After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea, I just knew I had to read this book.

Wallace is a workaholic lawyer and a jerk, who dies from a heart attack and finds himself being taken to a tea shop by a reaper, Mei. There he meets a ferryman named Hugo who helps him cross into the afterlife.

TJ Klune has done it again with another beautiful story. This story teaches you to live your life to the fullest and appreciate life itself and your family; all while touching on grief, death, closure and moving on.

This book is very slow paced up until around the 50% mark. Also while House in the Cerulean Sea was funny, whimsical and sweet; Under the Whispering Door has a more serious and heavy tone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an ebook arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I started with high hopes for reading this book after hearing about it so much (which made me feel like it was going to give me a little bit of the Meg Cabot's Mediator nostalgia - while being different from it in every way possible😅). And when I began reading about a grumpy, rude man going about his day in the most snobbish way possible, I wasn't disappointed. Enter Mei, our beloved Reaper, and things got more interesting. And then we met Nelson, Apollo and Hugo and I was hooked.

Then, I came to the parts which I knew were inevitable in a book revolving around Death, but wasn't really looking forward to. The philosophical discussions - debating the whys of it all. And unfortunately, the pacing of the story hit a snag around the same point, so I was very slow in getting through the second quarter or so of the book. But, things got interesting very soon again, so the second half went by in a flash.

My favourite part of the book was easily Nelson and Mei. Nelson was probably the character with the least exciting story, but one I loved nonetheless or maybe because of it. Same as him, Mei carved a place in my heart in the first few pages itself. But, I wish I hadn't read a similar version of her backstory a hundred times before. As soon as I got to know she was Asian, I half expected the 'Parents migrated to America to realise the "American-Dream", worked their asses off to provide a stable future for their kid, but, sigh, turns out to be a disappointment' trope to manifest in the story. And zero surprises, it did. With the added bonus of 'Mental Health's a big no-no in Asian households' to top it off. It's kind of sad that at this point, I don't even expect any different for Asian characters living in America.

Moving on, yes, characters! Hugo. Loved him, loved his teas. Loved his dog even more. Everything about him made that much special by his journey and everything he's gone through. It made perfect sense for him to be the way he was. Which did not really happen with Wallace. Because, yes, I'm a type of reader who likes to analyse everything in a character's past - especially the ones who are not the goody two-shoes types. Which was given here in the vaguest way possible. But what I did love was who he became. He was changing, and everyone was happy about it. Granted, it felt a bit too much of a transformation at times, but it was easy to ignore that. It made me appreciate the little setbacks even more because they made the process that much more real.

This group of characters that9came together as a family to make me laugh out loud, cry like a baby and feel all the emotions in between. Overall, I'd say it's a story focusing more on the journey of these people that's helped along by everything magical in it.

*Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me an Advanced Copy of the book.*

True to his style of writing lovable, multi-layered characters in a semi- sci fi magical setting with an underlying message hidden, TJ Klune does it again. He has an innate ability to find a tough subject and inject it with just enough humor to make it less heavy, just enough hope to make it less depressing and just enough insight to teach the lesson he is trying to.

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, and therefore was nervous to see how this next book stacked up. Although I wouldn’t consider this one as perfect as Cerulean, it was very close. I think one of the reasons that Cerulean stands out is because it was the first Klune book I read. His original style and wit captured me immediately. This book holds the same charm, but follows a very similar outline to Cerulean, so now I expected it. (know what I mean?)

Wallace Price, a selfish and unlikable attorney finds himself dead. Yes, I said dead. He arrives at his own funeral, shocked to find so few people there. One person he doesn’t recognize. This person is a “reaper” who takes him to a “ferryman” who is meant to help on his journey to move “on.” The story then explores his journey and the people put in place to assist people who have recently passed. The story mainly takes place in the tea shop owned by the ferryman, Hugo. There is a wonderful cast of secondary characters introduced in the tea shop. As Wallace tries to figure out what he is meant to do, he becomes much more self-aware, empathetic, caring and courageous. (maybe a tad too quickly??)

Klune leaves many things unspecified and fluid so that while reading, you are never fully aware of what could happen next. My take is that we are not meant to get bogged down in the specifics and logistics - because the real takeways are about self-discovery, regret, grief, acceptance, honesty, empathy and love.

