Book Review - Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune

Title: Somewhere Beyond the Sea (Cerulean Chronicles # 2)
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 2024
 
Description: A magical house, a Secret past, A summons that could change everything.
 
Arthur Parnassus lived 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 hopes to soon be the adoptive father of 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 island so long ago. He is not alon: 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 works 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.
 
Review: With “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”, T.J. Klune once again manages to create an enchanting story that hits you right in the heart. This sequel to “The House in the Cerulean Sea” is full of humor, poignancy and a touch of magic, this novel takes you on a journey that is as surreal as it is compelling.
 
For this book we switch the focus from Linus Baker to Arthur Parnassus, the master of the orphanage, where magical children reside. I’ve read the first book in 2022 and as soon as I read about all these characters again I was reminded of how much I loved it. At the time of reading “The House in the Cerulean Sea”, I didn’t know this was going to have a sequel. And I didn’t really think it was necessary. But now I feel like it was meant to be. Because “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” is just as amazing as its predecessor.
 
Author T.J. Klune is know for his ability to write true-to-life characters, even though they are magical beings, and this book is no different. The main characters are both relatable and charming, and their struggles and growth feel genuine. Most of the story takes place against the backdrop of an idyllic coastal town, and Klune’s description of the setting make you almost imagine the salty sea air.
 
What sets this book apart is the way it interweaves major themes such as loss, love, and self-discovery with an atmosphere of magical realism. The story offers a unique perspective on what it means to face your past and find happiness again.
 
“Somewhere Beyond the Sea” is an amazing sequel, a warm embrace that is a heartwarming, compelling and beautifully written story, filled with the most fantastic characters you will ever come across. Like “The House in the Cerulean Sea”, this is book is a new favorite. So, if you loved the first book, please pick this up too.
 
Rating: 5/ 5

90s Movie Review - The People Under the Stairs

Director: Wes Craven
Genre: Horror/ Comedy
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 1991
Starring: Brandon Adams, Everett McGill, Ving Rhames, Wendy Robie, A.J. Langer, Sean Whalen, Bill Cobbs, Kelly Jo Minter, Jeremy Roberts

Description: When Fool (Brandon Adams) breaks into the home of his family’s landlords, he discovers they have mutilated several boys and kept them imprisoned under the stairs. As Fool attempts to flee, he meets their daughter Alice (A.J. Langer). Can Fool and Alice escape?

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 1: A FILM FROM 1991
 
Review: 13-year old Fool is persuaded by his sister’s boyfriend to break into the landlord’s house, that has been taking advantage of the entire neighborhood. However, the house turns out to be a prison from which escape is almost impossible. Inside, Fool gets to know his fellow inmates.

“The People Under the Stairs” is a film directed by Wes Craven, horror with elements of dark comedy. Inspired about a news report about a couple who kept their children locked in the house for years, Craven made an amusing and critical fable about the America of Reagan and Bush.

It’s not one of Craven’s best films, but certainly one that will entertain you. It’s funny and ridiculous, though also creepy. But the film is self-aware. I don’t think many people know this Craven flick.

Rating: 3 / 5

2024 Reading Wrap-Up

With the start of 2025, I’m looking back on my reading year. It was a great reading year, 2024. I exceeded my reading goal again, read from some amazing new-to-me authors and revisited some favorite authors. Here are my 2024 reading stats (thanks to StoryGraph).

I read 86 books, where my goal was 65. I read 23.026 pages. The first book of the year was “The Hunting Party” by Lucy Foley. A book my dad picked as my first read of the year. I didn’t really like it, it’s my least favorite Lucy Foley book so far. My last book of the year was a lot better, and was a big surprise: “The Lies You Told” by Harriet Tyce.

I read most books and pages in May, which was the month I participated in Escape the Readothon by Lexie. It was a month long readathon, which was so much fun. I also had a week of this month, so more time to read as well. In January I read the least amount of books, easing into the new year I guess. But it was November were I read the least amount of pages. I read some shorter books and listened to audiobooks primarily as well. That might explain this.

To no surprise, thriller was my most read genre this year. I still love this genre the most, together with mystery. Which is in second place. I read a lot more horror this year. Which I’m very happy about. And I’m surprised to see contemporary up there as well, together with crime. I do want to read more different genres, trying to read more diverse genres in 2025.

