Goodreads Blurb:

Linus Baker leads a quiet life. At forty, he has a tiny house with a devious cat and his beloved records for company. And at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, he’s spent many dull years monitoring their orphanages. Then one day, Linus is summoned by Extremely Upper Management and given a highly classified assignment. He must travel to an orphanage where six dangerous children reside, including the Antichrist. There, Linus must somehow determine if they could bring on the end of days. But their guardian, charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, will do anything to protect his wards. As Arthur and Linus grow ever closer, Linus must choose between duty and his dreams.

My Thoughts:

The House in the Cerulean Sea was such a wonderful read. I read my first T.J. Klune book a year or two ago, and I absolutely loved it! So I am surprised it has taken me this long to pick up another of his. I loved this one too, and I feel like Klune’s books have become an auto read for me.

There is something gently magical about this novel. It managed to pull me into the story in such a way that it refused to let me go until the last page. Even then, I was still thinking about it for a while after I finished reading.

This novel had such a creative cast of characters. Each had their own special skill that shone with the character’s personality, which I loved. I am not lying when I say that I can’t pick a favourite. Even Linus Baker, who at his surface had a rather ‘normal’ air about him, grew to be just a bright as the rest in his own way.

Like with the magical elements of the story, the romance was just as gentle. It moved almost gradually, and without me realising it, until near the end of the novel. It snuck up on me, just as much as my love for this book did. I think it worked so well too, as it wasn’t even really a focus of the novel, it happened in the background, but with just enough of it plain to see that I found myself invested in it.

For anyone looking for an easy read which is still full of depth, as well as characters you won’t want to leave behind this book is for you!