This book hooked me from the opening scene and didn't let go until the final page. Although I own THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA and THE EXTRAORDINARIES, I haven't had a chance to read either of them yet, making this my first TJ Klune book. And it absolutely did not disappoint.

I have had this on my kindle since last year. But I couldn’t get into it. Then I finally got the audio. Game changer. Once I was moving, I flipped back and forth between the audio and this kindle galley. I loved our characters. Though we know for the most part how this will go, it was lovely. I found that many people said this was sad and it was, but based on the plot I feel you know that going in!

I loved this book. I got emotional bc how can you not?

What a humorous read. This was definitely an interesting concept. A fun book for sure. I was confused by some of the other plot and the romance to at randomly sprouted up. But all in all, an entertaining book.

This book was an interesting take on what happens after you die. The writing was amazing, and the characters were so real. I wasn't expecting to laugh as much as I did during such a difficult topic.

Due to the book being about death and the topic of suicide is touched on this is not one I would recommend to everyone. For those that are able to read these subject matters it's a great read.

I unfortunately don't think this book was for me.

I appreciated what the author was trying to do and the messaging he was trying to convey - but for me, I was just so bored. It was too slow for me. I thought the beginning started off strong, but it only held my interest for a few chapters. It was very dry and hard to keep my focus on, and I should have DNF'd but it was my first by this author and he's so loved, so I just really wanted to love it too. Maybe too much pressure and high expectations?

I also felt like the messaging was so mixed, it was a bit predictable, and the characters were pretty unlikeable. I did love the dog though! But there wasn't much else that grabbed me or held my interest.

I've been told this wasn't the best to start with of his (my bad!) so I'll definitely be checking out some other stories by him int he future.

This book will delight fans of The House in the Cerulean Sea. Uplifting, inspiring, hopeful, and all around heartfelt, you will love the characters and never want the story to end.

I am not a religious person, so I was a little concerned about how I would feel about this book given it deals with the afterlife. I’m so happy to say I was pleasantly surprised! It was so easy to fall in love with the characters, and I legitimately shed tears reading it.

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under the Whispering Door seems to have the entirety going for it, with an interesting premise, quirky characters, and T.J. Klune's trademark humor. however ultimately, it never pretty materialized into the profound story it should've been.
Uptight corporate soldier Wallace price thinks he has it all: cash, career, and success. So whilst he keels over someday and simply dies, he's bowled over and irritated. some thing like that cannot possibly occur to him! but then he meets his reaper and ferryman, and he's in for the surprise of his existence. They slowly get underneath his skin and show him that there is more to life than he ever found out.
At its coronary heart, that is a e-book that contemplates what it approach to be alive and the way to come to terms with dying. those are profitable subjects, no doubt approximately that. but when it's all said and accomplished, does this e-book add something new or thrilling to the discussion? It pains me to mention that my solution is not any.
The tale may be very drawn out for what it consists of. we're basically following Wallace as he learns to be a higher person and take delivery of his destiny. however there isn't always plenty in that story and we never pass past pores and skin-deep, so numerous the passages and conversations experience repetitive and cliché. rarely whatever occurs from the beginning of this tale to the give up. As i am analyzing it, I saved having this feeling of deja vu, like i have already study the equal specific thing before.
The humor that you'd assume from T.J. Klune continues to be here. the start is my favourite, with no one having pretty the attention for making a laugh of corporate drones the manner Klune does. as the tale progresses, there have been a smattering of passages that made me chuckle, along with one which changed into uproariously humorous. but because of how drawn out the overall story is, the humor quick will become repetitive. it's like being hit over the pinnacle time and again with the equal jokes, and it starts to sense compelled and overdone.
the affection story in right here additionally feels a piece incongruous. it's doubtful to me precisely how it occurred. One moment, they weren't getting alongside. Then the next moment, they had been in love. but I didn't see any transition from one to the alternative. It appears like this became shoehorned in in order to fulfill the criteria of this being a love story.
I don't want to present the impression that I didn't enjoy this story at all due to the fact I did. however it changed into see you later and drawn out, filled with platitudes about making the maximum of your lifestyles and being a higher person, that it turned into tough to maintain my hobby throughout. What could have been insightful and humorous on the primary cross-round begins to feel much less and less so with each next outing, in particular after they don't dig very deep past the surface. still, I suppose fanatics of the author will revel in this story for what it is, a customary homage to loss and a lifestyles well-lived.
My heartfelt thanks for the improvement replica that become provided for my honest and independent overview.

One of my favorites from 2021. This book was absolute perfection. I can’t wait to read more from Klune.

This book was soo good. It was so heart warming. You follow this man named Wallace who has just died from a heart attack and you follow his journey to a tea shop where he meets Hugo, his ferryman who is assigned to help him cross over into the afterlife. This is a book about found family, and character development. Wallace goes from being a miserable and greedy man, to being a man who is willing to risk everything for a friend. I came into this book thinking it was going to be a fantasy book that was full of adventure but that is not really what this book is about, but I am not upset that it wasn’t I think that what is was was so much better than an action packed fantasy novel. Thank you netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was provided an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. Wallace Price is a jerk. He's an attorney who epitomizes the stereotypical image of his career field. When he dies of a heart attack, he is taken to Charon's Crossing, a tea house that also happens to essentially be a portal to the afterlife. It's what happens there that changes Wallace.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and felt a range of emotions while reading it. I went into it expecting something amazing, given what I've heard about Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea (which, admittedly, I have not read myself). It didn't live up to my expectations, but that isn't to say it wasn't a good story. I loved the characters, especially Mei and Nelson, and I laughed so much I almost woke my sleeping baby during the scene with Desdemona. There were some really touching surprises as well. I did feel the romance was a little too quick and not fleshed out well enough; it wasn't terribly believable. The familial relationships, though, were fantastic. I also felt like not a whole lot happened throughout the story, so it took me longer to read than I anticipated. One last point: this writer REALLY likes to use the word cerulean.

