4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book! I was in a major book funk! Every book I've read lately had been blah. But, once I started this book I was seriously blown away! I absolutely loved it! I never felt like I had to put this book down or skim any parts. I was fully immersed in the whole diving scene. And with all it's characters! I've never watched a diving competition before. But after reading this book I felt as is I've been to one! The picture the author describes is really detailed. I could feel the moment the divers hit the water. I loved that. I loved how the book just flowed. This book would make a great movie! I could see this all being played out in the big screen! ( And I love the cover!!)

I loved the characters in this book! Brandon the tattoo hottie that has all the talent and no cares at all for that talent. He takes his gift of talent and ignores all the opportunities that, that talent could take him.

Jeremy... is super uptight. He's had one goal in his life. And he's worked his butt to get it. And it's to go to the Olympics. He's been training for thirteen years! It's all he knows. It's all he wants.

He's thrown for a loop when Brandon walks into his life and starts to train along side with him. At first Jeremy wanted nothing to do with him. Then Jeremy started to despise him because he felt he was throwing away his talent.
Little by little... Brandon start s to chip away that hard exterior of Jeremy's.

Val... Jeremy best friend. She I felt was the glue to Jeremy. She knew what he was going through and she knew how to deal with him. And over time...Became a good friend to Brandon.

Jeremy, Brandon & Val all had one thing in common and it was diving. They all did it for different reason. One was to get out of his hometown and move on, the other was to please an overbearing mother and another had a dream and goal to be in the Olympics and also looking for approval from his family. They all come together and helped each other out when they needed it. They were their own little makeshift family.

This book was a very slow burn. It takes awhile for things to happen between Brandon and Jeremy in this book. Because Jeremy is sooo far in the closet. I don't think he could find his way out even with a map!
But, even though I wished certain things would have happened earlier in the book. It wasn't bad. The book flowed perfectly. It just made for a fuller read. I was totally into these characters and their lives. I was rooting for them all to succeed.

Brandon and Jeremy....
Opposites attract is what comes to my mind if I had to describe Jeremy and Brandon. Jeremy was so ridged and strict with himself. He had a goal and nothing and no one was going to mess it up for him.
Brandon was a go with the flow kind of guy. He knew when to take things seriously and he knew when to let some steam go. He also liked to walk a fine line between the two. That's why it was so hard for Jeremy to fully trust him. To let go and let him in.
Jeremy felt like you couldn't function properly like that. And he couldn't understand why anyone would want to function like that.

I loved Brandon. He was super patient with Jeremy. He took things so slow with him and he knew when to back off so he wouldn't be pushing Jermey too far or too fast.
Every time they did anything sexual, it always felt like it was their first time. It was always so intense. Jeremy was so new to everything. So it just made everything they did that more intense. You could feel the intensity of it all.

“It was so good. I want to kiss him again. I want to watch him give in to his own desire. I want to be the person he steps out of the closet for.”

I cried for Brandon in this book. Jeremy was literally all over the place with his emotions. And poor Brandon had to deal with all of it. I was so angry at Jeremy. He was old enough to know what his family was saying wasn't true. Especially being with Brandon for so long. That's what got to me about Jeremy. He was his own worst enemy. He let others inside his head. Instead of listening to his own heart. It was very frustrating.

I wish there was more to the ending. The author leaves you satisfied. You do feel complete. But you definitely feel like there should be more. She takes you on this great journey to the Olympics. And once we get there. You get that ending. I would have liked to read what happened. I feel like there should have been a epilogue. I hope we get more from these characters. I would even like to see how Val's life turned out!

This book was full of tropes that I love. There's the hate-to-love (or at least partial hate-to-love) trope, and the found family trope. And it's very cute to top it all off.

