Thank you to Jonny for buddy reading this with me. You can click the link to see his review for this book and our buddy reads and rants post will be going up in a couple hours so keep an eye out for that. 

This is the second book by this author that I have read, and I am starting to think that Klune has the potential to become a favorite author, but I want to read another book or 2 before I actually decide. 

The first book that I read was The House in the Cerulean Sea.  When I first started reading that book, I thought it was really cute and I was enjoying it, but I also felt like it was overhyped. By the time I finished it though I was hooked. With this book I was hooked from the very beginning, and it held me to the very last page. 

This book is about the death of Wallace and what happens after. I wasn't expecting to read a book about death when I started this, but I loved the authors take on this. In the beginning Wallace isn't a very nice guy so it was hard to like him at first however, after he dies things start to change and he grows so much as a character. I would say out of all of the characters he had the most character growth. By the end of the book, I was rooting for him. 

The other main characters are Mei who is a reaper, Hugo who is the ferryman, Nelson who is Hugo's grandpa and is also dead and Appolo who is a dog that has also died. All of the characters are amazing. Hugo is the more contemplative one and the other 3 bring the humor to the story. You would think a book about death wouldn't be funny but at times there was some humor. I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes a few times and my husband was looking at me like I had lost my mind. 

This book is definitely character driven and it moves at a slower pace. While I am typically drawn more to a faster plot driven book the characters in this book made the slower pace worthwhile. Also, this book will have you feeling all of the emotions. I felt so much for these characters that by the end I was in tears. You do have to suspend disbelief a little in the end, but I loved the story so much that I didn't care. 

Everyone I've talked to said that while they loved this book it was missing something for them that kept them from loving it as much as The House in the Cerulean Sea. For me it's the opposite. I loved this so much and I think that while I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, I loved this one just a little bit more. 

If you aren't triggered by death and grief, I highly recommend reading this book. I can't wait to pick up another book by this author.