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zazula'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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
Minor: Confinement, Grief, and Car accident
piperclover's review against another edition
I was so intrigued by this and was really excited to read a book with a deaf main character but I just can't click with any of it. I don't think the style is working for me so I'm not connecting to anything that's happening and I find myself being confused at the plot and at the flow of the story itself.
There's lots of scenes that are described in sentence fragments and it's meant to portray the feeling of being jarred and disoriented, only getting smashes of information, but it's just something that I can't process and I don't enjoy. I like the story itself but I'm over halfway through and I feel like nothing's happening even though there's a lot of plot happening.
I just don't think that forcing myself through it is going to make me enjoy it anymore when I've already been listening to it at 2.35 speed and I'm wishing to be done.
There's lots of scenes that are described in sentence fragments and it's meant to portray the feeling of being jarred and disoriented, only getting smashes of information, but it's just something that I can't process and I don't enjoy. I like the story itself but I'm over halfway through and I feel like nothing's happening even though there's a lot of plot happening.
I just don't think that forcing myself through it is going to make me enjoy it anymore when I've already been listening to it at 2.35 speed and I'm wishing to be done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Grief
callistag1's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Murder
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, and Violence
ylvyly's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Murder
turidt's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, and Vomit
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
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: Ableism, Body horror, Death, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Kidnapping, and Stalking
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: Ableism, Body horror, Child death, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Stalking and Car accident
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Medical content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
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, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Sexual content, Dementia, Car accident, and Alcohol
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: Ableism, Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Car accident