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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
I got about halfway through and gave up. Sorry, TJ Klune, I am trying so hard to enjoy your earlier writing, because Cerulean Sea is such magic, but... it's a struggle for me.
In fairness, this novel has a few elements against me enjoying it from jump. This is in first person narration, which is not my favorite. It's about a fallen guardian angel, and (from the just-shy of half I read) relies on broadly Christian ideas of God, Heaven, etc., for worldbuilding, which is not something I enjoy either. It's another early twenties protagonist stuck in his small PNW hometown after a family tragedy leaves him with outsized responsibility, although here (as opposed to Bear,Otter, and the Kid) the protag wants to be there. But where that universe was farcical and entertaining, this one is brooding and sulky, which is a drag. Benji, the MC, is understandably grief-stricken, but being in his POV means that the reader is subjected to his rambling train of thought, him telling us what he is thinking instead of the story showing us. And it's just slow-moving and dull, with little to lighten or even vary the mood.
I'm going to keep trying Klune, because I do appreciate the queer writing, but I'm not going to have my hopes up, or try to push through things I am just not enjoying.
In fairness, this novel has a few elements against me enjoying it from jump. This is in first person narration, which is not my favorite. It's about a fallen guardian angel, and (from the just-shy of half I read) relies on broadly Christian ideas of God, Heaven, etc., for worldbuilding, which is not something I enjoy either. It's another early twenties protagonist stuck in his small PNW hometown after a family tragedy leaves him with outsized responsibility, although here (as opposed to Bear,Otter, and the Kid) the protag wants to be there. But where that universe was farcical and entertaining, this one is brooding and sulky, which is a drag. Benji, the MC, is understandably grief-stricken, but being in his POV means that the reader is subjected to his rambling train of thought, him telling us what he is thinking instead of the story showing us. And it's just slow-moving and dull, with little to lighten or even vary the mood.
I'm going to keep trying Klune, because I do appreciate the queer writing, but I'm not going to have my hopes up, or try to push through things I am just not enjoying.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow!!!
You don't read a TJ Klune book, you savor it.
I adored this book. Benji is without a doubt one of my favorite characters of 2018. I don't think i have read about a character who had so much love in his heart for his father. I felt his pain, I cried with him and for him.
I don't know if it is TJ's writing style or just the world he creates because it is like poetry, it just flows so wonderfully.
You don't read a TJ Klune book, you savor it.
I adored this book. Benji is without a doubt one of my favorite characters of 2018. I don't think i have read about a character who had so much love in his heart for his father. I felt his pain, I cried with him and for him.
I don't know if it is TJ's writing style or just the world he creates because it is like poetry, it just flows so wonderfully.
Plan was to read it in one day. That’s normally what I do when reading T. J.’s books. The chemistry is so good I just can’t put the books down. I want to point out that I’ve read his 400+ page books in one day. Ok??
Not this one.
I started at 6 in the morning and finished it (while skimming some of the parts at the end) at 3 in the fucking morning.
Halfway through I remember thinking, “why isn’t this finished yet.”
So, yes. I do believe this book dragged on.
While I absolutely LOVED Benji and Big Eddie’s father/son relationship and could feel the PAIN of losing Big Eddie through Benji, the rest of the characters just didn’t feel… right. The mother/son relationship? It wasn’t good. As simple as that.
Cal was a lovely character. Fun.
Benji? I mean, I get it. It is about grief, Benji’s grief, but man, even I got tired of him and his ways.
Put them in a relationship and the Romance was just not there. It wasn’t there. Their love didn’t burn… and it was mostly Benji’s fault but yeah, no chemistry between the two. And all in all, the love story was just … not enough.
So, to my surprise, this wasn’t a 5⭐️ Klune book, but I still enjoyed it.
Not this one.
I started at 6 in the morning and finished it (while skimming some of the parts at the end) at 3 in the fucking morning.
Halfway through I remember thinking, “why isn’t this finished yet.”
So, yes. I do believe this book dragged on.
While I absolutely LOVED Benji and Big Eddie’s father/son relationship and could feel the PAIN of losing Big Eddie through Benji, the rest of the characters just didn’t feel… right. The mother/son relationship? It wasn’t good. As simple as that.
Cal was a lovely character. Fun.
Benji? I mean, I get it. It is about grief, Benji’s grief, but man, even I got tired of him and his ways.
Put them in a relationship and the Romance was just not there. It wasn’t there. Their love didn’t burn… and it was mostly Benji’s fault but yeah, no chemistry between the two. And all in all, the love story was just … not enough.
So, to my surprise, this wasn’t a 5⭐️ Klune book, but I still enjoyed it.
