This book is classed as Fantasy, and has in fact been nominated in the Fantasy category of the Goodreads Choice Awards just this week.

But it feels like a very specific, very different sort of fantasy. Despite the difficult and emotional subject matter, this feels almost cosy. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve read for a while.

I think the cosy feeling comes down to the book’s setting, Charon’s Crossing tea rooms. Its location feels remote, set apart from the real world, in more ways than one, and I can just imagine enjoying a peaceful few hours there with a hot drink an pastry. I've been doing a lot of bedtime guided meditations to help me sleep recently and Charon's Crossing felt very much like the type of place that you would be whisked away to in one of those to wind down.

The main character, Wallace, is quite despicable to begin with. He's work obsessed with no time for people or connections. This soon changes once he's died from a heart attack on the floor of his office and is collected by Mei. Acting as his reaper, she whisks him off to see Hugo, the ferryman, who will guide him to the next stage.

The whole cast is wonderful; Wallace, Nelson, Mei and even Apollo. The other bring about a change in Wallace as he comes to realise what he's missed out on.

The interpretation in this book of what happens when you die is really interesting. Everyone has their role, Mei the reaper, Hugo the ferryman, even the mysterious Manager. Its something different, which is nice to see. There were a few moments where it felt like the "rules" that had been built up in the book were bent or new ones invented for the sake of the plot, but I was invested in the story and it didn't really bother me.

There are some absolutely heart breaking moments in the book, I found Nancy's story particularly sad. But there is also a lot of humour. A scene where an internet "psychic" visits the tea rooms and Nelson and Wallace mess with her really made me chuckle!

I'd really like this book to do well. It is a difficult subject matter and I note that the author found it hard to write as it made him face some personal grief. It is a hopeful, bittersweet book though. Matt Haig has been very successful recently in writing books which explore dealing with emotions and I think this would really be a good read for fans of his.

This was a charming and cozy read. I knew going into it that a lot of other readers had gotten quite emotional over it, and given the topic it’s easy to see why. There are many sad moments, but there are a lot of joyous moments as well. It begins with Wallace Price in the middle of firing a woman from his law firm for a small mistake she committed, and it’s generally quite an unpleasant introduction to a character, showing how little he cares for anything other than the success of his business. Which is why I didn’t particularly feel bad for him when the very next chapter finds him standing over his own body trying to comprehend how he might have died. I did feel quite sorry for him when he attends his own funeral, featuring a total of four people with nothing very good to say about him, but then a reaper called Mei shows up to guide him to his next step and the way he treats her made me dislike him all over again. TJ Klune has this wonderful way of imbuing his sentences with a certain type of humour, as if the narrator were nudging the reader and rolling their eyes at their protagonist, but in a benevolent way, and this was the perfect tone with which to start Wallace’s story, because I knew he would grow as a character and that I’d need to like him enough to root for him, but the narrator also had to acknowledge the bad place he starts in.

The main setting of the story is Charon’s Crossing tea house, on the edge of a town far away from the city, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the literal embodiment of a ray of sunshine, and when he’s not making tea for his customers, who he knows by name, he is helping the dead come to terms with their situation and helping them until they’re ready to pass on to the next phase. He is gentle but firm, full of humour but very capable of serious conversations, and extremely kind despite carrying his own grief. I, like Wallace, fell a little bit in love with Hugo, and for me the best part of Under the Whispering Door was watching the relationship develop between Hugo and Wallace; Hugo showing Wallace that there’s more to life than financial success and a career, and Wallace showing Hugo that he’s not alone in this hard job of his. I loved them.

I also loved the other residents of Charon’s Crossing: Mei the Reaper, a firecracker who loves to bake and listen to heavy metal, Hugo’s grandfather Nelson, who has remained in his ghost form without passing on for many years to stay by his grandson, and Hugo’s dog Apollo, also a ghost who has remained at the teashop. Nelson is incredibly funny, and I also enjoyed watching as he and Wallace become friends and he passes on his wisdom. The most intriguing character, though, was the Manager, the god-like character that oversees the reaping of souls and the one who appoints people like Mei and Hugo to do the job. I liked all the scenes he was in, and I liked the way such an ominous creature was referred to as ‘the Manager’, showing that even in death, you can have a tough boss.

