Another lovely story from TJ Klune. This book was slower to start than the House on the Cerulean Sea, but it was worth the wait. If I had to compare it to others, I think it is best described as A Christmas Carol meets Dead Like Me. Heartwarming, charming, and ultimately a book that leaves you feeling filled, rather than drained and empty... and I say this even after I spent the last 20% of the book quietly sobbing. Definitely recommend this book and author, especially if you need the world to hurt a little less.

CW: death, grief

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

I don’t think I’ve encountered a lot of content in which the protagonist dies at the beginning of the story, but the concept was recently explored in the popular television series The Good Place. It isn’t my intention to suggest that UTWD is similar to TGP— in fact, Wallace doesn’t find himself in “the good place”, but rather a way station before taking one last great leap into the unknown.

In life, Wallace was a bit of a Scrooge. Okay, “a bit” is sorely underselling the point, but needless to say, the reader doesn’t spend very much time with Wallace while he’s alive. Quite frankly, it’s probably for the best. Furthermore, Wallace isn’t the easiest person to get along with when he first arrives at Charon’s Crossing.

Wallace’s transformation into a Better Person is a gradual process, although it is somewhat sped up by the crossing over deadline. Wallace begins to appreciate all the things he took for granted during his life, including love. Wallace makes friends and he helps people without expecting anything in return.

I can’t say anything more without giving too much away, but needless to say, this is a treasure of a book. The secondary characters are all richly developed. I could write an entire essay about the portrayal of The Manager, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for anyone, so I’m not even going to tell you what they look like. Every character worked so well with the others, even when taking an adversarial position. They could have provided a solid point-of-view, but the narrative unfolds solely from Wallace’s perspective. After all, this is HIS story.


I would absolutely recommend Under the Whispering Door. It is a wretched cliché, but this book made me laugh and it made me cry, and that isn’t the easiest feat to accomplish in a novel. This is a delightful homage to the eternal question of what happens to us after we die. This book is tender and atmospheric, and it doesn’t even answer the question of what happens after we die, but that’s perfectly fine with me because I enjoyed the journey so much. This was such a lovely book, and I can’t say enough good things about it.





I received a digital ARC of this book from Tor/NetGalley.

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea - it was the perfect blend of whimsy, emotion, deep topics and good times

Unfortunately, I think it set the bar too high as Under the Whispering Door fell a bit flat for me

It’s partly a case of it’s not you, it’s me - because there were aspects of this book that I don’t personally enjoy but many really do. I'm not a huge fan of bottle episodes on TV, which largely involve staying in one place and as such, as much as I liked the homey vibes of Charon's Cross, spending so much time there felt a bit stifling

But some of it I found disappointing - from unbelievable character development, cliché dialogue and a meandering plot. I feel like this book was far longer than it needed to be and a lot of it felt a bit repetitive, with side stories not really adding anything to the main plot

Don’t get me wrong, the cosy vibes were there, and TJ Klune writes corporate monotony SO well, I would read a whole book about it

But this one just felt a little bit less nuanced than The House in the Cerulean Sea and I just didn’t gel with the characters in the same way

All in all, this one was disappointing for my personal tastes, but it was by no means a bad book - TJ Klune set the bar so high with The House in the Cerulean Sea and this one just sort of felt like a rushed sidekick

I’ll definitely still add TJ Klune’s future books to my tbr, as I love the emphasis he puts on found family and he does discuss a lot of important and underrepresented themes, unfortunately, this one just didn’t do it for me

Under the Whispering Door is a story that - believe it or not - made me want to become friends with a grim reaper.

40-year-old corporate drone Wallace was a successful lawyer, who lived to work but didn’t work to live. He’s successful but lonely, and is only concerned about working hard and becoming more successful, even if it is at the expense of those around him. His employees would never describe him as friendly and his partners would never say he was compassionate. One moment Wallace was firing an employee, and the next moment, he was watching his own funeral. When a grim reaper arrives to take him to his next journey, Wallace expresses his anger and disappointment at being dead - not because his friends might be devastated but because he has work to do, clients to see, and a hearing to attend.

The reaper takes Wallace to meet his antithesis in Hugo, who is kind, compassionate and the handsome owner of a tea shop. He is revealed to be a ferryman, assigned to help Wallace accept his death and cross over to the other side. He isn’t disconcerted by Wallace’s behavior, and instead, Hugo is determined to help Wallace truly understand the meaning of life after death. What ensues next is a tale brimming with brutally honest side characters, a queer romance I will remmeber for days, the power of being vulnerable and peace that can be felt when you surround yourself with companionship that you can have in your life, if only you let them in.

