Under the Whispering Door is a quaint story that follows the death of rude, always serious businessman Wallace Price. He wakes up at his own funeral, which is sparsely attended by a handful of coworkers, his ex-wife, and a woman he’s never met. As Wallace is a ghost, no one can see him attending his funeral, so he is surprised when the woman he’s never met reveals she can see him. She introduces herself as Mei, his Reaper, meant to deliver him to his Ferryman.

The Ferryman, Hugo, works at a tea shop in the middle of the woods. The ghosts of his grandfather and dog, Nelson and Apollo, reside there as well. Hugo’s purpose is to assist Wallace, and any other ghosts he is assigned, in crossing over to the next stage.

In death, Wallace learns what it really means to have lived. This book tells an emotional, introspective story that asks: who can you be, love, and become after death?

I enjoyed this story immensely. It has been so long since I have read a fantasy book, and this was a great way to bring myself back. Wallace’s journey is heartbreaking, inspiring, and hilarious at times. While reading, I felt cozy and sad and happy all at the same time.

A big criticism I have is actually not in regard to the book, but rather the description provided on Goodreads. It reveals information that is not uncovered in the story until well over half way through. I generally do not read descriptions because I do fear running into spoilers, but this is the worst I have ever encountered.

Thank you so much to Macmillan-Tor/ Forge for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

I'm a big fan of T.J. Klune and his new book 'Under the Whispering Door Book' did not disappoint. It's a warm, funny, and captivating fantasy story about loss, love, and self-discovery. If you love unique world-building, and creative stories with a feel-good vibe then this beautiful (LGBT+) love story is for you. The vibe of the novel kind of reminded me of the show Pushing Daisies (even though the story is completely different). However, both stories deal with a lot of similar darker subjects while always keeping the tone whimsical, warm, funny, and charming. I'll surely return to Hugo & Wallace's story whenever I need a big comforting hug.

*I received an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you!

This book was a stunning adventure from life to death and what happens in the in between. It discussed difficult topics with such beautiful grace, I believe its a story everyone should read. However, you definitely need to be in the right mindspace for it. There are also a lot of trigger warnings: suicide, loss of a child, death, grief. I loved that it was lgbtq+ friendly and how it showcased the growth humans are able to have.

For those who have read the midnight library it really felt similar to me. I went from laughing out loud to feeling so much sadness sometimes within the same paragraphs.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune.
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
and more stars pretty please.

I have read the ARC of this book back in May and I love it so much. This review is long over due but I was waiting for the audible counterpart just because….. 🥰

So, thank you to @netgalley @forgereads and @macmillanusa for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Welcome to Charon’s Crossing!
“The tea is hot, the scones are fresh and the dead are passing through”

When Wallace Price was looking at himself lying on the floor, he thought something is terribly wrong and it needs fixed.

When a reaper named Mei came to collect his soul right at his own funeral, his thought of himself being dead is clearer.

Mei brought Wallace to Charon’s Crossing, a peculiar tea shop run by a guy named Hugo- the ferryman. Hugo prepares and helps the soul crossover.

But, Wallace is not done being alive. He has a firm to run and cases to represent. He is given one week to cross over and he is about to make the lifetime worth living.

TJ Klune is one of a kind. To perfectly craft a story of a man who lives to help the dead and a dead man who died-then learned to live is a story I will forever keep. This book has broken my heart and at the same time has fixed all my heart aches. Whether I laugh, which I did loudly in this book, or cry which I did a lot too feels like I was wrapped in all the comforts of a big, witty, sparkly, wholesome beauty of this writing. It restored my faith in humanity that despite death and loss, there is kindness, acceptance and new beginnings. Under The Whispering Door is perfect and a must read.
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EXCERPT: His funeral was sparsely attended. Wallace wasn't pleased. He couldn't even be quite sure how he'd gotten here. One moment, he'd been staring down at his body, and then he'd blinked, and somehow, found himself in front of a church, the doors open, bells ringing. It certainly hadn't helped when he saw the prominent sign sitting out front. A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF WALLACE PRICE it read. He didn't like that sign, if he was being honest with himself. No, he didn't like it one bit. Perhaps someone inside could tell him what the hell was going on.

ABOUT 'UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR': When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

MY THOUGHTS: Under the Whispering Door is an utterly amazing, beautiful and inspiring story. I finished with a great sense of peace.

Wallace was not a nice person. This is evident at his funeral. He lacked empathy, had no friends. There is a woman at his funeral he doesn't recognize, not difficult since there are only six people there. She is different from the others - she can see him. Here starts Wallace's journey.

I am so glad I got to go on that journey with him. It was a wondrous experience. This is a magical and emotionally powerful read. I cried for Wallace, for Cameron, for Nancy. I laughed at Mei's ascerbic tongue, at Nelson's antics.

Under the Whispering Door is a book that will stay with me a long time, and one that I am going to purchase a hard copy of.

If you haven't read this yet, please do. It's a beautiful experience.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#UndertheWhisperingDoor #NetGalley

#fivestarread #fantasy #humour #paranormal #romance

I: @tjklunebooks @macmillanusa

T: @ tjklune @MacmillanUSA

THE AUTHOR: TJ KLUNE is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author (Into This River I Drown) and an ex-claims examiner for an insurance company. His novels include The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Extraordinaries. Being queer himself, TJ believes it's important—now more than ever—to have accurate, positive, queer representation in stories.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you, thank you, thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing a digital ARC of Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

In case you’ve never read a Klune book before, let me set the scene: extremely diverse, queer, and lovable cast of misfits become a found family while you get slapped in the face with emotions you thought you were prepared for but you really weren’t. And scene.

You would think after years of reading Klune’s stories I would have learned my lesson but nope. Tears and book hangover every damn time. This time especially.

This is a story about a Scrooge-type character who dies. Boom. The end. No just kidding. But like, not really. Wallace is an unlikeable dude who kicks the bucket and is sent to this tea house that acts as a temporary holding place for those who need a little help processing before moving on to the afterlife. While there we meet the most wholesome band of characters and inevitably fall in love with each of them as the plot slowly moves along. This is definitely a story about processing death in all fashions so that needs to be clear in the trigger warnings. This is also a story about humanity and life and it’s just goddamn beautiful.

Klune’s characters always hit different than any other book. They are very real and vulnerable and authentic. They never feel like stereotypical book characters who fall into normal beauty standards or expectations, they feel like real every day people. It brings such a relatable factor to his stories. I’m going to be thinking about Wallace, Hugo, Nelson, Apollo, and Mei for weeks now and wishing that I could hang out with them a little bit longer. But thus is life…and death.

Going in I knew enjoyed this author before and laughed aloud from his books. What I wasn't expecting was a beautiful story about family, grief, life and death, and love.

The main character, Wallace is not a good person. He is selfish and only thinks about work and nothing about the people around him. When he suddenly dies he arrives at a strange tea shop that is more than what it seems. There he learns that there is more to death and life than he could even imagine.

Of course, this charming book has the whit and humor that T.J. Klune is known for, but it touches a lot more than that. There were a couple of times that I felt annoyed at characters belittling and making fun of Wallace for his understandable confusion and stress when he first arrives, but by the end, it was all good. Reading this book made you attached to all characters and grow with them.

I definitely recommend this book!

WOW!!! This book was gorgeously written, TJ Klune was able to bring me to tears multiple times throughout this book. Even a week later my eyes welled up when I was describing it to a co-worker. EVERYONE MUST READ THIS BOOK, it talks about life, love, grief, and death in a way that makes you feel everything the characters are feeling.

This is my third TJ Klune book and they have all been five star reads. I cannot wait to read book #3 in the Extraordinaries series and I need to read The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Thanks to NetGalley & Tor Books for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Sadly, DNF at 50%.

Wallace is a typical lawyer, soulless and heartless. Until he dies. Then he's hit with the concept of death and mortality. And the fact that he was a total jerk when he was alive doesn't help either. Wallace, with the aid of strangers, slowly comes to terms with his death and what happens after.

Don't get me wrong, I love TJ Klune's books but this was definitely a darker one in tone and I wasn't really expecting that. I didn't read the summary beforehand like a fool, so, my bad. The writing's still snappy and deep like TJ Klune's other stuff but I just didn't really like the story in general. If you're fine with contemplating the existence of life and death with witty dialogue, then this is the book for you.

To start off, I think this book is an interesting commentary on death. I found it really interesting to see death from the other side. So often in pop culture ghosts and spirits and view as vengeful, angry things. Or they are used as plot devices to help the main character through trials, et cetera, et cetera.
This story is about the ghosts, it's about Wallace dealing with the fact that he died and realizing how he lived his life. It's about dealing with regret, sadness and acceptance. This time the human is the plot device, he's used to help the ghosts move through their feelings and I think that's beautiful.

