I'm just pasting this review from GoodReads so I hope HTML carries over to NetGalley. If not...my bad.

<b> This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, as follows.</b>

I want to preface this review by saying that I will undoubtedly make comparisons to <i>The House in the Cerulean Sea</i> due to the fact that I finished that book just last month. It was as I was reading that when I came across Klune's next novel and knew immediately that it was going to be the kind of niche concept I loved, so take heed: SPOILERS AHEAD.
<blockquote><i>"Exactly. Underneath the bitterness, it has an herbal note with an aftertaste that's like lingering honey. You have to get through the bitter to find it, though."
Wallace sighed. "One of those things where you say one thing but mean something else."
Hugo smiled. "Or it's just tea. Doesn't need to mean something when it's already so complex."</i></blockquote>
<b>THE SUMMARY:</b>

Wallace Price is dead. This part, at least, is not a spoiler. Our protagonist finds himself joining the afterlife -- or, more accurately, what comes <i>between</i> being alive and dead -- in the very first chapter of the novel. It isn't until Wallace has left the world of the living that he begins to examine his own life and the choices he's made, and the person he's become. With the help of Mei, his personal Grim Reaper, Nelson and Apollo, his fellow ghosts, and Hugo, the ferryman tasked with helping him cross over when he's good and ready, Wallace will discover in death what truly matters.

<spoiler>

<b>THE REVIEW:</b>

BUT if that was a bit convoluted, it goes something like this: Wallace dies, shows up at his own sparsely attended funeral to learn that everybody in his life considered him a huge asshole, and then he's brought to a little tea shop to be told the ins and outs of his new existence as a ghost. He's given a choice: cross over immediately, or stick around until he feels ready. Of course, Wallace chooses option 3: running for his "life."

I was expecting to like <i>Under the Whispering Door</i> from the get-go because the concept of the book had already hooked me, but I wasn't anticipating how emotional it would make me. Wallace's journey and self-reflection had my throat closing up at times, and had me legitimately shedding tears during others. Thankfully, Klune injects enough humor into the novel to keep the heavier topics from settling too deeply to enjoy the read. There's a lovable set of side characters, and even the penultimate "antagonist" of the novel, Cameron, still has human grievances beneath the horror we see when we first meet him. Our primary antagonist, who I consider to be the Manager, is the only character we don't truly connect with, and it's because of his lack of humanity, what with being a primordial and cosmic being controlling that can manipulate death itself. <i>Under the Whispering Door</i> cuts to the bone of what it means to be human--to be able to look back on your life and say "I lived, I was here, I did that." I won't lie: it's a challenging read. There were a few points where I put down the novel when my brain whispered things like <i>but IS there sentience after death or is it just a huge abyss</i>? or <i>does the dog even know he's dead</i>? as I was reading. I also can't proclaim to love the ending. I'm as tired of the 'bury your gays' trope as the next queer gal, but I did feel that Wallace actually reaching the other side of the door would have been a beautifully tender ending, with the epilogue perhaps being Hugo and he reuniting on the other side after many years had passed. I fully cried when Cameron and Nelson each went through, so I'm sure that scene would have been incredibly emotional. Alas, that was not the ending we got, and I'll leave it at that.

If you enjoyed Klune's last novel, I think it's safe to say you'll like this one too so long as the heavier subject matter doesn't push you away (topics including suicide, mental health, manipulating the grieving, and some generally creepy behavior on behalf of a health inspector that's swiftly brought to an end). Personally, I think this has been Klune's best work so far (though I did get a huge kick out of his novella/short story <i>Blasphemy!</i>).

</spoiler>

Star Rating: ★★★★★ (i.e. "I want to tell everyone to read this book but am unfortunately too poor to buy it myself")

Klune has a truly talented way of writing LGBTQIA+ characters in a relatable and down-to-earth way. His characters never fail to leave you wishing that you could pull them from the page, and his stories are fresh and unique. Under the Whispering Door is filled with heart-wrenching AND heart-warming moments that make this book yet another masterpiece from Klune. I'm looking forward to recommending this book to my high schoolers.

