The House of Lost Whispers was a perfect blend of whimsy, heartbreak and a fascinating study of different forms of grief. The premise of an alternate timeline where Olivia’s parents don’t die on the Titanic and different circumstances during WWI was really intriguing, especially during the juxtaposition of her grief of losing her family and then the casualties of war close to her.

I also loved the idea of the different realm being a mirror to show how any change in history, big or small, can have a big ripple effect on outcomes. The differences in the Olivia who lost her parents and the one who didn’t feel natural for the time, as well as for someone who didn’t experience the same grief.

For the most part, the story was beautifully written and executed. However, the ending felt a tad too tidy and I would have loved a little more ambiguity. Additionally, I would have loved a further exploration and explanation for Olivia and Seth being able to communicate - was it science or magic? - which did not garner much thought after their initial speculation.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the book and will definitely be looking into more by Jenni Keer!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

An intriguing premise, what kind of life would Olivia have had if her parents hadn't perished on the Titanic that fateful day in 1912.

Sent to live with her godfather and his benevolent wife and their 4 sons in a large country house, Olivia hears a voice through the wall.

A voice that insists that the Titanic didn't sink and that her parents are alive and well.

In the real 1912 Olivia thrives in her new environment and begins to forget about the voice behind the wall, but it hasn't forgotten about her.

An unusual tale of what ifs but poignant throughout.

The House of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer is an engaging novel that has historical fiction, mystery, romance, and magical realism all combined.

Synopsis:
On 15th April 1912, RMS Titanic sank and 1500 people lost their lives. But what if it had stayed afloat? When the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic leaves thirteen-year-old Olivia Davenport orphaned, she’s sent to live with her guardians, the Fairchilds, in their huge Jacobean mansion – Merriford Manor. But the Fairchilds have more to worry about than a grieving young girl – with war in Europe imminent and four sons to protect.

Olivia feels alone and friendless. That is, until she hears a voice from behind the wall in her tower bedroom. A voice from a man called Seth. At first she thinks he’s a ghost. But it soon becomes clear that he lives in an overlapping world that is just a shudder in time away from her own. A world where the Titanic never sank… And everything since has been just slightly… different.

All Olivia wants is to find a way into his reality. And not just to see the faces of her beloved parents once again. But also to meet Seth. Who might just be the love of her life…

I absolutely adored this book and completed it in two days. The two worlds were equally engaging and I rooted for Olivia and Seth through the whole book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the advanced digital copy of the book. It will be published on April 27, 2025.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 ☆ﾟ

𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗶 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗿
𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀
𝖠𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗅 27, 2025

𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝖼𝖾𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗇𝖽 𝖮𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖺 𝖣𝖺𝗏𝖾𝗇𝗉𝗈𝗋𝗍- 𝖺 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗀 𝗀𝗂𝗋𝗅 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝖺𝗇 𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋 𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗀𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖺 𝗆𝗂𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖼𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗍𝗅𝗏𝖾 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗍𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀, 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝖻𝖾𝖼𝖺𝗆𝖾 𝖺𝗇 𝗈𝗋𝗉𝗁𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝖿𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝖽𝗂𝖾𝖽 𝗈𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖳𝗂𝗍𝖺𝗇𝗂𝖼 𝗂𝗇 1912.
𝖲𝗁𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝗍𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝖻𝗒 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗀𝗈𝖽𝗉𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝗐𝗁𝗈 𝗁𝖺𝗏𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝖻𝗈𝗒𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝖺 𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖬𝖺𝗇𝗈𝗋. 𝖭𝗈 𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗊𝗎𝗂𝗍𝖾 𝗎𝗇𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗏𝗂𝗏𝗂𝖽 𝗂𝗆𝖺𝗀𝗂𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇.

𝖲𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗉𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝗈𝗐𝖾𝗋 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝖻𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗈𝗇𝖾 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗀𝗋𝗂𝖾𝖿 - 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗍'𝗌 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋𝗌 𝖺 𝗏𝗈𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝗋𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗅𝗅. 𝖠 𝗏𝗈𝗂𝖼𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗌 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝗁𝖾𝗇 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖼𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝗌𝗈𝗇 𝗂𝗌 𝖿𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝖺 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗅 𝗎𝗇𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌𝖾.

