Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    In at the Deep End
    In at the Deep End
    In at the Deep End
    Audiobook11 hours

    In at the Deep End

    Written by Kate Davies

    Narrated by Nicola Barber

    3/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    A fresh, funny, audacious debut novel about a Bridget Jones-like twenty-something who discovers that she may have simply been looking for love - and, ahem, pleasure - in all the wrong places (aka: from men) Julia hasn't had sex in three years. Her roommate has a boyfriend-and their sex noises are audible through the walls, maybe even throughout the neighborhood. Not to mention, she's treading water in a dead-end job, her know-it-all therapist gives her advice she doesn't ask for, and the men she is surrounded by are, to be polite, subpar. Enough is enough. So when Julia gets invited to a warehouse party in a part of town where "trendy people who have lots of sex might go on a Friday night"-she readily accepts. Whom she meets there, however, is surprising: a conceptual artist, also a woman. Julia's sexual awakening begins; her new lesbian life, as she coins it, is exhilarating. She finds her tribe at queer swing dancing classes, and guided by her new lover Sam, she soon discovers London's gay bars and BDSM clubs, and . . . the complexities of polyamory. Soon it becomes clear that Sam needs to call the shots, and Julia's newfound liberation comes to bear a suspicious resemblance to entrapment . . . In at the Deep End is an unforgettably frank, funny, and racy odyssey through the pitfalls and seductions we encounter on the treacherous-and more often, absurd-path to love and self.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateJun 4, 2019
    ISBN9781980043485
    Author

    Kate Davies

    Kate Davies is a novelist, screenwriter and author of children’s books. Her first novel, In at the Deep End, won the Polari Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize. She lives in East London with her wife and son.

    More audiobooks from Kate Davies

    Related to In at the Deep End

    Related audiobooks

    Contemporary Women's For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      I Was A Bad Lesbian

      Dec 23, 2022

      I’ve always been a bad lesbian.To be fair, I missed orientation. Athletic lesbians got inducted in high school. They didn’t think to collect the femmes in drama club, so I got left behind. It wasn’t until I saw a handsome black and white photo of k.d

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Sapphic Lit Scene Has Never Been Better

      Feb 24, 2023

      Five years ago, if you had told me my sapphic romcom, Sorry, Bro, would be released on the same day as another sapphic romcom (Behind The Scenes, by the lovely Karelia Stetz-Waters) I would have laughed in your face. Me? A published author? Forget it

      2 min read

    • Article

      Lez Get Visible

      Apr 20, 2020

      Lez Get Visible
      7 min read

    • Article

      Screen Queens

      Apr 6, 2021

      Screen Queens
      3 min read

    • Article

      All By Myself

      Apr 28, 2020

      All By Myself
      6 min read

    • Article

      Slipping Away

      Jul 29, 2019

      Slipping Away
      6 min read

    • Article

      When Naming Isn’t Enough

      Aug 31, 2018

      When Naming Isn’t Enough
      16 min read

    • Article

      Heavy Heart

      Feb 5, 2022

      Heavy Heart
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Duplex

      Jun 9, 2020

      I moved to Los Angeles to sing. When was this? August? June? I was twenty-nine, and those were shapeless months, when the days blended together and I refused to pull them apart. My landlord was unusually close to her adult son. His name was Jeffrey,

      21 min read

    • Article

      Supportive Husband

      Sep 12, 2023

      There were less intimate places available, so it was odd when a woman took the seat directly facing mine across the subway aisle. I looked up from my book and right back down: a couple of months before, we’d gone home together. She had a Southern acc

      22 min read

    • Article

      My Secret Sex Diary

      Jun 24, 2022

      Want to share your secret sex diary? Email eleanor@divamag.co.uk I have always been reluctant to go on blind dates. Generally, first dates invoke a huge amount of anxiety for me. Being dyspraxic, I’m constantly knocking over my drink or tripping ove

      2 min read

    • Article

      Good Boy

      Aug 3, 2021

      Good Boy
      10 min read

    • Article

      60 Seconds That Changed My Life

      Feb 5, 2023

      DATE: December 2D, 1999, 8:15pm EVENT: Writer and broadcaster BENJAMIN LAW comes out to his mum about his sexuality. I GREW UP on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, the last mainland state in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality. That meant for a

      3 min read

    • Article

      60 Seconds That Changed My Life

      Feb 5, 2023

      DATE: December 2D, 1999, 8:15pm EVENT: Writer and broadcaster BENJAMIN LAW comes out to his mum about his sexuality. I GREW UP on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, the last mainland state in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality. That meant for a

      3 min read

    • Article

      Red, Rich River Of Love

      Apr 23, 2020

      Red, Rich River Of Love
      4 min read

    • Article

      Famous People

      Mar 1, 2022

      Famous People
      15 min read

    • Article

      The Wolf

      Nov 6, 2018

      The Wolf
      12 min read

    • Article

      Offended On Behalf Of

      Apr 4, 2022

      I’m not in any hurry to finish this life (and I’m certainly hopeful that it won’t end anytime soon), but I’ve got to say that I’m pleased I don’t have to live on this same planet that you younger readers are going to have to occupy for the next 40 or

