The House in the Cerulean Sea: An Uplifting, Heartwarming Cosy Fantasy: 1 (Cerulean Chronicles, 1)

This was an incredible story! It has such charm and character. The premise of the story was excellent and it was just a pure joy to read. The cover is beautiful and I love the colours. Especially the sea. It was a beautiful design that complimented the book perfectly. The writing is exquisite and the story flowed well. I loved that it was in third person point of view. Linus was the star of the book as it was his perspective. The setting was stunning and TJ's world-building is flawless. The village of Marsyas and the island where the house is are wonderful. I especially love the island. The characters were wonderful. They were so rich and well thought out. Character development was strong. I adored Linus, Arthur, Zoe, Helen and the six children. They were all wonderful. There were some downright mean characters who were prejudice towards the children. Lucy especially but he was much too smart for them! I definitely recommend this book. I had such a wonderful time reading it and can't wait to read the next installment.

Now that I’ve read The House in the Cerulean Sea I can’t believe it took me so long to read it, but I’m so glad this story was my first novel of 2021. 40-year-old Linus Baker has been working as a Case Worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth for many years and, though he leads a solitary and rather humdrum life, he takes pride in his work making sure that orphanages for magical, non-human children are taking good care of their charges. He never lets himself get attached to the children—until he’s sent to Marsyas Island Orphanage, run by a Mr. Arthur Parnassus, where six extraordinary, potentially dangerous children are living. There’s Talia the garden gnome; Chauncey the tentacle ‘monster’; Sal the were-Pomeranian; Theodore the wyvern; Phee the forest sprite; and Lucy, the son of Satan. Linus must live with them for a month, reporting back to DICOMY, and decide if the orphanage should stay open. And DICOMY would prefer it if he didn’t fall in love with Arthur and his little family of misfits while he’s there. The House in the Cerulean Sea is a big, warm, comforting hug wrapped up in a novel, and it’s one of the most hopeful fantasy novels I’ve read. If you’re looking for a book that will bring you shameless joy and fill your heart to the point where you think it might burst, then look no further than this one. It’s such a tender story and a love letter to found families. As Arthur himself states, calling his house an orphanage makes no sense; no one is coming to adopt these children, as far as Arthur is concerned the children are his, and as such he is incredibly protective of them. Unfortunately he needs to be in a world where magical and non-human people are treated like monsters that need to be feared, to the point where some of the children believe it themselves. With Arthur, however, they’re given a chance at a childhood where they’re able to learn and play and express themselves without having to worry about being punished simply for existing. The orphanage might be where these children live, but Arthur is their home. It would be so easy for this novel to be twee and so overly sweet it could cause cavities, but Klune writes these children so well and in such a way that it’s impossible not to fall in love with them. They all have their own strong personalities, and their own issues to work through, but at their heart they’re all children who are desperate to be loved and desperate for a place they can call home. Linus and Arthur are also utterly lovely and it was so refreshing to read a romance blossoming between two adults in their forties, one of whom is a little overweight and whose hair is thinning. Linus isn’t a young Case Worker who’s fresh on the job and learning the truth behind some of the behaviour DICOMY’s strict rules are allowing, but a man who’s been trying to do his best for children for years and is finally able to discover the courage he’s needed to say what he really thinks when he falls in love with this little family, and having an older protagonist at the centre of this novel made the story all the more powerful for me. You don’t have to be 25 and classically handsome to change the world, and some of the smallest changes we make can make the biggest ripples. This story reads like a Middle Grade novel from the point of view of the adults and it’s wonderful. I can’t recommend it enough.

This is a great book about acceptance and kindness made all the better by also being magical! Linus Baker is summonsed by Extremely Upper Management and given his most important assignment yet - to investigate an orphanage for exceptional children... one if whom is the antichrist.... but obviously no one calls him that as it would be very rude! Linus was chosen for this task as he is known for always sticking to the rules... no one could have expected him to get to know and adore this unusual bunch of kids... or the master of the orphanage! This is a lovely book - a funny, quirky style of writing that kept me entertained. The kids, and other beings, are great fun. Lucy is hilarious... and yet there is also a real sadness and vulnerability that runs throughout. This is quite a long book and I'm not sure if its not a bit too long. My attention wavered a bit in the middle before picking up again at the end. I was expecting this to be a kids book - its not... the messages of acceptance in it are for everyone... whether you happen to be the son of the devil or a lowly case worker!