I loved: how thought-provoking the story was. It’s a homage to loss, life, grief and death & everything that comes after. It had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s a highly-original story about the power of life, how death can change you and how it isn’t necessarily the ending. I loved it and would certainly recommend it!

Many thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Netgalley and author TJ Klune for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. It will be published September 21, 2021.

I loved TJ Klune's House in the Cerulean Sea so much that I was actually nervous to start this for fear that I wouldn't like it and would be crushed. I shouldn't have feared! This book had me both laughing out loud and crying. Klune is such a wonderful storyteller that you can't help but get swept up in his beautiful words and quirky characters. I had experienced a death of someone close to me that was very raw at the time I received this review copy, which was another reason I was hesitant to start it. I have to say that I found this story to be cathartic for me despite the subject matter being death and grief. I can't imagine anyone but TJ Klune not only making this kind of story work, but encasing it in the same kind of sweet magic as Cerulean. I'll just be over here patiently waiting for his next book.

Thanks to @torbooks for approving my request to read a advance copy of Under the whispering door. I highly recommend reading this if you love stories with characters who have strong personalities. I believe Klune is gifted in creating characters that leave a lasting impression on the reader.
Rating⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Under the Whispering Door is a wide ranging character driven creative fantasy by TJ Klune. Due out 21st Sept 2021 from Macmillan on their Tor Forge imprint, it's 390 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is an odd and interesting book. The plot is entirely character driven and set almost completely in one single place - an odd interworld teashop between life and the afterlife. Characters come and go as they move on to whatever comes next. The characters are both living, dead, in between, and otherworldly/demigod/angel-ish, and they vary in age from very young to very old and of several genders and ethnicities. There was so much crammed into the book that some of it fell inevitably by the wayside. In addition to being a fantasy, philosophical examination of death and what comes after, it's also about using the time we have wisely, found family, loyalty, love, consent, oh, and a queer/bi love story as well. The drama, starcrossed lovers, and longing would have been more suited to a YA/NA novel, but the subject matter and some of the scenes are too heavy to comfortably fit into that genre.

In addition to all the other stuff going on, there's a lot of slapstick involved which felt oddly tacked on; people getting stuck in inappropriate clothing and "psychics" being chased around by poltergeist(ish) flying inanimate objects. The subject matter in general is very heavy and quite dark and it felt like the author was trying very hard to lighten the mood. The love story and denouement were satisfying but also felt a bit contrived. The language is R rated and there are frank discussions of death including suicide, murder, and death of a child. There is some light consensual sexual content.

The audiobook version has a run time of 14 hours and 55 minutes and is expertly narrated by Kirt Graves. He manages characters of both sexes and a range of ages and manages to keep them distinct from one another and easy to understand. The sound and production quality are high throughout.

It's an interesting and valiant attempt, but in my opinion doesn't quite fulfill its early promise. The author is undeniably gifted and adept, but I never felt like it quite lived up to the attempt. Three and a half stars, rounded up (the writing is strong).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune is an endearing, quirky story about death and what we do with our time on earth and connections we make. When we first meet Wallace, we see him as an ornery, unlikable, successful lawyer. Early on, he dies unexpectedly, taking him on a new journey with his reaper, Mei; and ferryman, Hugo, whose job is to help the dead cross over. He ends up at Charon’s Crossing, a tea shop that also serves as a way station for the recently deceased. Trapped in the teahouse but not yet ready to cross through (the whispering door), Wallace begins to form relationships with Hugo, Mei, Nelson (Hugo’s deceased grandfather), and Apollo (Allen’s deceased dog). Wallace begins to realize all that he has lost by living in such a cantankerous, closed off way, putting success above relationships and begins making the most of the time he has left. I really enjoyed the story of Wallace’s growth and the earnestness and humor of those in the tea shop. The book reminded me a little of The Midnight Library and the early 00’s show, Dead Like Me, in terms of the subject matter (reapers guiding the recently deceased to their next destination) and tone (earnest and quirky). I listened to the audiobook, which was well-narrated by Kirt Graves, who has a pleasing voice. Though he did use similar voices for Hugo and Nelson, which was a little confusing at times, but is clear if you’re paying attention to who is saying what dialogue.

Thank you Tor Books / Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this e-book and audiobook ARC.

