Hey y’all… Happy Thursday!🎅

This my fourth(?) year participating in Blogmas which is basically a countdown of my personal favorite reads of the year! I’m following the promts of one of my favorite blogger buddies: Sophie @Beware of the Reader who is a fab blogger and bookstagrammer so go check out her blog!

If you want to join the fun, here are the different daily topics. You can of course post only once or twice or as many time as you’d like! Use the hashtag #Blogmas2021 AND comment/leave your url on my daily post that you have posted tooif you want me to give your posts some love. That way I shouldn’t miss them!

My pick for this year’s Best LGBTQ romance is:

 

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.

 

 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The House in the Cerulean Sea is a sweet, fantasy standalone. I’m proudly placing it on my Best of 2021 shelf!

Linus Baker works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY). His life is boring, staid, stuck in routine. That is until he’s called on to investigate an orphanage run by Arthur Parnassus and the six children he’s in charge of.

First, let me explain that this IS a story about love but the plot isn’t entirely a love story. Did I confuse you?!? Yes, Linus and Arthur are the heroes who fall in love but that’s really just the side story. These two find a beautiful connection because of six precocious, fantastical, wondrous, UNIQUE kids that I absolutely adored! Now, usually, I’m all about a swexy romance…that’s my preferred genre. But in this case, I could not get enough of the kids and their relationship to Arthur, Linus and the island’s caretaker, a sprite named Zoe. I have to say a bit about them!

* Chauncey: an unknown species, he dreams of becoming a bell hop
* Talia: a female gnome, she loves her garden
* Phee: a forest sprite, she can grow flowers and plants at will
* Lucy: the “Anti-Christ”, he’s a little prankster
* Sal: he can change into a Pomeranian, he tugged at my heartstrings with his backstory
* Theodore: a wyvern who hasn’t quite grown into his wings

It’s been a loooong time since I last wrote a book report and truly dissected a book but I do want to point out the message that is SO very important and relevant: We are all different but our differences should be celebrated, not hidden or snuffed! And kudos to T.J. Klune for using color (or lack of) to create such a magical tapestry! I highlighted a lot of passages in this book that said so much in a few simple words.

I found myself on a roller coaster of emotions… laughing, or gaping in awe or swooning or mad as hell. It was GREAT, I love it when an author can pull so many feelings from me! I loved everything about this book, from the cover to the magical characters to the underlying message.

This was my second book by this author but it won’t be my last! Definitely worthy of another read! Told from Linus’ POV with a sweet, endearing end. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

View all my reviews

There’s so much goodness packed in this book! Have a Merry Blogmas y’all!💜