I highly awai Klune's next novel--there is something so comforting about his work! His latest. "Somewhere Beyond the Sea" teases the reader with a trip back to Arthur Parnnasus and his magical home. All the feelings that I anticipated to feel came rushing back. I cannot wait to read the rest of this book. Also, the narrator is a spot-on choice!

5 Stars
A wonderful story and I cannot wait for the book and audio to come out. TJ has a gift and this book is a treasure. Cannot wait. This was such a tease but a good one.

I really enjoyed the Cerulean Sea book and, after this sneak peak, am so looking forward to the full version of this one!

I am super excited to read the full story soon! This was just a small taste of what seems like another great story from Klune

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC Excerpt!

As much as I wish this was the whole book, it still did my heart so much good to revisit this world and these characters, brief as it was.

I cannot say enough good things about TJ Klune's writing, especially in The House in the Cerulean Sea and these first few chapters of Somewhere Beyond the Sea. It remind me of a Ghibli movie - finding the elegance and beauty in the every day while blending in the fantastic. It's just....it instantly teleports you somewhere else and even when tensions are high, you instantly feel safe and warm.

I seriously cannot wait for the rest of this book - it's worth checking out the first few chapters!

I need the whole book right now!! The first book was just such an amazing, wholesome and comforting read that I just couldn't wait to read the second!! Obviously this is a very short sneak peak but oh it was great! cannot wait to get the full novel and really dive back into the world with some of my favorite characters ever.

This retelling of The House in the Cerulian Sea, but from Arthur Parnassus’ perspective is just as delightful. TJ Klune always does such a beautiful job creating quirky, diverse characters that show us different ways to love and appreciate differences.

The audio narration is phenomenal.

This is just a review of the sneak peek and not the full book.

ahh! I need more than a preview! These audiobooks are THE BEST and it’s made me so excited for the book to come out. The audiobook makes the characters so much more real and lovable! Can’t wait to read (listen) to this!

I absolutely loved the audiobook, The House in the Cerulean Sea narrated by Daniel Henning. When I saw that the second book in the series, Somewhere Beyond the Sea was also narrated by Henning, I knew I would listen to it, rather than read it. This was a teaser, a short preview of the audiobook and it totally grabbed my attention. I don't know how I will be able to wait for it to be published for another month. Once again this book has a magical world, a found family and wonderful characters. I recommend you add this one to your TBR.

This is a rating of a two chapter sneak peak only.

The sneak peek was a nice look into the novel, even though from the first couple of chapters, I didn't fully understand what the story was going to be. I am not sure if that was just because we have a very small sneak peak or that I found the audiobook didn't completely keep my interest. I kept zoning out. I think that is partly my fault, as I have recently been trying to get into audio books more. However, I also really did not enjoy the voices in the audio book.

When the book comes out, I think I am just going to have to read it myself. I will be able to pay more attention and I am afraid with how distracting the voices are, I will miss the emotion I am expecting to feel, if this is anything like "The House in the Cerulean Sea".

Even though I am only rating the sneak peak three stars, I fully intend on reading this book and I can't wait to!

AHHH!! So excited to be back in the world of House in the Cerulean Sea with these characters that I adore! I listened to a sneak peek of this one
(which consisted of a couple chapters) via Netgalley. The audiobook narrator does a great job creating different voices for different characters. I can't wait to learn more about Arthur's backstory and the beginnings of the orphanage as well as what these characters have been up to since the first book. So excited--cannot wait for the full book to be available!

I’m a very big fan of TJ Klune and can’t wait to listen to the audiobook in its entirety. Although it’s only a sneak peek I can see a reoccurrence in some of the narrators used for this this book that were in previous books and that continuity, especially with such distinct voices for such memorable characters may cause some dissonance in the reading experience. Overall very excited for the full thing.

"Somewhere Beyond the Sea", by T.J. Klune is a fantasy novel with LGBTQ themes. This sneak peek definitely made me want to read the whole thing!

This is the sequel to "House on the Cerulean Sea". This one is told from the point of view of Arthur, whereas the first is from Linus's point of view.

It starts when Arthur Parnassus first returns to the house on the island and works with Zoe to get it up to code so they can bring in magical orphaned children. The second chapter is several years later after six magical children live there and Linus is there. They all have the same personalities as they did before, and it was a very familiar feeling.

I hope they are going to have this whole book available for reviews, not just the first couple of chapters.

I will have to get it one way or another! If you liked "House on the Cerulean Sea", you will enjoy this, too, I think.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and T.J. Klune, for providing this audiobook sneak peek in exchange for my honest review.

I am so excited for this book! I absolutely loved the house in the cerulean sea and i can not wait for this sequel!

This sneak peek just made me wish harder for the book to come out! I can't wait!

Thank you to Netgalley for this sneak peek audio.

ALL THE SPOILERS AHEAD, BEWARE!

I realize that I got a sneak peak of the audio, however, I also received a full audioARC elsewhere, so my review is for the full book.

I almost don't know what to say about this book. I'm incredibly disappointed that this book was allowed to be published, as it is hugely problematic.