Although Under the Whispering Door did not catch my soul like The House by the Cerulean Sea, it is an equally emotional journey. Fitted with lighthearted moments, the overarching feeling the book evoked was the possibility of hope in the midst of sadness. I recommend not reading about Klune’s purpose fir writing tge book or other people’s reviews, which give too much away. Simply enjoy the story and THEN research the backstory. Cathartic!

3/5 - I don't know what it was about this book but it was almost a DNF for me. I think it largely started with how Wallace was introduced. I had very little sympathy for this absolute POS of a man and really just didn't care about hearing his story of getting a second chance. I ended up stopping at about 40% and skipping to 80% just to see if I could at least get something out of it and I have to say the ending helped a lot. I went back through the rest after I finished but it still didn't do much for me. It wasn't /bad/ necessarily, just not my jam.

Thank you TJ Klune for this absolute gift of a book. I loved it. It is without a doubt one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. Honestly, I don’t feel like I have words to adequately convey how much I loved it.

Under The Whispering Door is a beautiful commentary on life and death. Before I began reading I was worried the heavy topic would weigh me down. But, nope, Klune’s masterful storytelling filled me with hope. The book has lovable characters, a magical tea shop, and humorous moments that keep the story from feeling too heavy.

When you first meet Wallace you will despise him. He’s an awful, workaholic attorney who treads on everyone in his path. Yet Klune does a fantastic job with Wallace’s character trajectory. It will take Wallace’s death from a heart attack for him to ultimately learn what a successful life looks like.

This book is brilliant. I highly recommend it. Thank you so much to @torbooks @macmillanusa @forgereads @netgalley for the advanced eARC. I loved this book so much that I will be purchasing my own copy and know I will revisit it again and again.

Under The Whispering Door is out TOMORROW!!!! This is a must read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CW: death, depression, suicide, murder

Wallace Price is not a nice person, so when he shows up to his own funeral to see that there are only five mourners, he shouldn't really be surprised. He is surprised, though, of course -- to find himself deceased, and to find himself guided by a Reaper to a tea shop in the middle of nowhere. There he meets Hugo, a ferryman whose job it is to guide souls to the afterlife. But before Wallace is ready to cross over, he wants a second chance at living a better life.

Under the Whispering Door lovingly explores themes of death and grief and loss while also managing to be whimsical and fantastical and quirky. It's joyful and wholesome and heartfelt, with a gentle love story and characters that are so tenderly human. It's cozy and warm and good. If you liked The House in the Cerulean Sea, you're going to like Whispering Door too. T.J. Klune is a special writer, and he creates such special, radiant stories.

I imagine that there will be those who call this book trite and overly-sentimental, a formulaic story told in a dressed-up way. Those people aren't technically wrong. But sometimes you just need a chocolate chip cookie, melty and warm and exploding with sweetness. Under the Whispering Door is the equivalent of that cookie, and I savored every bite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for my digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TJ Klune has done it again! I fell in love with Klune's writing after reading The House in the Cerulean Sea (if you've not read it do yourself a favor and RUN not walk to the store and get it!). When I heard he had a new book out I knew I had to get my hands on it. and WOW another masterpiece! So many triggers so be sure to check those out before reading - death, suicide, terminal illness, car accident and more. Klune is. a genius and knows how to truly bring out emotions in his reader! Another 5 star read!

Heartwarming… This word has become a commonplace in commercial fiction reviews, but never have I felt this description has been more accurate than in talking about Under the Whispering Door. If you loved The House at the Cerulean Sea and are worried it isn’t going to live up to your high expectations, rest assured T.J.Klune’s trademark writing style is as beautiful as ever. If this is your first book by this amazing author, welcome to his world of quirky characters, original storylines, tender moments, drama and optimism.

This time T.J.Klune tackles the topic that rarely gets discussed, although it is the only certainty in our lives- we are all born and we all die, and sooner or later we all have to face this inevitaility and come to terms with it. The protagonist of the book Wallace Price may have a bit of a problem accepting the fact that he died of a heart attack in his office at the ripe age of forty. His funeral is a sad, but eye-opening affair with only four colleagues and a bitter ex-wife in attendance.
Then, a Reaper appears and takes him to a waystation between Life and Death, a quaint tea-shop run by the Ferryman Hugo, the Reaper Mei, Hugo’s dead grandfather and Hugo’s dog. The purpose is to make sure Wallace has enough time (and courage) to get ready to move on to the next stage, and he is the only one who decides when he is. This is a beautiful story of second chances in the most hopeless situation, and Wallace does get his chance to change from a heartless corporate lawyer who doesn’t take no for an answer into a much better person.
The story doesn't come across as over-serious or solemn. Not that there aren’t any poignant or even heart-breaking moments- T.J.Klune doesn’t shy away from more difficult aspects- violent death, death of a child from a terminal disease, death by suicide…Yet, there is also kindness and humour and lots of tea…The tea chosen by Hugo is unique for every person who comes to the Charon’s Crossing Tea shop, a great reminder that like everybody’s life and what we make of it is different, everyone’s death is different too.

