Wallace Price wasn’t a nice man and certainly did not lead a great life. So when a reaper comes to take him to the afterlife, Wallace is just not having it. Once he realizes he is indeed dead he begins to see all that he missed out on, and bargains for more time to live the life he should have. Wallace is give 7 days to do all he can before he’s forced to cross over.

What can I say? T. J. Klune has done it again. If you are a fan of House in the Cerulean Sea like I am, you are sure to enjoy this one! This story hit me right in the feels, and once I cleared away my tears it wrapped me up in a warm squishy hug.

At its core this is a story about death- and coming to terms with death. While it is quite emotional at times, it’s also filled with humor, with a sweet love story tucked in. The love story snuck right up on me even though it’s there the entire time. It just wasn’t the focus.

Klune’s quirky and loveable characters remind us that it’s never too late to make positive changes in ourselves.

*Thank you to Macmillan/Tor-Forge and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

TJ Klune has done it again. He has created such a beautiful story that you cannot help but fall in love with each and every character. I went through so many emotions reading this, many of which included tears streaming down my face. Klune remains king of the found family trope. Everyone would be better off as humans if they read this book. 5 stars. 10/10 would recommend to everyone. Tissues advised.

V.E. Schwab described TJ Klune's previous book, The House in the Cerulean Sea, as "like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket." I feel much the same way about Under the Whispering Door. Under the Whispering Door has the same coziness, humor, whimsy, and bittersweetness that I've come to expect from a TJ Klune book. I laughed, teared up, and came to adore the characters in this book. If you are looking for a comforting book about death, grief, and the afterlife that explores these themes in a kind and loving format, this is exactly the book for you. I personally am so happy to see a book that explores the death of a queer person in a way where the character's queerness is unrelated to their death. In fact, the main character's queerness is one of the most humanizing and uplifting parts of him.

I have rated this book four stars rather than five simply because I felt there were certain platitudes about death and grief included in the book that were too close to cliches for my taste.

Thank you to T.J. Klune, NetGalley, and Tor books for my ARC of “Under the Whispering Door” in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first read by Klune, although I had heard wonderful things about Klune’s “The House in the Cerulean Sea,” which I have on my TBR. However, I was more drawn to “Under the Whispering Door” because it appealed to my gothic-loving self (I love macabre, gothic, spooky).

As someone who has dealt with a lot of death in my young life, I found this book to be comforting. I think about death a lot, questioning the existential questions about “what is a good life?” and I think Klune successfully tackles that here.

I think for some, this book may be a heavier read than normal and people may need to take a breather or just time to sit with Klune is showing and asking us. I think he’s using Wallace as a mirror to hold up to the reader so we can evaluate our lives, decisions, and ask whether we’re going to end up like Wallace or if we are already Wallace and let it serve as a warning light. Life is so short, unexpected, and can be magical but many of us are riding the days, just struggling to get through to maybe have some time to enjoy this gift we have of being on this planet. And so many, including myself, squander it. It’s important to sit back and evaluate how we got to where we are, where we are likely to go, and how we can make changes for the better. And I think Klune really sets the reader to think about these things.

The setting was like a warm hug and oh my gosh do I wish Charon’s Crossing were a real place and I could be friends with these characters. After reading “Under the Whispering Door,” I am definitely adding more Klune to my TBR. I expect those who like Klune will absolutely enjoy this and I do sincerely hope that people take time to sit with what Klune has presented and do some serious life contemplation.

When I was filling in the stats on Storygraph for this book, one word stuck out greatly. And that was "reflective". I honestly don't think a better word could be used to describe yet another one of TJ Klune's incredibly heartfelt, queer-y, and just plain happy novels. It had the writing we're all used to from Klune and the dry humor that popped up sometimes truly had be dying. The book also took on character development to another level (more on that).

So, the book starts off with Wallace, top-tier asshole at this point in the book. We see him at his worst (?) when he fires a lady for one (?) incorrect action (that might not have even been her fault) and also revoked her daughter's scholarship. If that's not enough, Wallace truly felt there was nothing wrong with his actions. Fairly quickly though, our main character dies. Well, not actually. Ghost Wallace is at his funeral, where only the partners at his firm and his ex-wife are present (and a mysterious Asian lady he's never seen before). He questions why no one else is present and after some seriously heartfelt speeches (note sarcasm) from the guests at his funeral, Wallace is whisked off by Mei to see himself get buried and then ends up at Charon's Crossing.

