Deeper

I absolutely LOVED this book, I couldn't put it down and read it in two days! I have read Megan's other books and have liked them, but this book was amazing. I can't begin to explain the emotions I felt while I was reading it. Megan is a great writer and can truly express in words the love two people felt for each other, I could totally imagine down to the slightest detail everything that was happening. And yes, as others have wrote, I was in tears at the end of the book and can't stop thinking about it. I wish there was an epilogue, however, that told what happened with Bess and Eddie. And I don't want to give anything away, but as much as it was obvious how much Nick loved Bess, I wish he would've actually told her. I also wish the paranormal aspect of the book was explained a little more, but that's just my opinion, I like answers. So overall, this was a beautifully written and haunting romance that will stay with me for a long time. I highly recommend it if you like great romance with great sex.

I didn't know when I purchased this book that it was a paranormal read, but that was totally my fault. But the story was really good, I love how the each chapter goes from past to present so you really get the deep emotions involved with Nick and Bess. It makes you sad to know that they could have had a great relationship and were soul mates but in the end couldn't really be together. The end was definitely bittersweet! Great love scenes too very descriptive!

Reviewer's Note: I originally wrote this review back in 2012 and posted it on Goodreads as well as my blog and other book communities. Initial reactions: "Deeper" was the first full novel from Megan Hart I ever read and with the second read through, I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. I liked following Bess's perspective and could sympathize with her, though I'll admit there were elements of it that also frustrated me this time around that didn't on my initial read. Hope to expand a little more in the full review. Full review: I'll wholeheartedly admit that over the past couple of months, I've read quite a fair share of books by Megan Hart than a little bit. I think that's been a combination of my ability to access her works at my local library among other elements. Even if my enjoyment of each novel has varied, there's no doubt that I respect her writing and the way she delves into some of her characters and their respective situations. "Deeper" was the first full erotic novel that I read from Hart, quite some time ago, but I never had the chance to review it until now. Reading it a second time, I definitely found quite a bit to like with it, though there were parts of it I was less fond of this time around than on my initial read of it. One thing I'll say off the bat is that if you have a hard time with past/present time switching in a novel, this might be a tough read. Another thing I will say, is that if you are expecting an HEA (happily ever after), you may also be sorely disappointed. This is very much a story of grief with a very flawed heroine who has to deal with quite a bit of pain. Personally, I had no trouble with either aspect and appreciated the way it was told, the flow was very smooth and easy for me to follow after a little bit, though there is an initial hump to get over. I actually liked the paranormal twist this novel has, among other elements that pepper Bess's experience, dealing with her respective family unresolved issues of the past, as well as her way of navigating her present relationships and way of stepping into her own self. It's a tough road, and not one without a degree of heartache, but certainly worth watching how it ultimately unfolds. "Deeper" toggles its narrative between two time frames: between the college aged Bess dealing with a boyfriend (Andy) who - for lack of a better term - is a jerk and isn't attentive to her needs, a friend who insists on lying to her about the odd bad boy (Nick) who people say is "no good" for her, and the distant friend who may or may not have have a crush on her (Eddie, whom I adored in this novel). Fast forward about 20 years and Bess has two teenage sons, is expecting to divorce from Andy, and is generally in a sore place until Nick suddenly makes an appearance back in her life in a way she never thought possible. At that point, Bess has to confront some tough realities of her past as well as come to terms with where she must go in the future. I definitely liked the focus on Bess's family life, her relationship with Eddie, even the sensual scenes with Nick and ultimately her coming to terms with what/who he is. It's not an easy read, and ultimately the flawed characters come across with a great deal of frustrating dimensions. Yet, they all seem in context and palpable. I guess the one question I had in retrospect was why Bess chose the remain with the relationships she had that made her so unhappy, but ultimately, since this is a coming to terms story, I didn't really judge her and just followed along to how she learned that she needed not to "doubt herself" anymore. Her relationship with Eddie provided the more full measure of a relationship for me in this novel, while I'll admit the erotic scenes Bess had with Nick were steamy and well-written. I kind of wish her relationship with Eddie came to more fruition than it did. Andy was a jerk and I never liked him, and I never saw what Bess saw in him, but I could understand how frustrated she was with him and ultimately her longing for a relationship to hold onto. I did also feel her hurt and betrayal in spurts, but I think towards the end of the novel, the measure of how rushed the narrative was became more apparent and in areas, it wasn't properly fleshed out (even contradicted itself in a point when Bess showed absolutely no appropriate emotion to a certain turn in events). That frustrated me, and I think it could've been done better in retrospect, but overall, I did appreciate what the overarching story was going for, and I liked it. I do think that this novel is a little harder to get into than some of Hart's other works, but I found it worth the price of admission. Overall score: 3.5/5

