Huge thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Synopsis: the book begins with stuck-up lawyer and all-round shitty person Wallace Price dying, and finding himself a few days later at his own funeral. Here he meets Mei, who brings him to a quirky teashop and introduces him to Hugo - the ferryman, who will guide him to the afterlife. Except Wallace doesn't really agree with being dead, and demands to be brought back to life. When he obviously can't, he has to learn how to deal with being a ghost and, perhaps, how to really live.

Where do I even begin with this book? As someone who has watched The Good Place at least four times all the way through, and considers it her favourite show of all time, this really hit the spot for me. The humor and snark of the characters is there, with the emotional and hard-hitting moments to boot. This book went much deeper into discussions of grief, death and loss, and what it really means to be alive.

I don't think this book is right for plot-driven readers. As a story set in one building for 90% of the time, not much... happens? But I deeply connected to the characters, and needed to be reminded of some of the messages in here. I loved how the queer representation was both casual and present, and how it showed that queer people can also be very shitty people (who knew?)

I cannot fully give it 5 stars - especially in the first 80 pages or so, the interactions and dialogue between the characters sometimes felt a bit clunky, which pulled me out of the story. I'm also not sure if the ending was the "right" one for me. So- maybe a 4.25 stars? Yeah.

Again, I don't think this book will be for everyone and it wasn't an absolute new favourite, but I cried and laughed and screamed a lot and now I wanna start a teashop and bake cakes for a living.

Thank you to the Macmillan-Tor/Forge for sending me an e-ARC of this book.

I don’t know if this can be called a review. It… if anything, it’s a love letter to this novel, to the characters it brought into vivid life; to the grief, to the heartache, and to the irrepressible joy it made me feel. I know, even as I start typing this, that I will never be able to adequately explain what this book is or what it meant to me. Hell, I probably won’t even be able to explain, not truly, how it made me feel. So take this however you would like: a review, a love letter, or a long, rambling essay.

If nothing else, it’ll be honest. I can’t imagine being anything else, not for this one.

Under the Whispering Door is about death. It’s about death and grief and what it all means; life, living, and if any of it means anything at all. It’s beautiful and poignant and so, so incredibly powerful. It’s about companionship and friendship and love. Holy heck, is it ever about love.

I truly had no idea what to expect going into this book, and it still managed to blow away every expectation I may have had. The novel might start a little bit sooner than this, but in my opinion, the story truly begins when a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral. It’s then, sitting in a pew and not being heard by the measly few in attendance, that Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. But… how is that possible? If he’s dead, how is he at his own funeral?

He doesn’t know, and he doesn’t quite know what to make of Mei, a reaper who’s come to collect him and bring him to a ferryman who she claims will help him. Amidst his confusion, Wallace doesn’t know how to feel about Hugo, either, who’s the owner of quite the peculiar tea shop that should absolutely not be standing with it’s mystifying construction job. But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, not when he’s finally found out what it means to be alive.

And holy crap, does Wallace find out what it means to be alive.

As I’ve said, this book is absolutely incredible. An adorable cover, and interesting premise, AND an Author’s Note that is essentially a content warning. A content warning that is so, so appreciated, as this book really does cover some heavy topics (with beauty and care).

Deciding where to start with this review is tough. There is so very much to say, how am I supposed to pick a starting point?

Since we’re all here for the writing, I’ll try to start there.

Klune always starts strong and this novel is no exception. If there is anything to be said about Klune’s writing, it’s that he has an exceptional ability to craft strong, bright, and vibrant narrative voices that truly jump off the page. He crafts SUCH strong characters, and Under the Whispering Door is no exception with a lively cast that I quickly fell in love with.

While I hated Wallace for the first few chapters for being an insufferable ass, he quickly became one of my favourite characters of all time. The journey he takes from the beginning to the end of this book is absolutely beautiful. He goes through such a tremendous change, and by the end of the book he’s almost unrecognizable from where he starts in the absolute best way.

He became someone I loved, and I feel almost lucky that I got to see this fictional character grow so much. Wallace lived a simple life, and it’s only in death that he is able to truly discover who he is, and Klune explores that beautifully throughout this novel.

Hugo is another character that I truly adored, and I loved Hugo in a way I can’t explain. I was a fan of his from the very beginning to the very ending, and I think that might say enough.

The cast that supports our two main, romantic leads is equally strong. Mei and Nelson are both fierce and absolutely hilarious, and I learned so much about love through these two beautiful souls. They are just as bright and wonderfully written as Wallace and Hugo, and their presence absolutely aided this story and the tale it was trying to tell (while allowing me some much-needed laughs).

Beyond these four, Klune crafts some very interesting side characters that bring laughter, drama, and a lovely dose of (fantastic) jealousy, which all work to round out the novel and deliver an exceptional story.

