Reviews with content warning for Death - The Whispering Dark

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew

33 reviews

silverasters's review

This feels like a first draft. The characters are so flat I don’t give a damn about them. I have no idea what the plot is and there’s absolutely no world building. Also a student and TA relationship? Please don’t. Especially when she is a 18 year old first year and he is a 21 year old fourth year

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turidt's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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typedtruths's review against another edition

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this kind of... sucked, lol. i had such high hopes for it but i could not explain a single element of the plot for the entire first third.

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jasminerose97's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Unique. Infuriating yet gripping.

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bookcheshirecat's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

“She wanted to be defined. Not by the silence between her ears or her fear of the dark, but by the sum of her achievements. Not by what she couldn't do, but by what she could.”

➽ The Whispering Dark is about Delaney Meyers-Petrov, a deaf girl who gets accepted into the prestigious Godbole University! This isn't your normal school, as the program teaches students to slip between worlds and every carefully selected student has a specific esoteric talent. Delaney has been feeling like there's something in the quiet and her supernatural aptitude gets her invited to Godbole. I liked that we're following a deaf main character who's trying to navigate school and struggling with the lack of disability accommodations. I found the world very intriguing, I'm always excited by the concept of parallel worlds and the story itself was very atmospheric. I definitely got some dark academia vibes! In general, the writing style was very detailed and lyrical, which I liked at first. The longer the book went on, the more tired I got of the overdescription of everything though.

➽ I wish we'd gotten more explanations about the magic system, as the story just throws us right into the action without bothering to establish any background on the world. I kept waiting for additional information, but they never came. It was also disappointing that the actual school life took a backseat to Delaney and Colton's investigations and romance. Delaney doesn't have any other meaningful connections. A lot of things seemed to happen off-page, as she's suddenly friends with her roommate, but we never see them connect to each other. They just exist to be Delaney's friends, but get no personality or time with her. It felt like their friendship was skipped over in favor of the romance.

➽ The main dynamic is between Delaney and Colton, but I found them frustrating. Colton almost died when he was 9 years old and ever since he's been different. He knows Delaney, as she was there for the incident, but is told to stay away from her at school. I like a forbidden romance, but the problem is that we don't really find out why he has to push her away. As much as I was intrigued by Delaney and Colton's dynamic the fact that he kept so much information from her got exhausting! I get that there were plot reasons for his constant lying, but it grated on my nerves how he never explains anything and still expects Delaney to follow him. Their relationship felt codependent at times and suffered from a clear lack of communication. In the very beginning, Colton is downright nasty to Delaney to keep her away and even later his behavior is pretty arrogant. The longer the relationship went on, the more offputting it was!

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kbeva's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

4.25

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annelihghh's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.75

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kamilahlove's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

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lizgriffinwords's review

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

4.75

I finished this lovely, eerie, romantic book this morning. Would recommend it in a heartbeat - immaculate vibes, fast-paced prose, characters you’ll wholeheartedly root for.

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