A journey of a mother raising children with alcohol issues. An overbearing mother in-law trying to live vicariously through her grandchildren. Leah finds herself conflicted with a wonderful life and still a needing something. I loved different parts of this novel. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a book that will stick with me. This was an emotional read about motherhood and alcoholism. The protagonist was extremely unlikeable most of the time and oblivious to the fact that she had a problem but that makes it seem more realistic. I had the aggravation towards her that I feel like her family members had.

3.5 🌟releases 5•13!

First off: Mia Hutchinson-Saw did a phenomenal job with the characters in this audiobook. She solo narrated the entire thing and her voice never once felt flat or monotonous. The writing was so beautiful and I can’t believe Jessica is a debut author.

This book follows the parallels between being a mother/wife/friend and living through what all of us mothers know as the brutal season of endless giving and no taking. We love our kids..let me repeat this: WE LOVE OUR KIDS… but the constant ‘give all of yourself until you’re raw in the soul and bones’ with zero taking for yourself is a horrible hole and it’s hard to not fall into.

This novel follow Leah’s journey towards becoming an alcoholic and touches upon how “wine culture” for moms handling stressful parenting seasons can be a slippery slope. While I don’t agree having a glass of wine to decompress after a long day is a problem I do agree in that if you aren’t handling your shit it is a dangerous habit.

The ending was incredibly powerful but the middle meandered a bit too much for me and that’s why I’ve settled at 3.5 stars. My mother died of alcoholism and I’ve done many years of therapy to heal from that so this book was triggering but manageable for me. If you have addiction circling your life and you have yet to heal… maybe revisit this version of addiction until it would be easier to consume.

Overall, an intense and powerful read I’d recommend but (again) use caution ⚠️ if you have triggers towards cheating, addiction, unworthiness in the context of family dynamics, or are struggling in motherhood without support.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for this eARC/audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is an unforgettable, emotional, and beautifully written novel that dives deep into the heart of motherhood, identity, and addiction. Centered on a close-knit family and focused primarily on three women, this book explores how relationships can fracture under the weight of generational trauma and alcohol addiction.

What struck me most was how real and raw the characters felt. Each woman is deeply flawed, yet fully understandable. The author masterfully shows their inner lives, making it easy to empathize with each of them, even when they make mistakes. Through moving flashbacks and intimate moments, you witness how the past bleeds into the present, and how hard it can be to break cycles of hurt.

This is a tear-jerker in the best way. It forces you to think about what it means to be a mother, how easily one’s identity can get lost in the role, and how alcohol can silently steal the joy from everyday life. It also made me reflect personally about motherhood, sacrifice, and even my own relationship with drinking.

A powerful, five-star read. If you’re interested in emotional family dramas with depth, honesty, and unforgettable characters, don’t miss this one. I did the audiobook and I loved it but I’m going to get a hard copy to read again. It would be perfect for book clubs!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advance copy of this book. This is a book about marriage, motherhood, and all the family dynamics that come with that.Leah the main character in this book seems to lose herself in the everyday life of raising a family and working. She turns to alcohol in a way that she thinks is helpful to deal with everything happening in her life. I enjoyed this book very much. I felt the characters were well developed, and I got to know each character through Leah and how her relationship with each of them was formed and affected her every day.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a raw and realistic insight into the downward spiral of alcohol addiction. In the constant demands and challenges of motherhood and family life, Leah feels that she has lost all sense of who she is as a person. Alcohol becomes her coping mechanism.

Leah’s journey is tough but she portrays the resiliency of the human spirit and proves that people are capable of change:
“I’ve started to discover that Motherhood is not a confined space, but a wide open one made for exploration.”

Don’t miss the author’s note at the end where Jessica Guerrieri shares a little of her own journey of healing, lived experiences and survival. Through the pages of this novel, the author advocates for others battling addiction; and those on the path of recovery and sobriety:
They are “not a bad person trying to be good; but a sick person trying to be well.”

The audio narration by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw was very enjoyable to listen to. Not only does she capture the characters so well with tone and expression across all ages and genders, but she also tells the story with empathy and sensitivity to the events and conversations that take place.

A beautifully written, honest, personal debut novel reflecting the dynamics of family relationships and the complexities of addiction.

Thank you to the publisher, HarperCollins Focus for an advance audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ten years ago, an accidental pregnancy changed the course of Leah O’Connor’s life.

Once a free-spirited artist living out of her van and chasing waves, Leah is now a stay-at-home mom to three young children. With her husband and brother-in-law consumed by preparations for the opening of their new restaurant—a tribute to their mother—Leah is left to shoulder the crushing weight of home life alone.

