The House in the Cerulean Sea – Book Review

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.

No. of pages:- 400 pages

Date published:- March 17th 2020

Publisher:- Tor Books

Genre:- LGBT/ Fantasy

Here’s the thing.

Except for Harry Potter, I am not much into Fantasy genre though lately I have been doing reviews on LGBT genre. I have heard about this book that seemed to be having raving reviews and so decided to try out this book, though I had audiobook. And to my surprise, I actually enjoyed reading this book!

Linus Baker is working in the Department of Magic and was given a task to ensure if the six of the children with magical abilities would be a threat to the world. Arthur runs an orphanage and would do anything to protect those children and he himself has a secret.

Initially, I was a bit skeptical to read this book but gradually, this book grew into me. The plot was really great and unusual–though the names of the children sounds normal, each of the children has a certain magical ability and gifted. Linus eventually develops close relationship with the children and also starts harboring secret feelings towards Arthur. As a result, the characters in the book grew into me and towards the end, I enjoyed reading the book! This book also gives a message to the reader–mostly the book talks about kindness and caring by not judging the people of who they are and accept them into the society for who they actually are! A must read. And it kind of reminds me a little of Harry Potter.

Overall, I give this book five stars!

TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include the Green Creek series, The House on the Cerulean Sea and The Exraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it’s important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.