The House in the Cerulean Sea

by TJ Klune

Hardcover, 389 pages

English language

Published July 29, 2020 by Tor.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-21728-8

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 …

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

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.

12 editions

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

Cozy fantasy

5 stars

I recently learned about this term and I think it suites this novel perfectly. Fantasy definitely takes a backseat in this quirky novel, and I'd likely knock a bit off knowing it's part of a series as I do believe this book stands wonderfully by itself and shouldn't necessarily have a sequel. However, I don't think it's fair to remove a star without giving a second book a chance.

That being said, this novel made me very happy and 'cozy' inside while reading. The characters are unique and likeable and the relationships develop naturally. If you're looking for something action packed in a fantasy world, you won't find it here, but if like curling up with a cup of your favourite beverage and being with some fun characters and seeing some come out of their shell, you'll love this novel

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

A Sweet, Warming Book

4 stars

A caseworker for magical youth is sent on an extremely unusual mission...

This is one of those books that Hallmark movies are made of, but it manages to not fall into the overly saccharine pit that so many like it do. I could see some calling it a bit preachy or on the nose with its allegories for racism and other forms of bigotry, but I personally did not mind. I think it handled the plot and characters quite well, too.

Blue's Books reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by Daniel Henning

Imaginative and wholesome

No rating

The plot is predictable and some elements of the book lack finesse. The concept of Lucy doesn't make much sense, I think. Lucy's behavior in the story is consistent, though.

That being said, I did enjoy the audiobook. Marginalized, unusual creatures making the best of their situation and living good lives is just the kind of story I love.

The plot is predictable and some elements of the book lack finesse. The concept of Lucy doesn't make much sense, I think. Lucy's behavior in the story is consistent, though.

That being said, I did enjoy the audiobook. Marginalized, unusual creatures making the best of their situation and living good lives is just the kind of story I love.

Joy101 reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Cerulean Chronicles, #1)

None

No rating

(not provided)

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

Absolutely delightful

5 stars

Light-hearted, feel-good fantasy. Like some others have mentioned, the first few chapters were a little slow to get going but then it really took off

Jaelyn reviewed House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J. Klune

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

5 stars

His life of quiet compliance is interrupted when he is given a confidential case from Extremely Upper Management, who’s taken note of his rigorous application of the rules. A remote island orphanage that is home to six children classified as extremely dangerous including “a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist” under the tutelage of a headmaster who has little regard for rules and regulations.

During Linus’ stay, he starts …

Linus Baker is a caseworker for the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth where he has progressed little over his quiet life. Each time inspecting orphanages of magical youth, he rigorously applies the RULES AND REGULATIONS that guides how magical people should be handled in this world of quiet but persistent discrimination. What becomes of the children in the orphanages he issues a negative report on, he has never quite considered.

His life of quiet compliance is interrupted when he is given a confidential case from Extremely Upper Management, who’s taken note of his rigorous application of the rules. A remote island orphanage that is home to six children classified as extremely dangerous including “a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist” under the tutelage of a headmaster who has little regard for rules and regulations.

During Linus’ stay, he starts to see beyond the classifications ascribed by the department to see the beautiful dreams and gentle souls the children have. Little risk comes from the playful antichrist, the nearby villagers on the other hand pose a far more menacing threat thanks to the department’s ever-present fearmongering. And as he comes to care for the children, Linus begins to fall for their tender-hearted headmaster.

I found this incredibly sweet and hopeful in how it wove together this found family creating safety for each other to heal in the face of a world that doesn’t accept them. It might come across to sweet or YA for some people, but it gave me a lot of comfort and smiles given how stressful the world is at the moment.

Einar reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

"House in the Cerulean Sea"

No rating

Dette var en morsom og oppfriskende bok med morsomme figurer og et fint budskap. Den var lettlest og egentlig aldri kjedelig. Historien var likevel noe vel forutsigbar og jeg syntes personlighetsutviklinga til hovedpersonen kunne ha vært noe tydeligere. Jeg hadde likt om han hadde vært mye mer usympatisk og negativt innstilt fra begynnelsen, i stedet for forsiktig og deprimert, men det er kanskje også hva jeg skulle ha forventet meg. Jeg synes egentlig også at den var cirka femti sider for lang, men det var en bok som det var verdt å lese for å oppleve de forskjellige figurene mer enn selve handlingen.

