Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Under the Whispering Door

Honestly, I didn’t expect this book to fill my heart with such warmth, and I definitely didn’t expect it to be this lighthearted dealing with such heavy topics as death and grief. Throughout this book I couldn’t help but feel that it’s not only about how Wallace faces his own death (and with that monsters and regrets of his past life) but more about how to live your life to the fullest.

Of course, I loved the characters. Warm and thoughtful Hugo (couldn’t help to imagine him all beefy and handsome), quirky Mei, eccentric but oh so funny grandpa Nelson and of course the purest boy Apollo. Even Wallace, after few first pages I expected him to annoy the heck out of me making me pully my hair out of my head but surprisingly he didn’t. I have to say I didn’t quite understand Wallace’s development as a person though. It felt like after about 40 years of his life spent on frightening everyone working for him in the office, blaming every mistake on everyone but him and just in general being a selfish man, in just two weeks he transformed into an empathetic and thoughtful person (and considering what happened in the last chapter, he turned into the most selfless person ever). Was it due to this found family or the realization of his own death and all the regrets he had after that? I am not quite sure but it felt drastic and too sudden. I am not mad about it though.

The romance felt… underwhelming. I was looking forward to that part but when it happened, I thought I enjoy the idea of them as a couple in my head way more than their relationship described on these pages. Not that these moments they shared weren’t good, they were more intimate and heartwarming than others in many books I’ve read before but It wasn’t clear to me how it happened, what really brought them together past the friendship and the initial attraction.

The whole story (although I knew it was middle paced and character driven) felt too long, it was almost dragging at times, and I kept feeling like I’m reading the same things over and over again just in different words. When I reached about half of the book, I was asking myself where it is going, when I finally see the romance or any major event. I also take half of a star out because even though it was a great read, I was feeling I’d be more of a help for me 5 or even 10 years ago when I was still just a confused teenager. I’d actually recommend this book to someone around that age because of the light writing and, what I feel like, so much thought behind a process of writing about that heavy topic yet in a way that doesn’t make you feel all depressed. I know 15 years old me would also appreciate all the thoughts and conversations the characters shared with Wallace as they tried to make his grief and acceptance process easier (some of the things said were a bit cliché for me as 24 years old but I know I’d love them back in time).

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headachesince03's review

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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kathleencoughlin's review

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adventurous funny reflective 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

3.75

TJ Klune's thing appears to be curmudgeonly rule-follower learns that it's okay to live a little (lol) thanks to a band of eccentrics lead by a handsome & magical gentleman who carries a bit more responsibility than he should have to. I'm not mad about it, but I think it should have been branded more as a romance than a fantasy as the focus was really on the relationship. I think Wallace's character development happened a bit to quickly to be believable but I suppose the book can only be so long. Ultimately, it was cute and had an intresting premise. And I do love a pair of useless gays 😆

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lkeys's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

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spookily's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

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davidrb's review

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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.

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