Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Tor/Forge for the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

T.J. Klune has such a beautiful and heartwarming writing style. I have to say right off the bat that if you enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea, than I think you'll enjoy Under the Whispering Door as well. This book however is significantly heavier, with in depth discussions on death, grief, and the afterlife. My heart ached along with these characters and I loved experiencing their growth throughout Wallace's stay at the teashop.

Like Klune's previous writings there is great POC and LGBTQ representation which I really appreciated. The banter in this book is quirky and funny without being too over the top cheesy. I liked the glimpses of humanity that you get with each character, no matter how stubborn or exaggerated their 'crankiness' was.

By the end of this book I was a sobbing puddle. I can't emphasize enough how much I loved this one. From the very beginning, with the villainous introduction to Wallace and later seeing how he was redeemed by the love he found at Charon's Crossing, I knew this book was special. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time!

When I saw Under The Whispering Door from TJ Klune I immediately wanted to read it. Honestly, his books are either a super winner (The House In The Cerulean Sea & WolfSong) or just O.K. (The Extraordonaries) for me. I was really hoping this one would blow me away but sadly it did not. I know I am probably going to be the unpopular opinion on this book.

Wallace Price is a total jerk and then he dies. The four people at his funeral have nothing nice to say about him while the Reaper is there to take him to the ferryman, Hugo, to help Wallace transition to the next place. Mei, the Reaper, takes him to a tea shop run by Hugo and inhabited by the ghost of Hugos grandpa, Nelson, and emotional support dog, Apollo. At Charon Crossing Tea and Treats Wallace gets a chance to change from the selfish, heartless bastard he was into a kind, caring, being.

What I liked: The main character of Wallace. TJ Klune writes wonderful characters- from Wallace’s changing perosnality to Hugo struggling being a ferryman, his panic attacks to the prejudice Mei encountered for her abilities. I felt each characters had it’s own personality and I rooted for them.

This book was just so slow. I feel like I knew that Wallace was going to turn himself around so the glacial pace that it moved kept me wanting to skip ahead. When Wallace is given seven days to crossover, we are about 75% into the book and I felt like FINALLY! There were some aspects that just felt clunky (the hook) and parts that were there for comedy that I thought didn’t fit with the overall book- when Wallace is trying to change his clothes, for example.

Under The Whispering Door had death in all forms- illness, suicide, murder, natural causes- they are all beautifully portrayed and the overall message of death as a beginning, not an ending was poignant. Overall, I you like whimsical characters with an inspiring message with a slow moving plot, check this one out.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Tor/ Forge for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was unable to read this book, as it wouldn’t let me fully download it. However, I’ve heard great things about it and the author from his other works- So I can only imagine how good it actually is if I were able to read it.

3.5
I like it. It was funny. It was interesting. But there was just something that I wasn't necessarily interested in. I think I was looking for something 'deeper' but it just wasn't there. I like it and I would love to reread it at some point now that I know more of what to expect.

Under the Whispering Door is a meditation on death and a reflection on life, as we follow Wallace (basically a soulless asshole) into the afterlife with a colorful cast of characters.

This book is whimsical and thoughtful, but unfortunately fell flat for me. It was drawn out, repetitive, and had the over-explain-y YA vibes that I despise. The reflections on life were all quite surface level; the romance made no sense and came out of nowhere.

And the ending?! Dear lord I'd say it ruins the book but I was only skimming by then anyway, but I felt like it defeated the entire purpose.

For feel-good-reflections-on-a-life-well-lived, I'd recommend a bowl of popcorn and the Pixar movie "Soul."

TJ Klune did it again! Never did I think about life after death this way. Under the Whispering Door is a delightful story that will make you want to live your life to the fullest.

I was moved by the characters in this story. I admired Wallace for being thoughtful, Hugo for being selfless, Nelson for being contented, Mei for being enthusiastic, and even Apollo for bringing joy to all of them. I was teary-eyed for most parts of this book.

I know nothing about life after death, I mean, who does? But a part of me hopes that there really is a place called Charon’s Crossing, a tea shop where they’d bring you after death, full of people waiting to help and love you unconditionally until you’re finally ready to cross the door and leave the life you lived, for the last time, without worries and regrets.

This is my first read from TJ Klune and I won't stop here. I am so in love with his story telling, I devour reading this, hoping it will never end. This book has a hard subject, death, but the author's writing style and humour helps to lighten it up.

