BAD BOYZ - Still Waters Run Deep (Book 2): An emotionally-charged, spicy, gritty Aussie rom-com where love and lust blur lines.

by Kate Laurie

Nothing could break them. But Karma’s a bitch...

Brodie’s living it ‘sweet’ on the straight-and-narrow. Running his own business, cashed up with his ‘six-string’ and a diamond ring, all he needs now is for Hanna to say yes. But a disturbing secret is about to unravel and one fateful night changes everything.

Broken, Brodie returns to Sydney while Hanna, struggling to pick up the pieces, lands a new role in a trendy bistro over her summer break. There, she undergoes a transformative journey where inspiration is found in the least likely of places, with the least likely of friendships. The mice come out to play while the cat is away. But Aido Parker is no mouse; he’s Brodie’s tattooed criminal brother and former leader of the Westside Boyz. It’s all fun and games with their constant banter, stolen glances and ‘harmless’ flirting… until it isn’t.

Shocking revelations lead to dangerous retributions where brotherhood, loyalty and love not only become a test of endurance, but a matter of life and death.

THE STAKES DON’T JUST RISE, THEY BITE AS THE STORY CONTINUES IN THIS EMOTIONALLY CHARGED INSTALMENT OF BAD BOYZ. “UNPUTDOWNABLE!” – ARC REVIEWER.

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Expected publication February 14, 2026

Reviews

[Skipabbeat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my ARC review of this book. When I began this book, it felt like I was dropped in the middle of the story and it felt like I was missing parts of the story. Then I searched it up and discovered I was reading book two without realising. After completing the book I have more appreciation for the author as I was able to piece together events and relationships from book one based on all the details she sprinkled in through the different POVS. The author has done very well in establishing the story in book two.

Now onto the characters. Hannah was a lovely FMC whom I really liked. An event takes place that topples her and Brodie's worlds that creates a situation in which lead her to be in close proximity to his brother, Aiden. Aiden has a notorious reputation for flirting and sleeping with girls, but as they spend more time together, she finds he is more than what people think. Sparks fly between them while Brodie is absent.


Aido is what you call a Bad Boy with an artist's soul. He has my whole heart, and he has to be my favourite character. The chemistry was fire with Hannah, and they had me cheering for their corner.

Then we have Bodie. The younger brother, who was the one she left with on a specific night, versus Aido, " the older brother". He has shaped his whole life around for Hannah and she is everything to him. The emotions he goes through towards the beginning of the book had my heart break for him. You really felt by the end of the book how much he earned what he got.

As you can probably tell by now, this becomes a complicated entanglement by brothers as they both can say they have fallen for her. The way Kate handled this felt real, emotional, and appreciated by the end of the story. I cannot wait for the next one and have a feeling I know whoose POV it will be.

[Bella · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️

I’m about to be heavily brutally honest, I loved book one, I have no idea what happened in this book.
There was way too much going on, too many topples of relationships, highs and lows. Everything was going well in the beginning and then it just shattered.
Because I read book one, in this book I don’t know what happened but all of the characters felt different. The scene of Leila SA’ing Brodie and Hanna fully not believing him of anything, seemed so out of character for their relationship, especially after last book where she just up and left with him no doubt in her mind. After that I absolutely hated Hanna and felt horrible for Brodie watching his whole world crumble. And then the 2 weeks with Aido brought everything back and I was thinking that I can actually see them together and both of them being good for each other. Which, respectfully shouldn’t have happened and they shouldn’t have fallen in love with each other. And then Brodie comes back saying things that Brodie wouldn’t say, it all seemed so out of character for him, compared to his character at the start of the book and the previous book.
I don’t even know if I’m glad Brodie and Hanna got back together and then married??? All within less than 100 pages (which was literally a day or so).
Everything in this book felt rushed and hectic and crazy. The ending was genuinely awful, and it would’ve been better to see Brodie and Hanna get back into a positive relationship rather than just fucking it out and immediately getting married.
As much as I would love to read Aidos book after this, I really don’t think I can. He always liked Hanna and now he loves her and his thoughts at the wedding, and then there’s going to be a book about him and Amber? I can see it, but I also really can’t, especially with his perspective at the end. He literally stated that he wanted to fuck Hanna, but she was now his sister in law. He obviously has a deep thing for Hanna because in the previous book he wouldn’t have dared help her with anything, or hang around these kids and show them and her respect. The way he stood up for her, was willing to kill for her, taught her how to express herself with the butterfly bullshit, told her he loved her, danced with her.
And what happened with her and Brodie this book? Literally nothing. Nothing happened. I was starting to root for Hanna and Aido because they genuinely started to seem better.
It also would’ve been so much better to have Hanna/Brodies perspective for the wedding, I don’t know why it was Aidos, it really makes no sense why the grooms brother would be narrating their wedding for us in the worst way possible.
Way too much happened in this book within what felt like little to no time. Everytime I went back to reading it, something entirely new was happening, and I just think it was way too overwhelming.
Overall, since the last book, all the characters seem entirely different, and Hanna and Brodies relationship mainly just became music and sex. It felt toxic towards the end, and I’m not even sure their love is real from how it was written, compared to book one where they were entirely stupidly in love with each other.
I really wanted to love this book, and it started happening when Aido and Hanna’s relationship/friendship bloomed, and it finally felt like something healthy. That really didn’t last though because Brodie came back and to be honest it was just a continuous crazy confuzzle from there.

I really enjoyed book one, so I was really excited for this one, but unfortunately it just didn’t click for me.
I appreciate the opportunity to ARC read from The Berry Agency.

[L Atkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Kate Laurie for this ARC read! This book promised to be an emotional roller coaster, I can say it was definitely all that and more! By the end of part 1, I was wtf? Part 2–WTF? And part 3 was WTAF? My husband asked me more than once what I was reading because my jaw was hanging. I had high expectations after book 1 and I can honestly say this book did not disappoint. Brodie and Hannah’s love is put to the test and even though my heart broke for Brodie with what he goes through, I could see how his mistakes made Hannah doubt him, and ultimately what becomes their undoing—Leila, I could have throttled! I also found myself losing sympathy and some respect for Brodie with some of the choices he made. But this can be put down to his immaturity and state of mind under the circumstances. Overall these scenarios were emotionally provoking and believable. Then we have part 2. I really enjoyed the fun interactions and chemistry between Hannah and Aido. The banter between them was some of the best I have ever read and it had me laughing out loud for the most of it. I have to say by the end I was in their corner rooting for them all the way. Then when Brodie comes back it becomes next level—the raw emotions and complexities of their characters jump off the page. I couldn’t put it down! I had to know what happens next. So many layers unfold here and even though I fell in love with Aido, it felt very satisfying how things ended up. Discovering more about Leila and her motivations was intriguing. We have some unanswered questions which I am guessing will be explored in future books and I am looking forward to reading. I absolutely loved how the book ended with Aido’s POV. Hilarious 😆 I can’t wait for his story—game on!