Out in the Deep

Out in College, Book 1

By: Lane Hayes

Narrated by: Michael Dean

Length: 4 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Derek Vaughn is a little too serious. He’s a type-A controlling personality with a penchant for order and a love of water polo. But he’s determined to enjoy his last year of college. The real world with a serious job and big expectations can wait for a few months. He’s going soak up every minute on campus with his friends and teammates before he moves on. The only possible kink in his plan is the new guy on the team...also known as his nemesis.

Gabe Chadwick has big Olympic dreams. His transfer between Southern California universities has nothing to do with scholastics. The degree is his backup plan. He’s not there to party or make friends. And he certainly isn’t going to announce his sexuality. But he can’t deny there’s something special about the uptight team captain. However, when an unwitting friendship and mutual attraction collide, both will have to decide if this is the real thing or if they’re about to lose it all in the deep.

©2018 Lane Hayes (P)2019 Lane Hayes

Rivals to lovers

Ahh These guys are sexy together!! I loved their dynamic and progression of their relationship from rivals to friends to lovers to love. They are witty and playful, and Lanes dialogue is always awesome!

Michael nailed these guys and I adored his drunken scene.

It's a great kick off to a great series.

I love this book

I loved this book when I first read it and since then I've read it again. Michael Dean just makes this story come to life and I love it even more

An enemies to lovers sports romance!

This is the first book in the series amd let me say it's an amazing start.

I absolutely loved the characters and the banter between them was hot sexy and palpable.

The characters were likeable, relatable and well fleshed out.

I loved the author's writing style and the narration was fabulous.

Michael Pauley is a one click narrator for me.

So looking forward to listening to the rest of this series.

Derek & Gabe

There were so many of my favorite tropes in this story: college age, athletes, closeted lovers and first time gay. I really enjoyed Derek and Gabe’s story. I found their relationship so sweet and their love story was really beautiful. The chemistry between Derek and Gabe really grabbed me. And their sexy times?! Whoa! This truly hit all my emotional feels and I found myself having to snag a tissue.

I have been impatiently awaiting for the audio of this book, and it was so worth the wait! I absolutely loved this book when it came out, and the narration of it was just fantastic!

Pauley brings Hayes’ characters to life!

I received a free copy of this audiobook to listen to and review for Wicked Reads.

As a huge fan of Lane Hayes’ Leaning Into series, I was excited to learn that her Out in College series was being released as audiobooks, especially as more than one of my co-reviewers enjoyed the ebooks. That Michael Pauley was the narrator was icing on the cake. Double yum!

Never having watched water polo, I found the opening scene of Out in the Deep quite entertaining. I’m not sure I would have considered it to be that violent of a sport, but as competitive as Derek and Gabe were, I wasn’t surprised when one was thrown out of the game – but I was surprised to learn how convincing the other was at playing the victim. Yeah, I definitely had a snicker over that one. As hot as their first tryst was, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for both guys. Derek for being unable to admit his feelings to himself and Gabe for feeling used. Fortunately, Hayes moves the story along in such a way that the shift in their interactions from cautious-bordering-on-hostile to cautious and curious lovers to boyfriends felt natural. I appreciated that the decision to keep their relationship a secret was mutually agreed upon and mutually beneficial to both – neither was made to feel like a dirty little secret. I hated that events unfolded in such a way that Derek felt forced to come out before he was ready, even if doing so meant being true to himself and protecting Gabe. Fortunately, Hayes doesn’t shy away from emotions and even though she has no problem putting her characters through the wringer, she makes sure they get the happy ending they (and I) deserve.

There are several emotional scenes in Out in the Deep that had me on the edge of tears, including Derek’s coming out speech to his team. But the most poignant scene for me was when Derek discusses his fears about coming out with Evan. While Hayes does a great job explaining why coming out is a scary prospect, it was Michael Pauley’s performance that made this scene for me. Pauley pours so much emotion into Derek that as he confesses his fears to Evan, I could hear his voice breaking and feel the tears he was choking back – which was all it took to break the fragile hold I had on my own. Pauley did a wonderful job of bringing Hayes’ characters to life and I am beside myself with glee that I get to continue to enjoy both the author’s and the narrator’s talents with book two, Out in the End Zone, right now. Oh, the joys of near simultaneous releases.

Michael Pauley did a great job!

I read Out in the Deep and then listened to the audio and I just love the way Michael Pauley brings these characters to life. Derek and Gabe are water polo college rivals until Gabe transfers. Now they are teammates. And they have to get along and work together. Derek doesn't like Gabe. Always found him too confident and obnoxious. Having him around gives him anxiety and he needs to focus and graduate. Gabe has watched Derek compete over the years and always had a little thing for him. When Derek gets drunk one night, things heat up between them. Hate turns into something seriously hot and unexpected. Derek always knew he might be attracted to men too, but there is something about Gabe that makes him lose his mind. Can they have a real relationship while being teammates and trying to achieve their dreams? I loved watching these two fall in love! It was sexy as sin, sweet and fun. It was all new for Derek and he was so darn cute asking questions and willing to try anything. Gabe took good care of him, let him relax and just feel. The writing is great, the story well developed and the characters wonderful!

