Review – Between The Spark and the Burn (Between, Book 2) by April Genevieve Tucholke (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Dial
Release Date: August 14, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0803740471
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Between sereis
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4,5/5 stars

This book is the final book in the Between duology. It was a beautifully written book that is written in such a unique style. I really enjoyed it.

Violet is determined to find River despite to turmoil he caused in the last book. Her search leads her through sleepy towns, searching out clues on River’s whereabouts by listening to a late night occult radio show. Some of the towns they journey through are enslaved by Brodie’s spark. One of them is rumored to harbor a God of the Sea. The hunt for River and Brodie leads Violet and Neely to a save a young boy named Finch and stay in an old seaside house on an island with a sweet stubborn girl named Canto.

This was a beautifully written sequel to Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. The book is written in a lyrical style that is really unique. The whole thing comes off as a bit dreamy and ambiguous, but the scenes really come alive. You can taste and feel the atmosphere in the book.

Many of the chapters start with an except from Vi’s late grandmother Freddie. Through this we learn about the events in Freddie’s past and how they tie in with what Vi is experiencing.

Violet is a very unique heroine. She lives a carefree life that is rich with artistic things, but poor on money and stability. Still in contrast to Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, in this book Violet is surrounded by friends who want to help her find River. Violet knows River and his family are bad news, she even admits this. However she also admits that she likes being part of the beautifully dark danger they represent.

Neely is in this book a ton and we really get to know and love him. He is supposedly the brother without any spark or burn, but in this book he finds his spark. He is steadfast and supportive of Violet in a way that Violet has never had in her life. It makes him an interesting traveling companion for Vi.

River isn’t in the book as much as I had hoped, but that makes sense considering they are searching for him. A new character is added that I really enjoyed, her name is Canto and they meet her in one of the small towns they journey through.

The whole journey is a bit surreal with gothic overtones to it and haunting scenes on lonely seashores. The ending is open and a big vague, which normally would bug me, but it totally fits with the tone of this story.

Overall I really loved this book and found it to be a unique and enchanting read. The writing is beautiful and the scenes really come alive. I love the whole “beauty in tragedy” type of theme to the story and the gothic feel to it. I really enjoy the characters and the somewhat ambiguous ending. I would recommend to those who enjoy gothic dreamy paranormal stories and don’t mind some ambiguity in their story.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Series Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge