Between the devil and the deep blue sea : a novel / Jessica Guerrieri.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

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.

"Sure to resonate with readers who like complex family stories." --Library Journal

"This nuanced story . . . is sensitively portrayed. Readers of Marian Keyes will be moved." --Booklist

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.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

DEBUT Set in a coastal California town, Guerrieri's first novel examines the intricacies of motherhood, friendship, and the pull between perfection and self-identity. Leah, a professional artist and mother of three, navigates the turbulence of her personal life. Her relationships with her husband's close-knit family, especially as they collaborate to open a restaurant in honor of matriarch Christine, are fraught with tension. At the heart of the narrative is Leah's evolving friendship with her sister-in-law Amy, a bond forged through shared struggles and unspoken family secrets. Leah is a compelling protagonist whose internal battles--a longing for freedom, a phantom self lost to the demands of child-rearing, and an increasing dependence on alcohol--are achingly relatable. Guerrieri's prose conveys her protagonist's feelings of being a prisoner within her own life with piercing clarity. The men in the story take a backseat to the novel's true focus: the complex dynamics among women, especially mothers and daughters. VERDICT A raw, honest look at the lives we construct and the pieces of ourselves we leave behind. This powerful debut is sure to resonate with readers who like complex family stories.--Alicia Rogers

Booklist Review

Free-spirited artist Leah is traveling California's northern coast, surfing and painting, when she meets Lucas O'Connor, who sweeps her off her feet. But marrying into the close-knit O'Connor family proves difficult, and Leah's relationship with her mother-in-law, Christine, is strained. Christine's closeness with Leah and Lucas' daughter Joni is a source of resentment, and Leah feels like Christina refuses to accept anyone who doesn't fit her uptight vision of wife and mother. Leah's best friend and sister-in-law Amy also struggles with adapting to the O'Connor ways. Neglected as a child, Amy longs for connection, eventually growing closer to Christine during her long-awaited pregnancy. Feeling abandoned, Leah starts drinking more, which gradually threatens her relationships. Debut author Guerrieri draws upon personal experience for this nuanced story of a woman in crisis. Leah's gradual slide into alcoholism is sensitively portrayed, and her path to sobriety, with its ups and downs, is authentic. Leah is not always a likable character, but as readers follow her story, they'll root for her recovery. Readers of Marian Keyes will be moved by this family drama.