"I'm dead," he said. "There's no going back from that. A river only moves in one direction."

TJ Klune's books have become a place where my heart can get a zap like a defibrillator pedal. Both Under a Whispering Door and Under the Cerulean Sea tread the line between sentimental and sweet, but Klune is such a skilled writer that I never drift to the wrong side of that line.

Instead, after I get done with his books, and for this review, I will be talking about the newly released Under the Whispering Door; I feel good about myself and good about the world. I hope that somewhere in the vastness of this universe, there are true stories like what you find in these books. In the infinite, anything is possible. But until I discover and am witness to real-life stories that are as sweet as these, I will have to go back and read Under the Whispering Door again and again.

Wallace whispered, "It's easy to let yourself spiral and fall."
"It is," Nelson agreed. "But it's what you do to pull yourself out of it that matters most."

The book follows Wallace Price Esq. A big-time lawyer and partner in a law firm. He is everything a someone who does not practice law expects lawyers to act. In that vein, Wallace is an immediately identifiable character, not one you can sympathize with, but absolutely one you understand. He is cold, calculating, ruthless, and utterly devoid of the ability to empathize.

These characteristics served him well. He is smartly dressed and expects the same of those around him. He is crushingly fastidious and again expects this of others. Any infraction on this is met with cold civility and a pink check. In other words, he is hated by his employees, has no friends, and his contemporaries are either terrified of him or believe him to be a cretin.

Then he dies. Alone. This starts the actual journey.

He wakes up from death at his funeral. There was no gnashing of teeth and wailing to the Heavens. Quite the contrary. "He was a real bastard." Everyone is ignoring him; no one can see him. He is dead, so it makes sense except for one woman. She keeps staring in his general direction. She introduces herself, her name is Mei, and she is a reaper. She has come to take Wallace onwards.

She takes him to a place, a shabby chic little tea house in the middle of the forest. A place that Wallace would never have visited in his life but is now staying at in his death. Mei introduces Wallace to Hugo, the ferryman. Hugo's job is to help Wallace get used to the idea that he is dead before he steps through the final door. A door where Wallace hear's whispers coming from underneath it.

The writing is lovely. Klune writes in a minimalistic style; he gets the ideas across in prose that is not overly embellished or wordy but still packs an emotional punch. "Because you're you, and that's who you're supposed to be." It is also hilarious, and there is one scene involving an ouija board that had me in tears.

Klune is so good, and his books keep having me come back for more because of the relationships he forges. There are many types of love in this life, or death as it were. There is familial love. The love of found family. The love of a dog. And the love between lovers. Klune explores them all. Because what can teach someone most about life more than love? Love spans the gamut from Blisteringly painful to joyous, and Wallace needs to learn to be a person.

Under the Whispering Door is a joyous book, a little slow at first, but things start to get rolling about midway, and I finished it all in one afternoon. It has passion, love, pain, and all the beautiful things life has to offer if you can recognize it and appreciate it. Thank you, TJ Klune, for another lovely book. I won't be forgetting Wallace's journey anytime soon.

I received an ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

DNF. I'm sorry everyone but I can't go on. It's been two months and I've only gotten through 51% of the book. I've tried and pushed longer than I normally would've because I heard fantastic things about TJ Klune. I love plots about the afterlife and Under the Whispering Door featured a ferryman instead of a grim reaper which piqued my interest. So when I was sent this ARC I jumped on it immediately. The main characters are likeable and Klune has immense skill when it comes to writing dialogue and humor.

But the book is so slow. It started slow and at 50% it hasn't sped up. The plot doesn't have a lot of action and the "mystery" that was set up in the first act has been answered at 50% of the way through so I don't have a lot of motivation to continue. It's a slow burn with very trivial day-of-the-life tidbits making up the majority of the book. I understand what Klune was trying to accomplish, using these moments to build the character development but... I need more. More of something, the entire reading experience of this book has felt like molasses.

DNF- 51%

Under the Whispering Door is another great read from TJ Klune. Under the Whispering Door, we follow Wallace Price life after death, the characters Wallace meet were really interesting and we get a sense that they want to help Wallace. Under the Whispering Door is beautifully written and get's you thinking about life after death.
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for a review copy .

I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wallace Price is not a good man. When he dies Wallace isn’t ready to abandon his life that he worked so hard for. A reaper comes and takes Wallace to a tea shop where the mysterious Manager gives him a week to cross over.

This is such a sweet contemporary fantasy! Wallace dies and in doing so finds a reason for living and what living can truly mean.

I didn’t cry, like many other readers did, but I love this book just the same. It’s definitely one that I will reread in the future.

