DNF at page 120. While I adored The House in the Cerulean Sea, unfortunately, this one just fell flat. For starters, I intensely disliked Wallace, and while I get that it was intentional, unlikeable characters are not my jam. I love to root for the main characters from page 1.
Secondly, dare I say it? Nothing much happens in the first 120 pages. I waited long enough, but... no.
My last gripe is that this book is too similar to "Cerulean", and not in a good way. It's like Cerulean's evil twin, too macabre, preachy, and in your face to be enjoyable.
Of course, it's not all bad, I loved the cover and some side characters. But it's not enough to continue trudging through.
Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely loved this book, I'm not sure I can explain how much I loved it in enough detail. The characters were charming and believable, the setting and world building brilliant, and the writing overall just absolutely swept me away. Since reading this I've also read The House in the Cerulean Sea and I'd definitely say if you're a fan of that you'll probably adore this one too!

I had to read this book. After House in the Cerulean Sea charmed me so, and this book came with the tagline "A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place.", how could I *NOT* read it?! For the most part, this book lived up to my expectations. Main character Wallace was a successful but not-nice guy in life. He dies of a heart attack. In between life and the afterlife (we are left to imagine what the afterlife may look like) there is a period of time in limbo before "crossing", which is different for everyone, and a bit abstract, to me, for what it will take to get there. (This reminded me of those spirits "tarrying" in Lincoln in the Bardo,), so Wallace, and others, are brought by a Reaper named Mae (the best character in the book) to a tea shop in a small town where a man named Hugo runs the tea shop while also acting as a "Ferryman" to help dead people cross. This isn't always an easy job for Hugo, and he has had some tough times at it which trouble him.
Wallace spends more time than anyone else (Aside from Hugo's grandfather Nelson, who seems to be an almost permanent resident) at the teashop and helps Hugo deal with and resolve some of these difficult situations with those who have died. Wallace grows as a person, and he and Hugo become very close, and fall in love. ALL of the characters in the tea shop were delightful and you couldn't help but root for them.
About 3/4 through the book, I felt like I knew that this could not end well, so I was almost holding my breath as to what would come next. However, the actual ending of the story was actually a little bit too tidy for my liking and that changed this from a 5 star read to 4, for me.

A really great story - out of my comfort zone and bit, and I can't wait to read ore from TJ. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

Such a beautiful story. I cried at least five times! It was a little slow to start for me for some reason, stay with it, it is so good!

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC of this book available to me.

I admit, I almost stopped reading this in the first twenty pages because I so disliked the main character. However, I stayed with it because of how much I'd enjoyed the author's previous book ("The House in the Cerulean Sea"), and I was glad that I did stick with it. The supporting characters were quite interesting, and the descriptions of how they usher the dead into the "next place" made for great worldbuilding. I did think that the huge turnaround in the main character's attitudes happened much faster than I could believe, but we don't read these kinds of books because of their believability. Well worth the read.

T J Klune continues to stun me with his whimsical and poignant prose that cuts deep despite the narrative levity. I loved the sense of humour and the quirkiness woven throughout the storytelling. I also loved the thematic combination of death and life and all the things that contribute to the cycle of existence and lack thereof. T J Klune pushes me to think morally through his intricate narratives and leave me feeling raw and new every time.

Wallace Price was a horrible person, but he was still shocked that only five people were at his funeral. His three work partners, his ex-wife, and his reaper ready to take him to the ferryman so he can crossover. Wallace is angry that he's passed away and becomes even angrier and confused when his reaper takes him to a little tea shop in the middle of nowhere. This little tea shop is where he meets his ferryman Hugo, along with a few other fun characters.

I feel like that's all you should know going into this book. But, make sure you have a box of tissues nearby while reading this one, you'll need them quite a few times (especially the last 30% of the book!)

This was my first TJ Klune book and now I'm so excited to read the rest of his books. This book reminded me of The Five People You Meet in Heaven mixed with Cemetery Boys.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Books for this ARC.

Wallace Price, a cantankerous attorney, suddenly dies of a heart attack. As a ghost, he finds himself attending his own funeral, where he meets his Reaper, Mei. She brings him to a tea shop in the woods, run by Hugo, a ferryman, and together they form a partnership responsible for helping Wallace cross over to the other side.

As an aside, I adored another one of TJ Klune's books, The House in the Cerulean Sea. It was probably my favourite book of 2021, so perhaps I had high expectations for Under the Whispering Door. I struggled to keep my attention during the first 30% of the novel. While the storyline picked up for the latter 70%, it felt flat for me. The premise is intriguing but more could have been done with the plot, and the ending felt rushed and, without revealing any spoilers, it felt counter to what the book was set up to be.

