The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune C+. This book was so overhyped and incredibly superficial and cringeworthy at times. An uptight man goes to investigate a magical orphanage on an island (and all the mystical creatures living there, including the supposed AntiChrist), are annoyingly precocious and grated my last nerve). The metaphors were all heavy-handed while being incredibly superficial, and I really only found myself caring about the lead character’s romance with the orphanage caretaker. I originally gave it a B, but I went to start the sequel and couldn’t even with it…and the more it sits with me, the more I disliked this one.
You described my irritation with this book better than I could've. Yes, EXACTLY...it was heavy-handed and the characters were annoyingly precocious and I just...couldn't, though I *did* make it to the end. I wanted to love this book and be utterly enchanted by it and I wasn't. I considered reading the sequel but after your review, I think I'll pass.
