This is a reasonably well written book. It has an engaging, if sometimes overworked, premise that's established well at the outset of the story. There are a few well-conceived set pieces, but a lot of the action is fairly generic. Our heroine spends a day or two in the village and somehow knows everything about the village, has become best friends with all of the important supporting characters, and even gets to be the centerpiece and hero of all the closing action. Given all that, try as I might I found neither the characters, nor their situations, nor the overall narrative engaging enough to arouse or hold my curiosity and attention. As a consequence, it doesn't seem fair to write much more of a review, apart from encouraging inquisitive readers to give the book a try.

Anna needs a new home, and she needs it badly. She's on the run, from both a madman and perhaps even the devil, which she pictured while she almost died. Her family doesn't want her around anymore, and being close to them simply isn't safe, nor is being anywhere close to where she was residing. This is why she hops onto a trader's cart, and travels with him to the outskirts of a secluded town. One that resides amidst the woods, and is bordered by a large forest.

Such is the beginning of Whisperwood; a new dark fantasy novel from debut author, Alex Woodroe.

As she's driven towards the unknown, and carries the anxieties that come from both starting over and being on the run, Anna is told that there's something different about Whisperwood. She then sees some of this for herself, while helping the merchant trade his wares in the square just outside town. A place he will not progress past. The women who come to trade seem strange. They're quiet, they spit in their bosoms as some sort of good luck charm or prayer, and they don't take kindly to the newcomer. However, our protagonist doesn't have much of a choice in the matter, and ends up finding refuge at a boarding house run by a crotchety old woman.

Then, not long after arriving, everyone disappears and the sky goes a strange white. With nobody around for miles, Anna becomes fearful, and that is heightened greatly when she spots strange creatures by the woods.

Whisperwood is a tale based around Romanian folklore, and it centres upon a secluded town with a secret. It's said that nobody can leave the titular region, but the reason why is more complex than expected. You see, Whisperwood acts as the border between our world and a different realm, which little is known about. From time to time, the creatures of the Unknown appear in town due to a phenomenon known as Tides, but their reasoning isn't clear. The residents of the town fear these events, and do their best to understand when and where they're going to occur. However, given the time period, and the surreal nature of such things, their sciences are rudimentary and have faults. To put it simply, they don't know much, and their timetables are flawed. This becomes apparent when Tides begin to occur more often than usual.

After dealing with strange and shocking occurrences, Anna learns that she's something called a Walker. That means she's able to walk through the Tides, unlike most others. Why that is remains to be learned, as does whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

What follows is a dark fantasy tale about different worlds and the odd creatures that inhabit the Unknown. It's full of old fashioned fear, hatred and skepticism, not to mention rituals and religion. The people on the human side fear the Unknown, but what is it, exactly, that they fear? What is the Unknown, and what do its strange residents want?

I can't say much more about the plot without risking spoilers, so I'll stop here. I will say, though, that I find it odd that this book is recommended to fans of The Witcher, because they're very different types of fantasy. Keep that in mind.

Whisperwood was something that caught my eye when I was perusing new releases. It looked and sounded like a horror book, seemed interesting and both of those things led me to request a review copy. It took a while for me to get around to reading it, but I've now done so and can write the review I owe.

For starters, this book wasn't exactly what I expected, but that wasn't a bad thing. I think I had the wrong impression of it, and expected it to be a horror book when it's really not. Sure, there are dark elements, but this is more of a fantasy tale than anything else. Dark fantasy would be the best term to describe it. As such, those who are hoping to be scared need not apply.

I liked the story, the main character and most of the secondary characters, but would have liked if there'd been more depth to some of them. The same goes for the Unknown and the mysteries that lay within this fantasy world. Whisperwood moves pretty quickly, and I feel that it does so at the detriment to itself. More time spent fleshing out the world would've done wonders, and I would've appreciated more information about things. As it is, it seemed like the author kept introducing new creatures without fleshing them out as much as possible. It eventually got a bit difficult to keep track of them all, and the very wordy descriptions didn't help as much as they should've.

The Unknown is an intriguing place, but we don't get enough of it and don't get to understand it like we needed to. So much happens so quickly that the reader is left wishing for more. At least, that was the case with me.

Those who know me will also know that I don't read a lot of fantasy, and sometimes struggle with it. Thankfully, this book isn't high fantasy, and didn't require its own convoluted maps or its own encyclopedia like A Song of Ice and Fire, which I stopped reading when I couldn't finish the second book despite two attempts. This is a darker, more creature-based, form of fantasy, and it's one that isn't as complex as books like that. I appreciate it for that fact, and it's part of why I was able to read and enjoy this story for what it is.

I just wish things had more depth, details and time. The book moves too quickly, and introduces too much at once.

That said: for a debut effort, Whisperwood by Alex Woodroe is a pretty impressive accomplishment. It's relatively well written, despite the aforementioned lack of depth and everything but the kitchen sink approach (at times), but can be too wordy during descriptions.

Overall, this is a pretty good read. One that will satisfy those who are looking for a dark fantasy novel that deals with a strange world and mysterious creatures. I enjoyed it for the most part, but there were times where it dragged a bit, and I felt the ending was a little rushed and confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for providing us with an early copy of the book. Receiving a free Advanced Reader Copy did not sway our opinion. This review is based on that copy, and not a finished retail version.

