Well what can I say! Sometimes I think I have become prudish over the years so I was a little hesitant to read it. But I am so glad I did, it was funny and managed not to be too smutty!! LOL I wish I had the confidence she had!

OH MY GOD, THIS BOOK!!

I laughed, I cried and my god the anger it made me feel! I have never read such a hideous character in Sam! I love Julia so much! I didn't know what to expect with this book when I went into it, I didn't expect to learn so much about...well... sex! LOL. I'm not going to lie it's quite graphic at times, which is fine but it did make my eyes water!

Julia is on such a journey of self-discovery, she just picked the wrong woman to be on that journey to be with. After apparently breaking a man's penis - which was somewhat funny - not the breaking bit but the entire scenario, she decided after a night of passion, she preferred women. What follows is a frank, honest journey of a woman accepting who she is. Of course not without its bumps, one being a cow called Sam. She riled me so much I was dropping f-bombs each time she opened her mouth. She angered me with her behaviour it was just disgusting, and Julia, so naive and so in love....just took it. My heart was breaking.

I devoured this audiobook, I was with Julia every step, luckily not experiencing everything she did. I saw the world from her eyes and the love she had to give. Her friends were epic, and they were the cushion she needed in life. They protected her.

It's safe to say this book was firmly listened to through my headphones but the narrator Lucy Briggs-Owen is an epic one! Not quite sure how she might have read that without blushing but she brought the life and soul to these characters. I loved her narration and she added a dimension to this book.

It's an eye-opener for sure, but it's written in a way that you are incited with so many emotions right up to the last page. I will miss Julia

There are things about this novel that I really enjoyed - for example, the author is genuinely funny and has created some deeply hilarious characters and scenes. And things that I didn't enjoy much at all - for example, the MC seemed to be a bit of an 'instant lesbian' who had no previous inclinations of that sort but then, having had enjoyable sex with another woman, decides that that is what she is now.
The plot is actually really nicely done. The lighthearted humour of the first half of the novel juxtaposes the darkening tone of the second and mirrors the 'perfect girlfriend turns gaslighting psycho' plot in a satisfying manner.

What an amazing debut from Kate Davies! I had this one on my shelf to read for a while and I'm so glad that I picked this up.
A perfect read from start to finish, the story of Julia, a twenty something living in London. A story of relationships, in every sense of the word. I laughed, I cried, this book had it all. A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this for an honest review.
I'll definitely check out future work from Kate!

I thought this book would be a fun light hearted romp especially with the comparisons to Bridget Jones but that is almost the complete opposite of what I got by the end. The characters are toxic, there are uncomfortable scenarios that aren't addressed and just definitely not the book for me.

In at the Deep End By Kate Davies is a very funny, frank and quite dirty look at relationships. Not for those who are easily offended.

Enjoyable and funny but I found some of the characters a little grating and tiresome. A little predictable but all in all a good read.

Plot: ''A twenty-something Londoner who discovers that she may have been looking for love & pleasure in all the wrong places (i.e from men).''

A laugh-out-loud & absolutely devastating debut! I couldn't put it down but it certainly isn't one for the faint-hearted. It will either be loved or hated - a marmite read.

People: Julia is an incredibly funny, clever & self-aware protagonist, who goes through tremendous character development. The whole cast is complicated and genuine.

Pace: A fast-paced novel from a broken penis, to warehouse parties & polyamory. It is certainly one you won't forget in a hurry.

An interesting and often amusing story of a sex-starved young woman trying to get her love-life back on track.
IN AT THE DEEP END is quite a fun read. There were times when I didn't love the main characters, but I still felt for her plight and rooted for her to find the happy ending she wanted.
Well-written, and an enjoyable read.

There were things about this book that I really loved and things that really irritated me.

It’s well-written, and very funny at times, and I certainly learned a few things! Julia is complicated, misunderstood, confused, and sometimes I really felt sorry for her, and at other times I didn’t like her at all.

There are lots of side characters – a few of which were very interesting and I wanted to know more about them, but they didn’t feel fully realised.

Some of the situations seemed really far-fetched, and didn’t seem at all in character.

I think what annoyed me most though was that this did seem to be a white, middle-class, privileged woman dabbling in lesbianism. It felt a bit like she was trying it on for size, as if it was a bit of a ‘lark’ and she had none of the issues to deal with that others in the community might face – a lesbian version of Pulp’s ‘Common People’ almost! I appreciate it isn’t meant to be gritty, but it just felt a bit irritating.

