The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
marisamoo's review against another edition
3.0
3.5? 4? I DO NT KNOW
i don't
even
k now
anymore.
like
ick and WOW and no and yes and noooo and CANT and yes all at the same time.
It was disturbinggg and that aWFUL ENDING BUT IT WAS SO GOOD. I was CRINGING.
WITH LOVE
AND HATE
AND i have emotions and I can't express any of them at all.
I dont even know what to rate it to be honest. The writing was superb the characters amazing and the plot just i did not put it down.
tHAT ENDING
DID NOT SEE OR EXPECT
IM DONE.
3.5? 4? Putting it as four because three looks too little for this.
i don't
even
k now
anymore.
like
ick and WOW and no and yes and noooo and CANT and yes all at the same time.
It was disturbinggg and that aWFUL ENDING BUT IT WAS SO GOOD. I was CRINGING.
WITH LOVE
AND HATE
AND i have emotions and I can't express any of them at all.
I dont even know what to rate it to be honest. The writing was superb the characters amazing and the plot just i did not put it down.
tHAT ENDING
DID NOT SEE OR EXPECT
IM DONE.
3.5? 4? Putting it as four because three looks too little for this.
laughlinesandliterature's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book, I liked how Violet was drawn in despite her reservations and while at times the characters were annoying I did like how River was not entirely amoral. The cast of characters was great and my heart was in my throat during the climax of the book. It was definitely nerve wracking. 4 out of 5 stars
poorashleu's review against another edition
2.0
huh.
Originally reviewed at yAdult Review
Hmmm. This book. I really feel like it was two books in one. The first half and the second half.
In the first half of the book we meet Violet. Violet who was forced to grow up to soon while missing her grandma the only person who really “got” her. Violet lives at a crumbling estate called “Citizen Kane” with her brother, who is a bit of a jerk. Their parents are off in Europe being artists who don’t have time for their children. This leaves Violet to be the adult in the family. Violet decides to rent out a small guesthouse to make some extra money.
And that is when things get weird. Violet rents it to a boy around her age name River West. River West who charms her right away and there is then instalove. There is a reason for that as the blurb says, but it doesn’t mean I had to like it. Because of River and the instalove, this makes Violet an extremely unreliable narrator. Which, if I’m being honest, I often enjoy. It is nice and refreshing however to have a character know they aren’t being reliable.
Which brings us to book two, the second half. There comes a point in the novel which Violet knows that she is under this spell and understands the control that River was using and she’s still like OH OKAY YES I LOVE AND ADORE YOU. Dude. COME ON. THINK ABOUT THIS.
Plus the giant twist, which legitimately shocked me, annoyed me more than anything. While this is a solid book and will have its fanbase, it is just not for me.
Originally reviewed at yAdult Review
Hmmm. This book. I really feel like it was two books in one. The first half and the second half.
In the first half of the book we meet Violet. Violet who was forced to grow up to soon while missing her grandma the only person who really “got” her. Violet lives at a crumbling estate called “Citizen Kane” with her brother, who is a bit of a jerk. Their parents are off in Europe being artists who don’t have time for their children. This leaves Violet to be the adult in the family. Violet decides to rent out a small guesthouse to make some extra money.
And that is when things get weird. Violet rents it to a boy around her age name River West. River West who charms her right away and there is then instalove. There is a reason for that as the blurb says, but it doesn’t mean I had to like it. Because of River and the instalove, this makes Violet an extremely unreliable narrator. Which, if I’m being honest, I often enjoy. It is nice and refreshing however to have a character know they aren’t being reliable.
Which brings us to book two, the second half. There comes a point in the novel which Violet knows that she is under this spell and understands the control that River was using and she’s still like OH OKAY YES I LOVE AND ADORE YOU. Dude. COME ON. THINK ABOUT THIS.
Plus the giant twist, which legitimately shocked me, annoyed me more than anything. While this is a solid book and will have its fanbase, it is just not for me.
omccloskey's review against another edition
1.0
Read my review on my blog, Brewing Up Books, by clicking the image above.
It's been awhile since a book has made me this angry, but I guess it was about time for my luck to run out in that respect. I'm having trouble pinning the exact source of my anger and frustrations on any one aspect of the novel. Instead, it consisted of multiple, small components that irked me and ultimately contributed to a snowball effect that led to my strong overall dislike of the novel.
The premise was eery, intentionally misleading (in a good sense), and riddled with holes and ambiguity. Any book that contains a fictional universe or subset of the world requires adequate explanation and description, both of which were severely lacking in Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. Therefore, it was challenging to make sense of several major events, even after completing the novel in its entirety, causing me to become progressively more confused as I advanced. The majority of questions raised remained unanswered by the conclusion of the work, and the ominous powers possessed by some of the characters remained equally obscure, despite their prominent role in the overall plot.
