Daniel Henning

T.J. Klune

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Cassidy Nolan

Sometimes, he thought to himself in a house in a cerulean sea, you were able to choose the life you wanted.

And if you were of the lucky sort, sometimes that life chose you back.

“His name is David. He’s eleven years old. And he’s a—“

“A yeti,” Linus said in awe. He stared at the photo in Arthur’s hand. In it, there was a smiling boy covered in thick, white hair. But it was his eyes that Linus noticed more than anything.

“We’ll take him,” Linus said immediately.

Linus felt his heart settle in his chest.

As they continued to sway to a song only they could hear, the sun finally sank below the horizon, and all was right in this tiny little corner of the world.

“I’m sorry,” Linus whispered into Arthur’s throat, never wanting this moment to end.

Arthur held him tighter. “You silly, delightful man. There is nothing to be sorry for. You fought for us. I could never be angry with you for that. How I cherish you.”

He was being kissed. He hadn’t even seen Arthur move. One moment, he thought he was about to break, and the next, his face was cupped in warms hands, and lips were pressed against his own. He felt as if he were on fire, burning from the inside out. He reached up, putting his hands atop Arthur’s, holding them in place. He never wanted this moment to end. For all the love songs he’d ever listened to in his life, he hadn’t been prepared for how a moment like this could feel.

Linus shrugged. “Because it wasn’t where I belonged.”

And with the last of his courage, Linus Baker said, “Here. With you. If you’ll have me. Ask me again. Please, I beg you. Ask me to stay again.”

Arthur nodded tightly. He cleared his throat. He was hoarse when he said, “Linus?”

Linus could barely breathe. “Yes. Always. Yes. For them. For you. For—“

“. . . If I were to leave again, I would wish I were here. I don’t want to wish anymore. If you’ll have me, I would like to stay. For always.”

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, wondering if he should say more.

“Excuse us for a moment, Mr. Baker,” Lucy said. He turned toward the others and beckoned them close. The children bowed their heads as they began to whisper furiously. Zoe covered a laugh with the back of her hand.

He hesitated, but only briefly. “Because this is where I belong. And I never should have left to begin with. I only did so in order to make sure you would be safe. All of you. And now . . .”

She sighed as she set her spade down before turning to look at him.

Linus didn’t hesitate as he scooped her up in his arms.

Right below it was a mouse pad with a faded picture of a white sandy beach and the bluest ocean in all the world.

It said, of course, DON’T YOU WISH YOU WERE HERE?

Linus opened his mouth, but nothing came out. And he 

 himself for it. Here was this man, this wonderful man, exposing his heart. Linus had to give him something, no matter how small.

He tried again. He said, “If things were—if this were different, I . . . you have to know, Arthur. You have to. This place. These children. 

He stopped as he closed his eyes. His voice was shaky when he asked, “What?”

“Stay. Here. With us. Stay here with me.”

Linus shook his head. “You know I can’t.”

“Did you like your treasure, Mr. Baker?”

Linus looked up at Arthur again. “I did,” he whispered. “I liked it more than anything.”

second read and this part still makes me cry :’)))))

He took Arthur’s hand and stood slowly as Nat told him to smile even though his heart was breaking.

“. . . But I didn’t account for one thing.”

Arthur looked at him. “You. You were the most unexpected thing of all.”

“Because of who you are. I know you don’t see it, Linus. But I see it enough for the both of us. You make me feel like I’m burning up from the inside out.”

Linus couldn’t find a way to believe him. “I’m just one person. I’m just me.”

“I know. And what a lovely person you are.”

And saw how Chauncey had hid under his bed the first morning, how Talia had looked sitting on the floor of a record shop with her tools, how Theodore took the buttons as if they were the greatest gift, how Phee had lifted a trembling Sal from a pile of clothes, how Lucy had cried after breaking his music, how Zoe had welcomed him into her home.

And, of course, Arthur’s smile. That quiet, beautiful smile that felt like seeing the ocean for the first time.

