I liked this book better than the first. It had a lazy, sleep feel to it interspersed with gothic mystery, and I loved it oh-so-much. Rich with dark "magic" (that title only made sense to me after I finished reading the first book), creepy towns, a radio show that comes on at 3am, Captain Nemo fish shack, more of the ocean, and an ending that left me all warm and fuzzy-happy inside.

This duology is the perfect blend of magic and mystery, myths and horror, darkness and beauty, and so well written. I loved it so very, very much. A series for my shelves and an author to keep an eye on for any new books.

Update 8/8/17:

Still 150% in love with everything this book is, but especially Neely.

It wasn't bad it was just boring and anti climatic.

A wild fever dream of a read! Loved the ending.

I swear I was ABSOLUTELY loving the first book. You don't a good book like that often enough. Even though there are things I didn't like in the first book, the premise was amazing, as were the characters, the setting, and the dialogue.
The second book . . . not so much.
I swear when I put this book down, I was beyond disappointed. Not only did this book diminish any magic I had been feeling from the first book, it just wasn't worth it. I just could not feel the same atmosphere from the first book. I just didn't like the characters anymore and to be honest, the story was bland. It actually made some of my love for the first book diminish. I just couldn't feel that dark, whimsical, almost wonder from the first book which had an old town by the sea, the Devil running a mock, creepy children and spiny tingling creepiness. This book had none of that. I felt completely let down.

Predictable, but not unenjoyable. Still didn't address the rape issue, which I feel is a bit of a cop out. And not a good message.

I remember loving the first book, for the gothic atmosphere, the interesting presence of a long-dead character (not as a ghost, but as an influence on the atmosphere and the main character), and the fact that the romantic interest was a bit of a sociopath. It was a unique set of elements that offered no easy storytelling 'out'. But it's also been YEARS since I read the first book, so the shine has worn off.

This one felt like a pretty different beast entirely. The setting is a road trip, so right away the gothic air was gone. There were some eerie, horror elements, but nothing as striking as I'd hoped for. The past plays perhaps an even bigger role in this book, but it also felt more disconnected. I appreciated that it turns out Freddie is not a good person, at all, in terms of that being unique (we like to think of loving grandmothers as infallible creatures). But her influence on the current storyline didn't seem very necessary.

Also, and this may just be because of my age, it bothered me that these kids were so unrealistic. I probably found that charming in the first book, but this time around I kept thinking "they drink too much coffee, they hardly ever sleep, they cuddle naked without having sex, none of the food they pack on this trip ever goes bad, they have some terrible instincts, and they're horrid to one another......why do I care?" Luke and Sunshine are still pointless, and mean. River is still a liar and a villain, even though Violet is still attracted to him and pines about "last summer", which was apparently three months ago but always referred to as "last summer". Neely is the only decent character in the entire book, but even he isn't very interesting.

So overall, I was underwhelmed. And I have the sneaking suspicion that if I read the first book again, I'd be underwhelmed by it, too. The writing is a bit purple, which can be enjoyable as a poetic experience, but the characters, the tension, and the mystery fell flat for me.

I only liked the first book, so I wasn't too interested in this one, but I wanted to finish the duology especially since I was sending it to a friend. I enjoyed it, but I don't take it, or the characters, very seriously.

I want to give this 4 stars, but it just isn't there. And the ending...I don't need everything tied up with a neat little bow, but this just wasn't an ending. Vi didn't seem the same, and there was way more suspension of disbelief required in this one. Don't get me wrong, I still very much enjoyed it, it just wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for.

Ahhhhhhhh SO FREAKING GOOD. And somehow even better than the first. Full review to come closer to release but oh, you want this book. You want it hard.

3.5