As soon as this book was announced I knew I just have to get my hands on it. Even though it breaks my heart every time I love books about grief and loss. And as a huge TJ Klune fan as well this just sounded perfect. And let me just say: It did deliver.

Under the Whispering Door is a magical and somehow soft, slow journey about grief and love and living life to the fullest. It will make you laugh, cry and very thoughtful. It’s absolutely beautiful and honest and full of hope and promise.

I loved the characters a lot even though they all had their flaws. This just made them more real and likeable in my opinion. Their dynamics are wonderful and the character development is so good. Especially Wallace will make you change your first impression of him in the end for sure. I am so very fond of that little found family. They make my heart very full.

Under the Whispering Door is that heartwarming book you’ll never forget. It crawls its way deep into your heart. I will definitely recommend this book to everyone who looks for an emotional packed, wholesome story.

It took you dying to find your humanity. It’s hysterical if you think about it.

Wallace Price was not, in his mind, a bad man. He liked nice suits. He was dedicated to his work. So what if his employees were scared shitless of his overbearing ways? He was meticulous and demanding and he expected them to be the same. So when he finds himself at his own (very sparsely attended) funeral, he’s beginning to think it might be a joke.

Until a reaper comes to take him to the afterlife. But there’s a snag—he’s delivered to a tea house in the middle of the woods, operated by a ferryman and a handful of ghosts and the reaper, and…death just isn’t what Wallace expected. How unfortunate that he found himself just before he had to move on.

He’d spent a majority of his life with his head turned down. It seemed only fair that eternity would allow him to raise his face toward the sky.

Whew that was a lot of tears. What the hell is it with me and crying books recently?

To be utterly honest, I hated Wallace Price at the beginning. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to continue, particularly since the tonal vibes of The House in the Cerulean Sea were hitting me in ways I wasn’t particularly fond of: emotionally closed off man goes to house in the middle of nowhere and meets incredibly empathetic and kind man dedicated to helping others, and finds himself healed in the process and falls in love.

That’s it.

That’s the gist of the book.

Wallace sighed. “One of those things where you say one thing but mean something else.”

Except in this case the kind and empathetic man is Black and doing a lot of emotional labor to heal the angry, asshole white dude (that’s why this isn’t five-stars—I don’t think Klune was able to get past the “Magical Negro” trope, either for Hugo or Nelson), and there’s a lot of empathetic people going “oh, I see” but not explaining themselves to the emotionally closed off person.

However.

Those’re the down points.

The plusses almost overcome all of that (again, 4 not 5).

“Tea is serious business, Wallace. You don’t heat water for tea in the freaking microwave. Have a little class, man.”

This is like a wonderful cross of The House in the Cerulean Sea (yes, I’m going to keep using this comp title because it fits) meets “Whenever You’re Ready” from The Good Place.

Which seems like a serious spoiler, but it’s not. Not really. There are things that I knew were going to happen and did, and things that I hoped would happen and knew would not (and was mildly disappointed by but the ending is still solid).

These are just my initial thoughts after finishing. Although they seem rather harsh, but seriously, this book is solid. Lots of grief, lots of emotion, lots of love and moving on and acceptance, and so much death. But in a good way?

All I can really say without too many spoilers is that if you liked the two comps I mentioned, you will enjoy this one.

By enjoy, I mean you’ll end the book like someone shoved a hook on a line through your chest and pulled your heart out.

Oops. I’ve said too much.

“Why are you lying on the floor?” Mei asked.

“Why do we do anything that we do?” Wallace said dully. “There’s no point.”

“Oh man,” Mei said. “It’s far too early for your existential angst. At least me wake up before having to deal with such a bummer.”

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Under the Whispering Door releases September 21, 2021, from Tor

I really struggled with this one. It took me weeks to get through, even though it wasn't a difficult read. It was beautiful and thought provoking, but I didn't get into it until maybe 77% in.

This book FELT like the literary equivalent of tea, and there is going to be loads of people who can appreciate the journey this book takes. Wallace was just so repellent to me from first introduction that I just didn't care about his arc at all.

The best analogy I can think of, is that I would strongly recommend this book for people who drink tea. Tea requires patience. You have to let it steep. You sip and wait for flavor notes.
Unfortunately I like coffee- quick and dirty and on the go. This felt at least 50 pages too long.

I LOVED Cerulean Sea, so I still plan on giving The Extraordonaries a try!

⭐️I don’t think I have the proper words to describe how beautiful Under The Whispering Door really is.

🚪 TJ Klune is a word smith, a master at his craft and if you havent ever read one of his novels, this book is a wonderful place to begin.

💙 This book is profound and moving.
Thought provoking and sweet.
Funny and heart breaking

🚪 Hugo was gentle and gracious and patient. Wallace has one of the most beautiful stories of growth I have read in a long time. Mei, Nelson and Apollo had me laughing out loud. The entire cast of this story was so perfect and each character was soulful and important.