This book makes me thinking about the after life. After I am dead, would i be able to still see and watch my loved ones for awhile? What's happening to me after I see cross that 🚪 and see the light?

Wallace Price, a successful lawyer yet with no social life and friends, found himself dead at his own poorly attended funeral. He is then collected by the reaper, Mei, who brings him to Charon's Crossing Tea and Treats to meet Hugo, the ferryman who will help him transitioning from life to death.

Despite the subject of this book is about death, this book helps me to look into my recent life, how I'm living my own life.
It's so beautiful it made me cry.

Wow this book was not what I was expecting after The House on The Cerulean Sea. I definately enjoyed certain aspects of it and did find it still warm and comforting but felt it took a long time to really get anywhere. I was 70% before I felt any real lessons were learned and anything of significance happened.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest oppinion

Every once in a while I am reading a book and I know someone close to me will love it. If it's an ARC, I know I will be ordering a copy just for that person. Under the Whispering Door is one of those books. Yes, I am preordering a copy for my husband and my daughter. I know they will both love it.

They will love the characters. The sarcasm and the underlying affection will appeal to them. Fits them to a T actually. They will love the dog. We love the dogs around here. Apollo proves that a dog's love is forever. They may or may not love Hugo, standoffish in ways but also so caring and giving. He gives up his life to serve others. I think they will get to love Wallace, too. He wasn't always the greatest person. Death makes him really become who he is.

I also know my family will love the quirkiness of the tea shop and the people who inhabit it. There has to be something magical about a tea shop in the middle of no real place that gets people to come to it in droves and keeps it hopping all day every day.

They will love this take on death and what is beyond. It never gets into too much detail but it stays away from the overly preachy and spiritual. Death is all science fiction. No one knows. And I'm glad the author doesn't try to give definitive answers.

Lastly, I think they will love the romance and relationships built in this book. Nelson and Hugo. Mei and Hugo. Mei and Nelson. Wallace and Mei. Wallace and Hugo. Hugo and Apollo. So many people caring so much for so many other people.

I have to admit that this book did not go in the direction I thought it would when I began reading it. I had completely forgotten what I had read about it when I requested it and I often don't go back and reread the descriptions before I start. I'm glad I didn't. Firstly, the description doesn't do it justice. It is a tiny glimpse into a pretty late part of the book. Also, I like being surprised. The ending didn't shock me too much but it was satisfying and it left the door open to see these people again. Overall, I highly recommend.

Waffling a lot about my rating on this one, it still might change. Some parts of this are 4 star and some are 2 star, so I guess settling on 3 is good. I liked this book, but didn't love it like I did The House in the Cerulean Sea, which was one of my top reads last year.

What I liked:
This is such a heartfelt, humorous story about an angry man named Wallace who has died and is now in a waystation disguised as a tea shop, in the company of Hugo, his ferryman, and Mei, his reaper. Also there are ghosts Nelson (Hugo's grandfather) and Apollo (Hugo's dog).
The book gave me lots of warm feelings about what it means to be human and how even the most hardened hearts can be changed and people can grow.

What didn't work so well:
As I said in one of my updates, some of the humorous sections, such as Wallace learning how to change his clothes, are more farcical, kind of physical comedy written more for an eventual viewer of a movie than for the reader. Some parts with the medium and such just felt silly, which would have been fine if that is what the book was about but it's not really. It's more of a contemplative story in the end.
This book doesn't mesh with my belief system about death, and that's fine. It's fantasy. I could have overlooked it if it would have been fresh and original but the Whispering Door and going through it feels like a mashing together of parts of things that people already believe and didn't wow or touch me like it should have. I never really "got" the Manager or what he was supposed to be. I thought the conclusion with Wallace was wholly unsurprising and would have liked it much better if it had gone a way I wasn't expecting rather than taking the easy way out.

My complaints don't mean that the book was a bad read or that you should avoid it, it was just disappointing because I was expecting SO much more after Cerulean Sea. I listened to this as an audiobook and narrator Kirt Graves does an amazing job with the various voices and distinguishing the characters. He provides whimsy when it is needed and somberness when it turns that way.

All in all, it's a good book, just not as great as I was hoping for.

All the feels but mostly saved for the end!🤔😪

I could not hold back the tears at this book's climax and conclusion, but it took an awfully long time to get to the really gripping good stuff. I am not usually a reader who focuses on the metaphysical and this book does, in spades, and moves quite slowly until the last 25-30 percent.. The book blurb and attractive cover grabbed my interest as I had never read any of the author's earlier work. I don't think it's an easy read but, in the end, it's imaginative, emotional, thought-provoking, inspirational and eminently worthwhile. I mean, don't we all wonder about what happens after we die?

