I had been warned a few times that this book is very different from The House in the Cerulean Sea and boy, was that right. While THITCS felt like a warm sunny day, this story felt like standing under a dark cloud. This book is all about a very different and heavy subject — death. And please, please pay attention to the Authors Note at the beginning. I’ve heard a few people saying they read this and decided not to read the book, and that’s okay! While this book is indeed very different, some of what I loved about THITCS is back in this story. It has the same whimsical, quirky feel. And there is a lot of humor mixed in with the tears. The take on the “after-life” felt unique to me and I enjoyed the characters who helped Wallace in his literal and metaphorical journey. This book has a message we’ve all heard before, which is be kind and don't be a jerk. But I think sometimes we all need the reminder 🙃

Thank you to NetGalley Tor Books for the advanced copies in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book. From Klune's writing style to the range of unique characters, it's hard not to fall in love with this book. ⁣
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Whilst this book deals heavily with death and coping with loss, it also looks at love and living life to its fullest. Make sure you have tissues at the ready because this one brought me to tears numerous times!⁣
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Honestly Under The Whispering Door is such a beautiful book that takes you on such an incredible and emotional journey. I was so sad when it ended because I just wanted to remain in this world with this amazing characters. ⁣
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I 100% recommend you pick up this book! I'm going to be reading House in the Cerulean Sea very soon and I'm so excited!⁣

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Under the Whispering Door is a book about death, grief, found family, love. This book featured wonderful characters, a couple of terrible characters, and maybe one or two who started off one way then turned to another.

Wallace Price is a lonely man, but he’s busy with his work. Until he finds himself dead due to a heart attack. At his funeral, he as a ghost can see firsthand who is in attendance: his ex-wife and his law partners, and a lady he doesn’t recognize. This lady turns out to be his Reaper and she is here to take him to his next stop.

Mei (the Reaper) explains to Wallace what had happened and what their next steps will be. They head to a tea shop where he meets, among some other fabulous characters, Hugo, the ferryman who is here to help him move on to the next part of his life. Wallace is free to stay as long as he wants but when he is ready, Hugo will help him transition over.

Over his time with Hugo and the others, Wallace starts to grow as a person. Until one day, a creature known only as The Manager show ups, letting Wallace know he has 7 days until he must pass. Wallace knows he must make the best of his time with his newfound friends before the next step is pushed upon him.

This is a hard book to describe without giving away details. I went in completely blind after falling in love with The House in the Cerulean Sea earlier this year and I think that might have helped me. The synopsis makes like the “7 days” aspect is a bigger deal than it is, when in fact, that part of the story is such a small part of this story and happens so much later than expected.

This book has humor, fantastic characters, a lovely love story, but it isn’t perfect. The pacing is not great and there are too many small plots that don’t feel fleshed out or even necessary. Even the love story — no matter how much I am here for it — seems rushed, not complete.

I know that, for some reason, I tend to rate books that make me cry higher than they maybe deserve. This book is delightful and, yes, made me cry so, so much. But the writing, story, and characters are just wonderful. This ended up being a 4/4.5 for me, though I know it didn’t hit that mark with everyone.


I am so thankful for my eBook from Tor Books via Netgalley. All thoughts are my own.

Under The Whispering Door by @tjklunebooks is the story of Wallace Price, a heartless lawyer who dies suddenly and is brought by a reaper to a little teashop in the woods, the last waystation to help him crossover to the otherside. But Wallace isn’t ready to go, and during his time at the shop, its inhabitants teach him all about what it means to live a good life.

I am convinced that @tjklunebooks superpower is writing the most charming AF characters you will ever come across. They can catapult themselves right into the most cynical of hearts, leaving you an emotional mess when you’re done! I am not a crier, but if you are, good luck. Grab the tissues and an emotional support buddy reader, cuz you’re in for a ride. You know that lump in the throat, tingly eyes situation that happens every time Goose and Maverick head out on that fateful flight in Top Gun? That was me for the last ¼ of this novel.

The story deals with death of all forms – unexpected, suicide, murder – so consider this when choosing to read. The author so kindly put this content warning at the start of the story so readers can proceed with care. Yet somehow, even though it is a story about death, I found myself laughing out loud on the regular at Nelson and Mei’s zingy one liners and feeling so hopeful for all of their futures.

I’ve seen some feedback that the pacing is off and that what one expects to be a main story arc only occurs in the final chapters of the story; and this is true, but I think it’s honestly the fault of the book description, misdirecting the reader as to what is the main plot rather than a fault in the book itself. My suggestion: ignore the goodreads description, go in blind, and you’ll thoroughly enjoy every minute of the journey you'll go with these loveable characters.

