After living for 3 years without sex, Julia discovers she's a lesbian, and takes us on a thoroughly riotous romp through her new found, sexually liberated life. This book is so graphic, it actually shocked me. And I'm generally unshockable! It would not do for prudes, but me? I loved it. Whilst there is also a deeper, darker under tone to this story, as book touches on abuse within a same sex relationship, the vast majority of it is utterly hilarious. In fact, I embarrassed myself several times by snorting loudly whilst in completely inappropriate surroundings. Great stuff!

Don’t say the blurb doesn’t warn you. In at the Deep End is indeed extremely frank and deep down dirty. It is also gut achingly funny, tender, poignant and as a coming of age novel for the 21st Century, pretty unbeatable.
I wanted something different for my first read of 2019 and In at the Deep End with its LGBTQIA affirmation felt like an interesting approach.
Written in an engaging and slightly naïve voice, this novel begins in a traditional enough fashion with a young woman in a relationship that is bringing her no joy at all. In no time, I was laughing my head off, recognising some of the more awful moments I have had with fleeting relationships. It was great to revel in the female camaraderie, enjoying the rapport and sharing that marks out a group of close friends. But underlying this slightly Bridget-Jones-ish voice is someone more serious. A young woman searching for her sense of self; grappling for the first time with gender politics and struggling to find her own voice and sense of self-worth.
I know young women who have entered into the kind of toxic relationship portrayed here. It feels valid and authentic and while this is ultimately a highly enjoyable, well written feel-good story with lots of graphic sex, it is also a vivid portrait of one woman’s struggle to assert her sense of self-worth in a toxic relationship.
Funny, filthy, feel-good and frank, I loved this book for its authenticity and its honesty.

I really enjoyed this, it was darkly funny and the characters were really entertaining. This definitely isn't for those that are easily offended, the sex scenes were extremely graphic.
An interesting look at the dynamics of relationships, both personal, familial and workplace.

In at the Deep End by Kate Davies a four-star read that will rock you. If you like your writing gentle and soft, then this isn’t the one for you this was crude and honest and fantastically brilliant. This one had me grabbing my kindle and announcing to my work crowd with a crazed look on my face and going ‘I’m diving in and I may not come out alive or at least not without blushing’ they are used to my brand of crazy and know it takes some to get me blushing with my lunch time reading. This one had me blushing and snorting, Julia is such a great character you will have a hard time not loving her, her journey is a tough one but its also revealing in many ways.

I was quite disappointed in this book.

We follow Julia who embarks on a relationship with butch lover Sam who actively sleeps with other women. I found the constant descriptions of fisting uncessessary, and how come they go to sm clubs and sleep with other women, yet none of them participated in scissoring which i found quite strange. They were rather fond of strap ons though which i thought was over the top because many lesbians dont enjoy penetration, hence why we are lesbians!

I thought too much of the book was taken up on her disasterous relationship, and not on the slow build of her new one.

Many apologies but I am the wrong reader for this book. I tried to keep on reading but I reached 11% and I was just too uncomfortable, and dreaded returning to read more. The humour in it didn't really work for me at all. Having said all this I can see many other readers really enjoying it. However, it just is not for me.

A fun romp of a book! Sometimes thought that it was a bit self consciously rude and in-your-face but the story underneath that was a good one. TW; gaslighting and abusive relationships but they were dealt with really well and realistically. Enjoyed this and would recommend!

Julie thinks the reason she hasn’t fell in real love is because she’s been going for the wrong gender- she quickly falls into her first lesbian relationship head first (literally!). This is sizzling hot, but shows us that regardless of gender, life and relationships aren’t always rosy on the other side.

Julia, a civil servant in the correspondence department in London, shares a flat with her best friend Alice and her boyfriend Dave. Grumpy from being kept awake most of the night by Alice and Dave’s sex noises her mood is further soured by Alice pointing out that she hasn’t had sex in three years. Determined to change that, Julia sets off on a mission to meet people and bring about some changes in her life. What she doesn’t expect to discover is that she’s perhaps not straight after all. What follows is the entertaining, and sometimes poignant, sexual awakening of a 26-year-old who finds herself in at the deep end.

Julia is a wonderfully complex character. She’s funny, self-deprecating in a witty way and unflinchingly direct. She also lacks confidence sometimes, doesn’t always express her anger when she should and goes with the flow when she’s really not comfortable with the direction. Essentially, she’s perfectly human. She’s seeing a therapist (in training, because she was cheap) who calls a spade a bloody shovel. She’s sure therapists should be more supportive and give less advice but then, you get what you pay for. She’s a contract worker and has never applied for a permanent position because then when people asked her what she did she would have to answer, “civil servant”.

There’s a fantastic cast of secondary characters that further enrich Julia’s journey. She corresponds with a 96-year-old WWII veteran who writes in regularly to complain about the health system. Owen, her colleague, and Alice are steady sounding boards. Her therapist is combative, her friend Cat flits in and out of London bringing another level of quirkiness with her. Julia’s parents need to be in their own special category. And then there’s Sam, who is a powerful presence.

I loved reading this. I started off by laughing at the wittiness and unusual turn of phrase and as it progressed I found I was still enjoying the turn of phrase but undertones kept changing. There is explicit sex which is more descriptive than erotic or romantic. This is a great debut and I’m looking forward to more by this author.

