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

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke is a difficult book to describe.  I did not love it nor did I hate it, and at times I was just so annoyed with the main character Violet and her choices.  I guess I should begin from the beginning:

"There's truths and then there's truths, Violet.  And some damn truths shouldn't be spoken out loud; or the Devil will hear and then he'll come for you.  Amen."

That's a good enough quote from the book that sums up what will appear in the novel.  Truth and the Devil (mainly evil doing) are huge in this story.  Let us begin with the main character, Violet.  Violet lives in an old mansion with her twin, Luke.  Their parents are some where abroad, spending the rest of the money left from her grandmother. Because the twins are in need of money for basic needs such as groceries, Violet decides to put an add out to rent the guest house.  This is when River West steps in, and insanity ensues. 

Something to understand is that Violet is lonely (Isn't she a twin, what about that bond?  Yes, she's a twin but Luke and Violet are really different in the beginning, they slowly come back to each other in the end... but in the beginning of the story, she's lonely.) Without her grandmother, Freddie, there is no one to fill the void.  Now that River is in the picture, Violet starts to feel calm, full and possibly happy for the first time since Freddie died.  River is the fourth to Violet, Luke and Sunshine's (Violet's neighbor/sometimes Luke's makeout pal/ Violet and Luke's friend) group.  River is funny, attractive, rich and smart; however, he has a secret and it's one to put the Devil to shame.

What would happen if you could cancel out free will?  What about creating addictive chaos every where you go?  Those are some issues touched upon in this story, and it is hard to give up a little information without giving everything away.  Just know that what you might think is true might not be, and that the novel ends with more confusion, of course this can be so that we as readers start anticipating the next book in the series.  Will I read it?  Of course, because I need to know if River's plan works, and if Violet is really crazy enough to fall for all of this, also... I would not mind seeing some more of River's brother, he's pretty alright. 

4/5 stars.  Thanks Net Galley and Edelweiss