A slow moving dark academia, unfortunately Whispers Most Foul didn't work for me and it's time I threw in the towel with the subgenre of gothic fiction.

Aside from personal taste, I do think the pacing plates a large part into why I didn't really enjoy this. It's very slow moving with a lot of build up in atmosphere, but there was no action at all to keep me invested. Normally I like exposition, world building and creating a lush magical environment, but I think because I just don't really like dark academia settings I was just bored for a lot of the story. Also, for all the set up the academia aspect felt a lot like a regular school. And the world building didn't really expand beyond the school setting, which was disappointing.

I also didn't really connect with Rose at all. In fact, I found her quite naive and annoying, constantly having the same dilemma going on in her head regarding exposing her secret gift to her friends and fellow pupils. It got a bit repetitive. She's also not all unique compared to other fantasy YA protagonist.

Some interesting atmopsheric vibes, but not for me.

There were some really interesting ideas here but I struggled a little with visualising some aspects and that caused me to feel icky about some of the romantic aspects. But I think that’s on me and not the author. I have a feeling that this will be really popular.
The idea of Rose being haunted by missing student Avaline was really creepy and chilling, especially as Rose was pretty much alone in the school as it wasn’t term time. I liked the beginning of the friendship with Sylvie, the misunderstandings between them were believable. I liked the boarding school aspect, especially the secrets long held by tradition.
But I found the relationship with Fen difficult to fathom, it was mainly in the past with them not being on the page together enough. And the beginning of a romance with a ghost was creepy and chilling, and that’s where I really struggled.

(Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

Whispers Most Foul is an atmospheric dark academic fantasy that truly shines in its setting. The gothic magic school and the immersive writing make it feel as though you’re right there alongside the main character, Rose, exploring its secrets. The world-building is rich in aesthetics, and learning about the school’s traditions and magical lessons was one of the highlights of the book.

The magic system itself was intriguing, but at times, a little underdeveloped. While I loved the concept, I found myself wishing for more explanation on how it all worked. A bit more depth and clarity would have made it even stronger, as some aspects felt a little vague.

Character-wise, Rose was a great protagonist with a strong character arc. Watching her grow throughout the book was satisfying, and I’m definitely interested in seeing where her journey takes her in the sequel. The supporting cast was also well-written, but the romance aspect didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The rivals-to-lovers dynamic had potential, but the execution felt a little rushed, with not enough build-up to make their relationship feel truly earned.

The mystery at the heart of the book had some intriguing elements, and I enjoyed piecing things together alongside Rose. However, the pacing was a bit uneven—slow in the beginning, then suddenly picking up speed towards the climax, which ultimately felt a little underwhelming. The motive behind the big reveal didn’t entirely make sense, which left the resolution feeling a bit weaker than I had hoped.

Overall, this is a book with an incredible atmosphere and a compelling protagonist, but certain elements—particularly the romance, magic system, and mystery climax—could have used more depth and refinement. That said, the foundation is strong, and I’m intrigued to see where the series goes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 Stars)

💡 This book hit that sweet spot between dark academia vibes, magical mystery, and slow-burn romance. If you’re into atmospheric stories with secret societies, eerie hallways, and complex characters who might just learn more about themselves than they bargained for — you’re going to love this.

📚 What’s It About?

Rose Thenlif is the classic underdog. At Dunhollow Academy of Witchcraft, she’s the only student who can’t cast spells. She spends her days buried in books, dodging the judgment of her classmates and her headmistress mother. But when students start disappearing and their ghosts start appearing to Rose — including her fiercest academic rival, Sylvie — she realizes that being magic-less might just be the key to solving the mystery.

What starts as a ghost hunt quickly becomes more tangled as Rose and Sylvie uncover dark secrets about Dunhollow, secret societies, and themselves. And as the mystery unravels, so do their feelings for each other, leading to a romance that feels both inevitable and dangerous.

♥️ What I Loved: Dark Academia Meets Magical Mystery

The dark academia vibes are immaculate. Think ancient libraries, hidden passageways, and a boarding school filled with magic, mystery, and more than a few skeletons in the closet (literally). Dunhollow Academy feels alive — the kind of place that holds centuries of secrets if you know where to look.

The mystery itself is gripping. Missing students, secret societies, ghostly whispers — it kept me guessing right until the end. I love a good "haunted school" story, and this one delivered.
And then there’s Rose and Sylvie’s relationship. Their enemies-to-reluctant-allies dynamic is full of tension and slow-burn chemistry. Watching them navigate their differences and growing feelings while dealing with life-or-death stakes? Chef’s kiss. It adds an emotional layer to the mystery that makes the story even more compelling.

