Fiction Reviews: House in the Cerulean Sea & Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Since its publication in 2020, I've heard nothing but rave reviews of The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, but since I rarely read fantasy, I still hadn't read it (though I did enjoy Klune's Under the Whispering Door). When I heard that a sequel was being published, I quickly downloaded and listened to the audio of the original book and then listened to the new one, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I was enchanted by both heartwarming books, with their original premises, thought-provoking topics, delightful humor, and a touch of suspense.

In The House in the Cerulean Sea, a man named Linus Baker takes his job very seriously. He is a case worker for The Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) and travels around to various orphanages and schools run by the department, to assess whether the children in their charge are being well cared for. One day, his careful routine is upended when he is summoned by Extremely Upper Management. They give him a highly classified assignment: to travel to

Marsyas Island and assess an unusual home where six especially dangerous magical children reside. The managers are clearly concerned about the safety of the rest of the world, but Linus is focused on the well-being of the children, as he always is. He arrives on the very remote Marsyas Island to its usual beautiful, tropical weather and is met by the caretaker of the home and the children, Arthur Parnussus. He introduces Linus to the very unusual children: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentified green blob with eye stalks, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. As Linus stays with them over the course of a month, he gets to know each of them--and Arthur--very well. Though Arthur's methods seem unorthodox (and Linus can quote the DICOMY rules and regulations), he begins to realize what a special place Marsyas is and what a special family Arthur has created here.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea picks up right where the first novel ends (no spoilers!), carrying on with the stories of Arthur, the children, and Linus. A short prologue is included about Arthur's first arrival back on the island, before he created the home. In the present day, Arthur has been invited to give testimony to the Council of Utmost Importance about his own time as a child under DICOMY's "care" and the abuses he suffered. As you might expect, things do not go quite as Arthur had hoped they would. Nevertheless, he is also in the city to pick up a new child to join their family, a yeti named David. Soon, the unusual family on Marsyas Island is fighting to hold onto the happy, peaceful life they have made for themselves.

The new sequel is just as delightful as the original novel. There is a bit more tension and suspense here, as Arthur and the children face potential perils, but the warmth and marvelous sense of humor remain. If you read The House in the Cerulean Sea in print, I highly recommend you give the audio a try for the sequel. Both audio books are such an absolute pleasure to listen to! I was just about to tell you that they each feature a full cast of talented narrators, but I was shocked to just discover it's only one person, professional actor Daniel Henning. I can't believe he did it all by himself because he's given each of the children their own unique voice. Much of the humor in the novels comes from the things the children say and observe, and hearing them say these things on audio is so much fun! I often laughed out loud (while walking, cooking, brushing my teeth). At the same time, both books are warm and tender, featuring beautiful, loving relationships that embrace diversity. These novels are full of hope and joy, and I loved living in this world for a while.

[NOTE: If you have not yet read the first book, then avoid reading the description of the sequel online or on the jacket; it's full of spoilers of the first book!]

The House in the Cerulean Sea - 416 pages, Tor 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea - 416 pages, Tor

Macmillan Audio

These books fit in the following 2024 Reading Challenges:

 

Diversity Reading Challenge

Big Book Summer Challenge
 

Disclosure: I received the sequel from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible:

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio samples here, too):

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Print and e-book from Amazon:

The House in the Cerulean Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

It's Monday 9/9! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Last week was a whirlwind of activity, including early voting (in Delaware's primary), appointments, and a podcast interview. Friday, we drove to Connecticut for another wedding of one of our son's oldest friends. The three of them met in kindergarten, all named James, and have been friends ever since. And us moms met back then, too, and immediately bonded not just over our sons' friendship but our mutual love of nature and the outdoors, games, and other common interests. So, this was a special wedding, with all three James (one of whom was the groom!) and all three of us mom friends, too. 

They kicked things off on Friday with a picnic gathering, which was the perfect way to get to know everyone in a relaxed, casual setting--much more fun than the typical formal rehearsal dinner! I know most of the groom's family, though my friend introduced me to her aunt who immediately said, "Oh, Sue! You're the book lady!" Turns out my friend had shown her my blog years ago, and she's been a loyal reader ever since. We had fun talking about books (Hi, Elly! It was a pleasure to meet you.). And we got to meet the bride's family. It's clear why these two immediately connected and ended up together, with similarly kind, loving, fun, and nature-loving families!

 

My friend (groom's mom) and I

Saturday was the big event. They'd planned an outdoor wedding at a nature preserve, but rain started about 20 minutes before the ceremony, with an absolute downpour as we tried to take our seats in the orchard! The ceremony was quickly moved indoors to a lovely location in the nature center. The groom's friend (and my son's college roommate) officiated, and it was a beautiful wedding.

