This book. This book just broke me and then healed me all in one. Where The House in the Cerulean Sea was mostly fun with wholesome found family, Under the Whispering Door is about grief and death and letting go and growth as a person and it was just utterly beautiful but also hit incredibly hard.

This is such a gentle, soft, at times heartbreaking, story about death. I loved it. I love Wallace and Hugo and Mei and Nelson and Apollo. I just...😭😭😭😭

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3640549413

4.5 Stars

Recommended Read!

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

I knew. I KNEW this book would wreck me and yet it did as if I hadn’t known. The book opens up with Wallace Price and I immediately thought, who let Sheldon Cooper loose into the world? Where is his Leonard? (Big Bang Theory reference here.) I’m going to be honest at first I thought I wasn’t going to like this book and Wallace felt like a generic version of a cold, heartless lawyer. As soon as we were introduced to Mei, a reaper who ushers the dead to Hugo the ferryman and his teashop, I started to fall for Wallace.

Wallace Price is a lawyer and cold business owner. He fires his loyal, hardworking employee for barely missing a deadline right after she confides in him about her difficult life situation. At his funeral almost no one attends and the ones that do aren’t exactly sad about his death. He wrestles with his sudden death and is addled with questions for Mei, the reaper, and Hugo the Ferryman. Hugo and his teashop offer Wallace solace to come to peace with his death before he crosses over. The question is what will Wallace do with his time he is given at the teashop, and with Hugo, and what will he learn about life and death?

This book is a masterpiece of sadness and joy of seriousness and silliness of life and death. Hugo was such a warm, patient, deep character–the counter to Wallace who is uptight, and suspicious. The journey Wallace goes through throughout this book is inspiring, hilarious, and sweet. Grab a cup of tea and cozy up with this one.

This was amazing! TJ Klune is now an auto author for me. The writing and depth to this book is profound. Wallace Price has a heart attack and dies. He ends up in a tea house with Mei and Hugo, in the in between. He hasn't passed to heaven or hell yet, and becomes a better person dead then he ever was alive through the lessons and interactions he has here. Brilliant! A heart warmer! A book you want to hug!!!

Tj Klune is truly magical! This book felt familiar, and heavy in the same breath. The nods to his other works were tasteful, and always brought a smile to my face. This book makes you laugh, cry, and most importantly question exactly what you are doing with your life. The first quarter-half of the book does seem to drag a bit. TJ Klune picks that up, and delivers in the latter half. Please do not think this book is The House in the Cerulean Sea, or even his Green River series. It is not. The TW/CW needs to be taken seriously. However, the feel good found family trope, and then that magical writing that Klune has across the board is all encompassing.
Bravo Mr. Klune! A SOLID 4.5/5 Stars!
Thank you for allowing me to pre-read such a wonderful book!

This book was so soft and sad and beautiful. If there was such a thing as a cozy fantasy subgenre, this would be first on the list.

I read and enjoyed “The House in the Cerulean Sea” and have been looking forward to [author: T.J. Klune] next story.
TJ Klune tells as at the very beginning in his ‘Author’s Note’ that this story explores
life and love as well as loss and grief.
Story starts with the relationship between Wallace Phineas Price and his employees. Typically they cower at the sound of his voice. When he says jump ~ they might answer How High? No one would describe him as having a warm and fuzzy personality. He believes he does not micromanage but the employees know they need to work as if their lives depended on it. He has an altercation with his paralegal and ends up firing. He decides he will not get into this situation with his new assistant.
But never gets the change, two days later Mr. Price dies.

He finds himself at his funeral and is soon taken by the grim reaper but not to an afterlife but to a tea shop whose owner Hugo is also the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.
This is just the beginning of a series of interesting events!

There is no doubt that TJ is a great writer ~ this is good but not at all like “The House in the Cerulean Sea’. I wasn’t sure it this was going to work for me but ~ Awww!!! It did! ⭐⭐⭐⭐Stars

Want to thank NetGalley and MacMillan~ Tor/Forge for this early uncorrected eGalley granted to me for my honest professional opinion.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 21, 2021

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, instead of a typical review, I'm going to make a list of non-spoilery things I loved about this book. Not everything, though, because we'd be here all day.

