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

You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

by April Genevieve Tucholke 
Release Date: August 15th, 2013
Publisher: Dial
Paperback ARC, 368 pages 
Source: Gift from Liana :) 
Attain a Copy:
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Goodreads Summary: 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.

Cindy's Review: 
At First Glance:
Well, it did seem dark, but it definitely seemed good. :D And when my friend gave me the ARC, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and start reading. I just didn't really anticipate how good it actually was. 

Some quotes. These quotes may not be exactly the same from the final version. 
"This was fear. This was biting, scratching, howling, screeching, burning hot fear."
Nice choice of words there. I would love to write like that. And Violet, you should have felt that fear. Way earlier. When you met him. 

The Characters/Summaries:
Violet - Well, what can I say? Violet is a decent girl. She might be a bit gullible though. Just a bit. At least she knows how to take action. And well, suspect people. At first, I was mad at her for letting the obvious devil there, West, go even if he did something wrong. And then, well, the unexpected happened. She was right and I was wrong. That surprise ending there, I really didn't suspect. At all.

"But for all my praying, the devil still found me."
Or did he? He certainly has, ma'am, but just not what you think he is. 

River West - Okay. Him. He sounded cool to me. At first. Like a joke-ster. Prankster. Quirky. Arrogant. Then, the shadow of him arrived. And his unique abilities. It was scary at first, but River doesn''t seem to go too far. He went from back and forth using glow, not using his glow. I got confused. Really confused. Throughout the book, I kept on asking myself if he's the devil or not. It got really confusing.

Of course, we did end up meeting that devil towards  the end of the book. 

The book got darker and darker as I got closer and closer to the ending. But I did read on. It was intriguing. It was quite a story to tell. It sucked in readers and never let them go until they finished reading and closed the final cover. So,  oh yes. It was good. It was better than good. 

"What the hell are you, River? What the hell are you?"
That's right. I'm asking the same thing. What the hell are you?

Final Thoughts:
If you'd like a fast, foggy, dark read, have fun reading this book~ 

Throughout the book, it certainly got me confused. But in a good way. In a way that my head was whirling around thinking, trying to hit that exact spot. To find that ending. To get to know what really did happen and what really is happening. And who all these mysterious people are. And Violet's family history. There's something there also. *wiggles eyebrow. Ya'll know everything will make sense in the end. :D 

Personally, I  think if the book ended like this and not continue on in a series, I think it would make a better ending to the story. It was leave a gasping, needing for air ending. Instead of whatever ending that ends a series. And knowing from experience of reading, not writing it's hard to make a good series ending. Most of them turns out to be ghost endings. 

The Rating: (1-10): 8.5~ 

Happy Reading~