If you loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, A Man Called Ove, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, or Scroogey-like stories, this one is for you!

Thanks so much to @torbooks for sending me this gifted copy 💕

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book!

An easy 5-star read from my favourite author, I knew going into this one that the tone would be different to a lot of Klune's other novels, but I was not prepared to be bawling my eyes out at 2am as I finished the last chapter of "Under the Whispering Door".

While the plot was slower paced to start with, it matched the tone of the book well. The characters were all super loveable and the world building was so good!

One of the best books I've read so far this year, I'm so sad that I've only got a couple more Klune books to read before I've finished them all! I can't wait for more future releases and I've already preordered two copies of this book for my collection!

Oh my, where to start? This book is a lot. It's so so heavy, but so so hopeful. I only teared up like 3 times, and I feel like that was an accomplishment. As usually with Klune's books, this is one I want to hug but also throw across the room. While I didn't love it quite as much as The House in the Cerukean Sea, I still highly recommend. ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Thank you Net Galley & Tor Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly I am a day late on finishing up my ARC in time but that is because this one is SO good I had to keep putting it down to just savor it. Not to mention it made me cry countless times so I had to recover from that as well. It is one of the most whimsical, delightful, heartwarming story I've ever read about death and what comes after. This was the first book by this author that I've read but if his others even come close to this sign me up!

I. I really don't know where to begin.... this book broke me. It stitched me back together only to break me again over and over. (Best way possible) I about peed my pants laughing more times than I can count. I don't think I have ever died laughing in a part, only feel my heart being ripped out in the next few pages or chapters. This is hands down one my top 10 books so far this year. Without a doubt. Holy Rollercoaster. I don't think I'll ever forget this one.

Every once in awhile an author comes around that quite literally turns your world upside down. TJ Klune, is that author for me. I had been going to extremely high lengths to try to obtain Under the Whispering Door, prior to its release date. When I was granted the opportunity I literally had bells on shrieking from the roof top.

Under the Whispering Door, does not disappoint. This book exceeded all expectations I had had for it and let me tell you my expectations were high.

Could you possibly live your whole life in 7 day? The way TJ Klune was able to narrate this book makes you believe just that. This was one of those books that just give you a good shake up and make you want to make major life changes and really, really start living. We only have one life, we all need to start acting like it.

Wallace is dead, we know that much is clear. Wallace is having a hard time accepting he is actually dead. When Wallace meets Hugo, the owner of a strange little tea shop, he promises Wallace he is going to help him cross over . Wallace soon comes to terms with the fact that he is not ready to die and really wants to live. That is when Wallace decides to live a full life in seven days before he is forced to cross over.

This was just an uplifting story and as I said before it really affected me in a way that I want to do more. I am typically that person who is married to their job and puts their career first and maybe I need to take a step back and realize what truly is important.

Thank you TJ Klune, for the wake up call. I really needed this .

If I could give this 10 stars I would, 5 stars just does not equate to any type of justice for this book.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This was my most anticipated release of the year and boy did it not disappoint! I hate to say it, but I think I liked this better than Cerulean sea!

The characters in this were so rich, so well developed. When I wasn't laughing out loud, I was crying quietly in my office. What a book. Just go read it.

This was my most anticipated book of the year. After reading Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea last year and falling in love with his writing I had SUPER high hopes for this. While it didn't quite reach the level that was THITCS I did enjoy this. I love how Klune writes his characters. They have so much emotional depth and development. I always find myself laughing aloud and overcome with emotion a few pages later. I think the synopsis for this book was a bit misleading. Some things didn't occur until the last 1/4 of the book---which I wish took up more of the book. I think this was just not long enough for the main character to fully develop and it felt a bit rushed. However, I loved the premise of this and will continue to pick up anything written by Klune in the future.


I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one earned 4 stars because it really stuck with me. As much as I didn't like everything that happened in the story, I can understand the plot choices now that I've finished the book. I really liked getting to know the characters and the atmosphere is one of the most memorable for me. This is a great character driven story about life, death, and tea.

oh my goodness this book. I was expecting it to be light and fluffy and it is but it isn't. It is heartbreaking, but in the best way. If you are looking for an amazing story of grief and death but also love and joy. I highly recommend. Just be prepared for a book hangover once you finish.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 rating

“Because you’re you, and that’s who you’re supposed to be”

This book did not disappoint AT ALL! Klune has a way of making you fall in love with all of his characters! I couldn’t have loved this book anymore. It was such a heartwarming story of knowing you can change who you were in life while in death. The story of Wallace gives you so much to think about in your own life and what you want to do with the time you have.

