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.

The little girl looked down at him, frowning. Her leggings were striped with red, orange, yellow, and green. Drowning had been cold and dark, but every part of her was bright, bright, bright. Her tiny mitten cuffed his wrist. The stitching was lumpy, done by hand. Now for the bad…… Oh boy. 😬 Most of my problems with this book can be boiled down to this: the writing is utterly terrible. Not in an obvious way (you can’t really grab a random quote to show how poorly written this book was); more in a structural sense: poor world building, underdeveloped relationships, no explanations, missing scenes… Reading this left me confused and incredibly frustrated. I have NEVER read a book that’s in such desperate need of an editor! This is pitched as "Ninth House" meets "The Raven Boys" meets "The Atlas Six". Let me tell you how true that is. I've read all of them and I can CONFIRM. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒅𝒕 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 A creature who walked with the dead and a woman who drew them close. He would never not be caught in her orbit.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. Another thing I didn’t like about the writing was the passage of time. Long stretches of time would pass from one paragraph to the next (for example: it would go from dawn to afternoon in 1 paragraph), and a lot of the time it was only mentioned a couple of paragraphs later, so I’d be reading it all confused like “I *think* it’s a new day????? Idk??????”. This, in addition to the “missing scenes” and unclear goal of the story, left me very confused. A paranormal thriller laced with twists and revelations that will stop your heart' Aiden Thomas, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of CEMETERY BOYS Colton, on the other hand, is arrogant, cold, and deliberately opaque. He has a connection to Lane, and an instinct to help her, but he’s also tied up in secrets upon secrets and it’s clear nothing with him is how it seems. Where Lane is clearly the hero, Colton is harder to place – yet Kelly Andrew manages to draw a connection to the reader. One action leaves a sour taste and slightly spoils Colton’s character, but overall he’s well written in a morally grey role.

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.The intense and turbulent romance at the heart of the story is all consuming, which does mean that the paranormal aspect suffers slightly. There’s little explanation into Godbole and its unusual curriculum. Students jump between parallel universes and perform mystical practices like divination, but the history and lore of the book’s world remains hazy. Part of this is due to the mystery that propels the story; revealing too much too soon unravels the secrets that bind these characters. And whilst some of the twists aren’t as easily disguised as they’re meant to be, the dark thrill of this book is in gathering the different pieces of the puzzle and slotting it all together – particularly the bone-deep connection between Lane and Colton, which is the novel’s driving force. In that respect, this is very much a romance first, fantasy second kind of book. Andrew’s writing is so fluid and so beautifully vivid…the way she personifies and describes the dark..

After a fellow student turns up dead, she and Colton are forced to form a tenuous alliance, plummeting down a rabbit hole of deeply buried university secrets. They soon find themselves up against something old and nameless, an enemy that threatens to tear them - and their forbidden partnership - apart.Next to Lane, some of the tension went out of Hayes’s shoulders. The sight of his relief rankled Colton beyond measure. He wasn’t a child. He didn’t need a keeper.