Groom, bride, and my son and his girlfriend

Our family

The reception was a blast, with great food and lots of dancing. The band members were also friends from college, and they were excellent, playing a wide range of music. Even the groom's 94-year-old grandma was out on the dance floor! With the help of my heart rate monitor (and keeping my arms down), I was able to dance quite a bit, which I absolutely love but can't often manage. And it was so much fun to see my son and his old friends--from kindergarten to college--reunited. The entire wedding day was just filled with joy, much like the wonderful bride and groom.

Lots of dancing fun (even grandma!)

The three James and the three moms - lifelong friends!

__________

On Video

My Answers to Your Questions, Part 3: Chronic Illness -  continuing my Ask Me Anything series, this video tackles the questions my viewers asked about my chronic illnesses.

 2024 Big Book Summer Wrap-Up - this wrap-up video for the 12th annual Big Book Summer Challenge includes stats on this year's record-breaking participation, the winner of the end-of-summer giveaway, and what I read and listened to for my own Big Book Summer. (I'll post a wrap-up on the blog this week, too)

__________

On the Blog

Fiction Review: The Ferryman by Justin Cronin - I finally had time to write a review! I was inspired because I enjoyed this unique novel so much--inventive, engrossing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!

__________

 What We're Reading

 

Ironically, I finished my Big Book Summer reading last Monday, dove into my R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) fall reading, and the first books (in print and on audio) that I chose are both Big Books! I'm reading Holly by Stephen King, which I've been looking forward to. Readers have been fascinated by the character of Holly Gibney since her first appearance in Mr. Mercedes, her continued role in the rest of that trilogy, and her reappearance in  The Outsider. The cool thing is that King says he was, too! Holly was meant to be a bit character in that first book, but the author says he couldn't stop thinking about her either. Here, she's the star of the novel, as a private detective with Finders Keepers, the agency she started with Bill Hodges. A distraught mother asks Holly to look into the disappearance of her twenty-something daughter. That leads Holly down a dark path of uncovering other disappearances in town. This one is gruesome, but like all King novels, gripping and with in-depth character development.

 

Alas, as much as I am enjoying Holly, I had to set it aside last night because my book group is meeting Wednesday afternoon, and I just got the book and audio from my library last night! We'll be discussing The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly, so I am double-timing it on both audio and in print. I just started it, but it's already interesting with interrelated timelines in 1908, 1944, and 2021 in England. The 1908 story is about a famous female garden designer working on a big project, the 1944 story is about a young woman serving as a "land girl," helping to work a farm while the men are at war, and in 2021, a modern-day garden designer is hired to recreate a historic garden (you guessed it, the same one designed by the woman in 1908). It's compelling so far, as I get to know the characters.

 

On audio, I am listening to The Curse of Crow Hollow by Billy Coffey, a dark and suspenseful story set in the Virginia Appalachian region. It begins with a group of teenagers partying up on a nearby mountain (where their parents have warned them not to go) who end up upsetting the woman known in town as a witch. A series of disasters and crises follow, leading the kids and the rest of the town to conclude that they've been cursed by the witch. It's been an interesting story of a town panicking and how fear leads to all kinds of difficulties. I'm very curious to see how it wraps up because it does have some strange elements to it--is it horror? A cautionary tale about a community turning against itself? We'll see ... but I have to wait until Thursday after book group to finish!

 

My husband, Ken, is almost finished with Dreamcatcher by Stephen King, but he was too tired last night after the wedding and the long drive to read much! He's been enjoying it and described it as "classic Stephen King."

Our older son, 30, is probably still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come. His new job is keeping him busy, and he obviously had no reading time this weekend, enjoying his friend's wedding!

 __________

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.

 

What are you and your family reading this week?

Fiction Review: The Ferryman

With my husband's encouragement, I chose The Ferryman by Justin Cronin from my stack of Big Books in late August. It was longer than some of the other books still in my pile, but he assured me it was a quick, gripping read. And he was right! This inventive novel from the author of The Passage trilogy (and a very different (not sci fi) novel,  The Summer Guest) took me on a rollercoaster ride, with surprises around every corner.