💙 This found family novel was soulful and just made me FEEL.
💙 Under The Whispering door is a touching story about second chances, love, accepting what you can and cannot change. It will make you think about life before death and after death and then what might come after.

🚪 Klune wrote a wonderful book. One that makes you FEEL. A story that settles in your heart and stays there like a hook in your chest

It felt like an honor to have read it.

💙 TJ has solidified himself as possibly
My favorite author, ever.
Please go read this charming and beautiful book.

This will be a short review because sometimes you just need to express your feelings and not go into excess details.
I have never read anything by this author before but kept seeing their work mentioned . This isn’t perhaps what I would normally choose to read and escape reality from but boy did it make me feel . An unusual, quirky view of death and grief . Both funny and poignant with characters on their own journey. Yes at times the pace was too slow for me but emotionally it wrecked me so how could I give less than five heart felt star’s ?
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Thanks Tor Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I'm disappointed that the author still hasn't responded to the stirring controversy about his last book The House in The Cerulean Sea, glamourising a cultural genocide. I requested the arc of this book before the matter came into my attention, while I feel like I have the responsibility to fairly review this book as a reviewer of Netgalley, I will not be reading future work by this author (until he properly addresses the accusations/apologizes).

Under The Whispering Door was simple and sweet. Definitely had studio ghibli vibes as marketed. However, I had contradicting thoughts; on one hand I felt like the first ~50% was slow and repetitive, on the other hand I wished Wallace's character, more specifically his transition was more developed. However, idk what the turning point was but I started really enjoying the story after passing the halfway point. It was smart for the author to take a comical tone, because otherwise the only comment I could've given would be superficial. Though it could also be argued that it was me who went into it looking for the wrong things (since I've never read anything by Klune before). I expected a book about death, regrets, what it means to live, etc. would inspire deeper reflections, but it was quite shallow and lacked finer nuances. But oh well, no need to take every book that seriously, it did make me laughed out loooouuud a hand full of times, and the found family aspect warmed my heart. The ending was as predicted, I had hoped for a more bittersweet ending but that's just my personal preference. The core of this book was hope, kindness and love, so the ending was fitting for what the story tried to convey.

I’ve never officially cried at a book til this one. Even my stone cold heart couldn’t take it. This book was so beautiful (I highlighted 32 passages) and I really don’t know if I’ll ever stop thinking about it. It’s about life and death and teaches us that death is scary but it’s also only the beginning. If you really want to muse about life and sob at the same time I highly recommend.

Will I ever recover? Probably not, but it wrecked me in the best possible way. I’ll leave you with my favorite quotes, “it’s never enough, is it? Time. We always think we have so much of it, but when it really counts, we don’t have enough at all.” And “what will you do with the time you have left?”

Thank you to Netgalley, TJ Klune and Tor Books for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another beautiful story about discovering the significant meaning of life. TJ Klune writes a lovely story about transforming a cruel character and somehow finding his humanity through the process of death. This story tackles challenging topics in a whimsical and easy to process way and never accepts one answer to many of life's difficult concepts and questions.

My favorite aspect of this story was seeing how Wallace was able to grow, learn and rediscover his humanity, which was so obviously absent from his life while he was alive. While remaining at the Tea Shop he discovers and realizes what true friendship and love actually are and the ending left me entirely speechless.

TJ Klune weaves together a beautiful story that from any other author I would remain skeptical, but knowing how he can craft a story of complex characters and make you root and understand even the most unlikeable characters makes for a magical journey. The loved the atmosphere and world-building of this story and cannot recommend it highly enough.

Much like the Klune's first, Under the Whispering door was absolutely enjoyable. It was funny, quirky, had loveable characters, and an intriguing plot. While the novel explored the complexity of death, it did so in such a profound, yet light way. ABSOLUTELY recommend:)

Thank you so so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Under The Whispering Door weaves a tale of ghosts, reapers, ferryman, grief, and acceptance. When Wallace Price dies suddenly, he is taken by a reaper to meet with his ferryman, Hugo, in order to move on. How will this journey unfold and will we ever be truly ready to move on?

Usually I give a much bigger summary into a plot, but to do so with this book would do a disservice to the reader. The beginning of this novel feels very much like Wallace was taylored after Ebonezir Scrooge. He is completely heartless and has no compassion. Upon his death, Wallace feels he can strongarm the universe to bring him back to life. It's interesting to see how the stages of grief make their way into the very being of this tale. Mei and Hugo make a great dynamic duo into the afterlife; and Nelson and Apollo make the best spirit teachers. This book is everything. It has wit, humor, harsh realities; it explores death through many avenues and even has some love peppered in. The author is an absolute artist with the world they created and the supporting cast they weave. I love this world, even with all the pain and heartache. This is unlike anything I have read before and will probably ever find again. I have zero complaints, and for a good reason. The writing is second to none, there are no questions unanswered, and everything fits together in one cohesive storyline.