I have to say I enjoyed this one more than The House in the Cerulean Sea. I think it would be a great fall read for anyone who likes light fantasy, paranormal romance, and found family.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book. I listened to the audiobook version and I couldn't get past the narrator's voice.

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wallace Price is an arsehole. Even the attendees at his funeral think so. So when a reaper arrives to escort him to the way station, you’d be justified in wondering where his destination is…

This is signature TJ Klune - it marries the mundane with the magical and it’s an enchanting read. The set up of the transition process from alive to dead was a really unique take and I enjoyed the nod to classical mythology in the name of the cafe (which doubles as a way station for the dead) - Hugo seems far friendlier than Charon however.

The exploration of grief, regrets, love and hope utilised a variety of rounded characters who all felt 3D; the character progression for Wallace was well paced.

Overall, the book (and its plot) can best be summed up by a Winnie the Pooh quote: “how lucky I am to have something which makes saying goodbye so hard”.

I was afraid to read this book. My heart swelled with Cerulean Sea. I thought nothing could measure up and I am delighted to admit that I was wrong. While the subject matter of this book is so very different than Cerulean Sea - it deals with death, grief, and loss. Like the Cerulean Sea - it also is rich with hope, humanity, and love. And perhaps my favorite part of Klune’s writing is the comedic relief that is never expected but timed for when you, the reader need it most. This story will be turned over in my head for weeks to come and once I think I’m done, I’ll have to reread it.

I don’t know what we did to deserve Klune but I am so grateful for his unique ability to describe the human condition so plainly, yet so eloquently. His characters are people that represent humans from all walks of life and the rich diversity is so very welcome. As I rooted for Arthur and Linus, I will also be forever rooting for Hugo and Wallace.

Mr. Klune, you probably will never read this review. On the off chance you do, thank you, thank you, thank you for putting this beautiful tale into the world for us all to enjoy.

Thank you so much for the eARC of Under The Whispering Door

Overall I enjoyed this novel very much, it had a rough start but I’m so happy I pushed through. I now find myself researching tea plants and how to make my own Earl Grey.

I had numerous problems with the beginning. So many important topics were thrown in but they did not flow in the story. Racism and privilege for example. There were a few remarks but they stood out so much, like they came out of nowhere! Mei being called a fortune cookie and her reaction just felt like there was a checklist involved when writing the beginning of the story.

My biggest problem was how disrespectful a few characters were regarding the death of the main character. Sure he wasn’t a great man but I was always taught to never disrespect the dead and this hit all the wrong things. Laughing at how he was found at his own funeral was just so very sad. In the middle of the novel he “realizes” they were only trying to help him when he first came to the house when in fact they were making fun of him.

Luckily I continued reading and the characters grew on me. I loved Mei, always ready with knives from the kitchen. And the hugs… The manager was really interesting!

The plot was really good. And I love how well everything ties in together by the end. I love second chances and I love how selflessly the main character helped the lost one.

In the end it felt like a good comfort read, minus the beginning, and although I’m not sure I would want to read more books in this “universe”, because death is not a favorite topic of mine, I will definitely look out for the next novel T.J. Klune conjures up.

Oh wow! The imagery in this book is just gorgeous! Wallace is such a delightfully awful human in the beginning. Hugo and Mei have their work cut out for them! I adore a good redemption arc, and Wallace gives us an epic one. As a bonus, Nelson the grandfather is an absolute salty treat of an old man and a delight to read. I don’t know if there’s an afterlife, but if there is, I hope it starts just like this!

Absolute perfection. This book is thoughtful, wholly unique, relatable and finishes in the most beautiful way. One of the best I have read this year.

TJ Klune has given us another great adult novel with Under the Whispering Door. It’s no House in the Cerulean Sea, but it’s beautiful all the same, especially the ending, which had me soaking my pillow through to the final word. This is a story about a man who finds meaning in existence only after he has died. He starts off not just unlikeable but a pretty terrible human being. But beyond death, between where his mortal life has ended and his afterlife can begin, he finds the meaning of life and his purpose in it. Highly recommended if you want to feel emotional, uplifted, and warmed to the core.

What happens when you find out you are a ghost? You get trained, of course. Wallace must be shown the ropes on the proper behavior of being a ghost.

A collection of characters who will have you laughing or tugging at your heart.

I don't even know how to begin this review - I loved the book, but it was much harder to get into than Cerulean Sea or Extraordinaries. It's a more gloomy read, which is fine and fitting for the subject matter, but I feel like that needs to be said that it's not going to match Klune's other lighthearted books.

