his is such a lovely, heartwarming book. Though it deals with a serious subject, death, it does so in a sensitive, compassionate, and sometimes humorous manner. The characters are endearing, the setting is quaint and quirky, the plot is engaging, and the overall aesthetic is perfect. My only very mild complaint is that the ending dragged on a bit. However, that does not detract from the enjoyment of this book.

Wallace Price finds himself in unexpected predicament at the start of the story. He is dead, but he is still present on earth. He meets his Reaper, Mei, who leads him to a tea shop where his Ferryman, Hugo, awaits to help him accept his death and assist in his crossing over. Wallace struggles to accept his situation, but the inhabitants of the tea shop are there to guide him.

The best things about this book is its characters. The occupants of the tea shop are charming, compassionate, funny, and supportive. They bring out the best in Wallace. I especially love Nelson, the ferryman's dead grandfather who teaches Wallace how to be a ghost. Nelson adds much humor to the story. Hugo is also a wonderful character who is kind and empathetic. It is impossible not to love all of these strange and fascinating characters with their unique abilities.

The plot of the book centers mostly around acceptance of death and growth as a person. The fact that it takes dying for the main character to learn how life should be lived is the books great irony. The climax of the plot is satisfying and adds a sense of hope to the storyline. The action after the climax is slightly drawn out more than necessary, which is why I gave the book 4.5 stars instead of 5 stars.

This truly is a wonderful read that will leave you feeling inspired and hopeful. It will also make you a little bit sad, but that is part of the book's beauty. I highly recommend this book to any reader.

An emotional story that looks at life and death and the space between.

Wallace has a heart attack but when he isn't ready to cross over just yet, he really gets us thinking about what it means to live.

Brilliant characters and an interesting premise. I really like this and highly recommend it!

It has been months since I finished this book and I still do not know how to properly review it or put words together to describe how this book made me feel but I'm going to try.

This book is a hug personified, if a book could hug you and tell you that everything is going to be all right, this one would. This book will rip your heart out, you will feel all the emotions reading this book. I laughed, I cried, parts of this book made me angry, parts of it made me sad, and I loved every minute of reading it. I actually read it twice. I read it physically, then listened to it again on audio and both experiences were amazing. This was my favourite book of 2021. I read a lot of 5 stars this year and this book swept it's arm across the board and cleared it. The sole victor of my reading year.

I have never read anything by this author and now I must read their entire backlist immediately because I will be chasing the emotional high that reading this book gave me. This is now one of favourite books of all time and I cannot begin to recommend it enough.

If you’re looking for a book that will take you on an emotional roller later, this is the one for you. Klune’s way with words will have you lost in the book almost instantly. The emotions I felt were as if it were all happening to me. Thank you for this amazing ride.

This book was sweet and fun. I love the "cartoony" way that Klune is writing this "series". I think that it would usually put me off, but his writing is so good that I'm loving it.

Deeply beautiful and stunning story that takes you through the afterlife. Made me think so much about death, those I hold near to my heart, and how we can make the most of the time we have.

This book was sweet and wonderful, but with depth behind it. I would recommend it more for fans of The Good Place TV series than for fans of House in the Cerulean Sea.

A poignant tale of grief, comfort, loss, and hope. This book will tug you in all directions. You will laugh and you will cry, and I know that's a cheesy turn of phrase, but I've never met a book that better encapsulates that.

This book will be sticking with me for a long time! It’s haunting and beautifully written in every aspect.

I really can’t not stop thinking about it and how everyone should read this book!

Do you ever get a second chance? It's a TJ Klune book. Those should be picked up precisely because you want the answer to be a resounding yes. This is Klune's latest heartwarming found-family fantasy romance, and here, the two lovebirds are 1. dead (Wallace) and 2. the person who's supposed to help the dead guy move on to the next realm (Hugo). Lots of appreciate-what-you-have and time-is-never-guaranteed and be-here-now moments are threaded through this tapestry, along with an excellent supporting cast and of course a dog. TJ Klune excels at the feel-good story, and his characters learn and grow, and the stakes are high enough to matter, and both this and the House in the Cerulean Sea are great to hand to people who think they like neither fantasy nor romance.

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5/5⭐️⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝: This is a very character-driven story, so the pace is a bit slow but the characters are ones that you will adore. I actually picked it up in late October at the peak of my busy season at work, and decided to put it down for a time when I could enjoy that. There isn’t a ton of action, but TJ Klune does such an impeccable job writing beautiful characters who are full of depth and easy to relate to.

The themes explored throughout the book are deep and I found them personally meaningful. Klune addresses the value of being there for someone; processing and allowing yourself space to grieve what has been lost; acknowledging failure with an outlook of redemption; and accepting death.

I was emotionally destroyed by so many things in the second half of the book, and at one point I had to put it down because I was crying too hard and needed to calm down. This is a story that will give you hope that there is a new beginning waiting for those that we’ve lost. I know that not everybody grieves in the same way, but I hope that you find as much solace in that as I did throughout the book.

