TJ Klune created a beautiful world full of whimsy and charm just like his previous book. The feeling you get from reading this is almost the same. Unfortunately that is some of the issue with it. While it is set in the wonderful backdrop of a tea shop in between life and death, the overall journey the characters go on is the same. It starts with an unlikeable, barely human main character who dies and has to confront all of the pain he caused in his life and change for the better. All of these techniques were done well, it's just that it wasn't anything new. I'd love to see the author take more risks and present something out of the formulaic comfort zone.

After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea, I knew I had to read TJ Klune's next book and this one was just as magical and heartwarming. Wallace is a big shot, callous lawyer with no time for anyone but himself and his work. So when he dies one day, unexpectedly, of a heart attack, the only people that care, or at least attend the services, are the ones that do so out of obligation. Wallace meets Mei, the reaper that will be helping him deal with his feelings on his death and on transitioning to what comes next, she brings him to her home where he meets Hugo, the ferry man, Nelson, Hugo's ghost grandfather, and Apollo, Hugo's ghost-dog.

What happens next is a journey so completely wholesome and heartwarming. I loved the relationships among all the characters and the family they found together. Wallace's transformation was made possible by the love, support, and time that he received and had no choice but to give himself. Hugo is my absolute favorite, he's so sweet, honest, and uplifting and he deserves happiness after what he's been through and deals with each day. Nelson is absolutely hilarious and is always willing to tell it like it is, and not pull any punches. Mei is ridiculously likable and her willingness to fight for the people she loves is so admirable. Overall, I really enjoyed this read, it had the right amount emotional and feel-good moments. The only thing that I didn't jive with me was the ending, it wasn't what I was expecting, and while I'm happy how it turned out, I also would have liked for us to have been see Wallace's journey completely through.

T.J. Klune has this incredible talent where going into each new book, the characters stick with you long after reading. I devoured this one and I am not one who usually reads "fantastical" type literature. I can't wait to see what he does next!

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read this book.

I loved it. TJ Klune is a master at writing likeable, thoughtful, sweet, but quirky characters. And this book touched me deeply.

I absolutely adored this book!! It was definitely different from House in the Cerulean Sea but still amazing, cozy, and uplifting. I loved the characters and seeing them grow over the course of the book.

I love TJ Klune. His world-building is on point, his characters are relatable and loveable. Under the Whispering Door is sweet and one I will definitely recommend. I was left with soooo many questions at the end of this book, especially about the world. I hope Klune returns to it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for granting me early access to this book.

*I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Wallace is an important and deeply hated businessman who does not care whatsoever about being human or making and keeping interpersonal relationships. One day he's in his office and wakes up to see his own body dead on the floor. Unable to accept his death, a reaper is finding it quite hard to take him to a resting place; Hugo's house, where he can find peace and himself until he's ready to get to the other side.

I cannot say this enough, Klune always makes me smile and cry in equal parts and gets so deeply into my heart that I'm left with a huge empty hole in the pitch of my stomach that makes me need to cry and laugh out loud at the same time. Not many books have been able to do this throughout my life.

The story seemed to be going 'the wrong way' for a while and I was praying (I'm an atheist) the author had not written what I thought was going to happen. I'm so glad he didn't, but he made me suffer!

I believe his books are mainly character driven and it's literally impossible not to fall in love with these characters, not to understand and respect even their bad decisions and consequent actions. No character is perfect, which makes them human, relatable and, in general, real.

There's a topic I feel is a MUST when reviewing a book by T J Klune, and it's mental health. He does a fantastic job at making the reader know -and helping psychologists tell them- that it's ok not to be ok, that there's something that doesn't work properly in all of our heads. Mental health is all about acquiring the tools to deal with that in the best way possible and not let it stop us from living.

I said this to him on a live show about The Extraordinaries and wanted to say it again here. As a psychologist, thank you! Thanks for that, thanks for telling people it's ok to mourn and not be ok for some time when you lose someone and that the process will take its time, which is also different for everyone; thanks for reminding us that it's ok to make mistakes as long as you learn from them, which is actually the point of being alive (or dead for the case of this book).

This, to summarise, has been my favourite TJ Klune so far and I need to continue reading all his books! Everybody should read them.

Links will be available tomorrow 6pm BST.

