The Whispering Dark: The bewitching academic rivals to lovers slow burn debut fantasy

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In a world where everyone has a magical ability based on the moon’s phase on their day of birth, magical education is reserved for those with exceptional talent. The Raven Boys meets Ninth House with a deaf MC, a hijabi side character, and the most stunning writing you've read in your life. The Whispering Dark is incredibly immersive, I absolutely adored every aspect of it. It felt so intimate? I don't know how to explain it but I felt so much comfort every time I opened the book to continue reading.

Not to mention, nothing made sense about the climax. We got no concrete answers about what the hell sort of cult Colton was pledged to. The “Apostle” was the most obvious person ever and would have been better if the author just straight-up said who it was instead of making it a mystery. The whole premise is supposed to be about going into parallel universes, but it was so irrelevant to the plot it could have been cut out entirely. Oh, not to mention, Colton freaking KILLS SOMEONE and BURIES THEIR BODY in the woods and we never hear about this again. The plot is also paper-thin - the first half and the majority of the second half is just setting up the heavily problematic (we’ll get to that, don’t worry) romance between Lane and Colton and the rest is either confusing or predictable with no in-between. There is a mysterious villain of ‘The Apostle’ but after one chapter from his point of view I correctly guessed who it was, so the ending ‘twist’ didn’t have any impact at all. A startled laugh burst out of her. “I can’t believe you just admitted to that. That is incredibly creepy.” It’s happened. The Meyers-Petrov girl has been accepted to the program. She’s to start in September. You’ll keep away from her, Price, do you understand?” so i read her book carefully-- through the lens of "will this harm hijabis? will this harm muslims and give them a bad rep? will someone who reads this get a bad opinion of muslims and ultimately lead to an increase in harmful stereotypes being seen as the norm as we have seen time and time again in books and media when muslims are shown?"Delaney wants to keep her distance from Colton - she seems to be the only person on campus who finds him more arrogant than charming - yet after a Godbole student turns up dead, she and Colton are forced to form a tenuous alliance, plummeting down a rabbit-hole of deeply buried university secrets. But Delaney and Colton discover the cost of opening the doors between worlds when they find themselves up against something old and nameless, an enemy they need to destroy before it tears them - and their forbidden partnership - apart. Writing: As I said, it was beautiful, but it was also not great at a lot of points, when the scenes shifted. One second we were being told she’s in her room and literally the next sentence is her having a conversation with someone in her class. In that aspect I think this book needed an editor, or maybe the final form of this book might be different as I read it as an e-arc? I don’t know. The pacing might not be smooth but the poetic writing of the ambiguity surrounding Delaney’s (dis)ability is what pulled me in. I don’t want to say too much without spoiling but I love how her ✨deafness✨ played a role in the supernatural. I, a deaf person, LOVE the 🦻🏽DEAF REP🧏‍♀️!! The book isn’t nowhere near perfect but the deaf author did phenomenal as an indie author!!!!

Delaney, otherwise known as Lane, is a fantastic protagonist. Used to being overlooked because of her disability, she’s inquisitive, determined, and desperate to prove herself. She’s also haunted by voices in the shadows, terrified of the dark, and paralyzed by impostor syndrome in an environment where she isn’t quite sure she belongs. Lane draws the reader’s empathy immediately, carrying the novel through sections of mystery where it’s unclear what everything means. A paranormal thriller laced with twists and revelations that will stop your heart' Aiden Thomas, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of CEMETERY BOYS Overall, this isn’t a book that will work for everyone, but for fans of atmospheric reads, well-crafted romance, and dark academia in all its overwritten glory, this is a recommended read. She was four feet away from him, and for the second time that day, the elevator doors were about to slam shut in her face. He leaned over and jabbed a button, halting their advance. She watched him with a razor-sharp acuity. She didn’t move. Her cheeks were pinked, her wide-eyed stare fringed by dark lashes. With slow-budding alarm, he realized he’d spoken her name right out loud.The Raven Boys meets Ninth House in the most exciting debut of 2022 -- a dark, atmospheric fantasy about a Deaf college student with a peculiar connection to the afterlife. His name slipped out of her like a supplication. He wanted to tell her he was the last person to the bear the weight of benediction". I SCREAMEDDDDD That being said, any story that comes from the heart is bound to get a little raw in the telling. Wyatt and Pedyr's story has strong elements of horror, which means there are quite a few potential trigger warnings. I've listed them below, in case anyone is curious prior to diving in. A beat of quiet passed. Then another. She thought, maybe, he'd fallen asleep. Instead, he spoke, low and drugged. "I dragged myself out of Hell to you.” A haunting, dreamlike tale of sacrifice, love, and obsession’ Cassandra Clare, #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of THE LAST HOURS

