Book cover of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Book description

Faded Gatsby glamour and thrilling gothic horror meet in this gorgeously told, terrifying and dreamy YA romance.

'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…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book has all the leanings of modern gothic: an old, semi-abandoned house, siblings left to their own devices, and a small town where strange things start happening with the arrival of a very strange, captivating boy—who may or may not be the devil himself. I love the prose and the romance, and it’s just eerie enough to get under your skin. The feeling of small-town isolation is real in this book!

From Isabel's list on capturing the magic of small towns.

If you love Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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Karl's War by Neil Spark,

Karl's War is a coming-of-age-meets-thriller set in Germany on the eve of Hitler coming to power. Karl – a reluctant poster boy for the Nazis – meets Jewish Ben and his world is up-turned.

Ben and his family flee to France. Karl joins the German army but deserts and finds…

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Girl in the Ashes by Douglas Weissman,

Odette Lefebvre is a serial killer stalking the shadows of Nazi-occupied Paris and must confront both the evils of those she murders and the darkness of her own past.

This young woman's childhood trauma shapes her complex journey through World War II France, where she walks a razor's edge…

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