Hello it’s 1am and I need to talk to you about The House in the Cerulean Sea, written by the INSANELY INCREDIBLE @tjklune and published by @torbooks

A thread ahead:

I’ve been a fan of Tj Klunes books for... two years now? Maybe more I can’t remember when I first read something but I DO remember that the first book I read was the Lightning Struck Heart and I worked my way through that series, then Wolfsong then How to be a Normal Person

Then I had to wait for Ravensong and then for Heartsong to be published and I reread Wolfsong so much that like I can pretty much quote chunks of it now

Anyway that’s the backstory to show JUST how excited and happy I was when House was announced.

I had it on preorder before lockdown and with lockdown my copy hasn’t arrived so I finally admitted defeat; I own most of his books on kindle and a few also in print, I’m just going to build both collections so Ill just download it and SLOWLY read it

Like 36 hours later of course I end up reading the second half in one sitting despite being exhausted because I cannot put into words how beautiful TJ’s writing is.

You get immersed into the story. You cry, you cackle out loud you fall in love along with the main character

Look, This book came along exactly when we needed it I think. It’s a lovely, warm book about finding yourself and your home and your family even when you weren’t looking for it. It’s a book about being who you are and being who people think you’re not

It’s a love story in the simple terms but it’s also a love story all encompassing- learning to love yourself a little bit more, I think, and learning to love the unexpected and other people. A lot of books forget that love isn’t just about being IN love.

I really can’t put into words how much I love this book. Not just because it’s way too late at night to form coherent excitement but because I can’t explain the feeling you get when you read this book. You HAVE to read it to understand it and feel it.

I just... there aren’t many books that I fall totally in love with. There aren’t often books that I KNOW I want to recommend and sell well before their publication date. But the second House was announced I was excitedly telling customers about it

And now I’ve read it? I can’t wait for lockdown to end so I can wave it in front of customers faces and get them to buy it. I want to share it with the world (and by GOD am I glad to be a bookseller when books like these come around because I really can!)

I just... House was an incredible book and you can bet I’m going to start rereading it tomorrow when I wake up. I already have seven of my favourite quotes marked out and ready to design into art.

TJ has this... magical way with words. Every book I’ve read from him has just shown that further. Not just with words but with shaping characters. Turning them from 2D ideas to 3D in your head - I could hear Lucy singing as I was reading, I could see Theodore and his hoard

I felt like I could look up and find this place and walk in it’s gardens and get lost in the world and I really happily would have done.

I just... I really really love this book and I’m so so excited for The Extraordinaries because it’s ANOTHER book I can throw at customers to make them just as in love with TJ’s books as I am.

I just... thank you to Tj for this book. Seriously.