Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

May 25, 2015     erinbook     Book review

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke


Release Date: August 15, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill
360 Pages
Received: Gift
Format: Paperback


Rating: DNF

Description: 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.

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.

Review: I wanted to love this book. The hype told me I should love this book. This is a perfect example of hype giving me much higher expectations than I should. I didn’t like it, I couldn’t even finish it. Let me expalin.

I tried this book twice. First I actually started reading it. I made it about 100 pages before I put it down. Then I tried the audiobook and good lord I wish I hadn’t. That was even worse. I’ll start with the characters.

Our MC drove me nuts. A strange boy shows up and she’s practically drooling at his feet like a dog. Where’s your brain? He could be an axe murderer! This was most annoying when on the first day she meet him she’s curling up on the couch with him for a nap. You. Don’t. Know. Him. Does anyone see how not ok this is? The love interest seems sort of bland and I might be more interested if he were an axe murderer. Mysterious shouldn’t mean lack of character. As for the brother, well his only character trait seems to be douche bag.

When it came to the narrator of the audiobook, I think she made the MC even more annoying to me. She seemed even dumber than I already thought her to be. We stood it for about 15 minutes before we couldn’t do it any longer.

But let me say, I didn’t hate everything about the book. I love the setting. The dark and mysterious Citizen seemed like something out of a Fitzgerald novel, a character unto itself. I can see the house and the area around it so clearly and I loved reading about it. If only the characters were as interesting so me.

I feel like I’m alone in not liking this book very much, and a lot of that has to do with my high expectations from the hype. It’s just not as amazing as everyone kept telling me it was. Hype can ruin a reading experience and I should know better than letting it boost my expectations.

What did you think of the book? Agree or disagree? Let’s discuss in the comments.

Keep Reading.

 

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