I would recommend this book, because I think it was a lovely look at grief and loss and personal growth.

DNF, unfortunately. I really wanted to like this book, as I loved House on the Cerulean Sea, but it themes were dealt with too shallowly and I didn't find the character motivations satisfying. Everything felt quite surface level. It has a lot of appeal for certain readers and will be an easy handsell, despite my personal preference.

This book tried to capture the magic of House in the Cerulean Sea but just missed the mark in my opinion. It felt like the hallmark spinoff of the same world, where the ending was predictable but you still watch it just because it’s kind of comforting in a way to know what is going to happen. I did enjoy the book overall, but did feel like some part of the equation was missing.

It's a good one, but it's not my type of book. I was expecting to like because I liked the synopsis but it didn't affect me.

THIS WAS INCREDIBLE. I was worried going into it initially but MY HEART oh wow. This was such a character-driven story (Nelson was just the comedy I needed) and while there was a lot of character background, I kept it straight. Everything in this book is so important, and I'm so glad this lived up to the hype. Very rare for me!

I love a simple love story. This would be one if it weren't so complicated. This book explores themes of love and life lost, the process of grieving and acceptance of change. I thought that it was beautiful writing, occasionally cliche, but the cliche was well placed and appropriate. I do recommend this book.

Wallace Price is a heartless corporate stooge. And then he dies. And so begins a journey of getting to the afterlife. Along the way he meets the folks who will help him and give him a cup of comforting tea, and maybe unlock the human inside him.

I really liked this book. The writing is simple and the story is super cute and I loved the funky characters. And I love a cheesy story about bad guys ultimately discovering goodness, ala The Christmas Carol. I liked that we get to see the perspective some someone who has to deal with death all the time and the toll it can take. However, be warned, the story is super predictable and somewhat trite and all the interesting topics are really addressed at a surface level. So it's not the most amazing book, but I liked it anyway.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillanusa / Torbooks for the gifted e-copy!!

i gotta be honest… i really didn’t think this book would mean as much to me as the house in the cerulean sea… then chapter 15 happened, and from there on out, this story solidified into something much more significant than I anticipated.

to set the record straight, I enjoyed myself the whole way through. but the the house in the cerulean sea did something to my heart that no other book has done, and if you’ve read it you probably understand what I mean.
under the whispering door managed to do just the same. but i’m really not here to compare the two..

tj klune masterfully creates fully fleshed out character arcs. at the beginning of the book, wallace is nearly unbearable. he’s unkind and selfish and him dying gives you a bit of a breath of fresh air. obviously, you know he’s about to go on a brilliant, life-changing journey, and boy does he.

we are genuinely blessed with this cast of characters. mei, nelson, apollo.. apolllllooo.
I would literally jump in front of a train for ALL of these guys.

and then there’s hugo. as the reader, you aren’t given too much insight into hugo’s story till further on into the story. but it didn’t matter too much because he what we did get of him before that was brilliant. he is so extremely patient and careful and kind. he is that way with wallace but also with the other characters.

over all, this gives the whimsical promise of tj klune while delivering a beautiful exploration of grief. it mulls over our time on earth and how short it can be. it contemplates what it means to have lived a “good life” and how different that can be person to person. it proves that real, true, deep love can be lost and yet found again.

again, TJK crafted an incredible story.
i am better for reading it.

After thoroughly enjoying The House in the Cerulean Sea, I was excited to pick up Under the Whispering Door as well. This story – centered around the afterlife of Wallace, big-shot workaholic lawyer, and his time spent preparing to “cross over” through the titular door after his death – was a charming and gentle take on loss, grief, and the inevitability of dying.

Overall: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had a really lovely, well-fleshed-out set of side characters, who in my opinion added a great deal of vibrancy and delight to the book (Mei was a personal favorite); I also thought the worldbuilding of the after-death spiritual bureaucracy was really fascinating, though I wish we’d gotten more detail about a lot of it! Wallace’s character arc, while not at all unexpected, was well-done, and the overarching plot kept my attention despite feeling a little predictable. I didn’t feel hugely compelled by the central romance of the book, but I thought Wallace’s relationships with the side characters were really wonderful.

In general, if you’re looking for a slightly bittersweet feel-good read about a heavy topic, I’d recommend this one. I’ll very happily keep reading whatever TJ Klune writes next.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for an advance ebook copy, in exchange for my honest review!

TJ Klune only recently appeared on my radar with his book House in the Cerulean Sea. Under the Whispering Door has all the warmth of his earlier novel with an added step up in the depth of writing. I couldn't help falling in love with the characters. Reading the first chapter, I was giddy at the idea of this prickly cactus of a man being taken apart into his pieces and remade into the truest, happiest version of himself. I won't spoil what actually happens, but the anticipation alone as we met him was brilliant. I could have lost myself forever in this book. It'll be one of my rare rereads, on days when I need that extra warmth around my heart.