The characters, especially the residents of the tea shop, really grew on me, both dead and lingering and those still alive, and I loved the arc of transformation that newly-deceased Wallace undergoes. He starts almost as an unsmiling, unsympathetic Marley or Scrooge type and, only after death comes to grips with all of his errors and all that he's missed. Wallace truly morphs into a hero as he realizes the possibilities of the impact he can make in a final seven days before passing to that great, mysterious beyond.

Although this book is listed LGBTQ the key relationship between Wallace and Hugo is overwhelmingly and profoundly deep and loving in a spiritual way. After all, the living and the dead are not really set up for a physical connection. It's heart to heart, soul to soul stuff with a heavy emphasis on helping and relying on one another no matter orientation (or species!).

Thanks to Tor/Macmillan and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

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"Death is only the beginning"
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you TJ Klune for sharing your gift with the world. Klune's writing is beautiful. His characters are so deep and incredible. There are just no other books out there like this one and Cerulean Sea. These books are quirky, strange, picturesque, yet beautiful and special works of art with a lesson for everyone.
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In this story, Wallace has to die to fully realize what it means to live. Wallace, a nasty, mean lawyer has a sudden heart attack and is in denial that he is actually dead. However, Wallace finds peace and even friendship in his afterlife. Love, loss, family, and friendship are the key themes in this one.
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Thank you @netgalley for this ARC! Y'all will be doing yourselves a favor to pick this up later this month.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune is a beautifully written story about life, death, acceptance and love. It touches on questions as to what happens when we die as well as free choice. There are so many levels to this book, but all are remarkably touching and deeply rooted into human nature.

Wallace Price is a big time ruthless lawyer. We meet him as he is preparing to fire one of his employees who has given everything to his company. The next thing Wallace knows is that he is attending his funeral and being met by a reeper. Wallace is stunned to see how little people are affected by his passing and begins his journey through the afterlife.

Wallace meets a host of characters that seem different from him, people he would have never interacted with in his living life. Wallace goes through many experiences in this afterlife allowing him to reflect on the life he once led.

Under the Whispering Door is a book that I could not put down. It is a fast, easy read with so many likeable characters. There are parts that will make you laugh, parts that will bring tears to your eyes and others that will make you smile. Prepare for all the emotions while reading TJ Klune’s, Under the Whispering Door available September 21, 2021.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wallace Price is a true asshole. He treats everyone like crap, employees and all others alike. And then he dies. And realizes he's not as liked as he thought he was, going to his funeral helps with that. But then, he is brought by Mei, a reaper, to a very weird tea shop that doesn't look like it should stand and is told that not only he is dead but he must stay here or move forward. Wallace does not like that, even when nice and kind Hugo tries to explain it. He throws a couple tantrums before finally accepting that these people are here to help him.

Well that was a shit summary, I'm sorry. Anyway, this book was pretty good. It was actually the first book I've read by TJ Klune and overall, I really liked it. The relationships between the characters were pretty well portrayed and paced and Wallace's character development was truly incredible.
I also liked the world and atmosphere TJ Klune created and I even cried a little bit at the end. I, however, could not rate this 5 stars for several reasons.
First of all, I'll invite you to read Dawn's review and comment on the Chinese representation.
Also, it just took me too much time to get into the story and I was really not having a good time at first because of how unlikable Wallace first was. I really had to make myself read for a while before I started enjoying myself.
Anyway, I'm still a little torn about this one, but overall it was a pretty compelling book and I will read more books by TJ Klune.

TJ Klune's "The House in the Cerulean Sea" was one of my favorite books I stumbled on this year, so I was beyond excited to hear about "Under the Whispering Door". There are a number of similarities across both novels, but this one definitely stands in a category of its own.

Our protagonist is Wallace Price, an uptight and unemotional 40 year-old lawyer who passes away from an unexpected heart attack - and as a ghost, is guided to Charon's Tea and Crossing, a teahouse inhabited by a number of different characters. There's Hugo, the owner and ferryman; Mei, the reaper; and two ghosts - Nelson (Hugo's grandfather) and Apollo (Hugo's dog). It's a slipshod cast of characters, but as Wallace discovers more about this world and the people he comes to live with, we get to see him change and evolve as a person, albeit after death.