As charming and heartwarming as The House in the Cerulean Sea! I loved every single character. Every line shone!

TJ Klune does it again!!!! I absolutely loved this one. TJ Klune will be an auto-buy author for me! Love his stories.

TJ Klune has joined my short-list of must read authors. In Under the Whispering Door, successful attorney Wallace Price finds himself at his own funeral. He is collected by a "Reaper," a young woman who will take him to a "ferryman" who will help him to cross over. But Wallace doesn't cross over immediately. Instead, he finds himself at a tea shop, run by the "ferryman," Hugo, with the Reaper as baker and the ghosts of Hugo's grandfather and dog also inhabiting the place. We join Wallace as he works through various stages of grief, and finds himself falling in love with Hugo. Wallace becomes a better person in death than he was in life.

I have to admit that I cried...a lot...while reading this novel. I have heard that sometimes the book you need finds you when you need it. I was working through a loss as I was reading Under the Whispering Door. TJ Klune has a remarkable ability to reach people's hearts. Thank you NetGalley and Tor Books for allowing me to read the eARC.

*grabs tissues*
I’m about twenty minutes out from finishing it and I’ve spent the last two hours nonstop crying.

Apart from one other writer, Klune has made me cry with every single book I’ve read. He has such a fluid and easy way with his writing and it’s never difficult to understand the meanings behind his books.

The book is about life, grief, death, love, acceptance and every other thing between. I genuinely wasn’t expecting such a hard hitting story, yet I feel like my hearts been pulled out of my chest and stamped on.

Every character you meet through out the book is so unique and so vastly different, even the characters that are unlikable...are still likeable, which I think is one of Klune’s best weapons when it comes to writing.

I don’t want to give much away when it comes to the story, but be prepared to spend hours looking at different types of teas, how much it costs to run a business and looking around your rooms, just waiting to hear faints shouts from someone on the other side.

A week ago, this book would not have had as profound an effect on me as it did. On Wednesday, I lost a dear friend and on Thursday, I started Under the Whispering Door.

Klune is both considerate and considering of death and the effect it has on those across the experience in this book. I was worried about the premise of the story going in, having so recently lost a friend. But I had read the House in the Cerulean Sea earlier this year and had faith that TJ Klune would write a book that would both comfort me and put many things into perspective. I was right.

It really resonated with me in deep and personal way and I can’t wait for more of my friends to read it because you know I am going to be telling every friend I have who has ever read a book that they should read it.

I write this through teary eyes. This book was magic that I didn't know I needed in my life. I felt very comfortable and safe in the space of Charon's Crossing. I laughed and cried and hiccuped because that's what happens when you laugh AND cry at the same time.

Beautiful. Healing. Comforting.

I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley.

The skin around my eyes remains stiff from tears because this book made me SOB, but in the best of ways. This is a beautiful, extraordinary book that will crush your heart and put it back together, too.

Wallace is a jerk. He's like Scrooge brought into the modern-day--a high-powered lawyer who is callused, cold, and not the slightest bit loved. When he keels over dead, he attends his own funeral and rages, unseen, at the way his ex-wife and law firm partners disrespect him. A reaper arrives--a young woman, Mei, who can see and hear him, and takes him to a strange tea house in the middle of nowhere. It's a waypoint for the recently dead to come to grips with their new state of being before they move on through a door set in the fourth-floor ceiling. The purveyor is Hugo, a man with a knack to choose the right tea for anyone--and also, a ferryman, a person with a genuine, empathetic heart. He helps the recently-dead move on.

But Wallace doesn't want to move on. He stays. He rages, he grieves, and slowly, he starts to change. And fall in love.

I fell in love, too, with every character. The deep feels of this book remind me of Becky Chambers's novels--stories that truly capture the complexity and the goodness of people and somehow manage to reaffirm your belief in humanity. I like that this took the Scrooge trope and made it more realistic--there's no overnight change. It's gradual, it's painful, it's full of regret. Ultimately, it's a queer love story, too, and again, one that feels realistic (because honestly, anyone and everyone can and will fall in love with Hugo).