Alex Woodroe understands storytelling at a visceral level. 100% would recommend for anyone wanting a solid folk horror/dark fantasy story.

This book is a page-turning, atmospheric, and eerie dark fantasy. I enjoyed the novel though I think it was a little too fast-paced and dialogue-heavy. 3.5, I'm rounding up to four stars. Love the cover!

A dark fantasy set in the same line as the Grimm fairytales, count me in! This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year

Apologies for the delayed review but it took me months of forcing myself to steadily plod through this book. The start was promising-a young woman running away from something hitches a lift to a strange town to start a new life. Then it went downhill for me. It was supposed to be mysterious and spooky and I just didn’t care. The characters, setting, dialogue, all of it fell really flat for me.

This was okay in my opinion. I am not the biggest fan of graphic novels. The illustration was great but I was not connected to the story.

I adored this book. As a fellow Romanian I absolutely loved the representation and inclusion of our monsters and legends. Alex is a master of the genre both in editing and writing, and I am sure she will keep surprising us with her words. Can't wait to read Alex's next book!

I'm not huge on horror, but I did like this novel. I loved the scenery the author portrayed of the creep southern towns and the folklore. It did move a little slow in some parts, but picked up in others. If you like horror you'll like this book.

I loved this debut.
It's eerie, creepy and thrilling; bizarre, touching and riveting. It's a beautiful example of dark fantasy done right, featuring great world building, fascinating folkloric creatures and intriguing characters. A yes from me!

Folk horror meets "The Village" in Alex Woodroe's "Whisperwood."

Anna, a woman fleeing her troubled past, stumbles upon Whisperwood village, which is situated beside the haunting forest known as the Unspoken. The village is home to enigmatic creatures that roam the streets, and the inhabitants have fortified their doors and homes with salt and silver. This narrative presents an engrossing account of how a community reacts to coexisting alongside a realm that starkly contrasts with their own. I found the macabre folk horror to be both gruesome and captivating. However, I found the middle section of the narrative to be a bit long-winded and could have been more concise. Additionally, several characters lacked depth and remained underdeveloped. Despite these shortcomings, I swiftly read through the story and enjoyed it overall.

Thank you NetGalley for an opportunity to read this title in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic horror story that I will be rereading and rereading again and again.

The story sucked me in and I never left it. I loved every moment of this novel.

"Whisperwood, a town that’s not on any maps, that nobody goes to, and nobody comes from"
I was so here for this premise! Throw in folk magic, witch hunters, and horror? Sold!
Unfortunately, even with the really cool plot line and concepts...it fell flat due to the characters. I just could not find it in me to give a damn about Anna and the people she interacted with. It felt like the situation of her being plunged into the secret goings on of Whisperwood was forced and happened way too fast for no real reason. I just couldn't keep interested which sucked because I had high hopes.

When Anna arrives in Whisperwood, fleeing from something or someone, she quickly notices that the town also has its secrets and monsters.
I sadly just couldn't get into this book. The summary sounded incredibly cool, but for me, I felt the distribution of information and the continuation of the plot wasn't quick enough to keep me interested. I really liked the way the author phrased things in and of itself and found a lot of the imagery very vivid and beautiful, but when I realised I was at a point in the book where I felt I should know and understand a lot more about the characters and the world than I did and probably would for another big bunch of pages, I stopped reading. Some of the interactions between Anna and the other characters fell a little flat for me, which could also be related to me not knowing enough about her and the world to draw such clear lines around each characters stereotypes. Maybe this book is more for people who enjoy a story with slower paced information distribution and guessing a lot more what's going on. I feel like I can't really rate it properly on these grounds, but since I'm required to by NetGalley to submit my review, I'll settle at a solid three stars. Since I liked the idea and the author's style I would absolutely try another book by them though!

Thank you to NetGalley and Flame Tree Press for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the cover and the description, but I could not get into the story. I generally adore horror, fantasy, and the Witcher, but this did not hold my attention. I will try again later and give a more through review when I do so.

What a great book, creepy and so engaging. This page turner is perfect for spooky season. And wow what an ending. Thank you so much for my eArc.

Wonderfully creepy and enchanting. It pulled me in from the beginning and I was not expecting the ending!

Whisperwood is a dark fantasy with an intriguing premise, a young woman, on the run from her past, searches for a remote town that is rumored to be haunted so she can hide and be safe.

I struggled with this book. Anna’s character was never fully fleshed out, and she makes statements and assumptions that put her deep into the “secretive”town’s goings-ons when she literally had just arrived. I found the town of Whisperwood to have a very complicated situation that I barely understood. The Unsongs, the Tides, the Whispers, the Unspokens, the political hierarchy, the jobs of the young people, I kept forgetting what it all was and had to scan back into the book to remind myself.

I decided to DNF at 40% because of shallow characters and overly complicated town within a minimally built world.

I have very mixed feelings about Whisperwood. I really enjoyed Alex Woodroe's writing style, it was descriptive and it had a great flow to it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get into the story itself. While I was drawn to the concept of the story, I wasn't able to get into it as much as I hoped.

This book was extremely hard for me to get into. The writing style just wasn't for me and I struggled to connect with the characters. At over 50% into the story I didn't see this coming out as a better experience for me so I decided to put it down. It is not an objectively bad book, just not one that I felt I would enjoy.