Wallace is incredibly unlikeable, which is the point, but it also makes getting into the book more difficult as well. There were multiple times that I put the book down and didn't have the desire to pick it back up.

As always, I love the overall message that's in the book. I love how Klune executed the ending, definitely had me blinking back tears. I did feel like parts in the middle were repetitious.

I think after reading Extraordinaries 2, I've noticed more how Klune intentionally places some messages and they don't always flow with the overall story. I hope this is something that doesn't continue with his books since they seem to be bookstagram fads (whatever bookstagram deems is evil that week).

I was desperately looking forward to reading this. This book started out really, really good. I put it down after a few chapters; I couldn’t relate to any of the characters. Somewhere mid-way the story took a strange turn. It had potential to be as great as Cerulean Sea but it just disappoints.

Thank you NetGalley for the ability to review

Under the Whispering Door is TJ Klune's newest release and he did not disappoint. We follow the story of Wallace, who has just recently passed away, and his journey to move on to the aferlife. In this process, he stop at a way station, a tea shop, in which he meets the ferryman, Hugo. Wallace must learn to come to terms with his death, as well as prepare to pass through onto the afterlife when he's ready. What he doesn't expect to do, is grow as a person and find his new family along the way.

I started this book in the beginning of September, but had to put it down due to the passing of my brother. It was too much to deal with death and read about it at the same time. However, once I was ready, I picked up this book again and fell in love. This story shows me the beautiful side of death. the glory and peace that our loved ones have once they have passed and moved on to whatever's next. Believe it or not, it actually brought me so much comfort with dealing with my grief, as this is what I would like to imagine my brother got to experience (sans romance bc he wasn't a lonely miserable man with no friends lol).

If you have not picked up this book, I really urge you to. It's fun, exciting, whimsical, romantic, and everything I expect from Klune's writing. Needless to say 5/5 stars, and I will be purchasing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for sending me an advance e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

CW: child death

{Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and Tor Books for the gift of an eARC in exchange for an honest review.}

Wallace is a selfish, inflexible man who lives only for work. When he dies suddenly, and a reaper brings him to Charon’s Crossing tea shop to meet ferryman Hugo, he must come to terms with the fact of his death before passing on through the door in the attic. Along the way, Wallace finds himself, and family.

▪ Found family is my jam. Out of all the tropes in all the book genres, found family is probably my favourite. This book is all about found family, so of course I was entirely delighted by it.

▪ Excuse my cynical side. I was delighted by this book, yes. However, a not-so-small part of me found the whole thing emotionally manipulative. The bad man who finds his generosity and courage, the love story that feels just a little too convenient, the dead people deciding to pass on just when it will be most heart-wrenching? I found myself a little bot annoyed at the size of the strings that were being pulled. Then again, there are days when I feel cynical and these kind of things annoy me, and others when I feel romantic and love them, so this may just have been my mood.

▪ There are scary/horror bits. I am a big chicken when it comes to horror, and these bits of horror didn’t bother me, so you shouldn’t worry too much about them. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the chilling effect they created. They were a nice contrast to the whole “sunshine and kittens” vibe of the rest of the book. (I did say I was feeling cynical when reading this, didn’t I?)

▪ The secondary characters are the best. Sure, Wallace and Hugo are adorable, but the MVPs in this novel are the reaper and Hugo’s grandfather, whose names I forget. Oh, and the the cute dog too. Even the Manager, with its aura of otherworldly power and menace, is fascinating.

▪ LGBTQIA romance. Even though I found the romance a bit convenient, I loved how the queer romance was treated as completely matter of fact by everyone. The world needs more of this, please. Just queer characters living their lives and loving.

Overall, this is a lovely, moving book. Unless you’re feeling curmudgeonly like I was, it should entirely delight you.

I absolutely loved this book and TJ Klune has become an auto-buy author for me. He has a way of creating found family stories that are heart warming and heart breaking at the same time. I love the characters he writes and want to hug them all.

DNF @ 38%

I’m almost halfway through this book and I don’t care about the story at all. Wallace is an incredibly unlikable character and I don’t really care to read about him redeeming himself. I like the concept well enough and Hugo, Nelson, and Mei are basically the only read that I read as much of this as I did. Maybe I’ll try this again in the future, but as of now I have no interest in reading about Wallace becoming a better person now that it’s too late for him to do so.

Klune excels at writing complex, cantankerous characters who aren't really into the life-changing events they encounter -- but who experience a change of heart, and who find it in themselves to bloom. The softening that occurs for Wallace after his death is a rewarding journey, and the emotional complexity of the work is satisfying and comforting without feeling saccharine.