Heels Over Head is about Jeremy, a professional diver, and Brandon, who is all raw talent and no discipline. Brandon is hand-selected by the head of US diving (which is a little unrealistic given he's had zero training, but I'll let it slide) to join Jeremy under the coaching of Andrey. From the start, Jeremy hates Brandon because he is not as fully committed to the sport as Jeremy is. Brandon, on the other hand, just wants Jeremy to loosen up a bit. The rest of the story proceeds as you might expect, following the classic romance formula.

If there's one gripe I have with a lot of sports romances like this, it's that one of the main characters seems to always have to be incredibly deep in the closet, and also show some pretty intense internalised homophobia. This isn't a particular problem I have with this book - it's the genre in general - but this book does use that trope and it was a bit frustrating (I don't mean to say that's not ever the case, but it seems like the genre doesn't ever consider that maybe it could take the radical step of not having it).

Besides that, it was overall a good, solid, well-written book, and I'll likely end up reading a lot more by this author.

Oh this was a pleasure to read. Just like For Real by Alexis Hall, this was a story with two distinct main characters. In this case, however, it was not distinct in terms of age difference, so much as professional life.

Jeremy Reeve has been professionally diving for several years. He has one of the best coaches behind him. And, when that coach takes on another diver to mentor, Jeremy is... pissed.

Especially given that it's Brandon Evans. Brandon doesn't care about professional diving. He's openly gay. In short, he's just not the kind of person that repressed Jeremy wants to have in his life.

I loved the story. About the only reason why it didn't rate the whole five stars is that it didn't really add anything truly original to the genre.

Far apart from this love story between misfits, I absolutely loved the element of chosen family in this novel. Brandon has been homeless to the point that he doesn't see this as a big deal ever since he came out as gay at 18 and was cut off from his family. We see scenes between both Brandon and Val and their respective parents over the course of the novel, and that just serves to make the relationship they share with each other, and coach Andrey, even more beautiful.

The other thing I loved was the pacing. It happens over 24 months and while, in another setting, this might seem rushed or like it was missing important moments, Elyse covered this in a way that was really smooth.

Oh, sports romances. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

Start with the physical. I’m not referring to the oiled up hard-bodies worthy of romance covers and centerfolds. I’m speaking of the raw, athletic prowess the reader takes on by proxy. Even the most couch potato like reader has instant access to years of workouts done at two, three, or ever four hours at a time. They’ve suffered injuries, taping, exhaustion, painful losses, astonishing wins, and the ability to reach the boundary of what’s possible to achieve with a human body.

Then add in the commitment to their sport. The heart and soul, so to speak. In Heels Over Head, we get two very different athletes. The first is disciplined and practiced with years of training. The second is a savant who, because he has a background in dance and an uncanny aptitude for the sport, comes into diving at a late age. Jeremy lives for the sport; Brandon enjoys the sport because he enjoys life. Jeremy needs life, Brandon needs discipline. But the passion is already there.

Finally, add in the mental prowess. The body feeds the mind feeds the heart feeds the body. There is no sport if one’s head isn’t in the game. And just as it is life-affirming to watch two masters at wit (I mean, where would Pride and Prejudice be without the verbal skirmish?), the same thing happens in sport. There’s a dialogue happening through action. It’s more visceral than wit. The two love interests have to get inside each other’s head.

Heels Over Head does all this well. It’s got the physical, mental, heart, soul connection that starts with the sport and brings these two guys together. And though the sport, we see the two characters—originally enemies (though it could be argued that only Jeremy was the enemy)—meld throughout the book.

Brandon is a lovely teacher of all things intimate. The sex between them is sweet and hot. That said, watching how to deal with the bruises that show up the next day is an interesting tangent to their relationship.

What you may not like: Y’all the homophobia…

On the publisher’s website, there is a trigger warning for emotional abuse. The warning, in my humble opinion, doesn’t go far enough. Not only does Jeremy have a lifetime of abuse from his family (a dad and two brothers) for implications of being gay, Brandon was cut from his family—from wealth to being homeless—for coming out.

