Waist Deep

Waist Deep might be this literary year’s first full fledged miracle

Berlingske

Shamelessly entertaining

Kristeligt Dagblad

Linea Maja Ernst writes about sexual desire so well that it turns her readers on... at once silly and fragile, flirtatious and sensitive

Weekendavisen

An intense, confrontational and in every sense interesting novel about the fragility and (for some) fluidity of identity

Information

A completely superb and playful contemporary novel … Its pages ooze life lived, the gallery of characters is razor-sharp, the dialogue is flawless and the spry cultural references tie it all neatly together into a drama worthy of Virginia Woolf

Euroman

A perfume dream of a debut about the wild force of friendship

Politiken

Linea Maja Ernst writing about opulent dinner parties and the heady magnetism of midsummer forests is sensory and atmospheric

Soundvenue

Sensuous and vivid. Simmering with sexual tension and with an undercurrent of deep longing - for a different life, for each other - there is something here that every adult with a group of friends will recognise (even if they won't admit it). A book to devour and enjoy every minute of

Laura Kay

Waist Deep is such an enjoyable read: clever, wry, and incredibly sexy. In Linea Maja Ernst's gorgeous prose, translated superbly by Sherilyn Hellberg, the clotty intersections of desire, ideology, and ennui are explored in the most vividly luxuriant surroundings. I was totally besotted with these characters, and desperate for a dip in a lake by the end.

Susannah Dickey

I devoured it in a day and absolutely adored ... I loved spending time by the lake with these characters watching them fall in and out of love with each other

Brydie Lee-Kennedy

Waist Deep trembles and flashes with hot emotion, confusion and pangs of longing. I loved its cast of characters and their reaching towards what their lives might be together, and alone

Amy Key

Delicious, and provocative

Esther Freud

A beautiful and sensuous book that stayed with me long after I read it

Daily Mail

Waist Deep is an enjoyable page-turner, a sympathetic and perceptive examination of the importance of moving on and letting go ... an evocative debut about the fragility and fluidity of adult friendship

Observer

Hot, heady and beautifully queer, Waist Deep pulls you under and doesn’t let go. I felt every breath, every touch, every impossible desire. It’s a novel that lives in the body

Lotte Jeffs

The sort of book you’ll devour... If you’ve ever stared down the barrel of "real adulthood", unsure of what it’s "supposed" to look like, then you’ll relate to this one

Vogue, Best Summer Reads 2025

[A] lush translation… In spite of its contemporary setting…Waist Deep thrums with something more timeless and folkloric… the dialogue [is] filled with sharp and witty observations

Times Literary Supplement

[Waist Deep’s] sun-soaked setting and languid literary vibes are ideal for this time of year

BBC, *Summer Reads of 2025*