🌟 Themes: Inner Strength and Facing Your Fears

At its core, Whispers Most Foul is about finding your inner strength. Rose starts out feeling like an outsider — magic-less in a world that values power — but she learns to embrace her unique abilities and stand up to her fears.

There’s a message here about being more than what people expect of you and finding your own way, even when the odds are stacked against you. It’s a story about learning that strength doesn’t always look like what you think it does — and sometimes, the things that make you different are exactly what make you powerful.

✨ What Could’ve Been Better?

Honestly, not much! The pacing did slow down a bit in the middle, and I would’ve loved more backstory on Dunhollow’s secret society. It felt like there were layers of lore we almost got to see but not quite. Give me more hidden rituals and ancient conspiracies, please!

🎯 Final Thoughts: A Magical Mystery Worth Solving

If you love dark academia with a dash of magic and a twisty mystery to unravel, Whispers Most Foul is for you. It’s got haunted hallways, secret societies, and a swoon-worthy slow-burn romance that feels both tender and tragic.

There’s a lot to love here — and a few moments that might even give you chills. It’s a story about ghosts, yes, but also about the things we carry with us and the strength it takes to let them go.
Highly recommend this one if you’re in the mood for a moody, magical mystery with heart.

I absolutely loved this book, I just wanted more when I got to the end! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

One thing I love is a good fantasy I love a book that can make me forget what's going on in the world and go into an imaginative world where the impossible happens and you meet characters and creatures you would never meet for real and this book had ot all

Rose is a student of a magical school but she's unable to cast her own spells. When another student goes missing though she finds herself being haunted by the ghost of that student and she has no idea how to deal with it or who to tell about it since necromancy is forbidden in the empire.

I really enjoyed how tense and spooky this novel is, it’s a perfect October read! From the start, the ghost and haunting elements are brilliantly written and genuinely eery and it's easy to be scared for the main character.
The plot is well developed and builds in tension and conspiracy really well.

The worldbuilding, however, is where it lacks. We know very little about the world beyond the school which caused the story to falter slightly.

All in all it was an enjoyable read and great for the season!

Thank you to Netgalley and Michael Joseph/PRH for the ARC!

a perfect book for october.
Gothic dark academia.

perfect balance between romance and a darker plot.
The magic system was reallly cool

Rose is a student of a magical school but she's unable to cast her own spells. When another student goes missing though she finds herself being haunted by the ghost of that student and she has no idea how to deal with it or who to tell about it since necromancy is forbidden in the empire.

I really enjoyed how climactic and creepy this story was. Straight from the start the ghost is terrifying and it's easy to be legitimately scared for the main character. Then the story really nicely builds its mystery and conspiracy to the point that it's really difficult to guess where the story is going because so many characters could be behind what's happening.

I do think the worldbuilding is a little bit of a weakness for this story. We know very little about this world beyond the functioning of the school which felt a bit weird. But I'm very curious how the sequel will build up on this idea and I really hope it won't end up being an overwhelming tasks to build a whole world from scratch in a second book in a series. I guess time will tell.

I also really enjoyed the romance of the story. I thought it was a really well built enemies to lovers trope with enough thrown in their way that you're never sure if the characters have any chance at happiness or not.

All in all it was very enjoyable read.

A very intriguing novel, Emma MacDonald's writing pulls you in from the start. The magic and supernatural themes were well done, and the mystery was so engaging!

Loved it! A really great read to pick up for this time of year with the gothic, supernatural and magical elements!

It’s not often that I feel so connected to the main character in fantasy books but I absolutely LOVED Rose. I also felt like this book wasn’t what I expected it to be, in the best way. I’d recommend for fans of mystery novels who also love a touch of spooky magic!

Whispers Most Foul by Emma MacDonald is an intriguing and atmospheric novel that pulls you in with its rich setting and eerie tension. The way MacDonald crafts her characters and builds suspense is definitely a strong point, making it a satisfying read for fans of dark academia. It’s the kind of book that’s perfect for a cozy evening, especially if you enjoy a touch of the macabre.

That said, there were moments where the pacing felt a little off, with certain sections dragging while others rushed by. Some of the character motivations could have used more depth, leaving me wanting a bit more emotional investment in their fates. Still, MacDonald’s talent for setting a chilling tone and her knack for suspense make Whispers Most Foul a worthwhile read, even if it doesn’t hit every note perfectly. It’s a solid, enjoyable mystery, but maybe not a standout in its genre.