Moving on, Wallace then meets Nelson, Apollo (the dog), and Hugo. That leads way to a paragraph about the characters (shocker). Nelson is the other resident (human) ghost at Charon's Crossing. He hasn't actually crossed through the door in the ceiling on the fourth floor of the house that clearly defies gravity (as evidenced by the cover) because he is staying there for his grandson, Hugo. Hugo is the ferryman who helps people cross through the door, he's the one who talks them through their death. Makes them accept it and not do anything completely rash (though he gives them all the freedom). There's Mei, the Reaper. She is the one who actually goes and gets the people's ghosts of those who died (like Wallace). And Apollo is just a super cute ghost dog.

The themes included in this novel were also so great. The way TJ Klune manages to weave heartbreak and love and death and life and grief and happiness altogether is so amazing. Death obviously being the most obvious considering the premise of the book, but somehow Klune was able to write that sometimes serious subject in a way that wasn't harsh or anything, and just showed how death was just a part of life. Simply that it was inevitable, but not final.

One thing, the thing that dropped my rating by half a star, that I disliked was the character development. I'm all for it don't get me wrong. I loved Wallace's development don't mistake that either. The only think I found lacking was the speed. I feel like though it was written out, it wasn't written enough. The book wasn't short, and any more might've made it tedious, but I feel like since it had a few chunky time skips we missed a lot of actual written progression of Wallace's personality.

Ultimately though, Under the Whispering Door is a near perfect novel that I absolutely loved almost every second of, that will get you cackling and half-crying, and truly will leave you thinking about it for at least a few days.

HUGE thank you to Tor Books, TJ Klune, and Netgalley for sharing this e-arc with me. The following review is my honest opinion and reflects my reading experience.

I fell in love with TJ Klune’s writing last year when I read The House in the Cerulean Sea. That book is so powerful and special. It has become one of my all time favorite books . . . easily in my top five. So when I heard that TJ was releasing a new book I was so excited. (Side note: I want to read his other series and I have a couple of his other books I just haven’t gotten to them yet). The cover and synopsis for Under the Whispering Door immediately captured my attention. I was THRILLED when I received the approval notification from Netgalley.

Under the Whispering Door is a really great book. Did it impact me as much as House did? No. But that does not take away from this story. Under the Whispering Door tells the story of Wallace, a man who recently died and is now being guided by his reaper and the ferryman. My absolute favorite part of Under the Whispering Door was the characters. TJ Klune truly has such an incredible gift of writing the most beautiful characters. Hugo, Mei, Norman, Apollo, and Wallace were all so special. I loved reading their day to day interactions in the tea shop. The relationships that develop between each of the characters are also so well done. I especially enjoyed Mei and Wallace’s friendship. When he first meets Mei, Wallace seemed determined to not like her. But he couldn’t resist her charm!! I grew attached to these characters and definitely shed a few tears.

Under the Whispering Door is primarily a character driven story. I like to read both character and plot driven stories, so I really enjoyed this one. However, I will say that the pacing was a bit off. Because of this I’m not sure I’m sold on the love story. My only other small qualm is that the big life lessons that Wallace learns throughout his time in the tea shop are fairly obvious. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it just wasn’t anything new.

Under the Whispering Door was a fantastic combination of heartbreaking and heartwarming. TJ Klune tells a beautiful story of grief, hope, and family complete with his signature warmth and humor. Reading TJ’s books feels like coming home. I am so glad that I discovered him!

UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR IS OUT SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2021.

Under the Whispering Door is beautiful and sad; a bittersweet, captivating adventure that begins at an ending.

Wallace Price is not a nice person at the beginning of this book. He’s a coldhearted workaholic who hasn’t really lived his life when he dies at forty. When Mei, his reaper, takes him to Charon’s Crossing to meet the ferryman who will help him cross over, Wallace’s afterlife changes forever. Hugo Freeman helps people come to terms with their death and crossing over. He runs a tea shop and keeps company with Mei and his ghostly grandfather and dog. The Freeman family – those born and adopted into it – sparks an awareness in Wallace that perhaps all that he had spent his life focusing on wasn’t what was important. Wallace’s journey had me glued to the pages of Under the Whispering Door. His growth delighted me and I loved that it wasn’t too late for him to become a good, caring person. Hugo is his guide, his friend, and perhaps something more. The ferryman has an innate goodness that shines on the page and his empathetic, kind nature was like a warm hug.