“It” by Stephen King was my longest book this year, with over 1100 pages. Can’t believe I read that book. My shortest book was under 100 pages, being “Find Her” by Tessa Bailey. Funny enough “It” ended on my favorites list and “Find Her” is probably the worst book I read in 2024.

 I spend an average of 8 days on each book, which was the same as last year. The average amount of pages was 361 pages. I read “Heartstopper Volume 1” in one sitting. I did that with more books this year. From the top of my head “Heartstopper Volume 2”, “The Christmas Guest” by Peter Swanson’ and “Find Her” by Tessa Bailey. Basically because they were either novellas or graphic novels. “Out There Screaming” took me 35 days to finish. It’s a horror anthology, so I read a story here and there when I had some extra time.

My most read authors were Peter Swanson and Janice Hallett, each with three books. I also read two books by Simone St. James, Holly Jackson, Freida McFadden, Stephen King, Jessie Sutanto, Riley Sager Iain Reid and Blake Crouch. I had read from them in 2023 as well, Peter Swanson was also on this list last year. Blake Crouch, Jessie Sutanto and Iain Reid were all new-to-me-authors.

Of all the books I read, the average rating was a 3,6, which is a pretty good average. Lower then last year, but I think I’m more critical now. I had definitely more 1 and 2 stars this year. I gave out the most 3 and 4 star ratings and 16 books were a 5 star. Among them was one reread.  

Even though I read the least amount of pages in November, it was my highest rated month. The year didn’t start well, I started with 2 and 2,5 stars in January. And again, in May was Escape the Readathon, so I got a lot of reading done, which means lots of books and pages got read that month. 

Based on popularity on StoryGraph, “Beach Read” by Emily Henry, is the book that is shelved the most. I don’t really get the hype, but I finally what the fuss is about. “Murder by the Seaside” , a short story collection of murder mysteries, was the least shelved by readers. I was not surprised to see “The Women” by Kristin Hannah as the highest rated. It’s a super popular book and I also really loved it. 

I explored a bunch of new authors as well (I have read from Bram Stoker and Mary Kubica before though, before I started using StoryGraph). Iain Reid is definitely a new favorite author for me. Other new-to-me authors that I really enjoyed were Blake Crouch, Josh Malerman, Paul Tremblay, Abby Jimenez, Benjamin Stevenson and Bonnie Garmus.

I didn’t realize I read so many books that were part of a series. Apparently I read 18 books that were in a series. There are some series I’m sure of that I won’t be continuing: The Obsession series (“Obsession” by Jessie Q. Sutanto), The Housemaid series (“The Housemaid’s Secret” by Freida McFadden), The Castle Knoll series (“How to Solve Your own Murder” by Kristin Perrin). Some I might consider continuing in: Six Crimson Cranes (“Six Crimson Cranes” by Elizabeth Lim), Green Greek series (“Wolf Creek” by T.J. Klune), Vera Wong series (“Vera Wong’s Unsollicited Advice for Murderers” by Jessie Sutanto), Indian Lake Trilogy (“My Heart is a Chainsaw” by Stephen Graham Jones) and A Rabbits Nvoel series (“Rabbits” by Terry Miles). The Appeal series by Janice Hallett is finished, as far as we know now. But I definitely do want to continue in these series: Bird Box series (“Bird Box” by Josh Malerman), Wayward Pines series (“Pines” by Blake Crouch), The Thursday Murder Club series (“The Last Devil to Die” by Richard Osman), Hearstopper series (“Heartstopper Volume 1 + 2” by Alice Oseman), Ernest Cunningham series (“Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone” by Benjamin Stevenson, Part of Your World series (“Part of Your World” by Abby Jimenez), Legend & Lattes series (“Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree) and the Hercule Poirot series (“Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie).

I DNF’ed more books, but still only 6, which is not that bad. “Homecoming” by Kate Morton, “How to Kill Your Family” by Bella Mackie, “Oranges Aren’t the Only Fruit” by Jeannette Winterson, “Nine Perfect Strangers” by Liane Moriarty and “Death Comes at Christmas” (a short story collection). I also DNF’ed “We Sold Our Souls” by Grady Hendrix, but I will try this one again when I’m more in the mood for it. I was think of eventually reading “Nine Perfect Strangers” as well, but I saw the TV show and I’m definitely not interested anymore.