Summary: The conclusion to Between the Devil and The Deep Blue Sea, this gothic thriller romance with shades of Stephen King and Daphne du Maurier is a must-read for fans of Beautiful Creatures and Anna Dressed in Blood.
Freddie once told me that the Devil created all the fear in the world.
But then, the Devil once told me that it’s easier to forgive someone for scaring you than for making you cry.
The problem with River West Redding was that he’d done both to me.
The crooked-smiling liar River West Redding, who drove into Violet’s life one summer day and shook her world to pieces, is gone. Violet and Neely, River’s other brother, are left to worry—until they catch a two a.m. radio program about strange events in a distant mountain town. They take off in search of River but are always a step behind, finding instead frenzied towns, witch hunts, and a wind-whipped island with the thrum of something strange and dangerous just under the surface. It isn’t long before Violet begins to wonder if Neely, the one Redding brother she thought trustworthy, has been hiding a secret of his own…
Review: 4 stars
I have been putting off reading this for months. Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t want the story to be over. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was one of my few five star reads of 2018. As much as I wanted to read the sequel, I didn’t want the story to end. This book is something I wanted to cherish and read when I was prepared for an incredible book. After a couple of mediocre reads, I knew it was finally time to return to some of my favorite characters I have read about in 2018.
In comparison to the first book in the series, this one did suffer from a little bit of second-book-syndrome. The breathtaking writing, eccentric characters and Tim Burton vibe all appeared again, but the plot didn’t knock the story out of the park. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fantastic, it’s just not making my list of favorites.
I think the reason that I didn’t like this one as much as the first is because River isn’t in the book until the middle and he is my favorite character. I love that devil boy even though he is capable of such darkness. The character written so well and is so fascinating to me. I missed not having him and a lot of this story. I like the bad boys, what can I say? He’s mysterious and just a little bit evil, but he also has redeeming qualities.
The best part of the book is the writing. The descriptions are vivid and the book carries a gothic air to it that feels pretty creepy. I will read anything written by April Genevieve Tulcholke, because she truly is an artist. I’m a little sad that this is the end of the series. I didn’t want it to end, which is why I put off reading this sequel for so long. Thankfully April Genevieve Tulcholke is writing more books, which I can’t wait to get my grubby little hands on. I don’t have a single author to compare her writing to that would do it justice. So all I can do is tell you to read this duology. It’s gothic, vivid and different. You won’t regret it.
My 5 star review of the first book in the series can be found here: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
Devouring Books 