The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
⭐⭐- Not Really My Thing
Kindle & Audible: US or CA
Morning Readers & Happy Friday!
This week has been a bit of a challenge reading wise, I’m not sure if it was a poor choice of books but it just fell a little flat for me. I was hoping for a ‘feel good’ book when I picked this one up and while it did deliver in that regard I feel like it was better suited as a teen read more than anything.
Linus Baker, a by-the-book caseworker who inspects orphanages for magical children. When he’s sent on a secret assignment to a remote island, he meets a group of unique kids and their charming caretaker, Arthur Parnassus. As Linus grows closer to them, he begins to question the rules he’s always lived by and what truly makes a family. This is a story about acceptance, belonging, and finding the courage to build the life you deserve.
As I said, it just fell a little flat. The writing was basic, the world building was not quite there, the characters of the children felt like an afterthought to the case worker and the caretaker, and the message felt… dragged out? While I love a good story of acceptance and taking people as they are, the ‘antichrist child can be good’ scheme felt a little lack luster. I haven’t heard of or read any of TJ’s other books, and this would definitely put me on the fence unless I found one that really stood out to me.
This one quote did happen to stand out to me:
So, if your teen at home needs a feel good story or you’d love to support an LGBTQ author & story line, this one might still sing to you, even though it wasn’t really my thing.
Happy Reading!
-Anna R.
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Kindle & Audible: US or CA
The Weekend Readers 
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