Environmental escapism at it's finest. I was in love with the hero and the heroine in the complex plot. It was different and layered with romantic feeling.

In at the Deep End is an Australian romance novel by Penelope Janu that was first released in 2017 and due to be re-released in 2024. I always enjoy how this author entwines an environmental issue into her romance stories, giving them depth and knowledge on important topics, in this case Antarctic glaciers and rising sea levels. Harriet Scott, a geography teacher, had a unique upbring travelling the world with her environmental activist parents. Harriet and lifelong friend, Captain Drew McLeish, take over her parent’s foundation after tragedy strikes. In a sudden turn of events the foundation’s ship, The Watch, sinks in Antarctic waters. Commander Per Amundsen comes to Harriets rescue and a love/hate relationship follows. At times I found Harriet to be rather frustrating and thought the scenes where Per teaches Harriet to swim were quite tedious. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for my ARC. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

A good solid read. Classics story of man and woman who despise each other initially and then need to fight their attraction.

This book started strong but then just lost its way.

Harriet is the well known daughter of environmentalists, think a Bindi Irwin type. When her ship sinks in the Antarctic she is saved by Per, a Norwegian naval officer. Later, sponsorship is offered for the pair to return to Antarctica together, given they are both distantly related to the original explorers Scott and Amundsen. However, Per is not keen on the idea due to Harriet’s obvious phobia of water and he insists Harriet will need to learn how to swim before he will agree to the return trip. And Per, of course, will be the one to teach Harriet.

This is where Janu lost me. Yes, Harriet’s reasons for her water issues were valid and I liked the storyline of their origins but the way Harriet carried on with Per through this part of the book got really annoying. Instead of Harriet eliciting sympathy, she just grated on my nerves. And the swimming scenes just went on and on and on. Far too long. I really don’t understand why no one in Janu’s editing team didn’t point this out.

In fact, the entire book was waaaay too long. Unnecessary supporting characters could have been cut. Oh, and so could have Harriet’s sketching. It just seemed really pointless. The whole thing would have worked way more if Janu had just focused on Harriet and her parents’ fame, her pseudo uncle’s dementia diagnosis, and their connection to the original race to the South Pole.

2 out of 5

It was difficult to put my thoughts into words for a review of this book - on one hand this book was unputdownable. I stayed up until all hours on a work day reading this which is a sure sign of a great book. On the other hand this is my second book by this author and there are some things about the writing I really can’t get on board with.

Harriet is the daughter of famous world adventurers and activists and although her parents have passed she is still trying to continue the work that they started. When she gets in a tricky situation out at sea and has to be rescued by Per Amundsen, a Norwegian naval officer it’s safe to say he is not her biggest fan. They become forced to work together to raise funds for the foundation's latest endeavour and butt heads at every turn despite their undeniable chemistry.

I love some of the elements of this story. Being a huge fan of the beach and swimming I loved the setting and seeing those themes popping up everywhere with Per being a naval officer and Harriet learning to swim. There was a really lovely theme here of Harriet growing up and figuring out her purpose and direction which was a great journey to read.

I previously read On The Same Page by this author too and there were some recurring things in both books that really irked me. These might just be my personal issues with the writing but I found the male mc so mean to the female mc to the point where I was so confused how these two could end up together.. I’d be so unhappy if my partner treated me this way. And the other thing for me was the way the fmc would literally run away from difficult conversations, I struggled to picture it.

I noticed that this is an older book that’s been re-released and Im glad I read it because as I mentioned it was definitely page turner. I’ll probably take a break from reading books by this author though for now at least. Thank you for NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for the kindle arc of this book for review considerations, all opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for the chance to read this book.

This is a re-release of Penelope Janu's first book. It's an enemies to lovers story with a strong environmental thread.

Harry and Per have both had some serious life trauma that leads them to have some very unhealthy behaviour characteristics. Harry is impulsive and has many hidden truths. Per is controlling and finds it hard to trust. Their attraction is undeniable. The way the treat each other at times is very hurtful and unhelpful. But all of this leads to a story full of chemistry and drama. Overall I really enjoyed it.

I definitely enjoyed this story!
Harriet and Per were wonderful together. Full of tension and great romance, it kept me wanting to turn the page to see where they’d end up!
The environmental aspect to the story definitely gave the book some variety, but I found this storyline to be a little slow at times.
Janu’s writing was fantastic though! Plenty of humour sprinkled in, and great descriptions that made you feel like you were right there.

Lovely opposites-attract-fighting-is-foreplay-enemies to lovers story with some quite deep themes of loss.

Had me full of anticipation, needing to know what was going to happen with our lovelies next.

Another enjoyable read from Penelope Janu

I’m unashamedly a fan of Penelope Janu’s books but hadn’t read In At The Deep End until now. It’s her first novel and this is a rerelease. It certainly deserves a second chance, because this is a cracking good story. Unlike most of her books, this one is set mainly in Sydney with a lot of the action taking place at Avalon Beach. Despite this location, we discover early in the book that heroine Harriet Scott, who has a beachside house there, is terrified of the water to the point of getting major panic attacks just thinking of swimming. This fear is a driving force behind Harry’s character and her behaviour towards swoonworthy hero Per Amundsen, a commander in the Norwegian Navy on secondmenty to the Australian Navy while he undertakes research into the Antarctic glaciers. These two characters feel an instant attraction, though it’s very much a love hate relationship with plenty of sparks flying. She’s feisty, passionate and a little impulsive, while he is very driven and focused on his work. With the impact of global warming a secondary story, there’s plenty going on in this book to keep readers’ attention. I couldn’t put it down and am just so thrilled that Harlequin Australia gave me the opportunity to read it. This book is definitely a keeper!

How did I not know about this amazing author?

This is an absolute treat - it’s fresh, original, clever, bittersweet, frustrating, absolute gold! Written in present tense which is hard to nail but so good when it's done well. We experience all this action and angst from the perspective of our heroine Harriet (Harry). Her history, and past trauma, and past adventure unravels slowly, as she battles to keep the details of her childhood trauma from Per, and from the reader.

Harry has an extraordinary backstory and is the most courageous. loyal and quirky and stubborn and more stubborn heroine I’ve ever read. She drives Per absolutely crazy - in English and Norwegian - with her pigheadedness. Their journey is rocky, but we sense that once these two get together they will be everything to each other. He underestimates her time and again and then she underestimates him.

The settings are amazing, first in the Southern Ocean and then on the northern beaches of Sydney. They are written so clearly we can smell the sea and see the view from Harry‘s balcony. And then there's the swoon, the longing, the electricity and the steam as Harry and Per circle each other.

It's not perfect (we know so little about Per, where do they end up in their HEA, why Palau, and so on) but it's sooooooo good, it doesn't matter. And the cover is lovely but doesn't relate to the story at all.

Can you tell that I absolutely adore this fabulous original romance and I can’t wait to read all of Penelope Janu's back catalogue? Thoroughly, absolutely recommend!

Thank you thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC, in exchange for this independent review.