Another of my complaints was the excessive objectification and oppression of both women and the vulnerable (ie. children). Both subsets of characters, as well as the protagonist, Violet, were repeatedly "controlled" both physically and emotionally against their wills, primarily without awareness or knowledge of such manipulations. During most of the circumstances under which this occurred, this usurpation of an individual's freedom of speech and actions was not justified, highlighting the apparent frailty of such individuals. On multiple occasions, this "ability" was utilized by River to create and dominate a physical, romantic relationship. Although I do not believe this was Tucholke's intent, I found this scenario to be highly disturbing, above and beyond the typical creepy nature of young adult thrillers.
The novel is advertised as a "gothic thriller romance" on the back cover, and while the gothic and thriller descriptions certainly held true, there was minimal romance. The romantic interactions that were present, however, appeared forced and awkward, in addition to being characterized by the oppression of women that I highlighted in the previous paragraph. These components never extended beyond prolonged kissing, which hardly qualifies this as a work within the genre of romance. It's generally challenging to incorporate a romantic relationship into a horror novel, and I this book certainly upheld and attested to this generalization.
Similarly, while the characters were well-developed with detailed backstories, their initial presentations were less than ideal. Each time a new character was introduced, Tucholke either revealed everything there was to know about that individual or absolutely nothing. Both sides of this spectrum were equally frustrating and often prevented further characterization as the novel progressed. While it is understandable that she wished for some of these characters to be shrouded in mystery upon their arrival in Echo, Tucholke took this to an extreme, revealing nothing about their true personalities and pasts until the conclusion of the novel. River was a prime example of this, and his compulsive lying served to further complicate and confuse matters. Even after his childhood experiences were revealed, I, as a reader, continued to question these events due to the previous untruths he had recounted.
Furthermore, the first person narration from Violet's perspective portrayed her as extremely disconnected from the world around her. Each decision she makes, from her choice in clothing (all of which appeared to be raided from her dead grandmother's closet) to her brilliant idea to rent out the guesthouse to a complete stranger and to consequently trust said stranger, call into question her sanity as well as reliability. Her naivety and lack of common sense are constantly highlighted throughout the novel and nearly cause her demise on several occasions. Not only does she throw all concern for her own life out the window, she also appears nonchalant and distant from her twin brother and best friend, conducting highly one-sided relationships with each. Her style of narration was...painful to say the least:
"He was barefoot again. He didn’t like to wear his shoes. Which I liked because I liked his feet.
He wasn’t wearing any socks, and he had nice feet, especially for a boy—strong and tan and smooth and beautiful, you almost couldn’t call them feet anymore."
I'm still uncertain as to whether this statement was intended to convey that she had a foot fetish or to further emphasize her peculiar personality. To add even further fuel to the fire, Violet's mind appeared to change with the wind, contributing to her overall wishy-washy personality. I absolutely cannot stand indecisive protagonists, which certainly didn't aid my enjoyment of the novel or lack thereof.
Lastly, Tucholke's writing style conveyed the reservations and inexperience of an individual who is unaccustomed to composing horror literature. She tried too hard to conceal specific details regarding events and characters, which immediately drew reader attention to those areas. Additionally, in attempting to drop the occasional clue, she managed to make these revelations incredibly obvious. Picture a spotlight, some big blinking signs, and an announcer calling out: "Pay attention to this! It'll be important in a few chapters!" Consequently, subtlety was not her strong suit throughout this book, leaving little for readers to speculate and puzzle over.
All in all, Tucholke needed to exert less time and energy on the failure of a romance and instead divert this attention toward elaborating upon the novel's premise and the characters themselves. While the cover's an eye catcher, it was the most intriguing component of the novel for me. I felt no connection with or empathy for the characters at any point, further contributing to my dislike of the work. Needless to say, I'm not feeling particularly motivated to continue on in the series.
schrodingerqu33r's review against another edition
3.0
This book was an absolutely lovely read. Nothing was predicable, which was so refreshing. It had you guessing at every page which kept me so engrossed. My only quam was that the events weren't particularly realistic in how they carried out. (such as napping on the couch in someone's arms that you've only known for 5-6 hours and are already pretty sure is lying to you).
inwonderland49's review against another edition
4.0
Review was first on In Wonderland
This was a breathtakingly beautiful Gothic story. The setting of a mansion on a cliff by the sea, is just as ghastly as it is beautiful. April Genevieve Tucholke's debut novel is simply to die for. It's not for everyone, but if you are able to appreciate horrifyingly beautiful places, some mystery, unique characters, and a bit of holding the devil's hand, then you should definitely give this one a shot.
