A very swoony age-gap romance and the third in the Brightest Light series. Lila is a diligent graduate student studying to become a youth counselor. After breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, she is solely focused on finishing her degree and getting her counseling license. For her internship, she ends up working for a colleague of her mother's who happens to be more than a decade her senior. As the two forge a close working relationship at the youth counseling center, it becomes harder to deny the feelings that are developing. But Lila is determined not to compromise her chances of graduating and achieving her career goals.

Told from both main characters' perspectives, we see how both Reed and Lila have to battle their own demons to find clarity. Thoughtful, heartbreaking at times, but also life-affirming in many ways.

I've loved Lisina Coney since The Brightest Light of Sunshine. There's something very special about the series and I can't help but be sad that it's ending. The three books fit together perfectly and now with the third book the story of this wonderful family ❤️ comes full circle. Lila Callaghan is all grown up, and seeing Cal and Grace as parents was really priceless (Cal, you're my favorite. Sorry, Grace).
Lila is ambitious, hardworking, sensitive and a big overthinker. Her goal is to help children, but in order to do so, she must complete an internship. Internship with none other than her idol and close friend and colleague of her mother - Dr. Reed Abner. Speaking of complicated... it doesn't hurt that Reed is hot either.
It was an amazing slow burn story. If I want to read about two characters who find comfort and refuge in each other, slowly and gradually fall in love... Lisina Coney is THE woman.
An extremely beautiful story that shows the power of love and proves that your soul mate will always bring out the best in you. Yes, Reed is 12 years older than her. Yes, he is her mentor... But.. in the face of love, sometimes you are just powerless.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The entire book had the ideal amount of tension. I adored how the book addressed challenging subjects. In the end, I read this book first in the series, but I'm eager to read the other two so I can learn more about those characters.

The storyline was intriguing about forbidden love and temptation between a hot professor and a student (even though she wasn't his direct student except for the whole internship conflict of interest). The build up of their connection was a slow burn and their demise was quick sudden and very unrealistic due to one of her best friends ratting her out and orchestrating the whole thing. Plus, her parents' reaction was too supportive for what she actually did and also unrealistic. I liked the youth center tie-ins and Reed healing from his trauma-filled past by adopting his dog. The ending was a cheese fest and HEA. Not what I expected when I first read the teaser (I figured there would be more trysts and less obsessive love), but it still worked as a whole.

I have really been looking forward to this one and i truly loved the first half of this book! Lila and Reed were amazing and i couldnt put it down but the last 150 pages just hurt, the third act break up hurt and that part of the story just wasn't for me in this book

"The Deepest End of Love" is a compelling age-gap romance that expertly navigates the tension between professional boundaries and undeniable attraction. Lila Callaghan, a rule-abiding graduate student, finds herself drawn to Reed Abner, a charismatic professor and family friend who inadvertently witnessed her moment of revenge against a cheating ex. As they work closely during her internship at his youth center, the chemistry between them intensifies, challenging their attempts to keep things professional. Lisina Coney skillfully blends humor and emotional depth, creating a story that explores the complexities of love, ambition, and the risks of crossing boundaries. A passionate and engaging read!

Give me a forbidden romance every day, and I will always devour it.

The vibes in this book are immaculate, and I truly found myself falling in love with both Lila and Reed.

In the beginning, I truly was afraid I would not vibe with Lila's obsession over school and her grades but in the end, Lisina's writing and her character development made me LOVE HER and understand her in a deep level. I loved the character development and how he started to understand her emotions, her wishes, and who she truly is.

Reed - do not let me start because I've been in love with him since his first appearance.

The chemistry between them was truly palpable, and I was rooting for them SO BAD. They were that love story, and you just want to read more and more about it.

This was my first book from Lisina, and now I really want and need to read the other two, I know Cal and Grace will own my entire heart.

This book is so easy pacing, with a beautiful love story. I really recommend you love forbidden romance and age gap.

“𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞, 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫—𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞.”

The Deepest End of Love is the third and last book in The Brightest Light series by @lisinaconeyauthor 🩷

This book features the story of Lila and Reed. Lila, Grace and Cal’s daughter (main characters of The Brightest Light of Sunshine), is a rule follower but one day, after discovering that her boyfriend was cheating on her she gets caught during an act of revenge by the person who she’s been trying to avoid for two years, her parents close friend, Reed Abner, who is also a professor at Lila’s university. Avoiding him is easy until he offers her an opportunity for an internship at the youth center he coordinates. Lila is desperate to get an internship as she gets closer to finishing her Master’s degree and turning it down would be foolish. The only issue? Reed’s going to be her supervisor. Working in such close proximity to each other poses an even bigger problem. Reed proves to be an excellent mentor, but he’s awakened feelings in Lila she shouldn’t have. Reed is her superior. He’s twelve years her senior. And as the burning desire between them grows, Lila wonders if falling for him will be her worst mistake yet.