      5 min read

    • Article

      Love, Lust, and More

      Feb 12, 2020

      Fleetwood Mac was singing She is dancing away from you now, and I squirmed in my seat. Kabir was rubbing my thigh as he drove, a gesture I once thought was reserved for me. Bah! I also used to think he only took naked selfies in bed with me, but then

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Next Morning

      Mar 14, 2018

      The Next Morning
      10 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for In at the Deep End

    3/5

    52 ratings8 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      This review is a personal one- I didn’t like the controlling relationship but I get the reason for it
    • 4/5
      I really liked the writing style of this novel. It’s funny yet honest. Will definitely read more by Davies again.
    • 3/5
      I feel no connection with Julia. I felt like there was no real character development and that's something I struggled with throughout the book. The only real development was her deciding to embrace being a queer woman and even that was not the greatest. I have an issue with it because she decided to become a queer woman because she had bad sex.

      I enjoyed the first half of this book but it started going down hill when Sam was introduced. That relationship was really cringe-worthy because of how abusive the relationship is. Sam was very manipulative and took advantage of Julia's innocence.

      It was hard to write this review because I did like the writing. The work flows so good and made you want to keep reading. I would be very picky about who I recommend this book to. If you are easily offended, this book isn't for you.
    • 1/5
      The first portion of In At the Deep End starts off on a lighter note. Especially more Rom-Com as Julia explores her sexuality as a lesbian woman. Julia is able to connect well with a group from swing class and is able to get their love and support in her new journey. However, the tone of the novel quickly turned heinous when a relationship with Sam began.
      The rest of the novel if filled with graphic, non consensual sex scenes, and a gross display of manipulation, leaving Julia in despair.
      I found most of my enjoyment came in the development of more minor characters such as Julia's Mum and Dad and her best friend, Alice.
      As a whole, it did represent varying perspectives of the LGBTQ community; but with the abuse and rape, the book left me feeling unsettled and unsatisfied.
    • 5/5
      This is my first lesbian fiction. I literally, read everything and this was definitely a first. It's hilarious, raunchy, sad and a love story. Julia is a character that you really can care about and cheer on. She never has felt like she's had a successful love life. It really makes her feel depressed and anxious. One night, she decides to try something different. She goes home with Jane and discovers that being with the ladies is more her style. She meets Sam, who introduces her to polyamory, SM, underground sex parties and all sorts of things. I'm so glad my family didn't see what I was reading, it's very detailed. I thought the author did a wonderful job of really telling Julia and Sam's story even with all the intense sex. My copy said #NSFW and I would agree!
    • 2/5
      Timely that this read came out during pride month as Julia is suffering from a three year drought from sex. Immediately, upon hearing of Julia's conquests I thought to myself whether men were really for her.... I won't spoil the book but be prepared for a 50 Shades read packed with girl on girl action. Julia certainly finds her true self as the story unravels and learns about relationships along the way, but it isn't enough to lure the reader in on the story alone. That said, if you enjoyed the "other parts" of 50 Shades, this may be for you. *Disclaimer: A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
    • 3/5
      Although I am not part of the target lesbian audience for "in at the deep end," the promise of a FUNNY alternative view of sexual freedom was initially attractive.Oddly, the early humor was from straight man, hetero-marriage oriented Dave.Much of the rest of the book surprised me. I somehow expected that lesbian sexual offerings would be more original and creative than the tired old gay and hetero male blech tropes of BDSM, water "sports," etc. Plus, licking a slimy snail is simply gross.The plot moves right along, interweaving roommates, friends, parents, and job with increasingly repetitive "amazing" sex. By the time Julia and Sam arrived in Lyon (a beautiful location for which we get only minimal description), I hoped that Julia was as tired of hearing only drunken sex conversations and a litany of annoying practices as I was. This is another reason why Dave was welcome - he had other things on his mind!It would be welcome in a sequel to have other characters, like Cat and Ella, developed with a lot more compassion for the world, way less self-absorbed selfish thinking and behavior, and actual paintings included by a really good artist.Julia never finding time to visit Eric was way too sadly predictable.Also, why Sam thinks Julia is so "amazing" is never made clear.
    • 4/5
      Julia, frustrated dancer and depressed office-worker with the world's least exciting sex-life, suddenly finds her life taking a new and exciting turn after she agrees to go on a date with a woman for the first time. Within a matter of days she's joined a queer dance-class, made a bunch of new lesbian friends, and is cruising the scary butch artist Sam at a gay bar. The sex is miles better than anything she has ever experienced before, but it soon turns out that relationships with women are just as fraught with difficulty as those with men were...This is one of those very funny books where you can never be quite sure how far the author is pulling your leg, written in a "Bridget Jones" comic mood but interspersed with episodes of very graphic S/M sex that swerve unpredictably back and forth between farce and seriously erotic. Davies obviously wants to subvert our expectations about lesbian fiction and the chicklit genre, at the same time as exploiting the conventions of romantic comedy mercilessly - there are chapters with headings like "No weddings and a funeral", "A dykey French lieutenant's woman" and "Love, actually?". And yes, the second of these involves a scene on the Cobb in Lyme Regis.Great fun.