Like so many others I had absolutely adored The House in the Cerulean Sea which was a great big hug in a book. If you are expecting the same again from Whispering Door then you’ll be disappointed. That’s not to say that Whispering Door is a bad book – nothing could be further from the truth – I loved it, the writing was every bit as good as I expected and the characters were expertly crafted. However if Cerulean Sea was a warm hug then Whispering Door was like therapy.

There were strong themes to the book, death, acceptance, person growth, love and redemption. Above all it was about being the best we can be and finding our own path.

Wallace was captivating right from the start, he wasn’t a kind man but even so I was immediately drawn to him and his plight and his obvious confusion at what was happening too him. Wallace’s character growth over the course of the book was one of the best I have ever seen an it was a pleasure to go on the journey with him.

Although Wallace is arguably our main character it was very much an ensemble cast with Mei our feisty but green Reaper (Wallace is her first solo collection) Hugo the Ferryman who helps the dead cross over from the comfort of his amazing Tea Shop, Nelson and Apollo – Hugo’s dead Grandfather who’s full of advice and a fair bit of mischief and dead dog who just wants to play with everyone and protect Hugo.

Hugo was intricate and vulnerable in his own ways too – despite the important role he held as Ferryman at a Crossing Point. I loved, loved, loved his Tea Shop – I wish it was real so I could visit. With the tea growing behind the shop and Hugo making the blends himself along with all the fresh baked goods that Mei and Hugo produced I could definitely spend a happy afternoon or two at Charon’s Crossing.

A word of warning though – you will absolutely need a box of tissues on hand while reading this one. I sped through the first 80% or so completely absorbed, the last 20% probably took me about the same amount of time to read as I had to keep stopping due to not being able to see the page any more!

A marvellous, absorbing book that made me think about making sure the people I love are shown it, this is one I’ll be recommending to everyone.

*Thank you to Macmillan for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review*
If you’ve seen any of my videos, you’ll probably know that The House In The Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books of all time. So my expectations for this book were ridiculously high, and honestly I don’t think any book could have matched those expectations. However, I really did like this book, just not as much as I loved THITCS.
Under The Whispering Door is a quiet and gentle look at grief and what comes after death, both for the ones who have died and the ones who are left behind. This book is definitely a lot sadder than Cerulean Sea, but it keeps one of my favourite aspects: the cozy setting and style of writing. This book is set in a tea shop and I adored the setting and the atmosphere that TJ Klune created. I really liked the journey our main character Wallace went on, from being an objectively terrible person to becoming the kind of person he wanted to be. I really liked how he became a better person, but did so in the shadows. The reparations he made throughout the book weren’t to make himself look better or improve other’s opinions of him, because he’s dead. So he did what he did because it was the right thing to do, it was as simple as that. It really emphasised that it’s never too late to change, or do the right thing. I think it was a beautiful exploration of the different ways people grieve and deal with death, we got a lot of different perspectives which showed the range of emotion grief brings with it.
However, I do think the plot was lacking somewhat and it did get quite repetitive at points. A lot of conversations were had many times without much change to the contents. This is also a very dialogue heavy book, which I’m a fan of, but if you don’t like that style you probably won’t like this book. It just didn’t engage me as much as Cerulean Sea did, and I feel no rush to reread it at all because it was quite slow.
However, TJ Klune remains a fantastic writer who is able to create safe and cosy environments, characters who go on satisfying journeys, a sense of whimsy and quiet magic, and a gentle way of telling you things will work out eventually. I will continue to read whatever books he writes.

I can't fully describe the certain cosiness or ambience that I get from reading T J Klune's books but I'm certain that I'm not the only one who's felt it.

Found family was definitely one of the biggest themes of this book for me and I absolutely loved that aspect.
The cosiness of the tea shop atmosphere and the otherworldliness that the Manager brought to the pages mixed really well.

I don't think I connected as much to these characters as I did to some of those in The House on the Cerulean Sea, I think perhaps I just really enjoyed how the author portrayed the innocence and curiosity of childhood in those characters. Seeing as many of them were children, albeit of a different sort.

But, nevertheless, I thought Under the Whispering Door had some really important messages on grief and living through grief that I think will reverberate with many readers.
And raised some pretty interesting questions about ghosts still having personal growth.