Lila what can I say about you when you are literally me. She overthinks everything before making a decision (especially if it involves other people and they could get hurt in the meantime), she thinks so little of her when instead her achievements are so impressive. Lisina did a brilliant job creating and shaping her character, she felt so real, like a friend I could talk to. I loved reading about her personal growth, I’m so proud of who she had become at the end of the book🥹

Then we have Reed. His story broke my heart into a million pieces, but as he was healing throughout the book, it was mended❤️‍🩹 I loved both his calm side and his emotive side. He had the chance to learn how to love thanks to Lila and that was the sweetest thing ever. Also can we talk about is commitment to the youth center and those magnificent kids? Whenever they were involved I felt my heart explode over and over again(I just can’t, I love kids😭). AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PUPPY? I will never forget how many times I’ve cried during their scenes together. I know I am an emotional wreck, and I’ll always be😂.

I’m completely obsessed with Reed and Lila’s love story. I loved how Lisina made them heal before as two individuals and then as a couple, it’s exactly what the characters needed the most. Given their age gap of course there was some sort of hesitation between them, but I loved how Lisina handled that.

I also cried whenever Grace, Cal, Maddie and James were mentioned, and the epilogue? I was in shambles. I love this characters with my whole heart😭❤️ I wish I could go back in time and read this series from the start again🥹. I hope you follow my advice to start this series as soon as possible cause it deserves all the love in this world!

Tropes:
🩷age gap (36/24)
🩷grad student x internship supervisor
🩷slow burn
🩷dual pov

I received this arc through netgalley in exchange of an honest review

I became aware of Lisina's books when fanart of her previous book went viral on twitter. I immediately read that book (The Darkest Corner of the Heart) and adored it. As soon as I saw the cover for this, I knew I had to read it. I absolutely devoured this. The characters of Lila and Reed are some of my favourites I've read this year. I loved the setting of the youth centre and the little kids being side characters was the cherry on top. I'm a huge fan of slow burns and forbidden romance, and I genuinely could have read 1000 pages of these two falling in love. It was so pure and romantic, and this will be one that sticks with me for a while! I loved it so much

I had seen a number of people recommending books by Lisina Coney so I took a chance and decided to read this even though it’s the third book in the series. Not something I do often.
Wow, people were right. Her writing is beautiful. It flows off the page and evokes all the feelings she was writing about. I could feel the ache of self-doubt that Lily suffered, I could feel the first throes of love as their relationship shifted. Reed fell for her, heart and soul. It was so refreshing to read a romance where it wasn’t all about the physical attraction. They were each so enamoured with the others thoughts and feelings. I was captivated.
My only issue, and it’s entirely my own because of my age, was being able to relate to Lila. She is on the edge of womanhood and learning her boundaries which sometimes grated me a little. However, I would definitely read this author again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc of this beautiful book. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

5⭐️

ARC Review

The wait for this book was worth it. I am so happy that I once came across Lisina's debut romance and now we have the latest book in the series. This is the best book in the series, in my personal opinion. I love them all, but this book has a special place in my heart.

To be honest, it was strange to read a story in which the characters from the previous books have already aged. On the one hand, it is so touching to watch their sincere love and strong relationships. But on the other hand, my stupid brain makes me think that everything has an end and my favorite heroes are not eternal.

The age difference scares me. But Lisina knows how to create a fiery attraction between the characters, in which all boundaries are erased. I am delighted with the stories of the characters. Despite the age difference, Lila and Reed are wise and smart heroes who needed to find each other in order to gain confidence and peace.

Oh my God, I'm ready to scream with delight and happiness for how wonderful Lila's parents are. I miss them so much that I'm ready to reread The Brightest Light of Sunshine right now.

I was incredibly happy to go through the whole journey with Lisina. Watching her rise in popularity, how she achieved all this, is very valuable. Thank you for this incredible series, for these wonderful characters and for all the emotions that Lisina's books gave me. Thank you for the ARC, it's very valuable to me.

I'm looking forward to new books by Lisina Coney. I'm very interested in what she will come up with, what stories she will write. I so want to immerse myself in new stories and get to know her wonderful characters.

This is book 3 in The Brightest Light Series. While you do not have to read the previous books, it helps in understanding the storyline a bit more. All that to say, I loved this book, it may very well be my favourite of the series. Lila and Reed were perfect in their imperfect ways. Lila is a psychology student studying to be a child therapist and Reed is a professor at her university. He helps her out in a bind and from there, they grow closer and closer.
This is an age gap romance romance with about 12 years between the two of them, and a student x teacher romance. I loved that bit because I’m a sucker for an age gap romance. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who read the first 2 of the series, as it was a wonderful conclusion to it. While the book did start off a little slow, it picked up pretty quickly and was a joy to read. I will continue to read what Lisina Coney writes because I really enjoyed this series and I imagine she has more wonderful books coming.
Thank you to NetGalley and Page & Vine, and Lisina Coney for an ARC of this book.

This is the 3rd part of The Brightest Light series, in this story we have as protagonist Lila, who is the daughter of the protagonists of the first book Cal & Grace.

