The House in the Cerulean Sea was such an unexpected delight. I laughed, I cried, and for the last 30 odd pages, I downright bawled 🤧

I went in completely blind, having picked up the book without actually reading the blurb, so I didn't even know it was a contemporary (romance adjacent) fantasy novel until I began reading 🤣
... and here I am giving it all of the stars 😱

The writing is simply beautiful. It's heartwarming, charming and quirky, yet there are still many themes in this book that hit you in unexpected ways, such as marginalisation, oppression, stereotypes, acceptance, love and family.

Klune has created such a unique and enchanting cast of characters. I absolutely adored all of the children. Their pure innocence and willingness to see the good in people despite their past trauma and the prejudice they are faced with. I have a soft spot for Chauncey, and an unidentified marine green blob whose only dream in life is to be a bellhop. I mean.. 🥺. I pictured him as a sort of talking flubber (do you remember that movie!), only with tentacles and a cute little bellhop hat. But I especially loved Lucy and his macabre sense of humour which had me laughing out loud so many times.

For a portion of the book, I checked out the audio from my library so I could listen while I was cooking and cleaning and ohh my goodness, the narration made me fall in love with this book so much more. I highly recommend you check it out.