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 / 5
Into This River I Drown is one of T.J. Klune’s earliest works, and I could tell that he was trying to his build his writing muscles with this one. This is a story about grief, anger, and love, with some mythical/religious fantasy thrown in.
I have mixed feelings about this one, but overall I enjoyed it. There’s language that’s definitely reflective of the times that’s sort of cringey now. Some themes that I’ve come to truly love in Klune’s work, like found family, aren’t present in Into This River I Drown, which isn’t a bad thing but it’s worth noting if you’re binging his backlog like I am. There’s also very little of the humor that I’ve come to expect from him in this one as well.
The shining parts of this book, for me, are the intimate moments between Cal and Benji. They are so good together, and I loved Cal’s character a lot. Around the 70% mark there’s a really intense set of scenes that had me tearing through the pages. Unfortunately though, the pacing was back and forth and the final 15% sort of had me confused and just waiting for the ending. I think this book was set up to tie in heavily to a series TJ was going to write that he ended up abandoning? (I’m not sure yet, as I still need to read Burn, but it could also be Withered + Sere as well.) This attempt to tie in the two plots to explain some major things in this one didn’t make much sense to me though, and it also didn't help with the pacing.
Into This River I Drown is one of T.J. Klune’s earliest works, and I could tell that he was trying to his build his writing muscles with this one. This is a story about grief, anger, and love, with some mythical/religious fantasy thrown in.
I have mixed feelings about this one, but overall I enjoyed it. There’s language that’s definitely reflective of the times that’s sort of cringey now. Some themes that I’ve come to truly love in Klune’s work, like found family, aren’t present in Into This River I Drown, which isn’t a bad thing but it’s worth noting if you’re binging his backlog like I am. There’s also very little of the humor that I’ve come to expect from him in this one as well.
The shining parts of this book, for me, are the intimate moments between Cal and Benji. They are so good together, and I loved Cal’s character a lot. Around the 70% mark there’s a really intense set of scenes that had me tearing through the pages. Unfortunately though, the pacing was back and forth and the final 15% sort of had me confused and just waiting for the ending. I think this book was set up to tie in heavily to a series TJ was going to write that he ended up abandoning? (I’m not sure yet, as I still need to read Burn, but it could also be Withered + Sere as well.) This attempt to tie in the two plots to explain some major things in this one didn’t make much sense to me though, and it also didn't help with the pacing.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is truly beautiful in a heart wrenching way. The love felt between the characters is palpable and the author captures grief and grieving so well.
4.75 stars.
[b:Into This River I Drown|17213054|Into This River I Drown|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357498784l/17213054._SX50_.jpg|23695986], the story it tells and the characters within it, is unlike any other book I've ever read, and I think I'm in love with the way [a:T.J. Klune|5073330|T.J. Klune|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1546275989p2/5073330.jpg] tells a story. His writing style is wonderful, and I need to read more of his work.
There is so much packed within these pages. There's love. There's joy and family and grief. There is so much grief, and pain and tears, which on more than one occasion were my own. There's self discovery, acceptance, and betrayal. Really, I did not see that coming. There's green marshmallows and sunrises and ticklish spots and sunglasses and kisses and sex and hand-holding and-
-I just love these two, so very, very much.
My only criticism is that it felt too slow in places. I like build-up, I like having all these little details because that creates tension and intrigue. However, it felt like there was too much detail in some places, that it made the book feel like it was dragging on, and I got bored of reading about it at times.
Please, though. Don't let that put you off.
If you're just the slightest bit intrigued, then read this book.
I highly recommend it.
"This is at once the end and the beginning.
This is the story of my love of two men.
One is my father.
The other is a man who fell from the sky."
[b:Into This River I Drown|17213054|Into This River I Drown|T.J. Klune|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357498784l/17213054._SX50_.jpg|23695986], the story it tells and the characters within it, is unlike any other book I've ever read, and I think I'm in love with the way [a:T.J. Klune|5073330|T.J. Klune|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1546275989p2/5073330.jpg] tells a story. His writing style is wonderful, and I need to read more of his work.
There is so much packed within these pages. There's love. There's joy and family and grief. There is so much grief, and pain and tears, which on more than one occasion were my own. There's self discovery, acceptance, and betrayal. Really, I did not see that coming. There's green marshmallows and sunrises and ticklish spots and sunglasses and kisses and sex and hand-holding and-
"I take him out and buy him sungalsses.
He makes me buy a pair for myself as well, the same as his.
We look like idiots".
-I just love these two, so very, very much.
My only criticism is that it felt too slow in places. I like build-up, I like having all these little details because that creates tension and intrigue. However, it felt like there was too much detail in some places, that it made the book feel like it was dragging on, and I got bored of reading about it at times.
Please, though. Don't let that put you off.
If you're just the slightest bit intrigued, then read this book.
I highly recommend it.