Under the Whispering Door isn’t the kind of book I would normally pick up, but I’m so glad I did. TJ Klune’s prose is beautiful and engaging. Klune balances tragedy with hope and his version of what happens after death and before the hereafter is imaginative and interesting. I cried buckets over the course of this story and I imagine many readers will as well. Death is, after all, a sad topic. But there isn’t just sadness in this book. There’s humor and heart and all that makes life worth living. This is a story that grabs you by the heartstrings and doesn’t let go. Love, loss, and the stages of grief are hard topics and Klune just nails it when it comes to addressing hard topics while keeping the story hopeful. I loved that I couldn’t predict where this story would go and I stayed up far too late because I had to know what would happen next.

Under the Whispering Door has scenes that address all manners of death, including suicide. There are also scenes depicting depression, PTSD, and raw grief. Readers sensitive to any of these topics should be warned. If these things do not trigger you, I highly recommend reading this book, even if it’s not your usual fare. Klune’s strange and wonderful world will break your heart and put it back together again.

This was my second book from Klune and I loved it! Again, you can sense his sarcasm in his stories and found myself laughing out loud.

Under the Whispering Door is easier to follow than The House on Cerulean Sea since it doesn't have as many characters but equally as enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgally for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Having not read, T.J. Klune's House on the Cerulean Sea yet, I can truly say that I am giving a completely unbiased review of his new novel Under the Whispering Door. So many people told me going into this to expect the "same type of humor as with House on the Cerulean Sea", but since I've not yet started that, my experience with Klune's humor was newly founded and did not disappoint. What I love the most was the way Klune wrote about grief and death and learning how to live and appreciate life. The character development was truly delightful and each of the characters brought a unique and loveable aspect to the story and, boy oh boy, was the writing phenomenal! I loved the way the story was truly just a redemption song for who Wallace started out as, both in his life and his after life. Under the Whispering Door was deep and insightful and had me thinking about my own life and the things and people I hold dear.

3.8 stars

If you're into manga or anime, this book will give you a slice of life cozy yet somewhat dark feels while reading this book. And it captures us with some quirky dialogues yet stay true to the emotions we felt. Through this, we can somehow reflect on the life that we are having and can understand Wallace's actions as he is a sample of a human being who is not perfect and just rides on with life.

This story is (what I’m starting to consider) typical Klune fare - making me laugh and cry at the same time. A fantasy story with a plot that is just rooted enough in reality to be very relatable, an array of great characters with quirks that’ll tug at your heartstrings, a running theme on redemption and wit that'll make you chuckle out loud.

Usually, everything ends with death. But I adore how Under the Whispering Door begins with it. Ah, to be lonely AF and then find your family in the afterlife, people who truly want you there, back you up, see you for who you are, and not what life made you into. *DAMMIT THOSE NINJAS CUTTING ONIONS*

I love how characters’ sexuality is a dominant thread in TJ Klune’s stories, but in the most subtle of ways. That might be oxymoronic, but if you’ve read Cerulean Sea, you’ll know what I mean. Diversity too - over time it becomes obvious what race everyone is, but not through obvious turns of phrase (“she brushed her long blonde hair out of her blue eyes” *audible eyeroll* or “he adjusted his turban and looked out the window, before saying quietly..”). In my personal opinion, this is an example of decent representation - it is made clear that everyone looks different, but there isn’t a need to make a production out of it unless it’s directly relevant to the story.

The empathy people exhibit in the story is through the roof - exactly the way I'd like it to be. Even when something feels like a lost cause, people fight for it just because they believe everyone is allowed to make mistakes and deserves a chance at happiness. I love how many second chances a lot of things get in the storyline.

“Under the Whispering Door” reiterated my absolute belief that hurt people hurt people. If someone is a moron, there is almost always a reason. That said, I’m not justifying bad behaviour, but just trying to redirect focus on how to break the cycle.

MILD SPOILERS
*
*
*
*
*
*
Wallace's transformation from a dick to a decent person wasn't the smoothest, but I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that those in the afterlife didn't immediately judge him (outwardly anyway), without ever giving him a chance to experiment with other versions of him that he could be.

