I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Between the Spark and the Burn by April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between #2
Published by Speak on 8/4/15
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Gothic, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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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 . . .

Short and Sweet

After the events from the last book Violet can’t stop thinking about River. The gang decides to leave Citizen Kane and go looking for River in different towns where strange things are happening.

My Thoughts

~ My favorite part of this book was the road trip the group is following leads to different places just to find River. The gang gets these leads from a radio show that only Neely and Violet are into listening.

~ We meet new characters in these towns where the gang visits. I feel like Violet is way too trusting of strangers. I don’t want to spoil anything but if you read the book you’ll know what I mean.

~ Violet finds Freddie’s diary and learns more about her grandmothers past and about her experiences with the “glow.”

~ I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first book. The world building was amazing. We get to go to mountains, towns near the sea, and another quint town that resembles Echo.

~ There was more character development in this book. Violet was more brave and tried to take things head on and Neely gets more of a focus in this book.

~ I didn’t like the romance in this book either. Violet was with Neely a lot in this book and I think she was just using him until she got back to River.

~ I liked Neely, we learn he has a lot of love for his family especially his brothers. Neely would use his power to counteract what his brother’s power was doing, even if it was slowly killing him.

Overall

This sequel is worth the read! The writing in this book is beautiful. The ending was a bit open ended and left you to use your imagination as to what would happen next. This book was enjoyable and entertaining. Check this duology out if you haven’t!!!

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke
Series: Between #1
Published by Speak on 7/3/14
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Gothic, Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 384
Format: Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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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.

Short and Sweet

Violet White and her brother Luke have lived in Echo their whole life. When their parents travel around the world to get inspiration for their art they leave the twins by themselves in the small town. When a mysterious and gorgeous boy named River rents the room in mansion, Violet realizes he’s not just any normal boy.

My Thoughts

~ The setting is what made the story for me, the atmosphere in the town was creepy and this small town had a lot of secrets.

~ Violet was a unique main character she was very perspective and always noticed the smallest details.

~ I didn’t like the romance between Violet and River, it felt like River was using his powers to make Violet do things.

~ When River arrives in town strange things start happening like kids hunting the devil in the graveyard.

~ River’s power was weird and it was hard for me to understand, he could manipulate what people saw and felt, especially Violet. I didn’t like how Violet knew that River was manipulating her feelings but did nothing about it.

~ There were quite a few side characters so there wasn’t much room for character development in this book.

~ I was a bit annoyed with some characters, mainly Luke. I didn’t like some of the things he said to Violet and I feel like some of the other characters would pile onto his insults.

~ There were twist in the plot that I wasn’t expecting that kept me reading.

~ The ending was… I don’t know how to describe the ending. It just made you wonder who you could trust because most of the people in the town were being manipulated by these powers.

Overall

I enjoyed this book, it was different from anything I’ve read. What kept me reading was the intriguing plot and it made me want to know what was going to happen next. I plan on reading the sequel just to see how things plan out.