- emotionally unavailable bi MC/cinnamon roll with anxiety gay love interest
- found family <33333
- this book has the T.J. Klune humor that if you've read his other books you'll adore
- one of the pages had the tiniest references to some of his other books. the noise i made at that.
- profound discussions about life, death, and what it all means or might mean or doesn't mean
- a ghost dog
- tea
- cottagecore vibes tbh
- this book devastated me but, like, in a way i loved?

So, basically, please read this. It's so good.

I don't know how T.J. Klune manages to break my heart repeatedly and yet also makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside too...

He somehow blends such serious and thoughtful topics like death and grief with humour and coziness, so that the end result is something truly special. His characters are always fantastic and 'Under the Whispering Door' introduces us to a new set of messy, complicated humans(mostly) that will definetely leave you feeling a mixture of heartbroken and warm and fuzzy too.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review; many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for the opportunity.

This review will contain spoilers.

After one of the most iconic and villainous introductions to a main character that I've read in a good long while, the story flipped my expectations and took me on a journey that involved both laughter, tears, and staying up far past my bedtime.

There were so many things to love about this book. The characters were so all very flawed but vibrantly human (even when they were not); the relationships and found family aspect were very well done. I loved the world building and the entire book felt very cinematic. After the description of the tea shop I could not help but visualize the entire book as one Ghibli-esque romp through the afterlife.

This is one of those books that is just so beautifully written and includes such lovely characters, that I'll be thinking about for a long time.

I really liked this book; though it was definitely darker in tone and content than The House in the Cerulean Sea it was so thoughtfully approached and heartfelt that I'm glad I went a bit out of my comfort zone to read it. The book is a little bit of a spooky love story - so perfect for reading snuggled up under the covers during chilly weather with a cup of something warm and comforting.

I appreciated the provided content warning for discussions of violence and suicide, etc. I really liked how problems were solved with kindness and actually having conversations (instead of pointless drama). Some parts felt trope-y but were nicely balanced out by the nicely handled descriptions of existential crisis and grief management that were the main focus of the book.

I would definitely recommend this very charming book for fans of this author's other works. and those who want a heartwarming story about grief, and second (or more) chances.

I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of Under the Whispering Door after reading and loving House in the Cerulean Sea last summer. It is important to note that these two books are different. House in the Cerulean Sea is soft and welcoming from the start, its protagonist Linus Baker a good man from the get go, the reader waiting for him to share his goodness with those on the island. Wallace Price is a completely different person from Linus Baker. A cutthroat, successful attorney, Wallace is used to things going his way so when he suddenly dies of a heart attack Wallace’s life, or afterlife, is completely overthrown. Wallace is taken to the way station between the land of the living and the land of the dead, a teashop called Charon’s Crossing, where Wallace learns the true value of life and how love can change someone for the better.
This book was an experience and may be upsetting for some readers who have recently lost someone. I appreciated the trigger warning for suicide at the beginning of the book.

Omg this was amazing ! I’m in love with this author since the house in the cerulean sea! I was so excited to get a copy of this new story and it was a wonderful story
Like different, refreshing and it’s rare that a book makes me cry and well I might’ve cry .. maybe :)
Thanks netgalley !

If you have been waiting for another warm hug of a book since reading "Cerulean Sea" pick up this new one. A lovely story that turns grief into hope

I was drawn to this book immediately not only because TJ Klune wrote one of my favourite books of 2020, but because he described this novel as “a comedy about grief,” and I don’t think he could’ve been more accurate in his description.

Wallace was an objectively bad person in life, a man who is divorced, has no friends, and values his law career above all else. It comes as a shock to him, however, when he dies of a sudden heart attack and almost no one shows at his funeral. He does however meet Mei there, who he soon finds out is a Reaper and is the only one who can see him. Mei’s job is to guide Wallace to The Ferryman, Hugo, who is supposed to help him onto his next phase of existence.

