YVO’S SHORTIES #221 – The House In The Cerulean Sea & Inborn

Time for another round of Yvo’s Shorties! This time around two completely different genres: a fantasy read that blew me away completely and ended up being a new all time favorite, and a YA thriller I ended up enjoying considerably.

Title: The House In The Cerulean Sea
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
First published: March 17th 2020
Publisher: Tor Books
Finished reading: February 23rd 2021
Pages: 394

“Hate is loud, but I think you’ll learn it’s because it’s only a few people shouting, desperate to be heard. You might not ever be able to change their minds, but so long as your remember you’re not alone, you will overcome.”

I’ve seen so many people raving about this book, and in a way it had me a bit worried as hyped books and me don’t tend to get along… But luckily The House In The Cerulean Sea turned out to be an exception to that rule. What an absolutely stunning and breathtaking read! It was love at first sight with the writing style, and I knew that I was going to love this story as soon as I read the first chapter. The writing, the characters, the supernatural element, the children, the romance, the island… It was simply such a magical and mesmerizing experience, and I loved every single minute I spent with this story. The contrast between Linus’ set and strict life and how he seems to blossom after arriving to the island is so extremely well done and I loved seeing all of the characters develop over time in general. This is without a story that will stay with me for a long time, and also one I can already see myself rereading in the future. Say hello to a new all time favorite and a title that will most definitely appear on my list of 2021 favorites!

Title: Inborn
Author: Thomas Enger
Translator: Kari Dickson
Genre: YA, Mystery, Thriller
First published: 2017
Publisher: Orenda Books
Finished reading: February 26th 2021
Pages: 276
(Originally published in Norwegian: ‘Killerinstinkt’)

“I really didn’t know. And that was maybe what scared me most.”

I’ve been meaning to try Thomas Enger‘s books for a long time now. I already knew I was going to enjoy his writing style after reading Death Deserved last year, which he wrote together with Jørn Lier Horst… I was originally going to start with his Henning Juul books, but my TBR jar thought otherwise and decided I had to read his YA stand-alone Inborn first. Not that I’m complaining, as I most definitely liked what I found! Inborn is part courtroom drama and part crime/detective thriller that can basically been seen as a crossover between YA and adult. How does that work, would you ask? Remarkably well! The story is divided into Then and Now. The part set in the past reads as a crime thriller and is split in two different POVs: Chief Inspector Yngve Mork and the young Even. This way, we get to follow the investigation itself as well as see things through the eyes of both a suspect and a teenager close to the events. Even is very important to the plot, as is shown in the part set in the present, where he is called on the stand in court to be questioned. I really liked this balance between past and present, as it is used both to add suspense as well as answer questions in an ingenious way. And I most definitely didn’t guess the full truth about it all even though I was mostly right about who was behind it… Still, I really enjoyed my time with Inborn and I can’t wait to read more of his books next.