EST. 2010

Summary

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea illustrates a mother’s battle with alcohol and the potential for collateral damage.

4.5-STAR REVIEW: BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Jessica Guerrieri

The Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2025

Leah O’Connor is torn between her current existence and the allure of a phantom life that can no longer be hers.

Swept off her feet by the gentle charm of Lucas O’Connor, Leah’s unexpected pregnancy changes the course of her carefree and nomadic existence. Over a decade and three children later, Leah is unraveling. She resents the world in which her artistic aspirations have been sidelined by the overwhelming demands of motherhood, and the ever-present rift between herself and her mother-in-law, Christine, is best dulled by increasingly fuller glasses of wine.

Christine represents a model of selfless motherhood that Leah can neither achieve nor accept. To heighten the strain, Lucas’s business venture, a trendy restaurant that honors his mother, has taken all his attention, which places the domestic demands squarely on Leah’s shoulders. Seeking an ally in her sweet sister-in-law Amy, Leah shares a secret that, if made known to the wider family, could disrupt the curated ecosystems that keep the O’Connors connected.

As Leah dances with the devil while descending further into darkness, her behavior becomes more erratic and further alienates her from both Lucas and the wider family. Leah’s drinking threatens the welfare of her family, prompting Amy to turn to Christine for support. A duel for loyalty ensues. When the inevitable waves come crashing down, it’s the O’Connor women who give Leah a lifeline: the truth of what they’ve all endured. But Leah alone must uncover the villain of her own story, learn how to ask for help, and decide if the family she has rejected will be her salvation or ultimate undoing.

This masterful blend of book club and literary women’s fiction offers a frank rebuttal to Wine Mom culture and is perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Liane Moriarty.

The Review

Drawing on her own struggles with sobriety, author Jessica Guerrieri brings a mother’s struggle to life.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, focuses on Leah. On the surface, she and Lucas O’Connor are the happily married parents of three children.

Yet it doesn’t take long for readers to see the cracks featuring Leah’s relationship with her mother-in-law. Usually, that might not be a big deal, but the three O’Connor boys are close to their parents, meaning plenty of family events.

Between her husband’s preoccupation with opening an O’Connor family restaurant and very little time for Leah to devote to her art, the sense of being overwhelmed is palpable when adding three children to the mix, one of whom is a toddler.

The contrast between Leah and her sisters-in-law grows more evident as the story evolves, particularly as Amy’s pregnancy progresses. Full of messy emotions and perceived slights, Leah finds herself using alcohol to self-medicate. Ultimately, she will have to decide between a liquid escape and her family.

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About The AuthorOriginally from the Bay Area, Jessica Guerrieri lives in Davis, California, with her husband and three daughters. Jessica has a background teaching special education but left the field to pursue a career in writing. Her debut novel, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, won the Maurice Prize for Fiction from her alma mater, UC Davis. With over a decade of sobriety, Jessica is a fierce advocate for addiction recovery.

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REVIEW AUTHOR

Amy Wilson
Amy Wilson
My name is Amy W., and I am a book addict. I will never forget the day I came home from junior high school to find my mom waiting for me with one of the Harlequin novels from my stash. As she was gearing up for the "you shouldn't be reading this" lecture, I told her the characters get married in the end. I'm just glad she didn't find the Bertrice Small book hidden in my closet. I have diverse reading tastes, evident by the wide array of genres on my Kindle. As I made the transition to an e-reader, I found myself worrying that something could happen to it. As a result, I am now the proud owner of four Kindles -- all different kinds, but plenty of back-ups! "Fifty Shades of Grey" gets high marks on my favorites list -- not for character development or dialogue (definitely not!), but because it blazed new ground for those of us who believe provocative fiction is more than just an explicit cover. Sylvia Day, Lexie Blake, and Kristin Hannah are some of my favorite authors. Speaking of diverse tastes, I also enjoy Dean Koontz, Iris Johansen, and J.A. Konrath. I’m always ready to discover new-to-me authors, especially when I toss in a palate cleanser that is much different than what I would normally read. Give me something with a well-defined storyline, add some suspense (or spice), and I am a happy reader. Give me a happily ever after, and I am downright giddy.

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Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea illustrates a mother’s battle with alcohol and the potential for collateral damage.4.5-STAR REVIEW: BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Jessica Guerrieri