I recommend this book to anyone and everyone! Make sure you have tissues on hand because you WILL cry!

After loving everything I've read by Klune so far it was obvious I was going to read this. And then, when it appeared on NetGalley AND I was approved, I had to sit on it for SO. MANY. MONTHS.* It was 100% worth the wait.

Having not read any of Klune's "adult" books, this one feels more mature than his superhero books (The Extraordinaries and Flash Fire) or The House in the Cerulean Sea. Most of this is directly because there are no young adult characters and this deals so much with the topics of death and grief. And it brings up so many philosophical ideas about life and death that I'm sure I still missed plenty.

Getting it out of the way, I was NOT a fan of the way the book started. Wallace was a dick. There's no other way to say it and it was a struggle to get through that first chapter because I wasn't sure how long I was going to have to put up with it. Thankfully, he dies pretty quick and the book really kicks off.

We're here to make sure they see that life isn't always about living. There are many parts to it, and that it continues on, even after death. It's beautiful, even when it hurts. (Chapter 12)

The story isn't just Wallace's story. It's also the story of Hugo, the ferryman a la Charon from Greek mythology who works at a cafe called Charon's Crossing (on the nose much?! but so adorable), Mei, the reaper who goes looking for the assigned deceased to help them find their way to Charon's Crossing, and Nelson and Apollo, Hugo's grandfather and dog who have both died and stuck around to help Hugo manage his anxiety and the stress of constantly dealing with death.

I loved that this story wasn't over the top or about too much fantasticalness. In a way it was very Austen-esque in that it's got a super narrow geography with a family of characters and occasional guests. Even though it's dealing with this grandiose and incomprehensible of death and life after death, the story is really about the minutiae of living and it was a beautiful story.

As Wallace realizes who he was when he lived, he realizes he doesn't want to be that person any more. He's realized that Hugo and Mei are doing what they do, helping the dead pass beyond, not because they expect to get anything from it, but because they can and it's the right thing to do. And when Wallace realizes this, after he's become friends with everyone and fallen in love with Hugo it takes the book to a whole different plane. It becomes tenser, more visceral and a billion times more beautiful because of the time limit forced on Wallace.

Everyone loses their way at some point, and it's not just because of their mistakes or the decisions they make. It's because they're horribly, wonderfully human. And the one thing I've learned about being human is that we can't do this alone. When we're lost, we need help to try and find our way again. We have a chance here to do something important, something never done before. (Chapter 22)

The one character I haven't talked about is the Manager and I've left them out for a reason. It's hard to describe their role in this other than to manage the process of death. The scenes with him act as the catalyst of the above mentioned ramping up of the story, but also as the denouement and it's very telling that they're embodied by a small male child and a stag (oh hey Harry Potter and Zelda - I'm sure they all get it from the same mythology, I just don't know what it is).

Both times the Manager appears in the story I was left emotionally wrung out. What was Wallace going to do with what little time he had left? And at the end just so overwhelmed with joy and relief (even though I knew it would happen, but prepared for it not to happen, that I could barely finish the last few pages.

The Manager also had the throwaway line after the big OMG YES moment, that left me with the MOST questions from the book:

What? Of course not. His name was Pablo. He lived in Spain in the fifteenth century. He was . . . well. It's not important who he was. All that matters, is you know this is a gift, and one that can be taken away just as easily. (Chapter22)

WHO THE HELL IS PABLO!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?! And is Klune going to write his story next?! Was it Pablo de Santa María (Wikipedia link)? He was the only one who came up after a 2 second Google search :-D But seriously though how do you drop a hint like that and not follow up on it?!

Recommendation: READ THIS BOOK. It's an incredibly beautiful work that makes you think and grow as you read it. I struggled a bit at the start but it gets so much easier to read and grows in beauty and complexity. Klune has become a must-read author and I cannot wait for his next book, whatever it is!

*I received a copy of Under the Whispering Door from the publisher via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: "Patricia was crying."

Closing Line: "If they'd looked back one last time, they would've seen movement in the forest. At the tree line, there, in the dark, a great stag lowered its head toward the earth in veneration, flowers dangling from its antlers. Before long, it moved back amongst the trees, petals trailing in its wake." (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

*Note: Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this work.*

First of all, here's a quick story on my stupidity. I though this book was a sequel to 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' (you know, because the covers are very similar) and by the time I got this ARC I hadn't really read that book yet so I did (and loved it btw). Turns out, it's NOT a sequel to TJ Klune's other book with a VERY similar cover it simply has a VERY similar cover. In my defense, it was a very understandable mistake (that could have been fixed by reading the synopsis). Anyway, I hope you - at least -smiled with this story and now onto the review.

Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy novel about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with. I had a wonderful, cozy, hilarious experience reading this book. It truly has that 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' vibe but instead of themes of self-love and acceptance, it tackles on death and grief. It's about appreciating life and learning to live to our fullest.

I absolutely loved the characters. Hugo, Nelson, Mei, Apollo and of course, Wallace have a special place in my heart from now on. Great dynamics, perfectly developed characters.

But...

The story is nothing new. We heard it before, we've "been there, done that". The plot is a little too predictable and that bored me sometimes. However it didn't bored me too much, tbh.

This novel is character-driven and if, like me, you love that than this book is definitely for you. It feels like a warm blanket in a rainy day, nothing more perfect than that.

T.J. Klune’s books are a like a warm, fuzzy hug. Grilled cheese and tomato soup on a cold, wet day. Snuggles from a hundred puppies all at once. His words make you feel good and happy (and also sad, but then happy!) and if I could wear his books like my favorite sweater, I definitely would. ⁣
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In UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR, our main protagonist doesn’t start off so warm and fuzzy. Self-centered, without empathy, Wallace was a character who went through life not caring about anyone else other than Wallace. When Wallace passes away, he’s collected by a reaper and taken to a ferryman who not only shows Wallace all he missed in life, but also helps him grow and change and learn to be a sympathetic human. His transformation was truly the highlight of this book, and all I can say is prepare yourself— this book is certainly one of those gems that yank fiercely at your heartstrings, so have those tissues at the ready. ⁣ ⁣
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As with many of Klune’s other books, there’s a found family involved and that helps to lighten the load a little with this one. There are some heavy themes at play in this tale, mainly death and the loss and grief that go along with it, but the characters and the friendships and the family aspect bring a lot of lovely heartwarming moments to counterbalance the heartbreaking ones. This is easily one of my top 5 books of the year, and it’s one of those books that will stay with me for quite a long time. 5 charming, heartbreaking, heartwarming stars. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
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*Many thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for the digital arc.

Anywho, I decided to give Under the Whispering Door a try. I really like the cover, it's so silly and cartoony, hiding the depth and darkness that is inside. In that this book is about death and dying and grief and possibly an afterlife? I loved Wallace. I loved him when he was an asshole, I loved him when he was a dead asshole, and I loved his growth. He was unintentionally hilarious and obtuse, I was very amused. I also liked the rest of the very few main characters. This is a simple cast to an immense (in mental capacity) novel. Though I was expecting to dive a little more into the afterlife, I did enjoy what we got. I was a little disappointed that it ended so neatly and tidily but it was a cute novel and I personally, didn't find anything to object to, but I am a cis white woman so I obviously have blinders on. If anyone DOES find something disagreeable, please let me know!! I want to be able to pick out harmful things myself so the more I can learn about them, the better reader and reviewer I can be.

4 stars

A tea shop that's really a way station for the recently dead, a ferryman like the Greek myths who's actually a cinnamon roll, and one absolutely horrible man who comes to find his humanity in this sweet and emotional novel.

Concept: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★
Characters/Arcs: ★★★★
Handling of heavy topics: Every reader will have their own reactions, handle with care

I couldn't get through The House on the Cerulean Sea (I know, I know, don't come for me. I am also upset that it was a DNF.) so I'm pleased to see that this second "quaint fantasy" novel by T.J. Klune really worked for me.

Under the Whispering Door looks cute, and on one level it IS cute. It's a quaint novel about a tea shop and soft gay characters and acceptance and love and goodness prevailing.

DISCLAIMER: But this novel is also extremely heavy and deals with all manners of death—including suicides and murdered victims. Because of this second element, the author himself writes a "handle with care" note in front of the book. I think that note could be more strongly worded, myself, as someone struggling with mental health my have a harder time seeing the weeds for the trees. Please note this if you usually avoid these topics.

Wallace Price is a horrible man. We meet him in the very first scene as he fires a very good employee for a very inconsequential reason, and he feels no remorse. He abruptly dies from a heart attack.

When Wallace "comes to" again, he's shocked to find himself at his own funeral. Only 5 people attend, and no one is sad. This feels very much like Scrooge's experience in A Christmas Carol. One of the attendees is Mei, and Wallace discovers that, to his horror, Mei is his Reaper. He is Dead with capital D, and it's time to meet his Ferryman and accept his death.

Mei takes Wallace to Hugo. Hugo, who runs the quaint tea shop in the woods named Charon's Crossing, is not at all who Wallace expects. But they're tied to each other—literally—and things are about to get interesting.

