Wednesday 26 March 2014

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

Who doesn’t find evil sexy?


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? Violet's grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who likes coffee and who kisses you in a cemetery . . . Violet's already so knee-deep in love, she can't see straight. And that's just how River likes it.

This book has a very smooth style and has a charm to it. I found myself very engrossed by it. It lives in the shadow of the Jazz age, I guess the style is sort of Gatsbist.

The characters all have weird names for some reason, except the ones with the neglectful arty parents. Okay, not all of them but you have a Sunshine and a male River. They all right, mostly terrible people but they’re mostly teenagers and most teenagers are terrible people. They are strangely lovable bunch.  

This is a book with a supernatural side, sort of original.  Odd stuff is going on and horrific imagery. The end is a bit anti-climactic. There is meant to be duology. You could walk away; I don’t feel desperate to know what happens after. But I would eventually have some answers given.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for Furry teeth. I enjoyed reading it, even if I did get sort of distracted and skimmed through the last chapter in the middle of reading the book. I would recommend this for those who like well-written magic books.

I got this off Netgalley for a review. It’s being published by Faber & Faber on 3rd April 2014.

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