m not saying it is bad it just isn’t
sitting right. So…
What I really like about this book:
The setting: I like the space station and the near future
setting. I’m not a Sci-Fi fan. (I hardly ever read science fiction although
there are some television shows and movies that I like and watch regularly.) The setting here adds to the mystery and
tension that flows through the story.
Even though the story takes place on a training space station for deep
space duty it didn’t feel unrealistic.
It felt more like a military setting with a twist and the romance is
more central to the story then the space station.
The characters:
Lana is my go to heroine type. She feels real as a strong woman with flaws
and baggage. She is goal oriented driven
to reach her goals. Her emotions and
need to escape her parents’ life build her character. As much as she wants to succeed she doesn’t
use her connections, an admirable trait.
She is strong and confident and doesn’t stoop to dirty tricks like many
classmates. I really understood Lana--until
the end. (I’ll talk about this later.)
Catch A.K.A. SFC
Tristan Durant is the perfect love interest for Lana. He is dark, mysterious, and sexy with a side
of kink. The chemistry between Catch and
Lana is there from the start even though they know it is wrong. He has enough secrets to keep the reader
engaged and inquiring minds want to know his story.
Thorough is the perfect
villain. He is easy to hate and causes
trouble whenever he can. The way he is
written pulls out my protector instinct.
We get just enough about his history to realize it is jealousy that drives
his actions against Catch and anyone he cares about. I am a fan of a bad guy who is bad through
and through and Thorough fits the bill.
My issues:
Alex, Lana’s brother is a
strong, sexy, alpha male. He appears to
love his sister, qualities that normally have me cheering for the character but
not in this case. I can’t wrap my head around his actions. He is a hypocrite big time and I want to
punch him in the gut. By the end his
actions really piss me off. A brother
should be loyal and stand up for his friend and his sister. Alex never gets
it. The circumstances around his
decision making are "eye rolling”.
No matter how hard I try I can’t
understand the “interfering big brother” trope.
How can a loving brother not want his sister happy? I get a protective family but my goodness if
you have a best friend you know them – good and bad. If you keep a friend for a long time the good
outweighs the bad. I’ll never understand an
adult male relative who sabotages an adult female relative’s love life. That isn’t love it is stupid.
The support characters are
interesting but a little too sketchy. There
are too many mysteries and unanswered questions surrounding them that their
purpose isn’t clear. Possibly this is just
a new author learning her trade or maybe I’m reading this wrong. I’ll admit that there is a lot of potential just
too much hanging in my opinion.
Finally, the cliffhanger/ending
fell flat. I lost my connection with
Lana in the last chapter. Catch gives Lana
what she says she wants. Her actions
aren’t believable for the character as I see her. Why the change? It feels like in trying to build angst, a
cliffhanger, and a desire to read the next book the character gets lost. There are too many unanswered questions so
instead of feeling anticipation for the next book I feel a little
disappointed. Please don’t get me wrong I like Deep
and I want to read the next book. I want
to know what happens to the characters so I’m sitting here scratching my head.
Deep
is a fascinating debut novel from Jaine Diamond. There are many aspects of this book that I
really, really like. Ms. Diamond has
excellent writing skills. The kink is a
little out there but pulls me into the book and there is the potential to make
the next book great. We’ll see. Anyway
I want my questions answered so I’ll make a note on my calendar to look for the
next book due out sometime this year.
3.75 STARS
ᐧ
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