Life. Death. Love. Happiness. Sorrow. All in one book. My word. I sobbed and giggled and my heart was full after finishing this. Klune has a way of taking life and elevating it to something magical and vibrant. I felt that I could see, hear and smell the scenes, quite vividly, and could almost see this as an animated movie. I loved House in the Cerulean Sea and this book tops that. Definitely recommend for all who love a cosy book but don’t mind getting your heart broken a bit.

All of the stars!!! If you were a fan of House in the Cerulean Sea, you'd enjoy this as well.
When Wallace attends his own funeral, he suspects he may be dead. He meets a reaper, Mei, who takes him to a ferryman with the goal of helping him cross over. This way station- its's a tea shop! But what if Wallace doesn't want to cross over? Is it ever too late to change the way you live? Even if you're not....alive?
This book is full of fabulous characters and is quirky and heart wrenching.
Thanks to Netgalley for an early copy to review.

I can't express enough thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for allowing me to read one of my most anticipated books of the year early.

This book is absolutely beautiful. Everything TJ Klune writes just cuts right to my heart, and this was definitely no different.

Wallace Price was not a good man. He was a workaholic and put nothing before his job as a lawyer. He treated the people around him more like servants than employees and did whatever it took to get ahead. When he dies, he expects death to go much like his life and it's quite the shock when he discovers that is not going to be the case. Hugo Freeman is a ferryman- helping the dead on their way to what comes next. Along with his reaper Mei, they run a tea shop that does a lot more than meets the eye. When Hugo and Wallace meet, Wallace is determined to get his life back and continue on as he was. Hugo, the most patient man in existence, explains how much that is not possible and begins the process of helping Wallace to move on. As the two grow closer and learn more about one another, saying goodbye suddenly seems like the worst thing.

I straight up silently wept throughout the entirety of this book. Death and what comes after is not something I think about often because it tends to send me into a panic. So, reading this and following Wallace's journey really got to me. I loved watching him realize that maybe he wasn't as good of a person as he'd believed when he was living, and then striving to be better in death.

The supporting characters are absolutely fucking lovely and Nelson Freeman is just... the best. He had me laughing out loud while also crying SEVERAL times. I'm a sucker for a faux-grumpy, found family man and Nelson delivered all that and more.

There are a lot of life lessons wrapped up in love in Tj Klune's books, and this one is no exception. I love how Klune makes the reader think about things that are difficult or painful to think about without coming off as preachy or condescending. Also, he's just fucking funny. I had no business laughing as much as I did while also crying, bit man did I.

I can't recommend Klune's books enough. Definitely pick this one up.

If Ebenezer Scrooge was given several weeks instead of one night, and the spirits that visited him were sassy, sensitive and sometimes spiteful, this would have been the story.

This story was nostalgic even though I've never been anywhere near it. Middle grade atmosphere and whimsy with adult themes. Predictable in a way that comforts and soothes the soul.

Oh this was just.....beautiful. This is a story about death and what comes after it. Wallace was a complete ass in real life, but in death he learns compassion and love.

Wow! I don't know where to begin. I finished reading a couple of hours ago and I'm still overwhelmed with emotions. First off, thank you Tor Books and NetGalley for an eARC.
I still can't believe I was so lucky to read this in advance. Ever since I read The House in the Cerulean Sea I knew I wanted to read everything Klune writes.
Under the Whispering Door is in some ways different from The House in the Cerulean and in other ways very much alike. We have humor, heart breaking moments, wonderful characters and beautiful writing. I just love the way Klune writes his characters. They are so lovable and feel so real. I love all of them. I laughed and I cried and I loved this book. This is a story about life and death, grief and loss, love and finding meaning in little things in life.
I love Klune's writing and I'm looking forward to his future stories.

This book was so good. I usually read books for entertainment, I want to escape the trials and tribulations of day-to-day living. Never have I willingly picked up a book knowing I would be an emotional wreck when it was over. But that did not stop me from jumping at the chance to read this latest TJ Klune book.

In short, it is about a man (ghost) who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with at a tea shop.
Loved all the characters and how they interacted with each other and those who need their help.

The book explores death and offers a glimpse into what is/could be waiting on the other side. Thankfully, humor saves the day when things get a bit emotional. My heart was very happy, if not emotional wrung-out, at the end of the book.

Be prepared to laugh, cry, cheer and hold your breath throughout the entire book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for allowing me to read the eARC .

Thank you netgalley for an advanced copy of this beautiful book. TJ Klune crafts such perfect imperfect characters and truly draws you into every world he puts onto his pages.
I began this book thinking it would be a one day consumed in a single sitting story, but it actually became a chapter by chapter read where I would have to stop to think about each bit as I went. At times it is very heavy, which despite the synopsis of a man traveling to the afterlife, I was not expecting. It is a journey through grief and death and the relationships we create and keep with ourself and others. What does it mean to be a family? What emotions are predominant in your life? What makes a “good death”? What happens after we die? This book explores all these very deep and sometimes uncomfortable to think about topics with wit, charm, and an overall them of love and healing. I laughed, cried, and thought so much about this book. I loved it from beginning to end!

This book is incredibly emotional, a love letter to anyone who’s experienced grief. I found myself laughing and sobbing and holding my chest in pain (in a good way.) I am always astonished at the way TJ Klune makes us feel so many feels at once, and this is no exception. This book reminded me of the final season of the good place & I loved everything about that.
A lot of mention of death and a lot of heavy grief filled emotions in this one. Please read with care.
Cannot recommend this book enough.