Regarding our main cast, I am so happy about the diversity in this book! This book features a cast of four main characters, and only Wallace is white. I found this cast of four to be a bit of a refreshing change from Klune’s other recent books—which, while diverse, focus on white main characters—as Under the Whispering Door has two black, male leads and one Asian, female lead that are with us from beginning to end.

I cannot say enough good things about the story Klune tells through these characters. This is a character-driven story, through and through. The plot is simple: Wallace dies, and he’s brought to Hugo, a ferryman, to see him through to the afterlife and help him with his passing. Set in a tea shop that’s been built on a foundation of love that’s soaked into its very walls, Wallace finds out who he really is and, more aptly, who he’s always been.

Klune takes us on this journey, and he does so amazingly well. This story is well-paced, well-plotted, and very well-read. It might not be the most complex or action packed novel out there, but the quiet strength of Under the Whispering Door is what it makes you feel. It’s how it touches your heart, and the imprint it leaves upon it.

It doesn’t need anything more. It’s a beautiful exploration of death, and grief, and love, and life. God, this book is about life in the most beautiful and unexpected of ways. It’s about living and healing and loving. This book is about people, it’s about relationships, and the relationships (familial and romantic) that Wallace explores throughout this novel are incredibly done.

It is, as you might imagine, a difficult book to get through (or, at the very least, it was for me). While this book is packed with humour and love in a way I’ve never seen before, its central theme is death. I don’t think I had really understood that before going into it, but this is a book about grief.

I cried so much. So. So. Much. I have never in my life cried like this through anything, and from chapter 17 to the ending, I essentially, read, cried, read, took a break because I was crying too hard, read, cried, read, took a break because I was crying too hard, and then repeated that process time and time again. Klune, who has such a fantastic way with words and imagery, absolutely tore at my heartstrings.

But, he also made me laugh. I mean, I CACKLED. I clutched at my chest because it felt so full of love. I bled with compassion. This book made me feel so, so very much, and that is why I know that none of my words could ever do it justice.

There is no way I can explain the way this book made my heart feel. The way that it touched my soul.

Simply put, this was the best book I’ve ever read. I don’t know if I can explain it better, or simpler. I don’t know if I’ve explained it at all, really, but… I hope I’ve done something to do this book justice.

Please, please read it. Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune is a truly beautiful exploration of grief, humanity, and what it means to have a life well lived. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you decide to give it a go.

If you loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, then you'll love Under the Whispering Door. Both books are funny and tender, although I thought that UtWD was a little "talky" in places. A couple of the secondary characters felt pretty shallow and stereotypical, and were used mostly for plot effect. Still, this was really a feel-good story that's obviously as much about life as it is about death.

OMG this book takes you for a ride and then some. I loved this book. Now if you read The House you have to detach yourself from thinking of that story. Like I had to remind myself that this was a separate story in its own right. That being said the story is wonderful.

this was the first book that got my eyes a little damp. a wonderful book about growth, love, death, and family. I just hope the cliff notes of my life are a little entertaining!

LOVE love loved! I am so excited for this book to be out in the word. I loved the story. It is so meaningful to read about a life after death, even if it’s fantasy, I imagine this book will bring so much comfort for those who are grieving.

WOW. Where do I even begin?

Under the Whispering Door tells a beautiful, gripping, haunting story of the beings that care for souls after death: the reapers who collect the souls, the ferrymen who guide them to the afterlife, and the souls themselves as they grapple with their own mortality. TJ Klune does a wonderful job of taking complicated and very real concepts and transforming them into something tangible and approachable through fantastic elements.

I don’t read a lot of fantasy, so it takes me some time to get into books like this because I’m so focused on understanding the characters and working through the world-building. I do think the first half was a little slow in general, though maybe it was because of my own challenges with this. However, the second half of the book really took off for me. I had a general idea of where it was going to go, but I was still really taken with the plot and the resolution. (I was completely sobbing by the end.)

The characters are so lovable, the story something we all can understand, and the themes universal: grief, death, sense of self, belonging, growth, new beginnings. The book does cover some heavy topics of death and loss, and the trigger warning at the beginning of the book is helpful for readers.

I recommend this widely and will think of this story for a long time.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune-DNF @ 28% 😕

I was given an ARC of this by NetGalley and was super excited to start it, and then I got about 1/4 of the way through and…didn’t care anymore. It just draaaags. I told @pilartyping that I wish I could put in some edits and send them back to the publisher because there are so many sentences and words that add nothing to the plot or story-and sometimes I’m okay with those if they’re like…beautifully written?-but these are just “x did y and looked at z and blah blah blah” and it’s like ???? Who cares?