The only other thing I have to say about this book is that it's slow burn. There's nothing wrong with that! And I do seriously enjoy slow burn romances, but I prefer to be expecting them. I almost gave this book 4 stars because I was expecting it to be a bit more fast pace and get to the things we're expecting fast, but you don't. It really takes it's time and when I finished it I did debate for a minute, but I think the pace was right.
The problem is more in the synopsis making you anticipate things too soon. At least that was the problem from me, not the book itself.

And finally Wallace and Hugo. Oh my, their developement was just so amazing and wonderful to read and even if you get the book just for them, it's totally worth it. T.J. Klune is quickly becoming a favourite author and I cannot wait to read more from him.

I'm struggling a bit to get through through this book. I'm about 30% in and everyone keeps telling me it's so worth it so I'll hopefully have a thorough review soon!

Wow. This hit me like a ton of bricks. It was very heavy and thought provoking but has such a deep and powerful meaning. I took my time going through this book as to absorb as much as I could and I’m so glad I did. I fell in love with all of the characters (especially Apollo — for obvious reasons [he’s a dog]) and the character development was great. I wish I hadn’t read the synopsis before going into this because I felt like I was waiting for something specific to happen and the book would have been ever better going in blind.

“It’s not always about the things you’ve done, or the mistakes you’ve made. It’s about the people, and what we’re willing to do for one another.”

I was so excited when I got approved for this e-arc! I loved THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA and I was looking forward to reading Klune’s next release.

Read this: if you want to cry on your commute home (like me😂!) & I never get emotional from books! This book is filled with so much love and discussions about life and death but it never feels too heavy.

This novel is very character driven! I honestly struggled with the pacing, but I’m glad I stuck it out to the end. The writing was beautiful and I loved all of the characters and how different they were. My only real complaint was that the ending was kind of too perfect, but id rather that than the opposite! I look forward to reading the next Klune novel!

If you’re looking for an imaginative read, this newest book by TJ Klune will certainly fit that description. Klune spins a unique take on death and what happens in the days following.

We’ve all heard of the grim reaper and heaven and hell, but each of us most likely has a unique view of the afterlife, whether you are Christian or not. Klune steers away from any religious ideas about death and refers to it as crossing over to a different place.

Wallace, our main character, has died of a sudden heart attack. Wallace was a high-powered attorney and is very much similar to Ebenezer Scrooge. His entire life was consumed with work. He had no special relationships and was not well liked.

When he wakes up one day and realizes he has died, he just can’t accept it. Mai, a reaper, shows up to help Wallace, taking him to a house where he will stay until he is ready to make his crossing. The house belongs to Hugo and he is the one that helps people get ready to cross over. Other residents in the house are Nelson, Hugo’s grandfather and Apollo, Hugo’s dog. All of these characters help to soften Wallace’s heart and open his eyes to the life he had lived.

My favorite part of the book was the interaction between Wallace and Nelson, along with Apollo. I love a story with a good dog in the midst. This is a story with great characters, much imagination and an a hopeful ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan-TOR/Forge for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.

TJ Klune is at it again! Firstly this is not the same wholesome content that The House in The Cerulean Sea was. This book follows death, grief, and what come after. I felt like this book found me at an appropriate time and giving me a friend to be with.

We follow Wallace Price, who in the beginning is a huge asshole, and when he suddenly dies he finds himself at a tea shop in the middle of nowhere. Throughout the book Wallace grows a lot. Hugo (the ferryman there to help Wallace pass over) is such a sweet caring man!

The side characters are phenomenal! Mei (a reaper), Nelson (Hugo’s grandpa who is a ghost and sassy as hell!), and Apollo (Hugo’s old almost service dog turned ghost).

I honestly could not put this book down. I think TJ Klune does an amazing job with found families and acceptance. Truly going in you think this is about Wallace’s journey to the next stage, but in a way almost every character you meet in on their own journey and it was a pleasure seeing it.

10/10 will cry during the last 30%

5/5 stars!!

Under the Whispering Door was beautiful and heartbreaking. I kept thinking “how is a story about someone dying so funny and addicting?”

