Review: Somewhere Beyond the Sea

2/5 stars

Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by T.J. Klune (2024)

I wanted this to be great, because The House in the Cerulean Sea was great. In the end, though, we really did not need this sequel. I'll just say at the top here - if you loved Cerulean Sea, don't bother with this one. Just treasure your happy memories of the first book!

Here, we return to Marsyas island to rejoin Arthur and Linus and their ragtag gaggle of magical children, who are all up to the same old antics. Arthur and Linus are a proper couple now, which I enjoyed, and they are in the process of trying to officially adopt the children. First, though, they must travel to the city to give testimony before the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY) and the Department of Magical Adults (DICOMA). Arthur believes he will be sharing his experiences as a magical youth, but they soon learn that the proceedings are just an excuse to vilify him and his children. The big-bad this time is a woman named Rowdy, who has it in for all magical beings, and sends another DICOMY investigator out to the island. Unlike last time with Linus, this investigator won't be swayed.

And that's kind of it. Honestly not a whole lot happens that is all that different from the first book, except that this one felt preachy and like it was pushing an agenda. Believe me, I love the diverseness of the characters, and I get that the point is being made that the government is trying to leash and imprison them for their differences (not just because of their magical powers, but gender fluidity, race, etc.)... but what happened to show-don't-tell? Klune seems to have decided his readers are dumb-dumbs that need everything explained over and over again.

I don't mean to say I hated this... It was just really heavy-handed in a way that surprised me, given how light and airy and whimsical the first novel was.

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UP NEXT: The Staircase in the Woods, by Chuck Wendig