A review by estellegodard
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.25

I was so disappointed with this book. it was repetitive in almost every aspect (even the dialogue often felt like I’d read it before!). I found the characters cheesy and formulaic; everything they said that was meant to be “deep” came off as generic and provided very little meaningful insight into the themes of the novel. I also found wallace’s character development extremely unrealistic: his change is too sudden and lacks nuance. finally, the ending was cheap and completely undermines the through-line that was being preached throughout the book of death being irreversible and that we must make peace with this. all in all, I was expecting a lot more from this cozy fantasy, especially since I had enjoyed the authors previous book. I only add on a quarter star because by the halfway point it became more bingeable, which enriched the reading experience a little.