The House in the Cerulean Sea by R.J. Klune | Book Review

Hello, book lovers! 💕

The following is from Goodreads:

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

My Thoughts:

I feel like I had been hearing about this book for awhile before I actually picked it up. And everything I had heard had been amazing things even though it only came out six months ago.

I absolutely adored it in every possible way. It deserves all of the hype that surrounds it; it’s just so heartwarming and charming. Magical and whimsical. I don’t have enough words to describe how beautifully written this book is and how powerful the message was of not judging people based on their appearances. That it’s better to be kind towards everyone regardless of if they look different from you. They can still be great gardeners, bellhops, or writers if they’re only given the chance.

That brings me to the children who live on the island. All of them are so unique and charming. I found myself growing attached to them by the end of the story. I got angry for them for the way that they were treated by the people who lived in the village. I felt personally attacked whenever someone mistreated one of them.

And Linus. I loved his character development. He went from being kind of dreary and a man who stayed to himself to someone who not only stood up for himself but also those he cared about. I liked how the romance was subtle throughout the story. It wasn’t in your face or anything. The story was more focused on Linus’ character development and learning about the kids. It was a breath of fresh air, even though that’s a pretty cliché way to describe it, and there was nothing cliché about this book.

I feel like I could go on forever about how much I loved this book. I couldn’t find anything that I didn’t like about it. In my eyes, it was pretty close to perfect. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I definitely would. I’d honestly give it all the stars.

So there you have it. My thoughts on my new favorite book. I feel like a lot of people have already read this book, but if you haven’t, I’d highly recommend you picking it up. I don’t think you’d be disappointed. I’d love to discuss this in the comments below if you’ve read it or plan on reading it!

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