This book is truly Ninth House meets The Raven Boys, and it might even be what I wanted Ninth House to be. Colton and Darlington are forever going to be my favourites. And Lane is such an amazing character. Her character arc was amazing, going from something fragile to something strong and otherworldly. Colton is the definition of broody morally grey hero and I lived for every moment. Both of their characters were so real and fleshed out. I hung on their every word and I was fully invested in them and their story. It was a bad habit—her tendency to personify the dark. To imagine it restless, the way she had when she’d been little and lonely and looking for a friend. To fear the way it drew her eye, the way it pulled at her like a tide. As the proctor rattled off rules she couldn’t hear, she’d busied herself with setting her pencils into a neatly sharpened line and done her best not to stare into the gymnasium’s murky corners. This is a tale full of mystery and murder, perfect for both Dark Academia fans and those who enjoy supernatural spookiness! Romantic and horror-filled, with tension and twists at every turn, The Whispering Dark follows Delaney Meyers-Petrov as she navigates Godbole University, a school that seems to contain more secrets than students. Having been accepted into a prestigious program where students are taught to slip between parallel worlds, Delaney soon finds herself hearing voices in the shadows and facing entities that lurk in the dark. NINTH HOUSE meets THE ATLAS SIX in the enemies-to-lovers dark academia debut everyone's talking about . . . 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 kiss was a surprise, immediate and immolating. There was nothing sweet about it. Nothing soft. Only the clash of mouths, the scrap of teeth. They collided the way they always did. Like they were going to war". We’ll start with a positive first; it’s refreshing to have a deaf main character in a book that’s written by a deaf author. There’s a lot of lived-in experience that feels present within the narrative and it really opened my eyes to certain aspects that I had not thought of before. The writing is repetitive, heavy on metaphors and atmosphere and light on answers. Fans of books like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Starless Sea will likely get on with it. Those who found these books pretentious are unlikely to find any enjoyment here. It can be a little grating in places – Andrew overdoes the use of glass to describe Lane as delicate – but mostly works well, adding to the gothic nature of the story. This isn’t a book with an intricate magic system or carefully crafted fantasy world – it requires the reader to go with the flow, accepting the supernatural elements for what they are and not questioning the whys. A creature who walked with the dead and a woman who drew them close. He would never not be caught in her orbit. i have wanted to see muslims and hijabis existing in every genre for so long because we should see ourselves represented in stories across the board. it will be a fine line to follow, and there will be mistakes made that we will learn from. And i'm not saying i am right in this; i don't know. i did my best with what i thought would be a good representation for us in a genre we don't really see ourselves in ever.

let me amend my review so it's more intelligible as i wrote the first one on no sleep (it's the same thing but with some clarification): Our servers are getting hit pretty hard right now. To continue shopping, enter the characters as they are shown Ivory tower academia, but make it cosmic horror. THE WHISPERING DARK seethes with forbidden romance and truly terrifying shadows' Hannah Whitten, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of THE WILDERWOOD duology My main issue with this book is the portrayal of the relationship between Lane and Colton. From the blurb I had assumed that Colton was perhaps an older student and that would have made some of it a little better. However, he’s actually a TA and is responsible for marking her coursework and some of the grades for her Uni course. This heavily shifts the power dynamic between the two of them and makes some of the scenes seem uncomfortably like grooming which I’m sure wasn’t the intention! Added to this, the relationship is abusive, controlling and manipulative and nowhere in the narrative is this ever pointed out as a bad thing.was truly amazing. I also am afraid of the dark (yes, at my big age) and I loved seeing the darkness through Delaney’s eyes. In front of them, the doors rumbled open to reveal a familiar face. A lump solidified in Colton’s throat as Eric Hayes pushed over the threshold, ramming his substantial height into the already small space. The look he shot Colton’s way made him feel as if he’d been caught with his hands down his pants, and a hot well of resentment rose in his chest. i really like the atmosphere of the school, the idea of walking between worlds, and the presence of the dead. it all lends itself perfectly to dark academia vibes. however, it gets lost in the repetitive metaphors, weak world-building, and inconsistent pacing. AGHFJSDKDJK I JUST GOT AN ARC OF THIS BOOK OMFG????????????? IT’S MY MOST ANTICIPATED DEBUT OF 2022 I’M SO EXCITED I CAN’T BELIEVE I GOT AN ARC AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHSADJKFDVSHJ!!!! It’s my 2nd ever ARC, too!!! Idk what I did to deserve this, but I’d like to thank the Edelweiss and Scholastic gods for this!! 😭🙏 Colton Price, who had always seemed so cold. Colton Price, who reminded her of something seraphic. Mars, god of war, resplendent and undying. Indomitable, impossible Colton".