I loved it; a great coming out story.

I reviewed this as an ebook when it was first released. Here are my comments regarding the narration. I LOVED IT! Michael Pauley's performance of this book absolutely added to my enjoyment of Out in the Deep. His voice is wonderful to listen to and he nails the emotions that the story requires.

Original review of the ebook:
I find it somewhat strange that I, a woman over 60 years old, really enjoy stories about college age men and women, but that's the way it is and I loved Out in the Deep. I have several books by Lane Hayes in my digital TBR pile (I'm a one-click addict) but this is the first one by her that I've read.

Derek and Gabe both love water polo and they play for different schools so they have a somewhat adversarial relationship going on. When Derek learns that Gabe is transferring to his school and team he's not happy. Derek's coach makes certain that he understands he has no choice but to get along with Gabe; as team captain it's his responsibility to set a good example for the other players.

When anger gives way to something else the explosive chemistry between the two of them can't be denied. Neither of them really wants to come out. Derek is afraid that it will hurt Gabe's Olympic goals and he's also not really ready to deal with the fallout that might happen.

Lane Haye's writing is wonderfully descriptive. I could feel the tension between Derek and Gabe when they were adversaries and I could also feel it when their relationship changed and went through its various stages.

I love a story that gets all of my emotions involved and Out in the Deep did just that. I shed more than a few tears for these two guys who were afraid to let their feelings for each other show. I also love a good epilogue and Lane Hayes delivered that as well.

I am really looking forward to reading the next story in this series. Out in the Deep is a complete story with an HEA. There were good secondary characters but none that seemed likely to need their own story; I suspect that the remaining books will also be standalone stories.

An advanced copy of this book was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

Very enjoyable!

4.5 Stars!

Out in the Deep is book 1 in the newest series by Lane Hayes, Out in College, and it features two water polo players, enemies to lovers, UST and some very hot sexy times.

When the book starts Gabe and Derek are on opposing teams and Gabe has been the bane of Derek's existence for a long time. The last thing Derek expects is for Gabe to become his newest teammate or that the tension brewing between them will be so explosive. However things start between them, they soon find themselves in a secret relationship since they're both in the closet, but what will happen if someone finds out about them?

I loved Derek and Gabe, they were fun, sweet and relatable and were scorching hot together. While they start out as enemies, it wasn't long until that changed and I adored seeing how well they fit together.

The secondary cast was a great addition to the story, I absolutely loved Evan and can't wait to read his story. While I didn't care for Derek's ex when I first read the book, she grated on my nerves this second time around and even if I still applaud Lane's decision not to demonize her, I can't say I was all that happy that Derek apologized to her after what she did.

Michael Pauley's narration was enjoyable, for the most part. There were some instances, like the sex scenes, in which the pace felt almost... frantic, maybe? It was too fast and it pulled me from the moment. Still, Mr. Pauley's voice is quite pleasant, so even with that, this is a great choice for an audiobook.

Ms. Hayes has this knack for writing characters that I can fall in love with and this book wasn't an exception. It was well-written and had a perfect balance of sweetness, romance, hotness and angst. Definitely an audiobook you don't want to miss out on!

I loved this story!

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4.5 stars
🔥🔥🔥🔥 Heat Level: 4.5
🎧🎧🎧🎧🎧 Narration: 5

I loved this story!

I feel this is a great coming out story and loved the dynamics between Derek and Gabe. Derek and Gabe’s characterisation is sort of enemies to friends to lovers style trope which Lane does brilliantly! I loved both these characters and was able to feel for the emotional ups and downs of each of the characters as they face the idea of being gay/bisexual and what that could entail for their respective futures. This story has a wonderful happily ever after that will give you all the feels and make you crave the next story. I have fallen in love with Lane’s writing and she now has a fan for life. This will definitely be a re-read for me!!

Michael Pauly is so talented and one of my favourite narrators, especially in the MM genre! Wonderful to listen to and always manages to create different dialects for each character! So talented! A wonderful listen, highly recommended!!!

Thanks for reading!

**Sweet story, Erotic, and Delightful!!**

Being an avid fan of the
M/M genre, I'm really enjoying the female authors who capture the essence of true sensuality and romance! (No slights to Devon McCormack!❤)

This is the first book by Lane Hayes I've listened to, with total enjoyment!! No spoilers, just encouraging other potential listeners that they won't be disappointed by this frank, plausible framework.

As usual, Michael Dean.... he is truly THE GOD of narration for anyone who thoroughly revels in this territory!! His beautiful, sexy voice takes the listener to the heights of passion & need, while keeping the storyline engaging. Some of the material he's covered doesn't appeal to me, personally, but his unique personas & rich, sultry tones NEVER disappoint!

Looking forward to book #2!!❤