𝖨 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝗌 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝖪𝖾𝖾𝗋 𝗌𝖾𝖺𝗆𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗌𝗅𝗒 𝖻𝗅𝖾𝗇𝖽𝗌 𝗆𝗎𝗅𝗍 𝗀𝖾𝗇𝗋𝖾𝗌 𝗍𝗈𝗀𝖾𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋. 𝖧𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝖿𝗂𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇, 𝗋𝗈𝗆𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾, 𝗆𝗒𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗒 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝖺𝗀𝗂𝖼𝖺𝗅 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗆 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗐𝗂𝗇𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗆𝗈𝗌𝗍 𝖻𝖾𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗂𝖿𝗎𝗅 𝗌𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒.

𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝖼𝖾𝗉𝗍 𝗈𝖿 "𝑤𝒉𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑓 "
𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖳𝗂𝗍𝖺𝗇𝗂𝖼 𝖽𝗂𝖽𝗇'𝗍 𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗄. 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝖿 𝗁𝖾𝗋 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗂𝗏𝖾. 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗅 𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗅𝖽𝗌 𝗌𝖾𝗉𝖺𝗋𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖻𝗒 𝖺 𝗋𝗂𝗉𝗉𝗅𝖾 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾. 𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂𝖿?
𝖨𝗍 𝖾𝗑𝗉𝗅𝗈𝗋𝖾𝗌 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗅𝗈𝗌𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗀𝗋𝗂𝖾𝖿 𝖼𝖺𝗇 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗅𝗂𝖿𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖺𝗋𝗄𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗆𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗌 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝗂𝗌 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾.
𝖨𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗌𝗉𝖾𝗅𝗅𝖻𝗂𝗇𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀. 5 ⭐

𝖳𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗍𝗈 𝖭𝖾𝗍𝗀𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗒, 𝖡𝗈𝗅𝖽𝗐𝗈𝗈𝖽 𝖡𝗈𝗈𝗄𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗋 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗉𝗒. 𝖠𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝗆𝗒 𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗆𝗒 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐 𝗂𝗌 𝗏𝗈𝗅𝗎𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗋𝗒.

This is my second book by Jenni Keer and it did not disappoint. An interesting premise and compelling execution. This book is definitely genre-defying and engrossing. It is also emotional, profound, and I could not put it down.

I loved Olivia as a character and how she stood up to the Fairchild brothers at first. I adored her love for books and stories, seeing myself in her often. She had a kind heart, intelligent mind, and brave spirit. One of the most beautiful things was how she changed the lives of the Fairchilds, how her presence and way of being influenced them and made them more open.

The war years were impactful and heartbreaking, get ready to be emotional more than once if you pick this book up.😭

This is definitely a new favourite and I need to check out more of Jenni Keer’s books💕

Thank you to the publisher Boldwood Books for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Jenni Keer has an immense talent for writing historical fiction with a twist of the paranormal, creating wonderful stories that enable the reader the best kind of escapism.

In this book, we follow 13 year old Olivia, as she is sent to live with her guardians following the death of her parents on the Titanic. Olivia is a likeable character, if a bit precocious! When Olivia hears a voice through the wall of her bedroom, she initially thinks someone is snooping, but eventually comes to realise there is a man from a parallel universe there and, in his world, the Titanic didn't sink, her parents are alive and Olivia's life is very different.

There are so many brilliant elements to the story; historical fiction and the sinking of the Titanic, the supernatural, romance, mystery and there's a lot of emotion, grief and self discovery - it's just fabulous and I loved it!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Jenni Keer and Boldwood for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I have firmly come to the conclusion that Jenni Keer can do no wrong in the literary world. She has fast become one of my favourite authors within the space of the first book of hers that I read (Burlington Square) to now. She is one of the authors that both myself and my mum love and can chat about her books for hours afterwards.

This latest book had all the elements that I love, The Titanic, paranormal, romance spanning time and space and WW1&2 stories. I had so many 'Aha!' moments when I figured out parts of the story line, only to get thrown a curve, a plot twist and a brand new character/plot line to leave me guessing. Sometimes I was correct the first time when it all came back around and sometimes I was gloriously wrong.

I enjoy Jenni's story telling and her descriptions of characters. I admire the zest and enthusiam but also the rawness and humanness of Olivia and the truth in which tiny pebbles can also create enormous unfathomable ripples.

What we think is something meant to be, may not just turn out the way we think it should. The enormity of the question 'What if', has made this book a smasher!

Thank you so much to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for allowing me an advanced copy to read. Mothers Day is now sorted! And, Jenni? DEAL!!

