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shelf_inspiration 's review for:
Whispers and the Roars
by K. Webster
2.75 / 3 STARS
“You are terrifying and strange and beautiful, something not everyone knows how to love” - (Warsaw Shire) Whispers and the Roars.
SYNOPSIS: When my eyes are closed, the monster can’t ever see me. When I sing a song in my head, the monster can’t ever hear me. When I pretend my bedroom is a playground where I play hide and seek, the monster can’t ever find me. The darkness should frighten me. I should worry I’ll find more monsters... monsters scarier than him. But I’m not afraid. It’s safe here. When I’m inside my head.. He. Can’t. Ever. Touch. Me.”- Whispers and the Roars
***WARNING THERE IS NO WAY I CAN DO A SPOILER FREE REVIEW, SPOILERS BELOW***
REVIEW: This book was a little bit of a ride for me. I was recommended to read this book by someone, and once I read the synopsis it interested me. There are all sorts of content warnings going into this book, ones for abuse, sexual abuse, rape, self-harm, and violence. However, while these were in the book, I felt like I have read many books with heavier content before, without all the warning signs. In addition, there is also a lot of sex in this book, not super graphic or drawn out but enough to know what is fully going on during those scenes.
When I first started this book I was confused as to why I got recommended this one. I am not super into “sexy” dark romance books and thought that this is where it was headed. While it didn’t go in that direction, it got super weird with the main character and her boyfriend having sex, and then her boyfriend and their seemingly best friend who is a male having sex while the girlfriend encouraged it. It all seemed very convoluted. There were also many other characters who were living in the house with the main character and acted as “family” who we didn’t have explanations for and seemed to come from no where. At this part of the book I was confused as to what I was even reading. And vaguely considered DNF-ing the book, however, I was still interested because of the fairly good ratings.
Then I finally reached the half way point where the twist was revealed. The main character (Kadence) actually had dissociative identity disorder and all these other “family member” characters were her alters. It took me a little bit by surprise and I was interested in the story again. Things started to make more sense, and what I thought was super strange in the beginning of the book felt a little better. However, after that point I felt like nothing else really happened and once again I lost some interest.
This may also be related to the fact that I am a mental health therapist and have studied dissociative disorders and trauma. While a lot of the basics of the disorder were presented in a reasonable manner, the way it was “handled” and treated was not. I also found the sections about alters going into her mind and fighting/ getting rid of the other alters to be a low point in the book. It made it seem more fantasy than reality in that way, and I think doesn’t help with the conceptualization of the disorder. However, I appreciated that the author included resources for DID at the end of the book. I think that working with dissociative identity disorder in a book plot is tricky because of the immense stigma that surrounds it, and it is important to by careful how it is portrayed. Overall, I wanted to like this story more, but there were some parts that I couldn’t get past.
“You are terrifying and strange and beautiful, something not everyone knows how to love” - (Warsaw Shire) Whispers and the Roars.
SYNOPSIS: When my eyes are closed, the monster can’t ever see me. When I sing a song in my head, the monster can’t ever hear me. When I pretend my bedroom is a playground where I play hide and seek, the monster can’t ever find me. The darkness should frighten me. I should worry I’ll find more monsters... monsters scarier than him. But I’m not afraid. It’s safe here. When I’m inside my head.. He. Can’t. Ever. Touch. Me.”- Whispers and the Roars
***WARNING THERE IS NO WAY I CAN DO A SPOILER FREE REVIEW, SPOILERS BELOW***
REVIEW: This book was a little bit of a ride for me. I was recommended to read this book by someone, and once I read the synopsis it interested me. There are all sorts of content warnings going into this book, ones for abuse, sexual abuse, rape, self-harm, and violence. However, while these were in the book, I felt like I have read many books with heavier content before, without all the warning signs. In addition, there is also a lot of sex in this book, not super graphic or drawn out but enough to know what is fully going on during those scenes.
When I first started this book I was confused as to why I got recommended this one. I am not super into “sexy” dark romance books and thought that this is where it was headed. While it didn’t go in that direction, it got super weird with the main character and her boyfriend having sex, and then her boyfriend and their seemingly best friend who is a male having sex while the girlfriend encouraged it. It all seemed very convoluted. There were also many other characters who were living in the house with the main character and acted as “family” who we didn’t have explanations for and seemed to come from no where. At this part of the book I was confused as to what I was even reading. And vaguely considered DNF-ing the book, however, I was still interested because of the fairly good ratings.
Then I finally reached the half way point where the twist was revealed. The main character (Kadence) actually had dissociative identity disorder and all these other “family member” characters were her alters. It took me a little bit by surprise and I was interested in the story again. Things started to make more sense, and what I thought was super strange in the beginning of the book felt a little better. However, after that point I felt like nothing else really happened and once again I lost some interest.
This may also be related to the fact that I am a mental health therapist and have studied dissociative disorders and trauma. While a lot of the basics of the disorder were presented in a reasonable manner, the way it was “handled” and treated was not. I also found the sections about alters going into her mind and fighting/ getting rid of the other alters to be a low point in the book. It made it seem more fantasy than reality in that way, and I think doesn’t help with the conceptualization of the disorder. However, I appreciated that the author included resources for DID at the end of the book. I think that working with dissociative identity disorder in a book plot is tricky because of the immense stigma that surrounds it, and it is important to by careful how it is portrayed. Overall, I wanted to like this story more, but there were some parts that I couldn’t get past.