| Title | : | Whisperwood |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781787588448 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | ebook |
| Number of Pages | : | 304 |
| Publication | : | First published July 11, 2023 |
When curious nomad Anna hears about Whisperwood, a town that’s not on any maps, that nobody goes to, and nobody comes from, she sees an opportunity to hide from her violent witch-hunting ex.
But not everything is peaceful in the isolated community. A vanishing town, a gruesome funeral rite, an emergency field surgery—these surprises and more test Anna's resolve.
Prevented from leaving the frontier settlement by folk magic she doesn’t understand, Anna lends helping hands everywhere she can, but quickly finds that investigating the forest too closely could end up being the last thing she does.
Whisperwood Reviews
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I don't usually dip my toes in fantasy but, every once in a while, a book comes along that piques my interest and this book is one of them.
This is a dark fantasy with several horror elements that made it unique and highly engaging. Whisperwood is a town with secrets. Nobody ever wanders in and those who dare cannot leave if they stay past sundown.
Anna is a young woman who is escaping a horrifying situation. She was kept in a cellar and tortured by a psychopath who she thought she loved and trusted. She was shunned by family and friends in her former village, being accused of witchcraft.
She winds up in Whisperwood to try and escape those horrors, completely unaware that the things in this village are much more terrifying than she could imagine.
Throughout this novel we'll meet the townsfolk, learn what secrets abound there, and get an up close look at the creatures from another realm who are at war with the humans here. As Anna tries to understand her new life and home, it soon becomes apparent that there are other forces at work behind the scenes (both human and supernatural) and she might have jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.
Filled with frightening creatures, plenty of action, and often bloody set pieces, Whisperwood is a fantastic dark fantasy that will keep you reading. The world building is excellent and you'll love the characters (maybe even wind up hating some). It's an excellent example of mixing fantasy with horror and I recommend it.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. -
Wow! I can’t believe this was a debut novel.
It was fairly creepy, and really fascinating. The characters were Ok, Anna felt a bit static, and not as passionate as you’d expect about her journey. A majority of other characters weren’t as well developed as they could be.
The steam of the story kind of ran out towards the end, maybe a shorter story would’ve been more effective.
I’d like to see more folk horror from this writer in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, & Flame Tree Press for a copy. -
Tapping out at 50%.
Things I liked - I was very curious about Whisperwood and what was going on, but even at 50% there's not much going on. The setting was ominous and I wanted to root for our MC.
Things I didn't like - 100% on me, but I didn't realize how much of this was a period piece and I reaaaallly struggle with old-timey dialogue which this contains in large amounts. And, as I said, with so much promise, I just wasn't hooked in.
The writing is solid and there's great potential here, just not the book for this reader. -
A really great take on dark fantasy period piece mixed with a bit of horror. This was my first book by this author and will not be my last.
I enjoyed the small town with secrets atmosphere, the creepy creatures, and the atmospheric horror created.
TYSM for letting me be an ARC reader for this one! -
An enchanting folk-horror/fantasy, WHISPERWOOD is a fresh, richly imaginative fable filled with flawed people and ominous creatures, but it holds empathy, humanity, and respect for them all. Alex Woodroe has conjured up a magical place brimming with Darkness & Light, but most of all, Hope.
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"We say that Walkers are one step removed from normal people, because at some point in their past they took that one step away from life and they never came back."
Desperate to escape her traumatic past, Anna wanders, searching for somewhere to hide, until she arrives at Whisperwood, a strange town trapped on a border between the everyday world and a dangerous realm of shadows. Discovering that she has the rare ability to walk across the border, she becomes determined to learn more about the town and its mysterious history, making friends—and enemies—along the way.
Whisperwood is a fast-paced fantasy adventure full of action and humour, filled with fascinating creatures based (mostly, I think) upon Romanian folklore. It's clearly a rich seam to draw upon, and reading this magical, fairytale-esque story I couldn't help but be reminded of the novels of Diana Wynne Jones.
But there is also a darker, more serious side to Whisperwood. Personally, I enjoyed this story the most when the pace slowed a little and we had a chance to learn about Anna and her past. This wonderful character is the heart of the story: quick-witted, deeply caring, desperate to see the good in everyone but afraid to trust fully because of the horror of her past experiences. It was a joy to step into her shoes and follow her journey.
