I heard about The Whispering Dark because of the deaf representation meets fantasy. And I was not disappointed. There’s fantastical bargains and plenty of mystery. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Delaney Meyers-Petrov is tired of being seen as fragile just because she’s Deaf. So when she’s accepted into a prestigious program at Godbole University that trains students to slip between parallel worlds, she’s excited for the chance to prove herself. But her semester gets off to a rocky start as she faces professors who won’t accommodate her disability, and a pretentious upperclassman fascinated by Delaney’s unusual talents.
Colton Price died when he was nine years old. Quite impossibly, he woke several weeks later at the feet of a green-eyed little girl. Now, twelve years later, Delaney Meyers-Petrov has stumbled back into his orbit, but Colton’s been ordered to keep far away from the new girl… and the voices she hears calling to her from the shadows.
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.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I think what I liked the most about The Whispering Dark was the way in which Andrew discusses ambition. All the ways we can make deals in a moment when desperation speaks for us without reading the fine print. Or the ways in which we make deals without regards for consequences or who will pay the price. While I agree we gotta crack some eggs to make an omelette, I also believe that it’s one thing to sacrifice ourselves versus others. So The Whispering Dark was the most fascinating to me in this theme and how it manifested in the characters.
Unlikely allies becomes more complicated as the history between Delaney and Colton is revealed. Not only that, but both of their ambitions and promises will come up against each other. Magic never stays contained and what happens always has a way of coming out. I definitely enjoyed the second half the most, specifically as the mysteries were revealed and the depths exposed to the light. And, at its core, The Whispering Dark is also about what we do with our loss. All the ways loss manifests itself in our live whether it be us dealing with our grief, or the fear of loss. Our dreams, love, and life.
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If you’re searching for a twisty YA fantasy and like the idea of ambition and dangerous deals, then check out The Whispering Dark. Find it on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.