Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (book review)

GENRE: Adult Cozy Fantasy

LENGTH:  400 pages

 

PLOT

This is the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea. It takes place following the events of that novel and sees Arthur advocating for the rights of magical creatures. At the same time, he, Linus, and the children welcome the yeti David into their family.

 

CHARACTERS

The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my all-time favorite books specifically because of the characters. All of the family members are back in addition to Arthur and Linus: Sal, Theodore, Chauncey, Lucy, Phee, and Talia. Their personalities are all pretty much intact from the first book. The main difference is we get to see how they are handling puberty and the magical ways it changes them. Sal in particular gained a lot of confidence and I felt like a proud parent seeing how he shined.

Phee is a lot more present in this book than she was in the first. If I had any complaints about the first book, it would be how Phee faded into the background, eclipsed by the other children who had bigger personalities. It was nice to see her getting her moment in the spotlight to showcase her gentle nature.

David is the only new child character. He was briefly mentioned at the end of the first book. He’s theatrical and cries ice cubes which, while I didn’t enjoy reading about him crying, was a cute touch of yeti lore. He fits right in with the other children like a missing puzzle piece.

Also returned is the island sprite Zoe Chappelwhite. She’s now dating the mayor of Marsyas island, Helen.

Our final returning character is Calliope the cat. This is a nitpick, but she feels like a completely different cat – and a much friendlier one at that. 

There are two major antagonistic characters: Jeanine Rowder (a high-ranking government official) and Harriet Marblemaw (a caseworker who visits the island). Marblemaw is really just a puppet to Jeanine. I don’t think Jeanine is based on any specific person but rather is a representation of those in government who use their power to oppress minorities. I saw a few reviews complaining about this book being too political, but it’s ridiculous to act as though this is the first fantasy book which uses a fictional government as a stand-in for real life figures and problems within modern day governments. Also, Klune tends to write stories which feature LGBT+ characters, so I’m surprised that anyone would be shocked he’s using his platform and chosen media to advocate for his community and other minority groups.

 

WRITING

The first book was told through Linus’ perspective. This one, by contrast, is told from Arthur’s third person POV. This means we get to learn more about how Arthur’s phoenix powers work which was really fascinating. To me, it feels like an interpretation of phoenixes from lore combined with Klune’s own creation.

Klune uses magical creatures as a symbol of LGBT+ people and other minorities – something that was also present in the first book as well. I personally think this is a brilliant metaphor and, to be honest, it’s one I took inspiration from in writing my own YA fantasy manuscript. My only critique is that this book doesn’t feel like it’s making any new points. It’s really just repeating the message from the first book – which, important as it is – was already successfully achieved in the first book.

The plot is also just a little too recycled from the first book. I assumed the plot would focus more on Arthur’s advocacy, but instead it focused more on another inspector coming to the island. This was very similar to the first book where Linus was the inspector coming to the island. I kind of wish this had been a prequel focused on Arthur establishing the orphanage (like we got a glimpse of in the prologue) instead.

Klune’s writing in this series is emotional and swings effectively from serious to humorous. Klune is one of my favorite writers. I think he is a master at crafting stories that touch your heart. That being said, unless you’re really missing the characters, I don’t think this is a must read.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Despite my critiques, I still rated this book highly. When I was talking about this book with one of my parents, she equated it to having dinner with a friend you hadn’t seen in a long time. I can’t think of a more accurate way to describe how reading this book feels. I applaud Klune for his ability to advocate via his strength which is his writing. I just wish this book had more to say that hadn’t already been said in the first book.

Trigger warnings include: Prejudice, child abuse

 

FINAL RATING: 4⭐️