Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) by April Genevieve Tucholke

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) by April Genevieve Tucholke

Release Date: August 15, 2013

Publisher: Dial
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 368

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 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.

My Thoughts: Alright, so I had heard both really great things about this one, and some not so good things. I always try to give a novel a chance anyway, to see if I like it. And most of the time, I end up loving it!

This one, it was alright. I finished it, but I just felt like something was missing.

We are introduced to Violet who lives with her brother. Her parents are away right now. They tend to do this a lot. She lives down the road from her best friend, and they live in a really quiet sleepy town. Not much happens here. There are the old ghost stories of course. Violet’s grandma used to tell her a lot of them.

A new boy shows up. His name is River and he’s here to rent one of the rooms. She needs money so she put up an ad about having extra space.

River brings with him a whole set of problems. He’s mysterious, charming, and Violet takes a liking to him really fast. River was a little scary for me.

I did love how they would go and watch old movies. So cute!

A girl goes missing and everyone thinks the devil did it. Children are out hunting in graveyards just waiting for the devil.

I liked Violets brother and best friend the most. They were interesting characters, never a dull moment with them.

River, I didn’t really feel drawn to River like I wanted too. I didn’t love him. He had a lot of problems and at first I wasn't quite sure what they were or who he really was.

I’m glad I did get some answers though. The plot of this one was interesting enough. I just didn’t fall in love with this one.

The setting was neat though. I liked how quiet the town was, and how peaceful Violet was at times.

Overall: I did finish this and it was ok. I am hoping maybe I’ll get sucked into the next novel and things will improve for me from there. A lot of people loved this one, so maybe it was just my reading mood, because I had a hard time really getting into it, and I would find myself sitting it down and not really wanting to come back to it. It was weird, but in a good way, and I did finish it. Probably more of a 3.5 cupcake rating for me!

This series has potential, I just think it needs more time to grow on me I guess.

Interesting premise, and characters.

Cover: Its spooky, I like it! 

What I'd Give It: