T. J. Klune: Under the Whispering Door

Hi everyone

I've been seeing and reading great things about T. J. Klune's Under the Whispering Door for months so I finally gave it a try.
I read this on my e-reader.

"When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.
And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.
But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days." 

As ever, I’ll be honest.
I didn’t love it. In fact, I didn’t really like it. It’s a combination of things that just didn’t work for me.

First and foremost, I disliked Wallace immensely. From the very first page, he felt like a caricature rather than a real person. He was written as a stereotype; the grumpy, work-obsessed man who suddenly becomes soft and sentimental and it never felt authentic. But Wallace wasn’t the only issue: every character in this book felt shallow. Sure, they all have backstories that get mentioned, but they’re just one-dimensional, black-and-white characters who don’t feel like real people. It’s as if they were written for a children’s book, where characters are either all bad or all good, with no nuance or depth to them.  
Secondly, the writing and pacing felt off. The characters mostly communicate in sighs, stares and Instagram platitudes. It's all Hallmark quotes meant to be put on a fridge or a toiletroomwall. It could be inspirational but it's just trite and boring. The novel was also painfully slow at times; dragging on with tedious details and then suddenly wham, two weeks have passed without warning. It made the story feel uneven and disjointed.
Thirdly; don't get me started on the romance. For the record, I do not care who you love, how you love or if you love someone at all or not. Love is love. But I do care about how love is portrayed in stories, and this romance felt completely fake from start to finish. There was no chemistry, no buildup, no real emotional connection; just a sudden, forced relationship that aggravated me to no end.
And then there’s the ending. Without giving anything away, it was too neat, too simplistic, and didn’t feel earned.

Under the Whispering Door wasn’t a long book, so I finished it; but I wouldn’t recommend it. It wasn’t absolutely terrible, but it wasn’t good either. If you’re curious, you can give it a try, but don’t feel like you have to finish it if it’s not working for you. And sometimes I should just heed my own advice and quit a book that doesn't work for me.
Have you read Under the Whispering Door? Did you connect with it more than I did? I’d love to hear your thoughts; maybe I’m missing something!

Happy reading!
Helena