Wallace didn’t live his life to the fullest and now that he’s passed, he’s finding out just what was missing. As he’s in limbo, waiting to cross over, he forms a friendship with the ferryman, Hugo, and the rest of the gang. It is a little predictable, how Wallace learns from his mistakes while living and does his best to be a better…ghost.

The romance felt minimal to me. I wasn’t sure where it came from. It felt like they were becoming friends and then BAM.

But none of that really matters to me because I still adore Under the Whispering Door. It was heartwarming and heartbreaking, funny and sad, beautiful and crushing. It is still so surprising to me that a book about death could be so sweet and insightful and make me feel so much.

Lastly, Nelson may only be a side character, but he may be one of my favorite characters to ever grace a page. Under the Whispering Door was so well written and enjoyable and I’ll look forward to more by T.J. Klune.

If ever there was a fiction novel that I wished was nonfiction....

Beautiful interpretation of a period of the cycle of life as its focus. Whimsical with magical realism that comes across more YA than A, but still a heart warming tale that gives all the feels.

My only concern is that the cover will make this a hard sell to adults. I've already run into this problem recommending it to patrons.

I think my love for TJ Klune's books is not as much as before because I can't feel the excitement whenever I am reading his book anymore. I really thought that this book was going to be a five-star like his other books, but it was more like 3.5 stars. I feel like the writing for this book reminded me a lot of the Wolfsong series and his other books in general. Also, I wasn't really into the concept of this book like I was with his other books. I don't know if his next book can amaze me, but I have hopes for it!

It's such a sweet story! A life lived poorly can still be turned around. Redemption, even in death, is possible.

Wallace Price was grumpy, mean, and not very kind in life. In death he listened, learned and changed his way of thinking. Hugo was so confident in helping people, even if he wasn't always confident in himself. And he surrounded himself with the best kinds of people to help him where he had weaknesses.

The characters come alive on the page, and the vivid storytelling makes you feel like a fly on the wall of the story. I loved it!

It's never too late. Listen. Change. Improve.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

This was my first TJ Klune book and I was not ready. This book SHOOK ME. I just finished about 30 minutes ago and I had to sit and process for that entire time before I could write a review.

I loved this book. I think it easily won the award of "book that made me cry the most in 2021" or maybe not even in 2021, just ever. What a deep and wonderfully heart breaking book. I am SO thankful I was given an ARC of this because this is probably one of the best books I've read all year.

Wallace is a man who is all business. He has let his work life of becoming a powerful partner at his legal consume his entire personality. He has lost his friends, his wife and all else to this, although he does not see it as a loss. He likes order and not having these distractions in his life has helped him focus on work and not feelings. Until one day, it all changes. Wallace finds himself at his own funeral, which only 5 people attend. He is forced to deal with his life choices when Mei, his Reaper comes to collect him to take him to the next step in his journey. Wallace is submerged in feelings he always pushed away and ignored when he meets his Ferryman, Hugo. This book tackles the reality of loss, death, suicide, losing a loved one, pretty much everything that breaks your heart and makes you want to cry. Words truly can not describe how amazing this book is.

I read the the first chapter of this book and literally laughed out loud. I had to read it to my husband because it was just SO GOOD. The humor that T.J. puts into this book that is literally all about death is so perfect that the first half the book was more of a "feel good" book. The second half of the book was equally as wonderful, but on a deeper level talking about death and dealing with grief. Being raised by my grandparents and being especially close with my grandfather, Nelson touched maybe a little too close to home for me. I think this book really made me reflect on what I would do if I lost everything like Hugo has and how much I appreciate the loved ones I still have.

I fell in love with all of our characters almost immediately. Nelson, Apollo, Hugo, Mei, Wallace and yes, especially Desdemona Tripplethorne. They were all so easy to love and connect with that I felt like I was apart of this cozy little tea shop and apart of their family. I cried about 75% of the time while reading because this book just touches on so many different level. Suicide, murder, unexpected death, losing your partner, child or parents. Dealing with your sexuality, accepting who you are and also allowing the path that the universe put in front of you unravel. T.J. touched on so much in this book but all these topics are blended perfectly in the book.

My only complaint (but not really complaint) is that I cried every time I picked up this book. I don't know if I necessarily was in the right head space to read such a deep book, but I am glad that I did. Before you pick up this book, please understand there are A LOT of trigger warnings, but they are never portrayed in a negative way. Hugo does such a fantastic job of comforting you while you cry so in the end I think I was ok.