Once again Klune has stolen my heart. Under The Whispering Door is perfect for fans of The House In The Cerulean Sea. Jam packed with quirky humor and heartfelt moments, this book knows how to tug at the reader’s heartstrings in all the right ways. I loved the character journey we see Wallace go through. He changes from an arrogant, selfish man to a caring and compassionate one. If you’re looking for a feel good book that touches on scary topics in a positive light, look no further.

I finished this book yesterday, and I'm still at a loss for how I feel about it.

On the one hand, I went into this expecting something like The House in the Cerulean Sea, and this...was not that book. Don't be filled by the same cheerful cover style, this book is a whole lot heavier than Cerulean Sea was, and (at least for me) much more emotional. While it's written in the same beautiful and quirky prose, it's a heck of a lot darker at times.

On the other hand, I loved this so much! It was so bittersweet, and I loved how character-driven it was. Like Cerulean Sea, the side characters captured my heart, and Nelson and Mei are probably some of my new favorites. Like V.E. Schwab said about Cerulean Sea, T.J. Klune's work is like "being wrapped in a big gay blanket." I wanted to stay in the world with Wallace and Hugo forever.

Since it is character-driven, I found parts of the plot a bit slow, but my general love for all the characters kept me from being bored. I also anticipate this being quite the tear-jerker for some - if I teared up (something that doesn't happen often), others will definitely be shedding a tear or two.

Overall, I definitely enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea better, but this book helped to fill the hole in my heart that it had left.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Tor, and all opinions are my own!

I LOVED The House in the Cerulean Sea so much, so I was super happy to get approved for this ARC and luckily -- it did not disappoint! Please keep in mind this book is all about death, so it is not as lighthearted as The House in the Cerulean Sea, but it is just as lovable and endearing.

Wallace Price is not a nice man. He works. Too much. And he doesn't care. About anyone. One day he wakes up one day... and he's at his own funeral. There's a women there, a reaper, who's come to take him to "the ferryman" who will help hom cross over to the other side. Intrigued yet?

During this transition, we meet quirky & lovable characters Hugo (Ferryman and Tea Shop owner), Mei (Brand New Reaper) and Nelson (Hugo's mischievous Grandfather) that help Wallace deal with his death and life choices, and learn about love, empathy and everything in between. This story was so cute, funny and heartbreaking in all the right ways, and it definitely gave me all the feels.

This book is available to purchase September 21st! I definitely recommend it. I have my B&N copy pre-ordered already! Thank you Netgalley and Tor Books for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

🚪Book Review 🚪
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Thank you @torbooks and @netgalley for the advanced readers copy of one of my most anticipated books of the year! I loved the house in the cerulean sea, but this one might have been better 😱
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Summary: When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this absorbing tale of grief and hope is told with TJ Klune's signature warmth, humor, and extraordinary empathy.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: this story was just so beautiful. It was a little bit of a slow start but wow what a gorgeous deep story. It made me cry and smile and laugh. It was beautifully written as per usual by @tjklunebooks and completely unique. What a wonderful world and I just can’t wait to read more by Klune. Just as lovely and charming as The House in The Cerulean Sea. This book will be available for purchase September 21st I would recommend running to your nearest bookstore then to read it. Beautiful story about second chances and new beginnings ❤️
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This was my most highly anticipated book of 2021. Seriously. After adoring and falling in love with The House in the Cerulean Sea last year, I became an instant fan of TJ Klune.

Now, that being said, if you think this is going to be like Cerulean, you might want to rethink that thought. It still has it's enduring, charming, and life altering wisdom, but it also has a bit darker of a theme with a lot of talk about death and the afterlife. I felt a little bit sad while reading it instead of uplifted like Cerulean.

Overall, still a must read, but it won't be my favorite of the year.