And while we learn next to nothing about what Brandon endured, we hear plenty about how relentless, derogatory, and cruel Jeremy’s family is to him. So much so, that it makes Jeremy’s path as an Olympic hopeful far fetched. How can one be seven years old and figure out how to get to practices and meets, or how to pay for coaches, without family support?

Jeremy’s rampant internal homophobia is, unfortunately, a major plot point for the story. And, perhaps because this isn’t written from an own voices perspective, it doesn’t feel authentic. The criticality of the self-talk is accurate but the content sometimes jars in that way when you accidentally scrape your teeth together and the screech resonates in your skull (I just did this hours ago; it’s horrible)? Yeah, it’s like that.

As an ex-competitive sportsperson, I gotta say that Val’s familial situation is much more aligned with the norm of being a competitive sportsperson with an involved parent(s). And, this was difficult to read about as well.

What you will love: Brandon’s navigation of Jeremy’s slow thaw.

Just as Jeremy’s upbringing has scarred him, Brandon has transcended his. He’s fearless, charming, and brings a joie de vivre to the training space where the other three inhabitants are all business all the time.

3.5* Not as good as Whiteout, but worth persisting with. Not an out-and-out romance, though.

This tale is well-written, as I've come to expect from this author, but it is slow and it is detailed, given its subject and it's got a romance at the core of it, though I wouldn't specifically call it a romance.

There are three main characters in the tale, all NAs who are dealing with their own issues - a female with a controlling mother and who manages to break free, a guy with an unsupportive, homophobic and uncaring parents and siblings, and guy who's been thrown out, penniless, by his rich parents when he came out. They're not all friends at the start, and the two guys end up being rivals first, then partners in diving, before a relationship slowly starts to develop.

It is a slow-burn romance, more a coming-of-age-and-finding-oneself tale, and it's worth a read, but if you're expecting a full-on romance, declarations of love and a twee HEA, this isn't the tale for you. It does have trials in it - the physical and the emotional, for all characters, and I'm sure that ES has done her research well on swimming and diving, as it's detailed, detailed, detailed. And, tbh, the slightest bit boring for me.

The tale does end with the two guys together, but the romance wasn't satisfying for me, as the leads had been apart due to stubbornness and misunderstanding, and one seemed to force the other's hand. Overall, it's worth a read, but I had expected a little more.

ARC courtesy of Riptide Publishing and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.

A meticulously structured enemies/rivals-to-lovers set in the pressure-cooker world of diving. Springer uses the international competition calendar over twenty-four months leading up to the Olympics to repeatedly raise the professional and personal stakes for the main characters, Jeremy and Brandon. By making Brandon relatively new to the sport, Springer has the other characters explain to him how it works, educating the reader at the same time without bogging down the story with exposition.

Excellent characterisation of both MCs (alternating POVs), as well as one secondary character, Val, who is (probably) asexual, although her orientation / identity is not developed. Jeremy may be demisexual or gray-A, but this isn’t made explicit.

I particularly liked that, although there is a satisfying HEA, Springer didn’t fall into the trap of making all aspects of the characters’ lives perfect. In particular, she didn’t give them facile happy solutions for their difficult (but different) family situations.

I don't follow sports except Formula One, which is why I surprised even myself when my interest piqued with Heels Over Head. I think the best testament to this story and author I can give is to say that I was almost as invested to diving as Jeremy was, and now I want to watch all the diving competitions. Somehow, Springer got me interested in watching sports which I never really do.

Heels Over Head is very intense story that spams over two years - the two years that Jeremy is preparing to qualify to Olympics. Jeremy is nothing but intense, driven and extremely focused on his goal; to win gold at Olympics, to prove himself that he isn't weak and to earn his father's respect. Jeremy lives for diving only and he never slacks in his training or nutrition regime: basically, he never does anything else but train and go to his lectures. Well, until his solitary training changes when his coach, Andrey, takes on Brandon who's naturally talented in diving with little training as well as Valerie who's Jeremy's friend and has been diving for years. For first time in his life, Jeremy has a team he has to work with, especially when Andrey teams Jeremy and Brandon up for synchro diving. Brandon's quite new to the competitive diving and he's not too invested in it at first but he wants to prove himself to Jeremy. While Jeremy is totally focused to live and breath diving, Brandon enjoys having fun and not taking everything so seriously. He's fiercely independent and he's had life rough because his parents cut him off but Brandon still loves life - and wants Jeremy.