Though a lot of the time the tone of this book was light-hearted, there were some heavy themes, and every character was dealing with loss of one kind or another, and grief is hard, especially when all of us will at some point have to come to terms with the death of those we love and, eventually, ourselves. I won’t say this book takes away fear of death, but reading it did give me some comfort about the mysteries of life and the loss of those I love, if only for a little while. Reading it felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket, with the perfect cup of tea, so if that’s what you need, Under the Whispering Door is there for you. I will also say that it reminded me a lot of The Good Place and, in some ways, the podcast Welcome to Nightvale, so make of that what you will!

Under the Whispering Door is the beautifully told story of Wallace Price, who wakes up one day at his own funeral. When a reaper comes to take him to meet the Ferryman, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead. When Wallace meets Hugo he begins to reflect on the life he has lived and he realizes he may not have lived the life he had hoped for. Wallace decides he is not ready to give up on his life, but when the Manager arrives and gives Wallace a deadline of seven days to cross over, Wallace must use the time to learn about all the things he missed in life.

T J Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea is a book I’ve always wanted to read but haven’t had the chance to pick up. Going into Under the Whispering Door I had no idea what to expect. This book captivated me right from the very beginning with its intriguing premise and gorgeous writing style.

Under the Whispering Door has quite a slow-moving plot, but where it really excels is the well-crafted characters. Wallace was a fascinating protagonist who goes through so much growth in the book. You really fall in love with the characters as the story develops and I completely fell in love with Hugo, Mei, and the other residents of Charon’s Crossing. I’m never a big fan of romance in books but I thought it was so well done in this book and I was completely rooting for the characters to get together.

Books with happy, hopeful messages aren’t my typical kind of read but I completely fell under the spell of Under the Whispering Door. It spent a large part of the second half of the book holding back tears and cried a lot towards the end. This was such a brilliant read and I cannot wait to read more from T J Klune.

So I just finished the audiobook for Under the whispering door and I LOVED it. I'm actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it as I don't usually like anything with amain team of death. However, there's something about this book and audiobook that made me fall in love with it.

I know for a fact it's the audiobook that made me love it more than I would've if I had read it because I'm not one for deep subjects in my books 😅😅 But I loved this one, it's very quotable and has some great humour which I appreciated.

Loved all of the characters and especially Wallace's development. I don't have much to say tbh as I'm out of practice when it comes to reviews 😅🤣🤣

Just know that I really enjoyed this one and while I've seen some mixed reviews, I can say that I enjoyed this almost as much as The House in the Cerulean Sea. I love how T J Klune just builds a found family of such different characters and how he writes their relationships.

I think you truly need to be in a mood to read this book to fully appreciate it, which clearly I wasn't. I still enjoyed reading it, it has some very laugh out loud moments despite the themes of death,loss and grief being the prominent part of the story.

At the heart of it, this book is truly about what's important in one's life and most often than not we don't figure the important stuff out until its too late. I think the author nailed it with that theme. All of the characters are very wholesome and their relationship are absolutely adorable. The main character, Wallace goes through a tremendous character development throughout the book and I loved seeing how his outlook on life and death changed.

However, a huge part of the plot also feels very stagnant. I really enjoyed the first 20% or so but the pacing felt a bit off after that. We are basically at one place all the time, following the same routine etc. Etc. And having the same conversations again and again. Like I said, a huge part of this story revolves around death, loss and acceptance of death, so I can understand the need for constant conversations to come to terms with it but it also made the story kinda boring at times. Stuff definitely starts happening around 75% and the story ended with lots of hope and love, so there's that.

Overall, I truly liked the themes and the characters and will definitely read more from this author.

Price was dead, to begin with...

TJ Klune casts light and wisdom on the mysteries of life and death in this engaging new novel.

Wallace Price would not be anyone's idea of a sympathetic boss. Seen early on in Under the Whispering Door firing an unfortunate employee whose life problems are affecting her work, he is driven, unempathetic and demanding. So it's hardly surprising when, after his sudden death, only a handout of people attend Wallace's funeral. Wallace himself IS surprised by that: but more at having actually, you know, died. Basically he's having trouble accepting this whole "deceased" thing and so a Reaper has to be despatched to escort him to - well, we'll come to that.

