REVIEW: DEEP, by Jaine Diamond

By Tqwana B.

3 out of 5 stars  ★★★☆☆

Synopsis:

The more lines they cross, the deeper they get…

Top cadet Lana Marsden lives by the rules. The most important rule of all: no messing around with an officer. She learned that one the hard way.
Now her only desire is to survive the grueling DEEP Training program and leave that scandalous past behind.
When she reports to Station Six amid wild rumors of erotic hazing rituals and sadomasochistic games, she’s not prepared for any of the rumors to be true—or for her insatiable attraction to Sergeant “Catch” Durant, her tattooed rebel of a trainer.
One touch from Catch, and Lana knows she’s in trouble. One night of white-hot ecstasy, and the rules melt away.
Catch knows sweet, sexy Lana is forbidden. She’s his trainee, and her overprotective brother is his best friend. But one taste and Catch knows the last woman he’s supposed to touch will be the one to bring him to his knees. Which is exactly where he wants to be…. .

I have mixed feelings about Jaine Diamond’s DEEP. This book is hot. It’s sexy. It has the troubled hero that we come to expect with BDSM erotica, who isn’t a borderline abusive asshole. Our heroine isn’t some fresh-plucked flower that’s new to sex and gratingly innocent. She’s young and maybe a bit naive, but she’s also independent, strong-willed, and all about kicking ass in ISC training and finding herself. Catch and Lana’s relationship will have you sweating in the best of ways.

This is a good book that has the potential to be great. For one, the present tense was distracting, especially as it wasn’t consistent. And we have this great setting, but it wasn’t fully utilized.  Why are we in space? What sort of missions are happening? Is there alien life?

Pacing suffered somewhat from too much exposition. I wanted to be inside Catch and Lana’s heads, see the training, see Lana’s reaction to Station Six as it’s happening. There were brief moments of this, but not nearly enough.

The no fraternization policy never came into play, and Lana and Catch had enough issues that it wasn’t needed – past relationship drama, Catch being Lana’s brother’s best friend. Those were reasons enough to build tension and were utilized. Speaking of issues, why didn’t we learn what exactly happened with Lana and the older man? I hope that’s fleshed out in the sequel.

Don’t let my expectations keep you from reading this book. DEEP really takes its name seriously. We’re not just in deep space or training at the DEEP facility. We’re getting deep into emotional (and possible physical) trauma and healing, trust, and of course love.