TJ Klune continues to write intriguing, thought provoking characters. I started Under the Whispering Door with little to no expectations. I quickly found myself drawn into the characters and the plot. The author's style of writing has a way of making you pause and reread certain lines, they are statements you have heard hundreds of times, but in the context of the character and the story, it was like hearing it for the first time.

Wallace Price is a lawyer who centers his life around his career, money and success. At the end of his life he finds no one in attendance at his funeral, which annoys him a great deal. As Wallace begins to meet new characters and start his journey to the unknown (because do we ever really know where we will end up after death), we watch Wallace discover just who he was and how his actions affected his life and relationships.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, if you were a fan of The House on the Cerulean Sea, don't expect it to have the same cadence. The overall theme in this book is sadness and disappointment, some happier revelations occur, but death and sadness are at the root of the book.

Title: Under the Whispering Door
Author: T.J. Klune
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: September 21, 2021

T H R E E • W O R D S

Enchanting • Contemplative • Endearing

📖 S Y N O P S I S

When Wallace is collected from his own funeral by a reaper, it appears as though he may be dead. And when he arrives at a peculiar tea shop, meeting Hugo who offers to help him cross over, it confirms he is indeed dead. Wallace wasn't a very nice person in life nor did he really live, so when he is given a week to cross over, he sets about truly living and attempting to make amends.

💭 T H O U G H T S

This is one of those books that's hard to review because there were things that I absolutely loved, but there were other things that grated on me, but at the end of the day this is a compassionate exploration of life and love, and by extension of grief and death. Written with Klune's trademark humour and wit, the soulful, well-developed characters make the book. Wallace and Hugo are the main focus, but for me it was really the supporting cast (Nelson, Mae, and Apollo) who really shone.

I was fascinated by the concept of a stopping ground between life and death. Having dealt with a lot of death in the past three years, in some way the idea gave me a sense of peace. The teashop setting, with its warm and inviting atmosphere felt like the perfect fit for such a place.

What didn't really work for me was the length. It just felt like it went on and on, when it easily could have been condensed in placed. And I definitely was not a fan of the ending. But it was the insistent focus on positivity and that "things happen for a reason" that didn't sit well with me.

Overall, it just never hit the mark on the profoundness it should have had even though I appreciated the personal growth. It wasn't the ending I was expecting, nor the one I wanted. I liked it, just didn't love it. But I'm definitely glad I read it and would recommend picking it up.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• T.J. Klune fans
• book clubs

⚠️ CW: death, grief, suicide, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, child death, death of parent, panic attacks/disorders, murder, animal death, homophobia

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"This life isn't an easy one. Day in and day out we're surrounded by death. You either learn to live with it, or let it destroy you."

"From the moment you're born, you're dying."

"Sometimes the best way to help someone is not to say anything at all."

I felt like the love story portion of this just didn't "fit". I enjoyed the themes in the book, but it never fully drew me in emotionally, like I would have expected it to.

I am absolutely kicking myself because I didn’t read this book earlier. It is one of those books that I really just didn’t know I needed in my life and is a beautiful story about death. I felt like this book helped me process so many emotions that I didn’t even realize I harboured and I feel like, while reading this story, I grieved so many people along the way. Absolutely adored it, it has one of my favourite found families I have ever read about and it is a book I will treasure and always keep on my bookshelf.

A huge thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for the e-copy. All opinions are my own.

⁉️QOTD: Do you test the waters or dive right in when it comes to swimming?
I’m a dive right in type. It doesn’t matter how warm the water is, those first few seconds always feel cold. It’s best to get it over with IMO

BOOK REVIEW
Under the Whispering Door @tjklunebooks
Pub date: September 21, 2021
@torbooks

TJ Klune continues to write quirky characters with a whimsical storyline akin to The House in the Cerulean Sea here in Under the Whispering Door. This definitely has the same cozy, heartwarming vibes, too. In fact, I think my biggest complaint about this book is that it felt so similar to reading THITCS, down to the curmudgeonly main character’s softening to a found family and changing his ways.

That said, if I hadn’t read both, I think I’d have liked this one more. I love that Klune is telling us a non-religious tale about what the afterlife and reconciling it with our current life might look like. There’s been comparisons to the show The Good Life, and I think that totally checks out.

