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A review by nhnabass
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
3.0
3.5 stars
I read through this a lot faster than I was expecting. I would honestly give it a full 4 or even 4.5 if not for the ending. I truly wish the author went through with it. If this is a story about grief and the aggressively complexities that come with it, he should have pulled the trigger and let Wallace cross. As someone who doesn't read a lot of happy feel good books, I did admittedly cry quite a bit in the ending and was absolutely gutted when the author was like "ahh just kidding! It's fine! This ONE exception for all of eternity!! I'm a big terrifying all powerful god and this right here is the one exception!" It really undermined all of the buildup leading to that scene and I felt a little robbed emotionally! I would have loved to see Hugo work through Wallace's departure.
All in all, it was a fun ride. It was my first book by this author and I enjoyed his witty writing and sarcastic tone. Wallace was an absolute asshole and his 180 temperament flip could have certainly been made more realistic had the character been a little more dimensional-- going further into his childhood perhaps, showing us why he was the way he was.
I can't complain, quick read, tugged on my heart strings a bit, not a fan of the ending and probably won't read again but will probably still recommend anyways.
I read through this a lot faster than I was expecting. I would honestly give it a full 4 or even 4.5 if not for the ending. I truly wish the author went through with it. If this is a story about grief and the aggressively complexities that come with it, he should have pulled the trigger and let Wallace cross. As someone who doesn't read a lot of happy feel good books, I did admittedly cry quite a bit in the ending and was absolutely gutted when the author was like "ahh just kidding! It's fine! This ONE exception for all of eternity!! I'm a big terrifying all powerful god and this right here is the one exception!" It really undermined all of the buildup leading to that scene and I felt a little robbed emotionally! I would have loved to see Hugo work through Wallace's departure.
All in all, it was a fun ride. It was my first book by this author and I enjoyed his witty writing and sarcastic tone. Wallace was an absolute asshole and his 180 temperament flip could have certainly been made more realistic had the character been a little more dimensional-- going further into his childhood perhaps, showing us why he was the way he was.
I can't complain, quick read, tugged on my heart strings a bit, not a fan of the ending and probably won't read again but will probably still recommend anyways.