Author: TJ Klune
Series: n/a
Series #: n/a
Genre: paranormal/supernatural
Age Group: adult
ARC?: no

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop’s owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn’t ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo’s help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

By turns heartwarming and heartbreaking, this absorbing tale of grief and hope is told with TJ Klune’s signature warmth, humor, and extraordinary empathy. 

Review

oh no oh NO

I was so excited for this book that I preordered the signed, sprayed edges edition from Waterstones. The book is stunningly gorgeous, I will say that. Last year, House on the Cerulean Sea topped my list of favorite 2020 books. And previously his indie series were some of my favorites. I went into this book expecting to love it, especially because so many people said it made them ugly cry. I was prepared; I brought tissues and everything for my lunch break, 100% prepared to have to explain to my coworkers why I was sobbing my heart out in the middle of the day. Little did I expect…that I wasn’t going to like the book.

While I didn’t hate the book, I also didn’t love it either. It’s a firmly middle ground book that I might try again in half a year or something. As I read it, I just found…I struggled to get into it. I like books with lots of characterization and character focus. Addie LaRue for example. I VERY much enjoyed that book. But this one…just didn’t work for me in the same way. It was slow, but slow in a way that I found uninteresting at best. Which is odd, because I love slow books. Just…something didn’t click with me in regards to this book.

The concept of the book was very neat, and I thought that was interesting, but I kept having to restrain the urge to skip through parts where I felt nothing was happening, plot wise or character wise. Which was very frustrating for me because I was trying to get myself to like the book.


I also liked the variety of characters that were included in the book. I think they could have been so much more interesting, but for the most part I felt apathy about them all. On top of that the romantic relationship just didn’t work for me.

I also love Klune’s writing. He’s got such a great writing style, but in this case, the book overall didn’t work for me with his writing style. I don’t know what happened.

This is one of those books that is going to go on my shelf because it’s a special edition and one that I might see if a change of mood will make me like it.

Suffice to say I am heartbroken and disappointed that I didn’t love the book.

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Author: TJ Klune
Series: The Extraordinaries
Series #: 1
Genre: superheroes, LGBTQ+, romance
Age Group: young adult
ARC?: yes

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?

After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

Review

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen for a copy of the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I am never more pleased than when I can write a glowing five-star review about a book. This book is going to be amazing for many people, and not only that, I feel that it captures so much in its pages. I started reading the book and about 3% in I was crying. Why was I crying? I was crying because we open with something that brought back such good, and excellent memories of things I used to love. And the book only got better.

  If I could describe the wording in one word…no, I can’t. Impossible. Klune is a fabulous writer. There is something that is relatable and charged in his writing. This book can be read by adults, but I felt so strongly that this book will resonate with today’s teens, there are so many references to things in this book that even I am aware of. Lots of cult classic references…there was a lot to love jam packed into this book.

I will admit, at first, I worried, because I am never sure. But the pacing in this one was fantastic, but I think in part it is because you sort of know what is going on…and well…it worked. I have a tough time discussing the pacing of this novel without giving too much away.

 

I cannot talk about the plot of this book too much, because it would give so much away! Suffice to say all the characters in this book are awesome and the plot rocks. If you like superheroes, and fanfiction, and weird cultural references, then you’ll love the plot of this book. Literally, I cannot say anything about this plot, other than Nick is terribly adorable, and well…that’s all!!!

I feel like my plot section bled into my character section, but the characters were very much the plot. Seth, Nick, Gibby and Jazz…can I love them any more than I do? No. NO. Because they are amazing. They are so personable, and real and there. They have these quirks and this friendship that is amazing. But it isn’t perfect and I adore it. I love the naturalness of their conversations, of their interactions…it brought back some memories for me.

This book does a lot of that. I felt absolutely absorbed in this book because of these amazing characters and their relationships.

Nick also has ADHD, and I thought it was great to have that type of representation. Also, pretty much everyone is queer. (It’s awesome.)

Nova City is very reminiscent of typical superhero cities, but it also feels like a real city in this world, and the combination of that, and superhero powers worked for me.

I love Klune’s writing and books so much, and this just solidifies how amazing of a writer he is. I laughed and cried my way through this book, and I will be buying this as soon as I can! If you love clueless romance, superheroes, funny jokes, weird moments or great friendships, this is the book for you. There are some darker moments, but overall, a lighthearted and splendid book.

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