I could’ve done without the romance, but this was the first ghost love story since the 90s Casper movie that I can remember 😆 So, I was kind of digging the idea even though I didn’t feel myself pulling for Hugo and Wallace the way I wished I had been. But it was a great way to round out some #pridemonth reading.

Thanks @netgalley and @torbooks for the gifted e-book

#underthewhisperingdoor #tjklune #fantasywriting #fantasyreads #ebook #kindlereads #netgalley #netgalleyreads #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookreviews #booksiveread #lastread #pridereads #lgbtqreads #pridemonth2022 #pride #downtownmedford #gaybookstagram #queerbookstagram #instabooks #booksoutside #booktography #beautifulbookcovers #thehouseintheceruleansea #bookcommunity #readersofinstagram #instareaders #readercommunity

Really enjoyed this!

I will update the review with the link to on our blog as soon as I can.

I'd like to thank the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great read and perfect for anyone who believes love is love. Empowering and engrossing. I recommend this book and look forward to reading more from the author.

The backbone of this is exactly the same as the other book by Klune that I've read (The House in the Cerulean Sea) but the trappings are different enough that I didn't mind. The whole thing is very cosy and warm and sweet, and reminded me of a very benevolent Charles de Lint tale. Ending a bit too tidy for my tastes but this is a comfort read above all else so I'll allow it, haha. Would be a wonderful companion piece to the game Spiritfarer, it has that sort of vibe.

The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. Under the Whispering Door is a deep, profound meditation on life, life after death, death, and everything in between. Wallace, a merciless attorney with eyes only for his work, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack. Overcome with frustration only for the mere fact that he is wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt at the time of his death, Wallace is greeted by Mei, a reaper, who is tasked with bringing Wallace to the ferryman. With numerous unanswered questions, Wallace joins Mei on the way to Charon’s Crossing, the tea shop where he meets Hugo, the ferryman who will help him “cross.”

While at Charon’s Crossing, Wallace is greeted by Nelson, Hugo’s mischievous grandfather, and Apollo, their dog. For the first time in his life, Wallace begins to reflect upon what his life looks like, finds deep appreciation for the tiny, important nuances of the world, and build connections with those around him. In his death, Wallace finally begins to live his life intentionally and meaningfully. The second time you share tea, you are an honored guest.

Klune has, yet again, masterfully created a whimsical world that challenges us to wonder: What if those who we’ve lost were never truly lost, but have simply moved on? Themes of found family and queer romance were interwoven in this story beautifully. Characters are so deeply well developed and will become your own found family. On a personal note, reading Under the Whispering Door helped me contextualize my own grief over the past 7 years since losing my dad. Klune’s own devastating grief is palpable and sensitively communicated on every page with so much love. I felt laughter and I felt healing from start to finish of Under the Whispering Door.

The third time you share tea, you become family.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy.

As with all of Klune's books, this one features interesting characters who evolve through interactions with others. I find all of Klune's novels to be fun and uplifting .... Under the Whispering Door is no exception!

A delightful and easy read, although not my favorite of TJ Klunes. I would recommend this light book for the summertime.

I loved this book so freaking much. I cried so much from reading this book. T.J. Klune just knows how to make me cry. Every book I have read by him have been favorite books for the year I read them on. The last 75 pages or so is both happy and sad tears. This story is so awesome and Amazing. I love the way the author writes his characters and there story. It's a six star read for me.

I think that my total thoughts on this book were "it's okay." I wasn't blown away by it but I also didn't hate it. It follows a corporate workaholic who dies unexpectedly and has to come to terms with this. It's a story that is clearly supposed to be about coming to terms with how one lives their life and finding meaning in who you are or were as a person. But it ultimately felt very surface level. All the characters played their roles in a predictable fashion and the story ran its course.

There were moments that I enjoyed, including a number of funny passages but the story overall felt very repetitive. It was a back and forth between Wallace accepting something about his life or his death and getting closer to moving on but then backing up and clinging to our world once again. The romance in this also didn't feel necessary. I even think that this could have benefitted from Wallace ultimately really moving on and leaving the real world behind despite this romance and other friendships growing.

I think that this is a story that's been done before and personally I didn't feel like I gained anything from it. There was nothing that would make me shout from the rooftops about it but there also wasn't anything that would completely keep me from recommending it to someone else. Truly a middle of the road book for me.

I adore TJ Klune's writing. They can write characters that I absolutely love and Wallace and Hugo were brilliant characters. Thanks for the opportunity to review this beautiful novel.

