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ylvyly's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, and Child death
bookcheshirecat's review
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Death, Ableism, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Gore
kbeva's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, and Murder
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence, Child death, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Ableism, and Body horror
Minor: Stalking and Car accident
kamilahlove's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Ableism
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Dementia and Car accident
takarakei's review against another edition
dark
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
4.5
(reread) tbh the audio narration was just ok (no difference between POV voices) BUT I love this book so, just read a physical copy!
- The ROMANCE *screams*
- Deaf MC
- Dark academia
- A little spooky
- A lot mysterious
- Dual POV
My original review:
This book will keep you on questioning everything until the end it's super mysterious. You're gonna be like "wtf is going on" for 80% of the book, but in the best way possible.
THE ROMANCE.
What are these YA Fantasy Romance authors doing to me???? I have *feelings* How do they keep everything so PG but I am sweating?! IT'S SO GOOD.
Protect Colton at all costs. That is all.
If you're a fan of: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace (new adult) or Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (NOT YA) I think you'll really enjoy this.
IDK where to even put the spice cause it's completely 'closed door' if anything even really happens it's vague in the most beautiful way. So 1.5-2/5 🌶️??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Ableism, Murder, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Body horror
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Car accident, Dementia, and Cursing
renettereads's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.75
“She was left with silence whispering in her head and shadows whispering at her feet and the very distinct feeling that she’d been somehow fractured on the inside.”
Following Delaney, our deaf main character, as she enrols at Godbole University intending to shatter people's impressions of her fragility, she’s faced with something far more menacing than she could’ve ever expected.
Told in three parts, this story was mysterious and eerie, and I very much loved the first part. It was told in a sort of dreamy way that made it all the more mystifying. Although it feels a little confusing, I liked that it set up a lot of questions and left me grasping for answers. Though part two started to draw connections, the story only really came together in part three, which made it feel a little rushed. As a reader, there was almost a sense of whiplash at how you’re suddenly, after such a build-up, expected to reconcile everything that had happened. It’s sad that the execution let this down because the foundations were there but just didn’t come together cohesively.
In saying that, the idea of slipping between worlds and of death changing us was really intriguing. The prose was absolutely stunning, and I liked this twist on dark academia. Character-wise, Colton was my newest fictional crush in the first half of the book – cue the sarcastic, morally-grey boy who'd do anything for his girl – but a few strange decisions and a little bit of a manipulative character made me feel conflicted in the second half.
Parts of this book could’ve easily been a 5-star read for me if other bits didn’t let it down. Still, The Whispering Dark was a gripping page-turner, and if you like dark reads, slow-burn sexual tension and the occult, you might really love this.
Following Delaney, our deaf main character, as she enrols at Godbole University intending to shatter people's impressions of her fragility, she’s faced with something far more menacing than she could’ve ever expected.
Told in three parts, this story was mysterious and eerie, and I very much loved the first part. It was told in a sort of dreamy way that made it all the more mystifying. Although it feels a little confusing, I liked that it set up a lot of questions and left me grasping for answers. Though part two started to draw connections, the story only really came together in part three, which made it feel a little rushed. As a reader, there was almost a sense of whiplash at how you’re suddenly, after such a build-up, expected to reconcile everything that had happened. It’s sad that the execution let this down because the foundations were there but just didn’t come together cohesively.
In saying that, the idea of slipping between worlds and of death changing us was really intriguing. The prose was absolutely stunning, and I liked this twist on dark academia. Character-wise, Colton was my newest fictional crush in the first half of the book – cue the sarcastic, morally-grey boy who'd do anything for his girl – but a few strange decisions and a little bit of a manipulative character made me feel conflicted in the second half.
Parts of this book could’ve easily been a 5-star read for me if other bits didn’t let it down. Still, The Whispering Dark was a gripping page-turner, and if you like dark reads, slow-burn sexual tension and the occult, you might really love this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Ableism
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Ableism
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Death, and Ableism
Moderate: Medical trauma, Violence, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Torture, Grief, Body horror, and Kidnapping
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Toxic relationship, and Dementia
takarakei'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book will keep you on questioning everything until the end it's super mysterious. You're gonna be like "wtf is going on" for 80% of the book, but in the best way possible.
THE ROMANCE.
What are these YA Fantasy Romance authors doing to me???? I have *feelings* How do they keep everything so PG but I am sweating?! IT'S SO GOOD.
Protect Colton at all costs. That is all.
If you're a fan of: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace (new adult) or Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (NOT YA) I think you'll really enjoy this.
IDK where to even put the spice cause it's completely 'closed door' if anything even really happens it's vague in the most beautiful way. So 1.5-2/5 🌶️??
THE ROMANCE.
What are these YA Fantasy Romance authors doing to me???? I have *feelings* How do they keep everything so PG but I am sweating?! IT'S SO GOOD.
Protect Colton at all costs. That is all.
If you're a fan of: Belladonna by Adalyn Grace (new adult) or Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (NOT YA) I think you'll really enjoy this.
IDK where to even put the spice cause it's completely 'closed door' if anything even really happens it's vague in the most beautiful way. So 1.5-2/5 🌶️??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Grief, Ableism, Murder, Violence, and Body horror
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Cursing