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A review by louise1608
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
5.0
You can find my full review for this as well as other books on my blog here
First of all as usual I would like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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!
First of all as usual I would like to thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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!