Five bright and beaming stars for what is by far my favorite read of the year. I recommend this for anyone 14+ as the subject matter is heavy and can influence mood. Don't let this one pass you by, you'll be talking about it for years to come. I know I will.

** Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for giving me an EArc in exchange for an honest review**

I was very excited to pick up Klune's newest release, unfortunately it wasn't a new favorite but I still enjoyed my reading experience.

I really enjoy Klune's writing and the whimsical nature of it. This book has a similar feeling to The House in the Cerulean Sea but a little less lighthearted and soulful. I enjoyed the themes that were explored throughout being death and grief. I thought those topics were handled really well. I liked our characters of Mei, Hugo, Nelson and especially Apollo.

Where my enjoyment goes down is the overall story and our MC Wallace. I found it very very hard to root for Wallace, before he dies (not a spoiler) he is a terrible, awful person. I realize that this is a Mr. Scrooge like story where he has a change of character and heart but it was really hard to get behind that change or fell he deserved it. For that reason the second chance romance that is explored became unconvincing and I didn't feel much for it. There is also a use of a trope that I really do not like. It makes sense for the story and I understand it but that also dropped my enjoyment.

Unfortunately I didn't love this book. There were somethings that I liked but also some things I didn't care for. I'd still recommend this for a lighthearted read, a fan of TJ Klune, an exploration of death and grief and anyone else who wants to read a Mr. Scrooge like story.

Wow, I almost have no words, this was so good. TJ's writing is like a salve. Its like being wrapped up in the warmest, tightest hug you could ever imagine and you never want to let go. I could not put this book down, but at the same time wanted to savor every word. This story was such a beautiful look and imagining of the afterlife and life before death as well. So many big questions and important answers. The main characters Wallace, Hugo, Mei, Nelson and Apollo were all perfectly imperfect and quirky and felt like good friends by the end. This book completely undid me, I loved it so much. Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for the ARC.

Under the Whispering Door follows the story of Wallace Price, an attorney who finds himself dead one day, and is taken to a way station to figure things before he crosses over for good. Wallace has had quite the life, or lack of it.

I have a complicated relationship with this book.

On one hand, I really loved the main characters. If there's one thing the author does so well, as seen in his previous works, he creates unforgettable characters that readers find themselves getting attached to, and unable to let go of after finishing the books. The characters were the absolute highlight of this book, and they are reason enough to pick this up. These are characters everyone needs to know. I read this slowly, just to be spend more time with them.

On the other hand, I unfortunately found myself distracted from the story by the writing. At times, some of it felt forced, and it took away a bit of the experience.

However, my little misgivings did not stop me from crying at important scenes, so the book still wins here.

This is not Cerulean. It is a completely different work, and should be treated as such.

I give this 4 stars.

Thank you for the egalley, Netgalley, and Macmillan-Tor/Forge!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.


I cried the entire book. Everything was so cleverly thought out, and Wallace was someone you lived to hate. If I had one critique I would say I wanted more about the Manager—he is quite the interesting character, and I would love more—but I can see why his scenes were limited. The focus was on Wallace’s journey in death, and the husks (LOVED THAT PLOT TWIST SO MUCH) were just a side story.

100% recommend. My face is so puffy from crying. The ending was literal perfection.

I absolutely loved this book and all the tears and laughter that came with it. As TJ Klune does best, there is great lgbtq+ representation, character diversity and a very tough and unknown topic that is explored beautifully. It started a little slow for me, however I was so invested that I could not wait to pick it up again and find out what was going to happen.

As someone who has dealt with losing significant loved ones this year, this story really brought more hope and thought to their journey as they passed from this life to the next. It was wholesome and I literally cried more through this book than I ever have before. I don't want to say much more as I want everyone to walk into this story with as much unknown as I did to really get it all.

I would highly recommend this book to any and everyone. Please be sure to read the trigger warnings and understand that this book is heavy and light at the same time. Grief, death, suicide and animal loss are just some key triggers but please look for any others if you need.

*Thanks to Netgalley for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review*

THERE WILL BE QUOTES; POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD- READ WITH CARE.

I have a hard time finding the words to describe this book, it pulls you in with such a force, and I had a hard time letting go.
Wallace started as an unlikeable character for me. The very first glimpse we get of him is him just being straight-up cruel to some woman that didn't deserve an ounce of it. But that's the point, we dislike him, he annoys us, and he had his dose of karma when he died. THEN, ALMOST THE FIRST THING HE DOES AFTER HE DIES IS TRYING TO LODGE A COMPLAINT???? AGAINST DEATH???

"I'm told I died from a heart attack. I'd like to lodge a formal complaint, seeing as how-" "...I would really rather not be dead if at all possible, I have far too much work to do, and this has been an awful inconvenience..."