After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea earlier this year and falling completely in love with it, I knew I had to read Under the Whispering Door. From really early on this was a 5 star read for me. I saw a review that said they found the beginning a bit boring and that it followed the same vein as The House in the Cerulean Sea and to some degree I can see why they saw similarities but it never felt like I was reading the same book.

Under the Whispering Door made me absolutely howl at times (to the point where my eldest kept asking me what I was laughing at) the characters are quick witted and there's an easy, teasing banter between them. I felt like all the characters were beautifully fleshed out and loveable.

I also cried like an absolute baby, to the point of bot being able to see properly to continue reading. At the heart of it all this story is a beautiful tribute to grief and mourning and how we all deal with it. I found this book to reach me on a really personal level and it has, much like its predecessor, rooted itself deep within my heart and soul.

I also loved the blink-and-you'll-miss-it nod to THITCS, I see you, I appreciate you!

I’d heard a lot of great reviews about this book and I’m glad it lived up to the hype. The characters were all endearing, especially the main characters Hugo and Wallace. Wallace’s character development was a joy to read, I was little concerned about how much of a bastard he was at the beginning but his journey was beautifully written. The story explored the theme of death in a sensitive and insightful manner, as well as discussing grief in a heartwarming and heartbreaking way.

An enjoyable read all round.

I picked this up because I absolutely adored The House in the Cerulean Sea and I’m so glad I did. While the House in the Cerulean Sea was a warm hug welcoming you home, Under the Whispering Door was more like a Catharsis. Like crying on your friends shoulder or the feeling you get when you watch your favourite childhood tv show, knowing you’ll never be a kid again, and the person you are is so far from the person you used to be.
This book balances on a line between grief and hope and does it absolutely flawlessly.
There is humour, there is whimsy, there is pain, there is sadness, and most importantly there is love. So much love.
Even in places and with people you don’t necessarily expect to find it.

Under The Whispering Door is a comforting read that will make you think and feel long past the closing of the book. It’s a book about death that speaks so profoundly about life, about not wasting time, or the people around you or every chance you have to make and do something beautiful for someone else. It tells the story of Wallace, an actually terrible man, cruel who used his power to dominate other people, starting with an employee he fires in the first chapter before suddenly dying of a heart attack. Upon meeting Mei, a reaper, at his funeral, he is taken to Hugo, a ferryman, to ‘accept’ his life and come to terms with the end of it before passing on. What follows is an emotional journey of self forgiveness, love and learning and a heart warming message about making your legacy in this world love.

At times is the book too sentimental? Perhaps. It’s not a plot heavy book but it is quite lovely, if a book were like a hug, this would be it. Emotionally it takes you very far if the plot itself doesn’t, sometimes it just isn’t needed. My only negative would be the ending, which I won’t discuss for spoilers, but I feel like it would change how I read this book a 2nd time and felt a little dissatisfying. But still, it’s a beautiful and impactful read and I hope it reminds everyone reading that it’s never too late to love and be loved.

Thank you NetGalley for the early copy to review.

Based on the synopsis and very much liking Klune's first novel. I thought this was going to be a new favourite. Unfortunately, I found it lifeless and trite. A story about grief basically has a link straight to my constantly-having-an-existential-crisis brain and should have been a very emotional read. Aside from a few moments though, it was flat and cliché with characters that were too twee and one dimensional. Even after a whole book I thought the development and character introspection were all fairly surface level. Still, it was not a pain to read and probably would have been three stars if it were not for the shallow ending. I was expecting a unique take on a heart wrenching topic and while the book is well meaning the result feels soulless (to me).