After dying from a sudden heart-attack, Wallace wakes up to find he is now a ghost. When he was alive, Wallace was a jerk lawyer, who didn't like anyone and had no life outside of work. After facing this fact at his poorly attended funeral, Wallace meets a reaper, who takes him to Hugo, the ferryman meant to help him crossover to what's next. Hugo also runs a quirky tea shop, where his grandfather and dog - both ghosts - live alongside him. There Wallace discovers he can be so much more than an up-tight jerk and starts living life now that he's technically not alive.

This book is adorable. I read it at a very inopportune time, dealing with the death of my mom, but it helped in a way to imagine an afterlife like this. Hugo is a patient and kind ferryman, good at listening and saying the right things to get Wallace to come out of his shell and discover all the things he might have missed. Hugo's granddad is a goofy old man that adds some levity until Wallace becomes a decent human being. The final epilogue made me ugly cry in a way I wasn't expecting, considering how lighthearted this book otherwise was. I also like that it was clearing the same universe as The House in the Cerulean Sea, but made no overt reference to it other than a photo description.

TJ Klune is a master at atmosphere and scenery building and then adding delightful and quirky characters that you can't help but love even if they do start off as jerks.

There are a couple of things that I want to address before I give my rating on this book.

First, PLEASE be cautious of content warnings before reading. This book contains mentions of de@th, including by sui©ide and murd3r, tense parental relationships, de@th of parents, children, pets and spouses, dealing with grief, terminal illness, and more. Read with care.

Second, I avoided reading this eARC for a long time after I saw TJ Klune’s comments about his previous novel, The House in the Cerulean Sea. These comments trivialized the experience of real Native American families and especially children in forcible removed and placed in boarding schools to just a plot device, which he exploited in that novel. As far as i know, Klune has not apologized for his actions or made any moves to directly support Indigenous communities, despite there having been an uptick in awareness of the atrocities committed at these schools. I likely would not have read this book if hadn’t received it for free and if I was not trying to clear my NetGalley shelf, due to the author’s behavior. I already owned the other book even before I was given access to this one, but it will likely be quite a while before I read it, if I do.

That said, I did really enjoy this book. It got off to a slow start for me, but by the end I was close to tears. The characters are likable and the story is both deep and whimsical, despite dealing with very heavy topics. In the end, it’s very hopeful and an uplifting read. It is also sweet LGBTQIA+ representation.

Based on the book alone, I would give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I could see this book having a lot to offer for people who are dealing with grief. Still, I will always encourage reading critically and with as much information as possible, including considering when authors have been harmful in some way.

Thank you to #netgalley and #torbooks for the eARC of this book.

I didn’t mind this book at all. I know everyone loves TJ Klune, and I want to love him as much as everyone else, but as this was the fourth book of his that I have read and have only felt so-so about, I think it’s time for me to realize his books aren’t for me.

I want to note that there is nothing wrong with this book. I think the problem here is me and not the book itself.

After enjoying The House in the Cerulean Sea last year, I was interested in checking out Under the Whispering Door, especially after seeing some good reviews and recommendations. I am so glad I did, as I liked it even more than Cerulean Sea.

The story starts off with Wallace presenting as a total jerk and then dying shortly after. Then you see his sparsely attended funeral that includes a mystery guest. This mystery guest turns out to be a Reaper, who takes him to Charon's Crossing, which is a tea and pastry shop with a quirky design. From there, the story becomes more and more amazing, especially once Hugo is brought onto the scene.

This novel has so many layers and reads as a fantasy of sorts. It reminds me of a cross between Beetlejuice, Ghost, and Defending Your Life. I loved all the characters (except for the ones I shouldn't like, of course). There was a lot of symbolism and beauty, even though the story was all about death. The LGBTQ representation made me think of Schitt's Creek, in that it was just something accepted throughout. I enjoyed seeing everything through Wallace's eyes, including the changes he makes for himself along the way. The descriptions were great and really brought everything in the story to life. There were a lot of humorous moments, alongside the heartwarming ones.

Overall, I just really enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it. I'm excited for some others in my house to read it soon.

Movie casting suggestions:
Wallace: Brian Nolan
Hugo: Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman
Mei: Awkwafina
Nelson: Morgan Freeman
Nancy: Rachelle Lefevre
Desdemona: Emma Stone
Cameron: Scott Evans
Alan: Hart Denton

Under The Whispering Door asks the question of what it really means to live amidst the inevitability of death and how it's never too late to change-- as a person along with the course/outcome of your life.