There were a few items I wish had a little more development, but overall this book was another magical and heartwarming story of redefining ourselves, becoming who we are meant to and using our gifts to help others.

Of course I recommend! Due out September, 2021.

Many thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an advance copy.

Wallace Price is not a nice man. He is cold, selfish and does not have an empathetic bone in his body. Wallace Price also does not realize this until the only people who show up to his funeral have nothing but negative things to say about him. He knows this because he is there watching it all happen.

Under the Whispering Door is a book about what happens after death. After Wallace’s demise, we follow him as he works his way through death and the stages of grief in hope of some sort of redemption. Along the way, Wallace is introduced to lovable supporting characters that teach him how to be a friend and what it means to be family.

Similar to The House on the Cerulean Sea, this new novel by TJ Klune delivers an important message wrapped beautifully in a heartfelt bow. Klune’s unique way of making the characters come alive continues as he pulls from our own memories to make us laugh, probably cry and really think about life and death in the best way possible. Under the Whispering Door had a slower start as the scene-building was taking place, but I could not get enough of the second half of this book. From the relationships, to the animal character (one of my favorite parts of this one!), to the idea of finding yourself even when you feel lost - I think this book has something in it for everyone.

Thank you so much Netgalley, TJ Klune and Macmillan-Tor/Forge Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was a latecomer to The House by the Cerulean Sea and it has easily been one of my favorite books of 2021. When I was approved to read TJ Klune's latest, Under the Whispering Door, I'm pretty sure I shrieked with joy. I had really high expectations for this one since The House by the Cerulean Sea was so moving and magical.

We meet Wallace Price, a cranky, perhaps early 40s man who discovers hes' dead at his own funeral. Mei swoops in as his Reaper and brings him to Charon's Crossing to meet his ferryman, Hugo, who will help him come to terms with his death and allow him to move through the door to the other side.

Under the Whispering Door started a bit slow for me, at least the first half as the story built. But as the story built, we truly started to see Wallace's personality soften and change. The last half of the book was incredible. I couldn't put it down and I felt so emotionally invested in the characters. All I wanted was for Hugo and Wallace to end up together. It's been a while since a book had me in tears at the end, but this one definitely had me wiping my eyes.

This is truly another magical story from Klune. Make time to read it. It will be worth it.

Solid 4.5 stars from me.

As soon as I saw the description of this book, and knowing how much I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, I had a feeling I would love this book too and it delivered!✨

Wallace Price is having a pretty weird day - he wakes up at his funeral. He’s met there by a reaper, who then brings him to a tea shop. Not just any tea shop, but one run by Hugo, a ferryman who helps souls get ready to cross over.

In life, Wallace the lawyer sucked - he worked all the time, and didn’t make any meaningful relationships. In death, Hugo and the other strange residents of the tea shop, alive and dead, help him live a little.

In a style very reminiscent of Cerulean Sea🌊, the cast of characters is quirky, including Hugo who actually has to run the tea shop as his day job🫖; Mei, the reaper who came to get Wallace as her first solo reaping job☠️; Nelson, Hugo’s deceased grandfather who teaches Wallace how to be a poltergeist👻; and the Manager, who’s in charge of the crossing at the tea house🤓.

This book was easy to read, I couldn’t put it down and devoured it in a day. It deals with questions of life and death, and what does it all mean🤷🏼‍♀️. But it also has quirky and fun moments that just showcase how it’s okay to have a good time. It also highlights just how awesome tea is lol! 🫖

I am so happy I got to read this book - thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for a free ebook copy, in exchange for my honest review.

After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea and recommending it to everyone I know, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review the ARC of his next book.

