Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley // Crowley's Writing is Just Not for Me!

Words in Deep Blue, by Cath Crowley
Publication: June 6, 2017, by Alfred A. Knopf BFYR
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 273
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came.
Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.
Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.
As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.

My Thoughts:

Words in Deep Blue was supposed to be a literal masterpiece. I mean, I always expected it to be. I wanted it to be WAAAAAY better than Cath Crowley's Graffiti Moon, which was a literal TERRIBLE piece of literature. However, this fell somewhere in the middle of my expectations. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the best read of my life. I felt the poeticness in the writing, the fact that it was written about deep, dark topics like grief and heartbreak, but it lacked something. Crowley is a talented writer, however, I cannot understand the craze behind how her writing is so addicting yet beautiful. I recommend this for lovers of lyrical books, perhaps those written in prose. I really wish that IT COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD - because it looked so GOOD and the cover is gorgeous. 

This was a good story with a good storyline. I just wish that it turned out to be more action-packed, more contemporary. It felt like I was watching a black-and-white movie for a long time, with some burst of colour in between (during the moments that had a strong romance). This can definitely be classified as a contemporary-romance story, don't get me wrong, but I just felt that the author was trying to get too philosophical with the story sometimes, that it just got annoying and tiring. 

I read this a while ago, however, I felt that it was PRETTY MEMORABLE. This is a book in an Australian setting about a girl named Rachel, who moved away from her small town, leaving behind her crush and best friend, Henry Jones. Years later, Henry's girlfriend breaks up with him, and Rachel is back in town, with a new secret that she forbids herself to tell. And of course, with contemporary books' predictability, you can guess that a romance bloomed.

The romance was cute - I appreciated all of the giddy moments and cute stuff. This book had a cute vibe to it and it was definitely pleasing. It's just that I constantly found myself bored out of my mind. Maybe I needed a heart-racing thriller instead?

If you enjoyed Cath Crowley's other books and if you're willing to give a cute, deep romance a try, then go for this. But seriously - beware of the boredom that is involved! 

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

What is the last "deep" book you've read?