Waist Deep

Brought to you by Penguin.

A luscious summer novel about friends, lovers, and friends' lovers

Five friends from university; seven summer days in a cabin in rural Denmark. A chance to swim, sunbathe, flirt, read and mess around like in the old days.

At least that’s what Sylvia had hoped. But when her friends arrive with real jobs, kids and partners, Sylvia is left wondering what happened to the radical ways of living they embraced at university. Worse, Esben and Karen announce their plan to get married at the end of the week, striking a blow to Sylvia’s simmering, decades-long crush on Esben – a crush that her monogamous girlfriend Charlie would definitely not approve of.

Whilst the group swim, sunbathe, cook and flirt their way to midsummer night, desire and anxiety swirl in equal measure. As the wedding day approaches, will they achieve their arcadian dreams or will everything come tumbling down?

‘Clever, wry, and incredibly sexy’ SUSANNAH DICKEY

'Delicious, and provocative' ESTHER FREUD

‘Sensuous and vivid... A book to devour' LAURA KAY

'Trembles and flashes with hot emotion, confusion and pangs of longing' AMY KEY

‘A perfume dream of a debut about the wild force of friendship’ Politiken, largest Danish newspaper

‘Linea Maja Ernst writes about sexual desire so well that it turns her readers on’ Weekendavisen, popular Danish cultural magazine

© Linea Maja Ernst 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025