Under the Whispering Door is a fantasy fiction novel by TJ Klune. The story follows Wallace, a bitter lawyer, who is retrieved by a reaper at his own funeral. After arriving at Charon’s Crossing, the owner makes a promise to help him cross over. 

This is my second book by Klune, after Cerulean was a 5 star read for me. Whispering Door is very different plot wise, but also has the “that felt like a warm hug” feeling. I loved the queer romance, it was everything I was hoping for. I really appreciate that Klune writes his characters without making their queerness their entire personality, it doesn’t feel forced or squeezed in to be inclusive. 

The plot is focused on death, but it truly is a story about living, making the most out of every moment, and second chances. The pace is slower but I enjoyed it — I felt very cozy reading the happenings at Charon’s Crossing day to day. 

The characters struggle with rage, grief, loss, and heartbreak, but over the course of the story do an incredible amount of healing. I felt like reading this helped me come to terms with some of my grief and fear of death as well.

My one criticism is that Wallace goes from very bad to very good pretty quickly, I would’ve liked to have seen his progression a little more.

This book is cute, cozy, sad, and heartwarming all at the same time. Definitely worth the read. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I recommend checking the TW before reading due to the discussion of death and sensitive topics.