It's such a joy to come back to this world.

If cozy fantasy is a thing, this one fits the bill. I love this world because it's so unique and the characters come to life and really stick with you.

If you're a fan of the first one, I think you'll enjoy this one too!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and TJ Klune for giving me an eARC in exchange for review! This review will be published on my Goodreads account immediately as well. .

I absolutely adored this book and can’t give it anything but five stars. Truthfully, it was pretty formulaic and matched House in the Cerulean Sea, but it was exactly what I needed. This book gave me a little peace when thinking about death, and I really haven’t experienced that sensation before. This story was beautiful, it was beautifully written, it had beautiful human characters brimming with melancholic humor, a found family (which I always love), and it made me cry soooo many tears.

Thank you TJ Klune for writing beautiful books, with beautiful people, that absolutely destroy my happiness. Please keep doing so <3

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Tor for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book!

This is a 4/5 star read for me

Wallace has died. Wallace is extremely angry about this. And Wallace has no choice but to follow his grim reaper and listen to the ferryman who are assigned to help him accept his own death. All of this happens from within the tipsy turvy tea shop that the reaper, ferryman, and a few others reside.

Every time I read a new book from TJ Klune I become more convinced they are one of the best writers out there right now. The prose in this book is emotionally charged and moving, while still being clear and accessible to a wide audience.

This novel however did not hold my attention like Klune’s other novels have. There were a few things I didn’t buy into as much as this story needed me to:
- The emotion growth of the main character at times felt inauthentic and out of nowhere. I did not have the attachment needed to care about or believe his development.
- The romantic arc did not have the depth and build I felt it needed.
- The narrative of the “magical POC’s help objectively awful privileged rich white man become a better person” is inherently problematic.

That said, I still really enjoyed the story and the world building that went into it. I was always excited to see how things would develop, and was genuinely unsure of where the story would go. I like when a book doesn’t do the obvious, even if this means a bit of an emotional gut punch for the reader.

I think this book will be much more emotional for those who have directly dealt with grief, and it is clear this imaginative narrative came out of Klune’s own grieving experience. I think this book will be a reread for me down the road when I have done more reflecting on the topic.

I’m still excited to read future projects from Klune! They’re the only author who can actually make me excited to read fantasy or sci-fi.

In the outskirts of town, off the beaten path in the woods tucked between mountains, lies a strange but comforting tea shop. A tea shop run by a man named Hugo and his coworker Mei. A tea shop that not only serves tea to the lost and lonely but houses those on their way to the afterlife. As well as Hugo’s late grandfather’s ghost and his ghost dog. With Hugo’s help those souls heal and move on. Hugo’s job as a ferryman gets a bit thrown off balance when Wallace, a mean ungrateful human, arrives. Will Hugo be able to help him move on? Or will Wallace lose himself forever?

“The first time you share tea you are a stranger.

The second time you share tea you are an honoured guest.

The third time you share tea you become a family.”

I absolutely loved that quote. It’s not originally Klune’s, he adapted it, but it’s going to stick with me for a long time. I need to paint that quote on canvas and hang it up. Really touched me. And that leads me to my favourite part of the book. I absolutely loved the tea shop and everything to do with the tea. That was so beautiful and brought such warmth to me. Further creating a beautiful atmosphere to the story.

Klune did a great job exploring death, grief and relationships between people. There was a heavier tone to this book than Cerulean Sea, but Klune knows how to tug at the heartstrings through his characters. I loved Mei, ghost dog Apollo, Hugo and most of all grandpa Nelson. My one qualm is with Wallace. He seemed too good to be true to have developed as he did through the story. Which just didn’t jive with me.

As for the ending, it wasn’t what I wanted and an ending I was definitely expecting. All in all this was true to Klune’s signature style but it left me wanting something different, 3.5✨.

I originally picked this book up last year and put it back down due to a loss. It was too close to home at the time. However, I picked it back up this week and flew through it. I wish I had finished it last year instead of putting it down.

This book is so full of love and hope! Yes, there is death. Yes, there is grief. It made me cry. It also is full of joy and laughter. It's full of love and friendship. Watching Wallace find himself after his death was beautiful. Watching him overcome his fear of what comes next was moving and the way that Klune describes the door gave me comfort and a bit of peace.

I am obsessed with TJ Klune's writing. They can write characters that you fall in love with and Wallace and Hugo are no exceptions. I will think about this book for a good while.