Thank you to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for the advance copy in return for an honest review. -
If I were to break things down into subgenres, I would say this is somewhere between folk horror and dark fantasy. It’s also my first and only work of Romanian speculative fiction, for whatever that’s worth. Regardless, I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Anna is keeping on the move, looking to escape the traumas she has endured. (It’s not clear that anything is actually *chasing* her, but the demons we carry…) She ends up in a remote and isolated forest village. There, she learns that the village is on the edge of a forest the residents name the Unspoken, inhabited by creatures they collectively call the Whispers, and that no one ever leaves the village. There’s been a stasis between the Whispers and the villagers for a while now, but that seems to be breaking down; the Whispers have taken people, and killed people, in the past, and it looks like they might be doing so again.
What happens is a mix of horror, fantasy, and small-town power politics. Anna as an outsider with an outside perspective, is both welcomed and viewed with suspicion. As the dealings with the Whispers get more fraught and more deadly, she gets more deeply enmeshed in the town’s history and secrets.
It’s dark, and it’s well done, but it’s not perfect. I had trouble keeping most of the villagers straight, and I felt like her friends among them were too quick and too unsuspicious in their embrace of Anna. But this was a solid story and worth the reading.
My blog -
Alex Woodroe's Whisperwood is such a fresh take on the folk horror tale. I loved the world where this story takes place, with its eerie creatures and lovingly detailed characters. Anna has escaped her traumatic past and ended up in Whisperwood, where things are not what they seem at first. As Anna tries to make sense of this strange town and discover its secrets, she befriends a number of young people who are helping guard against creatures known as Whispers. It's here where Alex's prose really shines. You can feel the love for Romanian folklore throughout, and the encounters with the creatures are all well written, creepy, and thrilling. Anna is a wonderful, curious heroine and I enjoyed exploring Whisperwood through her eyes.
I can't wait to see what Alex writes next! This is a strong and promising debut and I thoroughly enjoyed it. -
Whisperwood was a book I was really excited to read, as the description painted a tale of folk horror, which is a subgenre I am incredibly fond of. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped.
It took me a while to really get into the story, partly due to how terse the descriptions were at the start. I'm someone who doesn't like needlessly descriptive text, but this was distractingly sparse when building the setting for the town of Whisperwood. Once I was fully engrossed in the story, this became a non-issue for me.
The relationships between Anna and her newfound neighbors felt a little rushed. Most of the townspeople are weary of her arrival, but she becomes very good friends with a few of them within the matter of hours it seemed. It felt a little unnatural. The dialogue between characters felt juvenile, with ill-timed quips that took me out of the book.
What really drew me into the story were the fantastical "Whispers". I assume said Whispers are from Romanian folklore. Woodroe did an excellent job of bringing these creatures to life and I could easily picture their grotesque visages. Every time the book introduced a new one, I'd rush to Google to read up on their origins. They truly fascinated me.
The biggest strength of the writing is when Woodroe focuses on the horror aspects of the story. The parts that are meant to be creepy ARE creepy. Action sequences are vividly described, right down to the details of the blood and gore. I could easily picture the entire scene playing out during these moments.
Overall, I found too many faults in "Whisperwood" to really enjoy it. The middle was engrossing, but the beginning and end were a slog for me to get through. I really wanted to like it because I love folklore and mythology, but the book just wasn't for me.
Thank you to Flame Tree Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. -
From killer opening line to spectacular finish, Whisperwood is a fantastic read through and through. Every page is filled with enough atmosphere that you’ll swear you can smell the trees and glimpse the Whispers just out of sight. I loved all of Anna, her painful past, her search for a place to belong, and above all, her desire to do right and believe in the best of humanity despite having seen the worst of it.
Whisperwood is a beautiful, layered story that’ll break your heart in the gentlest way. Perfect for those who, like me, adore folklore, forest settings, and stories that aren’t afraid to shine a light on the dark while caring for its readers. Highly, highly recommend picking up a copy when it’s out (July 11, FlameTree Press)!
Thank you to FlameTree for a free advanced review copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own. -
Interesting folk horror. I loved the Romanian monsters and the creepy forest. The main heroine was easy to root for, although the side characters were a bit thin.
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"Whisperwood" by Alex Woodroe is an addictive and highly intriguing fantasy novel with elements of horror and folklore. This fast-paced, nail-biting read delves into a world of monsters and folkloric creatures that don't just go bump in the night, but when you least expect it.
Anna is running away from a bad situation and ends up in a small town that is stranger and perhaps more dangerous than the place she is trying to leave behind. People don't typically stay in Whisperwood, and if they do, they find themselves stuck there after sundown. Foreigners aren't exactly welcome in this town, but Anna manages to make a few friends who are willing to teach her a few tricks to survive past the night. Because the seemingly quaint town is at war with an entity far beyond anything Anna could ever imagine. Choosing to stay and fight, Anna must learn the strange folklore magic of the town and outsmart the opposing forces that seek to destroy the town and everyone in it.
