This one was very sweet and wholesome, I enjoyed it. It was uplifting and really just an all around cozy read. I really liked the unique premise as well and I normally do not read fantasy very much.

I love TJ Klune's writing, humor, and the inclusion of the best grumpy curmudgeon characters ever. If the story ends here, I'm content. If the story continues, I'm beyond excited!

This review is so late, but I did not want to waste to opportunity to say what a beautiful, gorgeous, funny, sad, important book this is. I was able to listen to the audio version (excellent) and found myself unable to wait for my next commute, so I switched back and forth to the ebook.

The characters are diverse and amazing - I loved them all even when I couldn't stand some of them. The book's ruminations on life and how it might continue are so poignantly done. Just - bravo all around.

Wonderful book. In my top 5 of all time. I love this author. I will revisit this book yearly for a reread. Added to my bookshelf of 5 star reads.

TJ Klune was one of my favorite authors for a while, and when he got signed with TOR I was excited for him. But as my reading tastes have changed, I’ve come to realize that I am not the right reader for Klune’s books. He has interesting ideas and does interesting things with grief stories, but I can’t move past several -isms that sneak into his work and are baked in as preconceived absolutes. Fully a case of me not being the right audience for his books any longer.

Another incredible story by an outstanding author. He writes such lovable characters. I loved everything about this. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

LOVE LOVE LOVE. Anything TJ Klune writes is simply incredible, whimsical, emotional, and so much fun. This story tore my heart out and stepped on it, but then it gently put it back into place and gave it a hug. I felt so many feeling reading this and can’t wait for a reread.

This book was magical. There's no other word that sums it up better. It's a beautiful warm hug of a novel. I didn't want it to end. The way it covers grief, redemption, friendship, family, responsibility is truly wonderful. I cared deeply for all the characters and wanted nothing more than to visit Hugo's tea shop. I can't recommend this highly enough.

A ghost dog?? Count me in!

If you thought that The House in the Cerulean Sea was a warm hug of a book, then you have to read this. I truly can't pick which book is better because both are so heartwarming. If you loved The Midnight Library, you'll love this.

For some reason I could really imagine this book as a movie. I could see the characters and I feel like it would translate so well to the big screen.

I'm not currently grieving but I feel like this would be awesome for anyone grieving.

A big thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this one!!

I absolutely positively LOVED! this book.

“The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time you share tea, you are an honored guest. And the third time you share tea, you become family.”

I am in love with Klune’s writing. Even if this is only my second book by him I already know I am a forever fan.

Klune has a way in writing beautiful words. He has away of breaking your heart and then put it back together. He also has a way of making you fall in love with all the characters.

Reading this book will give you a new perspective on how you look at life and death.

Don’t be afraid to pick up this book and read it. You will fall in love with every word

Wallace, Hugo, Nelson and Mei will stay with me forever.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor book for the opportunity to read this book.

Klune once again hits it out of the park. Whispering Door may not be quite as outstanding as Cerulean Sea - but that is an awfully high bar to match and this is by no means anything other than an outstanding book. Klune once again explores love in the new book and readers should expect more than a few tugs on the heartstrings. With an easy-to-read writing style, this is the book to pick up and savor over a long weekend.

This book totally pulled at my heartstrings. I started off not really liking the protagonist but by the end, I loved his growth and his journey to becoming a better version of himself.

Unfortunately not the target audience for this and had to DNF. Did not review.

I would trust the other reviewers on this one- it is loved!

*I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

5 stars

I love pretty much anything TJ Klune writes. I really enjoy how he creates his characters and gives them mostly complete stories (backstories and make-up, etc). His stories are like escapism for me. Would recommend him to most anyone.

Wallace Price has died, only he doesn’t know what the next step on his journey means. He is collected by his Reaper, Mei, and is taken to his ferryman, Hugo, to help answer his questions and guide him to his next stop. But all isn’t what it seems with Hugo and Mei and what unfolds is a beautiful story of acceptance, humanity, and so much more.

If you love a good redemption story or unlikely friendship story then pick this one up. While I would have liked to have seen more of Wallace's transformation from the evil guy at the beginning of the book the found family and friendship made it okay. It kind of reminds me of the "Can we skip to the good part" audio for reels/tiktok, but I digress. Wallace is a jerk, he cares about himself and no one else so when he has a heart attack and has to face his mortality and the cast of characters to help him crossover he realizes how he has lived does not make a life he can be proud of looking back on.
When he gets to the wonky looking house with his reaper, Mei he meets Hugo, his ferryman; Nelson, Hugo's grandfather ghost; and Apollo, Hugo's dog ghost. While there are other key characters throughout I really just fell in love with this core group and felt their emotions. There were also interspersed bits of comedy mixed in with the deeper lessons of the book to balance each other out.
While this book will, of course, be compared to The House in the Cerulean Sea I feel like there are plenty of comparisons to be made but it is a book of its own to be compared to only itself. I did, though, appreciate that some of the pictures in the house most certainly seemed to be nods to The House on the Cerulean Sea.

This is a fabulous story about the living, the dead, and the adventures we have between both.

