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A review by keen
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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
I came into this book immensely hesitant. I'm not a fan of romance. I find most stories to be either be too quick with the development, or so slow I forget it was even a part of the book. And overall, it's just not my thing. Additionally, I'm a fan of horror and thriller stories. So, aside from the urban fantasy and found family aspects, I thought I wouldn't get much from a "lighthearted" and "romance" book. This was not helped by me finding the main character, Linus, to be a very different protagonist than I expected: A 40-something year old child service worker with a stuffy, distant attitude.
I teared up three times, and by the epilogue, my eyes were so wet I had to wipe them with a paper towel to be able to see the words on the screen.
I very rarely cry from any story. When I do, I know it has ensnared me. I also very rarely think about books in terms of "Boy, I really wish people would write fanfiction about this." So imagine my surprise when I read nearly seven chapters straight.
The romance isn't the main aspect of this story. The main love story is Linus taking on a fatherly role towards the children in the 'orphanage' and how those kids grow to love him. The way each character developed was so subtle I barely noticed how much had changed until the end.
One complaint I had while reading this story was, "How is this described as lighthearted and middle-school reading?" The story almost feels dystopian at first. A society blatantly prejudiced against the supernatural, going as far as to harm children in its hatred. I'm a black, trans-masc person, so some parts of this story took me by such surprise that I was actually uncomfortable.
But that's not an actually a complaint. By the end of the story, I understood. It's a story about overcoming your own bigotry, learning from people you never expected to interact with (much less care for), and taking the first steps in changing society. Parts of this story gets dark, but I would happily hand this book to a pre-teen.
This story literally made me feel brighter. It made me more confident about choosing the best path in my life, no matter what society says it should be.
I teared up three times, and by the epilogue, my eyes were so wet I had to wipe them with a paper towel to be able to see the words on the screen.
I very rarely cry from any story. When I do, I know it has ensnared me. I also very rarely think about books in terms of "Boy, I really wish people would write fanfiction about this." So imagine my surprise when I read nearly seven chapters straight.
The romance isn't the main aspect of this story. The main love story is Linus taking on a fatherly role towards the children in the 'orphanage' and how those kids grow to love him. The way each character developed was so subtle I barely noticed how much had changed until the end.
One complaint I had while reading this story was, "How is this described as lighthearted and middle-school reading?" The story almost feels dystopian at first. A society blatantly prejudiced against the supernatural, going as far as to harm children in its hatred. I'm a black, trans-masc person, so some parts of this story took me by such surprise that I was actually uncomfortable.
But that's not an actually a complaint. By the end of the story, I understood. It's a story about overcoming your own bigotry, learning from people you never expected to interact with (much less care for), and taking the first steps in changing society. Parts of this story gets dark, but I would happily hand this book to a pre-teen.
This story literally made me feel brighter. It made me more confident about choosing the best path in my life, no matter what society says it should be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cursing and Murder