The Deep End

I’ll warn you straight up this may end up as a whole bunch of babbling…I was really nervous starting The Deep End. Kristen Ashley is my favouritist favourite author. I have a lot of favourite authors but she’s the Queen. So, when she decided to do something new and different I was more than interested. Then…she shared that she created a hero that was an Alpha/Sub. WHAT??? Now, don’t blame me, but all I could see was the sub part. I couldn’t take in the Alpha part at the time because, in my little old head, those two words do not compute together. With a few deep breaths and a talk me down from the ledge from hubby (of course, his talk me down from the ledge was VERY tongue in cheek), I remembered it was KA and decided to just see how things went.With an advanced copy of The Deep End sitting on my kindle, I was bloody nervous. It took a wee bit of time to prepare myself for the journey. I had to pack away my pre-conceived ideas, clear my mind of previous similar journeys and plan to not judge on every stop/station that I visited. I needed to make sure to remember that one stop/station that I don’t like, doesn’t have to ruin the whole trip. It’s how I feel at the end that counts.Then I started…OK…Houston, we have a problem…I didn’t like the heroine. I had to put down my kindle for a minute or two and re-evaluate. I admit, I have read some BDSM books and enjoyed them. There’s something about a man giving orders, taking his sub to a different level of awareness and giving pleasure unimaginable. So, I thought to myself…Sassy, don’t be so sexist, these same things from a woman can be just as sexy.There were times where I could understand where the heroine was coming from. She’s confident, beautiful, rich and taller than quite a few men which give her power and control. If this power and control are in her everyday life, of course, it could be something that flows into the bedroom too.So, we’ve established that I struggled a little with the heroine dominating. I eventually worked through that and moved onto other issues.A BDSM setting is a hard one to get your mind around. With every story that has had this element, I can’t help but think…how the hell do they get off on this stuff? I don’t get the humiliation and putting your partner on display to show ownership, control and ability to make someone act on your bidding.Well, this stage took a wee bit longer to process. In the end, I did because it was bloody obvious that our hero, while at first angry and vulnerable, gets off on it. I mean…REALLY GETS OFF ON IT!!Which brings us to the crux of the story and where all readers must make a decision. How do we accept that an "Alpha" male in real life, NEEDS pain, control and ownership in the bedroom? We're talking about a blokey bloke in real life, coming to accept that in the bedroom, he likes to be pushed out of his comfort zone. The hero doesn’t like to be ordered around or embarrassed but something in him snaps and a button is pushed in the play room that gives him the high…the release…the ecstasy he craves.How can I judge? What right do I have to say it’s wrong? Who am I to think what I want or like is what everyone else should too?In the end, it’s all about pleasure and finding your happy place. He can still be a blokey bloke in his everyday life, say what he wants when he wants and be bossy if he needs to. What he likes in the bedroom doesn't change the man he is on the street. He will still knock your block off if you touch him inappropriately, talk in a degrading way or boss him around...in his everyday life.The Deep End was interesting, sexy and thought provoking. When you find your happy place in the four walls of a BDSM club, can you take that connection to the outside world? Do the four walls move outward to include parts of your world? Can you leave that part of yourself just for the bedroom? Will you expect it all the time?I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. There were highs and lows but they somehow all came together in a way that I could understand and appreciate. Yes, their scene is not my cup of tea, but geez I can’t complain about standing at the window and observing the action…connection…feelings that develop.The Deep End will not be for everyone and Kristen Ashley fans will be surprised where she goes. The story has a little mystery and intrigue thrown in but it definitely wasn't the main focus of the story. A lot of The Deep End revolves around the club, the Bee's Honey and the Dominant's of the club. It has her usual style to it but it goes deeper into the kinky than she’s ever been before.Good luck…and may the force be with you. 😉

I am not a person who just gives out positive reviews -- a glance at my profile will show you that. But I'm giving this one 4 stars, and it probably is more like 4.5 stars.My favorite part of this book is Amélie, a woman who knows who and what she is sexually and isn't afraid of it. So many romance novels have "sassy" h's who let themselves be controlled in bed (not necessarily in a BSDM way but still, the guy calls the shots most of the time). Amélie obviously is not like that, but she's also not overbearing about it.My second favorite part of this book is Olivier, a man who is coming to terms with two distinctly different sides of himself and trying to make them whole. KA really hits the right notes about what it means to be a man, both in bed and out, and how trying to adhere to rigid rules and roles can cost you everything in the end.I don't understand the negative reviews! Especially the ones saying there was no plot or no chemistry between the h and H. Olivier/Olly was a man who was struggling to reconcile the things that he wanted sexually with who he was as a man. Amélie/Leigh was also struggling to reconcile who she was sexually with the things she wanted as a woman. They were a perfect match and their individual and collective struggles to come together as a couple is the plot. A well-executed one, IMO.Yes, I agree that at the beginning of the book, the author does use some very, um, flowy wording and sentence structure that makes things a little hard to follow. But I truly think she did that on purpose to give us a sense of Amélie, her character and how she thinks.And if this type of thing -- this type of thing being The Lifestyle -- is not your cup of tea (in books or in life), I get it. But that's not really a reason to give a book a 1 or 2 star rating. As far as the actual BSDM, I'm not in a place where I can vouch for the "accuracy" of this book. But I can say that I bought the setup, and I bought the premise, and so I bought the bit. Accurate or not, the way The Lifestyle was presented here seemed real to me. It worked.I also wanted to say that some reviews said that Olivier had set "hard limits" that Amélie ignored. I just went back and reread the scene in question. He did not set hard limits. He originally said he had no boundaries, repeated that, explained why, and then when she pushed him, there was one thing he instantly said he disliked and she never did that to him. The other two things he said, he said them differently. So I don't agree that she ignored his limits. I think she read him correctly and did what he wanted her to do.And then another complaint was that there was too much sex. There was a lot of sex, and a lot of it that might make people uncomfortable, I guess. But it was not overly gratuitous, and it was not raunchy. It was Olivier and Amélie and then Olly and Leigh, the way they were together, and it fit into the premise and the plot.Why 4 stars instead of 5? I'm not sure I'm going to reread this book. I liked it -- loved it -- in the moment. I'm glad I bought it. I'll read the next two. But I don't think it's a book I'll go back to over and over again, and that's what a 5 star really means to me.