When Wallace looked back on his life and achievements, it had a strange effect on me. He woke up, went to work, did his job, came back home, and went to sleep; with nothing more to show for his life other than some nameplate on a fancy firm and an ex-wife, was it all worth it? Sacrificing your life for a job and having nothing to show from it. Well, Wallace had that ridiculously expensive coffin. So I guess that's something.

Enough about Wallace. I've always believed that blood doesn't make family, but the family at the tea shop surprised me.
Mei is strong-headed, fiercely protective over the people she cares about, and gives the best hugs. "I'm going to hug the crap out of you." "From the moment you're born, you're dying." Man, that hit me hard.

Nelson is funnily enough what I would expect from a granddad ghost. He's wise, always there for his grandson, and never far from pranks and laughs. "He's taking to being dead pretty well." "I can handle him if need be. I may look old, but I can kick ass and take names with the best of them."

Don't get me started on Hugo... I want to cry just thinking about him in the last couple of pages. He's so sweet, and for what? All people do is fight with him for just doing his job, which he did not get any say in. He gives people his whole soul in exchange for nothing, not even a mere thank you. "We can be friends now, there's nothing stopping us" " I need you to hug Wallace for me"

And for what it's worth, that goddamn dog broke me. That's what did it, the final straw before the watergates opened up wide.

This book talks about death and life after death in a way that I've never seen before. It's not tied to a religion or a certain belief that promises you heaven or hell or whatever it is. This book reminds me a lot of the show "The Good Place," but without the evil demons and all that.
After a bit of a battle with myself, I decided to go with four stars instead of five. The book does drag a little on (much like season 2 of The Good Place), but the book manages well with humor, newfound dilemmas, heartfelt characters, and, well, the curiosity to see what will happen to Wallace. Also, the main relationship in this story seems a bit underdeveloped. They went from disliking each other to being somewhat friendly, and then suddenly they're in love without anything really happening. I know that Wallace is a ghost and all that but I feel like there needed to be something a liiiiittle more before they were all lovey-dovey in love with each other. Wallace improved a lot at the tea shop. He did a complete 180° in regards to his personality, character, and overall how he connected with other people. I grew fond of him, and although I already liked him straight after his death, he definitely grew himself a little hole in my heart. "Hell yeah! I'm the best ghost ever!"

That being said, I loved it, already pre-ordered a physical copy, will reread and annotate it, and can't freaking wait to force my friends to listen to me rant about it.

I tried and tried to get into this book, but I just couldn't. I did not like Wallace, and the beginning of the books is very slow. I think it took me three weeks to read 10-15% on my Kindle before I gave up.

I really enjoyed T.J. Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea, so I may come back and try to read this one again. For now, though, I'm giving up.

I just adore TJ Klune's eclectic and soulful characters. Lucy from The House in the Cerulean Sea is still one of my favorite literary characters of all time. Under the Whispering Door is definitely the darker of the two novels but still has plenty of whimsical notes as well. Packed with originality and vibrant descriptions. I see Nora Lum rocking the character of Mei if this ever becomes a movie.

Thank you to Macmillan/Tor Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel. My review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

Under the Whispering Door was not at all what I expected it to be. From the synopsis given I thought this would be a book filled with hijinks and shenanigans while Wallace tried to live the life he never did before his death. Instead the book starts off with him firing an employee because she made one mistake while suffering some problems in her own life. It was then I realized Wallace was kind of a dick and I wasn’t sure how any of this was going to go.

I shouldn’t have worried because this book was wonderful and I am so glad I stuck with it to the end. While it was different from what I had envisioned, it was exactly what I needed it to be at the same time. There were some hijinks and shenanigans, but the heart of this book is grief and how we all deal with it differently. Wallace has to take the time to accept who he was in life now that his life is over.

While I really disliked the type of man Wallace was at the beginning of the book, it was wonderful to watch him find who he truly could have been with the help of Nelson, Mei, Apollo the ghost-dog and especially Hugo. This story left me feeling so many different emotions. I cried more than once and would gladly do so again rereading this wonderful story.

I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I know this book is going to get a lot of hype and it will be 100% well deserved.
The story opens with Wallace, who is simply not a good person and we really get to see that in those few pages before he dies. That's not a spoiler at all since that's when the main plot starts happening. The main character learns a lot about life, death, grief, human connections and being a good person. I really don't feel like I should say anything else because I want everyone to just experience this story!
This book feels like a warm hug and a cup of tea. It's extremely funny while also being extremely sad. It made me emotional in a lot of ways. I absolutely loved it, I will definitely be re-reading it and it is one of my favorites now. Pick this up if you're grieving the loss of a loved one or if you are not happy with the point you're at in life. Or just pick it up because it's absolutely amazing!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book early!