If you enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea, then I think you'll enjoy Under the Whispering Door as well (Klune’s writing style is consistently heartwarming with some smart banter thrown in at the right moments). Just please note that this book is significantly heavier, focusing on death, grief, and the afterlife.
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𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞: I didn’t love the ending, but out of respect for anyone reading this before reading the book, please check out my goodreads review if you want to see spoilers as to why

Such a beautiful and emotional book (and funny too). My heart is aching and full! I wish I had read it sooner.

Absolutely heart rending. I found I had to read this book in small chunks or else I was completely overwhelmed by grief. Wallace became more likable as the book progressed and I found I became more hooked into the story as a result. It was interesting comparing the queer love story and cast of characters in UtWD to HitCS. The ending of this novel shattered me and I loved Wallace and Hugo so much.

I was in the middle of reading this book when my grandpa died. So it's not that I didn't like this book, or that I didn't want to finish it I just couldn't. I was well over half way when I stopped, and I tried to pick it back up, but it was just a little too hard for me. Doesn't mean I won't revisit it in the future, but for now, I've set it aside. What I'd read up to my stopping was good though, and also a very unique premise, I was excited to read more, but it'll be awhile before I feel like I can go back to it.

“It’s never enough, is it? Time. We always think we have so much of it, but when it really counts, we don’t have enough at all.”

The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books of all time. So I went into this with high expectations. And T.J. Klune did not disappoint.
This was a phenomenal story. This was so moving. This was about grief, death, and what comes after. And especially having recently dealt with the death of one of my family members, this book hit me hard. I am not lying when I say this book made me sob like a baby and made me laugh and smile like a maniac.

The characters from this book were such gems.
HUGO
MEI
WALLACE
NELSON
APOLLO

They all made me laugh. Their interaction is truly everything.

Thank you to the author for the LGBTQ+ rep.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wallace Prince is dead, yet he can’t quite come to terms with it. When a reaper brings him to the ferryman, Hugo, who is supposed to help him cross over, he refuses to go. He starts to fit in at Hugo’s tea shop, he decides to make things right and has a chance of finding his own happiness along the way.

This was such a moving story. I loved Wallace’s growth throughout the story, but the best part to me was Hugo’s grandpa though. He was so funny and brought humor to a serious topic about the afterlife.

TJ Klune is an auto buy author me. He writes so beautifully and makes his readers think. A heartwarming story, Under the Whispering Door is a must read for everyone.

I went back and forth between the ebook and audiobook and really enjoyed both. I thought the narrator, Kirt Graves, was fantastic and I look forward to listening to more books he narrates.

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Books, and Macmillan Audio for copies in exchange for my honest review.

I was gifted a copy of this book from @netgalley and Macmillian-Tor/Forge in exchange for an honest review. This book is currently available. ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐ Another great read from TJ Klune. Under the Whispering Door is a heartwarming story that will make you laugh, cry, and question your existence in this life and the next. I loved all the characters and their interactions with each other. I would read anything this author writes.

Loved this! A book primarily about death, but not in a macabre way. It makes you think about life, and whether you’re living authenticity. Wonderful characters. I loved The house in the Cerulean Sea, and was worried this wouldn’t be a worthy follow-up, but I needn’t have worried. It’s every bit as entertaining and heartwarming, filled with quirky characters and the odd bit of humour. Definitely one I’ll read again,

Don’t you love a book that sticks with you? That’s definitely the case with @tjklunebooks ‘s newest book, Under the Whispering Door.
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The book begins a with the death of Wallace Price, who is understandably confused. At his funeral he meets Mei, a spunky reaper, responsible for gathering Wallace. She transports him to a tea shop on the outskirts of a town far away from his former life. There we meet Hugo, the tea shop proprietor who serves tea to living and the dead. Hugo is a ferryman for the dead. He cares for and helps them, along with Mei, Nelson (Hugo’s deceased grandfather who hasn’t moved on), and Apollo (Hugo’s dog who hasn’t moved on). The tea shop is a space for those between life and what comes next — a liminal space to understand and accept their death. Some accept this easily and are taken to the door upstairs with voices calling them — others, like Wallace, take more time.
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A meditation on life, death, and connection, this book remains hopeful even in the darkest of times. And we are reminded that even in the deepest of sadnesses there is hope. Though designed as a location for the dead to cross over, the tea shop, Hugo, Mei, and even Wallace work just as hard to help the living. The relationships of this book stays with you long after you finish, and like Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea, the characters are complex and, as a reader, you come to care deeply about them.
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I would definitely consider this one of the best reads of 2021 for me, and I look forward to reading more from Klune in the future.
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Thank you #NetGallery and #Macmillan, #Tor/Forge, for the ARC.

Nelson. Apollo. Mei. Hugo. And Wallace. Man oh man Wallace. HUGO. I loved the sense of family and friendship that I was able to find in this book. This book gave me hope i’m so many different ways and for so many different reasons.

Hugo was such a kind and selfless person. He is someone that everyone either strives to be, or to be with. And Wallace? He wasn’t all that good of a person, at first. By the end I loved how much he had been able to grow from someone so selfish and boring into someone with so much love and kindness inside of him.


!SPOILERS!


Hugo and Wallace? OH MY. I absolutely LOVED them, together and individually. How can a friendship blossom so beautifully and freely into something more?

That ENDING. The best ending I could have asked for.