Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew

7 reviews

whynotreadwithalex's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

Writing a review for a book that completely stole my heart is always a challenge. It's especially difficult to describe the ways in which this kind of book makes a reader feel seen -- not simply a story or cast of characters that you can relate to, but one that is so extraordinary that it reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place. This is one of those books for me.

Truth be told, I originally picked up this book because I wanted to read another book by Kelly Andrew -- Your Blood, My Bones -- that is set in the same universe and I didn't want to miss out on any important details. The plot intrigued me, but I wasn't expecting to be so completely swept up in the narrative that the story buried itself into my bones. I was surprisingly captivated, to say the least. 

Lane and Colton...wow. Theirs is a story of heartbreaking tragedy, new hope fluttering to life in the darkest of places, and a tangled web of fate and lies and beautifully broken bits slowly mended by love and time. Their story is haunting...literally. It's achingly beautiful. It's horrifying, at times, and struggles with honesty and freedom amid power plays, paranormal agendas, and death that lingers. It's a masterpiece.

And the writing style is brilliant: wistful, sweeping, mysterious, unnerving, withholding, heart-wrenching, and unique. Amazing, truly amazing. 

What you're getting:
--> from her POV, enemies-to-lovers; from his POV, he's loved her all his life
--> dark academia meets gender-bent Ella Enchanted vibes meets Hades and Persephone retelling/Beauty and the Beast (you decide which is which)
--> spooky spook galore: we've got creepy cult dudes, Wednesday (the TV show) thriller vibes, a multiverse to explore, and the dead...always lurking
--> deaf FMC with paranormal gifts x overprotective, working behind the scenes, secretive Mr. Darcy type MMC who is obsessed with her

If you can't tell, I absolutely loved this book and will be reading everything that Kelly Andrew writes. This is an immediate 5-star read for me, I cannot recommend it enough, and has easily made it to my FAVORITES shelf. 

Fearless. Brilliant. Sweepingly romantic. Thrilling and mysterious. Creative and unique. Dark. Captivating. Aesthetic. Addicting. Beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Stalking and Car accident

lizgriffinwords's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child death and Violence

Minor: Body horror, Medical content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

stardustandrockets's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism

Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy

chronicacademia's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism

booksthatburn's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Delaney is a post-lingual Deaf girl who sometimes hears the shadows whispering. She gets into a university whose stated purpose is to teach its students to traverse between realities. Colton is a student who briefly died when he was a child, meeting Delaney briefly at the time. When they meet again on campus, she doesn’t recognize him but is drawn to him anyway, while he instantly knows her and can’t keep his distance. They begin spending time together, then the lines are blurred further when another student dies.

There’s a consistent theme of ableism, mainly but not only from professors who don’t know Delaney is deaf (because they didn’t read the emails alerting them). She’s navigating this new space and deciding how much she’d rather deal with not being able to usefully hear in the moment or with overt ableism once people know she’s deaf. Whether she’s using her implant and what she does or does not hear is important throughout, and is used to great effect once things start getting spooky.

The worldbuilding is sparse, most of the details are atmospheric and unexplained until late in the book. The specific answers and explanations (when they finally arrived) wrapped up pretty much everything I wanted to know. I enjoy vibe-heavy books that leave me interested but confused for long stretches, so this was a deeply satisfying read for me. Colton’s secrets (and those he keeps for others) are hinted at but not revealed early, keeping the reader and Delaney equally in the dark for much of the story. 

For a book with parallel worlds there aren’t many descriptions of traversals, though there are more towards the end. I like how much the focus is on Delaney piecing things together and trying to make it through her classes, and on her dynamic with Colton. I often enjoy books with mysterious and brooding guys, and this delivered. 

Heavy on vibes, supported by a delicate but satisfying plot, don’t miss THE WHISPERING DARK.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Pregnancy

soniajoy98's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Medical content, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Car accident and Classism