Title - Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Author - April Genevieve Tucholke
Series - Between
Release Date - August 15th, 2013
Publisher - Dial
Format Acquired - Hardcover
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 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 had been looking forward to reading this book for quite a while now, and finally, I gave myself the opportunity by going ahead and buying a copy! I cannot say that I regret it. At all.
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover art. Yes, it is overshadowed by the big and looming letters of the title, but it still speaks to me. The cover art is simply too beautiful to not make someone wonder what's going on beyond the hard cover.
At first, I thought the book was alright; the first couple of pages where the main character, Violet, is talking about her grandmother dragged on a bit too much for my tastes, but I prefer not to judge a book until I've read at least a hundred (100) pages of the story. It soon became clear that I didn't need to go that far before I took a liking to Violet White's peculiar ways, her twin brother Luke's bad attitude, and their neighbor Sunshine's laid-back existence. I was also very intrigued by the Whites' family history!
The storyline seemed as fluid as water to me. You read one page, move on to the next and the next, and before you know it, you're done!! I don't think it would have been possible if the characters weren't molded as they were. Each and everyone of them are quirky (some are even beyond creepy), but they're such irregular people that it just seems normal. I for one think that that is pretty cool. Abnormal things happen in a lot in Violet's little town; the residents question it but at the same time, they weirdly let it roll off their shoulders...
And the relationships? Complex! Violet hates but loves her misogynist brother Luke who seems to blame everything that is wrong in the world on his sister all the while worrying about her? Then there is Sunshine who likes to stare into the horizon for hours while engrossed in her thoughts, wants to be kissed and groped by Luke (it happens all the time) and is Violet's somewhat friend. River is the boy who just popped up in town one day and who brings everything the strange with him wherever he steps foot.
One thing that I didn't like about this book is the amount of times the word "Devil" was used. It was always the Devil this and the Devil that. It was used so many times that it just became extremely annoying. If this was revised and the use of this particular word was reduced to more than half, it would still be a really good story. So the Devil? Unnecessary.
Cannot wait for book number two.~
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