Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Early Book Review)

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke
Publisher: Dial
Number of Pages:
Release Date: August 15, 2013

Synopsis from Goodreads:

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.

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MY THOUGHTS:

I have to admit that I'm a bit stumped on how to write this review. I've been so excited to read this book, and judging from how many times I've seen this book featured on WoW posts, I know a lot of you can't wait to get your hands on it either. This cover truly is stunning. The font, the crashing waves, the silhouettes dancing on the edge of the cliff. And the synopsis promises such a creepy, original read. In that aspect, I do feel like the book delivered. There have been plenty of Gothic horror stories, but to find one for the YA crowd is pretty rare. I do feel like the author did a great job in creating an original world while still using common themes you'd find in other Gothic stories. I am sad to say that I didn't love this book like I wanted to. I liked it enough to get through it relatively quickly and really enjoyed certain elements, but I definitely had some issues with it as well. Because this is the sort of book where you should discover the secrets for yourself, I will try to keep this review as vague as possible.

17 year-old Violet and her twin brother, Luke, live alone in their family's old and weathered estate. The family fortune has long since dwindled and Violet and Luke are way more concerned with putting food on the table than they are cleaning moss off the fountains or trimming the overgrown bushes. Violet decides a good solution to at least some of their money problems would be to rent out the guesthouse behind the estate and she is thrilled when a cute boy her age, with seemingly deep pockets, decides to rent it. The boy's name is River and while Violet is immediately drawn to him, she also feels like she should be a little guarded since she can never seem to get a straight answer from him.

Violet also can't help but attribute the strange things that start to happen around the small, quiet town of Echo immediately after his arrival to River. The very night he settles in a young girl goes missing and all the other children in the town swear that the Devil, himself, is the one who took her. Violet's late grandmother, Freddie (to whom she was incredibly close), always told her beware of the Devil and Violet is starting to wonder just who or what River really is.

By far my favorite aspect of this novel is how atmospheric it is: The crumbling mansions, the chilly graveyard, some shockingly violent and gruesome scenes ratchet up the eerie foreboding feeling you get while reading it. Which I loved. I wouldn't call this a horror story, necessarily, as I never felt scared while reading it, but it is definitely dark and mysterious and creepy.

Along those atmospheric lines, I really liked how, while the book takes place in the present, it has an old-fashioned flavor to it. The feeling like the action of the story could have taken place decades earlier is helped by the fact that none of the characters have a cell phone. There is very little talk of modern technology. The small town has the type of square that only small towns have and everyone gathers on summer nights to watch old black and white classics like Casablanca. In an attempt to hold on to her grandmother, Violet wears her old clothes and sleeps in her old room. The descriptions of her old skirts and dresses helps add to the old-fashioned feel.

I also really liked the characters. I liked Violet and felt bad for her. As much as she loves her brother, Luke, she also can't stand him. The two occupy two different floors in the house and Luke spends most of his time out of the house chasing girls and working out. Violet has a friend in Sunshine, the girl who lives down the road, but she spends most of her time alone on the estate reading old books. Sunshine and Luke often team up against her and even though Sunshine is obviously her closest friend, you don't get the feeling that the two are best friends in the pure sense of the word. Sunshine seems more a friend of convenience than somebody Violet could trust with her deepest, darkest secrets. You get the sense that Violet is incredibly lonely and so it is understandable that she would become so enthralled with the enigmatic River. Speaking of, River is the character I'm not too sure about. It's hard to pin him down. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Does he care for Violet or does he just like how much she seems to like him? The not knowing is what makes it fun, of course.

What annoyed me about this book are the same things that normally annoy me. For one, the completely absent parents. Seriously, what parent would just leave their teen-aged son and daughter to fend for themselves for months on end? It is just so unrealistic and dumb. These parents are "excused" from their behavior because they are bohemian artist types. The thing is, the whole town knows the two are living all alone. Even in a small town wouldn't child protective services be knocking on the door?

The novel heavily relies on a dose of insta-love and I'm a bit torn on how I feel about it. I'm not going to get into so as not to spoil anything (but I'd love to hear your thoughts if you've read this book. I check my email everyday if you want to drop me a line----I'd also love to talk about that ending).

Finally, some of the language used was just off-putting. Again, the novel is very old-fashioned and it works for the most part...but sometimes it didn't work. For example, Luke (the brother) asks: "Is the apocalypse nigh?" Nigh?! Who talks like that? I have a BA in English, work in a library, and am months away from having my master's in secondary English education and I have never, never used the word nigh, but a dude who is constantly described as somebody who wears his t-shirts too tight and his pants too low (to attract the ladies) is going to throw words like that around? C'mon.

Overall, I did enjoy The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. It is original and atmospheric. I loved the setting of the small town of Echo and the once-grand mansion Citizen Kane. I liked Violet and grew to love a lot of the secondary characters. If you've been anxiously awaiting its release date, I wouldn't hesitate to snag a copy, but you may want to dial back your expectations a little.  

*I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.*