This will be one of the best books I've read this year, and probably an all-time favorite.

Like a lot of other people last year, I fell in love with T.J. Klune's <i>The House in the Cerulean Sea </i>. I was so excited to then get the ARC of his newest book <i>Under the Whispering Door</i>, and it did not let me down. Wallace Price is a middle-aged man who is successful at his job of being a partner in a top law firm that he help start. However, he's a truly miserable person. He demands perfection from everyone, making him the terror of the law firm. When he has a fatal heart attack in the office on the weekend, his journey into the afterlife begins with a no-nonsense reaper as his guide. However, no one tells Wallace Price what to do. He insists on staying at the way station/tea shop run by the reaper and a man named Hugo, who just happens to be the ferryman charged with escorting the dead to the next world until he can figure out how to get his life back.

If you want something cozy and delightful to read, this is the book. The characters are charming. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book.

Alternating between heartbreaking and heartwarming (with an emphasis on the latter), this story explores death and life and the places in between in an utterly original manner. I fell in love with the characters, their personalities and histories, but the world of the tea shop/ way station is also beautifully built.

This is a highly recommended read and a story I know I'll revisit many more times in the future.

Who is whispering beyond the door at Hugo's tea shop? Wallace wants to know; too bad he had to die to find out.

Wallace was not a nice person when he was alive, and death doesn't seem to have improved him at all. It's early days though, and Hugo, a ferryman for the dead, has lots of patience and tea. Wallace's afterlife may be the making not only of him, but of others who have been locked into grief and death for far too long.

This book is so lyrical and magical that it's hard to describe. It's poignant without being maudlin. You physically ache for the characters. I picture Klune like a jeweler, setting each stone in place with care. While the story centers on the interaction between Wallace and ferryman Hugo, the other characters are full in their own right, and the world the inhabit is as familiar as our own town.

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune carries trigger warnings for death, including suicide and murder. Those elements are present, and I cried more than once reading this novel. It's a beautiful story, though, and as comforting, in places, as the tea Hugo serves.

Cannot recommend enough. Five out of five stars.

I received an advance copy from Macmillan-Tor/Forge in exchange for my honest review.

If you have read The House in The Cerulean Sea, then you know how TJ Klune will rip your heart out. I sobbed at this and I loved the entirety of it. Once again he brings found family into his story and it is just so naturally done. I will read anything from this author and I implore others to do so as well.

"Wasn't that the point? Wasn't that the great answer to the mystery of life? To make the most of what you have while you have it, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly."

What a beautiful, heart wrenching, lovely story about redemption and acceptance.

TJ Klune is one of the best at developing deeply unique characters that draw you into their stories and make you love them.

Under the Whispering Door is a unique story about redemption, grief, love, loss, belonging, and acceptance... For the living and the dead. There were moments when I laughed out loud, cried, and was deep in thought about what it truly means to be alive. While conquering heavy topics, this book handles them with a lightness that doesn't take away from its impact.

I couldn't ask for more from a book. Wow.

Rainbows and Sunshine Book Blog
22 May, 2021

Wow! Honestly just WOW!! There are some books that would make you feel a myriad of emotions in just a few hours and this is one of those.

I've read the synopsis and I went into it knowing that I'll cry but I was so not prepared!! I mean it is a about a ghost falling for ferryman! I sobbed like a child and then laughed like a clown. It made me happy and sad and happy all over again and I will gladly go through it all again in a heartbeat.

Oh Wallace! I severely disliked him in the beginning but then he grows throughout the novel and makes you LOVE him! His life was uncomfortably relatable to me, something I didn't want to think about. Not about how much of an arsehole he is but more about the loneliness. What if that was my future?

In death, Wallace had never felt more alive.

But this book is mostly about hope. About another chance. To live. To grow. To love and be loved. It was so beautiful and I'm not sure I'm expressing my feelings concisely. It just made me feel too much and I'm overwhelmed. The connection and chemistry between Hugo and Wallace is wonderful. I also loved the secondary characters, Nelson and Mei will steal your heart. And Apollo of course!

