Into the Deep

Title: Into the Deep
Author: Samantha Young
Format: E-Book (Kindle)
Year: 2013
Series: Book 1 of 2 (so far)
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Plot Summary: Charley Redford is an American girl who decided to study abroad her junior year of college in the Scottish city of Edinburgh. Upon arriving there she runs into Jake Chaplin, the one boy she ever loved and who left her high and dry with no explanation three years ago. Jake is studying abroad at the same university as Charley, along with his current girlfriend Melissa. Jake, having missed Charley all these years is glad to have the chance to explain and urges Charley to consider a friendship with him. Charley agrees to be friends with Jake as they travel in the same circle of people, and as time goes by they discover there may be a spark between them still after all these years.

Opinion: Samantha Young is the queen of relationship angst, someone needs to make her a crown to wear with pride. I read her book On Dublin Street a few months ago and loved it, safe to say I loved Into the Deep as well. The alternating years was only frustrating at the beginning of the book and stopped altogether when it was revealed what happened between Charley and Jake back in high school. I also think what drove them apart was heartbreaking, and a believable story arc, as many new adult authors tend to go for the overdramatic (this is not the case in this book). The tension between Jake and Charley in the present day scenes was masterful, and the flashbacks of when Charley and Jake fell in love tugged at the reader's heartstrings. The side characters were incredibly interesting and not one-dimensional, Claudia, Beck and Lowe being among the best. The only thing I did not like was the end of the book, to me it felt like the story could have ended with a couple more chapters and not an entire second book, but hopefully I'll be proved wrong with book two. I look forward to reading it!

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars!