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

Hello, book lovers! 💕

I know we’re already halfway into January, but I thought I’d talk about my Reading Goals for 2021 today. Maybe by writing it all down will somehow hold me accountable for sticking to them. If nothing else, I hope to have a year full of reading and good books (one can only hope all the books I read are good). Even if I don’t manage to reach all my goals by the end of the year.

But anyway, I don’t have too many goals for this year, mainly because I suck at sticking to them and I don’t want to make reading into something that feels like work or something that’s stressful.

So without any further ado, let’s get onto my 2021 reading goals!

To think that I’ve been doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge for ten years. That’s kind of hard to wrap my head around. But I started doing that challenge back in 2011 (though I think I started late that year, which is why I only read 5 books).

So it goes without saying that one of my goals for 2021 is the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I set my goal for this year at 65, since I was able to read more than that last year. But this is where I don’t want to put too much stress on myself to reach that goal. I know that some people don’t count comics or manga in that number, but I don’t think I would be able to reach that many books read if I didn’t. As long as Goodreads counts it as a book read, I’m counting it as a book read.

That’s my main goal for 2021, but I also have a couple other smaller goals that I want to achieve this year. Those include not how many books I read, but the types of books I read.

I’m always looking to read more diverse books, whether that’s a diverse author or main character. Or even setting where the book takes place. I don’t want to feel like I’m reading about the same character regurgitated into different books.

I want to be pushed out of my comfort zone when it comes to the books that I’m reading. So that includes reading different genres than I’m used to. I tend to gravitate towards YA fiction and fantasy, and last year I began to branch out into Adult fiction, even some mystery/thriller books. I want to continue that journey. I want to read more books in genres that I have never or rarely read. The main ones being Adult fiction, Mystery/thriller, and Middle Grade.

Then there’s the goal of lowering my TBR and not buying as many books. I put this as a goal of mine every year, but I never seem to stick to it. While my TBR isn’t nearly as long as some people’s, it’s still longer than I would like. But I keep adding books to it because books keep coming out or I keep discovering new books that I want to read. It’s a never ending cycle, so I don’t think that goal is ever truly obtainable.

As for not buying as many books, well that’s something I’ve always struggled with. And I am trying not to buy as many, mainly because I’m running out of physical space in my room to store so many books. But I still buy ebooks, so I can’t really win. I know I could be using the library (and I do sometimes), but with the pandemic, I’m not comfortable borrowing physical books. I do borrow audiobooks and ebooks sometimes though.

So there you have it. Those are my 2021 Reading Goals. I’m already on track for my Goodreads goal as well as reading diverse books as of right now. Hopefully I can keep it up as the months go on.

What are some goals you have for this year? Are you good at sticking to your reading goals? I’d love to chat in the comments below!

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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