Under the Whispering Door Review

Title: Under the Whispering Door

Author: TJ Klune

Publisher: Tor Books

Publication date: September 21, 2021

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Summary

Wallace Price is a lawyer. He’s good at what he does and likes everything to be perfect. So, when he unexpectedly dies of a heart attack, it takes until his funeral for him to realize he’s actually dead. It’s at his funeral that Mei, his reaper, leads him to the next stop on his journey: a small tea shop run by a man named Hugo.

Hugo is a ferryman, someone who helps ghosts move on to the afterlife. However, Wallace isn’t quite ready to cross over. There’s so much about life that he never got to experience. So, with Hugo’s help, Wallace starts to experience these things. After all, it’s better late than never.

Review: Under the Whispering Door

Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! I’ve written about my love for TJ Klune before, but I absolutely adored this book. Seriously, Hugo and Wallace were just so adorable and cute and everything about their relationship really tore at your heartstrings. No one writes emotion like Klune does!

I’m only going to make one complaint about this book and it’s about the summary that’s included on Goodreads/the book jacket. Some of those events don’t happen until at least halfway through the book! Book summaries are supposed to give you a taste, not tell you everything that happens in the book.

Anyway, I digress. I truly believe that TJ Klune is a king of writing character, emotion, and found family. Wallace is totally, completely unlikable at the beginning, but everything changes once he meets Hugo. And Hugo! What an adorable cinnamon roll of a man. I never wanted anything bad to happen to him, and he absolutely deserved the world.

The world building was also really well done here. I enjoyed the way Klune imagined the afterlife and it worked really well for the story. I want to go to Hugo’s tea shop and just enjoy a cup of tea with them. When you read the book, I know you will too!

Coming off the success of The House in the Cerulean Sea, I think TJ Klune will have another hit on his hands. Fans of that book will definitely enjoy this one as well. Definitely be on the lookout for it when it comes out in September!

5/5 stars