Throw in a ghost dog and a ghost grandpa, some truly hilarious shenanigans, and a thread of grief and its various stages and you've got this novel. A complicated cup of tea.

My thoughts:
Like I said at the beginning, I couldn't get through Klune's previous quaint fantasy. So what was different about this one? For one thing, I think the pacing was much more palatable for me. The plot might be limited to basically one setting, but it moves!

Wallace Price was an interesting main character to follow. His journey was cliched, for sure, but still there was a lot there and I appreciated how the author brought nuance to a pretty standard "unlikeable to likeable" character arc. I also absolutely LOVED Mei and Nelson (hugo's ghostly grandpa).

Now that all the glowing praise is out of the way... on to the less-than-great stuff. I do think that the author chose a very tall order to cover in this book. And because of that, I think this novel struggled to find its balance between "quaint cozy" and a dark focus on healing, grief, and dying. The two concepts aren't impossible to work together, but I did find it a combination of heavy-handed and derivative at the same time, because the grief elements seemed rushed and slightly overshadowed by the quaint love story, and the love story seemed almost interrupted by some side plots that focused purely on the situation of the way station tea shop. We needed more space, maybe? I'm not sure. This was like holding two polar magnets together by its opposite ends—they are both magnets, so they SHOULD work together, but they were flipped around and you could feel the constant struggle the book was undergoing to keep these two levels of plotline held together.

Thank you to TOR for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Under The Whispering Door is TJ Klune's latest novel, a story as cosy as the well-loved House on the Cerulean Sea that tackles more melancholic themes relating to death, the afterlife, and redemption. This book is exactly what I expected from the author. It's character-driven, quirky, and loveable. If you love his other books, you'll love this one. I wanted a little more depth and nuance to the themes, but overall this was an enjoyable, whimsical read.

Wallace Price is a terrible man who cares more about money and his business's efficiency than people. Then he dies. A reaper collects him from his funeral, but instead of taking him to the afterlife, they go to a quirky tea shop in a small village. There Wallace meets Hugo, the Ferryman whose job it is to help souls cross over. But Wallace isn't ready to leave, especially as he begins to learn more about what he missed in his cruel, short life.

There's something so loveable about TJ Klune's type of humour, and this book is filled to the brim with it. Even though Under The Whispering Door tackles heavy, dark topics, there is a lightheartedness to it that lends itself to a comfort read. The dark elements are balanced with a constant undercurrent of hopefulness. It turns what could be an incredibly depressing story into one that's quirky and sweet.

One of the major themes in this book is that everyone is deserving of redemption. Wallace starts as a horrible businessman and slowly comes to find love in friendship and kindness. I agree with the message that it's never too late to turn your life (or death, I guess) around and work towards becoming a better person. It's something we all need to be reminded of sometimes. At the same time, Wallace didn't do enough in my eyes to justify his redemption. The character we see right at the beginning of the book seems to wash away too easily. There needed to be more introspection, a more compelling reason for the change. I didn't find it believable that someone like Wallace would use their death as a motivating factor to become a better person; why did he never do it before? I wanted more nuance on how someone like that could better themselves. Regardless, I did have fun with this hopeful message of change being possible.

The characters in this book were just as loveable and quirky as I expected. I loved Hugo, Mei, Nelson, and the good dog Apollo. I even loved Wallace towards the end (albeit reluctantly). All the character's radiate a feeling of warmth and kindness. They didn't necessarily have a huge amount of depth to them, but they were vibrant all the same.

I can see what TJ Klune was trying to do with some of the tropes related to these characters, but I don't think he was fully successful. Hugo is a black man who does an intense amount of emotional labour for the white main character. TJ Klune didn't quite manage to distance him from the Magical Negro trope. If anyone doesn't know what that trope is: it's where a black character with mystical powers exists to aid the white protagonists. Unfortunately, Hugo does fit into that. Having a stronger depth to Hugo's character or even an interest that wasn't related to emotional labour might have helped. I also found Mei's mum being a Chinese woman who wanted to assimilate to American culture so badly she rejected her child to leave a bad taste. Yes, this can happen in real life, but white authors so often speak about immigration negatively, it would have been nice to see something different here. TJ Klune was trying to create characters filled with love and kindness, despite the difficulties they have in their lives. I appreciate that, but these critiques still need to be considered.

Overall, I have slightly mixed feelings about this book. It was loveable, enjoyable, quirky, emotional, and hopeful. It's everything you could want from a TJ Klune book; if you love this author, you need to read it. At the same time, there were a few tropes I thought could have been handled better and with more nuance to them. I wanted a little more complexity.