Yes, there are overtones of everybody's favourite spooky Dickens novel here. Like Scrooge, Wallace wasn't always a work-obsessed misanthropist: like Scrooge he knew love, but it turned sour on him. But there are also differences. Wallace isn't quite the caricature that Scrooge is. And while Scrooge was offered visions of what may come - including the prospect of going to the grave unmourned and unsung - and time to amend his life, no such luxury is accorded Wallace. His time's up, and he's out.

The biggest difference, though, lies I think, in the dynamics of what happens after Wallace's death. In many respects, his life only begins then. Accompanied by reaper Mei (pronounced "May") whose first gig this is, Wallace is led to a teashop, run by Hugo, also inhabited - haunted? - by Hugo's dead grandfather Nelson and dead dog Apollo. The teashop - Charon's Crossing - isn't some weird borderland thing, it's an actual, genuine teashop serving a range of infusions to the customers as well as home made scones and other baked goods.

(I need to stop here to smile for a moment over what are clearly difference between the associations of "teashop" in the US and the UK. From the reaction Klune puts into Wallace's head, Over There it has clear overtones of aching hipsterdom, while this side of the Atlantic one thinks of crumbs, chintz and copper ornaments, also probably steamed up windows and rain).

Actually Charon's Crossing DOES have some weird borderline characteristics. It hosts The Door through which Wallace and his fellow deceased will eventually travel (to where? we never learn). It also holds those who need to spend time reconciling themselves with the fact of death, or with the way they spent their lives. And it provides a locus for all kinds of half-and-half entities to mingle with the living - such as those who rejected the idea of death entirely and lost themselves under the winnowing forces of the mundane world.

Yes, there is some spooky stuff here, but it doesn't dominate and, honestly, it was a breath fo fresh air to read a novel with such a definite, unambiguous fantasy setting but which doesn't all turn on some threat to the nature of reality, or an evil plot by beings from Beyond to conquer the universe. Instead, we get tea and chat and honest, often painful, character development. I know that won't perhaps be everybody's cup of tea (pun intended) but it is done so very well here and really grabbed my attention and sympathy. At Charon's Crossing, the focus is on being, not doing. And - to let a bit of a spoiler slip - the being is especially focused on Wallace (who, is, of course, dead) and Hugo (very much alive), with a thread of romance between these very different men. And of course some definite obstacles in the way.

Quite how Klune orchestrates and explores this theme, I won't say any more about - first because it would be spoilery and secondly, because it would only clumsily sum up what's set out much better in the book, and why do that? But it does involve human loss, a vengeful ghost, a podcasting medium and a besmitten public health inspector, creating a darkly comic plot that surrounds the central romantic one, so there is a lot here to hold the attention.

What you need to do then, is, to put the kettle on; warm the teapot; cut yourself a slice of cake; settle down, and read Under the Whispering Door. You won't regret it...

I recently read TJ Klune’s previous book, The House in the Cerulean Sea and adored it. Under The Whispering Door was just as wonderful.

It is an emotional and powerful read all about grief and how the pain of losing someone never goes away. For such a moving subject, the author manages to bring humour and some heart warming moments into this beautifully crafted story.

I pretty much fell in love with the main characters. The amount of times they brought tears to my eyes, whether it was due to joy or sorrow was a frequent occurrence! All the wholesome, comforting feelings this story will give you. A strong 5 star read.

TJ Klune is quickly becoming a favourite author of mine, with characters who are so relatable and lovely and worlds that are so comforting.

While the plot is not too intense or focused on, the point of the work, much like House in the Cerulean Sea, is the characters and the journeys they go on. The relationships are truly beautiful and i felt so connected to everyone.

i loved this book- truly the best kind of comfort book! Thank you to everyone at netgalley for allowing me to read it!

I'm stuck in a tricky situation. I received this ARC one day after release, and I haven't had much time since to read all of it until the day it was supposed to get archived (today). I've started it, but haven't been able to finish it yet.

Putting that aside though, I'm a big fan of TJ's storytelling, and I'll make sure to write a full review once I'm done with the book. (Not sure if I can edit past reviews, though. But it'll be on my Goodreads.)

I gave this book five very full, very well deserved stars.

When I picked up The House in the Cerulean Sea last year I didn’t believe the people who told me it was the best thing they had read or that I would love it and in all honesty, while I didn’t love it, I enjoyed it - the messages it brought me, the warm hug I felt at the end was very welcome but it was just the taster for me, enough to bring me in from the cold.