Wow, wow, wow! The world-building in this story was so surreal. Whisperwood feels more like it should be a creepy, folkloric documentary rather than a work of fiction. There was so much to learn about the town and the strange system they've long adapted to (that is slowly unfurling and hurtling the residents into an age of chaos) that it's easy to get lost in the pages trying to piece together the danger that plagues the town.
Even though there was a large cast of characters, their voices and personalities were distinct, so there was never any confusion or mixups about which character had entered the scene or was being spoken of. It was also neat to learn about most of them over a span of a novel, as secondary characters tend to fade into the background. Instead, Woodroe brought each character to life, letting them own their part of the story and the dark history of Whisperwood. Getting attached to these characters was easy to do, especially with Anna who had a tragic past and ended up in another dangerous situation she couldn't easily walk away from.
"Whisperwood" was an incredible novel and I thoroughly enjoyed the Romanian folklore and beasts as well as the creepy little town of Whisperwood. The expected publication date for "Whisperwood" by Alex Woodroe is July 11th, 2023. If you enjoy stories like the fairytales from the Grimm Brothers, then add this book to your reading lists and make sure to pick it up at your local bookstore or order online to venture into the mysteries hidden in Whisperwood.
Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for providing me with a free copy of this e-arc and the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review. -
Woodroe's prose reads like T Kingfisher's, with its lush setting seen through a dream-like gaze. The story quickly draws you slowly into a nightmare with roots in Romanian folklore, and you find yourself rooting for Anna, even as you want to follow her deeper into the woods, where the border between superstition and reality blurs. The liminal town of Whisperwood, where no one really belongs, enthralled, terrified, and kept me guessing until the unexpected ending.
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Whisperwood started off strong: the simple writing style made it easy to read, the set-up promised a dark village shrouded in ancient mystery, and I liked that our main character Anna travelled around to collect folk stories and customs, now on her way to a town said to bar anyone from leaving.
I would've loved to follow this character on her journey, but unfortunately her interest in local customs and stories didn't seep through at all. I completely forgot that that was what she actually came to do in Whisperwood cause there was no passion or hunger for knowledge, except for that which was helpful for her current situation. A lot of the side characters kinda blurred into the background and weren't that interesting, a fact that made some scene far less impactful than they could've been.
The town and its inhabitants were eerie in the beginning, but quickly lost all creepiness. Some scenes with the incredible monsters from Romanian folklore were great, but they were too sparse to keep up the scary atmosphere. The best moment by far was the encounter with Zburătorul Zmeilor. That creature was terrifying and I loved it, and the Dochia gave me anxiety as well, but they were the only ones who really horrified me. That's just me of course, but I wish there would've been more monsters like these two.
As much as I liked the idea of the setting and the heavy incorporation of folklore, I felt like the actual plot was stretched pretty thin and kinda meandered along. I had an absolutely okay time with Whisperwood, but after the first half I found myself checking how many pages I had left.
Keeping in mind that this is a debut novel, all of these points are forgivable. I can see that Alex Woodroe has potential as a writer and I think she'll be able to write great creepy folk horror when she's polished her craft a little more. There are some really good elements in here and I hope to read another book of hers later down the line.
- ARC received from NetGalley - -
N.B I do not rate on Goodreads.
As soon as I heard about Whisperwood by Alex Woodroe I was eager to read it. I know Alex as an incredibly talented editor and a lover of all things folk horror. I have to admit, the Romanian folklore aspect was of particular appeal as I love learning about the folklore of other cultures.
The opening drew me in with its hint of backstory and had me asking lots of questions. The M.C., Anna, is flawed because of her past, a past fraught with danger which she is trying to escape. There’s an innocence to Anna, a naivete that somewhat belies her past. She is quick to trust considering her background and forms friendships easily, almost too easily at times, I felt, but that might just be the cynical side of me. Nevertheless I admired her courage and openness.
The story definitely had a timeless feel, and I was particularly drawn in by the parts involving the folkloric Whispers. The world building in Whisperwood was also excellently done and very visual. I truly felt I was right there with her. The overall sense of place was rife with mystery and unease.
As a comp, the writing and overall feel of Whisperwood reminded me of A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge which was previously shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year. If that’s your vibe then I highly recommend you read this one because I would classify this as folk fantasy rather than horror. Yes there are some horrific moments and I’m not a genre purist, not in the least, but that is my overall impression. Also, because many of the characters are so young and because of the fantasy elements I would say it would appeal to a YA audience as well as adult fantasy readers.