Definitely worth a read, and perhaps I’m being a little harsh, because the writing is good, but a novel like this needs to have more depth.

A fun read, and very different to the books that I usually read.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a voluntary and honest review.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Julia hasn't got the best track record when it comes to love and relationships. It would appear that Julia has been looking in the wrong places to find the love and satisfaction that she craves. Julia embarks on a journey into the world of lesbianism. She attends a warehouse party hosted by her trendy friends and there meets her first lesbian encounter what follows is the light hearted and often funny story of Julia's journey into the lesbian world.

From the blurb, I was hooked. But I was constantly waiting for it to start. Sadly, the story lulled for me and I couldn’t quite connect with any of the characters. But I did enjoy the author’s writing style and some moments.

I thought the idea and the blurb for this sounded great but I thought the actual book itself was just not for me. It felt like the story just never got going for me and I wasn’t rooting for any of the characters either which is a must for me for being able to connect with a book unfortunately.

This book was a lot of fun. A queer woman's sexual awakening that sees her jumping right in the deep end with lesbianism, BDSM and polyamory - and finding herself a little overwhelmed. This book is really funny and a little too spot-on, to the point that I thought it might secretly be a memoir. But it turns out, totally fiction and very frankly written. I especially liked that it name-checked some of the LGBT+ spots I go to around East London, which is probably what made it feel so real. A really enjoyable read, especially for any millennial queers out there.

A must read for anyone who enters their 30s feeling like they're still not QUITE sure how they feel sexually. I don't want to brand Julia as a 'lesbian Bridget Jones' because she is definitely her own brand of sassy, awkward modern woman. I laughed out loud several times as she navigates her way through her first girl-on-girl encounters. As well as being a very funny, sexy romance, it's also a wonderfully grown-up coming-of-age story about a woman who still has so much to learn about herself and what she really wants. Very liberating and addictive!

I appreciate my review is later than I would have liked but hopefully I still add something to the discussion.

In At the Deep End launched amid much hype, thanks to the work of the publisher, and therefore I couldn't resist buying a copy for myself. The story follows Julia, who hasn't had sex in three years and is stuck in a dead end civil servant job. After a disaster of a date, where she is accused of breaking his penis, Julia realises that perhaps she's been looking for love in all the wrong places.

Oh my days, this book was filth. PURE FILTH. But its also really really good. It starts off funny, and then turns to filth, and then on to a serious note that I personally thought it did well. When I started reading In At the Deep End, I did not think I would love it as much as I did. After I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking about it and desperately wanted to talk about it with someone. In At the Deep End shines a much needed light on LGBT relationships and LGBT culture and it certainly taught me a few new things. I can see why its being compared to Bridget Jones but I honestly do feel it can stand on its own merits. It's not a book to read on public transport, but it is a book that I would definitely recommend. I can't wait for the author's next book and I am eagerly awaiting its arrival on Amazon so I can pre-order.

This book opened my eyes to a world I knew little about. The characters were rich and well-developed, and the dramatic moments felt tense and kept me reading. This book describes perfectly how being in a new relationship can be dizzy, exciting, all-consuming and at times, toxic.

Julia hasn’t had sex in three years, and she’s about to learn that she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. Embarking on an eye-opening journey into lesbianism, Julia opens herself up to some brand new and pretty niche experiences, including an LGBT swing dance class, raves, conceptual art shows, polygamy, S&M and sex clubs. She has well and truly jumped in at the deep end.

On the surface, this book really doesn’t sound that great, but something about it had me completely hooked.

There is a tonne of sex. It’s frank and filthy, but in a very direct, explanatory kind of way. The sexual activities throughout the story are pretty detailed (including strap-on dildos, fisting, etc) but not erotic at all. This book is filled with pure filth, but it isn’t designed to turn you on – which makes it remarkably readable (even for someone quite prudish like me).

While about 70% of the book is filled with sexual content, Julia spends at least 20% of it crying. In at the Deep End is surprisingly emotional, with some great characters who I found myself really caring about.

Julia herself is a great lead character. She’s witty, likeable – despite her denial and poor taste in girlfriends – and very real, and there’s a full cast of fantastic secondary characters, like Julia’s swing-dance friends and her WWII-veteran pen-pal. My personal favourite was her therapist, who absolutely should not be qualified to do that job but was brilliant nonetheless.

This book is a brilliantly written, straight-talking, up-front and funny read which I enjoyed way more than I expected to.