Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: The House in the Cerulean Sea

AUTHOR: TJ Klune

NARRATOR: Daniel Henning

PUBLISHER: Macmillan Audio

LENGTH: 23 hours, 12 minutes

RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020

BLURB:

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.

REVIEW:

What a treat this book was, it was truly mesmerising. Klune has done it again. He created a wonderful and quirky world and amazing characters that will capture every reader and listener’s heart. And these kids… they will melt hearts everywhere – Lucy included. … Which is something I never thought I would say about the Antichrist. But that is Klune for you, he can make you fall for anyone.

I didn’t quite know which rabbit hole Klune was going to lead me into with this book, I did know it would be epic and that I would love every second of it. And I was right. He introduces us to Linus, a social worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. Linus is detailed oriented and follows everything to the letter of the laws, rules and regulations, he never puts a toe out of line, he’s thorough and matter of fact. Which is why the Extremely Upper Management tasks him with assessing an orphanage, classified level four. To put it mildly he has no idea what he’s getting himself into. These children are anything but regular – even for magical standards. They will also capture your heart, make you se buttons in a new light, want to stop and smell the flowers and take note of the wonders in life.

There are so many things to love about this book, everything if I’m being honest. I loved the world-building and characters, the uniqueness of it all. And the sense of place that was so present all the way, Klune made you feel the stifled air in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, feel the rules and regulations bearing down on you. Just as he made you feel the freedom of the orphanage, the joy of the children, Linus’ need to do right, to help.

I would say that with this book Klune will reach a wider mainstream audience. There are many great gay and m/m books out there, but sometimes I feel that it’s not about writing a good book. It’s about getting heard, and with so many loud voices in the world it’s getting harder and harder to reach over the noise. But with this book I believe Klune will reach a new and wider audience.

This was my first encounter with Daniel Henning. At first I wasn’t sold on his narration, but that didn’t last long. He really was the perfect choice of narrator for this book. I loved all his voices for the children, he made you feel the mischief and a playfulness of the children. And he juggled all of them effortlessly and perfectly. There’s one scene I particularly remember and it’s between Lucy and Arthur, the caretaker. Lucy was on one of is doom and gloom, end the world kind of rant, having Linus more and more terrified, only to have Arthur drolly snuff it all out with loss of privileges. It was so spot on in so many aspects. I could see this 6 year-old boy in front of me. Plying with the lines, testing limits, he was definitely testing Linus, which was a lot of fun – for everyone but him I imagine.

I would easily recommend The House in the Cerulean Sea to anyone and everyone looking for some magic in their lives. The children are awesome, Linus is quirky and it’s all wrapped up in humour and sense of family that will warm your heart for a long time.

RATING:

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