Under the Whispering Door was less a hug and more a cuddle, it kept me in warmth all the way through as if I was ensconced in a fluffy blanket and thick bed socks, supporting me all the way through because this book brings a lot of feeling and raw emotion and I needed that support. I loved it and as soon as I finished it I wanted to start again from the beginning. This book has hit my re-read shelf and I’ll be recommending and gifting it to as many people as I can.

I won’t spend too much time talking about the narrative of Under the Whispering Door but I will say it is fantastical without seeming like a fantasy and it carries delicate and heavy subject matter without breaking a sweat - although I would advise some more sensitive readers to seek out trigger warnings, as you can read in the synopsis, this book centres around death and holds some dark content.

But on the other hand, this book holds a lot of love and compassion too, through Klune’s writing style and the characters he has created and their ‘found family’ I felt a deep connection to Hugo, Wallace and Mei along with basically everyone else. Grief is a hard subject to write about - it hits everyone differently and you can never know what to expect. I have listened to Klune in several author chats now and can say that he writes what he knows and he does it very well. I’d like to think that this book will help people when they need it, I know it has helped me and I have since lent my copy to my mum who loved it too.

I’ll be keeping my eyes out for Klune’s next book in this little contingent, even though it’ll be a heartbreaker probably, I know my heart is safe.

It has been a long time since I had to put a book down because I was laughing too hard, but this one did it. Klune gives us the most precious characters, a heartfelt yet hilarious story and explores some of the hardest topics in a sensitive yet entertaining way.

I’m honestly not sure how to write this review without gushing. I’ll try and get it out the way: everyone should read this book. Yes, it’s about death, and the pain of it. But it’s about family, love, how joy and redemption can come at the most unexpected of times.

Wallace was a delight to grow with. He’s such an ass and a jerk at the beginning in the most hilarious way you can’t help but love him. I love character growth when there is never any introspection where the character needs to comment on said growth, and that’s what happens here. He turns into such a delight and there’s no defining moment, it just happens.

Hugo is a precious cinnamon roll that needs to be protected at all costs. Which is a sentence I never thought I’d write, but there’s no other way I can articulate my thoughts. The depth to him – being an empathetic to a fault given the job that he does – yet he’s got the purest heart just makes him wonderful.

Nelson and Mei added the balance of emotions needed to stop this story going too much in one direction or another, but they were fantastic characters in their own right as well.

Everything about the writing worked for me. It’s touching and emotional, then perfectly balanced by something unexpected (word choice deliberate – those who’ve read it know what I mean) that you can’t help but cry with laughter. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a book make me laugh in that way.

But it’s not all light and humorous. The story covers some important themes, especially surrounding grief and how it affects people differently. This could be a trigger warning, as there were some deep moments (although never handled in a heavy manner).

It’s also been a while since a book has left me with tears in my eyes over the ending. I was terrified it was going to be sad, and it was in a beautiful bittersweet way that matched perfectly with the tone of the book. It was a satisfying ending.

Read this book. That’s my grand finish. If you’re looking for something you can’t put down; a book to make you laugh; a book to make you cry… Under the Whispering Door is the one. I’m not sure this review needs anything more: 5*s and a solid recommendation from me.

What an absolutely beautiful book from the very first page to the very last.

Despite the hard topics, I think it was so wonderfully handled. I laughed, I cried (a lot!) and I didn’t want to put it down.

Wallace’s character development was just spot on and all the other main characters were just so loveable. I would very much like to go work at the tea shop and be friends with Hugo and Mei!

I am already looking forward to a reread and I’d love to give the audiobook a go.

What a wonderful heartwarming read..

This book made me laugh and cry more times than I could count. It was incredibly wholesome and I cannot wait to purchase my own copy of this!

This book is mostly about grief, love and a book about moving on after death. It’s a lovely little read.

At the start of the book, I really did not like Wallace at all ( you aren’t meant too) but you do slowly warm up to him, especially because his funeral was attended by only 5 people.. (I cried)

Klunes way of writing is incredible, and makes you feel all sorts of emotions while still thoroughly enjoying the book.

Would highly recommend this book.

Many thanks to netgalley/publisher/author for an advanced copy of this book.