Book received from Netgalley and The Borough Press for an honest review.

Hilariously funny!
I wanted a light read and this did not disappoint. Julia was a very likeable character and I felt myself warming to her immediately. It was great to join her on her journey of realisation.
Definitely a guilty pleasure I thoroughly enjoyed!

In at the Deep End is a brilliantly funny and honest read, and a book that not only makes a nice change from the many crime/ thriller novels I read, but also is so great that I will be buying copies for all of my friends.

This novel has lots of situations I can relate to, or I’ve heard discussed by people I know, so for a lot of it I smiled as I read main character Julia's thoughts and experiences, and really identified with her as a late twenties woman.

Julia realizes that she’s gay and Kate Davies writes so fantastically that I felt like I was experiencing everything with her, through her eyes. It made me laugh at countless points, and most importantly it made me really care about Julia and what might happen to her as well as being entertaining to read. It's also very crude at times, which just made me love this novel - and Julia - even more. Frank and funny are two excellent indicators of a brilliant book!

In at the Deep End is a fun, straight-talking and entertaining read with some brilliant characters. It's easily a five-star read for me and I'll definitely be reading more from Kate Davies in the future!

WARNING - This book contains graphic sex scenes - not an issue for me but just be careful there aren't children creeping up behind you to see what you're reading!

Aspiring to be a lesbian Fifty Shades of Grey, In at the Deep End is a voyage of lesbian awakening and sexual discovery for Julia, who's never found sex with a man particularly satisfying.

All changes when she meets Sam - but as the two embark on a relationship, things turn dark and Julia is out of control. Can she achieve a place where she is comfortable and confident?

A fast-paced, thrilling and highly graphic read.

A funny, dark, sexually graphic tale of self discovery. I found myself worried that anyone reading under my shoulder would wonder what the jell I was reading on public transport.

I wasn’t sure I was enjoying this book. It’s very crude and made me blush when I was reading it at times. It started off well but then I wasn’t sure I could carry on with it. It lost its appeal quite quickly I’m afraid

I didn’t expect this book to be so pornographic but ho hum - a warning perhaps might have changed how I perceived In At The Deep End.
As for the the narrative, sexual awakening really is self indulgent and ultimately boring, no matter how lightly the first few chapters are - and there is a modicum of humour here, in the end I feel what is the point. Not for me.

Nope, sorry, just nope!

This book did absolutely nothing for me. It was mildly amusing, trying too hard to be edgy and with little or no storyline.

Looking at most of the reviews, it's obviously got an audience and I wish it and the author well, but, not for me.

Julia is lost - she's a Civil Service contractor who isn't sure that's what she wants to do, she's single and her flatmate is having great sex just next door and she still isn't sure who she is after having to give up ballet when she was 19. Deciding to start living a bit, she starts exploring her sexuality more - especially as her attempts to have sex so far have all been unsatisfactory - and throws herself in to a relationship with artist Sam and new friends at an LGBT swing dance club.

Occasionally very funny, there's some pretty detailed sex (maybe not the book to lend my mother?) as Julia and Sam head to sex clubs (the In at the Deep End of the title), as well as some great new friendships - particularly through the dance club. It's not all fun though, it's also a portrait of how a controlling relationship takes hold and I thought that bit was particularly well done as it creeps up on Julia - I could see it happening and was wondering how it was going to work out.

If you are wanting a laugh look no further than In at the Deep End

This book is utterly hilarious.

Although I will say this, it isn't for the faint hearted, some of the sexual language used is quite crude in places but for me it just added to the humour.

An easy read that is clearly written to entertain.

This book is so very, very hard to be as witty as Helen Fielding but with the relevance to how young people date now like Sally Rooney. It is trying to be shocking and funny and scandalous. It is not succeeding on any of the above. I got half way through the book and couldn't face anymore. It's the first time I've given up on a book in about five years. Character development and plot are lost in the author's attempts to remain funny and scandalous which just made me indifferent to everything and everyone. I wouldn't recommend it.

Julia has been celibate for three years and when the dry spell breaks, it isn’t anything to write home about, to put it mildly. And it isn’t just her sex life that’s lacking. No longer able to pursue her dream of dancing professionally, she’s stuck in a dead-end job. When she meets Sam, Julia is in at the deep end as a new lesbian – introduced to a world of gay bars, BDSM and polyamory.

I read somewhere that Kate Davies set out to write a version of ‘Girls’ for lesbians, and I think she’s realised her goal. Julia’s voice is unique, warm, hilarious and utterly relatable. Whilst the sex, drugs and parties are all plentiful and no holds barred, the voyage of self-discovery in this novel goes far beyond sex and sexuality. It’s a nuanced and at times heart-rending exploration of the intensity of first loves, coercion, guilt and jealousy.

The changes in Julia’s life touch every corner of it – from her relationships with her family to her job, her past and her ambitions for the future. We see a woman not only getting to grips with a new understanding of her sexuality, but settling into a life which is altogether changing shape to meet the person she is becoming.

This book is as frank, filthy and funny as billed and I read it in a couple of days flat. An abundance of laugh-out-loud moments, a rounded cast of characters and a tangled central relationship is a winning combination that kept me coming back for more.