Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea
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 guest house 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.
It won't surprise any of you that I wanted to read this book solely on the cover. Then I realized it's kind of like a YA gothic/paranormal thriller and I'm all in, just take all of my money already. I have read stories with a multitude of paranormal beings but.... the Devil? I can't say that I have until now and frankly, I'm not even sure that's what I would classify River but who cares, take all of my damn money.
The story is about Violet, who like Bella in the Twilight Saga, makes impeccably terrible choices with her life. Between letting an absolute stranger of a boy move into her guest house, to actually taking a nap with him on the first day, then catching him in so many lies you can only refer to him as a pathological liar. He speaks in riddles sometimes and clearly, something isn't right with the boy. Yet... she literally cannot help herself. Even when he admits to being a bizarre vigilante murderer which we all know is coming, and she learns of his "gift", she cares, but not enough to say, "you know, maybe I could do better in a boyfriend".
When you really think of the magnitude of River's gift, it brings a whole new meaning to "the Devil made me do it" because literally- that's what is happening here. I think the suicide we read about in the book is a bizarre way of River showing affection for Violet but he never fully recognizes the effects of his action. He only sees the good side of it, not really the fallout and the domino effect it has on other people.
It's the first in a series and I'm basically a junkie at this point. A lot of people on review sites are really polarized- they either love it or they hate it. If I were to break it down to writing style, maybe it isn't the best. Maybe there are some parts where you roll your eyes because it's almost too much. But overall? I unabashedly love it. I don't know that I would really call it a gothic thriller, it's more of a bizarre paranormal romance with some violence. And dammit, I know River is basically a bit of a sociopath and he probably doesn't even know the truth of things anymore, but I still root from him and Violet and I don't know why. It's a terrible relationship, far worse than Edward and Bella and yet... I can't even help myself. But so help me god, if book two goes anyway like New Moon did for Twilight, I'm going to be over the top angry. Because I'm getting that vibe based on Neely still being there and Violet's comments towards the end. Don't go there, April Genevieve Tucholke, don't go there.
1 comment:
haha great review! I am really curious about this one!!
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