The supporting characters are absolutely wonderful. Hugo, the Ferryman, is the embodiment of empathy and love. He carries the weight of his mistakes on his shoulders, because in a way he is the last frontier of humanity in this setting. His mistakes are all about finding a delicate balance of showing you love and care, and letting the other person exercise their free will, trusting them to do what is the best. The Reaper Mei, the one with the best hugs in the world, knows too well what it’s like not to be accepted because you’re different. Nelson, apart from being deliciously mischievious, throws light on the issue of being there for the person when and until they need you and then letting go when they truly get on their feet. All of the characters in the book help each other to correct their mistakes, to heal, to become stronger, to find love and peace of mind.

This is a love story, although romance is of a slow-burn kind- where there is life, there is love, and this is T.J.Klune’s unique point of view on afterlife. The romance gradually, slowly develops, and it’s impossible not to wish well to this adorable couple.

The Manager and the ending have surprised me… I thought I knew where the story was going and then there was a twist (should have expected given what we were told about Wallace’s character) and things have taken a new, hopeful turn.

I loved this beautiful and unpredictable book ….If you are looking for something heartfelt, original, philosophical at times, humorous at other times, Under the Whispering Door is a book for you.

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

I really liked this book. Klune is able to write this story of grief, friendship and growth in a way that is both light-hearted and serious. There are moments where I was laughing, and then there were others where tears started to form.

The main characters are well-developed, though I would have appreciated a little more development of a couple secondary characters. I thought that the pacing of the story was also very smooth until the last conflict. When I arrived at the last conflict, I understand why it occurred the way that it did, but one part of it made it seem like it was wrapped up nicely in order to have a specific ending.

Overall, I think that this book was a good read while the world is still grappling with so much pain. It's reflective, for sure, but there is also a thread of hope that runs through it for the reader to hold on to, even past the final page.

Content warnings: suicide, death of a parent(s), death of a child

"Everything" is a very accurate description for what this book is, but I'll elaborate.
Wallace Price is a hideous man and it seems impossible at first to think that we are going to grow fond of this character as the story progresses. But, as good storytellers do, Klune was able to make us remember that, behind that hard shell there was once a person.
I said this book is everything because you can literally feel everything along the pages. There are funny bits mixed with very emotional moments so that you're laughing and then suddenly you're crying.
It also brings very important topics to the table regarding mental health and sexuality and it made me wish more people wrote about all this in such an honest way. I felt represented in many aspects and I just wanted to hug the author in gratitude.
In short, go buy this book. You won't regret it.

Thanks Tor/Macmillan for the ARC!

This is a new release from an American author known for his books that feature LGBTQIA characters. His last book was "The House in the Cerulean Sea". In this new novel we meet Wallace who has recently died. He was not a very nice man and lived only for his work as a lawyer. At his sparsely attended funeral he is met by a reaper who takes him to a very special tea shop on the outskirts of a small village. There he meets Hugo , who runs the tea shop and assists the dead in crossing over to the other side. Wallace, however, is not ready to cross over and Hugo allows him to take the time he needs while he hangs around the tea shop as a ghost. This is a delightful novel with both humour and romance. It reminded me of a combination of books by Mitch Album, Matt Haig and Fredrick Backman. I loved it.

I loved House on the Cerulean Sea because of how soft it was, but this book was so soft at the detriment of the plot. I feel like we're missing a whole chunk character growth where the MC goes from a bastard to a patient saint who always knows what to say in a one-page montage of time. This is a hard book to read at times because it deals with death; definitely don't read it right after losing someone. Since the mythology of what happens after death isn't from a specific existing mythology, it reads as wishful thinking at times. I definitely cried at parts.