Proctor works as a Ferryman, a very respected position, on the island of Prospera. There was some sort of global crisis out in the wider world that resulted in the creation of this hidden, remote paradise. No one dies on Prospera. Mental, physical, and emotional health is constantly monitored, and when someone's rating starts to decline (and definitely before they hit 10%), they "retire." Ferryman like Proctor guide them through this transition phase and accompany them to a ferry, where they will travel to a neighboring island known as the Nursery. There, they will be "reiterated," eventually taking the ferry back to Prospera as a new 16-year-old iteration (with no memory of their past life/lives) to start fresh. Proctor remembers his own ferry ride to Prospera at 16, meeting his adoptive parents, Cynthia and Malcolm, who were delighted at his arrival. Now, Proctor enjoys his important job--and is very good at it--but he has started to have some difficulties. First, his mother dies (actually dies) in a very unexpected and unusual way, and now he's been summoned to retire his own father. Even more disturbing, Proctor has been dreaming, which isn't supposed to happen to Prosperans, and his dreams are increasingly disturbing. He begins to see cracks and flaws in their perfect society, as he wonders what is happening to him.

That is just the broad framework of the earliest chapters in this unique novel, which is continually surprising. As Proctor's journey continues, the reader goes along for the ride. Every time you think you have something figured out or know what's coming next, there is another shocking twist you never saw coming. It's a truly unique science fiction plot that provides insights into our own humanity and society (as the best sci fi does), like this passage:

"It's been my experience that a lot of human interaction comes down to just these sorts of exchanges, less an actual conversation than a form of parallel confession--the two parties performing their interior monologues, not really listening to each other but merely taking turns. I do not mean this cynically or as a statement of personal superiority; I'm as guilty as the next guy."
 

Cronin's writing pulls the narrative along at a fast pace; this was indeed a quick read because I couldn't bear to set it down. His characters are fully fleshed-out and feel real so that you are rooting for (or booing for) them throughout the story. I love this combination in a novel: unique, gripping plot with plenty of emotional depth and thoughtful insights. The end result is truly magical and a delight to read, and the ending was perfect. I wish I could read it again for the first time, not knowing what was coming.

538 pages, Ballantine Books

Random House Audio

This book fits in the following 2024 Reading Challenges:

 

Mount TBR Challenge

Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - August: Seasons, Elements, Weather
Big Book Summer Challenge

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. It sounds great, with multiple narrators.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

It's Monday 9/2! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

Life

Yay, it's finally September! Fall is my favorite season, and I really struggle with the heat and humidity of summer these days. Right on time, a storm came through yesterday, leaving in its wake cooler temperatures and low humidity--ahhh!

So where have I been for the past two weeks? We were on a short vacation last week, after a hectic week in between trips filled with appointments, unpacking and repacking, unexpected house guests, and a lovely graduation party for our younger son's girlfriend, who is now a board-certified Physician's Assistant!

So, last Sunday, after a harried morning packing, we drove our camper to Promised Land State Park in the Poconos Mountains region of Pennsylvania, about three hours away. We both really needed a break after having to cancel our vacation in July/August, and this was perfect. We were there Sunday through Thursday, so it was nice and quiet, with only a few other campers in our loop (the way we like it!). It was our first visit to this park, and it was beautiful.

Thrilled that our campsite had a water view! Beautiful at sunset.

View of the lake from my bed in the morning.

Our peaceful campsite

 

My stamina is still quite low after my bout of COVID two months' ago, so we mostly took it easy, but we enjoyed a short, flat walk around Conservation Island in the park's Upper Lake. Since it's an island, it was a beautiful hike with water views all around.

A bench along the path on the island

Enjoying a rest break!

Much of the trail runs along the edge of the lake

LOTS of lily pads, many with blooms

One of two beaver dams we saw in the park

After lots of rest, the next day we took our kayaks out onto Upper Lake for a relaxed paddle on the quiet lake.

Ready to kayak on Upper Lake

There's a deer on that shore in front of the kayak

Beautiful reflections in the still water!

Great day on the lake!

 

On our last day, we did another short hike, to Little Falls. The whole trail followed the stream through dense woods, with smaller riffles and falls along the way, so it was absolutely beautiful.

Lovely walk along the creek

Lots of riffles and small falls along the way

Little Falls

Oops! We missed a bridge, made a wrong turn & had to cross on rocks!

We enjoyed our little hike to Little Falls!

And we enjoyed the views from the Wildlife Observation Area. We saw Great Blue Herons and white egrets, but neither of the bald eagles who nest near the campground (though we could hear them). We also heard two Great Horned Owls calling to each other late one night!

Great Blue Heron

Storm coming over Lower Lake

Evening reflections

The Labor Day weekend for us was mostly unpacking, lots of laundry, and catching up here at home after a hectic few weeks. We leave again on Friday!

__________

On Video

Tag de France Booktube Tag - This fun video asks book/reading questions based on prompts related to the Tour de France and the Olympics this summer. Fun!

Friday Reads 8-23-24 - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to

 My Answers to Your Questions, Part 1: Travel, the Outdoors, Where I've Lived, and More - To celebrate hitting 1000 subscribers in the spring, I asked my viewers for questions ... and they had some great ones! I had a blast answering their questions. This video covers the general questions asked.