This book was absolutely brilliant. I laughed and I cried, I sobbed and I grinned, I love it so much. Like all of TJ Klune's work that I've read I really like the bond between the family, the love they share not just as individuals but as a whole. We get a story full of wholesome banter, characters and an enchantingly adorable setting. Wallace and Hugo deserve the world itself and the ending was just beautiful however much painful it was and however much it made me cry, it was still perfect. Even though the start was a little hard for me to get through after like the thirty percent mark the book seemed rush by me. Not only was it fast paced but also beautifully written. All in all I am obsessed and I will go back to my sobbing because the book ended and I really want more and also wanna be part of their family pweasd 👉👈

This is the first book that I have read by T.J. Klune, but it will certainly not be the last. Klune has this inherent ability to create such rich visualizations that make you feel like you are present in the action. This book follows Wallace Price, a truly heinous and selfish individual that wakes up at his own funeral. Through the course of the novel, Wallace must reckon with what it means to live, after his death. The subjects of death and grief are handled so delicately and wonderfully in this book, and I found myself crying at many points while reading.

I have read many reviews referring to this book as a warm hug and I can't think of any other way to better describe it. I am definitely going to read The House on the Cerulean Sea next.

4.5
Summary: A fun, witty but simultaneously sorrowful book. Wallace Price is a generally grumpy person, previous hard-working and selfish lawyer, recently dead guy. Shortly after his death, a Reaper, Mei, finds him and leads him to a peculiar tea shop so as to meet the ferryman, Hugo, who shall help him cross. A heartwarming and fun story about a man who gets to fall in love with life, even if it’s only after his death.

A truly enthralling book — feelings better left unsaid, the path towards whatever comes after death, dad jokes but make it ghost-y, hugs, different kinds of tea, the past, lost people and mistakes – grief, guilt, anger, love, joy and our humane nature that makes all of it worth it.

I had a truly enjoyable time reading this book, it was amazingly written, with a unique plot and mesmerising characters. T.J Klune gives death a new perspective, one which i adored. I really liked Wallace’s growth journey, Hugo’s supportive and sensitive persona (and their relationship). Mei, Nelson and Apollo were fun and well-structured side characters, as well.

My only concern was the ending• it felt pretty abrupt, i would have preferred a different one. But I want to keep my review spoiler-free so I won’t go into more detail about that. However I did enjoy reading this book very much, that’s why I’m rounding up to 5 stars anyway.

Another T.J. Klune masterpiece!
Wallace was a jerk in life, only thinking of himself and what makes his life better. Until he has a heart attack and dies and learns how much he missed out on. What is Wallace to do except to refuse to go through the Whispering Door into his afterlife.
T.J. Klune takes the difficult topic of death and shows us that there really is hope in life.

TJ Klune has quickly made it to my auto buy authors list. I absolutely adored this book. It gave me the same feelings of joy and love that The House in the Cerulean Sea did, and I will forever be singing the praises of this author. This book has such a unique and insightful take on the afterlife, on hope, love, and loss. Klune has a way of digging so deeply into these sensitive topics without sacrificing levity and charm.
The book begins with Wallace, who is coming to terms with the fact that he might actually be dead. Wallace is outraged, as a wealthy and successful man, how on earth could this be happening to him?
The way Klune writes Wallace is incredibly funny. Klune’s signature quirkiness is as alive and well in this book as it was in The House in the Cerulean Sea. I genuinely laughed out loud, and often, while reading this novel.
As Wallace comes to terms with his death, he simultaneously comes to terms with how to truly live, and how to love. I laughed, I cried, and I fell in love with these characters. This book made me feel hope, which is something I think we all need right now.
This quirky love story is not one I would miss, especially if you loved The House in the Cerulean Sea. If you’ve read neither, I highly recommend you read both!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion!
Mark your calendars! Under the Whispering Door is being released on September 21, 2021!

Oh. my. god.

TJ KLUNE DOES IT AGAIN - *weeping my eyes out*. I literally live streamed myself reading this book and the amount of tears that came out of me was probably supernatural.
First, the characters, I mean, COME ON! So few people can capture such lovely human emotion as Klune and I was in love from the first chapter. (I mean - WALLACE!)
To proceed without spoilers, death has always been an uncomfortable topic for me and to read about this lovely story awakened a deeper need in my heart to be more accepting of it.

I absolutely adored adored this read and it was an amazing follow up to Cerulean Sea (also that little EASTER EGG!) aaa!

Thank you SO much to Net Galley and Tor books for approving me for this ARC.

I must start this off my saying I’m a very plot driven reader and that is not what you’re given here. But don’t let that deter you! You are given an incredibly whimsical character driver story, but it never felt lacking. I was sucked in within the first few chapters and I just didn’t want to stop reading.

