Delaney Meyers-Petrov has always been treated like she’s made of glass because she’s Deaf – by her parents, her friends and her teachers. When she’s accepted to the prestigious and secretive Godbole University, she knows it’s a chance to start fresh. There, no one knows she’s Deaf, and that’s exactly how she wants it.

Colton Price is Godbole’s golden boy. He died when he was nine years old but impossibly woke several days later, at the feet of a green-eyed girl named Delaney. Now Delaney is attending Godbole but doesn’t seem to remember Colton at all. Which is a good thing, since Colton has been given strict instructions to leave her alone.

As Delaney begins her classes, learning to slip between parallel worlds, she realises not all the professors are willing to accommodate her disability. Forced to turn to Colton for help with her schoolwork, Delaney begins to discover there’s something much more sinister to the University.

The Whispering Dark is an exciting ‘dark academia debut’, full of everything readers would want from the genre: red brick buildings crawling with ivy, murder, and just a touch of the supernatural. The disability representation is spot-on, and author Kelly Andrew’s descriptions of the world are incredibly well-done. I felt everything Andrew wrote keenly and loved the dual perspectives that followed both Delaney and Colton. For me, the only drawback is that this book is a standalone and not a series, because I would love to read more set in this world.

The Whispering Dark is perfect for anyone who loves dark academia, enemies-to-lovers romances, supernatural thrillers and own voices representation. For ages 15+.

Jennifer Fraioli is from Readings Emporium