Digging Deep

3.5 stars. Not quite 4 star territory for me, but I appreciated the honest and rare portrayal of an MC with a chronic illness who gets his HEA. The Korean-Fijian-Irish-Kiwi male midwife Drake Park is a memorable character, and it's easy to understand why he is both attracted to and leery of the attention from Detective Caleb Ashton, former fuckboy. The combination of cutesy/snarky and dramatic/almost tragic was a little odd at times and the last part dragged a bit while I waited for the two MCs to come to their senses.

When I was in college I took a trip with a group of friends, one of whom had Crohn's disease. I remember her disappearing into the bathroom frequently, and I don't think I was empathetic enough about her challenges. This book helped me understand what she must have been going through, but it's more than a public service; it's also a sweet and sometimes sassy romance.

Rounding up because of the light it shines on chronic illnesses, specifically Crohn's disease.

The balance of things made this read not for me. The pacing felt a bit wonky and the push-and-pull arguably could've been cut shorter, or at least needed a change up in execution here and there. I would've appreciated more explanation for Caleb's sudden dedication and steadfastness when it comes to Drake, given he has a reputation for sleeping around and not doing relationships. He just turned on a switch and was somehow ready to romance the pants off of Drake.

Drake does the majority of pushing away in the relationship, but I was able to see, for the most part, where he was coming from with his own struggles and insecurities and past experiences. And then, when the incident happens and he takes it beyond to 110, ouch. But as a fellow self-blamer who left an adjacent field out of being at a loss as to how to carry the emotional burden, I wanted to give him the biggest hug.