Oh, how easy would it be to turn around? To look upon the man who had twisted his heart so? The man who, in not so many words, had kept so much from him?

Linus looked up to find Arthur staring at him. “What?”

Arthur shook his head slowly. “I don’t know why you can’t see it.”

“—and I know you’re scared,” Arthur was saying. “And I know sometimes you see things when you close your eyes that no one should ever see. But there is good in you, Lucifer, overwhelmingly so. I know there is. You are special. You are important. Not just to the others. But to me. There has never been anyone like you before, and I see you for all that you are, and all the things you aren’t. Come home. All I want you to do is come home.”

Arthur nodded. He reached up as if he were going to touch the side of Linus’s face, but curled his hand into a fist and stepped back.

He looked up to find Arthur staring at him just as Sam sang about how he thought it was infatuation, but that it had lasted so long.

Linus felt his skin warm. “You were . . . thinking about me?”

“Constantly. Though I can’t claim credit for this. No, this was Lucy’s idea.”

tj has based this storyline of adoption off the 60s scoop where the canadian government stole indigenous children from their families to put them up for adoption into white families. This systematic trauma is being used for a book that's completely now out of context as a "wholesome" story for tj's wallet. Multiple creators ,especially those are directly affected this author using their actual pain as a community, has called out tj for this over the few years. Now he's still continuing the series based on this same storyline for profits whether he held himself accountable or not. No author like this should be supported. Please keep spreading this info.

sashana

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER! A 2021 Alex Award winner! The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner! An Indie Next Pick! One of Publishers Weekly's "Most Anticipated Books of Spring 2020" One of Book Riot’s “20 Must-Read Feel-Good Fantasies” Lambda Literary Award-winning author TJ Klune’s bestselling, breakout contemporary fantasy that's "1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." (Gail Carriger) 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. "1984 meets The Umbrella Academy with a pinch of Douglas Adams thrown in." —Gail Carriger, New York Times bestselling author of Soulless At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Caelan

The beginning was a bit dull (on purpose to show what Linus’ life looked like in the city) and I thought I wouldn’t like this book but when he travels to his classified assignment (Marsyas Island Orphanage) everything starts to get better

One of my favourite parts of this book are when they all travel to the village and have a day out - there is an unpleasant part there too but I really liked when Linus gets paired with Lucy and Talia to take around the different shops and meeting the shop owners (liked how the warehouse shop keeper was wary but eventually turned out to have similar interests with Talia; also J-Bone was hilarious and when Lucy was talking to him, their conversation was really funny)

Side characters - loved them all, most are children and I loved all the things that they did together like the adventures, learning and their alone times; each child had their own personalities and while everyone was a part of different species, they were all really detailed and wonderfully written; really liked Zoe as the additional carer for the children and the way she was this calm strong presence; Helen was a nice character and J-Bone was really funny with the way he talked

Main characters - Linus was a really nice character who you could see changing slowly but steadily through the book (and it’s not like most books where it is constantly reminded how the character has developed as in this book you can clearly see for yourself so the author didn’t need to keep reminding the readers), I liked how realistically he acted given the situation as he was supposed to be there as a professional and the children were all unusual so it was a given that he would be scared but you could see him getting to know all of them separately and starting to like/understand them; Arthur had secrets in this book that I guessed but it was still amazing about what he could do and how he looked after the children

Plot - liked the idea of the book a lot and how the main point in the book was about seeing all the magical creatures as individuals who all had their own personalities instead of being scared of all of them as a principle and there wasn’t much of a romance but the bit that was there combined with all the other characters and the relationships that were formed, it was amazing

Ending/Epilogue - while Linus is back at the DICOMY to make sure that Arthur remains being the children’s carer and makes sure that the children are able to stay on the island (really liked the way his time back there was written as it had a lot of very short passages that were often broken up), he steals files and then he goes back to the island, we see them all forgive each other and then the epilogue shows Helen come to the island to ask them to take in another child and that’s really it; this probably isn’t fair as I just wanted to read more about these characters but I thought there could have been at least 2 more chapters showing them settling in with Linus staying there forever and we are never explicitly shown what Linus does with the files that he stole; also I think that the main reason for not liking the book as much after Linus comes back to the island is that the children aren’t shown as much as they have been in the rest of the book

Absolutely loved this book!

