If you like paranormal and fantasy, definitely read this one. In my opinion the book was a little long and drawn out, but overall a good read.

Under the Whispering Door promises an intriguing premise, quirky characters, and T.J. Klune's trademark humor. However, it falls short of becoming the profound story it aspires to be. Following the journey of Wallace Price, a corporate soldier, as he learns about life and death, the book touches on meaningful themes. Unfortunately, it fails to offer anything fresh or engaging to the discussion. The narrative feels excessively prolonged, lacking depth and originality. The humor, while initially enjoyable, becomes repetitive. The love story feels forced and poorly developed. Despite these shortcomings, I appreciate this book as a universal exploration of loss and a life well-lived.

A sweet, slow, tender book - just what we've come to expect from Klune. While this is not my favorite of his, I can see how personal and perhaps cathartic this was for him. This was slower, with less "action", and focuses more on the relationships and personal development of the characters versus the plot - never a bad thing, and definitely more suited to this storyline. Overall, I enjoyed it and will continue to read anything Klune writes!

A new favorite. In classic TJ Klune fashion, we get a gorgeous world with complicated but loves me characters. The notes of grief and loss are discussed gently between the characters and from author to reader.
This book will make you cry in the best way possible.

Thank you for the ARC!

Why did I postpone reading this one when I had the ARC from NetGalley? Because apparently I'm an eejit with an endless TBR...

When I started reading this book (with the intention of reading a few chapters and then getting some sleep) I actually believed that I would be able to do that. A few chapters in, I wondered if this book would even compare to The House On The Cerulean Sea (whish is one of my all time favourites)... I Was Wrong

I couldn't stop reading, I loved the book, and while THotCS is always going to be my favourite Klune, this one comes a close second... I loved every character, even that Manager fellow... And Wallace's character arc was written to make you sign and smile...

UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR • T.J. Klune • Pub Date: September 21, 2021

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Caveat: I opted to listen to the audiobook, post-publishing date.

Abridged Goodreads Synopsis: Wallace Price is not a nice man. And now? He is a dead man...possibly. When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he might really be dead. But instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village - specifically, a tea shop run by a man named Hugo. To locals, Hugo is a kind man who runs a tea shop. But to souls, he is the ferryman who will help them cross over to what comes next. When Wallace is brought to Hugo's front door though, he isn’t ready to leave the life he barely lived. So with Hugo’s help, he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

Oh, I have such mixed feelings about this book. It was beautiful, sad; a narrative steeped in magical realism that discusses life, death, grief, and what the point of it all is. The ending made my heart feel full, which is exactly what I have come to expect at the end of reading Klune's books. I also found myself chuckling a bit at the character's banter throughout the book.

This book would have benefitted from being about 100 pages shorter though. While I did feel like I was a part of Wallace's journey, his journey itself felt unnecessarily drawn out. I enjoyed spending time with our eccentric cast of characters, and I'll certainly miss them now that I have left the tea shop, but there were a few plot points I also could not get past. Such as: Why did a crotchy, forty-year-old man talk like a teenage girl? What made Wallace go from love to hate with Hugo so suddenly? And most notably, how could a book meant to be a profound take on life and death feel so surface level?

Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed this book. It simply did not capture the same magic that House on the Cerulean Sea held for me. It was much sadder and heavier, without managing to hold my interest for long stretches of time. I fear that had I not been listening to this book on my daily commute, it would have taken me another year or two to get through it.

TL;DR: If you want light and happy heartbreak, go read one of Klune's other books. If you're looking for 13+ hours of sadness, this is the book for you. The ending will be worth it, and the characters will tug at your heart strings. Just know what you're getting into (TW: death, grief, loss, suicide, etc.)

I loved the themes of love and loss in this book, and as always for TJ Klune’s books, I adored the found family. His writing is so comforting and cozy but also never fails to bring me to tears (both happy and sad).

*Thank you to the publicist at Macmillan-Tor/Forge for sending me an ARC to review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

I can't express enough how much I loved the setting of this story; the tea shop along with all the quirky characters make the whole story so heartwarming and cute. I absolutely loved the contrast between Wallace and Hugo and thought the character development for them both was really entertaining to read. Their relationship was probably the highlight of the book, for me, and I loved how supportive they were of each other. The moments with some of the side characters like Mei, Nelson and Apollo made me laugh and had me hooked. I definitely recommend for those who love the found family trope.

While I loved the story, I do have to say that I had troubles reading it. I'm more used to action-packed and fast-paced novels, and Under the Whispering Door definitely wasn't one of them. I started off by reading the ebook, and I would only be able to read a chapter every few days because it took a long time for the story to pick up. At a certain point, I gave up on the book and didn't pick it up again until months later. I don't know what drove me to finish it but I admit I'm happy I did. I ended up finishing the story by reading the audiobook, and it was so much easier. I read it at 1.5x speed and it kept me thoroughly engaged til the end of the book.