As the pressure mounts, Leah finds solace in a glass of wine...then another...and another. Her drinking spirals out of control, her sense of self slipping further away. Even her closest ally, her sister-in-law Amy, seems to have abandoned her, cozying up to their overbearing mother-in-law, Christine.

Leah’s journey is a raw and unflinching portrait of motherhood’s invisible burdens, the devastating effects of addiction, and the isolating feeling of being lost within your own life. Yet it’s also a story of resilience, forgiveness, and ultimately, redemption.

Don't miss the author's note at the end of the novel, offering deeper insight into Leah’s story and the realities that inspired it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Focus, and of course the author Jessica Guerrieri for the advanced copy of the audiobook. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is out on May 13th. All opinions are my own.

The FMC is completely unlikable, and such a train wreck. Like a train wreck though, I couldn’t look away.

TW: miscarriage, alcoholism, suicide

Wow, it’s hard to believe this is a debut novel! This is a raw and emotional story of a woman who is struggling to figure out her identity outside of being a mother. The pressure of everything gets to be too much, and she ends up struggling with more than an identity crisis…she’s now dealing with alcoholism. This is a story that will stick with me for a long time. While this is a fiction novel, it definitely reads like a memoir and the audiobook narration was done perfectly for this type of book. The author has a beautiful writing style, and I can’t wait to check out more of her books!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for the advanced listeners copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pub date: May 13, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collin’s Focus for the ARC of this audiobook for my honest review

A heartbreaking but real story. It got me so emotional and it was definitely difficult to listen to but so well written. And I felt like things I couldn’t understand I could understand just that little bit more being in the perspective we were. I recommend this book but watch out for the trigger warnings. It’s definitely not an easy, happy read.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is a deeply emotional portrait of motherhood, family secrets, friendship, and addiction. The writing is heartbreaking and beautiful, with just enough character growth to leave me hopeful rather than destroyed. I highly recommend this debut, and will be eagerly following Jessica Guerrieri to see what’s next.

The narrator did a flawless job, helping me really feel the struggles along with Leah.

This was a dark, emotional story that delves into alcoholism and its effects on motherhood, as well as toxicity within families. This was definitely tough to read at some parts because it was so emotional and heavy, but I really enjoyed the story. The author's note at the end really got to me and made the story even better overall. Definitely check trigger warnings, but this was a great read.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is Jessica Guerrieri’s debut novel, and it’s a complicated one. The story follows Leah, a married mother of three struggling to keep up with the Joneses and feel accepted by her mother-in-law. As she fantasizes about what she believes her life would be like had she not “settled down” a decade prior, she descends into severe alcoholism that puts everything and everyone in at risk.
Leah’s story is heartbreaking, raw, vulnerable, and frustrating all at once. On the surface, she is hard to like and hard to forgive, but many readers will find glimpses of their own experience reflected in Leah’s, and that relativity is powerful in the scope of the story as a whole. Sure, readers may not find themselves in Leah’s addiction in the literal sense, but haven’t they felt strain, jealousy and resentment in their family relationships? Hasn’t everyone yearned for what life could have been?
Overall, I generally recommend this book to Literary, Women’s & Family fiction readers IF the plot summary in the blurb piques your interest. Like with most books, be sure to review content guides if that suits you. Thank you to Harper Muse for the ALC in exchange for my review of between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which publishes May 13th.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free ARC of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.

This was a really great book. As a Mom, wife, and woman, I could really relate to a lot of the feelings that the main character felt. This book takes us on a journey of a person dealing with addiction and the struggles she endures. I would recommend this book.

This is such a raw heartbreaking book about motherhood, family, life, addiction and alcoholism. The way the story unfolds and is told feels so raw and real, but handles these deep topics with such grace and authenticity. Leah is a mother of three children and finds herself falling into deep thoughts of ‘what if’. She finds herself falling into thoughts of her previous life before children and the dreams and aspirations she once had. It is such a moving story about life and all the emotional levels of motherhood, family, and relationships.

The audiobook is narrated by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and she has the perfect voice to be the voice of Leah. It’s the perfect tone and emotion telling this story.

Wow! Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea was such a powerful read! This book covers a lot of heavy topics that may be difficult for some to read. However, the way Jessica Guerrieri writes about these topics was both heartbreaking and very moving at the same time.

Leah, Amy, and Christine all struggle with varying aspects, difficulties, and major challenges of motherhood. Throughout this time, Leah keeps thinking back to her younger self and her original life goals. She keeps going back and forth between her current life as a mother and an artist versus what could have been. In the midst of this, there is the looming destruction of addiction.

This book beautifully shows the struggles and complex relationships many families, friends, partners, etc. may face. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus for an advanced listening copy of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Jessica Guerrieri. This book comes out on May 13, 2025 and this story will stick with me for a long time!

This is a story that will stick with me for a very long time. It’s about Leah, a free spirit who unexpectedly gives up her life as a surfing artist living out of her van due to an unplanned pregnancy and marries into a tight knit family taking on a more traditional mother/wife role. The story is told in the first person so we see first hand Leah’s reactions and feelings as she examines her life both past and present and her conflicting feelings of regret, resentment, love, and happiness and her road to coping through alcohol. This book comes with many content and trigger warnings for substance abuse, child neglect, and pregnancy loss, among others. I felt like this was a very raw and interesting way to tell the story of addiction and the struggles of motherhood.

The audiobook narration was so well done. The flow of the story is perfect and the realness and emotion of the characters were conveyed so well. This would be such a good book club choice for all the topics that could be discussed at length.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for the advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

At the end of the book the author talks about her own sobriety and says “𝘐’𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭” and this is the truth we forget when we talk about people suffering addiction and this books was a layered, complex and raw look at how easy it is to slip into alcoholism and also as outsiders how easy it is to pass judgement without scope.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea we meet Leah at first she is incredibly likeable, humorous, vibrant, the star in any room: a mother of three, wife to a husband with a close knit family, artist and free spirit. But Leah, has lost herself along the way in the monotony of motherhood, being a wife and having no time for the things that once sparked her fire. Leahs behaviour slowly changes, her attitude, her anger, her pain are palpable and her drinking a crutch that slowly evolves.

Guerrieri does an excellent job of peeling back the layers in this book, loving Leah then deploring her, but also sympathizing, empathizing with her inner turmoil. It’s not simple, it’s incredibly nuanced and I think as a writer in recovery it is told with a tender and honest lens. If you or someone you love has struggled with addiction this book will be emotionally difficult and gratifying, and if this is not something to cross your path it’s a strong story about resilience and healing.

I was moved by this story and could tell it was written by someone who’s been through it, while also encompassing a story with plot and interest. Beautiful relationships, hard lessons, and the fight for oneself, I can’t wait to see what Guerrieri writes next.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Jessica Guerrieri really hits hard. It follows Leah, this once-carefree artist who ends up in full-blown mom mode after an unexpected pregnancy. Fast-forward a decade and she’s drowning in responsibilities, fighting with her in-laws, and using alcohol to cope. It’s messy in the most honest way.

What really got me is how raw it all feels—like you’re inside her head while she’s trying to hold it all together and falling apart at the same time. The dynamic with her mother-in-law is especially intense—Christine is the picture-perfect mom Leah never wanted to be, but feels like she’s supposed to become.

Guerrieri doesn’t sugarcoat anything, especially the stuff about addiction and identity. It’s super relatable if you’ve ever felt stuck between who you were and who life turned you into. It’s emotional, kind of chaotic, but really powerful. Definitely worth reading if you like character-driven stories that feel brutally real.

Oh, my heart. If you like books that navigate the tough stuff, then be sure to give BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA by Jessica Guerrieri a go. This debut gives readers a raw and realistic look at motherhood, the sacrifices women make, and how easily one can lose herself in the midst of it.

Having children wasn’t necessarily in Leah O’Connor’s life plan, but an unexpected pregnancy steers her in a different direction than what she envisioned. Like a lot of mothers, Leah tends to reminisce about life before kids, the hobbies and interests once enjoyed, endless free time, career aspirations, etc. Leah seems super focused on the what-ifs from her past, and in combination with feeling frustrated in how all of the parenting responsibilities fall on her, she turns to the bottle to cope. Her social drinking suddenly turns problematic.

In the throes of motherhood, it’s quite common to experience some sort of identity crisis. It’s a major life change, and without proper support, it can get taxing. This novel takes a deep dive into the complexities of family life—both immediate and extended—and how such relationships can become strained. The subject matter is dark and heavy at times as it deals with alcoholism, yet the author handles it with great care.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Family drama and dynamics
- Female friendship
- Reflections on motherhood
- Realistic and relatable characters
- Marriage issues
- Artist lifestyle
- Character-driven novels
- Emotional reads
- Addiction and alcoholism stories

Overall, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA is a super solid debut that I highly recommend! I’m looking forward to reading more from Guerrieri! Out May 13th! 4/5 stars!