The beginning was a bit dull (on purpose to show what Linus’ life looked like in the city) and I thought I wouldn’t like this book but when he travels to his classified assignment (Marsyas Island Orphanage) everything starts to get better

One of my favourite parts of this book are when they all travel to the village and have a day out - there is an unpleasant part there too but I really liked when Linus gets paired with Lucy and Talia to take around the different shops and meeting the shop owners (liked how the warehouse shop keeper was wary but eventually turned out to have similar interests with Talia; also J-Bone was hilarious and when Lucy was talking to him, their conversation was really funny)

Side characters - loved them all, most are children and I loved all the things that they did together like the adventures, learning and their alone times; each child had their own personalities and while everyone was a part of different species, they were all really detailed and wonderfully written; really liked Zoe as the additional carer for the children and the way she was this calm strong presence; Helen was a nice character and J-Bone was really funny with the way he talked

Main characters - Linus was a really nice character who you could see changing slowly but steadily through the book (and it’s not like most books where it is constantly reminded how the character has developed as in this book you can clearly see for yourself so the author didn’t need to keep reminding the readers), I liked how realistically he acted given the situation as he was supposed to be there as a professional and the children were all unusual so it was a given that he would be scared but you could see him getting to know all of them separately and starting to like/understand them; Arthur had secrets in this book that I guessed but it was still amazing about what he could do and how he looked after the children

Plot - liked the idea of the book a lot and how the main point in the book was about seeing all the magical creatures as individuals who all had their own personalities instead of being scared of all of them as a principle and there wasn’t much of a romance but the bit that was there combined with all the other characters and the relationships that were formed, it was amazing

Ending/Epilogue - while Linus is back at the DICOMY to make sure that Arthur remains being the children’s carer and makes sure that the children are able to stay on the island (really liked the way his time back there was written as it had a lot of very short passages that were often broken up), he steals files and then he goes back to the island, we see them all forgive each other and then the epilogue shows Helen come to the island to ask them to take in another child and that’s really it; this probably isn’t fair as I just wanted to read more about these characters but I thought there could have been at least 2 more chapters showing them settling in with Linus staying there forever and we are never explicitly shown what Linus does with the files that he stole; also I think that the main reason for not liking the book as much after Linus comes back to the island is that the children aren’t shown as much as they have been in the rest of the book

Gica

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.

Cute, adorable and wholesome. And the love story is the sweetest of all 💕. 

Listened to the audiobook read by Daniel Henning who did the best voices and accents ever! 

Taryn

Cute, adorable and wholesome. And the love story is the sweetest of all 💕. 

Listened to the audiobook read by Daniel Henning who did the best voices and accents ever! 

Scarlett

Es el libro más bonito con el que me he topado este año, me he enamorado de él de una manera increíble. Los personajes son sin duda la cosa que más me encanto, en especial los niños, pero su historia también es una parte fuerte de esta.
Linus Al principio me frustraba con sus pensamientos estoicos acerca de las normas y del su trabajo pero poco a poco se fue soltando y los demás personajes pudieron ver cómo era ese ser hermoso. Me es gracioso que por un momento, y por como le decían los niños que estaba reyenito, me recordó a Po de kung fu panda 😂
Para mi los niños eran mi parte favorita de leer, sus personalidades chispeantes me hacían reír a carcajadas sin parar y mi favorita de todas era Thalía, sus amenazas hacia linus me sacaban lágrimas de la risa lo que hizo que se adentrara a mi corazón.Ver cómo Arthur le daba un hogar a cada uno me calentaba el alma y me daban ganas de abrazarlo como a un Mochi 
Por favor lean este precioso libro

Really loved this book! It was recommended by a friend as something wholesome to read and it did not disappoint. The characters are all so different and equally well developed, and watching Linus' growth through the book was so heartwarming. Also, deeply loved Arthur Parnassus. Would love to know more of his story.  