Kind of disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this more as I was a big fan of The House in the Cerulean Sea which I DEVOURED in like a day last year. I’ve also recently become aware that there’s some criticism of that book because he based some of it on the experiences of indigenous North Americans in residential boarding schools-so that’s kind of fucked up.

But hey, maybe it’s just me and you won’t think this book drags about 1/4th of the way through 🤷🏼‍♂️

Wow. TJ Kline did it again! I absolutely adored The House in the Cerulean Sea, and this one was just as good! This story follows Wallace, who passed away and ends up at his way station. He stays with Mei, Nelson and Hugo and learns more about who he was when he was alive and who he wants to be. Klunes books make me laugh and love the characters.

Under The Whispering Door

Simply put: this is an absolutely beautiful and amazing story. It will break your heart and heal you again.

First you meet Wallace. Wallace is cold, unforgiving, unlikeable. No redeeming factors, or are there?

Wallace evolves, realizes what he missed in life. He starts to feel, really feel. His journey through the stages of grief, of the acceptance of his death is heartbreakingly sad in parts, laughing out loud in others.

It took Wallace dying to find his humanity. This book asks “what would you do with the time you have left?”, “what would you do if you had seven days to get your affairs in order!” It makes you think, it makes you feel, and it makes you want more out of your own life. This is a very deep and moving story, without being too heavy.

This book will stay with me for a very long time. I felt like I was on Wallace’s journey with him. I felt his stages of grief, and I felt him find his humanity. I believe that this is a once in a lifetime story. I believe that this is needed during these times, to help us see the bigger picture and remind us of our own humanity.

I want to thank TJ Klune, NetGalley, and Tor Publishing for giving me this ACR in exchange for my review.

Prepare yourselves for an unpopular opinion. It was good and I loved the ending BUT this is like if Dead Like Me and A Christmas Carol had a baby. Wallace just needs to mutter "bah humbug". Although cute, based on the outrageous ratings for The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I haven't read btw, I expected this writing to be transcendent. Perhaps my expectations are the problem because it was just okay for me.

Having said that if you liked TJ Klune's other books you'll enjoy this one too. I like books with a certain amount of darkness and these books aren't meant to be that way. Redemption is the main theme. The characters are funny and likeable and it could easily be made into a movie. All in all I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone reading this but I wouldn't want to buy it. I'll be sliding back into my usual genres for the next book. Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this shiny new review copy.

For everyone who wonders about the Great Unknown, who questions, who fears, who grieves, whose heart needs healing after a terrible year of loss for so many people around the world, this book is just the salve the doctor ordered. I’ve already preordered my hard copy for the Sept. 21 pub date. In Klune's latest book following up his huge hit 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘢, his main character Wallace 'wakes' to find himself...dead. And let's be real, Wallace was an ass - a hateful, selfish, greedy ass in his former living self. The characters we meet help Wallace onto his next journey, and I suspect you’ll fall as madly in love with Nelson, Hugo, and Mei as I did. (And the dog, Apollo, broke me in beautiful wonderful ways.) I haven't wept over the final pages of a book like this since Dumbledore died (HP) and the Thirteen crashed into the mountain (ToG). I mean, seriously. My heart grew three sizes in the 24 hours it took to read this book and I want to buy a copy to shove in everyone's hands. I loved this book a ridiculous amount. "𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦." "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥?" "𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦."

Another charming book from T.J. Klune full of the most warm and wonderful characters. This time dealing with grief, death and making the most of the life we have.

Wallace Price, successful but arrogant and selfish attorney who lives only to work, finds himself dead at his own poorly attended funeral, after a mid-life heart attack. Come to collect him is a Reaper who whisks him off to a tea shop in a little village where Hugo the Ferryman waits to help him cross to the next stage. Wallace is still angry not ready to go, but is given time to reflect on the life he barely enjoyed and accept his death.

As with House in the Cerulean Sea, Klune’s warmth and wit shine through. Hugo, his grandfather Nelson and Apollo the dog are delightfully quirky characters. Although the plot is about death and grief and is a little dark in places, it is given a sensitive treatment to be heartwarming and hopeful and ultimately, more about living the best life you can without regrets.

Wow, absolutely beautiful. The way this book tackles grief, mental health, and longing is so beautiful. Tj Klune writing is so colorful and always is vibrant and fun even when hard hitting topics are being discussed. The love I’m this book was also so pure and so beautiful. I absolutely loved it, other then all the snot and tears.

*3.75 stars*

I recently read the highly acclaimed The House in the Cerulean Sea, and it was a little too sweet for my tastes. So when I found out this book dealt with death, I immediately requested a copy. This book seems to have almost everything I love in a novel: fun characters, death as the centerpiece, and some good dark humor along the way.

