Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the hugely anticipated sequel to TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade.
A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.
Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.
He's the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.
Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain that he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite, and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children.
But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.
And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home—one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from—Arthur knows they're at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart.
Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur's story.
Somewhere Beyond the Sea is a story of resistance, lovingly told, about the daunting experience of fighting for the life you want to live and doing the work to keep it.
Title : Somewhere Beyond The Sea
Author : T. J. Klune
Series : The House in the Cerulean Sea (book two)
Format : ARC
Page Count : 416
Genre : fantasy / LGBTQIAP+ romance
Publisher : Tor Books
Release Date : September 10, 2024
Reviewer : Micky / Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★ / ★ ★ ★
Micky's 4 star review
Headlines:
Metaphorical
Endearing
Poignant
It was an anticipated delight to be back with the Cerulean characters, each of them. There was an addition to the family at hand and he fit in with the eclectic bunch so well. Much of this story was about battles, striving for equality, acceptance and normalacy (whatever that is).
Arthur spearheaded this story, a fierce dad with magic burning so brightly with righteous anger. Arthur expanded as a character so much in my mind, from gentle man to vocal advocate and activist, even though all he wanted was a quiet and fair life for his family.
The whole premise of this story is metaphorical. These magical beings symbolise so much in today's society and that meaning punches the gut over and again. When I read the acknowledgements, I cried but not empty tears, tears with feeling and some anger.
Thank you TJ for this story and it's heart.
Much gratitude to Pan Macmillan for the early copy.
Hollis' 3 star review
Listen, I'm very happy this world exists and I absolutely understand what drove the author to revisit it -- likely out of anger and frustration (and probably some disappointment) that what he was saying here needed to said (and in such an unsubtle way to really beat it home for the dumb dumbs in the world) as well as balance out the shite being spewed on the daily by People Who Shall Not Be Named; and this callout, again, not so subtle.
However. I did reread book one just before this and found myself a little taken aback by the rinse and repeat messaging that I guess I was too caught up to really notice. And here, again, it's no different; except moreso. And because I knew to expect it, and I wasn't all that enamoured by Arthur's POV -- which, with maybe one exception, felt somewhat wasted -- it stood out. What also stood out was how un-childlike these children speak. Again, noticeable in book one but being caught up in the magic, you run with it. But with a certain kid getting a bit more of a spotlight and speechifying.. it stood out.
Weirdly, I am less fussed over Lucy, the youngest (I think?) acting a bit more than his age because that absolutely tracks with my concept of devilishness.
But anyway. Yeah. A lot less warm and fuzzies over this one. A little bit of cringe. A little bit of cheese. A little bit of snooze. I was totally checked out. Right until I wasn't. And that part was the only felt that had appropriately Arthur-POV-centric. That was also the most emotional of the whole story for me. It was something long overdue and very deserved and absolutely heartwrenching. And honestly that's what saved this for me. I do think maybe it would've been more successful as a novella to cut out some of that middle but I'm sure many people would disagree with me.
Everything Klune is saying here is important, relevant, and meaningful. I just much prefer messaging to be less overt. But. I know so many books have to be written this way because change is hard and subtlety is, well, too subtle. You have to be loud, and repetitive, to reach some people.
I of course think this'll find it's home with all (or at least most.. maybe even more? who can say!) of the readers who fell in love with book one. And my mostly mid-level-enjoyment review likely won't deter or convince anyone either way because, yeah, it's kind of a mid review, too.
** I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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