I was very excited to read T.J.Klune's Under the Whispering Door after hearing about its premise and the promise that was from The House from Cerulean Sea. The plot of the novel follows a grumpy man, Wallace, who has recently passed on after being cruel to his co-worker and firing her for not contributing to his company. Suddenly, he has a heart attack and passes away. Unaware that he has died, Wallace is in denial of his death and remains bitter early on until he meets Mei, a psychic who takes him to meet Hugh, the Ferryman. As the plot unfolds, we see that Wallace is slowly developing a relationship with the people that surround him at Charron's Crossing.

Although I loved the premise of the novel, as I lost my mom to cancer, and have always been curious about the afterlife (I have addictively watched shows such as Ghost Whisperer), I felt that at moments that the focus too much on relationship development rather than shifts in the drama within the novel itself. Admittedly, I skimmed over the last 100 pages and would have liked the novel to be a bit shorter.

Other than that, I loved the overall novel because of how the author explores grief in a very unique way! :)

Thank you @Netgalley and Tor Books for providing me with a digital arc of this novel!

'Under the Whispering Door’ is a comedic fantasy novel about death, grief, found family, and the importance of living life to the fullest. With a mixture of laugh out loud and heartwarming moments, its an enjoyable read – but also a superficial one that struggles to reach the depths it strives for. This is a good, gentle read after a long day, but not one likely to linger.

Wallace Price has dedicated his entire life to his company – and even then, he’s not the sort of boss you’d buy a Christmas card for. He’s outraged to find only four attendees at his own funeral – one of them his ex-wife who spends most of the ceremony talking about what an asshole he was, and one of them the Reaper ready to escort him to the afterlife. However, rather than taking him straight to the Beyond, the Reaper instead takes Wallace to a very peculiar tea shop. There, a ferryman named Hugo serves tea and cake to all who need it – including lonely souls coming to terms with things they missed in life. With Hugo’s help, Wallace starts to adjust to his death – and makes some startling realisations about his life. However, the tea shop is only a stop on the journey, not a final destination – and as deadline day nears, Wallace starts to realise he isn’t ready to move on.

At the start of the book, Wallace is a horrible person. He only cares about his company’s profit margin – not its employees. He has no real friends, an ex-wife he certainly isn’t on speaking terms with, and so little to do that he spends his entire life at work. However, the longer he spends with Hugo and his ragtag band at the tea shop – Mei, the newly qualified Reaper, Nelson, the ghost who refuses to cross over and leave his grandson, and Apollo, the adorable ghost dog – the more regrets Wallace starts to have. His distaste at their inability to bring him back to life turns to grudging respect, and finally to true friendship – and it turns out Wallace Price has a heart after all. The change is sweet, but it also happens surprisingly quickly, not feeling entirely authentic. Its hard to match the caricaturic villain Wallace is at the start of the book with the reasonably nice guy he’s become by the middle.The message that everyone can change for the better is lovely, but there isn’t quite enough nuance to carry it off.

Mei, Hugo, and Nelson, on the other hand, are all great characters. Mei is a spitfire, full of energy and determination and unwilling to take insolence from anyone – especially not the dead. Hugo is a calm, soothing presence with a lot if wisdom – but he’s also a bit blind to what’s in front of him, and as the story unfolds it’s clear that he’s almost as lonely as Wallace is. Nelson has a wicked sense of humour, but also an uncanny knowledge of human nature and a deep love for his family. Their little family is incredible, and together with Apollo its easy to see why Wallace wouldn’t want to leave.

The romance is choreographed from relatively early on and more subtly written than a lot of the rest of the book. I would argue that this isn’t really the sort of book that needs a romantic subplot, but its a sweet relationship and its always lovely reading about gay couples getting a happy ending.

Stories with an underlying message are difficult to write without coming across as preachy, and while ‘Under the Whispering Door’ just about manages to avoid this, the sacrifice is a book that feels a bit twee. Its a little too syrupy sweet and optimistic. There are darker passages – this is a story about death, and there are several subplots about grief including the death of a child and suicide – but some of their impact is lost because of the overarching sunshine-and-rainbows feel. Its a difficult balance, and some will probably love the optimism, but personally I was looking for a bit more depth and acknowledgement of just what a black pit grief can be.

One area TJ Klune is particularly strong at is humour – I regularly found myself laughing out loud while reading this. Admittedly, some of the jokes are a bit crass, but its hard not to laugh anyway. If you’re a fan of sitcoms, this would definitely be a book for you.

Overall, ‘Under the Whispering Door’ is a solid and fun read, but it doesn't quite have the depth to take it to the next level. Fans of sitcoms, happy stories, found family, and books with messages will likely enjoy it. Recommended as a light read after a difficult week.