Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

94 reviews

ellpy's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m a big fan of The House on the Cerulean Sea so I was optimistic with this one and I wasn’t disappointed. In a world where it sometimes feels like there’s no way out, this book made me feel more hopeful than most. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

spttsn's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This devastated me. 

It was funny, it was heartbreaking. At first I wasn't convinced it was going to hold up to my expectations of TK Klune from reading The House in the Cerulean Sea, but holy hell it did. There seems to be a pattern in his books of a slow start followed by an absolutely soul-capturing story.
Also creepy children with too much power, but that's somehow not the important part.
You will fall in love with all the characters, even the 'bad' ones.

The first half of the book had a few tears, but then it got to a point where I just couldn't stop silently crying the entire way through. This is not a book for public reading.

I would exercise extreme caution reading this if you are dealing with any sort of recent grief.



Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kimroseozzy's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A very slow burn at first, but once I was hooked I couldn't put it down. The ending was worth the wait. And such a beautifully different, wholly unique story. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sundayfever's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The storyline is very cute and wholesome, and it cheered me up to think that we can find happiness in life after death. I've always struggled to get into this authors writing style, and I felt the same way with this book. The characters and atmosphere always feel stuffy to me. 
The author writes poc characters with the help of sensitivity readers, which does help, but I know there are conflicting opinions about this out there. The portrayals here didn't  raise any huge red flags for me personally. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

avrija's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. This was lovely. At first I was quite unsure if I’d like this, I really liked the house in the cerulean sea but you never know I guess. 
But this? Oh I loved it. It was humorous in a way that felt organic and authentic and not forced.

The characters were all lovely, I loved the worldbuilding and eagerly awaited every scrap of lore I could get my hands on.

Wallace‘s transformation is just great to see and while I did expect some development in that direction, like in cerulean, the contrast here was much starker and still didn’t feel forced.

Mei and Hugo were awesome and Nelson and Apollo too.

I liked that there were bits and pieces that showed, this place existed before Wallace came along, like Nancys plotline and Cameron’s, as well as the opinions of the others about the seance-woman (forgot her name) and the inspector.

The humour was also great, most of the book was very lighthearted and humorous even though it deals with death and grief and I quite enjoyed that. But also the heartbreaking parts were well done and had me sobbing in my bed in the middle of the night (totally recommend though).

I loved cerulean sea but this was even better <3

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

natnurdock's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

acasiamae's review

Go to review page

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

pond_newt's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really really enjoyed this book! It made me cry which for me is always the mark of a good book. I found it very comforting and cosy, and at many times I wished I could step right into the world that was created. Especially the tea shop- reading this has inspired a visit to my local cafe/tea shop! I loved all characters, especially Apollo, and I found the moments of humour throughout the book worked really well to ensure it wasn't too heavy of a read, despite the themes it covers. I had a couple of small gripes (see below in the spoiler section) but overall a wonderful read!

Spoiler review:
My small gripes: I found Wallace's switch from being an asshole to being kind a little too fast. It didn't seem like a process but more like he suddenly changed his mind, which doesn't seem very realistic to me for someone who spent his whole life being an asshole. Also at times it was a little on the long side, especially as it was all based in one location there were a couple times in the middle of the book when it got a little same-y. But other than that, really enjoyed!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

ceruleanseas's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

akswhy's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this one more than The House by the Cerulean Sea; it was a little more grounded and adult. The fantasy elements are well thought out, but not hindered by over-explanation. Just a truly good book about grief and death and love and beauty.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings