A Second Chance At Love Story...

Into the Deep is the book it claims to be. It's a second-chance/ex-lovers romance through and through. It starts off in alternating chapters between present and past, so we really do fall in love with this couple twice in this book. A second chance at love story always tugs at my heartstrings. Not only did Into the Deep tug at my heart strings it settled in and gave my heart a great big crushing squeeze! It was filled with painful longing, lusty attraction, and a once in a lifetime romance. Jake & Charley first meet in high school. Jake moves to Charley's small-town and turns her world upside down. She trusts and loves him whole-heartedly. They fell into love while they were both sixteen. They were very young, but sometimes life works out like that. Unfortunately, tragic circumstances cause a rift and Jake leaves Charley without any explanation shattering Charley’s heart. She’s never been the same. Over three years later Charley has moved on as best as she could and is fulfilling her goal of studying abroad. Complete shock, excruciating pain, and disbelief strike Charley when she finds Jake also attending school there, as well, with a girlfriend in tow! Avoiding him and his girlfriend is near impossible as all of their friends hang out together. Plus, Jake can’t seem to stay away from Charley and asks her to be his friend. She knows that she should avoid him and refuse but she just can’t tell him no. Their mutual attraction and deep connection comes through loud and clear to everyone around, causing drama and angst. The story alternates chapters flashing back to the past, and then going back to the future, revealing slowly what went wrong with Charley and Jake.With all my uneasiness over Jake I still want nothing more than a HEA between them. Their hot chemistry, sparks, and attraction are felt profoundly throughout the story!! Samantha Young always manages to suck me in with her addictive and wonderful writing. All the ups & downs were worth every moment! I'm looking forward to the sequel once released!!

25 people found this helpful

Disappointing and anticlimatic

After listening to On Dublin Street and Before Jamaica Lane (i loved them both especially Jamaica Lane) I had high hopes for this book. I spent a lot of the time listening to this book thinking "is this the same author?" Into the Deep has its moments but overall it is not great. Its a story of 2 teenagers who fall in love, through a crappy event he treats her like crap and dumps her, she pines for him for 4 years and then they meet up again and then all the angst of should we be friends, how do I get over him etc. There are parts of this that is fine but it just goes on and on. But the real problem with the book is I never felt the connection between these two. I was never routing for them. I never got involved in their story. In fact I kept hoping she would dump Jake's ass and get together with Lowe. Jake is not a very attractive character so at the end its just a big so what. Overall the book has a very immature flavor to it. If you are looking for a love story that pulls at your heart strings, this is not it. I don't think its worth the credit and definitely not worth the money. oh and don't get me started on the narrator. Charley sounds like she is about 12. Narration was really bad!

5 people found this helpful

Annoying narration.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Honestly, after hearing the first 30 mins of the book I stop and just go on reading the book itself. I cannot stand the delivery of the narration on this book.

3 people found this helpful

Teen romance

What disappointed you about Into the Deep?

Appropriate for a teen romance novel but not even close to the caliber found in On Dublin Street.

What was most disappointing about Samantha Young’s story?

No depth. dull characters.

2 people found this helpful

Samantha Young story for 16-20 year olds

Normally I LOVE Samantha Young stories. The females are strong, smart, and witty. The relationships are sexy and passionate and there is always a great build up and delivery of the story..... Unfortunately not with Into The Deep. The narrator sounds like a little girl. And when she tries to voice act the male voice, it just doesn't work. She sounds like a 12 year old boy. The ending was so anti-climatic, it hurt. And the plot just dragged on and on for hours. Plus there is all of 2 intimate parts. The main characters are 20 years old and half the book they are 16 years old. This book is not for adults, more older teens.

1 person found this helpful

Not worth it

I'm not sure which was more annoying; the characters or the narration. Ms. Chambliss's voice is better suited to children's books that don't require any foreign accents. Granted, Scottish is difficult to mimic, but she well and truly slaughtered both the Scottish AND the British accents - it was painful to listen to. I really enjoyed the 'On Dublin Street' series, so I can't figure out why this book was so bad... Did Samantha Young not have an editor? Was she under some kind of time constraint? The characters were under-developed and one-dimensional, even for a YA book. I read the reviews and, because I wasn't looking for an intellectual listen, discounted them. Don't make the same mistake I did -- this one isn't worth your time.

1 person found this helpful

couldn't finish it

The narration sounded like a 12 y/o...an annoying 12 y/o...couldn't make it past the 1st chapter

1 person found this helpful

Just can't recommend this one

I love Samantha Young's "On Dublin Street" series, so I wanted to give this a try, despite the mixed reviews. But I just can't recommend this one for a few different reasons. First, I'm all in favor of angst and build up, as long as it leads to something satisfying. This story was heavy on the former, light on the latter. Second, Renee Chambliss did her best, but her voice is just a little too high pitched and nasally, which I can deal with for the female characters. However, her attempts at the male voices were not nearly masculine enough. It's no fault of hers; it just doesn't sound good to me, and so I struggled to enjoy her male voices. Her Scottish accent was only so-so. And third, the reason behind all the drama wasn't believable enough for me to buy into. I just couldn't believe it could cause as much of a divide between the two lead characters as it did. Bummer. I read the reviews for the next book, and I am sad to say I have no need to purchase it. Same narrator, almost same story. No need to do this again.

1 person found this helpful

Into the deep

This book is a nice story of teen lovers who meet years later after they broke up.

Unexpectedly great “read”

Samantha Young has continued to impress despite her flying under my radar. Every book I’ve read by her is happenstance, and I don’t notice authorship until I’m done and satisfied. I’m finally a fan. There aren’t a lot of writers who can cross genres and maintain their craft. Young does. She has a real knack for authentic dialogue, but I think it’s the deftness she exhibits in manipulating conflict that makes her writing stand out. None of it seems contrived or forced.

The bit that doesn’t work for me is the intervening flashbacks. I would have enjoyed the book starting with chapter one before flashing back to the beginning to tell the whole story. Nothing is gained from the reader learning the history of Jake and Charley piecemeal. The novel isn’t a mystery. There was no need for the suspense. By the time I got to the incident, it felt overhyped and overdramatized. Jake’s reaction seems grossly out of character. He loses my sympathy. I’m not sure he gains it back by the end. There isn’t a single heart to heart that resonates. None of their excuses make sense. I guess that’s the whole point of angsts romances, but I try to steer clear of those. Thankfully, the whining and miscommunication is kept to a minimum.