I really loved The House in the Cerulean Sea when I first read it, and at the time I could see the parallels between Klune's story and the way Indigenous people in Canada have been treated (historically and currently), so then to hear that it was directly inspired by the 60's Scoop, left me feeling quite off about it. And to hear Klune speak about it, it's as though it was this small, little snippet of Canadian history that he discovered. Which, it's not. And he rightly got called out on it. And did not respond in any way, which didn't impress me. But, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, he made a mistake, let's hope he does better going forward. And he really has not with this sequel. If anything, it's worse than THITCS.

The absolutely blatant use of Indigenous trauma to write this book (and sell it, because you know it's going to sell well) and then not acknowledge it whatsoever is absolutely disgusting. I wanted to give Klune a chance to hear the criticisms of THITCS and to learn from that, and not do it again, but I think he actually leaned harder into that trauma with Somewhere Beyond the Sea. In it we have Arthur, our POV character this time around, giving testimony about his time and how he was treated in foster care, he received a monetary settlement because of it; both of these things are exactly what happened with survivors of the 60's Scoop, where Indigenous children were stolen away from their families and put into white foster homes, where they were treated appallingly. While it was at its height in the 1960s, it continues TO THIS DAY, with Indigenous children making up a large majority of those living in foster care. To use Indigenous trauma that is still ongoing is insensitive at best and appropriation at worst.

Throughout the book there are mentions of intergenerational trauma, the dehumanization and othering of the children in foster care, treaties and land rights. These are all very real traumas and issues that Indigenous people in Canada are dealing with today. The 60's Scoop wasn't some small blip in Canada's history, its legacy and trauma is still very present today. At one point in SBTS the government officials come and try to take the children away (at which point treaties and land rights are mentioned) and the imagery of an Indigenous Elder, who escaped being taken by hiding under the dead body of their family (while this is reminiscent of any colonized people, it is very much a part of Indigenous history, too), showing the bad government people the treaties that were signed and declaring the land sovereign is evoked. And I can't help but think of all the times this has happened in Canadian history (as well as present day) and how the police were called in and the government just did whatever they wanted. The Wet'suwet'en in BC are still dealing with this, despite their never having ceded their land. To use this sort of imagery without knowing the history is just not okay.

In addition to the blatant use of Indigenous trauma to write this book, there is also the issue of how it portrays white saviourism. Don't worry marginalized children who have been ripped away from their families and cultures, these two middle-class white men will save you! While I do think that Klune was trying for more of a found family feel, this just comes across as white saviourism, and while the children aren't being abused, they're also not learning about their own unique cultures. This is a huge problem within the foster care system, in that children from marginalized communities are placed with white foster families and they completely lose their culture. So to reinforce that is quite awful.

And lastly, setting aside how incredibly problematic it is, the story was not compelling in any way. With THITCS, you could tell that it was a story that Klune was excited about, whereas with SBTS it feels like he was trying to write the sequel he had no intention of writing. The plot was very haphazard, the characters not well developed. I am also having feelings with regards to the dedication and author note, in that Klune is dedicating this book to trans kids and he talks about how he wants his legacy to be as the anti-JKR. However, as far as I know, Klune has never written a trans character. There is one very minor side character in SBTS who I believe is meant to be non-binary, but I don't know that they actually even have any lines of dialogue. If you are wanting to set yourself up as the anti-JKR, maybe include some trans characters in your books? Dedicating a book to trans kids and then those same kids not even being able to see themselves in that book is making me feel some sort of way.

Overall, this was a complete dumpster fire of a book that never should have been published. After reading this I am seriously considering what do to with my not insignificant collection of TJ Klune books, because it honestly makes me feel gross to even be looking at them.

Sneak Peek for Somewhere Beyond the Sea is an extended preview for the upcoming second book in the House in the Cerulean Sea series by TJ Klune. Currently available free from the publisher, it's 36 pages. The actual full book has an anticipated release date of 10th Sept 2024 from Macmillan on their Tor imprint.

This is a warmly supportive tale for anyone who has felt like a misfit. The characters are appealing and whimsical and the entire premise of love, generosity of spirit, kindness, and found family shine through. It is humorous, and often full of slapstick comedy (one of the kids has eyestalks on tentacles; they're -all- pretty special), but always, the theme of found family and misfits-against-the-world comes through loud and clear.

The audiobook version is marvelously narrated by Daniel Henning, who does a wonderful job with the wildly divergent character voices. His timing is perfect, and he manages to delineate the kids' and adults' voices perfectly. The sneak preview has a run time of 30 minutes 34 seconds. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Five stars. Excellent excerpt and great story narration. Definitely one for public library acquisition as well as for fans of YA school fantasy.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Thank you for the sneak peek! House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books ever so you can probably imagine how excited I am for the sequel. The narration is so good too. TJ Klune has stolen my heart with this family and I can’t wait to listen to the whole audiobook again and again.

I did not realize this was just a sneak peak, and thought it was the full version. However excited I am for the book, this was a disappointment. I am glad I got it because I know to read it, not listen to the audio. The voices are too distracting and childlike. I’ll give this a rating because NetGalley demands it, but this is not indicative to my rating of the book since I haven’t been given a copy to read.

I mean, since I loved the first book...this was obviously wonderful and excellently narrated. I was bamboozled by the 'sneak peak' and thought I was getting an arc to review. I don't have a review of the book at the moment. I will give stars on NetGalley to complete the process but I will not be posting this review or rating it yet since this was only one chapter. This rating reflects my feelings of this chapter alone.