Summary:
Violet and Luke both live in a neglected house in a sleepy little town. Their parents are out traveling and wasting money, while the twins are left to take care of themselves. This is not a huge deal because nothing happens in their little town, that is until River West comes to town. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet and Luke's place. After his appearance, weird things start to happen. Children disappear and murders are reported. Even though Violet knows River is a liar, she still seems to be falling in love with him. Will she be able to survive this romance, or is River the Devil in disguise?

My thoughts:
I didn't like this book. Most of it is because I really disliked Tucholke's writing style. She had a lot of very short, choppy sentences that made me feel like I was hyperventilating taking breaths at each period. I started to just meld sentences together on my own, but I honestly can't believe that a copy editor out there didn't comment about that. Gosh it was annoying! That along with little to no character development a romance that doesn't quite make sense and a very slow start turned me off. The saving grace of the story is the horror/gore. There are some scary scenes. They are described, sometimes purely as "dark, dark, dark," but probably the best part of the book. I like horror so the few thrills that were given was the only reason I bumped this up to two stars. I can see why people have enjoyed it for the premise, but the writing is difficult for me to deal with. Honestly, the cover of this is beautiful and probably the reason it will be successful.

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This book gave off a wonderfully creepy, southern-summer kind of vibe, and I just loved it. I particularly loved the strange, nonsensical metaphors scattered throughout the text. I feel they added to the southern feel and gave the book a sense of integrity that I really could connect to. Having a southern grandmother, I heard these kinds of things as a kid all the time (my favorite being "crookeder than a dog's hind leg").

On top of the southern feel of the town, there is a distinctly creepy (and oftentimes downright terrifying) feel from the characters and plot. This book is unbelievably dark and, at times, horribly depressing. None of the characters, including Violet herself, are completely free of corruption, making it very hard to distinguish between the "good" and "bad" guys.

Up until the big reveal of River's secret (about halfway through the story), I was totally hooked. I loved the suspense and the speculation, the plot was fast-paced and interesting. But the truth of River was, at least at first, very disappointing to me. I think in my mind I had certain expectations that were simply not met. That being said, the book quickly picks back up as more characters are introduced and the reader is forced to really think about the implications of what River is capable of. By the end of this book, I absolutely could not read fast enough. The ending had me literally on the edge of my seat, terrified, with no idea how in the world things were going to end.

With spring right around the corner and snow STILL being forecast here in Ohio for later in the week, this book had the perfect southern-summer feel to it that I needed in my life. It was so easy to imagine myself right beside the characters, drinking iced tea while napping in the sun on the front porch. The plot was fast-paced and interesting, with the exception of a few chapters near the middle, and the ending was scary as hell. I cannot wait for the second book to come out later this year, and I am pretty upset with myself I did not read this book sooner!

I would recommend this book to fans of creepy, suspenseful thrillers with a paranormal twist. Be warned this story does actually have a good bit of violence in it, so if that upsets you, this might not be the book for you.

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I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This was an interesting novel that was a lot different from most young adult paranormal reads out there. I wasnt blown away by it, but it was an intriguing read, that is written in an interesting way. THere will be another book in this series, Between the Spark and the Burn, which is scheduled for an August 2014 release date.

Violet and Luke are twins living in a run down mansion, their parents have been in Europe for their art for a long time now. Violet and Luke are left to fend for themselves with both money and supplies dwindling. Thats when they decide to put their guest house up for rental. When the mysterious and alluring River West shows up wanting to rent it, Violet jumps to accept his offer. However, thats when things start getting creepy and start going very very wrong.

This book is part horror, part paranormal, and a lof of mystery. Violet has a serious case of insta-love when it comes to River and he seems to return that...kind of. As Violet spends more and more time with River and more and more bad things happen around him, she realizes he is pretty much pure evil.

Violet finds out that River can influence people and make them do and see things they normally wouldnt. River seems to have no concerns about who he hurts, he genuinely does not seem to think he is doing wrong. But Violet knows better, she knows he is evil...but she just doesnt care that much. River is good to her and is good company. Violet is lonely and her brother is kind of a jerk. Violet struggles with what to do with this beautiful boy who treats her with such love, yet is so very evil.

Things get even more complicated as we find out River isnt the only one with powers like this. More and more bad things are happening, not just in Violets town...but other towns as well. Is River losing control of his powers? Or is there something else out there lurking?

This book is very creepy. Right in the beginning one of Violets friends sees the image of an old man eating children in a cave, then some children see an apparition of the Devil in the cemetery one night. People are dying in strange ways, committing suicide, and killing others. All of it seems to coincide with Rivers arrival.

This was a uniquely done book. There is some magical realism and also some supernatural-type abilities that the characters have. The writing is very descriptive and beautifully done. Tucholke does a good job with imagery and really brings the scenes alive. The story wraps up decently but there are a couple major things left hanging for future books.

Overall I enjoyed reading this. It was a creepy read, with excellent description, and some well done mystery. The characters are all intriguing and the writing is beautiful. Definitely only for young adult and older, some of this is really really creepy. I plan on picking up the next book in the series, Between the Spark and Burn, when it releases. Recommended to fans of creepy YA paranormal reads.

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