This story begins in a rather peculiar way when Reed finds Lila in a compromising situation, and for which he promises to keep her secret. Lila decides to trust him, a friend of her parents, without knowing that this will only be the beginning of everything.

Lila is about to graduate from her master's degree as a child therapist, but to do so she needs to do an internship in the field, but despite her good grades and publications she has not been able to get one. This is where Reed offers to help her, and where these 2 will begin to get to know each other, form a beautiful friendship, and realize that perhaps they feel more for each other than they are willing to admit.

The connection between them is beautiful, she becomes his confidant, he becomes her unconditional support and they both connect in an incredible way. They both show a personal development and growth necessary to be together.

Lisina has done it again, creating such complex and cute characters. I don't know how she does it but she makes you connect with them in such a deep way from the first pages.

Extra points for the scenes with Cal & Grace, the unconditional support of Maddie & James, and just how nice it was to see such a beautiful family.

If you haven't read this series, I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Page & Vine, Netgalley & Lisina Coney for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

🩷The Deepest End of Love-The Brightest Light Book #3

✍🏾By: Lisina Coney- read The Brightest Light of Sunshine and The Darkest Corner of the Heart gave them 5 ⭐

📃Page Count: 429 eBook

📆Publication Date: 9-24-24 | Read 10-10-24

🙏🏾 Thanks to ARC by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op | Page & Vine, and Lisina Coney for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are mine alone.

🌎 Setting: Warlington

Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult

Tropes: age gap, close proximity, workplace/forbidden romance (student/professor), mental health, slow burn, pet friendly

☝🏾POV: 1st person, dual

⚠️ TW: parental neglect, foster care, adoption, SA-in the past-not H/h, PTSD-H

Summary: Lila needs an internship to get her master's in psychology and her dream job as a youth counselor. Reed is a professor at University of W. and supervisor at a youth center. He offers Lila the internship, but Lila doesn't want it in fear of people calling it nepotism. She doesn't want Reed to ruin her reputation or be accused of getting favoritism. She changes her mind and agrees to take the internship. Lila and Reed have to work together, fight their attraction, and help Lila fulfill her dreams.

🚺Heroine: Lila Callaghan-24, a grad student, discovers her bf cheating, vandalized his car, and Reed saw her do it.

🚹 Hero: Reed Abner-36, a professor @ Lila's university. A family friend

🎭Side cast

•Mariah-Lila's BFF
•Karla-Mariah's roommate, a psychology grad student
• Grace+ Cal- Lila's parents, Reed works with Grace in publishing
• Liam + Warren-Reed's BFFs, owns boxing gym
• Oliver-Lila's ex-boyfriend
•Haniyah-works at the youth center
•Maddie + James-Lila's aunt and uncle
• Ginny-a wounded puppy found by the kids Reed adopts her

💭My Thoughts: Lila overanalyzed everything and thought way too much about others thought of her. She worried herself to her own detriment. Reed felt guilt over putting his parents in prison and relived their horrible abuse. I loved that Reed fell for her intellect and how they interacted with the kids.

Range of emotions:
🌶️: Spice 4/5
😭: Emotion 5/5
🧑‍🤝‍🧑: Couple 4/5
️✨: Rating 4/5

Wow! This was so good. I hadn’t read the first two and I think that would’ve been beneficial but either way, I liked it on its own too! Age gap is one of my fave tropes. Also mental health rep is always a winner for me. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to ARC read♥️

I haven’t read the other 2 in the series, but now I HAVE TO.

This book was soooo good. At first, I thought I was gonna hate the age gap, but it was written in a way that didn’t give me the creeps. Yay!

Not only that, but there’s so many wonderful underlying messages regarding mental health and self worth. I absolutely adored it.

This was a great read with some delicious spice scenes!

Highly recommend🥰

The end to a heartfelt series! I loved that this covered multiple generations of the family, however nothing compares to that first book! It was great to see Lila grown up and her parents and aunt still all very connected to each other. I did love Lile and Reed together and how they overcame the controversies in their relationship. It is kind of sad seeing the chapters close on this families story.

I wanted to be invested in this book but the way that the kids at youth center spoke and the way Reed and Lila talked to the kids during their therapy sessions was so out of touch with reality. Kids don’t react like that and therapists should never say those things in a professional capacity. This was so off putting that it made it very hard to gloss over the repetitive and awkward writing style. How the author dealt with the characters’ previous trauma felt more like trauma porn than reality and made me very uncomfortable. The need for everything to have a deep lesson made this book tedious to read. I did not read the first two books in the series but, before I started this book, was planning on going back to read them but I think I’ve read enough from this author to know they are not going to be a good fit for me.

Finally getting to see this series through was such a complete circle moment. I loved getting to watch Lila and Reed find each other. And Cal always gets me with his reactions (so funny).

Absolutely go read this!

I loved every minute of this book! The tension was perfect throughout the whole book. I loved the difficult topics that were tackled during the book. I ended up reading this book first out of the series, but I can’t wait to go back and read the other two to explore those characters more.