Paige Carter 

the protagonists (iykyk) gave me such aziraphale and crowley energy !!!!

rubí

Much more cheerful then my typical choices but a nice change of pace and very sweet.

Billie Fogarty

The house in the Cerulean Sea

Eva Ströberg

The House in the Cerulean Sea - T J Klune
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I guess I’m a bit late with the hype. This book is such a heartwarming read. I found it hard to start with but found the pace and halfway through. It’s such a feel-good book without feeling like it’s dumbed down for pleasure reading, and not so much YA vibe as well although it’s probably meant for that segment
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Linus Barker is a caseworker for the Department of Magical Youth. He investigates orphanages and writes report whether they should continue in operation or closed down. Apart from his job, he doesn’t really have a life. That changes until one day he got an assignment to investigate Marsyas Orphanage with its inhabitants.
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Great book to read
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#tjklune #thehouseintheceruleansea #yabooks #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #currentlyreading #2024readingchallenge #2024reads

Linus Baker is sent to assess a magical orphanage, filled with dangerous children. They could bring about the end of everything - or be the family he'd always wanted.

It's never too late to follow the dream

Anna 

** spoiler alert **
           ja vlastne poradne nevim, jak tohle zacit. 
no cekala jsem proste sweet a fluffy fantastiku, ktera mi pomuze se rozecist a ktera mi privodi hezky letni vibe. jediny, co z mych ocekavani splnila, byl ten letni vibe. 
ja se omlouvam, ale tohle bylo napsany tak strasne corny zpusobem, ze se z toho budu vzpamatovavat fakt jeste dlouho. asi zacnu od zacatku, ze.

linus baker 
je nasi hlavni postavou. je to pracovnik dicomy (department in charge of magical youth), ktery se stara o sirotcince s magickymi detmi a dohlizi na to, ze v nich (tech sirotcincich i tech detech haha) funguje vse tak, jak ma. je to klasicky middle aged muz (kterej je silnejsi a budeme to omilat v ty knize az do posledni kapitoly abyste na to nezapomneli ok? ma pneumatiku na brisku) unaveny zivotem, svou praci dela jen kvuli tomu, ze nic jineho nezna, mluvi se svou kockou a jedina jeho personality trait je to, ze posloucha stare desky (a zapomina na destnik, i kdyz v jeho meste prsi vic nez neprsi). jednoho krasneho destiveho dne je povolan nejvyssim managementem dicomy a je poslan na „nebezpecne“ vysetrovani „nebezpecnych“ magickych deti. na mesic. linus prijme (=nema jinou moznost) a zacina velike dobrodruzstvi, kdy mu 21 denni pobyt na slunci zmeni zivot. 
proc jsem ho nemela rada?? let´s just say ze ta jeho jedna jedina personality trait se actually rozroste jeste o jednu, a tou je ta, ze se strasne boji jednoho z hlavnich deti – lucyho, syna dabla. chapu, ze kdyz uslysis, ze mas bydlet mesic s antikristem, je ti z toho mdlo, ale kdyz nam byl lucy predstaven, odzacatku je uplne obvious, ze je ve svy podstate vlastne harmless, jen rad dela vtipy o tom, jak vsechny zabije a usmazi. ale je to napsany tim stylem, ze je na prvni pohled ocividny, ze to fakt JE vtip (neco ve smyslu „oh, hello, mr. baker, are you ready to be dammned for eternity?“). to ale nechape linus, ktery se ho boji snad 250 stran ze 400. pokazdy, kdyz lucy neco rekne, linus pomalu vytahuje kriz a svecenou vodu. jako pardon, zezacatku to bylo mozna bearable, ale po 30 exact same scenach „lucy neco rekne, linus si po*ira kalhoty“, uz nad tim clovek jen krouti ocima. 
linus je mozna jedina z postav, ktera ma nejakej character development (k tomu se jeste dostanu), ale je to cely tak strasne cringe, ze mi to je vlastne fuk, nebo ja nevim. typek, co ma na starost sledovat sirotcince s magickymi detmi si uvedomi, ze magicke deti jsou vic nez jen cisla v jeho zaznamech. mam ti tleskat, chces cherry zmrzlinu???? nedotklo se me to, nebylo to zadny huge prozreni, bylo to proste takovy to „aha, nesud knihu podle obalu, kde uz jsem to slysela? ajo, vsude.“ type of prozreni.
takze asi tak k linusovi.

