Today I’m hosting one of the finalist tours for BBNYA, this is one of the books that I read for the competiton.
The Whisperer in White
Y.R. Liu
When the Whisperer speaks, the universe listens.
Growing up, Talia had never given much thought to the gray-robed Whisperers and their powers over reality. Their business was protecting the world; hers was hunting in the forest around her village and trying to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately for Tal, one Whisperer in particular becomes her business when she accidentally injures his companion, a talking cat-shaped creature named Morel.
As punishment, she becomes the Whisperer’s prisoner, whisked away to his island home for a year and a day of servitude. There is much to do — for both the Whisperer and for Tal — as he prepares for the ritual that must be completed every hundred years to ensure the safety of the world. Tal does as she is told; her priority is to simply finish out her sentence and return home to her family.
Yet there are many secrets on the island, many oddities, and they tug at Tal like an itch. As the year goes on, she learns more of the Whisperer, his duties, and the horrifying evils that he and the other Whisperers keep at bay. But secrets still remain: a room that is always locked, a stone monument in the woods, crimson flowers whose very name causes the Whisperer to storm away.
Unbeknownst to Tal, something is watching her, and what she does now may alter the fate of the world.
Goodreads | The StoryGraph | Amazon
Every time I got the next excerpt of this book for the competition, I was ecstatic to get a little more of the story and desperate to dive back in. This book honestly had me hooked from the first page to the last.
The concept was brilliant and one that felt original. Whilst I was reading, I was trying to soak up all the information I could about the mysterious Whisperers. I was fascinated. I loved the magic in this book and what it revealed about why it is necessary; it was very well crafted.
The characters are fantastic, I adored them, and the relationship between the Whisperer, Talia, and Morel made the book for me. The mystery of the Whisperers and the action at the end of the book were great, but it’s the characters that are the heart of this story.
Tal is sassy and inquisitive, and I loved the relationship that develops between her and the Whisperer, even though he seems gruff and absent. I especially loved the relationship between her and Morel. Being a Voice (Whisperer’s companion) was kind of fascinating anyway, but they had such a fun attitude, and I liked the banter between them and Tal.
I did get very invested in this story. I won’t lie, I was crying my eyes out at one point. There were certainly some surprises that really got to me. As I said, there is a bit more action towards the end of the story, but I also found it a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, I think, because of how much I loved the characters.
The Whisperer in White is a book I would highly recommend.
Y. R. Liu is a writer of dark fantasy and speculative fiction who spent more of her childhood in imaginary worlds than in the real one. A devourer of books, she has a particular fondness for bittersweet sacrifices, pyrrhic victories, and otherwise less-than-happy endings. Her fascination with the tragic and the fantastic extends to her own writing as she weaves tales of both woe and hope.
When not writing, she enjoys good food, shiny trinkets, and Wikipedia rabbit holes. Currently, she resides in Montreal with her family. She can be found online at yrliu.com, including links to her social media and her newsletter.
The Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) is celebrating the books that made it to the semi-finals with a mini spotlight blitz tour for each title.
BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 15 (17 in 2025) finalists and one overall winner.
If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official.
everywhere-and-nowhere.com 