Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Our town was small enough that I never developed a healthy fear of strangers. To me, they were exciting things, gift-wrapped and full of possibilities, the sweet smell of somewhere else wafting from them like perfume.

I though the writing was quite beautiful and that the setting was great. I liked the quiet little town and the decaying mansion.

However, I wasn't too keen on the plot. It got much too messy and ridiculous at one point. I was also quite indifferent to the characters, with the exception of River's evil half brother whom I absolutely loathe. Violet was all right until River showed up. Then her brain got scrambled. River very dull. The rest of the characters had little impact on the hole shenanigans.

As for the romance... The romance was not that great. Another frustrating case of insta-love that made me want to through the book out the window. And that's about it.

This book has left me somewhat speechless. I expected a creepy, spine-tingling Gothic horror replete with old house, perhaps a haunting or two, paranormal goings-on etc. I was also hoping for a more profound connection to the sea given the title and cover. I got the old house and the paranormal goings-on, but alas no deep sea connection (which is wholly my fault for having that sort of expectation, not the book's failing) and then a whole lot of what I hadn't expected - violence. the writing - brilliant! I loved the voice, I loved the descriptions, I loved the purplish prose and the use of repetition and the juxtaposition of innocence with darkness. 5 stars for the writing. The characters - I wanted to smack Violet upside the head several times. She drove me crazy with her ‘I know better but I'm just going to give into hormones or whatever for no apparent reason.' Her brother was a far more interesting character but didn't get enough page time imo. I also really liked Sunshine - she had spunk, and Jack was lovely. As for River and Neely. I can't really say I know what to make of them. At first I was intrigued by the mysterious River, then repulsed, then sort of sympathetic. He was complex and well-written, but he definitely made me do the opposite of swoon. Neely was better, I liked him. Whole book dedicated to Neely please! As for the antagonist 0.o Without giving away spoilers, suffice it to say, I was nauseated, severely. 4 stars for the cast of characters.

This book has left me rather perplexed. At times, I hated the story, but I couldn't put it down and was totally seduced by the writing. In the end, writing trumps story for me this time so I'll settle on 4 stars. Definitely interested in reading more by this author.