This book reminds me in many ways to The Knight in the Rusty Armor. It means well, it has a message about the importance of treasuring every day and the people in our lives in the time that we have in this earth before we lose all of it.
And just as The Knight in the Rusty Armor, this book is soulless and vacuous.
It knows that what it is saying is important, but does not seem able to show us, so telling us is all it has left. And it does, many many times, with the exact same words tells us to “make the most of the time we have”. Which, I am in no way saying it is not important, but it is not a conclusion we reach as readers by ourselves, it is forced fed over and over again in a quirky packaging that feels like a Wes Anderson version of The Alchemist.
Now, I am not saying I did not enjoy many parts of this book, or that many others did not make me cry. We are talking about life death and grief in the year of our Lord Lucifer Morningstar 2021, for crying out loud, we are all trying to climb our way out a pit of collective trauma; which makes this half-hearted attempt to make sense of it, quite out of its depth. Paired with what feels like forced humour, this book has a serious pacing problem.
Then there are several specifics of the actual plot that don’t add up.
Wallace is shown in the beginning, not as a man that is isolated and lonely because he works too hard and is shy, as the books seems to try to convince us later, but as an actual bad person. He is cruel, has no qualms destroying the life of one of his employees because she annoyed him, and of her family by extension, actively acting for this to happen. No not stopping it. It feels like the book gaslights us later, in its depiction of Wallace. This person had 4 people at his funeral, and one took the opportunity to trash him. People go to funerals to say goodbye to loved ones, yes but also to be seen by others (trust me, Harvey Weinstein’s one will be packed), how much do you have to hate some well-known layer to not even show up? This is a person that has made it his life to be hated. One that cannot remember when was the last time he cared about anybody else, and has the complete lack of insight to wonder what that makes him (Answer is, and asshole, Wallace, that is what it makes you). And we are expected to accept that that behaviour does a 180 in less than a month because he died. Which, fine, but it is actively shown by the book, when portraying other ghosts, that their personalities do not change at all.
So, Wallace is the best at being a ghost. He takes to it super-fast, he’s better at it than all the other ghosts. This makes his character quite the Mary Sue. But more importantly, even though we are told Hugo and Mei are the best ferryman and reaper ever, all we see is their failures, which are several. We know of two before and are witness to a third Infront of our eyes. Why is the construct of the book that this is Mei’s first assignment as a solo Reaper, what does that serve? Where are Mei and Hugo’s successes between Cameron 2 years ago and Lea, whenever that happened? How did Mei and Hugo become family since this is her first assignment? Has she been there for years while another Reaper trained her? Where are they then?
And then, Wallace coming to the tea shop fixes everything. Literally.
There is a scene in the book, in which a drunk employee tells Wallace “You are a white man, you will always fail upwards” and he laughs, which I suppose is meant to be an ironic laugh, since it’s part of the same flow of memories in which we are shown how lonely he is and how empty his life is. (boohoo, you were an asshole, Wallace)
But failing upwards is exactly what Wallace does throughout the book. Again, literally.
He comes to this place where 3 whole people and a dog’s job is to help him, and in exchange, Wallace fixes all the problems that 2 Black men and an Asian woman were unable to fix themselves. Everybody loves him and he gets everything he ever wanted. The End. Well, not the end, we get a rather unnecessary epilogue where what we saw before happens again, in case it was not clear to us how it worked, and Wallace being there fixes the last standing issues.
All in all, it is a solid 3 stars book. Enjoyable and sincerely sort of forgettable, were it not for the white saviour element.

I absolutely loved Under the Whispering Door. Wallace had such a great character arc and I really enjoyed seeing how he grew with his time in the tea house. It was great to see how his interactions with Hugo changed and I loved the ending to the story! Definitely reading again

So so so good. I honestly don't know what else to say.

The description had me hooked as I read it and the book didn't let me go through all of its pages. I didn't want to put it down, work just kept getting in the way!

Another great book from TJ Klune, I can't wait for what comes out next!

Oh boy did I love this book. I laughed, cried, I didnt want it to end. Have you ever read a book and ended up wishing that the setting was a real place you could visit, and the characters were real people you could talk to? And in this case, have a cup of tea with. An absolutely exceptional book that filled my heart and restored my faith.

'Under the Whispering Door' is an endearingly strange story of the afterlife. The protagonist is Wallace, a thoroughly unpleasant lawyer who drops dead in early middle age from a heart attack. To his dismay, he finds himself at the aptly named 'Charon's Crossing' teahouse, where he exists as a ghost under the supervision of 'ferryman' Hugo, until he has reconciled himself to his death and feels ready to go through the 'whispering door' to whatever lies beyond.

