I’ll admit I was disappointed when I got the approval email for this and realized it was only an excerpt but it meant I could take a half an hour and read it right away which was good. House In The Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books so I was so excited to hear there was a sequel coming. Sequels can sometimes feel unnecessary but book one made it clear there was still work to be done when it comes to the rights of magical children. Only a prologue and four chapters long, the excerpt ended on a cliffhanger that will have me counting down the days until the book’s release. Thank you to NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for the sneak peek!

I'm going to mcfreakin lose it. I was worried that this wouldn't live up to The House in the Cerulean Sea, which is one of my favourite books, and while that remains to be seen, these opening chapters do assuage a lot of that fear. TJ Klune knows what he's doing.

RIP to me for getting too excited to read the word "Excerpt" and thinking we were getting the full galley. I'm not going to make it.

Quick note to the publisher/editor: Lucy's missing from the photographs scene, which seems like it might have been by accident.

This excerpt set up a good tease for the rest of the book. I appreciated that before the first chapter we get a flashback to when Arthur first came back to the island and decided to turn the house that held nightmares for him into the home for magical children it is now.
House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my absolute favorite books (the audio is spectacular I might add) so I am beyond ready to get to read SBTS!
Arthur and Linus are so dang cute and compliment each other so well. All of the children are so unique but I have such a soft spot for Lucy! I loved getting to see a little bit of their quirks and wit in this excerpt. Chauncey has such big dreams and cracks me up. This series would make such a magical movie!
I hope I’m able to eventually be approved for the full book so I can give a full review/rating 💕
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Absolutely terrific stuff and has all those signature Klune feels that you want from one of his works. I look forward to reading this work in its entirety!

exciting preview. can't wait to read the whole thing.
actually contemplating a pop culture class around Klune's writing.

I feel a little cheated because I fully thought we were getting the whole book but an excerpt is fine for now I guess lol. This was absolutely delightful! The house in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favorite books of all time, so I was beyond excited to see that this was on NetGalley. I’m more excited than ever for the full book!

In this four chapter excerpt of the sequel to A House in the Cerulean Sea, we begin with Arthur and Linus enjoying time with the children on their idyllic island. Then they have some serious conversations about growing up, adoption, and prejudice before the couple travels to the big city, where Arthur will be testifying to push for repeal of the laws oppressing magical children. It seems likely they'll also be meeting with those fostering David, the young yeti mentioned at the end of the previous book, to see if he can join their family.

It's impossible not to compare this book to the first. Despite its challenging subject matter, A House in the Cerulean Sea had a lightness and a fairy tale quality that gave it unexpected sweetness to balance the sadness. So far, Somewhere Beyond the Sea fails to achieve that. The way people with magic were treated in A House in the Cerulean Sea was clearly a metaphor for members of marginalized groups in our own world. In the sequel, only a few chapters in, we're learning about politicians who not only don't want to reform the laws against magical children, but also legislate against queer and trans kids and families. This explicit link with oppression outside of the imaginary world Klune is building feels heavy-handed in a way that doesn't serve the book.

Trying to write a review based on four chapters is difficult. A little more time with the story might have illuminated whether this would become more allegorical, like the first book, or continue to make connections for readers to the horrors of our current political climate, not trusting us to do it ourselves. As it stands right now, I'm disinclined to come back to the book when it's released.

Ok not fair! This was just an excerpt.
I need to read more now! I love these characters!
Please provide full novel and I will happily provide a full review ❤️