This book was beautiful. For anyone who has suffered a loss it can be quite soothing and healing. The amount of times they truly talk about death, grief, and leaving behind our loved ones, with such honesty and depth makes your heart grow. Wallace went on such a soul changing journey, from an aloof, uncaring man to someone desperate to keep his connection to his found family. This book touched on the pain, anger, and acceptance of death; but also the human ability to see death as more than just an end. Wallace was quite the character, and I am still unsure if I ended up liking him or not, for sure I had a hard time connecting to him. His past self was just so different from who he ended up becoming and I just never really understood or saw enough of his character transitioning from one extreme to the next. Sure, I saw moments of growth, but I was never sure how he even allowed himself to start this journey. If I had one issue with this book it was that. Otherwise, by the end Wallace turned out to be quite an amazing person, one who ended up changing the very realm of death. I adored the connections that Wallace made at Charon's Crossing. His effortless attachment to Hugo, who was such a charming character it was hard not to love him. Hugo's Grandfather Nelson is chipper, truthful, and willing to help Wallace find himself. But my absolute favourite character was Mei, the reaper. She is funny, she shows emotion easily, and she is willing to see the best in people. Her moments were some of the best in the book and really made Charon's Crossing come alive. However, what I loved most about this book was the world building. I found every aspect of it fascinating, from the reapers, the way stations, the ferryman, to the teashop itself. I felt it just seemed so soothing for something so sad and often tragic. I also found that it made so much sense, this need for souls to truly accept that they are dead and have made peace with themselves in order to go on to their next journey. Just so caringly written and thought out. This book had a lot of heart, but it also had a lot of humor. This balanced so well with how dark the book could be, making it a much more accessible read. The idea of death is so haunting and looming, you need those brief moments of laughter to really calm and soothe. And what is life if not both light and dark. A truly unique and wonderful read. Thank you so much to Tor Books for providing me with an eArc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
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