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zalesbian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Oh man. I you loved House In The Cerulean Sea as much I did and are excited to read another campy lighthearted queer book then this isn't it.
This book was campy and queer, but far from lighthearted. It'll pull your heart right from your chest and leaving you as a husk. Luckily, it will also bring you back to life, eventually.
It was a slow start but the tension that builds up leads you straight into a pitfall of emotions.
TJ Klune is very quickly becoming my favorite author. He is 2 for 2 of adult fantasy bangers.
This book was campy and queer, but far from lighthearted. It'll pull your heart right from your chest and leaving you as a husk. Luckily, it will also bring you back to life, eventually.
It was a slow start but the tension that builds up leads you straight into a pitfall of emotions.
TJ Klune is very quickly becoming my favorite author. He is 2 for 2 of adult fantasy bangers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Chronic illness, and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent
unwise_samwise's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It made me cry for sadness and joy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Chronic illness, and Homophobia
davidrb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A nuanced look at grief and how you can grieve for your own life and what could have happened bogged down by some wild tone shifting at key moments and awkwardly written bits. Overall very good, if flawed. I don't know if I'll ever get used to queer relationships being written with such love and tenderness. I didn't know I was allowed to be this happy.
There's one absolutely devastating scene towards the end that I will think about for ages.
There's one absolutely devastating scene towards the end that I will think about for ages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Mind the content warnings at the very beginning, particularly for suicide!chichisode's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
i trust TJ Klune with my life when it comes to reading materials. amazing and complex character development as always.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Animal death
breezer's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'm going to start this by saying I have never cried so hard whilst reading a book - I'm talking full chest heaving, uncontrollable tears. (You have been warned incase you plan to read this in public)
This is a tender caring story of grief, love, loss, found family, acceptance, sadness and what comes after death.
I loved every character in the Charon Cross Tea shop with my whole heart; Wallace our recently deceased businessman, Hugo our precious caring ferryman, Mei a strong protective reaper, Nelson the hilarious grandfather to Hugo and Apollo the goodest ghost doggo ever.
Although centered around a deep subject of loss and death this was also about all forms of love, love of a pet, past loves, platonic love, romantic love and lost love.
Truly a beautiful, compassionate, quirky, and at time humourous novel that melted my heart.
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an ARC of this novel.
Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with an ARC of this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Terminal illness
sunsetcity's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
<b>5 stars </b>
<i>Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review </i>
Picked this one up because I've loved Klune's last two books and I was not disappointed! In this one, we follow Wallace who has recently died and is being taken to a tea house. This tea house is a waypoint for the dead, a stop before they move on to whatever comes next. Wallace isn't ready to move on, so he decides to stay for as long as he can. He soon meets the other residents of the tea house: Nelson, an elderly ghost, Mei, a reaper who helps bring people to the waypoint, Apollo, a ghost dog, and Hugo, the owner and ferryman of the tea house. Wallace soon begin to see that maybe you can learn more about life in death.
The tone of this book was very different from the previous ones I had read by this author, but I still really enjoyed it. It still had Klune's signature humour woven throughout the narrative, but it also dealt with topics of death, grief, murder, suicide, and what it means to truly live. There were some parts of this book that were pretty heavy but there were some important conversations had that I wasn't expecting to see. We also see themes of found family as well, which I loved. My one criticism of this book is that the ending, for me, was pretty predictable and I saw it coming from a mile away. That's not to say that I didn't like the end, but I would have liked to have been surprised more by it
As with most of Klune's books, it was the characters that made it. They all were super well developed, even the dog, and the relationships between them seemed very genuine. I loved the character arc that Wallace went through and how he realized so many things about what it means to be happy. Hugo was such a wise person for his age and I loved seeing just how big his heart was. Mei and Nelson we so great, and brought in comedic elements and serious elements. And don't get me started on the characters who would visit the tea shop! I could seriously sing the praises of every character forever, and still have more to say.
Overall, this was a really deep and heartfelt story about death, family, and what it means to be alive.
<i>Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review </i>
Picked this one up because I've loved Klune's last two books and I was not disappointed! In this one, we follow Wallace who has recently died and is being taken to a tea house. This tea house is a waypoint for the dead, a stop before they move on to whatever comes next. Wallace isn't ready to move on, so he decides to stay for as long as he can. He soon meets the other residents of the tea house: Nelson, an elderly ghost, Mei, a reaper who helps bring people to the waypoint, Apollo, a ghost dog, and Hugo, the owner and ferryman of the tea house. Wallace soon begin to see that maybe you can learn more about life in death.
The tone of this book was very different from the previous ones I had read by this author, but I still really enjoyed it. It still had Klune's signature humour woven throughout the narrative, but it also dealt with topics of death, grief, murder, suicide, and what it means to truly live. There were some parts of this book that were pretty heavy but there were some important conversations had that I wasn't expecting to see. We also see themes of found family as well, which I loved. My one criticism of this book is that the ending, for me, was pretty predictable and I saw it coming from a mile away. That's not to say that I didn't like the end, but I would have liked to have been surprised more by it
As with most of Klune's books, it was the characters that made it. They all were super well developed, even the dog, and the relationships between them seemed very genuine. I loved the character arc that Wallace went through and how he realized so many things about what it means to be happy. Hugo was such a wise person for his age and I loved seeing just how big his heart was. Mei and Nelson we so great, and brought in comedic elements and serious elements. And don't get me started on the characters who would visit the tea shop! I could seriously sing the praises of every character forever, and still have more to say.
Overall, this was a really deep and heartfelt story about death, family, and what it means to be alive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Terminal illness
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