Brandon's extremely likable character and he's quite a sweetheart with a little bit devil may care attitude. I liked him a lot but somehow I truly rooted for Jeremy who wasn't always the nicest person - in fact he rarely even liked people and saw others as a distraction to his ultimate goal. But I loved him because he wasn't a bad person, he was scared and emotionally abused by his family and his sole focus was diving because it made him feel free. So I rooted for Jeremy, although what I rooted most were both Jeremy and Brandon because they were so good together. That's because they completed each other.

I really loved Heels Over Head, and I now it'll stay with me for a long time for various reasons. I fell in love with the story and became invested in diving which was quite surprising. It's brilliant and intense story with complicated and flawed characters and relationships but it all just made everything so perfect. Now I just need a sequel, pretty please?

I highly recommend!

This was my first ever time reading a gay adult romance and it was absolutely delightful. My full review will be up soon.

3.5 ★★★

Heels over Head es una novela de romance m/m que tiene como protagonistas a dos jóvenes: Jeremy, un clavadista muy prometedor, y Brandon, quien da sus primeros pasos en la natación. Es el primer libro que leo de Elyse Springer y, a decir verdad, la novela me sorprendió un poco porque va más allá de ser una simple historia de romance y refleja las dificultades, dudas, sueños, temores y el arduo esfuerzo en la vida de un atleta.

Trama: Es simple. La historia engancha, sobre todo, en la primera parte con las competencias. Luego del inicio del romance entre Jeremy y Brandon, la trama se vuelve un poco más lenta y extrañe las competencias. Aunque es comprensible, ya que la línea romántica tenía que desarrollarse. A lo largo de la historia, también hay un desarrollo en los personajes mientras se conocen los detalles más personales de sus vidas, como sus familias, sus metas y su sexualidad.

Personajes: Brandon es mi personaje favorito. Su actitud me encantaba. Su optimismo y buen humor eran relajantes y lo hacen mucho más simpático. También es un joven fuerte, decidido y feliz con quien es, con su sexualidad.

Por otro lado, Jeremy fue un personaje más difícil. Es un joven muy competitivo, frío, reservado, idiota. Al inicio, no me agradaba. Sin embargo, a medida que iba conociendo más detalles personales de su vida, su forma de ser se vuelve un poco más comprensiva. Es un joven que no mantiene una buena relación con su familia y tiene miedo de aceptar abiertamente su sexuaidad. Además está decidido a ganar las Olimpiadas. Su esfuerzo es admirable, pero se se estresa demasiado y se cierra a Brandon.

Los personajes secundarios son un buen apoyo para la historia. Val fue mi favorita porque es una buena amiga y siempre está allí para apoyar a Jeremy y a Brandon, a pesar de sus propios problemas.

Romance: Comenzar el romance entre Jeremy y Brandon con una relación amor/odio creo que fue lo más acertado. Su relación cuando se conocieron era ciertamente difícil, pero poco a poco va cambiando, mientras Jeremy y Brandon se acercan. Sin embargo, siendo muy sincera, tengo que decir que su romance no es sencillo, tiene muchas complicaciones, y Jeremy me exasperaba en ocasiones porque es muy frío. A veces, sentía que faltaba algo en su relación. Además no estoy muy convencida del final. No es exactamente un “felices para siempre”, sino más un “felices por ahora”.

Como conclusión, Heels over Head es una buena novela que no solo se centra en el romance sino que muestra detalles de la realidad de la vida de los atletas. Es fácil de leer, los personajes son agradables y el romance es aceptable.

