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.

Thank you to NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for the ARC

A really good dark academia fantasy with a mystery aspect. I adored the slightly eerie atmosphere and loved the mystery aspect. I truly didn't see that twist coming and was baffled by the perpetrator. And let's just take a minute to appreciate all the good representation. Sexuality, race, disability, the book portrayed it all so well.

I liked the characters and how strong they were. Refreshing!

This book has me second guessing my ability to solve mysteries!
I was promised a gothic fantasy full of mystery, romance, magic and a dash of horror and it delivered!
The wonderful FMC Rose is a bisexual icon. She was written so well, with depth and complexity, I felt all of her emotions through the page. Her love of those important to her really shone through, without repetition or cringey statements.
The characters interacted in a realistic manner, building relationships organically and reacting in ways that are to be expected from their personalities. They were so multi-faceted that I genuinely suspected most of them at some point or another, as their intentions and interactions were realistic and secret rather than bare for all to see.
I adored the representation in this story, from sexuality and race to disability, none of it felt forced but rather a story about ordinary people you may meet on the street (unfortunately they’re in a different realm and mostly have magic but apart from that!). It was comforting to read such non-stigmatised characters and relate them to the diversity of the real world.
Thank you for the ARC, all my opinions are my own.

This book follows Rose, a third year student at a university for magic-users. Whilst excelling in theory, Rose is unable to cast; much to her mother's dismay and fellow-classmates' humour. When students go missing, Rose is the only one who can see their ghosts. Unluckily for her, one of these ghosts is Sylvie, her rival. They must work together to uncover the mystery around these murders at Dunhollow, whilst wrestling with their growing feelings.

I enjoyed this book. So much so I devoured it in one sitting. I did not guess who the perpetrator was, which was refreshing! Looking back there were perhaps little identifiers but I don't think enough attention was given to them to allow the reader to be able to seriously guess who it was. I loved the imagery of the first ghost Rose had been seeing, it was perfectly unsettling and creepy. I enjoyed the library's atmosphere and description especially, I wish we got more detail on the university; I would love to immerse myself completely into this world. I adored the subtle queer rep littered throughout the book, and whilst not as fleshed out as the protagonists (naturally) the side-characters provided exactly what was needed to push the plot along without feeling shoe-horned in.

However, whilst marketed as a rivals to lovers I was not necessarily given that. The dislike at first was evident, but it fell into the telling not showing trap. Perhaps this was because most of the book happens once Sylvie is a ghost and they have to work together, so as the reader you have missed the 2 previous years of true animosity. I did think the relationship fell into place a little quickly, the jump from rivals to them expressing affection felt fast-paced. Although, that is not to say what we got wasn't enjoyable, the budding relationship between the two of them was lovely and frankly they had bigger fish to fry!

I did notice a couple of errors with extra spaces between punctuation etc but I'm sure these will be sorted by the publishing date.

Such a fun read, Emma has done wonderfully with this one and I will be reading the next instalment!

Haunting, this book is somewhat reminiscent of the famed Harry Potter series with its school (university) setting and unique magics from alchemy/potions to herbology and defensive practices.

Although rose thinks she can't cast we find out many a thing in this book, one of which being her jaw dropping ability. Having seen what she believes to be ghosts she winds up on a mission with her best friend Fen to discover what's happening to all these people who are going missing.

It includes heartbreak but also revenge, mystery and danger, platonic and romantic love and is engaging throughout. With subtle non-binary and queer representation throughout they aren't the main plot point but certainly added a heartwarming edge and bond nonetheless to the otherwise chilling tale that we follow uncovering the history of the mysterious Order.

I absolutely adored this book.
There are so many reasons to love Whispers Most Foul, be it the LGBTQIA rep that is integrated into the story so seamlessly (my Bi ass could not keep up with Sylvie and Fen), the fact it's set in the wonderfully spooky Dunhallow academy, there's a bloody murder mystery and ON TOP of all that...there's magic?! Like how could you not love this story?!

I absolutely loved the characters. Sylvie was such a baddie, I would have loved to hear more about her and feel more of the enemies to lovers vibes between her and Rose.

Fen was such a sweetheart to Rose but again, their relationship seemed to have been missing something.

I was constantly guessing who was murdering the girls but I am so pleased to say I didn't guess it!

Would have loved Aveline to be even more spooky. She seemed to trail off when Sylvie entered the scene. Could maybe play that down to her becoming weaker?

Three errors I spotted in the writing:
1."After all, ere there roles reversed, Sylvie...
2. to tell hersomething. I’m only surprised she believed me.’
3. Yet Rose couldn’tt hold her gaze

Really loved the story and grateful to be given the opportunity to read in advance! 🩷

DNF @ 5%

I found this book cringe and I really could not bring myself to read any further. I have no idea why this could be, I thought I would like it as it is set in a uni and I am a uni student but no