Young Adult Review: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Hardcover, 368 pages

Expected Publication: August 15th by Dial

Source: Netgalley/ Publisher

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 guesthouse 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.

It's been a little while since a book truly captivated me.   That sucked me on page one and didn't let go until the very last page.  A book that I could actually sit and read all in one sitting, and in fact desperately wanted to read in one sitting.  A book that was absolutely stunning and terrifying.  A book that every single aspect worked together magnificently.

The setting of the small town of Echo, and especially the gothic mansion that Violet lives in, are the perfect setting for this incredibly creepy story.  This home of Vi's is a mansion I really want to visit.  I'd say I'd like to live there, but I might be a little too scared to ever sleep!  The thing is, the mansion itself isn't what's so creepy.  It's more beautiful than anything.  And since Violet clearly loves it, we can't help but love it too. 

I really, really liked Violet.  She's maybe a bit quiet and aloof, but she's a bit nerdy in that she loves to read and be immersed in her stories.  She also dresses in her grandma's old clothing and I really loved that, that's my kind of style, for sure!  Violet and her brother Luke are alone in this house as their parents have disappeared off to Europe to paint and do their art.  Vi and Luke fight a lot but as the story goes on we see how much they truly care about each other.   Violet is a very caring person and through the book we see her kindness show through in little things she does.  But maybe Violet has a little less kindness in her than she thought, or even thinks...

When River comes to town and rents out the guest house it's easy to fall for him.  He has this charisma and charm and it's hard to think bad of him.  But we, as the reader, know that there's something more to him just because of the book description.  And it becomes clear pretty quickly that something's up.  There's quite a lot of mystery and little things are constantly unraveling.  Even when we find out one thing, there's still so much more.  So it's mystery after mystery, I suppose.  And we still don't know, is he evil?  Is he accidentally bad, with good intentions?  We really don't know and the emotions are all over the place.  I can say I really, really wanted him to be good.  I really liked his personality but because I always felt so suspicious I never knew what exactly to think of anything he said or did.  The thing is, you may think you have it all figured out, but then POOF, another twist.  I absolutely loved it!  And the ending, brilliant!  (And no cliffhanger, woo hoo!)

The book is impossible to put down. While it has quite a few pages, I read it much more quickly than I do most books with even less pages.  And the creepiness, oh gosh!  I'm not a fan of horror, I get creeped out and scared super easy, but I think most anyone can agree this is plenty creepy! But even though I don't usually like horror, it worked for me in this one.  I read it for the gothic aspect and because April is a local author, but I'm SO glad I did!  This may very well end up on my favorites list for 2013... 

Highly recommend!

Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.