arthur parnassus
arthur byla moje fav postava, (pokud se to tak da nazyvat) takze ten jeho slander asi nebude tak bad, ale porad to byl takovy one-side character ktery tam proste… byl?? ale hlavne jako pomucka pro linuse, aby prozrel. ja vim, ze to je proste fluffy cozy fantasy, od ktery se uplne neda cekat nejak moc veliky rozbor postav a sveta, ale man, chtela jsem o nem slyset vic nez jen ze ucil lucyho a ze mel sve sverence rad. myslim, ze mohl byt rozebrany vic. 
a to jeho velky odhaleni ke konci??? dobre rano, to jsme asi vedeli od zacatku vsichni, ne? ja jsem hned vedela, ze dude asi nebude obycejny clovek, a kdyz nam bylo odhaleno, ze teda opravdu neni, trvalo mi approximately 15 radku tipnout si, jakou magickou bytosti teda je. cele to velike odhaleni bylo hlavne pro shock factor a kdyby se v pribehu vypustilo, zustal by stejnym a zadnou hodnotu by to tomu neubralo. ok, jsi fenix (ale vlastne nejsi ptak ale spis fire andel idk didnt make sense), byl jsi abused a ted chces udelat z mista kde jsi byl neglected hezke misto pro ostatni magicke deti… dost opakovany motiv, pomerne ohrany, pomerne corny (yet again). neudelalo to na me zadny velky dojem.
co ale dojem udelalo, byl fakt, ze se do sebe panove zamilovali behem par dni (a to nemluvim o celem tom 21 dennim pobytu, to uz byli zamilovani po usi, im talking like 5 days). ja chapu, ze se linus zamiloval do arthura – charming man kterej tak trochu nevi jak se zehli obleceni, ma neustale rozcuchany vlasky ale vlastne fakt miluje svou praci a deti, se kteryma bydli na kouzelnym ostrove – ja bych se do nej zamilovala as well. ale arthur ma romantically rad linuse proc?? linus byl proti jeho detem (hlavne lucymu, prekvapive) docela dost dlouhou dobu. udrzovat si odstup je vec jedna, ale stitit se tech deti a rikat jim „to“ je vec trochu jina. porad se mezi sebou dohadovali, jestli by teda magicky bytosti mely mit a maji stejny prava jako ostatni, nebo ne (??!?) a linus si castokrat i protirecil (mi prislo), treba kdyz rekl, ze vsechny deti by mely byt treated with respect and love ale pak dodrzoval ty rules a bral je jak opicky v zoo o ktery se musi starat a sledovat jejich dny… proste ta chemie mezi nima tam absolutne nebyla, ale mozna byli oba dva tak touch starved that they simply fell in love at first sight and called it a day. 
taky me dost nastval ten konec, kdy linus musel odjet, protoze jeho investigation skoncila. arthur se na nej z nejakyho duvodu strasne nastval??? jako ano pane, je to uz druhy dicomy zamestnanec, do kteryho ses behem 10 dni zamiloval a kterej pak musel odjet zpet dom, protoze to porad byla jen prace, ale to lowkey zni jako you problem. proc by mu vubec vycital fakt, ze se musi vratit domu a ze ma i jiny povinnosti nez sedet s nim pri zapadu slunce na ostrove? why would he make linus feel bad about it? to slo dost mimo me a nepochopila jsem to. jako jo, mas pravo byt smutny, protoze odjizdi clovek, se kterym ses spratelil a ktery se after all k tem detem zacal chovat hezky, ale od prvni chvile jsi vedel, ze tam bude jen na 20 dni. nutit linuse zustat a vycitat mu jeho povinnosti mi vubec neprislo fer.
a to je k arthurovi uz taky vse.

