Lengths (Lengths, #1)

by Steph Campbell and Liz Reinhardt

[Angie]

In spite of some of its heavier themes, Lengths is a feel good, summer romance that left me smiling. Deo is turning twenty-two and he's pretty aimless. He mainly just hangs out with his friend, drinks with his grandpa, and goes surfing. Whit has just left her life on the east coast behind, and is trying to be independent while pushing through her grief. Then the two meet and their connection is immediately intense. Deo finally found something to give him direction, but Whit is terrified of getting too close and losing someone else.

I really enjoyed Lengths, especially Deo's chapters. He's this kind of cocky, laid back, surfer dude who tells it like it is. He doesn't play games with Whit. He lets her know that he's into her and would like to see where it goes. When it becomes clear that she's struggling with something, he's there for her even though she doesn't want to talk about it. I just really liked him. Deo was well-rounded and believable. Not to say that he's perfect, since he does cross a line with Whit which caused their first fight. His heart was in the right place, but he really should not have done that behind her back.

The romance of Lengths was pretty good. I liked Whit and Deo together, but I felt like everything happened too fast. Not that it's insta-love. The story actually spans a few months, but it's so short and there are a lot of time jumps. We don't actually get to see when Deo's feelings shifted. All of a sudden it's several weeks later. Then they fight, avoid each other, and it's another few weeks later. Then a few more weeks later. I'm sure it probably would have been boring to read all of their time apart, but I wish we had gotten at least some of it. Deo and Whit are both working through things, and it would have been nice to see some of that apart from the romantic elements.

In the end, I did really like Lengths. It does have its dark moments because of what Whit is dealing with, but it was also funny and very sexy in places. I also really liked Deo's story, since it shows that you can still accomplish what you want even if you don't follow the typical path. Everyone thinks he needs to go to college or get a 9-5 career, but Deo ends up doing things his way, which is great.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.