I really wanted to like this book. It’s a sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I really enjoyed. It has great LGBTQIA+ representation, and an important message about resistance and hope. But as much as I wanted to love it, Somewhere Beyond the Sea ended up falling flat for me.
Linus Baker and Arthur Parnassus are finally living their happily-ever-after. They live on the beautiful island of Marsyas, with the six magical children they hope to officially adopt. The town they live in has become a welcoming place for those who are different, and it seems as if their problems are finally over. However, when Arthur is called to testify about his traumatic past as a child in the Marsyas orphanage, it becomes clear that the family’s troubles are far from over.
My first issue with this book was the pacing. It felt like it took forever to get to the main conflict of the story. Arthur’s testimony before the government was moving, but it was largely a rehash of familiar information that kept the story from moving forward. Then, when the story finally picks up the pace, it rehashes the exact conflict from the first book: an inspector from the government comes to the island to determine the fate of the orphanage. Except this time the inspector is a woman and mean, so the story can’t resolve with an adorable gay romance like the first book did. Finally, without spoiling anything, the ending was disappointing. I get the sense that Klune wanted his characters to stay non-violent, which in and of itself is a good thing. I think it can show a lot of creativity when authors can resolve plot conflicts without physical fighting. Klune doesn’t stick the landing, though. The ending feels like a deus ex machina, neatly resolving all of the problems without actually demanding much of the characters.
The book still has some lovely moments. The magic kids are precocious and fun. Arthur and Linus are just adorably perfect for each other. T.J. Klune’s prose is as swoonworthy and quotable as ever. For me, though, that wasn’t enough to make up for the structural flaws in the story. I hope to read more from T. J. Klune in the future, but for me, this particular book didn’t live up to the standard set by his previous work.