I feel like this book has been on my TBR pile for quite some time now, and I've heard a lot of good things about the author, TJ Klune. I'm not sure why it took me so long to read it, but I really wish I'd picked it up much quicker than I have done. It was one of the softest, most comforting stories I've read in a while now - exactly what I needed, and honestly, the sort of book I've been longing for just lately. The characters are vibrant and loveable, the setting is interesting and well thought out, and the writing was like sinking into a comfortable armchair after a long day. It was cosy and funny in turns, while dealing with some very real issues in a sensitive and clever manner. Linus Baker, the main character, is someone you can't help but cheer for. He leads an incredibly lonely and boring life at the beginning of the book, working in a job where he's treated poorly by his superiors and colleagues alike, for a governing body that you can immediately tell isn't the most ethical. He stays, in part, because it's what he knows, but also because he believes the work he's doing is important and helpful. There's no point in the story where as a reader I felt his heart wasn't always in the right place, even if sometimes I wanted to reach through the pages and give him a gentle shake. The characters around him seem to be able to tell this about him instinctually, even though they have cause to be very wary, and I really appreciated the pace the author developed the trust and friendships between Linus and the other occupants of Marsyas Island, especially the children. The way he grows to care for them, to let down his protective barriers, and the way they all value him in turn really speaks to that place in my heart that will always be in love with the "found family" trope. The relationship between Linus and Arthur was particularly interesting to me, not only because I love a good romance, but also because of how naturally they seemed to fall together. There were points early on where I thought Arthur somehow knew Linus ahead of time, though that never came to anything, and I loved the way they seemed to genuinely just enjoy each other's company. You don't see that as much in romances, sadly, but I'm a big fan of couples who actually like each other as people, and as soon as Linus and Arthur began to bicker about philosophy, I knew I was going down with this ship. I've said this in other reviews, but it's easy in queer lit to end up dealing with very heavy subject matter, and I was happy to see no big fuss was made about anyone's sexuality. In fact, I don't believe it was ever brought up negatively at all by any of the characters. That's the sort of thing I wish I could have seen more of as a teenager, instead of it always being treated as the most tragic thing in the world to be gay. That said, there were some other heavy themes in the story, but as I mentioned above, all of it was handled very elegantly and with a great deal of care. There is an emphasis on being different from the "norm" and the ensuing persecution and prejudice this brings, but it was written in a way that I think a lot of younger readers would be able to see and understand the point without it ever being heavy-handed. Another point was that the adult characters always protected the children to the best of their abilities, keeping the overall tone of the book fairly safe despite the subject matter, and I think that's something that's incredibly important. I loved this book. If you're looking for cosy, happy, urban fantasy with fairly low stakes, then this is for you.