This book is just as beautifully written as The House in the Cerulean Sea, and has such an interesting plot. The characters felt so real and expanded, I especially liked Hugo’s character! I think the author does a really good job of making all of the characters so memorable, and it makes the story so much more heartfelt. I loved the inclusion of familial and platonic love as well as romance, and i LOVE me some good yearning! overall this was a stunning story that i would recommend to anyone !!

This book is so beautiful, I didn’t think TJ Klune could make me love a book as much as he made me love The House in the Cerulean Sea, but he blew me away again and proved how little I know . This is an emotional rollercoaster , it will make you cry and think about life and the things and people you loved and have loved, it will break your heart but it will be put back together again. The worldbuilding and writing as always are just incredible, I could walk around this world even now it’s so well done. Ultimately this book is full of life, full of heart and you will leave this book (albeit with tears) feeling that bit more hope and definitely thinking so much.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea, which immediately became one of my favourite books of all time, I was equal parts excited and terrified for this book. Would it live up to the expectations I had built in my head? Would I love the characters as much? Would the hard issues be written about in a way that I could relate to?

In one word: yes

This book was beautiful. It made me cry several times, which was cathartic in a way that I can't explain. It made me think about the people I've loved in my life, and lost; about the people I love now, and most of all, how amazing and precious life can be. The most wonderful part about this book for me was that it managed all of these things without being saccharine or cheesy. It was just perfectly written and executed.

This book was deeply personal to the author, and it reads that way, but not in a self-indulgent way; in a warm, comforting, 'you're not alone' way. Thank you TJ for this extraordinary book, and for sharing it with us.

I had already thoroughly enjoyed tj klunes the house in the cerulean sea, so had high hopes for this book. I loved it! Lots of enjoyable and quirky characters. I have ordered a signed special edition for my collection

Wallace is a modern day Scrooge. A lawyer who only cares about himself and his work. When he suddenly dies of a heart attack he finds himself in a tea shop with Mei and Hugo - experts at not only brewing tea but also helping the dead accept their life is over bad move on to the next stage. For Wallace, his death is only the beginning….

I loved The House in Cerulean Sea so I couldn’t wait to start reading the next author from T.J Klune. I don’t know if it’s due to the reading slump I have been going through but unfortunately Under A Whispering Door was a bit of a disappointment. I struggled to get into the story and become attached to Wallace and his journey in the afterlife. It lacked the humour of the author’s first book. Yet the basic plot and themes of the book were so similar to The House in the Cerulean sea that the writing felt formulaic.

I did finally get into the book towards the end. I enjoyed Nelson’s character the best, full of mischief and wisdom. There were poignant and heartwarming moments before for me, it didn’t live up to my expectations, lacking the life affirming originality I was hoping for.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest opinion.

I loved this book. It had me crying and laughing and feeling so warm.

It was a really slow start (which is why it isn’t 5 stars!) and took me until at least 60% through the book to feel properly engaged

It’s a very character driven book (hence the slow pace) and that’s not generally my jam, but these characters were so well done!

There was one part where I felt the author had written quite insensitively about mental health, but from the context I don’t think it was meant in this way, the wording was just a little iffy!

Nelson and Hugo and Wallace and Mei are just so adorable and I’d really recommend this

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for my gifted e-ARC!

Review coming to Instagram (@rosies.book.shelf) soon :)

I had heard so much about this book and the book that was released just before this one. But I was slightly put off as the covers looked liked they were aimed at middlegrade readers. But these are I fact adult books.

So, they say to never judge a book by it's cover (which I am sometimes guilty of). But I requested this on Netgalley to see what all the fuss was about. And I am so glad I did as this book was a 5 star read for me.

I just loved it. I loved the story. I loved the characters. And I didn't want the book to end.

This starts with a horrible lawyer called Wallace. He is nasty to people and very self-centred. But then one day he dies. That's when mai a reaper comes to collect him and take him to Hugo, the ferryman to help him cross to the other side.

Hugo and Mai live in the middle of nowhere and run a little tea shop. They also have Nelson staying with them. Nelson is dead and Hugo's grandad. And also Apollo, Hugo's dead dog.

This was such a heartfelt book. I loved all the characters and their friendships. I really loved this description of the whispering door and wondered what was behind it.

This is a book that will stay with me.
5 stars!