When I say unique characters, I mean completely unique and different. Violet is this loner like homebody who loves to read on her porch, drink ginger lemonade (which sounds fantastic by the way!), listen to old music, watch classic movies, and wears her Grandmother's clothes from the twenties. River West is a quirky, smoldering, mysterious, scary individual himself. Luke is Violet's twin brother and he's a special character as well. Sunshine, well she's Sunshine and she is a whole 'nother story! But April did a great job at creating these creative and colorful individuals! I really got a sense of them and wanted to keep reading because of them!
The story that April wrote is just so mysterious and dark and consuming that you don't want to put this book down! I truly loved every page of this book. I just want more and I can tell you that I will surely be purchasing the second one and reading it soon!
If you want a book that will give you that chilling, fog-like feeling with quite the cast of characters and a beautiful Gothic setting, then you need to pick up this book! Go do it!
This was a breathtakingly beautiful Gothic story. The setting of a mansion on a cliff by the sea, is just as ghastly as it is beautiful. April Genevieve Tucholke's debut novel is simply to die for. It's not for everyone, but if you are able to appreciate horrifyingly beautiful places, some mystery, unique characters, and a bit of holding the devil's hand, then you should definitely give this one a shot.
When I say unique characters, I mean completely unique and different. Violet is this loner like homebody who loves to read on her porch, drink ginger lemonade (which sounds fantastic by the way!), listen to old music, watch classic movies, and wears her Grandmother's clothes from the twenties. River West is a quirky, smoldering, mysterious, scary individual himself. Luke is Violet's twin brother and he's a special character as well. Sunshine, well she's Sunshine and she is a whole 'nother story! But April did a great job at creating these creative and colorful individuals! I really got a sense of them and wanted to keep reading because of them!
The story that April wrote is just so mysterious and dark and consuming that you don't want to put this book down! I truly loved every page of this book. I just want more and I can tell you that I will surely be purchasing the second one and reading it soon!
If you want a book that will give you that chilling, fog-like feeling with quite the cast of characters and a beautiful Gothic setting, then you need to pick up this book! Go do it!
salinabear's review against another edition
3.0
"What I felt, though, deep, deep down in the darkest dark of my heart, was that I didn't give a damn if River was evil. I still liked him. Maybe I even kind of loved him. And maybe that made me evil too."
(I went back and forth between giving this book three or four stars...I wish there was a half star.)
I was pleasantly surprised by this book; sure, it had its issues, but it was one heck of a ride. I loved the setting of the seaside town of Echo, and the mansion called Citizen Kane. The background descriptions of the settings were very reminiscent of Daphne du Marier.
I loved that the story had just the right air of Gothic in all the right places; the graveyard settings, the overgrown mansions, the old families. However, at the same time, the story wasn't too gory, which I enjoyed. It had just enough of a creepy edge to keep me curious, but not to the point where I was grossed out.
I loved all of the characters, though at some points I felt that the dialogue was... incongruous. Characters often said things that didn't seem perfectly in line with their characters.
This book also raised some interesting moral questions that I'm not used to in YA books. Can you love someone even if they do horrible things? Where is the line between good and evil, and can individual people decide that for themselves? Are there sins worse than others?
Overall, this was a pretty good read, and I'm excited for the next book to come out in August. Long live the Gothic genre!
(I went back and forth between giving this book three or four stars...I wish there was a half star.)
I was pleasantly surprised by this book; sure, it had its issues, but it was one heck of a ride. I loved the setting of the seaside town of Echo, and the mansion called Citizen Kane. The background descriptions of the settings were very reminiscent of Daphne du Marier.
I loved that the story had just the right air of Gothic in all the right places; the graveyard settings, the overgrown mansions, the old families. However, at the same time, the story wasn't too gory, which I enjoyed. It had just enough of a creepy edge to keep me curious, but not to the point where I was grossed out.
I loved all of the characters, though at some points I felt that the dialogue was... incongruous. Characters often said things that didn't seem perfectly in line with their characters.
This book also raised some interesting moral questions that I'm not used to in YA books. Can you love someone even if they do horrible things? Where is the line between good and evil, and can individual people decide that for themselves? Are there sins worse than others?
Overall, this was a pretty good read, and I'm excited for the next book to come out in August. Long live the Gothic genre!
arianawrites's review against another edition
Uh, love love love. There are a few flaws here and there, but honestly I was so high on all of the pretty boys with crooked smiles and good hair and nice clothes (all splattered with blood!) that I want to rate this five stars. Enjoyable and fun and gruesome.
morgana_fae_'s review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Definitely was a good read!
Is a tiny bit hard to get into but when you start to understand and get more into it, it does become more clearer and more understandable
Is a tiny bit hard to get into but when you start to understand and get more into it, it does become more clearer and more understandable