Claris Lam's 3 favorite reads in 2024

• 2023
• 2024

A major part of why I loved this book was the characters.

Coop, the character whose point of view we see the story through, was my favourite. Though he had a loving, supportive family, unlike his friends, he still had his own issues. He struggled to fit in as the only human at the academy, dealt with bullies and a fear of spiders, and struggled to raise his self-esteem because of those ongoing issues. It's only after he grows in confidence in his dungeon navigating skills and faces his fears that he learns to believe in himself and grow his leadership skills.

The rest of his friends also get some great developments, even though they're not the main characters. Ozzie has to deal with strict expectations from his parents, Dazmia has her own issues with negligent parents and self-esteem, and Mindy has a lot of pressure to succeed at her time in the Academy. Each of them navigate their issues individually but also support each other's journeys, which I loved.

At first, this seemed like a collection of three short novellas in one book with some continuity between them. I really loved the continuity and references. It was fun to see recurring characters and references to other cases during the events of each mystery. However, this continuity actually led incredibly well to an amazing major twist revealed in the last third of this book.

All the characters were so fun to read. Watson and Holmes are the obvious standouts, given that they're the main characters. However, there were other characters that appeared throughout all three cases (or at least two out of three cases), and they were incredibly fun to read as well. They had such fun motives, personalities, and an air of intrigue about them that fit the story so well.

This sequel to TJ Klune's The House In The Cerulean Sea was absolutely amazing.

It follows Arthur's point of view, taking place after the events of the first book, as he deals with many things at once in the present day including raising a new child, fighting against the Department In Charge Of Magical Youth, etc. - and we, the readers, learn a bit more about his backstory in the process.

I don't want to spoil anything here, but the book made me laugh, cry, and and I was absolutely happy with how the ending went. This is a great follow-up to The House In The Cerulean Sea! If you enjoyed reading the first book, you'll likely enjoy reading this one too.