Tj really outdid himself with this story. While this story does deal with death, TJ blends in just the right amount of humor to keep it from being too angsty. I loved the journey Wallace goes through. Only after dying has he learned how to enjoy life. Hugo was a lovely character. He would have to be in order to do what he does. Like all his other stories, Under The Whispering Door is very character driven! You will come to love Wallace, Hugo, Mei, Nelson and even Apollo the ghost dog!

Tears. I cried so hard and so much throughout this book. It felt refreshing to cry like that, but I also felt as if I was being wrecked by this story. Not because it is a terribly sad tale, but more because of my personal connections to death, moving on and grief over lost chances.

This book is wonderfully written by Klune. The story is alive and rich with a fun cast of characters, including a ghost dog who is the best of boys! The storytelling in itself feels warm and encompassing and it makes the book un-put-down-able without being a thrilling page-turner. Quite the opposite actually. The ending is pretty obvious, but it was still everything I wanted and I wasn’t mad at it.

Following Wallace Price felt similar to following Ebenzer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol in the sense that you can’t believe they were that shitty, and yet you can’t help but cheer them on as they try to better themselves.

I already cannot wait to reread this at some point. I know I will get that fuzzy feeling of returning to a good story and a set of wonderful characters. I highly recommend this, especially if you’ve read and liked The House in the Cerulean Sea! But even if you’ve never heard of T.J. Klune, then give this book a go! I promise, you won’t want to put it down.

In life, Wallace Price is not a good man. His suits are fancy, his work is everything and he'll do whatever it takes to get the job done. Heaven forbid anyone get in his way. In death, Wallace is given a second chance to become the man he could have been.

His heart begins to warm up after his body has turned cold. Once he's had a little time to adjust to being dead, that is. Under the Whispering Door is a story about friendship, love, life, death and tea. Lots of tea.

TJ Klune knows how to pull on my heartstrings, that's for sure. This is the second of his books that I've read. I absolutely adored The House in the Cerulean Sea and had already decided that he is an auto-buy author for me. That fact firmly remains after reading this book. His characters are complex and his stories are meaningful and rich ‒ even more than Wallace was financially in life, and in love after his death. Under the Whispering Door, much like the House in the Cerulean Sea, shows that family isn't just who you're stuck with or who you deserve, but who you need. I loved this book. I can't think of a negative thing to say about it. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me think about the people I love. During tough times, or any time, this is the kind of read you need.

TJ Klune has written another beautiful fantasy full of messages of life, love, and grief. I especially loved the ending, as it was not what I was expecting! Thank you to NetGalley for sharing this book with me!

A hopeful yet heart wrenching story. I couldn't help but savor ever minute I read. Just to imagine what happens after you die? Wallace experiences life after death when he goes to a way station and meets Hugo a ferry man. I just loved every single moment, every character and ever characters story. This is a story that will stay with me for a while.

What happens when you die? Do you realize where you are, what happened? What if you heard your friends talking about you at your own funeral? This is what happened to Wallace Price. He finds himself at his own funeral, and a reaper has come to help him transition. He follows her to a tea shop where he is supposed to go through a door to the next step. Wallace was a very negative, closed off man in life, but in death he finds that is of no use.

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book at first, but it quickly became a wonderful story about transformation and love. I really enjoyed the way the story developed and the characters. And I thought the ending was perfect!

A slow build to a beautiful ending, this book literally made me laugh and cry (ok, sob). A story about life, death, grief, family, and how it's never too late to change and do better.

Charming, heartwarming, and hopeful. TJ Klune is a master of creating a story that feeds your soul without being saccharine. A huggable book!

Wow, I really loved this. I never really knew how the book was going to end. Really adore the ending. This still had the same whimsy and humour as House on the Cerulean Sea but it was definitely darker. Which makes sense due to the book being about death. Klune is really good at creating dynamic characters that you can't help but loving. The romance was really interesting and I like how it played out. Its kinda slow burn but also not because Hugo and Wallace now their emotions and mostly know the others but they can't act on them because they cant touch and they know that Wallace will leave. It created a really interesting tension. Not your usual pining.

Highly recommend! T. J. Klune is quickly becoming a favourite author.

TJ Klune is perhaps best known for The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I’m sure many of you love or have seen a lot of. It is a story that celebrates kindness. His latest book Under The Whispering Door explores the terrain of grief but in TJ’s whimsical style that’s brought him quite the following.

Under the Whispering Door is the story of a ghost Wallace, who refuses to cross over to the after life, the ferryman he falls in love with along the way, and the others he meets as well.
Heartwarming and as equally heartbreaking at times, this book was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I fell in love with TJ Klune's writing last year when I read The House in the Cerulean Sea. And this one did not disappoint. It's a moving and beautiful story that I will never forget. I felt like I was on Wallace's journey with him... I felt what he felt, I felt when he started to change, I felt him connect with the people around him. Definitely would recommend this one to everyone!

Thank you, Tor Books, for gifting me a copy of Under the Whispering Door {partner}

Genre: Fantasy
Pub Date: 9.21.21
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

“Death has a beauty to it. We don’t see it because we don’t want to. And that makes sense. Why would we want to focus on something that takes us away from everything we know? How do we even begin to understand that’s more than we see?”

If you haven’t read this book — you absolutely must. I felt like the entire book was one big hug and ode to the grief that we all carry. I could read this book again and again and find a new lesson in every chapter.

