Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
April Genevieve Tucholke
Hardcover/360 pages
Dial Publishing
The first time I ever read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it. The entire blurb intrigued me and I mean, falling in love with the devil? Now that was something that belonged on my bookshelf.
I really wish I would have saved this book for Halloween. It's got it all going for it. Gothic, creepy setting, a mysterious boy who is so devilish and charming, yet scary and unsettling. You've got little kids crowding cemeteries all night and people hanging witches. Seriously, if you're looking for a Halloween read this is the one for you.
Firstly the main character was entirely likeable. You start off feeling sorry for her and that ends up being the first connection you share with Violet. Her parents have been gone for a while, off making and selling their paintings, so it's her brother and herself. Money is running out so she goes and rents their guest house. At this point you really get into it and you know the devil is going to show up soon... so the story continues to get better.
River shows up in all his "swagger" goodness. He's probably most YA heart throbs. Mysterious, good looking, sarcastic, charming, seductive... yup, it's all too easy getting tangled up in his charm. But you know what, he helped make this book. The way he acted and held himself made you want to read the book. It made you read chapter after chapter. Yup, guilty as charged I feel for his charm. And then you kind of dislike him, and then you feel bad for him. He's so troubled and I think if Johnny Deep were a lot younger he'd play River perfectly!
That all being said, yeah the characters are great, but the writing was fluent and easy to read. One thing lead to another so smoothly and seamlessly. I loved reading the dialogue, it was just so funny. All the characters had some sense of humour and it made a gothic read more light hearted.
Also I have to note this because in other books it bugs me all the FREAKING TIME: I hate when authors info dump! Like they take a paragraph to explain something so boring. Ugh, I'm a dialogue girl... But the way April slowly introduced Violets history, and the way she incorporated mystery into it was so well done, I LOVED the info dumping!
If you've been debating on reading this I say go for it. If it sounds like something you'd like you're probably really going to enjoy it. And c'mon. That cover is too pretty to not have on your shelf!
