The House in the Cerulean Sea

By T.J. Klune

Book Overview

A NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, and WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER
A 2021 Alex Award winner An Indie Next Pick The 2021 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy Winner

DELUXE EDITION--A beautiful new paperback of one of the best-loved and best-selling fantasy novels of the past decade, The House In the Cerulean Sea by New York Times bestselling author TJ Klune Now with aqua blue sprayed edges and fun extras

"I loved it. It is like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket. Simply perfect."
--V. E. Schwab, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250394546
• ISBN13: 9781250394545
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 432 Pages

Customer Reviews

Law vs. grace

This book is a beautiful study in law versus grace. If we the creation long for grace to win out over law, how much more our Creator? Amidst the wild fun at the orphanage is a tale of a man grappling with these two realities. Which will win in his heart? Read and see.

Fantastic Read

I have listened through the audiobook multiple times and recommended it to several people. This book stays in my soul. It's so comforting, courageous, and inclusive. I am ordering this copy for my bookshelf so I can lend it out to friends. I think this is a great book for ages teen and up. Content warning: gay romance (not graphic, just 1 kiss) and themes of discrimination

I had high hopes

This book gets a lot of attention online for how great it is, but it is very slow. For the first 2/3 of it hardly anything happens. Disappointing.

Cute and Light

This definitely had some social and political undertones but they were subtle and well written that you don't feel like it is shoved down your throat. It was an adorable story that you felt invested in and it was like a big supernatural family hug

Love 10/10

I loved this book! Written so well, made me feel all the feelings! Characters are amazing and you want to cheer them on! Amazing

I was worried about reading this because i didn’t want to be disappointed

I honestly was putting this book off because i didn’t want to be disappointed, but it’s was so amazing to read, and yes some parts were slow but i absolutely loved reading it

Best book ever

Reviewer "Satan is one of the main characters" generous review made me want to go and buy a copy for myself. Love this book!

Didn’t love it didn’t hate it

If you like character growth stories, then you’ll love this. Wasn’t my favorite but didn’t hate it.

Would Make a GREAT Movie

I absolutely loved this book!

Going in my top 10 list for sure

One of the most heart warming feel-good books I’ve read in such a long time

Sweet Story

A wonderful story about finding your place and home. The characters are hilarious, the writing flows, and will leave you thinking about how wonderful it is to find family

heartwarming, terrific read

Starts out just a tad slow but gradually grabs you with its wonderful characters

So sweet

Devoured this book so quickly. So lovely. All the online hype was accurate.

A new favorite

This book is so special and heartwarming. The writing style was great and it’s impossible to pick a favorite character. The message translates perfectly into today’s world.

Love it

One of the best books I’ve read ! I plan on introducing it to my middle school daughter soon , because the themes in it are so lovely.

Disappointing

I wanted to get it because I kept hearing about it online should googled more before I bought it

Disappointed

I wanted to try this because of how popular and highly rated it is. Not for me.

One of my favorite comfort reads

A wonderful, heartfelt book about found family full of adorable fairytale-ish characters. This is one of my favorite books and feels like a warm hug.

This book is amazing.

The characters are all fantastic and magical.