Deep Blue by Jules Barnard

Deep Blue
by Jules Barnard
Rating: 4 of 5 stars

My Review:
My very first taste of New Adult romance was a winner. When I saw Deep Blue was set in Lake Tahoe, I just couldn't resist. It's so interesting to see novels written near where you live. I've found some that are a credit to the area and some that just don't work at all. This one was great; well researched, lots of places I could picture, and a good feel for the area experience.

I came into this new-to-me genre with some general ideas of what to expect: fresh out of college, trying to figure out where life is going, etc. This book lived up to that idea in an authentic way. It's written first person, so we only see what Cali is going through and it brought up all kinds of memories for me of what that age was like, the worry and stress and almost innocence to life. Also the thrill and anxiety of striking out on your own and supporting yourself. The heat level of this novel was very mild. Not exactly closed door, but not explicit or drawn out sexual situations. There's attraction and sexual tension, but most of the relationship lives as an emotional entity instead of raw lust.

Cali was a complex character who was trying to figure out what her next step is after college. She was going to head off to graduate school, but she just doesn't feel passionate about it. The story is told first person and you truly feel apart of her emotional angst and depth of feeling. Most of the time, she seemed very even and steady, not overly emotional, but very attached to her friends.

I read straight through the first half of the book with no breaks because I felt so emotionally tied to both Cali and Jaeger. That part of the book is their love story and it's filled with angst, misunderstandings, and attempts at emotional maturity. I respected Cali for having the wherewithal to concretely end things with her ex, and make sure her friend wasn't in love with Jaeger, before they started a relationship. I was thrilled that both characters were full of integrity and loyalty.

Now, that was the first fifty percent. Pretty soon after that, they both said I love you and I was wondering how the book could possibly hold my interest another fifty percent That's when the real drama and mystery started. The story was pretty much non-stop action through the second half. Cali gets dragged into all sorts of trouble, like she's being ricochetted around in a pinball machine, in addition to her continuing struggle with where she wants her life to go. Some of it happened a little too fast and furious for me. Like, how many things can truly happen to one person in a couple weeks.

It was a gripping adventure, but there were times I rolled my eyes at the shenanigans. The “evil woman” had no personality besides just being evil. And it was a creepy, skin crawling evil to me that made me feel distrustful of people in general. Cali is super trusting, which backfires many times. There were lots of plot threads coming from all different directions and they all coalesced into one answer that felt a little far fetched to me. There are also some loose ends that I assume will be worked out in the next book of the series.

In the end, everything wrapped up nice and tidy. We don't really see a huge cathartic finish. The problems are solved and everyone moves on with happy times. No fake happily-ever-after here, but a content and on-the-road-to-fulfilled ending. I was satisfied that neither character was committing to forever and ever, but I felt like I wanted a little more of their life before we left them.

All together, I thought the writing was fun and real. I liked the personalities inside the book. Cali and Jaeger were happy, well adjusted people, with fun foibles and accepting personalities. It was a good, solid introduction to the New Adult genre for me and I'll definitely look for more by this author.

I received a complementary ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.