Although it was a bit more formulaic and a little more in your face with its life lessons than The House In The Cerulean Sea, I know I can rely on wholesome, heartwarming content whenever I read a T.J. Klune book. If you enjoy the found family trope with quirky, whimsical characters, satisfying redemption arcs or are just in need of a warm, comforting hug of a book, I definitely recommend Klune's work as he does this all so seamlessly. He creates the kind of books that you didn't know you needed until you find yourself deep in the story and you get sucked in.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The House in the Cerulean Sea was one of my favorite books last year, while the Extraordinaries was one of my least favorites, so I was beyond thankful when I totally fell in love with this book. TJ Klune thrives when he writes adult novels and this love story was a gem from start to finish. I definitely cried a few times, but it was still such a heartwarming tale. At this point I will read anything Klune writes.

This story was lovely! TJ is incredible and brilliant. Wallace is a not so good person and lawyer who has a heart attack. In the process of crossing over he is allowed to learn how to become a better person. I was in tears by the end of this, I felt connected with the characters in a way I haven’t in a long time.

So I wanted to read this book because I was one of very few people I know who didn't love House in the Cerulean Sea, but I felt like this author had such good things to say, and so I was hoping this book would have a journey that I enjoyed more the second time around. For a good chunk of the book, this was the case for me.
I liked the story line as well as the idea of death, regret, and acceptance. There were some really funny moments and I felt hooked right away. Throughout I was much more into it than the previous book and for a while didn't want to put in down, it started to slow for me again. Unfortunately, there were a few things along the way that didn't work for me. The first was that Hugo and Wallace's relationship didn't quite develop but sort of was just suddenly there without as much of a build. I didn't feel like they (or we as readers) got a chance to hope for it long enough. The Desdemona stuff felt a bit unnecessary to me and entered midway through a journey I was enjoying. I did get back into it after that, but then the end was also anti-climactic for me when suddenly the manager comes and offers a solution so I didn't see a real conflict being overcome. Almost everyone I have spoken to loved this book though so it might just not be my style. I do look forward to reading more of this author's work though because it did engage me more this time around, I feel like it didn't quite land for me in the end. Thanks for much for the opportunity to read it!

This is one of my new favorite books of all time. It took me a little bit of time to get into it, but once I warmed up to where the story was going, I had so much fun getting to know all the characters and was really invested in their journeys. The story was original, well-written, moving, and thoughtful. There were also moments where I found myself laughing out loud. This book is a perfect balance of all the best things. I’ve recommended this book countless times since finishing it.

This was just such a delightful, charming novel. T.J. Klune writes the kind of stories that feel like a warm embrace and that fill me up with hope for humanity.

Under The Whispering Door follows Wallace, a horrible – and, frankly, annoying – man who cares for no one and nothing besides his job, that dies suddenly and ends up at Chiron’s Crossing, a teashop owned by a guy named Hugo who is also the Ferryman that helps souls cross. And from then it’s all a story about character development, found family and hope – with a romance subplot and themes of mental health sprinkled in.

Again, this was an absolute delight to read (even when Wallace was being a little shit) and gave me the same feeling as The House in the Cerulean Sea, even though they had such different themes. I loved the found family aspect the most. I could really feel the affection and understanding these people had built for each other and Wallace fit right in there.

Some elements could’ve been more developed, yes, but, overall, it was just a lovely reading experience.

As always T J Kline has created something beyond magical that touches every fibre of your being and gives you every emotion you can imagine at the same time a massive 5star must read!!

One of the best ways to read this book is to go in without expecting a happy ending. While that may sound brutally honest, the author does his best to consistently provide bittersweet feelings of hope and happiness within the words of each page. By the end, you’ve experienced whispers of the stages of grief and know that life can be found in death. As someone who has lost and grieved and hurt over lost loved ones, reading this felt like coming home to a warm hug after a hard journey. Possibly a warm cup of tea included.

5⭐️

There are certain books out there that feel as if they were written for you and this is one of those. I adore Klune books because he expertly navigates whimsy but also depth. This book had it all. I was laughing and swooning one moment then full blown sobbing the next. I know this is a story that will forever stick with ne