Stories about nasty people being transformed into nice ones have been fascinating readers since the days of 'A Christmas Carol' (and probably before). There's something hard to resist about tales of redemption and hope, and I'm not immune to it, even if the cynic in me sees them as unrealistic. I'd have found this one easier to buy into if Wallace hadn't been quite so cartoonishly horrible at the beginning. People are perfectly capable of being believably nasty enough without needing to make him a caricature.

Despite my scepticism about the premise, the book won me round with its charm and loveable characters. It's eccentricity and humour balance out the philosophising and life-and-death stuff, which otherwise could get either cloying or emotionally draining. Klune also manages to make a pretty compelling story out of Wallace's time as a ghost, making his transformation interesting and about his interactions with others rather than too much navel gazing. It has some genuinely really funny moments.

As you'd expect, this is a novel where death and grief are key themes and suicide is also a topic. If you don't wish to read about these, or might find the topics triggering, then it is better to avoid. I do think thought that it is the sort of book that might be a comfort to someone bereaved - rather like Mitch Albom's 'Five People You Meet in Heaven'. It ultimately has a message of positivity and hope.

Overall this is an enjoyable read with great characters, humour and warmth despite the underlying seriousness of the topic. It has a slowish start but it's worth persisting - rather like Wallace himself, you'll gradually find yourself coming to appreciate the teahouse and its inhabitants.

Klune has come a long way from his emotional yet slightly clumsy debut series Bear, Otter and The Kid, but what shines through all of his work is his sense of humanity, humour and the unerring belief that people at their heart are good.

There is darkness in this tale of love and death, a life wasted, and redemption. It will likely make you cry, but Klune’s power is to make you feel that deep down, the world is an okay place, with redeemable people. Set primarily in a charming tea house with a set of characters you will fall in love with, this is a relatively simple tale of a ghost and his guide and exploring their potential connection. The enjoyment is in the quiet moments between the characters, the snappy dialogue and the exploring of emotion.

Quieter and less showy than his YA teen superhero series, this and Cerulean Sea are a move away from his standard central character - hyper, adorable, klutzy, with a tendency to say whatever is on their mind, into more contemplative and slightly unexpected protagonists.

I look forward to seeing where Klune will go next.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my all time favourite books and so when Under the Whispering Door appeared on Netgalley I instantly put in a request. I waited months to be approved and so when I finally got that much longed for email I put down everything I was reading and started it immediately!

I finished it in a little over a day, I was completely absorbed by the characters and the world and when it was over I was actually sad. I was not at all ready for the story to be over.

TJ Klune has a very special way with words… it is so easy to read and vividly picture everything that he writes. The characters he creates become like friends and although this book does not have the same feel-good vibes as his previous book and is a little bit darker in theme it still makes you smile.

Wallace is our main character this time. He is not a very nice man to say the least. He is a workaholic and cares only about himself.

When Wallace dies he flat out refuses to believe it, despite ending up at his own funeral and seeing it with his own eyes. Wallace is collected by a “reaper” who takes him to a Tea Shop which is a sort of “in-between” where a person can comes to terms with their death in their own time and ready themselves to move onto whatever comes next.

It is at this Tea Shop that Wallace meets Hugo, the Ferryman who’s job is to help Wallace along as well as Hugo’s dead grandfather and dog.

Death, grief and what comes next are the dominant themes in this story and it does such a wonderful job of conveying the way that different people might deal with the idea of their life being over and the way they are personally affected by it. The way Klune paints the afterlife is very unique and beautiful.

In Wallace’s case the way his character develops and grows as he finds acceptance is incredible. I just love it when you start off really disliking a character and growing to love them in the way you do here. I also adored his growing relationship with Hugo. It never felt rushed or forced, it happened so naturally and beautifully. I loved every second of it.

In all honesty there was not a single character in this book that I hated. Hugo is calm, lovely and gentle. Mei is feisty, hilarious and fun. Nelson is a very funny old man, full of one-liners. It really is the perfect group!

I expected humour from Klune and was not disappointed. His quirky writing style had me laughing out loud most of the way through so anyone who read The House in the Cerulean Sea and is hoping for more of the same I don’t think you’ll be disappointed either.

