A review by rosska22
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

4.0

This book was good. All of TJ Klune's books are good. I liked this book a lot. However. This is my least favorite TJ Klune book so far. I can't really explain this to you unless you're also a big fan of Into This River I Drown, the Green Creek Series, Murumuration, etc., but this one felt...hang on I just figured it out, actually, this one felt more like a stock best seller. It feels like any other book I'd pick up on an endcap at Barnes and Noble. Into This River felt personal. I felt like I was actively cracking down the middle anytime Benji started to drown in his grief. With Green Creek, every time the main character shifted with the start of a new book, I immediately felt myself get pulled towards them as my favorite character, despite the fact that in the last book the other guy was my favorite character. I felt their pain as if it was my own. The House in the Cerulean Sea was a good book. Undoubtedly. But it didn't really feel like a TJ Klune book. I never felt gripped by any of the characters. It was entertaining. It was sweet. But it was also pretty rote. It all went exactly how you expected it to go. Would I read a sequel? Absolutely. Did I enjoy this? Yes. I just like his other stuff a little more.

(If you are TJ Klune and you are reading this review, I am SO SORRY, I really love you, and I really like this book. I just like the other ones more.)