Here we follow Wallace who has died and now needs to cross over to the afterlife. Which brings him to Hugo, the ferryman. Hugo’s job is to help the dead past through. Answer any questions they may have? And help them through the stages of grief. Will Wallace find that peace to pass?

TJ Klune continues to blow my mind every time I pick up one of his books. He has become a favorite author and I will continue to support him as long as I can.

Thank you to Netgalley, Tor Books, and TJ Klune for this ARC copy in exchange for my own and honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a very thought provoking read , which makes you think about how you're living your life, and how it can affect others. It's a typical TJ Klune, a really good, and different read, into which has gone a lot of thought. Both the characters and the story are very poignantly written. TJ's wonderful writing style is front and centre. Wallace, a real life Grinch, has to wait til his death and beyond to find what it really means to live. It's also beautifully written.

Very few times have I laughed out loud AND sobbed in the same book. Under the Whispering Door was that book for me! I also seldom find lines written by an author I feel are worth highlighting and remembering. There were several quotes from the author I highlighted in this novel!

I have not read any of T. J. Klune’s previously written books. After hearing so much about his last book, I wanted to check out all the hype. I was expecting a sweet but quirky, feel-good book. I was so wrong! This is such a well-written story about relationships, sacrifices, correcting past mistakes, saying goodbye, dealing with grief, and reinvention. It is truly a remarkable book that deserves to be read by the masses!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.

#NetGalley
#UndertheWhisperingDoor
#TJKlune

Thank you so much NetGalley and McMillan-Tor/Forge for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

In a word: Wow.

From the very first page, we know exactly who Wallace is: an asshole. Of course, he is about to get the redemption arc of his (after) life. After experiencing a heart attack, Wallace attends his own funeral only to find that almost no one shows up to mourn him. Just his law partners - who call him an asshole and then start discussing the previous evening's sporting events - and his bitter ex-wife. And one other person. Her name is Mei and she's a reaper. Her job his to transport Wallace to Hugo, a ferryman, who will help him cross over.

This book is such a moving meditation on death and what comes after. The grief we all feel when we lose someone but also the grief of those who die. How are you supposed to feel when you realize the life you thought you were living is not all it should have been. We get to go on that journey with Wallace as he grapples with his own death and what it would mean to cross over.

Much like TJ Klune's other work, The House in the Cerulean Sea, this book is filled with delicious humor and well-rounded characters. Even the side characters have moments to shine. While Wallace & Hugo are the center of the story, Mei, Nelson and the other cast of characters who we meet, are fully formed parts of the story. And even though this book touches on heavy subjects - including suicide, murder and death of a child - it does so with humor that had me laughing while also crying. A wonderful, heartfelt read.

This was a fantastic follow-up to my all-time favorite, the House in the Cerulean Sea. He brought charming characters together in a found family setting that was absolutely heartwarming. I fell in love with Wallace and Hugo as swiftly as I fell for Linus and Arthur, and I will definitely be recommending this book!

WOW.

What to say about such a profoundly beautiful read? "Under The Whispering Door" hit me in ways no book has ever done before. The story is touching, heartfelt, and the humor is perfectly woven in through the darkness of the theme. Klune continues to create characters rich in diversity and (pardon the ironic pun) blooming with life.

The story is hard. It's death. It's so raw and open that this book is one you may have to take time with. But, the payoff is an unforgettable journey to find hope amongst grief. Wallace's character is the hope for growth and change we all want to see in ourselves and others.

If you have a chance to read this, DO IT.

I wasn't sure what I thought about this one as I was making my way through, but now I can't stop thinking about it. The story was well done and imaginative enough to still seem plausible (well, not that far-fetched). I knew it was going to be a tear jerker, but it really got to me by the end. This was my first book by this author and I want to go back and read "The House in the Cerulean Sea". I felt his writing style was easy to read and the story kept my interest throughout.

This is my first time reading a T.J. Klune book and it certainly won't be my last! I loved this book, it was heartbreaking but in the best way. T.J. Klune writes a beautiful story about death, grief and acceptance. About not taking life for granted and showing kindness. It makes you want to live your life to the fullest. Highly recommend!!

DNF--
The text, the introduction, the story was boring, it did not catch my attention. It was very bland and very boring. I think I would recommend this to small kids only. The plot line is not advanced and no adult would enjoy this. It's an okay-ish story.