An enjoyable read.
My thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of the novel. -
Thank you Netgalley, for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
Anna, a girl who has seen tragedy, betrayal, and lost is haunted by a vision she had while she was dying. She runs away to a town known as Whisperwood and despite the rumors that the town is evil, decides to stay.
The first night staying there, however, she starts noticing the evil. She hears footsteps and even gets chased by something invisible. She gets told that what she was chased by were called Whispers, and the town acts as currents meaning the Whispers come in tides. Sometimes they're there, other times they're not. The town is living in constant fear.
Anna, Paul, and Perdy want to fix this and do everything in their power to stop the Whispers from killing more people. The only issue is the forest is far more dangerous than they thought.
I liked this book and the plot. I loved the analogy surrounding the lighthouse with the tides. I thought that this was a really cool addition. This book wasn't in any way too scary, in my opinion. It seemed more like a thriller than a horror book.
I do, however, wish that we got to know the characters a little more closely. This would help get the reader into the book a bit more. The characters were introduced, but on only a minimal level. By giving the characters more loving attributes you could get the reader more enticed in the character so if they die, there's more emotion. -
Anna is fleeing from danger in her home when she arrives at the mysterious town of Whisperwood. Once in this town, she realizes there may be more horrors here than from where she is escaping. Strange creatures roam the land, demanding sacrifices, and only a few individuals in town can help.
The atmosphere surrounding Whisperwood is established succinctly, and you get the idea that it is a dark, closed-off area. This book was terrifying from the get-go. The horror scenes were written well, and several parts were very creepy. These scary themes pair well with the lore surrounding the town and the Walkers specifically.
Our protagonist is running from two very different monsters—the human from her past who traumatized her and the monsters in Whisperwood. The novel strikes a delicate balance between these two horrors and their effects on Anna. It brings up an essential theme that not all monsters are evil.
The twists were surprising, and I especially liked the sections with the Pricolici. I wasn’t expecting this to be a period piece, so that took me some time to adjust to. Some sections were a little slow, but I found that the dialogue helped move things forward.
If you want a new horror author to check out, I recommend reading Whisperwood!
Thanks to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. -
After escaping torture from a man who turned her family and village against her, Anne stumbles into Whisperwood, a strange town where no birds sing, and no animals rustle in the woods… but something else does. Joining her new friends on a journey to find one of their own, Anne finds magic, loss, and strength along the way.
I really enjoyed the imagery of this book. Alex does a wonderful job of painting the scene and helping the reader feel as though they are in the tavern or the market. I did get attached to our protagonist, and genuinly wanted her to find a place to settle down with a community.
I did find it jumpy at times. While the pace is good, it felt as though parts were dropped in the interest of time. This did leave me feeling a little lost at times, especially since I read at night. I did have to scan the previous page a few times before being able to pick up again the next night.
I will definitely read another book by them in the future as I loved the descriptions of the monsters, places, and thoughts of the characters. -
In Whisperwood we follow Anna into an insular isolated village which people rarely enter and never leave and secrets abound. This is a dark fantasy folk horror story with really interesting folklore and world building. Anna making her way in this village and meeting the various people living there and exploring what is going on with this overlapping shadow realm in the forest and what lives within it and how the village has coexisted and survived along side it was really interesting.
The pacing of how the relationships between the various the characters were formed could be stronger, at times it moved quite fast, although given the nature of the town it made a certain kind of sense. Also, the pacing does slow down at certain points but I feel this works within the story giving it an otherworldly quality. Overall I really enjoyed it and would really like to read more from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. -
Whisperwood by Alex Woodroe is a wild adventure into the unknown. One that I think many readers are going to love and resonate with. Our heroine of this story, Anna, is a woman on the run. She has escaped a truly dark and horrific moment of her life and she is trying to make positive strides forward and create a life for herself. Enter Whisperwood our creepy and dark town full of secrets and colorful characters. Whisperwood creates scenery for some truly creepy and scary imagery and I found myself shivering with some of the descriptions that Woodroe presented. This book is mediumly paced and it did take me a moment to grasp what was going on, but this is dark speculative fiction that readers are going to love. Although I found myself lost within the world-building at times, Woodroe brought me back from the precipice by keeping things action-filled and bloody. Check this story out! I think readers are going to love it!
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Thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
2,5⭐️
This is a book I really wanted to like. The premise is interesting and it is compared to The Witcher. Sadly, I struggled to get into it.