This book is about Wallace - he's a pretty awful human. He's selfish, rude, insensitive and puts his work as a lawyer about everything else in his life. In the first chapter, Wallace dies. After his death, his ghost learns what it is to really live. This book is so heartfelt - there is so much emotion and growth in the characters. I loved that there was TJ Klune's trademark quirky humor which was good given the difficult topics of death, regret, guilt etc. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Klune’s strength as a writer is his ability to lay out on the page what it means to be human. UTWD is certainly a heartfelt rumination on grief, death, and loss, but at the end of the day, it lacked the lit-from-within incandescence of The House in the Cerulean Sea or the glittery, tongue-in-cheek adorableness of The Extraordinaries series. There was a cast of characters who were innately lovable, but I didn’t feel as much of a connection to them as I wanted to. There were some sections that, even though they were touching on important topics, felt overly expository, and the ending felt a little too neat. That being said, there were many moments where I was wiping away tears (which doesn’t happen often for me as a reader!) and Klune deftly and tenderly explores really complex themes of death and grieving and the afterlife.

I have had a complicated relationship with Klune's work lately. I read a couple of his books at Dreamspinner, so I was very excited when he signed with Tor... but I haven't liked any of the books he's published with them, unfortunately.

This one felt interminable at times. There was so much talking, so much languishing, so much of absolutely nothing happening. I could feel Klune using this book as a kind of therapy, so there were some highly emotional moments that really worked, but the juxtaposition of those with the deeply sad and uncertain discussions of death didn't really work for me. It was going for a The Good Place vibe, but it never really got there because, well, I just don't feel Klune that funny (or at least as funny as he seems to find himself).

I liked the last 25% or so, but it was a chore getting there.

I absolutely loved this book. It managed to feel completely different to 'The House in the Cerulean Sea', and yet felt reminiscent. This book caused me to reflect about the way I interpreted and felt about death, and was a truly emotional and beautiful read. Klune has done it again, with a deceptively complex concept exposing simple truths about what it is to be human.

I was so excited to read this one and finished the book just slightly disappointed. I fell in love with TJ Klune’s writing style when I read House in the Cerulean Sea. It is quirky and witty with the perfect amount of humor sprinkled in. Under the Whispering Door definitely has all that but with a more dark, melancholy tone. The characters in this book were fabulous and the storyline for the book was so interesting but for me the book was just too long and drawn out. The story didn’t seem to go anywhere fast. The book ended perfect and it was readable, however some spots were just slow and repetitive.

Thank you so much Net Galley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

Under the Whispering Door has a lot of technical value, but it didn't do it for me. I was bored after Wallace's death and the many slice of life sequences that took place after. This is a good one, just not for me.

Wallace's character changed pretty fast, and I was hoping for a little more tension since his character was really played out to be scum of the earth in life- but this shockingly didn't affect the story that much. His character softened too quickly for my taste.

The moments of calm in the story where everyone is just vibing just didn't have enough chemistry to really interest me platonically or otherwise, and I didn't get into the romance much.

Regardless, I believe this is sort of the Klune M.O and this is what people read his books for, and I think he does it well (sticky sweet/uncomplicated romance). I also loved the writing style.

I didn't read a synopsis of this book beforehand and I decided to go in completely blind.

I am not a huge fan of talking about death and the afterlife *cue anxiety* so I was caught by surprise when this book was centered around what happens after you die. The story follows the main character, Wallace, throughout his journey in the afterlife and the people he meets to help him cross over. Wallace definitely embodied qualities that Mr. Baker portrayed in The House in the Cerulean Sea, but that is where the similarities end.

This book was totally different from The House in the Cerulean Sea and dealt with a lot of deeper emotions and grief. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I felt about this book after I finished it. It took a lot of time to reflect on the message and sort out my emotions. What I've learned from this book was that family is whoever has your best interests at heart, loves you unconditionally and is there for you and it's never too late to be a better person. Ultimately, I think this book was important to read and very impactful.

On top of the afterlife and death discussions, there was a beautiful love story that developed throughout the book. I felt like it was important to read and everyone should definitely pick this book up.

TJ Klune: author of queer book hugs. That’s the only way I can explain the magic that was The House on the Cerulean Sea and that is Under the Whispering Door.

Though not related to the book that was Klune’s claim to fame, the world in Under the Whispering Door feels comforting and familiar after reading The House on the Cerulean Sea. Tough topics such as death, grief, murder, and suicide are tackled gently in this wondrous world featuring ferryperson Hugo, reaper Mei, grandfather Norman, and the protagonist Wallace.