ostatni postavy
s ostatnimi jsem asi ani problem nemela, ale ze bych vam o nich dokazala rict po tech 400 stranach vic nez jednu vetu (u lucyho dve, protoze byl zarucene hlavni detskou postavou, i kdyz si myslim, ze autor chtel vsem dat stejnej screen time)? to nedokazu. phee je skritek, kterej dokaze vyrust stromy a kytky (rozhodne ne jako florence ze sirotcince slecny peregrinove, nebo jak se jmenovala). talia ma rada kytky a je sarkasticka (ty se btw taky linus moc bal protoze vyhruzky typu „zabiju te a zahrabu svou lopatkou“ jsou ocividne od maleho detskeho trpaslika hruzu nahanejici). chaucney je nejaky zele z monstra versus vetrelci a chce byt bellhopem. zaroven je strasne sweet a innocent (which was kinda napsany in a weird way idk). sal je STRASNE VELIKEJ CHLAPEC NA SVUJ VEK JE TO TAM RECENO ASI 1000KRAT TAK DOUFAM ZE JSTE SI TOHO VSIMLI ALE DOKAZE SE PROMENIT V NEJMENSI PLEMENO PEJSKA CHAPETE HAHA MA TO BYT Z NEJAKYHO DUVODU ASI VTIPNY. theodhore je… drak? had? ja to vlastne uplne nepochopila. a sbira knofliky. a lucy je uplne normalni sestilety dite, ktery ma drasticky smysl pro humor a rad posloucha desky (omg, stejne jako linus, jeste ze maji spolecnou aspon jednu vec they can bond over!!!!). zoe tam proste tak nejak je, je to mother figure ktera je hot a mysterious (doslova).
to je vse.

vypravec/slohovy styl
pane. boze. Jak ja mela flashbacky na addie larue, kdyz jsem tuhle vec cetla (a ne v dobrem slova smyslu). tahle kniha byla plna prazdnych, naoko strasne poetickych frazi, ktery me proste bily do oci. 
at uz mluvime o neustalym vysvetlovani myslenkovych pochodu postav, ktery byly z toho textu ocividny a mne diky tomu prislo, ze ctu knihu pro deti, ktery jeste nechapou narazky a pocity postav a tak je vypravec musi vest za ruku a vse jim detailne vysvetlovat („linus rekl sve kocce, ze ji necha pres noc venku, pokud hned neprijde k nemu. linus to tak nemyslel. nikdy by svou kocku venku nenechal. ale to ona nemusela vedet. je dobre cas od casu trochu pohrozit.“) („lucy rekl, ze vsechny brzy necha shoret zaziva. linus zacinal mit pocit, ze lucy to tak ve skutecnosti nemysli.“ (*screams cries*)), nebo o kratkych, strasne „umeleckych“ a „hearwrenching“ vetach (str. 344 – „the wind had piked up, and it was cold and miserable. he was three blocks from home. he expected to feel relief. he did not. not really.“ a jeste mnohem horsi pripady, ale jsem lazy je hledat (i kdyz uz docela funguje ta veta s kockou)) az k neustalymu opakovani ruznych frazi typu („oh, he very much wanted to“ (insert something here), „oh, how he wished“ (insert literally anything), „i am but a paper“, „how i adore you“,…) atd. proste ne, ne, ne. nesnaz se byt strasne poetic, kdyz ti to nejde. bud svuj. netlac esteticnost tam, kde nemusi byt. 
takze tak. trpela jsem u toho.