Wallace is reluctant to listen to Hugo or Mei, and originally spends much time bargaining for his life and having one failed escape attempt with almost worse than fatal consequences. Charon’s Crossing, the tea house and odd home that Hugo and Mei share with the ghost of Hugo’s grandfather, Nelson, and Hugo’s ghost therapy dog, Apollo, is described as a way station, a place to go immediately after death to prepare to pass onto the next stage, of which not even Hugo knows anything substantial about. This all infuriates Wallace at first, wanting answers and refusing to take any kindness thrown his way.

Despite his reluctance, Wallace rather quickly becomes a whole new person when embraced by these new people who truly want to know him, even in death. He comes to think of them as his friends, and even a family of sorts, all while he’s falling for Hugo, the Ferryman he can’t even touch due to the whole, dead thing. Before long, Wallace has a whole list of new reasons to not want to pass on, and more authentic relationships than he ever had in life.

This book was funny, insightful and full of charm, with Klune managing to pull off an overall positive tone in a book that spends the majority of the time discussing death. A more than worthwhile read.

I didn't know what to expect going into this novel and Iit genuinely blew me away. I've never read T.J Klune before, but I heard wonderful things for House in the Cerulean Sea and I was ecstatic when I received a copy of Under the Whispering Door.
Walter starts out as someone you don't like. You're not supposed to like him. But as time went on, I grew to love him and the best part is I can't pinpoint an exact moment. Suddenly, I was rooting for him.
As someone who has dealt with the death of a close love one, I was skeptical going into this. But Under the Whispering Door handle the heavy topic with grace. Philosophies and dark concepts were kept light hearted by loving, witty and overall bright characters. It's hard to be sad about death and grief in such a whimsical atmosphere. Still, it brought me to tears towards the end.
TJ Klune summed this book up well in a tweet last year. "The book is about being kind to yourself, and learning to cope and have faith when all seems lost."
Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing me with an E-Book of Under The Whispering Door for an honest review.

<i>A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!</i>

The House in the Cerulean Sea is the book you want, but Under the Whispering Door is the book you need.

What a book.

I'm not gonna lie. It wasn't what I expected. To be fair, I also didn't really know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it. I think I thought it'd be more cutesy, like Cerulean Sea, and less absolutely fucking heartbreaking. Rereading the synopsis just now also made me realize it doesn't do the book justice in my opinion, so just read it. You won't regret it.

Trigger warnings: Death. Obviously. But, to be a bit more specific: <spoiler>death by suicide, murder (stabbing), though none of it graphic. Death of a pet, crossing of characters.</spoiler>

I don't even know how to talk about this book coherently. How to properly explain how much I loved this book, and perhaps more importantly, why. As I mentioned in my initial response, I read 60% of it in one go because I couldn't stop, and finished it at 2am. I absolutely sobbed my eyes out over one specific quote that I'm sure wasn't meant to have that kind of effect (I literally had to put my tablet aside), and I cried several times throughout the book in general.

I don't do that.

But here I was. Because I <i>cared</i> so much about these characters. Even Wallace, which I had not expected starting out, haha! Whether they were main characters, or side characters, I cared about them all. Even the Manager confused my emotions, haha!

My absolute favorite character was Nelson. He was the reason for most of the times I laughed out loud, because, as we're used to from Klune, this book is <i>funny</i>. It's just that this time, it's also heartbreaking.

But it heals you just as much.

This is an afterlife I could believe in, even if only by sheer force of will. And I would love to visit Charon's Crossing Tea and Treats, even if I don't like tea. I'm sure Hugo would find me something.

Maybe one day I'll gain the ability to write proper reviews about Klune's books, but today is not that day. You'll have to take my word for it: I loved it, it was beautiful, it was painful, it was everything I needed, I felt light after finishing it, I can't wait for the audio!