Pick up this book for an endearing story about creating a life in death.

Thank you, @netgalley and @tjklunebooks for an advanced reader copy of Under the Whispering Door. Pick this up from your local bookstore on September 21!

In this story, we follow Wallace, a recently deceased lawyer as he finds his way to his next step. He is brought to a little teashop where the reaper Mei and ferryman Hugo help him understand life. I did enjoy the themes of redemption and reflecting on life.
I did not enjoy this book as much as House in the Cerulean Sea-- Wallace is a tough character to like, but I enjoyed the other characters around him in this novel.

I am opting not to review this book due to the authors past offenses of racism, which he has engrained into multiple of his books. From his glorification of the police, making inappropriate jokes about police brutality in The Extraordinaries, turning his only character of color in Cerulean Sea into a dog, and his modeling the housing in Cerulean Sea after Canadian residential schools which subjected an entire generation of Indigenous peoples to sexual, physical, and cultural abuse. Klune has a VERY telling past of racism and I do not want to support his work as an artist by reading or reviewing any of his books in the future.

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and NetGalley for the ARC!

Wallace is a bastard. A cold hearted, malicious bastard, and he dies that way as well. This is all a surprise to him as he stands over his body at his funeral with only a handful of guests including a strange woman he's never seen before. Even more a surprise when this strange woman looks right at him and actually sees him. This woman is Mei and she is here to take him to the ferryman, a wayward place between death and the afterlife. This place happens to be a tea shop ran by Hugo, a lovely looking man with all the patience and kindness in the world. All the patience in the world doesn't help Wallace. He is mad and unnerved that this would happen to him and he's cruel to anyone who disagrees. However, the longer Wallace stays at this resting stop, the more he starts to unwind and discover layers of himself he never knew he had. Now, as Wallace is finally getting a glimpse at what his life could have been, the head of the afterlife declares that he has one week to cross over and this new life is gone.

I rather enjoyed this novel. I wasn't sure how people liked it because I felt like the only reviews they had was "It has and LGBTQ relationship!" While I have NOTHING against that, I felt that so many people were missing out on what an amazing and heartfelt novel this is. There is so many layers and depths to the story that the romance is just a dollop in it. I cried several times reading this, so be prepared for that, especially if you've lost a dog! I also enjoyed his concept of the afterlife and while I do believe in God myself (this book does not) it does follow through with my belief that we all essentially believe the same thing no matter what we call it. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like something a little different in concept and pace.



Rate: 4.5/5

Fiction

Author: T.J. Klune

I will never not recommend this book! I love Klune's style so much. I wouldn't accept such sweetness from just anyone. Under the Whispering Door is like a warm hug I didn't know I needed.

Wallace learning to live after he has already died makes the reader really think about how they are living now. What kind of legacy will they leave behind. What will tether you to the world? Wallace was awful. The worst. And yet, even he is capable of redemption. He was all along.

Characters were amazing. Story was great. I have no notes.

Wallace was a very cranky character. Beautiful written and pulled me in right from the beginning. The subject matter made you think and I was left pondering what life is really all about. Happy I read it.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Dnf’d at around 40%

There are many things I would want to say about this book.The story follows Wallace, a grumpy attorney who suddenly dies and is forced to reckon with a life that he has lived. Along the way he meets Hugo, the so-called ferryman of his passage to the other side. This follows a lot of questions about death and life and how we live life but I found this to be such a boring way to tell that story.Wallace is an asshole who I am mediately don’t find any interesting interest in. Usually I understand bad characters or morally gray characters but they need to have something that makes me interested. Wallace was just mean and kind of a caricature. I find a lot of the writing to be similar to Neil Gaimen‘s writing in fantasy but I think Gaiman manages to include an interesting twist on fantasy while a lot of the fantasy elements in this book were really predictable such as the ferryman, etc.

Also I think part of the reason why I found this book to be very hard to get through was that it read very similarly to a Christmas Carol. Both Wallace and Scrooge are grumpy people who threw some sort of death experience, learn to value life.

Overall I think that this book has a good idea but the writing was just not captivating enough for me to keep on going nor was the character of Wallace or Hugo’s that intriguing to me.