This book was… complicated.

You know, I’m at this weird place where I can recognize that this one is good, but that it just wasn’t for me. The characters are interesting and well developed and I really liked Jeremy and Valerie’s (who is also a diver) friendship, but… I just didn’t want Jeremy and Brandon to end up together. Or, putting it in another way, I didn’t care if they got together or not, and I certainly thought Jeremy still had a lot to apologize for in the end.

So yeah. No way this book could’ve worked for me.

In a way, I felt like the ending was a bit anti-climatic, though I can’t explain why without giving away all the spoilers. Jeremy’s realization re: his father was the most obvious thing ever (and I don’t think it was intended to not be obvious, but still) so it felt like Jeremy’s change only came because the clock was ticking and the Olympics were happening. If it – the Olympics – hadn’t happened, would him have realized what he did? Maybe, but not for a long time, and that bugs me. The climax of the book is more or less unrelated to the actions of the characters, and that threw me off a bit. Plus, I never understood what Brandon & Jeremy saw in each other, so I wasn’t that invested in their relationship.

There are also lots of slurs in this book, which eventually wore me down a bit, so here’s the warning for those who might be affected by them. It’s usually Jeremy’s family who says them, so be careful.

In the end, Heels Over Head is a nicely written story with interesting characters & relationships that just wasn’t for me. Others might love it, so I still recommend it. 3.0 stars.

Thank you to netgalley and Riptide for the advance copy.
Initially I thought I was not going to like this story as I felt the diving background was going to be a bit too technical for me.However after a chapter or two it settled down to being very romantic and interesting.
The development of the romance between Brandon and Jeremy was nicely handled and the description of their first kisses was sensitive and real. Their first sexual experience was entirely believable; I was not so convinced by the direction it developed. However, sex really is not an important element here.
As far as the main characters were concerned, Jeremy’s apparent coldness and self-centredness were entirely down to upbringing and background and to his determination to succeed.Brandon was just too laid-back. They learned from each other that relationships mostly thrive on compromise.
The other characters Andrei (coach), Val (diver and Jeremy’s only friend) and Aaron (Brandon’s best friend) were lightly sketched so the focus was clearly on Brandon and Jeremy. The ending will not please a lot of readers but I felt that it was right for these characters.
This merits a follow-up.Val’s story (is she asexual?) and those of Aaron and Andrei would be good to read.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1976024010

Heels Over Head is the second book I've read by Elyse Springer, and I really enjoy her writing style. I always feel like I'm IN the story versus on the outside looking in. The dialogue has a certain rhythm, and each character is given a voice.

In addition to the MCs, Jeremy and Brandon, we meet:

- Jeremy's emotionally abusive redneck family (whom I loathed with a passion); they are so homophobic and dismissive, they’re almost caricatures.

- Andrej, Jeremy and eventually Brandon's diving coach, a man of few words who is much more perceptive than Jeremy realizes. Andrej is more of a father to Jeremy than his biological father; Jeremy just doesn’t see it.

- Val, another diver and Jeremy's best friend who becomes Brandon's friend as well. All the love for Val! She’s a true confidante to both men. Her struggle to please her demanding parents while maintaining sanity is an interesting side story in the book.

- Aaron, Brandon's best friend from Texas, who warns Brandon to stay away from men like Jeremy who are “skeletons” (gay men so deep in the closet, they shrivel up and become nothin’ but bones—no spirit, no heart).

Brandon is a supremely likable character. He hasn't had an easy time of it and is used to taking care of himself. He's independent to a fault, but he's also an amazing friend and listener. He's funny, easygoing, and compassionate. Brandon is a talented diver, but an unpolished one.

Jeremy is resentful of Brandon from the moment he sees Brandon's sculpted body covered with ink. Andrej came out of retirement to train Jeremy, and Jeremy doesn't want to share. But share he must, not just with Brandon but also with Val, whose parents (former Olympians themselves) push her relentlessly.