One of my pet peeves is an excessive amount of dialogue. When almost all chapters are filled to the brim with dialogue, and everything we learn about the characters, the setting, and the plot comes from dialogue… That’s just incredibly boring to me. I also had issues with the pacing. Everything happened too fast.
Otherwise, there isn’t anything wrong with this book. The MC and side characters are likable, the monsters are cool, and the setting is in the middle of a very sentient-like forest. I think these elements will attrach a lot of readers who will love this book. It just wasn’t for me. -
Whisperwood was exactly what it promised to be, a dark fantasy about a woman investigating a mysterious town and the forest. I loved the time and atmosphere in this, it did feel a bit like reading a dark fairy tale and Anna served as a wonderful narrator for the story. All together, this was a really good read that kept me interested all the way through.
Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review -
This was my first time reading a dark horror-based fantasy. Usually, I stick to lighter fantasy, but this book was really refreshing. I would probably categorize Whisperwood into the folk horror genre.
The entire concept is extremely unique. Anna is a woman with a traumatic past, looking for an escape. She arrives to Whisperwood and finds that there are mysterious happenings and secrets. The author does an amazing job describing the situations that Anna finds herself in. I could feel my anxiety building during tense and creepy scenes because I was so engrossed by the writing.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes folk horror, but maybe don't read it before bed if you want to sleep at night. -
Been waiting for this book for quite awhile, and I had high hopes for it. It didn't disappoint! Highly recommend this!
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To follow 3.5 🌟
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Thank you NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the e-ARC!
Whisperwood by Alex Woodroe is a fantastic book and I had such a fun time reading it! Before going into more details I do want to make a disclaimer: although it's marketed as horror I'd say it's more of a dark fantasy. There are horror elements but more subdued than other folk / woodland horror books. Nonetheless if you're into this subgenre you'll enjoy this one!
The story follows Anna, a woman running away from a violent ex in an unspecified country at an unspecified time (my guess is somewhere in eastern Europe during the late 19th century), who decides to stop by a village that's not in any map and where nobody goes to nor comes from. Strange things start happening the moment she sets foot in its cobbled streets, and it only grows stranger with each page.
Structurally the story has a slower first half, in which we follow Anna around and get to know some of the villagers, and a faster paced second part as the mistery unravels. I won't get into more details as not to spoil a major plot point, but Woodroe's descriptions are spectacular and convey perfectly the strangeness of some scenarios.
The ending did feel somewhat lackluster, but considering the book as a whole I'd say if you're on the fence the answer is YES, READ IT. -
Thank you NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for the e-ARC!
Whisperwood by Alex Woodroe is a fantastic book and I had such a fun time reading it! Before going into more details I do want to make a disclaimer: although it's marketed as horror I'd say it's more of a dark fantasy. There are horror elements but more subdued than other folk / woodland horror books. Nonetheless if you're into this subgenre you'll enjoy this one!
The story follows Anna, a woman running away from a violent ex in an unspecified country at an unspecified time (my guess is somewhere in eastern Europe during the late 19th century), who decides to stop by a village that's not in any map and where nobody goes to nor comes from. Strange things start happening the moment she sets foot in its cobbled streets, and it only grows stranger with each page.
Structurally the story has a slower first half, in which we follow Anna around and get to know some of the villagers, and a faster paced second part as the mistery unravels. I won't get into more details as not to spoil a major plot point, but Woodroe's descriptions are spectacular and convey perfectly the strangeness of some scenarios.
The ending did feel somewhat lackluster, but considering the book as a whole I'd say if you're on the fence the answer is YES, READ IT. -
Note: Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Fantasy, Folklore, Horror, Adventure...this book has it all!
The story follows Anna, a woman on the run from her past and the man who attempted to kill her. After being accused of being a witch, her family and friends all turned on her. In looking for a place to hide, she heads toward Whisperwood. Stories said that people did not wander into Whisperwood after sunset and those that did, never returned. What better place to hide?
Anna soon discovers how true those stories are and is very quickly immersed in the horrors, both seen and unseen, within this town.
This book was so intriguing, fast paced and so unique! The world building was so well done and so detailed, you could envision the eeriness of the town, the "Whispers", and all the action in such descriptive detail. The character building was a little rushed but I viewed the rushed loyalty as Anna, being a nomad, was craving someone to call a friend to stave off her loneliness.
Could not recommend this book enough! It had me on the edge of my seat and really rooting for the characters! I will definitely be buying a physical copy when it is released!