Jeg er glad jeg leste den, men det er neppe en bok jeg kommer til å anbefale til så mange.

xini reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Review of 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

muy cute, me han gustado mucho los personajes y la historia me ha dejado calentite. a veces tiene unos cambios un poco ¿raros? de tono que me sacaban un poco de la historia, pero overall super bien, recomendada si queréis un comfy read.

Thomas Rigby reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

This is a book about love and care and the unbearable weight of raising children

5 stars

I had this book recommended to me by both my brother and his husband and I can see why; it inhabits the same taste centre as Neil Gaiman, Lemony Snicket, Terry Pratchett, and Douglas Adams…

thomasrigby.com/posts/book-review-the-house-in-the-cerulean-sea-tj-klune/

Phil in SF reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by Daniel Henning

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.

tate reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Review of 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

It took about 100 pages for me to really get invested in this story and the characters, but once I did, I loved every moment. The book read pretty slowly to me but in a delicious and enjoyable way. Truly a beautiful story through and through, satisfying, heartwarming, and amazing representation of many marginalized communities and outliers... Just can't say enough good things. This is a story I will love and remember for a long long time.

Elena de Esparta reviewed La casa en el mar más azul by TJ Klune

EL cozy fantasy está arrasando

No rating

Seamos sinceros: estamos ya hartos de las grandes aventura y de los señores faes de moralidad dudosa y grandes dotes en el arte de amar. Y el cozy fantasy es nuestro escape, nuestra contracultura de la contracultura. Y este libro es un buen lugar por el que empezar.

Situemos en un mundo muy parecido al nuestro aunque hay seres sobrenaturales y estos tienen descendencia y a veces (demasiadas la verdad) estos quedan huérfanos y hay tantos que hasta crean una nueva sección en Servicios Sociales para visitar y valorar estos sitios y la posible peligrosidad de estos niños. Y Linus Baker es uno de estos trabajadores con mayor antigüedad.

Un día recibe el encargo de ir a un orfanato que está fuera de los registros y que entre los niños que va a ver se encuentra el posible Anticristo pero el mayor problema será que el director del mismo es la persona más amable, paciente y misteriosa que Linus ha conocido en su aburrida y monótona vida.

La cosa de los cozy fantasy es que la historia puede parecer casi predecible hasta que no lo es. Hay comentarios muy interesantes sobre como la sociedad ve a los niños que choca con como son en verdad, sobre la identidad y las locuras que hacemos por encajar ocultando esas partes de nosotros que no nos gustan y como los seres más inocentes nos aceptan sin más porque lo único que les importa es ser queridos y respetados.

Vas a llorar, reír, reír tontamente porque Linus y Arthur son idiotas que no saben que están el uno por el otro (yo me imagino a Michael Sheen como Linus y a Taika Waititi como Arthur, para que os hagáis una idea) y vas a querer adoptar a todos esos pequeños (incluso a Lucy, el supuesto Anticristo). Pero sobre todo vas a pasar un maravilloso rato y vas a leer su epilogo tantas veces como la escena del beso de la primera temporada de Our Flag Means Death.

Catship reviewed The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Very cozy-fierce

No rating

This is about outgrowing the oppressive structures you've been supporting, and working to tear them down.

Also I think the message is "you can always choose to be a weirdo and live with the weirdos", which makes me very happy.

Yeah I like this one. Much more than I liked Under the Whispering Door, even though that was also nice.

This is about outgrowing the oppressive structures you've been supporting, and working to tear them down.

Also I think the message is "you can always choose to be a weirdo and live with the weirdos", which makes me very happy.

Yeah I like this one. Much more than I liked Under the Whispering Door, even though that was also nice.

Ner reviewed La casa en el mar más azul by TJ Klune

None

5 stars

5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sencillamente uno de los mejores libros que me he leído en mucho tiempo, uno de esos libros que te llegan al alma y te dejan temblando de amor y esperanza.
Cuando me lo empecé sabía que me gustaría, tenía muy buenas críticas y, además, me lo habían recomendando, pero según avanzaba más y más en la trama sabía que iba a ser unos de esos libros que me iban a dejar desbordada de amor, que me iba a enseñar unos personajes increíbles que descubrían que su vida podía ser mucho más de lo que era rompiendo las barreras de los prejuicios y el miedo, personajes que iban a salir de su burbuja para acabar descubriendo que su hogar puede no ser lo que siempre habían creído que era.