Review: Into the Deep by Samantha Young

Synopsis:

Live young. Live hard. Love deep.

Charley Redford was just an ordinary girl until Jake Caplin moved to her small town in Indiana and convinced her she was extraordinary. Almost from day one Jake pulled Charley into the deep and promised he was right there with her. But when a tragic incident darkened Jake’s life he waded out into the shallows and left Charley behind.

Almost four years later Charley thinks she’s moved on. That is until she takes a study year abroad in Edinburgh and bumps into none other than Jake Caplin at a party with his new girlfriend. The bad-boy-turned-good attempts to convince Charley to forgive him, and as her best friend starts spending time with Jake’s, Charley calls a truce, only to find herself tumbling back into a friendship with him.

As they grow closer, the spark between them flares and begins playing havoc with their lives and relationships. When jealousy and longing rear their destructive heads, Charley and Jake struggle to come to grips with what they mean to one another.

And even if they work it out, there is no guarantee Charley will ever trust Jake to lead her back into the deep…

Review: 

Into the Deep is right up there with Beautiful Disaster in what I consider to be the apotheosis of the New Adult genre. The young love. The regrets. The angst. (OMG, the angst!) Samantha Young just gets it right. It's been over a decade since I was in college, but this brought me right back, it felt that real. I knew these people, these relationships, these romances. They were mine, too, and wow, what a powerful emotional trip to be back on. I stayed up all night to finish, and then still wanted more. And Ms. Young leaves it wide open for more, not only with Jake and Charley, but also with all the secondary characters - which I really hope we get to see more from. I loved this book! Fans of Samantha Young's previous work On Dublin Street or Jamie McGuire's Beautiful Disaster will not want to miss this one!

Into the Deep: 5/5 stars
Cover: 4/5 stars