Thank you so much to Tor Books for an early digital copy of this book.

I think this is possibly my all time favourite book. I LOVED the characters, the writing, the setting, the story and the lyricism. Don’t get me wrong, this tackles some really tricky subject matters including death, grief, suicide amongst others but it does it in such a beautiful manner. The story has stuck with me since I read it, and I continue to pick it up to reread my favourite quotes several weeks later.

What Klune does so well is the character arcs and moral journeys of ordinary if slightly morally grey characters in a way that important topics are explored in great detail. By the end, the grumpy main characters settle into your heart and you learn to love them despite all their flaws. This was no different, and, having dealt with family death from a very young age myself, this perfectly explained exactly how I feel towards the topic - it vocalises my thoughts on loss and grief and coming to terms with that.

I cannot recommend this book enough and it has my whole heart in my favourites of all time list.

A must-read for those who loved The House in the Cerulean Sea; Under the Whispering Door is a delightfully cosy fantasy with such lovely queer characters. This is a book to pull on the heart-strings and you will love it all the more.

This is the first book I've read by TJ Klune but it won't be my last. I enjoyed the writing style and how it felt very wholesome but also explored deeper themes around death and grief.

I loved the way the character relationships were developed and there were a few moments that almost made me cry.

The only thing that prevented me from giving it 5 stars was I felt there were a few pacing issues, especially towards the end.

Wallace Price is arguably not a good man, and receives the shock of his life when he dies and watches over his own funeral before being taken to the Ferryman to cross over into the next life. But being Wallace, he doesn’t want to just yet.

T. J. Klune’s previous novel, The House in the Cerulean Sea, was one of my favourite books of 2021 and Under the Whispering Door is headed in that same direction for 2022.

I love the writing style, the fleshed out characters, the representation, the queer relationships, the humorous moments, the heartfelt moments and so much more.

I would highly recommended!

A story that put tears in my eyes! Lots of them!! This was one of those slow burner stories for me, but then BAM you are sucked straight into the lives, and deaths!, of these characters and your emotions are put through the wringer as this funny but touching story plays out in front of you.

The author wrote this book to try and understand grief, and his approach is nothing short of remarkable. When the main character dies, there are no tears shed for him, and he finds himself at a little tea shop, where Hugo fixes the world with cups of teas and is also the ferryman waiting to take you on to the other side.

As Wallace spends time amongst these people, and drinks more cups of tea than he ever thought possible, he begins to wake up to himself in the realisation that there was more to life but it took him dying to find that out.

This was such a beautiful story! The connection with drinking tea was so simple but it worked so well! It's grounding, it's normal and also allows reflection. Wallace evolves so much throughout this book that it's just wonderful to witness. A delight - but don't forget to have tissues by your side!!

Although this book had a slow start, it had the most beautiful ending. The character development throughout is some of the best I've ever read. I adore these characters, and the found family trope is done so beautifully here. Sometimes a family is a ferryman, a reaper, two ghost men and a ghost dog. The way Hugo and Mei help people through death to what comes next is both heartwrenching and heartwarming in equal measures.

This book is without any kind of doubt my absolute favorite book of the year. It made me cry in the office for all the good reasons and I just wish I could read it for the very first time again.

I really liked Under the Whispering Door. I don't think it needs a review because the hype around this book speaks for itself. It is well written and reads well, memorable, and the flow works really well. TJ Klune is a fantastic author and has a rare ability to craft novels. This one could have become a novelty but it was actually really sad and beautiful, even if it did give me an existential crisis.
My favourite thing about this novel was the subtle elements designed to bring this book down to earth, like the grieving mother. My only criticism was that the main character had a personality transformation a bit too quick.

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book, The House in the Cerulean Sea was one of my favourite books ive read this year so i couldnt wait to read this. It did not disappoint, I loved the character of Wallace and the journey he goes on after he unexpectedly passes away,.

This is a sweet and quirky read that I enjoyed, but it takes a long time to get started. Maybe this is the fault of the description which tells almost to the end of the story, so I expected most of the book to be about the seven days that Wallace is given, and kept waiting for this to start (it's actually right near the end). I also struggled to believe in Wallace's complete and almost instant change of heart from ruining people's lives without a second thought to the nicest guy that ever lived (okay, second nicest). But Hugo is lovely, also Nelson, and the ghost dog Apollo was the star character of the book for me.

I really wanted to love this as much as I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea but unfortunately that wasn’t the case!
While I do think T J Klune’s books are heartwarming and have really good messages behind them, this one was just a bit dull and repetitive for me.
I think this could have been half the size it was and would make a really good novella, because for what happened in it, it didn’t need almost 400 pages in my opinion!
Ok so the relationship between Wallace and Hugo, whilst I did enjoy it, I felt like Hugo was a bit bland as a character. Wallace definitely had more depth to him and I would have liked to see his character growth to be a bit less instant and explored more.
To me I think it would have done better being more of a focus on the MC journey of self discovery without the heavy romance subplot.
The side characters were the highlight for me though and I would love to have more of them and their stories in their own books! Mei is the spunky sarcastic type of character I adore and I definitely needed more of her.
The ending was emotional for sure and I can see why this will definitely pull on a lot of peoples heart strings and be a favourite for sure!
It took me a while to decide on a rating as I was so conflicted but I finally settled on 3⭐️!

Brilliant start and truly fascinating idea. Despite his initial manner you really start to feel for our main protagonist. Would recommend to anyone.

where as cerulean sea was a cosy hug in a book, this book is that right kinda hug when you most need to know everything will be okay!
TJ Klune is slowly becoming one of my favourite authors.

