DNF: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea - April Genevieve Tucholke
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
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was such a disappointing read for me for numerous reasons, but most of all, I was upset because this is probably the book I was most looking forward to this year. The cover is GORGEOUS, the synopsis is intriguing, and I just knew that I was going to love it. Boy, was I wrong. The characters fell flat, the plot was confusing and silly, and I really didn’t end up feeling any real connection to the book. In one word, this book was a dud.
Above all else, I didn’t finish this book because of the characters. Not only was every single character annoying as hell, but the male characters seemed to be very abusive and dangerous. They didn’t actually DO anything, but it seemed to be implied. The male characters made this book very uncomfortable to read, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect from them. Not only that, but the female characters were ANNOYING! OMG. They were either all over the boys, crying their little eyes out over a broken heart, or just being….weird. You know what? That’s the best word that can describe this book. Weird. The whole damn thing was weird. I made it about 130 pages into this book, and I had no idea what the hell was going on. Confusing much? I needed some kind of bone thrown my way!
The weirdness of this book ties directly into the plot. It’s about Violet who lives with her brother (who seems very unstable and abusive might I add!), and she ends up letting this guy named River live in her guest house. Her parents don’t live with her. Instead, they’re out traveling, leaving their two minor children all alone (not to mention that they’re almost out of money and can’t get ahold of their parents!). There was the first major concern. That is SO unrealistic! In reality, CPS would have been called in a heartbeat. It made absolutely no sense that those kids were left unattended with no complaints or concerns. Anyways, all of a sudden the local children in their town start spouting stuff about devils and they end up camping out at a graveyard holding stakes in anticipation to kill the Devil. News people are called, police are called, parents are called, everyone is called, and STILL the kids won’t leave the graveyard. Are you still with me? If you are, congrats! Cause I’m not even with me. It made. no. sense. I was confused. Hell, I’m still confused. Which is a major reason why I stopped reading this book. I didn’t finish the book. Well, skimmed it, so it might have gotten better! I did read the last little bit at the end, though, and I still couldn’t stand it. Maybe if I would have liked the main characters, Violet and River, then that would have made up for it, but I’m honestly not sure which would I despised more. It was just….bad.
I am so sad that I didn’t like this book. I was willing to beg, borrow, or steal for it….and this is what happened. I’ve talked to some people who liked the book, but I’ve always talked to people who share the exact same opinion as I do. I don’t think that I’ve ever been able to say that I didn’t know what the hell a book was about after reading it, but I sure can now.
Pages: 368
Publication Date: August 15th 201
Publisher: Dial
Source: ARC provided by publisher
Rating: : 
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12 Comments
I understand that you didn’t like the novel, and I can see why. However, had you kept reading, everything would’ve made sense, for instance, why the kids were in the cemetery with stakes, looking to kill the Devil. I would tell you, but I don’t want to spoil the novel. And besides, in regards to the characters, I believe it made sense, but that’s just my opinion. Like why nothing was done about the minor kids while their parents were in Europe? Well, they came from a wealthy family (although they’re broke) and live in a mansion, so perhaps nobody felt like their situation was urgent or maybe it happened in the past so it wasn’t anything new or a big deal. I’m not trying to come off as a know-it-all or anything, I just want to show my thoughts and hopefully they’re the same as the author’s intentions. I really think you should continue reading the novel and give it a shot. All the weird events fall into place near the end.
You’re not coming across as a know it all! I expected a little bit of argument, because I have heard some people say how much they loved this book.
I did skim the rest of the book. I didn’t completely stop…and I just…I couldn’t. I mean…I HATED every.single.character. I think it’s great if it does all tie together at the end….but I hated it lol.
Well that’s good to know, haha. And it saddens me that you didn’t like it. I must say though that it had a LOT of creepy scenes but I loved it, yeah… And I can see how you disliked the characters. Definitely. But for me, I overlook the characters and see why the author made them that way and why they act the way they do. I am really deep when I read books, haha. But I respect your opinions and at least I know some things I should bring up in my review, thanks to you.
I wish I was like that! If I don’t like the characters, I can’t get past it.
I have read more than once that this turned out to be a disappointing read, which is very disappointing since I was really looking forward to it also. This review sounds similar to the review I posted today about The Ruining
I kind of wish I didn’t finish it either. Thanks for being honest!
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This one was a stinker for me, too. I finished the book, and I just thought it was downright silly how it all wrapped up. Seriously, it was reminiscent of crap that I’ve watched on CBS soap operas. BtDaTDBS almost got to the point that it was comedic. Almost. And you did one better than me - I wish I had DNFed and moved on to the next book.
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YOU READ THIS!? Well…I guess not all of it. Ha. I read it and I found myself totally creeped/weirded out & confused. I had to keep reading though so I could figure out what the hell was going on. But once I did finish it, I was still confused a bit. But hey, that could just be me (I’m tragically slow sometimes). It definitely had a high rating for creepiness factor! I love creepy books!
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