*Spoilert alert* I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It was really refreshing to read a story that wasn't just one thing- part super steamy romance part magical realism part domestic fiction, not to be confused with paranormal romance, because this is not that. There were times when the sex felt gratuitous, it's true, but the next "then" chapter always seemed to make up for it. Would've been interesting if the author took the ending a bit further. The whole time I found myself wondering if Bess had reinvented the perfect man and trapped him without realizing it. I think that's the case but it could have been clearer by the end. Either way though this was a really good, inventive read!

I really disliked this book. I want to say "hate" but that would be too harsh because I think that Megan Hart is a talented writer. The story itself brought me moments of interest and longing to connect with the characters, but it was short lived, and I couldn't wait until the book was finished just to get it over with. The story of a former lover from 20 years ago coming back as a spirit to finish a love affair or to tie up loose ends just didn't sell it for me. It sounds romantic, but it wasn't. And Bess' relationship with Eddie doesn't really have much weight either. It just didn't gell for me and I felt that the tugging on my emotional heart strings, eventhough was quite strong, only made me dislike the story more because nothing came together to bring closure to the story properly. Ms Hart has a way of evoking strong feelings of love, grief, loss from her novels, but i'm not quite sure I like that level of intensity in every book. Anyway, as always with her books, there are some lovely sex scenes, but the pain of loss and grief just marred it for me. Sorry I can't be anymore positive.

Nick and Bess meet each other when Bess goes to her family's beach house for the summer. Nick is a "townie". They are attracted to each other immediately. Bess has a boyfriend back home and she suspects he's screwing around on her. One thing leads to another and they end up getting involved, but tell each other its just a summer fling, it won't mean a thing. Summer ends. Twenty years later they meet up again. I was so emotional reading this book. About love lost and then found again. About not knowing what happened to someone you cared so deeply for. Life is such a short and fragile thing and this book reminded me of that fact over and over again. This REALLY is a good read if you don't mind bawling your eyes out! I would definitely recommend this book and and the others that Megan has written. I've read several of hers and loved them all!

I love the way this book was written. Every other chapter goes from Now-to-Then. Bess reflects on her "then" relationship with Nick as is pertains to her now situation with their "mysterious" situation. It will keep you guessing until the very end. It has every emotion you can imagine ~ from crazy teenage years to middle age life. You still have all the passion and suspense of Megan Hart. Excellent Book.

You have some books you cant put down and some you feel so so about. this was a so so book. You want to keep reading it to find out what happens, but i wasn't really drawn to the characters as i am in some books. If you are looking for an uplifting love story this would not be it. Flipping back and forth between now and then could get confusing. It is worth the read though.

Again another brilliant book by Megan Hart storyline superb her books always puts a lump in my throat and touches the heart strings.

This was such a nice easy read...I just couldn't put it down! Though somethings were hard to believe...I WANTED to believe in it! I loved the way Megan went from the present back twenty years. It's an incredible Romantic love story!

I loved this book, the story line was original and kept me hooked through it all, I recommend this to anyone who's looking for something a bit different and out there.

There are lots of the real life facts and explanations were omitted from the story but I understand it as because the author wanted put the weight on emotional exchanges than real facts. I'm not sure about Bess was the one made a mistake though. If I'm insisted to point out her mistake was that she didn't have a courage to tell people what she want. But I don't really want to say it's a mistake because we all doubt ourselves time to time. Especially if we don't get any encouragement from someone you really want it from. The choices you make in our life are not always right ones but that's life. Isn't it? The saddest part is you only realise when you get older and wiser that the choice was wrong and you made a bad choice because you were young, naive and eager to believe you are the right one. It's a question of if only knew the outcome. Well, we all know it's impossible to know it. Yeah, that's life. It's a great story about we all have dilemma of making choice in life. To be honest I don't think this is a romance book. But it's worth reading.

I read this with a sense of foreboding, which drew me towards the inevitable end. I'm undecided whether I could say I liked it by then. Lots of raw feelings in Bess, and complex feelings about those feelings.