The story spans two years. Jeremy is working toward Olympic gold, and to say it's all that matters is an understatement. Jeremy lives and breathes diving. He's intense, focused, and driven. He wants to make his father and brothers proud, even though we see immediately that they will NEVER be proud; Jeremy could travel to the moon and back, and they'd sneer and call him a fag.

Jeremy tells Brandon that his family loves him, but I had serious doubts. Love isn't spiteful; love doesn't tear you down. That's not love. That's resentment and envy. I hated that Jeremy was so dependent on the approval of people who didn't give a flying fuck about him.

Jeremy's obsession with winning a medal is all-consuming. Jeremy doesn’t drink. He doesn’t eat sugar (like EVER). He doesn’t have sex. He does nothing but go to school and train. He’s a machine.

Brandon does most of the work in their relationship. He puts up with Jeremy's moods and rudeness, and slowly, carefully breaks through Jeremy's hard exterior to the deep-seated insecurity that lies beneath.

To be fair, Jeremy does care about Brandon; he's just scared. He takes care of Brandon when Brandon falls ill with the flu, and when he discovers Brandon's precarious financial situation, he immediately wants to help.

However, Jeremy's love goes only so far. Shaken up by yet another conversation with his callous father, Jeremy is cruel to Brandon (much like his father is cruel to him) and admits that he will ALWAYS choose diving over Brandon.

Jeremy breaks Brandon's heart, and this is not a case of "I'm breaking up with you because I think it's best for YOU." Oh, no, this is all, "I'm breaking up with you because it's best for ME." I was astounded by Jeremy's selfishness.

The pacing in the story is a little uneven. Some moments go on for pages, and some months just disappear. Despite this, the story never dragged. I was very much invested in Brandon and Jeremy's relationship.

I loved the sexy moments between Jeremy and Brandon (Jeremy is an honest-to-god virgin, and Brandon the very best teacher).

I even liked all the diving talk. I'm always impressed when authors do their research, and it's clear Springer knows diving.

But for me to fully believe in this HEA, I needed Jeremy to SAY more, to DO more. We see his internal musings, but I didn't think he truly communicated his feelings to Brandon. Likewise, Brandon's future is nebulous: Is he going to dive again? What about money? This is barely touched on.

To be fair, the ending is NOT a cliffie. The MCs ARE together. The feels are there. It’s a HFN.

BUT:

(view spoiler)

**I received a free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Heels Over Head is such a cute book!! It has such good aspects: a healthy relationship, found family, hate to love romance. I liked it so much!!

Jeremy Reeve is an extremely talented diver who was set to compete in the Olympics two years ago but unfortunately had to drop out after an unexpected injury. Now, he works insanely hard in order to go to the next Olympics. He's also dealing with his sexuality after his coach takes on another student: Brandon Evans. They, along with a third student, Jeremy's best friend Valerie, form a small, tightly-knit family.

I really enjoyed the diving aspect of this book! The last Olympics was the first time I've actually watched a full diving event, so I was especially interested in the sports side of it. I'm weirdly into reading about sports but I hate playing them lol. I also loved how Val and Brandon help Jeremy come to terms with his sexuality; he's grown up with a family that considers diving a "gay sport" so naturally he's frightened of coming out.

I did think it dragged a bit in the middle, and I was a little upset that once the romance started happening, we saw less and less of the competitions. Overall, though, this book was very well paced. It takes place over two years, counting down to the Olympics, with alternating points of view from Jeremy and Brandon. The little bubbles during page breaks were cute too.

Heels Over Head was a great read, and I recommend it wholeheartedly! A gay relationship that's very healthy and (possibly?) asexual representation. I'm getting ready to read another book by Elyse Springer (that has ace rep!), and I'm very happy about it, especially because I liked this book so much.