Thank you Netgalley for another great. This story is sort of confusing because there are two storylines between two worlds with the same characters. I am really confused about the ending but overall it is a great story. This book has mystery, romance, heartache, and even betrayal in it. I find all of the characters to be likable and the storyline is very interesting.

I really enjoyed this story as it had a bit of everything: historical fiction, magical realism, romance and mystery. I also liked that the FMC was a strong forward thinking girl/woman. 4⭐

A bit of a strange one, this. The Titanic part is merely a small part of the story and I loved the main character and found the historical descriptions of the time most engaging. This was an enjoyable book, albeit a little confusing at times as to what was going on, with the ending somewhat disappointing because of that. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the reading copy.

When I first started the book, I did wonder if it was for me. With the main character Olivia only 13 years old with a vivid imagination, fond of making up stories and living in a bit of a fantasy world, I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it. But for someone so young she did a remarkable job of picking herself up and tried to make the best of the situation she found herself in, after the death of her parents left her effectively an orphan.

The family she found herself living with were not unkind but were somewhat distant and kept themselves at arms length, something Olivia found quite alien. I grew to like Olivia very much, she was quite a feisty character who didn’t let the adopted brothers get the better of her.

For me the book really took off when WW1 was declared. By this point Olivia was a little older and the plot began to draw in the stories of the wider family. I must admit I couldn’t quite get my head around the parallel world or timeline as it seemed. So that you have a couple of characters who exist in two separate lifetimes. To me that falls into the realm of fantasy fiction, which I’m not normally a fan of but there is so much going on in this book with so many fascinating characters and mysteries to solve it kept me completely absorbed. I always wanted to know what would happen next and looked forward to my next half hour with the book because they were such intriguing characters to be around.

Overall a really interesting plot, some brilliant characters and set over quite a long time period I enjoyed this very much. It’s something a little bit different, quite a few sub genres included to keep things interesting. I loved it.

This book was delightful! I was engrossed from the start, and the author did a great job of painting the characters in a realistic and flawed, but lovable manner. The journey these characters went on was whimsical, optimistic despite the cards they were dealt, and completely enchanting. Well done!

The concept of this one is fantastic. The idea of a parallel world where the Titanic completed its voyage, so good!

The execution of the concept just didn't work for me though. And while interesting, the plot was pretty predictable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this novel.

Jenni Keer pushes at the boundaries of historical fiction with this novel, just as she did with its compelling predecessors. Her dual storyline shifts not time but worlds, moving sideways between the main female character’s experiences in the ‘real’ world and her separate and distinct experiences in an alternate universe. The time is the same in both worlds, but one pivotal event—the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912–causes a fork in history’s path.

The Titanic’s sinking ends young Olivia Davenport’s idyllic childhood. Her affluent and affectionate parents were killed on that historic voyage, as she might have been, had she not been left behind with the measles. Her parents had given her guardianship to her godfather, Sir Hugo Fairchild, and his wife Lady Cynthia, parents of four rambunctious sons. Her guardians are kind and generous, but not given to the expressions of affection that Olivia craves. She eventually teaches them much in that regard.

Before she really ‘settles’ in her new family at Merriford Manor, the fanciful Olivia spends hours in her quiet tower bedroom, dealing with her grief by imagining a world where the shipwreck never happened and she still lives happily with her parents. She is so devoted to this mode of escape that she imagines a companion of sorts on the other side of her bedroom wall. He is Seth, an employee on the estate with the same name and job as the groundskeeper for whom she has developed a precocious attraction. Her inappropriate crush compels Lady Cynthia to send him to another estate.

Without giving away the novel’s plot twists, this Seth, over the course of the Great War that takes away 3 of the 4 brothers, also disappears. Has Olivia simply outgrown her emotional need for him as she grows up, becomes actively involved in the war effort, and is increasingly distracted by the fate of the Fairchild boys? This is her own theory. But the war ends. Seth returns. And then the relationship ‘through the wall’ becomes something else again.

Keer is a wonderful writer and convincingly captures the female coming of age experience during the quickly changing times of the war and its immediate aftermath. Through the Fairchild’s circle and that of the ordinary, uneducated and struggling villagers working on their estate, she reveals much about the class hierarchies in place, and how they were destabilized by the war. Rich or poor, few were left unscathed by loss. And no one could return to things as they were.

