Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

44 reviews

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Fatphobia, Grief, Bullying, Confinement, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Forced institutionalization

sophie42's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Xenophobia, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Grief and Fire/Fire injury

fiveredhens's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing 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? No

3.75

idk... relaxing style but the metaphor was very hamfisted 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia

Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Cultural appropriation, and Xenophobia

m0usey's review

hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A really cute and fun read. There are some darker themes but it’s not tragic, and it feels good to read. Also, the world building is so good!! The picture the author paints of the world and of the characters jumps off the page and is totally immersive.

Overall it’s a lovely little love story about found family, finding happiness, and just a little bit of magic.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, and Confinement

angelfireeast24's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Child abuse

Moderate: Confinement, Death of parent, and Grief

isaaah's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Self harm

nebraskanwriter's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book touched my heart so deeply, it reached inside of me and warmed me to my core. All of the children were so precious, even Lucifer.  What a lovely, feel good story. It made me feel warm and cozy, like sitting next to a nice fire. 

This was my face the entire time reading it: 🥺

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Homophobia, Child abuse, Xenophobia, Bullying, Abandonment, Ableism, and Medical content

bookishchef's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

So I gave this a 4,5 when I originally read it. 

But I have since then v much changed my mind about TJ Klune and whether I condone him taking the Sixties Scoop as a form of inspiration. 

So now it's 2 stars. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Xenophobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Confinement, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, and Physical abuse

kamiellen's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"And what a party it was. There was food—so much so that Linus thought the table would collapse under the weight of it. There was roast and hot rolls and salad with cucumbers that crunched between their teeth. There was cake and pie and bowls of tart raspberries they could dip in cream.

And music! All kinds of music. There was a record player sitting on the counter, and the day the music died was bright and loud with Ritchie and Buddy and the Big Bopper singing from beyond. Lucy was in charge, and he never failed to disappoint.

They laughed on this day. Oh, how they laughed. Even though Linus thought his heart was breaking, he laughed until there were tears in his eyes, until he was sure his sides would split. As the sun began to set and the lanterns grew brighter, they laughed and laughed and laughed."
• • •

On paper, this book was right up my alley: gay romance, misfit children, magical beings, a home on the sea, a small town, outdoor adventures, cynicism becoming optimism, confronting discrimination, sticking it to the man... And the truth is, I liked it! Bit I didn't love it. It didn't blow me away. As heartwarming as it was, I felt that the world-building was lacking, some of the character development was lackluster, and the writing was littered with clichés—and that really reduced the impact of the story for me. Nevertheless, we love gay happy endings!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Bullying, Colonisation, Abandonment, Child abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

kbairbooks's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Yes. Just yes. I saw someone describe this in a similar way but it is a warm and bright and COLORFUL and happy queer hug. I fucking loved it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Child abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Grief, and Hate crime

Minor: Cannibalism and Car accident