I guess what everyone is wanting to know is: Is this as good as Cerulean? No. Is it as important? Yes. Is it worth reading? Yes.

This story is slow. Klune takes his time developing the plot and its characters, at an almost glacial pace. But it is, in a way, this same slowness that allows the story to reach its fullness, and its emotional impact.

Without giving too many details away, this is a story about grief. Grief at a life not lived, a life lost, and the fall out that results in all of that. Wallace Price is the protagonist and he is not a lovable person. You are able to see his journey through death, and how this, and meeting this truly delightful house of characters, changes him. Anyone who has ever struggled with desperation, anxiety, mental health, and depression will find this read comforting and hopeful. It's a book that says, I see you.

And because of that, I think this is a book worth reading.

the grim reaper comes comes to collect wallace, Hugo owner of a teashop agrees to help him cross over. Wallace is given a week before he has to cross over. I enjoyed this story.

If you read House in the Cerulean Sea, then you’ll love Under the Whispering Door. This is the comfort we all need after 2020.

This book is beautiful. TJ Klune's writing style patches me into into his worlds, wraps me in a soft cozy bed of characters who live and breathe their own lives (and deaths) Whispering Door is a story about grief and how much it hurts, but it's also about hope and It's a story that will stay with me for a long time. Just read it!

I absolutely adored The House in the Cerulean Sea so I was very excited when I received an ARC for this book. The concept was intriguing and whilst the plot did feel a bit dragged in places, I found the journey Wallace embarks on to be fulfilling for him as an individual. Klune has a magical way of teaching us small life lessons that are valuable and often ones we forget in our own day to day lives. Although I did enjoy this book, I didn't fall in love with the world and characters as I did with The House in the Cerulean Sea.

When I was given the opportunity to read the new TJ Klune book, I was beside myself with joy. The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favorite books, so my expectations were sky high.
I immediately noticed that TJ Klune has his own distinct voice, full of warmth, friendliness and humor.
As for the story: a nasty man, a lawyer, dies and ends up with Hugo, the ferryman of the dead.
Under the Whispering Door did not disappoint in the slightest, I loved this book. It often made me laugh, it surprised me many times and it didn't bore me for a second. I couldn't stop reading, it was so addictive. I love it when a story pulls me in like that.
I very much enjoyed the subtle wisdom that TJ Klune spread throughout the story, this is definitely a book to read with a pen an notebook nearby.
In all honesty, this book was not as wonderful as The House in the Cerulean Sea, but it's impossible to write another book like that. Under the Whispering Door is still a lot better than most other books.

This e-arc was given to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

T. J. Klune continues to remind us of the multitudes that humans contain.

Wallace Price is not your typical main character. He is that one crappy boss we all had and hated: detached emotionally, obsessed with the bottom line, and self-absorbed. After dying on the floor, his last words a fleeting thought about chili, and then crashing his own sparsely attended funeral, Wallace begins his journey as a new dead man. This novel explores life after death, the idea that we can continue to change even after 'the end', and the impacts we can continue to make, though no longer living.

For me, this novel had it all. T. J. Klune continues to delight me. This reads like a middle grade novel, in that it is very accessible, but does contain some language more suited for more mature readers, though it could easily be enjoyed by anyone.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the opportunity to read one of my most anticipated releases of 2021 early by providing me with an arc of the novel*

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an egalley for review. Having read T.J. Klune’s YA and adult novels, I definitely enjoy his adult novels more. He has a stronger voice in his adult novels and I think YA audiences can read his adult novels with ease. That being said, I think this book would have worked better as a short story or a novella. This just went on and on, and on with the talking and Wallace’s transformation in the tea shop. Anytime there was any action, it was very quick and then we went back to the talking. There were pacing issues that really kept me from enjoying what could have been an amazing follow up to Cerulean Sea.

First and foremost I adored The House in the Cerulean Sea. It’s one of my top reads this year 5/5 stars so I was thrilled to be able to read this book.

The novel begins with the main character, Wallace, dying. He is soon visited by a Reaper who must take him to discover passage to the next part of life/death.

Wallace was not a nice man in life and as he moves through his new existence he realizes he wants to change. He meets various characters along the way who he learns from and tries to forge a better path forward.

All that said, I was left wanting to understand why Wallace was such a jerk to begin with and what exactly had changed him in death?

The book is quite long and I felt some of the plot points could have been cut out or sped up.

Unfortunately I didn’t feel the same love for these characters as I did with Cerulean. There’s certainly some witty, charming Klune weavesd in but overall it was just ok for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the opportunity to review this book.

TJ Klune does a great job of bringing this story to life! This is a great mix of love and there is some sadness in there too. Tears were shed. I would definitely recommend this book! Klune really has a way of teaching valuable lessons in this story too. As Wallace is too tied up with himself and his own life, he isn't paying attention to those around him until it's too late. It is really sad that a lot of us in our own lives allow this to happen. That lesson really hit home for me.

This is a great story and one I definitely recommend picking up!

Thank you, NetGalley for gifting me this advanced copy - What a treat!

I had to DNF this book because I became aware with ideological differences I share with the author. The portion I read was enjoyable fantasy and story telling.