Overall, I admit this wasn't something I'm used to reading, and I'll probably be staying away from slow paced books like this in the future, but I did enjoy this book more than I thought I would. If you find yourself reading it and having troubles getting through it, I recommend trying to finish it anyways! It was worth the heartwarming read.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me - the writing just wasn't clicking for me and I had to put it down

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book. I liked it much better than Klune's other popular work, The House in the Cerulean Sea. The vibes of this book were much more my style, and although there was a good amount of well-done humor, it mainly focuses on how people deal with death and grief. The relationship between Wallace and Hugo was a slow burn, but it was very heartfelt and really destroyed me in the end. The side characters of Nelson and Mei were also great and added a lot to the story.

4.5 stars

TJ Klune has become one of my favorite authors and a definite auto-buy. He writes heartbreaking yet heartwarming stories with the most beautiful characters; his books are the kind that stay in your heart forever and Under The Whispering Door is my favorite!.

This was a book I put off for a long time because I knew this would be a cry fest. I knew it would make me feel things I was not ready to deal with. But I read it at the best time. I was apprehensive at first but I loved every moment of this book. I fell in love with all the characters, Even the ones that were only in the story for a brief moment. It was so beautiful and I am officially the biggest Klune fan.

Under the whispering door does an outstanding job of exploring death, love, and family in non-threatening ways that will make most any reader feel comfortable and interested to learn more. The world-building is phenomenal as is characteristic with Klune's works. I absolutely adored all of the characters and loved the nuanced love between Hugo and Wallace. This was such a good book and I can't wait to read more from Klune.

I loved this book so much! It was such an interesting concept and told with such an interesting plot. I really just enjoyed reading this book and felt like it really dug deep into my heart strings about what life is truly about and to enjoy every moment you get on planet earth.

Under the Whispering Door is a basically a redemption arc for a Scrooge-like character who realises what's worth it in life after he's dead. I feel that it basically turns out exactly how you would expect, every story beat predictable -- it felt like there was a heavy Moral Of The Story, or like it was a Hallmark movie or something. It was heartwarming, but in a very obvious way; it was all about savouring life while you have it and being a good person, and the importance of family, but you could see the "point" behind every scene.

That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the book: I flew through it, I cried at the right moments, and I thought the relationships were sweet. I laughed at a couple of scenes. All in all, I had fun. Hugo is a lovely guy, Nelson is hilarious, Mei probably shouldn't be trusted with knives, and Wallace is a complete asshole until he isn't.

I had basically the same experience with The House in the Cerulean Sea, to be honest. There was a point, a moral, and the story was gonna get me there and make me feel things about it. It's effective, which keeps it from being simply annoying, but it was very perceptible to me. Your mileage will definitely vary on whether it pushes your buttons or not.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

I wasn't too sure about this book when I first started it, but I absolutely loved the story that came to light and the found family that was formed. I was so annoyed by Wallace at first, but his journey and growth is so real and I adored watching him begin to understand himself and the meaning of life.

The romance was so sweet and I just wanted more of them together! I loved the way that Wallace simply becomes part of the family and is touching and refreshing.

This is definitely a heavy book that will make you think, and I really enjoyed getting into the depths of it and reflecting on everything. It's funny, deep, full of sorrow and grief, and I enjoyed every second!

I DNF'd this book. I was absolutely obsessed with The House on the Cerulean Sea, but there was something missing from this book that brought me in to the other read. I don't think I've given up on this author but I didn't really like this read unfortunately.

Klune is basically cozy fantasy royalty in todays day and age. If you want to cry a little but also feel like you are having the warmest embrace at the same time, pick this book up now. The characters are amazing and beautiful. The storytelling is like sitting around a fire on a perfect night which a sweet old man telling you tales about anything and everything. This book and all of Klune’s books are amazing and worth your time!

I was a little worried about this one to start with, but It was absolutely fantastic. There is nothing more I love than a book that has a ghost in it, and while it had the same “vibe” as The House on the Cerulean Sea, it was just … different. It dealt more with grief and loss and was unbelievably heart-warming in its own way. The character development was second-to-none, and while I started the book absolutely hating the MC, i wound up not only enjoying him, but empathizing with him in the end. Theres nothing I love more than a book that subverts my expectations.

This book made me laugh out loud. It made me feel things which- with as many books as I read- doesnt happen as often as I would like when reading. This is the kind of book I WAIT for.

Sigh. Where to even start with this book.

It’s dreamy. It’s funny. It’s wise. It’s the kind of book that builds a world so beautiful that you wish you could just escape inside and live there.

Wallace is a very unlikable man, and when he dies, no one really seems to care. When he gets picked up by a super fun Reaper, he is still in denial…he’s pretty much bouncing back between denial and anger the whole time. He gets taken to this wonderful sounding tea shop where Hugo, the charming and warm owner, is tasked to help him crossover…along with Hugo’s grandfather and dog, both ghosts who have decided to stick around awhile.

If books could hug you, that’s what this one would do. I cried, of course, but they were happy, emotional, YAY! tears! TJ Klune should truly get his own MasterClass. Who do I need to contact to get this done?!