I love Kristen Ashleys books... all of them are awesome and this one was no exception!! It's a must!!! Loved it!!

This is my first Kristen Ashley book, so have not read others to compare this against, but this intrigued me and is usually the type of read which really pulls me in, but unfortunately this left me a little wanting!The story was ok, but I really struggled at first, couldn't get into it at all, had to keep rereading what I had already read to try and get in my head what was going on. This got a lot better for me further into the book when I settled in and tried to enjoy what was happening.It's not the BDSM or the Dom/Sub thing, I've read plenty of these types of books and really enjoyed them. I've read quite a few where the female is the Dom and the male is the Sub and enjoyed them, but this I found quite hard work. I wasn't too keen on Amèlie, her attitude rubbed me up the wrong way entirely, and her actions and attitude towards Oliver at first really had me furious, just like no way, why would she be doing that when he said he didn't like that sort of thing!! Just didn't sit too well with me at all. This did improve as the characters got to know each other better.I loved Oliver, he was super hot as an Alpha Sub, someone who battled and fought with his sexual needs and desires, and in time learned to submit and enjoy what Amèlie had to offer him. But outside of the club he was Alpha and stood up to Amèlie and what she did.Of course there are loads of sex scenes throughout this, in fact the first few chapters is just that in the club. Some of this I found really good, some not so good!! Plus I found this book to be way too long, I ended up skim reading over the less interesting parts, which I do not ever like to do. There were several sub characters which were really very good and interesting, and helped my connection with the story.Overall I enjoyed the book enough to read the next one, albeit with a little hesitancy.

I have loved and read every single book by KA since she began self publishing on Smashwords, and have loved them all regardless of which series they came from. I love the settings, the characters and most of all her writing style as (up to now) she has never failed to really move me emotionally. Therefore, it actually pains me to give a negative review, but I could not get into this book at all and will definitely not be buying any more in the series. Having said that, I think the main reason is not because there is anything intrinsically wrong with the book itself, it is just that the premise and relationship dynamic in this book simply does not work for me. I am a regular reader of romance and erotica so I am far from being offended by the sex, it's just I can't feel the same sense of connection and investment in these characters as I normally do. I understand an author's need to vary and challenge themselves in what they write, just as I am sure KA was well aware this book would not please all her readers. It is what it is, so trust your reaction to the story premise. I knew from the description that this wasn't a dynamic I normally enjoy, but I hoped that my love for her books and writing would somehow transcend that. Unfortunately, it didn't.

I must point out I'm a huge KA fan having read 30+ of her books, but the Honey Series is not for me.There just didn't seem to be any real background story just wall to wall sex for a couple into BDSM. I have nothing against this genre at all and have read quite a few Tiffany Reisz books but I did struggle to get into Amelie and Olivier. I didn't connect with the characters, I felt like Olivier would be more at home in Denver riding round with Tack on a Harley with his alpha ways. The genre was obviously very well researched but I just found it boring and monotonous when one scene just blended into another. There was a bit of intrigue towards the end but by that time I was over the story and just wanted to finish the book.Well written and researched but maybe Kristen should stick to what we know and love. As for me can't wait for more Chaos and Magdalene! Really sorry as I so wanted to love this series but I won't be ordering the next book.

Honestly I find this a difficult book to review, I love Kristen's books, the Colorado, 'burg and rock chicks series are fabulous and some I have read over and over. If I hadn't known whom had written this book I would have just thought it was an ok read, but knowing this authors work so well I really expected much more, it wasn't the over abundance of sex, the BDSM theme or the characters themselves, it just didn't have the depth or breadth of her usual style. No real story to speak of, no host of secondary characters who are wonderful and bring so much extra to the story, the only way I would of realised it was written by Kristen was the use of annoying pet names she often employs.That said, would I buy the next in the series?......more than likely, but my expectations will not be as high when I start the follow up.