Audiobook Review: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Jessica Guerrieri, Narrated by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 

by Jessica Guerrieri, 

Narrated by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

Blurb from Goodreads:

Leah O'Connor is torn between the life she's currently living 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 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.

 This was dark.  Way darker than I expected. It was hard to listen to, at times, if only because I don't like reading about someone being so self-destructive.  The addition of pregnancy and children made it even harder for me to read.  It was well written but just not for me.  Hope you have better luck!

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea comes out next week on May 13, 2025 and you can purchase HERE.  

There's a phantom life that runs parallel to the one I'm currently living, like a shadow. That version of me is childless and, therefore, untethered to the O'Connor family. I think of her whenever I'm clipping my two-year-old's toenails, and the little half-moons splinter off in different directions, and I find myself scouring the floor so I'm not stepping on discarded pieces of my youngest daughter's body when I'm barefoot at three o'clock in the morning and need to pee. I'm confident my shadow self has already circled the globe, only to have landed someplace tropical like Costa Rica-beholden to simply the movement of the sea. Sometimes I wave, but she's surfing and cannot wave back.