shrnuti
jsem vlastne dost hodna, ze tomu davam 2 hvezdy. to prostredi bylo fakt cozy a ja si vlastne to cteni uzivala hlavne kvuli ty atmosfere ostrova. deti mi prisly fajn, i kdyz jsem o nich bohuzel nevedela skoro nic (autor o phee taky nevedel skoro nic a tak kdyz psal srdcervouci vypoved linuse o detech straight up tam flakl nejaky trauma o kterym se nikdy predtim nezminil jen aby ctenare jeste vic rozesmutnel???) a celkove to ten potencial asi melo. nebudeme se ale tvarit, ze to je nejaky originalni dilo, protoze napriklad ehm sirotcinec peregrinove existuje a tohle je jen takova vic vanilla verze s ne tak promyslenym svetem a akci. prislo mi to jako ceap hallmark movie typu „the holidays“ ale pro fanousky dr. seusse. so not ask me to elaborate.
overall nechapu, odkud se ten hype bere, nebo jestli je ten problem ve mne, ale jsem z toho zklamana. vic nez zklamana me stve, jakym stylem to bylo napsany. jak corny to bylo. a ze to bylo v kratkych vetach. presne jako tohle. a to asi vsechny zacne brzy bit do oci. kdyz je tech 400 stran napsano. jako nejaka moderni poezie.

Kiran Aftab

got a few chapters in when i saw that the author based the book on “the Sixties Scoop, which refers to the Canadian government's practice of removing indigenous children from their homes with the intent of adopting them out to white, middle-class families.” so you know what? hard pass

Chef’s kiss. Perfection. I loved every bit of this book! I fell in love with all of the characters right away. The children were all adorable and warmed my mama heart. This book was able to be a warm feel good novel yet still put through a powerful message. If you are thinking about reading this do it.

I need more of this world and these characters! A second novel, Tv series, any and all of it I would take!

Kellie Davis

Gelaine Trinidad

So precious. So wholesome. So lovely. I love all the main characters and I think I'm 100% feeling attached to them right now. Linus reminded me of Aziraphale from Good Omens and it was just too much to handle at times T_T <3. I demand a sequel!! 

There is a lot of heart in this book. It's about not being afraid of those that are different from you. It's about popping that bubble to find a much more colourful world outside. It's about finding the true purpose of life and protecting those who are not accepted for who they are. A book like this remains hopeful despite its cheesiness. I loved reading about this family and their Saturday adventures. There is always music, food, and laughter. I adored the quirks and nuances of each character. It's escapism—a book that brings one's mood up and lightens one's spirit. It's a book filled with lessons on how to be a better human being.

ploral

This was such a great read. I love each and every character, especially Arthur and Chauncey. It's a wholesome book. I'd recommend it to everyone.

Kaitlin Simpson

Starts off slow, but gets better with each chapter. Lovely meaning and overall theme. Great book for everyone to read.

Daphne

Bria

I wanted more magic and tension, conflict--something!

kelsey

sometimes, he thought to himself in a house in a cerulean sea, you were able to choose the life you wanted. 
and if you were of the lucky sort, sometimes that life chose you back. 

found family!!!!! this book means everything to me. didn’t expect to also cheer on 40 somethings getting together but i did.

and they’re petitioning to adopt the kids i literally just .... my heart is so warm after reading this

A. D. Knapp

Wonderful book and a bit of a reverse Mary Poppins.

frdose

Hanna Rybchynska

This was so beautiful and perfect book! 
The plot and the characters were amazing. So happy that I could finally read this one :)

Chloé

This is a happy, wonderful, wholesome and sweet book that made me weep with laughter, joy and sadness (only with Lucy's Spider bit - my heart) I'd suggest to anyone to read this book. I can see me revisiting this book when I'm low or when I don't know what to read. This is defo a new favourite and comfort read.

The House in the Cerulean Sea

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