I really wanted to enjoy this read but I just couldn't get into it, it was so slow and the only interesting parts for me were her interactions with aveline but the pace just wasn't it. It's really unfortunate because the author has a definite talent for storytelling

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this e-arc

I tried to hard to love this and I was really enjoying the storyline but I felt like it was just too slow. I wanted to make it through the book but I didn’t care enough to know what was happening but I was enjoying it!
The writing was really good but the pace of the book was too slow for me

A gorgeously gothic dark academia. Whispers Most Foul has that perfect balance between giving us a dark plot and then having added romance to lighten the mood. The magic school is really cool, vividly described and we get enough of the lessons/library for the academic in me to be satisfied. The language used is immersive and atmospheric, this is definitely a book to read in the dark with rain pattering at your window. The actual plot is great, I loved every minute and didn’t want to put it down. There are definitely some chilling moments that some readers may find disturbing, which I personally couldn’t get enough of! The book gave me Wednesday vibes. Definitely highly recommend. 4.5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

A book about witches, witchy boarding school and ghostly hauntings? Sign me up!!

This book really fell into the perfect dark academia autumn vibes with horror bibes to boot!

I found this one really hard to get started with and the story was quite slow until midpoint. I really struggled to connect with Rose, and I do wish there was more about the different types of magic. The magic system was so interesting, and I would have loved more time with the other professors at school.

Roses struggles with being an outcast did feel relatable though, yet friendship with Fen felt more like an acquaintance rather than a best friendship.

The idea over the hauntings was really interesting, and I did find the gore and mild jump scares around them well executed. There were so many twists in the story that I just didn’t expect, and I did like that in her attempts to solve what is going on she allied with someone quite unexpected.

For a dark academia novel, the dark was written well, I just found the story moved a little too slow at the beginning for my liking.

* Magic School
* Bisexual MC
* Rivals to Lovers
* Mild Gore
* Dark Academia
* Lots of Queer rep

If you love dark academia fantasy, you'll love this! It's a perfectly moody, heartwarming, magical book with lovely world building and a tantalising mystery to go with it.

There were some really interesting ideas here but I struggled a little with visualising some aspects and that caused me to feel icky about some of the romantic aspects. But I think that’s on me and not the author. I have a feeling that this will be really popular.
The idea of Rose being haunted by missing student Avaline was really creepy and chilling, especially as Rose was pretty much alone in the school as it wasn’t term time. I liked the beginning of the friendship with Sylvie, the misunderstandings between them were believable. I liked the boarding school aspect, especially the secrets long held by tradition.
But I found the relationship with Fen difficult to fathom, it was mainly in the past with them not being on the page together enough. And the beginning of a romance with a ghost was creepy and chilling, and that’s where I really struggled.

Firstly thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Unfortunately this book was not for me, very nearly DNFed around the 10% mark as it was extremely slow to start. The world building fell flat for me, and none of the characters were particularly likable. Towards the middle the book started to get more interesting, with the murder mystery really fleshing out. The murder mystery aspect was really the only part of this that I felt was done well, the culprit not being easily guessed.
Maybe the book was overall just to young for me? I can't write it off completely but I won't be looking for any sequels.

Firstly, thank you to the publisher for approving my netgalley request!
Now, onto the book - I loved the concept idea: ghosts in a magic school and f/f ghost/human relationship?? Sounds awesome, sign me up.
It didn’t quite end up being as I’d imagined however, even though I overall enjoyed reading it.

Firstly, I could have done with a little more character development to feel closer to the characters. Fen felt a little like an acquaintance to Rose even though they were supposed to be best friends and exes - maybe if he was on the page more we could have seen how he felt about Rose more and I would have felt more whenever he was in danger.

I did think the Sylvie/Rose relationship was nicely done, maybe that’s where the time spent in the book on development went - I could sense their emotions easily on the page.

A likely side effect of this was that I didn’t read Whispers Most Foul for a day and in doing so I forgot 3 side characters entirely and had to flip back to remind myself who they were. Even writing this review now I can’t remember most of the three, only Sylvie’s rude ex.

In general I found the idea to be really interesting but the execution wasn’t for me. They did put in some good twists that I didn’t see coming, but I didn’t feel much of the suspense or the ticking clock towards the big finale, which also felt over before it even started.

Timing is key however, a big reveal at the end of the book seemed to appear just a bit too early for me to really give the most impact. Maybe if this had been shifted a bit later then it would have packed more of a punch and made more sense.

But the thing I noticed the most was that, while I was reading Whispers Most Foul, I kept looking at other books on my shelf and getting the strongest urge to pick them instead. I don’t tend to get this at all when I’m reading a book that I’m drawn in to. When that happens I’m much more likely to not want to put it down than start thinking about my next read.

I think I’ve shredded this book enough right now! Even though it may look like I really didn’t enjoy Whispers Most Foul, it was actually quite a fun spooky read, with some nitpicks things thrown in that would have just made it an awesome read.

Would recommend for anyone who likes magic schools, f/f romance, uncovering nefarious plots, and ghosts. It could be a nice Halloween/autumn read.