The whole trying to fix shit from the past life bit (towards the end) felt bogus. I mean, you did what you did, Wallace, you can't choose to go back and try to score brownie points. We can’t fix shit that we broke in the past, we can only choose to do better in the future, that’s the reality we have to live in and so do you. I also wasn’t completely sold on Hugo, he felt like a caricature and too good to be true. Arthur (Parnassus) was way more real to me.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
END OF SPOILERS

The pace flags a little midway into the story. Also, the fake omniscient and the inspector seemed like unnecessary characters - they served a specific purpose and there was no need for them to make multiple appearances.

The way it ends is going to polarize everyone - you'll either love it or think it's a cop out. I'm not sure, there is middle ground. And personally, while I usually dislike conclusions like these (trying really hard to be vague here lol), I was rooting for this to happen and I'm SO GLAD it did!!

The only kinda serious bone I have to pick with is that, in some ways, the story feels similar to House in the Cerulean Sea and this gave me a feeling of deja vu. Not complaining, I loved that book. But I wouldn’t want to continue seeing patterns across Klune’s stories.

My recommendation is that you don’t go in all moony eyed about House In The Cerulean Sea. I did, which is a little unfair to this book, and I had to adjust my expectations to be able to enjoy this one as a standalone read that doesn't have anything to do with Cerulean.

If House in the Cerulean Sea was a warm hug from a loved one, Under the Whispering Door is a pat on the head from a favourite teacher.

P.S: In my hurry to "find out what happens", I'm kinda concerned that I didn't catch ALL the easter eggs (I KNOW there were some, I caught a couple). Definitely doing a reread later this year, especially if I can find a really good audiobook for it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the ARC, I appreciate it. All opinions however, are my own.

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

I expected to like this book a lot more than I did based on the premise of a man, Wallace, not understanding he is dead until the reaper comes to collect him.  I really enjoyed both the set up and the epilogue of this book.  The epilogue in particular made me teary.  That said, I found this book to have a slow pace and I really did not get enough depth about any of the characters outside of Wallace.  I thought the romance developed too quickly.  I did not like how Wallace's journey ended and I hated both the Alan and Nancy subplots.  I did however love the tea shop, how the teas matched the taster, the dog, and the grandfather.  Basically this story felt too easy overall with not enough nuance or development.  It also had a lot of repetitive dialogue.  I can see how this would work for other readers even if this is not one I would reread or buy for others.  Arrrr!

So lastly . . .

Thank you Macmillian-Tor/Forge!

"Faith is hard, especially in the face of the unknown."

First, what I struggled with:
The slower pace and I didn't love and feel the depth of the characters, as I did with his previous novel. This book didn't pack the punch I was expecting, but I think it did a lot of good things.

What I liked:
This book gave me scrooge vibes with a great redemption arc. I thought, this book was meaningful and help many suffering through grief. From the cast of characters who find family with each other, to showing us the power of patience, understanding and empathy. I think that everyone fears death and this book tackles that and grief in a way that's accessible to young and old, with a nod to an after that can give us comfort.

Going on, it has LGBTQIA+ representation that I appreciated and had a great voice of narration.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read but not a favorite.

3.5 stars

Although he’s wealthy and successful, Wallace Price has few if any friends. When he wants something, he uses the threats or fear to get it, and he certainly doesn’t help anyone without the promotion of reciprocity. The sparse attendance at his funeral, his ex-wife in near celebration, is only expected. One guest, Mai, though, is a surprise, someone Wallace has never met before.

Wallace is beginning to think something is not right. How can he be at his own funeral? Could he be dead? Mai, a Reaper, is there to help him understand that he Is In fact dead, and she’s taking him to Charon’s Crossing to meet the ferryman, Hugo. That is Charon’s Crossing, the tea shop, where Hugo will help him prepare for the next step on his journey: crossing through the door.

In the face of death, Wallace can admit that he was, in fact, quite a horrible human..when he isn’t trying to understand the strange physics of being a ghost or railing against the unfairness of his situation. Yet, with the help of Hugo, Mia, and the other residents of the tea shop, the ghosts Nelson, Hugo’s grandfather, and Apollo, his dog, he finally learns the kind of person he wants to be. Unfortunately, his time at Charon’s Crossroads is only temporary.