Linus Baker is a case-worker for the Department of Magical Youth. It is his job to inspect orphanages and schools for Magical Youth and offer his recommendations as to whether they are fit for purpose. Linus is good at his job, he knows the rules and regulations off by heart and is always objective. It is these qualities that lead to Extremely Upper Management singling him out for a special case. However, when Linus finds himself on the Island of Marsyas, tasked with inspecting the orphanage there run by Arthur Parnassus, an orphanage like no other, he is completely unprepared for what awaits him! Having read rave reviews for The House in the Cerulean Sea, this was a highly anticipated read, and I was prepared to find myself disappointed if it didn't live up to expectations, however, thankfully that was not the case. I completely get the hype around the book, and have to say it is one of my favorite reads of the year so far. The first few chapters revolve around Linus' rather drab and mundane life working at DICOMY. The author writes with a rather quirky sense of humour, which did gain my attention from the off, and once Linus is set his special assignment, I was intrigued as to what he would uncover at the Marsyas Orphanage. It wasn't until Linus arrives at the Island though that I fell completely in love with this book, and after that it really was just a glorious escape of a read, guaranteed to put a smile on my face. In fact, I'm not sure I've read anything quite as uplifting in a while; this book is like a syrupy treat! The characters in this book were so vivid and full of life. The children at the orphanage in particular completely stole my heart, every single one of them, and often had me in stitches. I loved Arthur, and I also really enjoyed watching the change in Linus, how he was helpless but to fall in love with the children and way of life on the Island too, and just loosen up and learn to live in the moment, as opposed to by the rules. In fact I thought Linus made for rather a refreshing and unlikely hero, and I also enjoyed the little sprinkling of romance in the book too. The book is not very heavy on plot or action, it is in essence a simple story, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of it. In many ways this read like a sort of fable or fairy-tale for adults. It had strong messages and themes at its heart, and yes, sometimes these messages were hammered home a bit, and perhaps could have been conveyed a bit more subtly, but that didn't stop the themes from resonating. This is a story about acceptance, of not judging people because they are different or fearing them for their differences. Whilst in the book these themes are explored in relation to Magical Beings and how they are treated and viewed by humans, they are of course just as translatable in real life. The book highlights the dangers of bureaucracy, whilst also championing the power of the voices of the few, because even if just one person makes a stand, it can trigger a change. The story also encourages one to be brave, both in terms of standing up for those around you and challenging views, but also in terms of living one's own life. It can be easy to become complacent, to accept one's lot, even if deep down one wishes for something else or to be somewhere else, and I loved this aspect of Linus' arc, in terms of how he found a more fulfilling life by being a little braver and more adventurous. Overall, this was a really refreshing and heart-warming read, with a unique voice and style, important themes and wonderful characters who will stay with me for a long time.

This is one of the rare examples of a novel, which truly deserves the hype that was created around it. It starts quite slowly. We are introduced to Linus Baker, a diligent worker of the Department in Charge of Magical Youths, who loves his job and memorises the book of Rules and Regulations. His role is to investigate the orphanages for magical children and decide if they should remain open or close. Linus takes pride in his ability to stay objective and detached from the kids whose fate depends on his decisions. This is about to change, when the Extremely Upper Management sends him to investigate the orphanage on the Marysas Island and its unusual inhabitants... The House in the Cerulean Sea is not a first story about an institution for magical or special children, but T J Klune managed to create a unique and memorable story. This is achieved mainly through the imaginative cast of characters. They are all original and well-written with strong personalities, habits, background and their own trauma. I will not dwell on them, as the delightful amazement I felt on their first appearance was something I would not want to spoil for other readers. From the very beginning, this book touches on the important topics of tolerance, acceptance, friendship and respect. Even as a faithful member of DICOMY, Linus respects the children’s abilities and problems, and criticise the slightest mistreatment. This book is sweet and heart-warming, emotional and entertaining. I would recommend this enchanting read to everyone.

This is a charming, though undemanding book. It's all about wholesome personal growth and redemption, acceptance and tolerance (a pointed message in today's political climate). The children are cool characters - I have a great soft spot for the Antichrist, there. Though the burgeoning relationship between Linus and Arthur is rather too saccharine sweet for me, the trope of found family rings loud bells. As I say, an undemanding read. A decent stress reliever if you need one.

I found this book very well written. It’s not my usual type of read however, I owned this book (it was purchased for me as a gift into fantasy reading). The author writes well for its reader, it’s light but also has an impactful message I believe. I got the message. I got the message loud and clear. I really did receive that message! Several times! So that made it a bit “preachy” for me. I don’t believe anyone should be discriminated against and I’d fight for that to death. So, for me in those terms I found it repeatedly annoying, give up already….. The point was made. The main character was a lonely sound but enjoyed his aloneness. Nothing wrong in that. Some may find it odd, I find it quite insightful. The fantasy side of this was light enough for me to deal with. But can I just say about the cover…. This cover. Love it. I just didn’t live this book as much as some did.