I do admit that I struggled a bit with the grammar, some sentences didn't flow naturally, and some of the character dialogs didn't read as natural dialog to me. But overall it was a wonderful story.

While The House in the Cerulean Sea was one of my favourite books of the year a few years ago, this one didn’t *quite* live up to the hype. I did still love it - don’t get me wrong, it just didn’t unbelievably move me like Cerulean Sea. While this book is still beautiful, the writing is incredible and its full of thought-provoking dialogue and passages, it just lacked the connection to the characters, but that may be because the Cerulean characters were perfection (and kids).

I suppose it’s hard to rate a book as an individual when you’re spending the whole time comparing it to another of the author’s books. I know this is unfair, but I had high expectations. I LOVED the audio of this one. It’s plot is a very original concept in my opinion and while the characters should be so unlikeable, you really grow to love them. This book does an excellent job of discussing and describing grief and how to try to navigate how we deal with it. I laughed, I cried, I sobbed, I cheered and I smiled immensely. Prepare yourself for this one and give it a read (or a listen!)

The portrayal of the Chinese character and the fraught relationship with her mother makes me very uncomfortable. Although there are conflict between Chinese parents and children, like there are conflicts between any parents and children across background, This book is written by a white man. The way TJ Klune phrased some of the conflict feels insensitive at best and racist at worst.

For example, he has his Chinese daughter character mock her own mother by speaking with a Chinese accent, while the daughter talks about her relationship with her mother to our white male protagonist.

“Her voice dropped to a lower register, the words taking on an accent. It took Wallace a moment to realize she was imitating her mother.“

Also the way there seems to be a suggestion of the Chinese mother being "fascinated by the idea of being American." This indicates a hero worshipping of US culture, although it does exist in some Chinese immigrant population, but coming from a white man's writing just makes it seems very condescending as TJ Klune uses this kind of words to describe it:

"She didn’t like her history. China in the twentieth century was filled with war and famine, oppression and violence. During the Cultural Revolution, religion was outlawed, and anyone who disobeyed was beaten or killed or just . . . disappeared into thin air. （…）She wanted fireworks on the Fourth of July and picket fences, to become someone different. She wanted the same for me. But even coming here, there were certain things she still believed. You don’t go to bed with wet hair because you’ll get a cold in your head. Don’t write names in red ink, because that’s taboo.”

Portraying Chinese characters who have lived through the trauma of 20th century China (civil war, famine and the Cultural Revolution), just so they are obsessed with American culture?? Except the only thing they kept are the stupid superstitions?? This seems like a very caricature portrayal of Chinese-Americans. Yes, a lot of Chinese immigrants moved out of the country due to the distraught situation back home. But there is also a common consensus that USA isn't superior, instead, there's a sense of resentment and detachment with the west, even without immigrant community. Why is that? Well, because the Western Imperialism and colonization, because racism experienced within western society. I love how the author ignored ALL these nuance, instead just making the Chinese mother a complete caricature who thinks USA is all rainbow and unicorn.

"“I know you probably don’t get this, but we don’t talk about stuff like that in my family. It’s . . . ingrained. She wouldn’t let me get help, to see a doctor because for all that she wanted to be American, there were still some things that just wouldn’t do.”"

This. Another huge misconception is that Chinese household, or just Asian household in general, are more toxic and abusive because lack of verbal communication. Like I said before, this kind of family do exist, but NOT ALL CHINESE FAMILY ARE INHERENTLY TOXIC OR ABUSIVE JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T COMMUNICATE LOVE THE WAY WESTERN PPL DO. My grandparents would constantly ask if I'm hungry, but they rarely hug or cuddle me. My mom listens to my problems and are there for me, she was supportive of my coming out as queer and has never refrained from showing her being proud of me (eventho not in words). Saying It's "ingrained" that just because there is no communication is like saying Chinese parents are doomed to be toxic and abusive. When it's not??

“Either her way or the highway. She said it just like that, and she was so proud of it, because it was such an American thing to say.”

Okay, maybe it is a very American thing to kick your children out of the house. So i guess at least TJ Klune acknowledged that. Still, reading this rendition of a white man writing the nuance and trauma of a Chinese character growing up in a Chinese immigrant household is just, so awkward and painful.

To fellow Chinese dispora, I understand that this kind of toxicity depicted exist in our community and culture. It is still very present and is something we all need to discuss. But the way TJ Klune depicted it feels like a very condensed and insensitive version of the real situation - where things are more nuanced.

Also, why would you have the Chinese daughter mock her mom BY FAKING A CHINESE ACCENT, when this is the very same meothod so many white racists use to harass the Asian community??? Like You cannot convince me this Chinese girl literally never experienced her people being racially harassed by mocking of the Chinese accent, just for her to do the same thing to her mom Bc she's mad at her lmao.

This was such a wonderful story of finding oneself. Yes, in this case it just happened to be after death. But doesn't everyone deserve a second chance? Oh how I loved this book. Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

✨Book Review✨
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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I really don't know how I felt about this book. I guess I enjoyed it, but it was definitely not a plot based book. Not much happened, but the story did strongly push the chosen family theme which I always enjoy. There were parts that were a little slow, and parts that I was more excited about, but overall it was a pleasant read with a creative concept.