Much as I was intrigued by the split-world concept, it was disappointing in its execution. Why it happened is not clearly explained. I’m still not sure about the connection between radiation from the Titanic and every bit of the earth’s ore, an undetectable ‘juddering of time’ that nonetheless created another, slightly different, world. Did the reality split affect only Olivia’s immediate world, or is it meant to have cleaved history entirely? Nor is the solution that Olivia and other-world Seth conjure really credible, even in the context of fantasy. Keer did a better job of justifying readers’ suspension of disbelief in her earlier novels. That said, however, if you are content to take each world, with their similar but different main characters as intriguing stories for their own sake (I am), there is much to enjoy here.

The House of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer is a masterpiece! I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

Thirteen year old Olivia Davenport is left orphaned after her parents’ untimely deaths on the maiden voyage of the Titanic and she is sent to live with her guardians at Merriford Manor. Missing the imaginative, loving world of her parents, she feels alone, especially as the Fairchild family worries about the impending war in Europe and their four young sons.

One evening, she begins to hear the voice of a man, Seth, from behind the wall in her bedroom. Convinced it’s her imagination, she is determined to ignore him. After the war, when Olivia is an adult, she learns Seth is in a parallel universe, one in which the Titanic never sank. She would do anything to find a way into his world.


Title: The House of Lost Whispers
Author: Jenni Keer
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Release Date: April 7, 2025
Rating: 3.5⭐️

I really had to think about my feelings before I could review this one and I finally settled on 3.5 ⭐️

The overarching story was interesting - what if a ripple in time created two parallel universes that are separated by one major event? Olivia is a bold, engaging character. I enjoyed the pacing of the story as it covered a substantial amount of time and the story moved along quickly.

Unfortunately it falls flat for me in two places - it was really predictable to the point that I almost felt like I didn’t need to finish it. While Olivia was well drawn, the supporting characters weren’t as filled out, which meant her relationships felt incredibly surface. The romance storylines felt rushed and superficial.

The concept was there but the execution didn’t quite live up to it.

The House Of Lost Whispers
By: Jenni Keer

4 Stars

This was a story that brought magic to the life of a young lady. First, Olivia loses her parents on the Titanic, which leads her life down a completely different path. Being shipped to live with a new family, surrounded by the family sons, is not what she wanted. When she begins hearing a mysterious voice behind a wall, it brings her great hope. It also brings about mystery and magic and fantasy.

This story was done gorgeously well. It had a little of everything. It had loss and tragedy. It had war and peace. It also had romance. Magical, fantastical romance. It brought about a young girls dreams and brought them to life in a wonderful way. It was a story that was lyrical and magical and so easy to love. It was descriptive and kept me deeply captivated, from start to finish. I have always loved stories of the Titanic and the also The Great War, and this presented a magical story that had both plus so much more.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. It was well-written overall, but the storyline was not my style.

I would have enjoyed the story much more if it would have remained in the main “world”, but when the element of the alternate world on the other side of the wall which was a mirror in some ways but not in all was introduced, it lost me.

The love scenes through were also not my favorite.

Basically the main character Olivia loses her parents on the Titanic and goes to live with some family friends who have two sons. WWI happens and the sons are shipped off. There is tragedy and romance. Olivia discovers a voice on the other side of a wall and they figure out he is in a parallel world. There is some tragedy and romance. And then there is more tragedy and romance.

The storyline and characters all came across a little too cheesy for me. I enjoyed parts of the book, but overall I would give this a 2.5 stars.

The House of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer

The House of Lost Whispers by Jenni Keer is so eloquently wrote.
Olivia's character is sublime and you really,feel for the little girl trapped in a,world she doesn't, quite understand.
In more ways than one , it's magical .

Jenni Keer has done it again with another truly original story. This time Keer takes us on a journey with Olivia Davenport. Her parents perish on the Titanic in 1912 and she goes to live with her guardians, the Fairchilds. But what if the titanic hadn’t sunk?

Olivia hears a voice, a man called Seth is taking to her, from a parallel world, a world where so much is the same, but also quite different. He offers her friendship and companionship when she is at her loneliest. As the years go by and the country is irrevocably changed by the events of the First World War their friendship blossoms in to something more. Olivia dreams of meeting Seth and joining him in his world. With war, love, murder, heartbreak and hope, this book has it all!

I loved this book, the characters were all so believable, I lived the highs and lows of their lives and couldn’t wait to see what would happen.
Would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is prepared to listen!