The House in the Cerulean Sea

by TJ Klune

Audiobook

English language

Published March 17, 2020 by Macmillan Audio.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-26429-9
OCLC Number:: 1145122901
ASIN:: B084BS795T
Audible ASIN:: 1250264294
ISFDB ID:: 2680976
Goodreads:: 53271469

(4 reviews)

Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.

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

10 editions

Phil in SF reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Cerulean Chronicles, #1)

Delightful character arc

4 stars

Content warning revelation of Linus Baker's character arc may reveal the gist of the plot

Linus Baker evaluates orphanages that house magical children. For some reason, the department he works for is extremely rigid and controlling for their workers (they issue demerits to workers??!). But he's given the assignment to investigate one orphanage by Extremely Upper Management. For reasons I never quite understood, this orphanage is different. Extremely Upper Management pays special attention to them, and nearby residents fear the magical children extra vehemently.

Despite a premise that doesn't quite hold together, a delightful story emerges during Linus Baker's 4 week visit to the orhpanage. The children are kooky! The headmaster, Arthur Parnassus, and Linus Baker develop a friendship. Linus gets to learn that maintaining a distance and objectivity limits him, and he gets to break out of a decades long deference to authority and fear of connection.

If you listen to the audiobook as I did, Daniel Henning does a wonderful job of voicing a multitude of characters that gets to the essence of each of the children and adults. I often find it hard to follow audiobooks with lots of characters, but Henning's narration does such a great job of making each of them distinct and memorable that I had no problems.

ansate reviewed House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Finished

No rating

I was iffy in the beginning and well into the middle, but i cried over children for the last couple of chapters. (Im not sure i actually care that much about any of the adults??)

cliftonmr reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

A nice read

No rating

I don't know what I was expecting when I picked this book up, but it turned out to be a charming gay romance story but also so much more.

John McChesney-Young reviewed House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Review of 'House in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Sweet romantic queer dramedy with charming magical children. My only two complaints are that the general course of the plot was predictable from quite near the beginning and that the Underlying Message was conveyed entirely without subtlety. It's a good message, mind you, but I prefer the moral of the story to be offered rather than being hot over the head with it. But it's a fun and quick read and I definitely recommend it.