The book has a diverse, interesting cast of primary and secondary characters, with Wallace’s journey of self-discovery at the forefront, and while not all are easy to love, they all contribute to the narrative. Desdemona, a self-described medium, wears anachronistic clothing, but there are modern conveniences like microwaves and caller ID. It almost feels like the decades are compressed ultimately giving the book a timeless feel.

At times, I thought the book tried to hard to be meaningful and profound through characters’ conversations; I thought it achieved that effect in more subtle moments. It certainly affected me emotionally. Several times, I had to stop reading because I was ugly crying so hard! (Not a bad thing!) And the more so think of the underlying themes, the more I value the book and its message.

Highly recommended for readers who enjoy quirky stories about redemption and found family!

Wallace is a very successful attorney, he is selfish and basically lives to work. After a heart attack he dies and has barely anyone at his funeral.

Wallace realizes he must really be dead when a reaper comes to collect him. He is taken to a read shop where they ferryman Hugo waits to help him cross over. However Wallace is angry and not ready to go.

Hugo helps Wallace start to learn about the things he missed in life and reflect. Wallace has a week to crossover and is determine to live the life he missed in during those days.

This book is an emotional roller coaster. This story deals with coming to terms with death and what it really means to be alive. This charming will touch your heart and make you cry all at the same time!

A huge thank you to NetGalley for my ARC. You can get this on September 21st.

This is one of those reviews where I can’t express in words how much I loved this sweet book. All the books by TJ Klune, I simply want all of them now.

You will fall in love with every single character in this book. It is full of life (funny for a book about death), love, kindness, understanding and compassion. It makes me think of what The Good Place became in the end. A story about life and death and how we approach both with an open heart. Like his last book, The House in the Cerulean Sea, the characters are wonderfully written and I became very attached to them. It is also LGBTQIA friendly and features a great love story. I can’t rave about these two books enough. I hope you will pick it up and enjoy it as much as I did. This is a comfort read, and I know I will be going back to them both in future.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley

I think this is my new favourite book by TJ Klune.

A story of a ghost and a ferryman falling in love? How could I not love it.

Shortly after Wallace passes away suddenly, Mei the reaper shows up to take him to meet Hugo the ferryman whose job it is to help people cross over.

Wallace Price is incredibly unlikeable in the beginning and I didn’t have much sympathy for him. However as the story goes on and he grows, he becomes such a better person!

Hugo is perfection and I love everything about him. We can’t forget Mei, Nelson and of course Apollo!

Wonderful characters, a great plot, humour and tons of emotion - there is so much to love about this story and I don’t want to spoil a thing. I definitely recommend picking it up.

Thank you to MacMillan-Tor/Forge & NetGalley for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So I sat down and demolished this book in one sitting.

This book was so devastatingly heartbreaking yet still so heartwarming and funny. The journey that Wallace goes through from being picked up by Mei, his Reaper, at his own funeral to feeling at home amongst the ferryman Hugo and his family is beautiful to experience.

There were so many tears shed while reading this book. It really digs deep into peoples fear of death and the unknown and how that’s okay and perfectly normal to feel. By the end, I was just swarming with comfortable sadness and hope. I haven’t read his other book yet, but I’m so excited to experience that (much less heavy) story asap!

First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley and Tor Books for granting me access to review this book.

I will be honest by saying that part of my experience reading this was impacted by my high expectations. I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, so I was expecting great things from this new novel. While this wasn't bad by any means, in the end, I thought this was just an okay book. It was hopeful and bittersweet, but I didn't get the connection to this that I was looking for, and here is why. As a side note, I would highly recommend listening to Wait For It from Hamilton while reading this.


Writing:

I have no complaints or criticisms about the writing as I found it rather easy to digest. My only complaint really is that because of the nature of the plot, I felt like the book was a bit slow-moving.


Plot:

Under the Whispering Door presents a rather simple premise at its core. A man dies and is forced to rethink his life while grieving his death with the help of a ferryman, a reaper, a stubborn grandfather, and a ghost dog. In other words, this is about how to move on and ghost 101. I think, for me, it was its simplicity that lead me to have a bit of a lukewarm response to this. I wanted this to give me more feelings and a sense of wholesomeness. That could just be me projecting my feelings for The House in the Cerulean Sea though, so please take what I say with a grain of salt.