Heels Over Head, Elyse Springer

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  Romance, LGBTQIA

I loved Elyse's Whiteout, so looked forward to this. Its a very different style of book IMO, but once more Elyse lets me wallow in the angsty bit, really stretches it out.
So many otherwise perfect for me stories just skip that part, breakup on page 278, make up by 280....here it covers a decent span of time both in book pages and weeks/months.
 
When we meet Jeremy he appears almost mechanical, very goal focused and nothing detracts him. He's kind of isolated with only diver Val and trainer Andrey as - well, not freinds even Val, but contacts? acquaintances?
He's been training and diving since he was seven, much to the disgust of his father and brothers. Fag sport is what they call it, they're the type of stereotypical rednecks that pride themselves ( somewhat ironically!) as Men's men. You know, the tough sort, the Manly type....sadly, there's lots like him. Jeremy has been trying to make his family proud for years, but so far they still deride his sport. Olympic cold will do it he thinks, and that's his goal.
So when he finds out Andrey has taken on another pupil he's not happy. Andrey came out of retirement to train him and he's been his only pupil for a long time. Now he has to share with Brandon and he makes it clear he isn't happy.
He thinks Brandon is a waste of time, he's out for the fun of diving, only been doing it for two years and has so much raw talent that Jeremy is annoyed he won't take it seriously. Not only that but he's Gay and proud of it. Cue much friction. 

Brandon comes from a wealthy background but when he came out to his parents at 18 he was thrown out. He knew it would happen, made a few plans and has been alone ever since.
He's had lots of freinds, is still close to his ex, and is just going along with the flow, delighted to have got a scholarship and training for his diving. He does it for fun though, looks at Jeremy's single minded focus and thinks there's more to life that being like that, giving up everything for one goal.
Jeremy intrigues him though, he's politely rude, makes it clear he thinks Andrey shouldn't be training him, and Brandon just wants to find a way to crack through the disdain he shows for him. 

And then number three comes in, Val, long time competitor who's met Jeremy so many times they're kind of friends, well as close as he will allow himself anyway. Friends divert his focus and he won't allow that.
Val has pushy parents, thwarted from their own ambitions they're determined to push her to the Olympics. As a child she followed without question, as an adult now she's feeling she wants to find her own way in the world and that may not be through competitive diving. 

So three very diverse characters. Val makes friends with Brandon pretty quickly, he's a likable guy and she doesn't have Jeremy's intensity about focus and friendships. She needs freinds to support her when her mother is around! 
Brandon is attracted to Jeremy from the off, but soon realises Jeremy may be giving off signs that he's attracted by Brandon, but is not admitting that even to himself. He's what Brandon and his friend call a skeleton, someone so deep in the closet they don't acknowledge even to themsleves their feelings.
That way disaster lies from Brandon, and yet he can't seem to keep away, can't stop trying to get Jeremy's attention. 

I love this kind of read, where people are so opposite, so different you think No Way will they make it together, and then authors prove that totally wrong.
Its no quick fix either, but slowly, so very slowly Jeremy comes round to Brandon, to the point where they're lovers.
And then bam...it's all off. Oh I love that part in a story, where just as they look set for a HEA after lots of struggle and work it all goes wrong.
I was so angry at Jeremy, he was so cold and callous, even though I knew why. It takes a lot of time and work to put right and that was just perfect for me, no two page breakup and then its all sunshine and rainbows...

I don't know the world of swimming at all but here it was so well explained I could follow along, get involved in the way they wanted to win, understand the things they were up against.
There's a lot of side content here, that adds so much to the story, things we need to know to really understand the characters and that worked really well for me.
At the beginning I didn't think I could ever really like Jeremy, he seemed so cold but as I got to know him I so felt for him, for what he'd tried to do, for the things he'd given up to try to get his families approval.
Brandon I loved from day one, and Val, well sadly there's so many like her, who have their own ambitions thwarted by parents who want to push them in another direction. doesn't everyone deserve to make their own choices, do what they know will make them happy? 

Stars: Four, a really interesting read, with lots of emotion and drama.  

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers