Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: A Book Review

I heard that this book was creepy, but not scary (because I DO NOT do scary), so I was excited to pick it up and start it.  I thought it would be different than what I had been reading, but overall, I didn’t find the book to be that creepy or terrifying and thought it was just ok.  I guess I wanted a little bit more out of the book in regards to the creepiness.

Title:  Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Publisher: Dial

Publication Date: August 15, 2013

Pages: 360

Out in Paperback?: Yes; July 3, 2014

Goodreads

Amazon

My Rating: 3/5

Review:

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeously told as it is terrifying—a debut to watch.

Characters:

The main character, Violet, was an all right character; I didn’t think that she was too interesting, but on the other hand, she didn’t act too immature (which if you have read some of my other reviews, then you know that I dislike young, immature, annoying characters – well, does anyone likes that?).  However, I did find her brother to be fairly annoying, and I really did not care for the relationship that they had; it seemed under-developed.  With no parents around, Violet and her brother have a neighbor that is their age, Sunshine, who fools around with her brother at times.  Eventually, River enters the picture and moves into the guesthouse, behind Violet’s oceanside mansion.  None of these characters were too annoying, and I thought River had an interesting background story; however, I found it a little weird as they all pretty much ran around town without a care in the world.  I know that the parents were out of the picture, but it seemed very unrealistic to have no parental presence within the book.

Plot:

I thought that this plot sounded really interesting and creepy at the same time, so different from your typical contemporary romance story.  On the back cover, it states, “You stop fearing the Devil when you’re holding his hand.”  How cool does that sound?!  I was so excited!  Unfortunately, I did not find this book to be that interesting.  Although there were parts of the book that were a little creepy and you may have been unsure as to how it would tie into the characters, I found nothing in the plotline to be that creepy or terrifying.

Writing Style:

I felt that the writing style was fine overall.  Nothing that was amazing, but it wasn’t bad either.  I felt that some of the characters and plot was more frustrating, and I had more of an issue with those things than the writing style. 

Have you read this book?  What did you think?  Will you check out the sequel?  Between the Spark and the Burn is now out!  I do love these covers though!

FTC Disclaimer:

All items mentioned were purchased by me.  This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.  No affiliate links were used.