I didn’t download this one in time so purchased it from Waterstones. So glad I did as this book is incredibly enlightening. Similar to the styles of Mitch Albom’s ‘Five People You Meet in Heaven’ and Matt Haig’s ‘Midnight Library’. Life affirming and beautifully written.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect of this; my introduction to fantasy and to the writing of TJ Klune. And even now that I’ve finished it, I’m still trying to figure out my thoughts. The prose is beautiful — atmospheric, witty and a joy to read. The setting — a halfway house between this life and the next — is a notion I’m always drawn to. And the characters are quirky and for the most part finely drawn. In fact, I have to confess that, overall, it’s really rather good.

I’m left, though, with an irritating feeling of dissatisfaction.

The premise is an attention grabber: Selfish, egotistical lawyer Wallace dies suddenly of a heart attack and finds himself in limbo, with a limited time to reflect on his life lived and prepare for moving on. Limbo is the Charon’s Crossing tea room, run by “ferryman” Hugo. The eponymous whispering door is the one Wallace must eventually pass through once he’s reconciled to his life … and to his death.

It took me a while to buy into the story, but Klune’s prose is nothing if not evocative, and he soon had me in the palm of his hand. I was there, in this old-fashioned tea room, with the most delightful cast of unconventional but wholesome characters, and I couldn’t wait to see how Wallace’s journey would end.

It all felt very Alice in Wonderland, with its own particular versions of the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat. A kind of fairytale for grownups, if you will, with equal doses of heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Wallace’s reckoning and subsequent transformation from nasty to nice was convincing and treated with a massive dollop of humor, which made it all the more enjoyable.

But …

Where the book fell down and what I failed to connect with was the romance between Wallace and Hugo. It should have been a wonderful thing, but I just didn’t feel it. I wanted goosebumps and happy tears, but got low key and understated. I wanted the story to finish on a bang, but got a whimper. And therein lies the source of my (albeit mild) discontent.

Wallace is not a very nice man, he is egotistical and selfish, so when he suddenly dies of a heart attack it is no surprise to anyone that his funeral is poorly attended. Under the Whispering Door is the tale of what happens next for Wallace. It’s a heartwarming read filled with wholesome characters - a speciality of TJ Klune’s writing.
This book will undoubtedly be a favourite of the year for many readers. Hugo is the selfless owner of the tea shop where Wallace is taken by Mei - a fiercely loving character who guides the recently dead on their journey of acceptance and then there is Nelson, oh Nelson, words cannot describe the love I have for Hugo’s grandfather.
A slow burner, perhaps too slow for me at times but a wholesome plot with loveable diverse characters.

This is my first TJ Klune novel but, having heard such fantastic things about The House in the Cerulean Sea, I was very excited to dive into this one!
The premise for this novel in general wasn't particularly original in my opinion - it reminded me strongly of two books I've read recently (Afterlove and The Midnight Library). However it was the characters that made it for me - the quirky side characters of Mei, Nelson and, of course, the ghost dog Apollo were really enjoyable and interesting to read about. The main characters Wallace and Hugo less so.
I think where this story fell flat for me was the romance element. For me, the romance felt very forced and I couldn't get on board with it. I couldn't quite figure out where the chemistry was and what it was about each other that made the other fall in love - it left me wondering why so many books put such emphasis on romantic relationships when there are much more interesting themes that could be developed instead.
Saying that, I did cry at this book - though I think that was more because of my own experiences with death and grief rather than the book itself. This one is definitely a tearjerker.
I also found the book too long - it felt quite slow and a little repetitive and I was constantly wondering where it was all going to go.
Overall, I would recommend this book but it didn't blow my socks off.

After reading and loving The House in the Cerulean Sea I knew I had to get my hands on Under the Whispering Door. This novel did not disappoint! Although this deals with what could be a very difficult subject for some (death) it is told with TJ Klune's warmth and empathetic voice which made this novel un-putdownable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

This was my first Klune book but I suspect it will not by my last. It was funny, reflective and heartwarming.

The first 50 pages I wasn't so sure about this book. Wallace wasn't exactly the most likeable character and I certainly didn't feel like having to follow that piece of blah the whole book. But that changed when he accepted that he was dead. From an asshole of a character he turned to someone who could reflect on himself. Someone who started letting down his guard and started caring for those around him. Someone who regretting not doing that any sooner.

But most of all I was just so taken by the ferryman Hugo and the setting. Hugo is just such a precious cinnamon roll who deserves all the good things. Who will always do the right thing. Who will feel guilty for things that aren't really his fault. And I can only imagine the amount of exasperation he has to deal with with his reaper who has anger management troubles, his ghost grandfather who likes to play jokes and then Wallace who ends up being even worse that his granddad.

And then the tea shop. The place where Hugo does his ferryman business. I love tea and seeing him be so busy with his tea plants and leaves and tastes that fit whoever comes into his shop, was so heartfelt. And it is such a wholesome place. I want to visit it. Just preferably while I'm alive, thanks.

Under the Whispering Door was just as heartwarming and endearing as I expected it to be. How TJ Klune takes a topic like death and turned into life lessons and something almost beautifully poetic, is incredible.

I love the relationships throughout and the understanding everyone shows to each other. It is a little like...we are all in this together because everyone dies.

Whilst I realise how morbid that sounds, you need to pick up a copy in order to read and understand what I mean!