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    In At The Deep End: A Novel
    In At The Deep End: A Novel
    In At The Deep End: A Novel
    Ebook453 pages6 hours

    In At The Deep End: A Novel

    By Kate Davies

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    * A Finalist for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction * One of Autostraddle's Best Queer Books of 2019 * 

    A deliciously disarming debut novel about a twenty-something Londoner who discovers that she may have been looking for love—and pleasure—in all the wrong places (i.e., from men).

    Julia has had enough. Enough of the sex noises her roommate makes. Enough of her dead-end government job. Enough of the one-night stand who accused her of breaking his penis. The only thing she hasn’t had enough of is orgasms; she hasn’t had proper sex in three years.

    So when Julia gets invited to a warehouse party in a part of town where trendy people who have lots of sex go on a Friday night, she readily accepts. And that night she meets someone: a figurative artist who also happens to be a woman.

    Julia’s sexual awakening begins; her new lesbian life is exhilarating. She finds her tribe at queer swing-dancing classes, and guided by her new lover Sam, she soon discovers London’s gay bars and BDSM clubs—and the complexities of polyamory. Soon it becomes clear that Sam needs to call the shots, and Julia’s newfound liberation comes to bear a suspicious resemblance to entrapment . . . 

    In at the Deep End is an unforgettable and audacious odyssey through the pitfalls and seductions we encounter on the treacherous path to love and self. 
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateJun 4, 2019
    ISBN9781328628657
    Author

    Kate Davies

    Kate Davies is a novelist, screenwriter and author of children’s books. Her first novel, In at the Deep End, won the Polari Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. She lives in East London with her wife and son.

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    Reviews for In At The Deep End

    3/5

    38 ratings8 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Julia has had enough.

      The only thing she hasn’t had enough of is orgasms; she hasn’t had proper sex in three years.

      So, when Julia gets invited to a warehouse party in a part of town where trendy people who have lots of sex go on a Friday night, she readily accepts. And that night she meets someone: a figurative artist, who also happens to be a woman.

      She finds her tribe at queer swing dancing classes, and guided by her new lover Sam, she soon discovers London’s gay bars and BDSM clubs . . . and the complexities of polyamory.

      Soon it becomes clear that Sam needs to call the shots, and Julia’s newfound liberation comes to bear a suspicious resemblance to entrapment . . .

      Thank you Goodreads and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a chance to read this book!!

      This is the first LGBT book I have read. That I can remember at least. The beginning of the book was good funny and easy to get into. The middle was iffy and the ending was surprising. To me the book came off as a coming-of-age book. I think that is mostly because Julia is just starting to find out who she is. But it was an ok book. Happy reading everyone!!
    • 4/5
      I really liked the writing style of this novel. It’s funny yet honest. Will definitely read more by Davies again.
    • 3/5
      I feel no connection with Julia. I felt like there was no real character development and that's something I struggled with throughout the book. The only real development was her deciding to embrace being a queer woman and even that was not the greatest. I have an issue with it because she decided to become a queer woman because she had bad sex.

      I enjoyed the first half of this book but it started going down hill when Sam was introduced. That relationship was really cringe-worthy because of how abusive the relationship is. Sam was very manipulative and took advantage of Julia's innocence.

      It was hard to write this review because I did like the writing. The work flows so good and made you want to keep reading. I would be very picky about who I recommend this book to. If you are easily offended, this book isn't for you.
    • 1/5
      The first portion of In At the Deep End starts off on a lighter note. Especially more Rom-Com as Julia explores her sexuality as a lesbian woman. Julia is able to connect well with a group from swing class and is able to get their love and support in her new journey. However, the tone of the novel quickly turned heinous when a relationship with Sam began.
      The rest of the novel if filled with graphic, non consensual sex scenes, and a gross display of manipulation, leaving Julia in despair.
      I found most of my enjoyment came in the development of more minor characters such as Julia's Mum and Dad and her best friend, Alice.
      As a whole, it did represent varying perspectives of the LGBTQ community; but with the abuse and rape, the book left me feeling unsettled and unsatisfied.
    • 5/5
      This is my first lesbian fiction. I literally, read everything and this was definitely a first. It's hilarious, raunchy, sad and a love story. Julia is a character that you really can care about and cheer on. She never has felt like she's had a successful love life. It really makes her feel depressed and anxious. One night, she decides to try something different. She goes home with Jane and discovers that being with the ladies is more her style. She meets Sam, who introduces her to polyamory, SM, underground sex parties and all sorts of things. I'm so glad my family didn't see what I was reading, it's very detailed. I thought the author did a wonderful job of really telling Julia and Sam's story even with all the intense sex. My copy said #NSFW and I would agree!
    • 2/5
      Timely that this read came out during pride month as Julia is suffering from a three year drought from sex. Immediately, upon hearing of Julia's conquests I thought to myself whether men were really for her.... I won't spoil the book but be prepared for a 50 Shades read packed with girl on girl action. Julia certainly finds her true self as the story unravels and learns about relationships along the way, but it isn't enough to lure the reader in on the story alone. That said, if you enjoyed the "other parts" of 50 Shades, this may be for you. *Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
    • 3/5
      Although I am not part of the target lesbian audience for "in at the deep end," the promise of a FUNNY alternative view of sexual freedom was initially attractive.Oddly, the early humor was from straight man, hetero-marriage oriented Dave.Much of the rest of the book surprised me. I somehow expected that lesbian sexual offerings would be more original and creative than the tired old gay and hetero male blech tropes of BDSM, water "sports," etc. Plus, licking a slimy snail is simply gross.The plot moves right along, interweaving roommates, friends, parents, and job with increasingly repetitive "amazing" sex. By the time Julia and Sam arrived in Lyon (a beautiful location for which we get only minimal description), I hoped that Julia was as tired of hearing only drunken sex conversations and a litany of annoying practices as I was. This is another reason why Dave was welcome - he had other things on his mind!It would be welcome in a sequel to have other characters, like Cat and Ella, developed with a lot more compassion for the world, way less self-absorbed selfish thinking and behavior, and actual paintings included by a really good artist.Julia never finding time to visit Eric was way too sadly predictable.Also, why Sam thinks Julia is so "amazing" is never made clear.
    • 4/5
      Julia, frustrated dancer and depressed office-worker with the world's least exciting sex-life, suddenly finds her life taking a new and exciting turn after she agrees to go on a date with a woman for the first time. Within a matter of days she's joined a queer dance-class, made a bunch of new lesbian friends, and is cruising the scary butch artist Sam at a gay bar. The sex is miles better than anything she has ever experienced before, but it soon turns out that relationships with women are just as fraught with difficulty as those with men were...This is one of those very funny books where you can never be quite sure how far the author is pulling your leg, written in a "Bridget Jones" comic mood but interspersed with episodes of very graphic S/M sex that swerve unpredictably back and forth between farce and seriously erotic. Davies obviously wants to subvert our expectations about lesbian fiction and the chicklit genre, at the same time as exploiting the conventions of romantic comedy mercilessly - there are chapters with headings like "No weddings and a funeral", "A dykey French lieutenant's woman" and "Love, actually?". And yes, the second of these involves a scene on the Cobb in Lyme Regis.Great fun.

    Book preview

    In At The Deep End - Kate Davies

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