I laughed so many times (and I cried, too). I loved all of the characters - even the rough ones who talked tough and carried enormous weight on their shoulders. We all have something to learn, and this story showed that. The banter between the characters is the type of banter that is often so hard for an author to portray, but TJ Klune did such a marvelous job.

Oh, I know I mentioned I cried. But I cried all the ugly tears. Wallace and Hugo are the epitomai of what love and friendship should be.

😂 Witty banter
🥰 Heartfelt moments
💗 Genuine and lovable characters that I want to have as friends
🏳️‍🌈 Wallace and Hugo
🦮👴🏼 Apollo & Nelson
💛 Lessons on death and grief

If you’ve recently lost someone you love, I know it won’t be an easy read, but it puts many things into perspective.

“You’re not alive, but you still exist.”

In short, READ THIS BOOK.

I loved this book! Funny, unpredictable, dreamlike and yet spot-on in its observations. I didn't want the book to end.

I liked this, but not as much as I expected. I loved Cerulean sea, but it's not fair to compare or have high expectations.
I really liked the characters in this one - the side characters more so than the main character. the story was unique and interesting, fast paced and i was so eager to find out how it would all end. it was heartwarming and emotional, i liked all the little nuggets of wisdom and reminders that life is short etc.
i read this over a month ago and should have written the review immediately, but of course i didn't. so i don't remember as much as i should. anyway. it was enjoyable and i liked it, but i didn't hardcore love it, and i didn't fall in love along with the main characters, like i did with cerulean sea.

I quite enjoyed this book. It was nice to read a book about death that wasn’t all doom and gloom or scary. This was a heart-warming book in all ways.

It’s not quite as charming as the House in the Cerulean sea, but lovely nonetheless. I also feel like the ending started just after the half-way mark, for sure, the epilogue needn’t have been quite so long and indulgent. I’m not sure I buy Wallace and Hugo’s attraction, being such opposites, at least in the beginning. Also, Wallace’s complete 180 as far as his character was concerned seems a little far fetched, but I’ll suspend my disbelief willingly on those 2 points. Sometimes it’s nice to let go of cynicism and allow that sometimes the seemingly impossible happens and learn from it. As with Klune’s last book, I loved the cast of side character. Including Apollo!

This is the perfect follow up to Klunes The House in the Cerulean sea. It was emotional, funny, heartfelt. The range of emotions and ideas in this title were unmatched. Such a creative work.

I don't know that I was ready to read this, but I did. Full confession: this is a highly Emotional book. It's pretty obvious from the set-up what questions we will ask and what kind of journey we're on, but the how? You'll never see half that stuff coming.

Unlikable protagonist we will hopefully see develop? Yup. Completely organic and deliciously pining love story? Huh-yup. Quirky side-characters that steal the show? Ho-boy-yup! Is there a dog character for you to fall in love with? I mean, what more are you looking for?

This is obviously a book that tries its hardest to deal with death. Everyone does this differently and the absolutely hopeful and gut-punching nature of this book made me feel...full? Satisfied? Like I could cry and maybe needed a hug? Like I wanted to get in a car and drive just to see what I might stumble across...

You know how they say books are better than people, sometimes? I might have just made a friend...

Under the Whispering Door is a beautiful story. Klune does a wonderful job crafting Wallace and Hugo's story. It's a story about how it's never too late to change, never too late to fall in love, and never too late to do something good.

Klune's storytelling is beautiful and the characters are engaging and excellent. And as with The House in the Cerulean Sea, the world building is fascinating and I definitely want more from this universe.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first T.J Clune novel and after all of the hype surrounding The House On The Cerulean Sea, I was nervous and unsure what I was going in to, but oh my god, this book. This book was so whimsical and magical. The words and descriptions so beautiful that at times the imagery in my head was sparkling and glowing. It gave me Alice in Wonderland vibes in the way that certain things just do not make sense and seem almost nonsensical.

I fell in love with the characters, the character arcs all so realistic and so purely human. I would do anything for a Nelson in my life, his humour had me laughing out loud at so many points of the book.

It’s so rare to find a queer romance that is so beautiful and heart warming, and although Under The Whispering Door had those tragic moments, it also gave me those warm and fuzzy feelings. Sometimes books come around and surprise you, this was one of those books for me, and I definitely read this at a time when I needed something real in my life.

When an epilogue can take my breath away and make me sob like a little baby, I know that I have just read a good book.

“𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨”

(𝕤𝕨𝕚𝕡𝕖 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤)

🦌 Ohhh my gosh - you guys, this book was absolutely phenomenal. I’m not sure why it took me so long to gather my thoughts, but this book had me all over the place. This is definitely one of my favorites of the year for sure!! Ugh TJ Klune just writes so beautiful and knows how to make you get attached to the characters and the story.

🌲 This story does talk a lot about “death” so just a heads up! I haven’t read Cerulean Sea yet but omg I need to now!! I freaking loved each and every one of these characters and felt so attached to them. I was all over the place with this one — it’s definitely a harder topic but it just left me so emotional at the end. I was so upset when I finished the book because I just felt so connected with Wallace and the others.

🦌 Under the Whispering Door is hands down one of the best books I’ve read this year - I’ve read a ton so that says something. I highly highly highly recommended this story. I will say that normally fantasy/magical realism isn’t really my cup of tea but holy crap this book just changed my view on that genre. Oh and guess what?!? You can now pick this one up! I really enjoyed this one and I’m hoping you all do too!! You’re going to want to read this one!! 😉

✨Thank you so much Tor Books for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ✨