Deep End by Ali Hazelwood

genre: contemporary romance

Up on the platform or down in the diving well has been where Scarlett has always felt most at home - until now.  An injury has made the pool into a space of deep frustration as a mental block is keeping Scarlett from performing how she used to.  Pile that on top of classes, stress about the MCAP and a general feeling of being unsettled in the world and Scarlett's time at Stanford is not at all happening how she'd hoped.  Then a new friend slips a secret about the boyfriend she just broke up with and suddenly a fellow athlete - an Olympic swimmer, no less - seems like he might be more her type than she'd even dared to hope.

Straight up - this is steamy.  The main thread involves power dynamics and kinks so if that is not something you'd feel comfortable reading out, this is not for you.  I'm gonna be honest - I don't mind reading about it except that all the dialogue feels cheesy to me and I don't love it (no shade on people who like it!).  There are several tropes at play but whatevs.  What I did like is the collegiate, elite athletic setting, the process of overcoming dive panic and how smart our main character is.  The love interest is too perfect for real life but I guess that's what we sometimes read stories like this for.  It was a super fast read and even with its faults it kept me up too late.  3 stars for that.