The writing is amazing and I loved the humour, the character and every single thing about this book, from the gorgeous cover to the perfect epilogue. Trust me, YOU NEED THIS BOOK!

*ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

Fans of Klune's "The House in the Cerulean Sea" will not be disappointed. Klune gently explores death, loss, grief, and what it means to lead a good life. Wallace Price was a successful, though unlovable, lawyer who suddenly finds himself attending his own funeral after a sudden heart attack. He is led to a quirky and cozy tea shop tucked away in the woods to prepare for his journey to the afterlife. Hugo, the shop owner and ferryman, must help Wallace come to terms with his life and death, and prepare him for his cross over to the afterlife. TJ Klune will break your heart and then slowly put it back together with this book. Charming, funny, romantic -- "Under the Whispering Door" is a must-read.

This was a different style book that I usually read. I have to be honest, it was not my favorite book. I struggled getting into the story, even though the characters were well defined. The theme of death and the afterlife were heavy topics to read about.
However, toward the end, you find yourself cheering for Wallace and the changes that his character made and for him and Hugo to have a happy ending.

3/5

I feel so very conflicted about this book 😭

My non-spoilery review is this: I think this book had a lot of potential. Some of the elements (found family trope in particular) were really strong, and I definitely cried like a baby at the end. But the pacing was so off for me. I was really struggling through the first half, and even though I thought the ending was strong, I just didn't love the book in its entirety.

I would still probably recommend this book, but definitely go in being aware that it is very slow. And also be prepared to love the characters, especially a certain very good boy named Apollo 🥺

Trigger warnings: death, grief, murder, suicide, panic attacks, anxiety, depression

**Massive spoilers ahead, please don't read unless you're okay with being spoiled!**

Spoilery review:

I'll start with the things I didn't love. The plot doesn't really start until the 50% mark. Pretty much nothing happens during the first half. It took me several days to get through it, but once I hit 50%-ish, I read it all in one sitting.

Also, I think the summary on Goodreads really needs to be changed. The Manager doesn't come to tell Wallace he only has 7 days left until around the 70% mark. The blurb gives the impression that the whole "life lived in 7 days" thing was going to be the main plot of the story, but actually nothing happens for the first half of the book, and then that particular subplot doesn't start until later. It just really threw me off.

Also, even though the end made me cry, I also feel like it was all just so convenient? Like how did it all fall into place so perfectly? Suddenly the Manager goes from being a big, spooky, uncaring god to being like "actually, I'ma resurrect Wallace just bc i feel like it ❤️" like HUHHH???

Things i liked:
The found family trope is hit or miss for me, but this HIT. Nelson, Mei, and Apollo were so cute and so special. I especially loved Mei. I would read a book about just her tbh.

I thought this book could also be really funny and profound. It had really intense, heavy moments, like Cameron's suicide or Alan's death, but it was also funny sometimes like Wallace accidentally wearing a bikini lol. I think it was good to have a mix of these moments because the topics this book deals with can be really hard to read about, so it's good to have some moments of levity and light.

Overall, it was just okay. And that hurts me to say because I loveeeed The House in the Cerulean Sea, and i was so highly anticipating this book. But I'm still glad I pushed through and read it because it was a worthwhile read in the end. It also made me want to hug my dog a little tighter today 🥺

Much like House in the Cerulean Sea, this book was gentle and soft, filled with moments that felt like warm hugs and moments that felt like a slap in the face with the truth behind them. But unlike House, this book had so many heartbreaking moments—moments where I found myself with tears streaming down my face.

This is a story of death and life and fear and acceptance and selfishness and selflessness and family and love. A beautiful story, wrapped up in happiness and heartbreak. Highly recommend picking it up when it releases in September.

I love TJ Klune. All of his titles have made me smile at the end and given me happy feelings. After losing my dad recently, it was slightly triggering to read this book. I wanted to love it, but maybe it was my mindset that couldn’t get me through it. I didn’t care for the main character who had died. It was painful to read his lines. I will revisit again sometime soon to give it another chance.