P.S. The Cerulean Sea reference was PERFECT and I LOVED it!

I don't even know if I can do this book justice. I am a huge fan of House in the Cerulean Sea and so when I was saw Under the Whispering Door, I couldn't contain my excitement. The story, while separate from House in the Cerulean Sea, feels similar in a way-- and by that I mean, I still felt like... very happy and warm while reading it. Which is even weirder for this book because..it's about death. The mix of humor and serious topics was perfect throughout the entire story. I loved every character (Apollo & Mei especially!) and while I was enjoying myself, I also felt really introspective. It makes you think about the life you're living and what you would do differently and helps sort of reframe the "unknown" that surrounds what happens when you die.

I can't wait to read it again when it comes out. I have nothing but amazing, positive things to say about it.

ARC/NetGalley

TJ Klune's new book doesn’t come out until September but I’m not one to wait on reviewing an ARC. Wallace Price is dead, but not ready to accept that. He’s brought to a ferryman who helps ghosts cross over to what’s next. A task that’s made more complicated when they start to fall for each other.

Under the Whispering Door is darker and sadder than The House in the Cerulean Sea, but it shares its predecessor’s quirky humor and theme of found family. If you liked The Graveyard Book you’ll connect to this more adult story.

This is definitely one of the most notable books ive read recently. Under the whispering door is a beautiful, wholesome, heartfelt novel dealing with grief, death and acceptance of a sort.

I think the aspect I enjoyed the most was the comedy. It was funny without intending to be funny, but seeing a dead man not understanding shit of whats going on, like us readers, was pretty damn hilarious.

The other thing is the world building. Its very unique and different compared to the other books ive read and i was constantly in awe and wonder of the details and tidbits of world building information we got. The author too had sprinkled all this throughout the book which made it a worth more an experience to read because it added more tension, speculation and suspense. And the tea shop? Pure masterpiece because it was such a calm and refreshing setting to read in, just damn the vibes of this book is immaculate.

Undoubtedly the characters were what held a huge grip on me. Hugo is a mfing dilf. And his voice is so distinct. The intellectual input through the characters and especially through Hugo, as his role as the ferryman really had such a grip on me because idk HIS MIND??? Its just so fckn sexy??? I can’t even describe it, the walks, the talks, the BANTER, it was so fun and actually enjoyable to read about. Im a reader who’s really critical of banter but idk Hugo has me at death door on how much i enjoyed reading his interactions! And finally, Wallace. Im not going to go as far as to say he was a phenomenal character, but oh boy was the character work done phenomenally. It was the gradual acceptance of what had happened to him, of where he is at now, to his place with Hugo, just all of it was so SO GOOD!! We got see him as a character grow so much throughout this book and all of it is so evident, im just in awe of the author here. Like the way Wallace’s past was brought up. The flashbacks, the memory reels, it just AAAAAAAAAAH JUST wow. The teacup scene is one of my favorite scenes and not one im likely to forget any time soon because WOW THAT WAS GOOD.

I clearly loved this book, but it also had things I didn’t necessarily enjoy. The biggest of which is pacing. I enjoyed this book for its characters and vibes, which is exactly what this mostly is and so its a pretty slow paced book, a slow troll in the park if you will and i loved that yes! UNTIL the end, which kind of felt rushed. And i feel this way because the conflict was resolved in a pretty convenient way and the conflict mainly picks up near the end. Idk the manager as a character really downgraded at *that* point. And i get there aren’t a lot of things the characters could have done, but it still felt a bit more convenient to me.

Regardless, this is definitely a great book and one i really enjoyed! Thank you to Tor for granting me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

Some thoughts i had while reading the book!
- This is so fun
- Hugo Freeman dilf
- The tea cup scene was so beautiful im WOW
- Did i just accidentally stumble upon therapy WTF THIS BOOK...

I've received this book for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

The stuff doesn't really wasn't what I was expecting but in all the right areas intriguing and complex.