A review by labraden
Desire and the Deep Blue Sea by Olivia Dade

3.0

Callie Adesso has been selected as a guest on an episode of HATV's show, Island Match. Unfortunately Callie is supposed to appear with her boyfriend who has just dumped her. Callie is desperate for the vacation that the show will provide, so she volunteers her nemesis at the library where she works, Thomas McKinney. Thomas has made her life at the library difficult for the 6 months that she has been working there, so she is surprised when he not only accepts her offer, but he seems to relish the idea. Little does Callie know that Thomas has been harboring a secret from her for the last 6 months.

Desire and the Deep Blue Sea suffers from the same issue that plagues most novellas; they are just too short. In this novel, the fact that Callie has hated Thomas with a passion for months and now is willing to spend her vacation with him, comes across as pretty improbable. However, the plot does include issues of neurodiversity, but I'm not sure how well the representation is presented. Callie and Thomas are likable characters, but their lack of communication is disturbing. Overall, Desire and the Deep Blue Sea is a cute story that doesn't take enough time to tackle the serious issues addressed in the time offered in a novella.