Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
April Genevieve Tucholke
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance
Publication Date: 15 August 2013
Number of Pages: 360
Source: Purchased
My Rating: ★★★
You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…
Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard.
Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.
I'm going to be honest with you, I very rarely read contemporary novels and even more rare is when I read a romance. However I bought this book on a whim and heard some good things about it so I picked it up. And I'm fairly glad I did. If I was more prone to contemporary novels, this probably would have gotten an even better rating. It's just not entirely my cup of tea, genre-wise.
Before picking it up, I heard that this book was creepy and it was. A little. The first third to even half of the book seemed almost straight contemporary romance, which was disappointing. But then things in the little town of Echo started getting mysterious and weird. The creepy, paranormal side of the book is what really kept me reading. The plot was great and definitely had enough twists and turns to keep me interested enough to finish the book in basically two sittings.
The characters in the novel seemed very developed but at the same time flat. They all had little unique bits and pieces but at the same time some things were very common and almost cliché. I can't really say that I had a favorite character either. There were moments where I really liked Violet but others I couldn't stand her. The same goes for pretty much all of the characters. The dark part of me really appreciates the fact that none of the characters are really lovable and they all have flaws. It was refreshing to not have any perfect characters for once.
At first I gave the book 4 stars but after reflecting on it a little more it's more of a solid 3 out of 5 stars. I think this book would be really enjoyable to someone who enjoys the genre more than I do though.
You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…
Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town… until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard.
Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.
I'm going to be honest with you, I very rarely read contemporary novels and even more rare is when I read a romance. However I bought this book on a whim and heard some good things about it so I picked it up. And I'm fairly glad I did. If I was more prone to contemporary novels, this probably would have gotten an even better rating. It's just not entirely my cup of tea, genre-wise.
Before picking it up, I heard that this book was creepy and it was. A little. The first third to even half of the book seemed almost straight contemporary romance, which was disappointing. But then things in the little town of Echo started getting mysterious and weird. The creepy, paranormal side of the book is what really kept me reading. The plot was great and definitely had enough twists and turns to keep me interested enough to finish the book in basically two sittings.
The characters in the novel seemed very developed but at the same time flat. They all had little unique bits and pieces but at the same time some things were very common and almost cliché. I can't really say that I had a favorite character either. There were moments where I really liked Violet but others I couldn't stand her. The same goes for pretty much all of the characters. The dark part of me really appreciates the fact that none of the characters are really lovable and they all have flaws. It was refreshing to not have any perfect characters for once.
At first I gave the book 4 stars but after reflecting on it a little more it's more of a solid 3 out of 5 stars. I think this book would be really enjoyable to someone who enjoys the genre more than I do though.
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