The characters were too similar to Cerulean Sea (Wallace was Linus, Hugo was Arthur, and they were surrounded by a funny and charming cast which formed their found family). Maybe it was further driven home by the fact that the word "cerulean" was used a few times as well. I didn't particularly care for Wallace or Hugo either, but I loved Mei, Nelson and Apollo. Mei and Nelson in particular added plenty of humour to the story. The imagery describing the Manager was inventive and unique.

Overall, I liked the novel. It had heartwarming moments, good dashes of humour, and the found family was likeable. Thank you to Net Galley and Tor Books for providing an ARC of Under the Whispering Door in exchange for an honest review.

I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I selected this book to review because of my love for the author's book, "The House in the Cerulean Sea."

This book was difficult to really get into. I found the characters frustrating because they were very elusive and coy and would not answer Wallace's questions -- which were also the reader's questions. Klune's great story-telling was there throughout so it kept me reading. Finally, over 50% of the way through the book the characters really started to come alive. And by the end of the book, I was as in love with the characters as I was when I read "The House in the Cerulean Sea." Overall, it was a very heart-warming story that explores difficult themes like grief and death. I can't help but think it would make an interesting movie.

Absolutely loved this sweet, beautiful, heartbreaking story. It's about a man named Wallace who passes away and finds himself in a sort of in-between place where he must come to grips with his death before he "moves on." The things he learns and the relationships he forms along the way are wonderful. Highly recommend this book!

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited for the opportunity to review this book after reading The House by the Cerulean Sea earlier this year, and it did not disappoint. TJ Klune has a talent for writing the most charming, loveable, underdog stories with complex characters and even a taboo theme or two. His sense of humor truly leaks out into his writing and make his stories shine in the best possible way.

This particular tale centers around a ghost who was driven, egotistical, and really not such a great person in life, who refuses to cross over and instead hangs around a last-stop-before-crossing-over tea shop for a while and examines his humanity along with his regrets and failures in life. With the help of the charming Reaper Mei and the wise Ferryman Hugo, Wallace ends up being able to reclaim a little of what he missed out on in life.

This story explores themes of loss and grief, but never felt heavy or dark. It was such a gem, and I swear your heart will grow by reading it.

I sobbed so hard during the last 20% of this book. It was embarrassing. Thankfully I have learned from previous experiences and was not reading this on public transit at the time.

I'm very grateful for TJ Klune for writing LGBTQ romance featuring older characters who are just...ordinary. Regular people, not necessarily the most attractive or the most interesting, who get to have these wonderful love stories... It's always such a joy to read his books, even when I ugly cry at them.

I liked the exploration of the afterlife. I'm agnostic and still not sure what I believe. Like I don't necessarily believe in Heaven the way it was described to me as a young'in in Sunday School, but I've always loved the idea of life continuing on in some way after we're gone. Even in a book where they're like, "Oh yeah, God isn't a thing", it doesn't approach death as a bleak end, but something hopeful.

There’s a lot going on it this book and I think it demands a lot of focus to get the most out of it. Death is a fragile subject for some of us and I think that’s why I didn’t enjoy this as much as I could’ve. I can see the power in the book but I didn’t like it as much as The House in the Cerulean Sea.

TJ Klune has done it again He has weaved a magical tale for of laughter and tears. I hope when I leave this earth a tea shop is waiting for me.

GOD I loved this book so much. It was fun it made me emotional. I loved the characters and the concept as a whole. Reminds me a bit of the midnight library but with more depth

Warning! I ugly cried reading this book. I loved it....I guess I am a sucker for characters who redeem themselves because it gives me so much hope for myself. I know that this book might not appeal to all people, especially those who are religious, especially if they are tied to their religion's dogma, but for those of us who are spiritual, this book is a beautiful reflection of life and death.

I loved Cerulean Sea soooo much, so I really wanted to love this book. I requested it the second I saw it. Unfortunately, I just could not get into it. It started interesting, and the ending was very touching and beautiful, but I got bored a lot with the bulk of the book and found it to be soooo much repetitive dialogue with not much happening. Maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace to read a book like this, but just for the sake of honesty, it was just ok for me.

I ended up not finishing this book, sadly. I did end up skimming the rest & reading the end. This book wasn’t a good fit for me.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this book. It did not have the same drive and appeal as The House in the Cerulean Sea. Now, that book was amazing!