"Under the Whispering Door" by TJ Klune is a beautifully crafted and emotionally resonant novel that blends the fantastical with deep explorations of life, death, and the afterlife. The story follows Wallace Price, a recently deceased lawyer, as he embarks on an unexpected journey beyond the veil and confronts the mysteries of the afterlife. Klune's writing is both whimsical and poignant, creating a rich tapestry of characters and themes. The novel skillfully navigates themes of love, redemption, and the importance of living authentically. With its heartfelt narrative, clever humor, and a touch of the supernatural, "Under the Whispering Door" is a captivating exploration of the human experience that lingers in the reader's heart long after the last page.

This book was no match for cerulean sea. It was just overall a sad premise along with weird aspects like needing to be attached by a leash.

A really great story that explores love and loss in such a heartwarming way. It has everything to love from a TJ Klune book. Highly recommend

This is one of the most entertaining books I've read in a while. Wallace has not had enough life in his life so he's going to find it while he's still got a chance. The problem? He's already dead. But he's got one week to do what he needs to do before he must cross to the other side. Along the way, he packs alot into this last fragment of life. This story deserbves a triple 5 star rating. The cover is eye catching. It made me pick up the book. The story is unique and memorable. The characters.....if every writer could build characters such as these.....it would make choosing a title to read extremely difficult!!!

Wallace- lawyer, CEO, asshole, and dead. Dead? At his own funeral? No that can't be right. But when a reaper takes him to a tea shop called Charon's Crossing, things are starting to get a bit more real...!

Listen, I had such high hopes for this book, but I just couldn't do it. It's a queer book about death, that sounds amazing! But, I was disappointed. I feel like since I got to about 85% of the book I can still hand in a review because, if I'm not into it by then, what's the point? I was so. bored. And I feel like I'm the only one who feels this way since it's so highly rated! But I didn't care for any of the characters, I thought the jokes weren't that funny, and even though it was heart warming having all the characters deal with death, I just couldn't finish it.

The major problems I had with this book were the world building and the character arcs. I felt like we spend the entirety of the book just learning how this death thing works. Ok so we learn how it works, then what? That's it. The whole book was spent teaching the reader what a ferryman is, what a reaper is, the problem with leaving the tea shop, but it just didn't end and I honestly felt like learning about this world did nothing for me. With the character arcs, I feel like it was a video game where you spend a certain amount of time with a character and then get their tragic backstory and win friendship points lol. Like it was way too formulaic and didn't feel natural at all.

The romance aspect also just was too boring for me. I thought it was really sweet that Wallace and Hugo would spend their nights talking to each other and that they learned to care for one another. But like... Wallace is dead? Maybe I'm just not into ghost x living ships LOL but it was just so strange to me. Also Wallace was such an asshole while he was alive, and you're telling me he just turns out nice after he dies? IDK it was just a bit unbelievable for me.

Overall I feel good about my decision to DNF this at about 85%. I don't see how the ending could change my opinion when the rest of the book just dragged for me. 2.5/5 stars rounded to 3 for Goodreads. I hear really good things about the author's other books, so I'm excited to read those. Thank you so much to NetGalley for this e-ARC.

Honestly, I could summarize my thoughts easily: I will always pick up every single book TJ Klune decides to gift humanity and encourage everyone else to do the same.

Nobody does heartwarming whimsy like TJ Klune. You will laugh, you will cry, you will reflect on life, and leave this book motivated to be a better person and appreciate the little things so much more.

TJ, please keep them coming.

I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Eh definitely not for me. I was really intrigued at first when it came to the death and going to the house in the woods, but then it got boring and I had to DNF.

I adore TJ Klune and will read anything he writes. This one made me cry (in a good way) and feel all the feelings. What a wonderful cast of characters. Highly recommend.

After reading just how problematic The House In the Cerulean Sea is. I can't in good conscience finish reading and/or review this novel. My apologies.

Loved this book, have already been hand selling to customers and know that other staff rave about it too! Interested to read more from this author :)

I no longer feel comfortable recommending this author's books due to how problematic the House in the Cerulean Sea is.

Klune is a master storyteller. Philosophically, I do not agree with this story, but it is a sweet, tender wonderfully written story.

I was sorry to have this come to an end. I'm grateful that my friend, Gretchen, pointed this author out to me. I will look for more of his work. Really great characters. I just want to take them home with me. Quite an intriguing premise. Lots to ponder. Absolutely delicious!

I no longer feel comfortable recommending this author's books after I learned about him being inspired by residential schools to write a cozy, fluffy fantasy book series and never apologizing for it.

TJ Klune's "Under the Whispering Door" welcomes readers to Charon's Crossing, a place where the tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through. In this delightful queer love story, Klune combines elements of "A Man Called Ove" and "The Good Place" to create a narrative that is both heartwarming and humorous.

The story follows Wallace, who begins to suspect he might be dead when a reaper comes to collect him from his own funeral. When Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, offers to help him cross over, Wallace decides to embrace the opportunity. However, even in death, Wallace is not ready to abandon the life he barely lived. Given one week to cross over, he sets out to live a lifetime in seven days.

Klune's storytelling once again exudes the same cozy and comforting feeling that captivated readers in "The House in the Cerulean Sea." The charming and heartwarming atmosphere is complemented by the hilarity of watching Wallace navigate the afterlife and discover the true meaning of living, even when you're dead.

The characters in "Under the Whispering Door" are endearing, each contributing to the overall warmth of the narrative. The exploration of life, death, and the choices we make is poignant, offering moments of reflection and insight into the human experience.

As a fan of TJ Klune's previous works, I appreciate the author's ability to blend humor and heart in a way that resonates with readers. "Under the Whispering Door" is a testament to Klune's talent for crafting uplifting and emotionally resonant stories. I gave it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, thoroughly enjoying the journey beyond life that this novel provides. TJ Klune continues to establish himself as a favorite author, delivering stories that leave a lasting impact on the heart and soul.

If you're looking for a book that will make you sob the entire way through, this is the book for you! I sobbed quite literally 80% of the way through my audiobook. "Under the Whispering Door" is an evident tale through grief and what it means to live your life to the fullest. While not all the crying may be bad, some is actually good, it is one of the most emotional pieces I have read and absolutely worth the time.

This was a hard one to review, because I loved the concept and the story itself but there was so much in the writing that left me wanting something different. The majority of the book feels so drawn out, yet the characters were never fully fleshed out. There is this great idea of Wallace changing for the better once actually faced with death, but I never really understood the why of him actually changing. The romance also seemed to come a bit out of nowhere. I also love a happy ending but this one felt unfair, because I can't see a reality in which death would make the exception for this one man amongst the millions of people who die every day. Instead of giving a more true to life ending where Wallace floats through the door after making a dramatic change in who he is, he's for some reason only the second person in the entire history of humanity to be given a second chance.

I wanted to love this so badly! I can see why so many people would like this. The concept is intriguing. The writing style is beautiful. I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, because of the connections and character arcs. However, these characters just didn't land it for me. I also found that it dragged a lot and after the main character figured it out and it fell into the whole purpose and him leaving the shop I just found I couldn't care.

In line with some recent trends in literature that examine death and regret, and being offered chances to redeem oneself, and to see what really matters in life and the beyond.