Walter Price is a hotshot lawyer who wakes up at his own funeral one day and the only person who can see him is his “Reaper”, Meiying. (Btw: Meiying reminds me sooo much of a mashup of Janet from the TV series, The Good Place and the actress, Awkwafina) She brings him to the “Ferryman”, Hugo Freeman and his magical, quaint tea shop that contains the portal to cross into the afterlife.

I absolutely loved the first 30% of this, and then the novel fell a bit into The Klune Slump, where not much seems to happen in the way of plot for “character development”. Wallace seems to magically become a better person overnight in the middle chunk of this novel, and then towards the end I struggled to understand some of his motives. I also never understood the romance since I never felt it between Hugo and Wallace - I never connected with Hugo at all really.

Not to mention, Hugo is the same as Arthur from The House in the Cerulean Sea, but instead of loving and caring for fantastical, dangerous children, he is looking after every damn soul that comes into his magical tea shop. Wallace is a more cold-hearted version of Linus as well. It almost feels like Klune copied his successful book into another one with a different premise, that also tries just as hard to be deep and insightful with unnatural dialogue and forced relationships. The beginning was comical as hell, and made me laugh and smile. And then it got too repetitive and slumpy.

Albeit, I did enjoy this a lot more than the previous aforementioned novel, and I would love to know more about this death system/process, and I loved the magical tea shop and the anxiety representation. I also loved that we have a bisexual main character who was represented well. I did enjoy this, but again, this novel fell into a lot of the same exact issues I had with The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

DNF at 15%.

The blurb about this book really drew me in and the cover art is just gorgeous. The premise of the story is really engaging. This explains how I got sucked in even after slogging through The House in the Cerulean Sea. I did not remember the author's name, or I would not have requested this ARC. That said, I gave it an honest try.

I can see that there is a good message in this book just like there was in the last one. Unfortunately, that message is lost in the ham-fisted, predictable writing style. I just can't handle any more trite platitudes. I'm done.

I was really looking forward to A House in the Cerulean Sea part 2. Instead, I received a totally different story. The story was beautiful written and really developed the characters and their relationships; however, my expectation was that of Cerulean Sea part 2, so it's my own fault for going into this with different expectations. Regardless, I will always pick up a TJ Klune book.

I think TJ Klune has really beautiful writing, unfortunately I also think his writing isn't for me. This is the second book from Klune I've tried and it's not to my taste. I will try again at a later point. DNF for now.

Another charming and thoughtful book from TJ Klune, this time about a ghost, a ferryman, and a tea shop.

The first part of the book felt very A Christmas Carol to me--cruel and cold lawyer, Wallace, dies suddenly, and is escorted by a Reaper to a teashop run by a ferryman, Hugo. The rest of the book takes place in the shop with Wallace and a cast of eclectic characters that try to help him accept his death and get to a point where he can move on.

That's essentially it--if you're looking for a tightly-paced and plotted book, this isn't for you. This book, like many of the other books Klune has written, are more character-based, which suits me just fine as a reader. I appreciated watching Wallace and Hugo grow closer, and the book had a homey vibe that made me want to brew a cup of tea.

There were parts that didn't work for me, personally. While Klune always writes funny books, the humor fell a little flat for me in this one, and felt kind of juvenile for an adult novel. Due to the nature of the plot there were quite a few lengthy conversations about death and our place in the universe, which I felt got a little repetitive and felt a little (forgive me) fake-deep. Maybe other readers will find that they connect more with those pieces of the book, about loneliness and human connection. If you're a dog lover you will enjoy this book, and probably find Apollo, the ghost dog, very charming. It also took me a good 30/40% of the book to really get hooked, but once I was I didnt put the book down until I had finished.

This book will probably get compared endlessly to The House in the Cerulean Sea, which I personally haven't read, but I can imagine that the vibe in this one is pretty different. Just take it as it is, and you may find yourself really enjoying it, like it did! It's scheduled to be published on my birthday, so I'm taking this as an early present :) Thanks TJ!

This book was a highly anticipated book for me, The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favorite books from this year because it was written so beautifully and the character were so lovable. It has become one of my favorite comfort reads!  So when I was approved to read the ARC of Under the Whispering Door I might have screeched and  basically dropped everything and inhaled it immediately.

Let me start by saying this book was everything I expected and more! It was a funny, emotional and heart wrenching book that had me laughing and crying sometimes even at the same time. But I have to warn you it is not a light read. It is a raw book focusing on death, grief and the afterlife. It shows you that it’s never too late to make up for your mistakes in life. Every character you meet  is so unique and so extremely different, even the characters that are unlikable...are still likable. This book gave me ALL the feels and I’d recommend it to anyone!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars
Publication Date: September 21, 2021

TW: death, grief, murder, mentions of suicide

Thank you to NetGalley, T.J. Klune, and Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! 💜