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My rating: 5 of 5 stars (4.5 rounded up to a 5)
The House in the Cerulean Sea is the first fantasy novel I’ve read by TJ Klune. The eBook version is 394 pages. I listened to the Tor Books/Macmillan Audio audiobook, which clocks in at a little over 12 hours. I really loved narrator Daniel Henning, he did an amazing job with all of his different voices for all of the characters, especially the children.
Linus Baker is a middle-aged gay man working as a bureaucrat/case worker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DiCoMY). He is the definition of lawful good. His new assignment (from Extremely Upper Management) takes him far from the city where he works and lives, and sends him to a seaside orphanage to determine how likely the six dangerous magical children who live there could destroy the world. The master of the orphanage is one Arthur Parnassus, an amazing father-figure who would light the world on fire to keep the children safe.
If you like slow-burn romances, or found families, this is a great book to pick up. The main romance involves a queer relationship, and there are other queer relationships sprinkled throughout the book as well. This book is chock full of heart; a reminder that it’s important to focus on really living and loving your life.
All that being said, it’s worth mentioning that this book is problematic due to the fact that the author used the horrible history of Residential Schools as his inspiration.
Tropes in this book include: older heroes (30+), slow burn romance, found family
CW: brief descriptions of past child abuse, exploration of trauma
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