There’s not much else to say without spoiling the storyline so I’ll end my review there. I highly recommend and am so happy to say that it lived up to every expectation I had!

The House in the Cerulean Sea is one of my favourite books of this year, and Under the Whispering Door has now made that list too! The story follows Wallace, who dies and is taken to the ferryman to move on with his life. The ferryman, Hugo, owns a tea shop and Wallace soon learns that there is more to his life after his death. This is a beautiful story of grief and growth, with an incredible set of characters, set in the most adorable tea shop.

Just like The House in the Cerulean Sea, the writing style for this book was so lovely and had that middle grade for adults feel to it. It made the book feel very nostalgic, almost as if I was rereading something I had first read as a child. The writing also had the perfect balance of humour, heartwarming moments, and emotional parts. As I reached the end of the book I definitely had a lump in my throat, mainly because I didn’t want it to end!

Wallace went through such great character development. He starts the book as a cold, emotionless man who is ultimately lonely. I loved how he found a family in the people at the tea shop, and in particular with Hugo. The development of their relationship was beautiful, and had an almost bittersweet feel considering the circumstances that brought them together. The two other characters, Mei and Nelson, were so well fleshed out and really added to the dynamic of the group. I think Nelson is now a favourite fictional character of mine, he was so wise and I just wanted to hear him tell me a story!

The book felt to me like A Christmas Carol meets Julie and the Phantoms meets The Good Place. So if you’re a fan of any of them, and if you loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, you will adore this book!

TW: Death, grief, loss, murder, suicide

After reading The House in the Cerulean Sea, I had certain expectations about this book going into it, and I was mostly wrong. This book is not a sequel or a continuation of The House in the Cerulean Sea, but something entirely new and, for me at least, incredibly powerful.

At the beginning of the book, we meet Wallace Price in his prime. A ruthless lawyer, in the process of firing a long-time employee in a way that shows he has no compassion or heart. TJ Klune delivers a character who should, on all accounts, be impossible to like. And yet, Wallace might just be one of the most relatable, empathetic characters I've ever read.

I adore the emotional way in which TJ Klune writes, something I've enjoyed in his previous books, but never before has any book had such an emotional impact on me as Under the Whispering Door. I certainly don't remember any book where I spent at least 1/3 of it in tears.

As someone who has lost loved ones, this book gives me hope for all of us, and reading it was an incredibly cathartic process.

While it was emotional, the book wasn't by any means 'doom and gloom'. The characters and situations in the book had me laughing out loud and smiling at the sweetness and the possibility. The romance in this book is beautiful, with a found family at its core, and the perfect pairing between a complete cinnamon roll character and a grumpier character.

"Wallace stared after him, burning like the sun."

Only TJ Klune could write a book about death that’s so hauntingly and profoundly beautiful…but also makes you laugh out loud. I swear each book he writes is better than the last.

"When we're lost, we need help to try and find out way again."

Having read and loved other works by T J Klune, I was really excited to read this one too, and so pleased to get the chance to read an advanced copy, it did not disappoint and I will be recommending it.

Full review coming soon...

""You're serious about this?"
"As a heart attack""

Wallace our main character dies from heart attack and then as a ghost goes to Hugo's tea shop where he figures out what to do next. This book was nice. And sad. The idea was amazing, but to me it was really slow paced at the beginning, because kinda nothing happens. Overall it was good read. 4,5/5⭐

Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for the latter half of 2021 so I was really excited when it came up on NetGalley.

Walter is a high powered lawyer who lives for his work. Things have order and he is not the most sympathetic employer, as can be shown by the fact that he fires an employee for a minor discretion at the beginning of the book. Second chapter then sees Walter at his own funeral, having suffered a heart attack.

This book then follows Walter's acceptance of his death and explores his grief. He goes on a journey of self discovery, helped along the way by the residents of Charon's Crossing. Walter soon realises that his life was not something that he was proud of and he learns more about himself.

The characters were all so well-written and 'real' and I simply loved finding out about them. Not just Walter, but all of them. The 'found family' trope was beautifully done by Klune and this book is one that I found myself staying up late reading as I could not put it down. I regretted it the following day!

Thank you for the ARC - I adored it and I cannot wait to purchase it for my shelves when it hits the shops.