For me, the book wasn't perfect. At least in the beginning, it seemed that TJ Klune recycled too many similar themes and characters from his previous novel (i.e. a grouchy main protagonist getting forced into a new environment and people, same-sex relationships developing, etc.) and there were a number of sexual innuendos and references that seemed unnecessary to me. I spent much of the first half of the novel confused about this new world and how things worked; while many of these were explained later in the novel, it made some of the initial sections hard to get through. Nonetheless though, the second half of the novel more than made up for the initial hiccups for me, and I think TJ Klune has done a fantastic job creating a novel that handles such difficult topics like death so well.

T.J. Klune has done it once again with "Under the Whispering Door".

This novel opens with a bang and the reader can't help be in on Wallace Price's adventure from page 1. While Wallace is not the most lovable guy, at first, I found myself engaged in his journey right from the start. The story is painfully beautiful and my heart broke alongside the characters with each of their trials and tribulations. I wanted to know the answers as Wallace sought to find out what there was after life. Is there anything more? Is life worth the journey?

Despite some pain throughout, I also found myself laughing out loud many times - something I've come to expect from Klune's work - his writing never fails to make me laugh, cry, wonder, and dream all in the same story.

I couldn't help but fall for Wallace and Hugo and all the other folks that surround them in this story. Melancholy and beautiful all at once, "Under the Whispering Door" is one you won't want to put down.

I cried my way through large portions of T. J. Klune’s Under the Whispering Door. While ultimately, I would call it a beautiful, hopeful book, it is also deeply, deeply sad. I mean, it is about death and the afterlife, so I guess that shouldn’t be a surprise, but I’m just putting that out there.

Here’s the setup: Wallace is a horrible Scrooge of a fellow who is financially successful but just a miserable human being. He’s basically alienated everyone with whom he’s ever had a relationship, but he doesn’t even recognize that because he’s so focused on work and power and money. In fact, he takes an odd sort of pride in being needlessly cruel.

Then, he dies suddenly of a heart attack. And all of those concerns that consumed his life and his time are gone.

The world he enters is populated by an eccentric crew: reapers—in this case, a reaper named Mei; a ferryman named Hugo; and the ghosts of Hugo’s grandfather Nelson and dog Apollo. Wallace is stuck in Hugo’s tea shop until he can accept his death and figure things out and be ready to cross through a mysterious door on the fourth floor.

The world building is more complex than I can or should cover, but there are fabulous conversations about Hugo and Mei’s responsibilities to the dead; about what matters in life; about who we choose to be when and if we have the chance to reconsider our choices.

I feel as if I should address a big question here since I’ve been raving about The House in the Cerulean Sea since I read it (and that’s a big reason I requested this book!): Under the Whispering Door is NOT The House in the Cerulean Sea, nor does Klune try to make it that book. I always feel as if the expectation game is so fraught, so when I go in with high expectations, I’m almost always disappointed. Did Whispering Door bring me to the giddy heights that Cerulean Sea did? No. But that’s okay. I still found myself thinking and smiling and crying. This book is a success all on its own merits, and for me, it survived the peril of comparison with one of my favorite books of the year.

Wow. Amazing. I was not ready for the depth of emotion this book put me through. This was a beautiful story about life and death, and although its a heartbreaking topic, Klune handled it with a lot of care. It was equal parts heartbreaking and thought-provoking. Klune writes such wholesome stories and always adds his trademark humor, which helps balance such a heavy topic. Although it was a story about death it was just as much about life, and living it to the fullest before it’s too late.

The story focused on a lawyer named Wallace Price and his life after death. I thought his character development was beautifully done. How do you process your death when you never fully lived your life? Hugo, Nelson, Apollo, and Mei were endearing, quirky, and well written. It’s hard not to love these characters.

I knew that T.J. Klune was an author to watch out for after reading The House in the Cerulean Sea. Now it’s confirmed that Klune is an auto-buy author for me. I already can’t wait for his next book.

Five stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Although it’s very different from The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door is a great read

I will honestly say it took about 40% of the book for me to say “wow, this is good!” During the beginning there were many moments where I felt it was moving too slow or too repetitive with the conversations the characters were having.

With that in mind, near the middle of the book the story finally drew me in, and what a story. Stick with it and you will be greatly rewarded!

Yes, this book deals with a very heavy topic… death and grief, but it puts a new point of view on these topics and makes them easy to “digest,” and you will never enjoy a cup of tea the same way again.