My Answers to Your Questions, Part 2: Books! - in Part 2 of my Ask Me Anything series, I answered viewer's questions about books and reading, including my favorite books of all time (no, I couldn't pick just one), and the Big Book Summer question that stumped me!

(Part 3 on chronic illness is coming this week)

Fall TBR Reading Plans - R.I.P. Readers Imbibing Peril - Fall doesn't just mean cooler weather; it also means my annual switch to darker, suspenseful books. Another thing I love about fall!

Little Falls, Promised Land State Park - this 1-min short captures the beauty of the falls we hiked to - instant peace!

#FridayReads  - this is a 1-min review of my current read, Trust, as I finish Big Book Summer!

__________

On the Blog

Not much writing time lately!

Friday56 - Trust by Hernan Diaz - I didn't have enough time to write any reviews in the past two weeks (I'm way behind), but I managed to try out this fun weekly link-up!

__________

 What We're Reading

After finishing The Ferryman by Justin Cronin, which was fabulous, I started my last book for the #BigBookSummer Challenge: Trust by Hernan Diaz. I had the pleasure of meeting the author in 2022, the weekend this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was released, at Booktopia. None of us knew then what a huge hit (and award winner) it would turn out to be! I'm finally reading it, buddy reading with my YouTube friend, Nikki. It's a very unique novel, and I'm glad I'm discussing it with someone. It's divided into four parts, and each part is a separate written piece by a different character: a novel written about a wealthy financier and his wife, a partially-finished autobiography, a memoir by a journalist, and journal entries from another character. It shows how the exact same situations can be viewed and described differently from different perspectives. It's also a bit of a mystery as to whose description is accurate and what certain characters are really like. I'm down to the last section (the journal) and will finish it tonight, to cap off my Big Book Summer reading!

I also finished listening to my last Big Book Summer audio, Somewhere Beyond the Sea, the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (release date September 10). It picks up right where the first book ended, carrying on with the stories of Arthur, the unique children of Marsyas island, and Linus. There is a bit of a prologue about how Arthur first returned to the island and started the home there, and then it jumps back to the present day, as Arthur prepares to give testimony before the Council of Utmost Importance about his abuse as a child supposedly under the protection of the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY). And there is a new child coming to join the home on Marsyas. It was just as delightful, funny, warm, and thoughtful as the original.

 

On our short road trip, my husband and I listened to a short story by thriller author Linda Castillo (new to us), Dark Storm Rising. It features Chief of Police Kate Burkholder, who appears in a 27-book (so far) series by Castillo. Here, she and her new husband return to the area where Kate grew up, an Amish community near Lake Erie in Ohio. They're on their honeymoon, looking forward to winter hikes and cozy nights in the cabin, but instead, they encounter a violent criminal who's been setting fire to the cabins, owned by a kind, older Amish couple. When things take a dangerous turn, Kate and her husband jump in to help the couple and the community. We enjoyed it and would definitely read more from this author.

 

My current audio is also a Big Book, though I won't finish it by tonight! It's a cross-over book that also counts for the R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) event in fall: The Curse of Crow Hollow by Billy Coffey. Until just this moment, I thought this was a YA novel, but its listing doesn't say that, so I guess it is adult suspense/thriller. It does focus on a group of older teens, coming of age in rural Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains. After a night spent partying up in the woods in an area their parents have warned them to stay away from, they encounter Alvaretta Graves, whom many in town call a witch. That's about as far as I've gotten so far, but apparently the witch curses the kids, leading to all kinds of problems. It's good so far with a great narrator.

My husband, Ken, picked a chunkster for his last Big Book of the summer! After studying his stack of Big Books he set aside in May, he instead picked a book off the bookcase full of Stephen King and Dean Koontz books we inherited from my dad: Dreamcatcher by King. It's about four childhood friends who saved a mentally disabled kid from a bully as young boys. They now gather together as adults for an annual hunting trip in the snowy Maine woods. During one such get-together, they encounter a stranger ... and something otherworldly. Ken says it's classic Stephen King horror (and we both love the way King writes about kids--he captures childhood so perfectly).

Our older son, 30, is probably still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come. He started a new job last month and hasn't had any reading time and was out on my his grandparents' sailboat this weekend. Despite how busy he's been, I did (of course) get him books for his birthday! I chose two by favorite authors: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie and Play of Shadows by Sebastien de Castell, book 1 of his new series, Court of Shadows. He loved them both, and his girlfriend also gave him The Heroes, so he'll have some bookstore credits to spend, too.

 __________

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.

 

What are you and your family reading this week?