Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - The House in the Cerulean Sea

My heart is too full of love for this book that I can’t figure out what to say. The characters are beyond lovable; they’re perfection. Linus Baker, you sweet adorable man. I’m so grateful for being able to watch your journey. I felt seen the entire time.
A couple quotes out of context:

They already were my friends. I want rubies.
He dreams of a future that he may never have. And while his dreams may seem small, they are still his and his alone.
I don’t know how to be anyone but who I already am. This is how I’ve always been. It’s not much, but I do the best I can with what I have.
But that’s the funny thing about wishes. Sometimes all it took to make them come true was a first step.

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champagnerain's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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yilliun's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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maddymac97's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Interesting plot concept, bit of a heavy-handed treatment of the negative impacts of exclusion and jumping to conclusions. Still a cozy ready.

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jessiesnoww's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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sarahfoley's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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thesunthesunthesunthesun's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.75

Sometimes you pick up a romance book that seems like a fun romp, filled with the most exquisite tropes. And you think to yourself "that cannot be as fun as it appears to be? surely this is going to be mildly disappointing?"

I am glad to say that it did not disappoint at all. This was absolutely adorable.

Was the plot predictable? yes, and delightfully so! You know the steps that a romcom must take, and you gleefully expect how and when we'll get to that part!
This book is (I say this with only adoration) all the good bits of a Christmas romcom, but now placed in a wonderful summer setting, and it has none of the excruciating miscommunications that otherwise appear in a romcom.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! The cast of characters were all nicely written, the plot was a fun "bureaucrat learns the ~~magic of Christmas~~ to truly live life and to open up his heart to the hot single father of six magic children". There were some delightful little twists that you get to figure out along the way, and you get to feel clever when your suspicions are confirmed. Not a "I never saw it coming" but a "aha!! I knew it!", which is nice.

The writing style of the author lends itself perfectly for this story, the dialogue was very well done, and the scene descriptions were lovely. I started writing little pencil notes halfway through that only consisted of "yes! yes!!" and "it's cause you're so gay for him" whenever Linus thought about Arthur.

Even though I had to take a multi-month break halfway through the book, I could get right back in with minimal confusion. The pacing was ideal for this story as well.

All in all, this was SUCH a fun romp. I needed this book.

And yes, I did cry a little at the expected moments. I'm a simple man; my heartstrings are easily pulled.

Content Warnings

megthecatlady's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh my gosh this was such a wholesome book!!! I took a risk stepping out of my usual genre and I'm so glad I did. Each of the characters were so well developed and the story was so good. Daniel Henning did a great job narrating and bringing the story to life.

I know there was some controversy around this book and it's potential ties to some not so great things in history. Personally, I didn't get those vibes at all reading it. I think if anything it was more a narrative on the downfalls of the child welfare system with a feel-good fantasy twist.

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