There were aspects of the plot that I did find interesting, such as the tea shop. I also liked the humorous moments as they helped lighten the plot even though some fell a bit flat for me. What I will also give the author is that he really makes you think. This book brings forth questions such as, 'if you die unexpectedly, can you say that you had a good life that you lived to its fullest?' What put me in a bit of an odd place in terms of how I feel about this book would be the ending. As I was reading, I was taking away a specific message, and the ending pretty much tore that apart. That is on me though, and I cannot guarantee that many other people will have the same opinions as me.

Another aspect of the book that I personally could have done without was the addition of Alan. Now, I am not going to go into it because of spoilers, but this plotline did nothing for me but add unnecessary drama even though it was used in order to further the plot in other ways.


Characters:

Wallace, our main character, for a good chunk of the beginning of the book was, to say the least, not a nice guy. I understand that in order for someone to have some positive development and for them to realize their faults, you generally have to make them unlikable and unsympathetic. That did impact my experience as even when he started to make this realization and started being a better person, I didn't really believe him because it was such a rapid shift, and I wasn't entirely invested in his development either. I also wish that we got a better idea as to what Wallace looked like. He was described as being tall and thin and looking like death, but in my head, I just kept picturing him as a generic middle-aged man.

A large part of the book focuses on the developing relationship between Wallace and Hugo. While I wasn't mad about it or thought anything was grossly wrong with the way it was written, I found that we didn't really get much interaction between them. I found that Wallance interacted more with the other character than he did with Hugo, with whom he is supposed to create a romantic connection. Despite that though, I was still happy with the conclusion.

The best part about this book though, by far, was Nelson. Nelson is Hugo's grandfather who has yet to move on and lives to torment those around him (but in the best way possible). To use a bit of an outdated word, Nelson was an absolute hoot. He was the comedic side character that this story so dearly needed in order to offset the more grim aspects. Another character whom I found to be more interesting than our main character was The Manager. Again, can't go into too much detail here because of spoilers, but he radiated strong David Tennent vibes and it was great.


Concluding Thoughts:

I am not fully sure what you are supposed to take out of this book. Live life like the next second will be your last? Live your life to the fullest so that when the time comes you aren't entirely full of regret? Dealing with grief and moving on? All of the above and much more? This book goes into many deep topics that some people probably don't want to read about, but it was done well enough that you didn't feel bogged down by it.

Now, I saw well enough because there were some aspects that didn't entirely work for me, and others I wished were covered more. Overall, this was an okay book primarily due to me not having a strong enough connection to it. I would recommend that you pick it up and see how you connect to it, and if you had the same feelings as me. If you are looking for something along the same lines as this, I would recommend you watch Ghost Whisperer. While it is not a book, it deals with the same subjects of loss and grief with an emphasis on the people left behind.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this book!
I had very high standards for "Under the Whispering Door" after reading and (like so many others) LOVING 'The House in the Cerulean Sea", and it's safe to say it didn't disappoint! The first thing I noticed about this book was its familiar writing style which I love, and is one of the reasons I think you'll be a fan of this book if you enjoyed "Cerulean Sea".
I wasn't immediately engaged in this story despite a lot of intriguing aspects, which was a problem that followed me throughout the book and the reason it took so long for me to finish- it felt like there wasn't much happening which I wasn't a fan of in this instance. The chapters felt very monotonous and whilst it could be said that this was intentional, it unfortunately caused me to drop a star. I particularly noticed this as there were a lot of conversations between the characters that seemed to be portraying a very obvious point without allowing the reader to interpret the authors intention.
The characters, however, meant this was still a very enjoyable read. There are a number of main and side characters in this story, but each one was fleshed out with a clear backstory and motives. I also loved the unique relationships these characters shared with one another, particularly the blossoming romance. The dynamics between them made for some HILARIOUS scenes, I haven't found a book this funny in a long time. The well developed characters also made for surprisingly emotional scenes within this book, particularly the last few chapters. If you want a good cry this book is definitely worth the read!
Overall, I didn't love 'Under the Whispering Door" quite as much as "The House in the Cerulean Sea", but I would still thoroughly recommend it and think it was a very strong follow up to such a successful book.