Mel Smith learned two things growing up in foster care. Don't get close to anyone and always be ready to leave. She lets down her guard and forms a friendship with Sarah but life takes Sarah early. Mel wants to leave the city where they were living but there's one thing she still has to do. She needs to take Sarah home to her family.

Morgan Gap is a small town in the Appalachian Mountains. Mel is surprised how attractive she finds the town and the people. Sarah's family welcomes her immediately, especially Granny. They have lived here for generations and the women are known for their ability to heal using the folk remedies and the gifts of the forest. Mel is taken in and soon Granny has given her the use of a cabin. Mel starts to think maybe she will stay a while. There is a forest ranger who seems to be interested and she doesn't know what she thinks about that but otherwise the area gives peace and solace to her battered soul.

But all is not peace and love. There is a cult in the area, ruled by men with hard faces who think women are only good for making babies and obeying every command. They are opposed to the healing women and do whatever they can to make life difficult. Mel starts to suspect that maybe they do more than that and that they bring violence with them. Sarah's mother was killed years ago and the crime was never solved. Is there a showdown coming?

This is a debut novel full of magic and healing. The author's writing is full of lush descriptions and her characters are interesting enough to draw the reader in. I listened to this novel and the narrator's ability to use the cadence and accent of the Appalachian Mountains was spot on. This book is recommended for women's fiction readers.

I absolutely loved this audiobook. The narrator was amazing and I really enjoyed these characters. The story was amazing and so good!

So Wildwood Whispers took me a bit.. I found it to be a slower paced story, nothing wrong with that. I think it fits the light magic, small town cottagecore feel but I did find my interests dwindle throughout reading it. It follows a woman who’s best friend passes away and she travels to the small town where she lived as a child to scatter her ashes but it reveals to the reader very quickly the darkness of her past which involves some witchery elements and even a cultlike presence. I don’t regret reading this by any means, the writing is beautiful, the atmosphere it feels like you can touch it, it was definitely out of my comfort zone but I did find when we met other characters that the writing lacked a meaningful difference in their voices and found I grew bored quite often. It was a very different read then my normal grimdark fantasy which is what I wanted. I wanted a break from the dark stuff I constantly feed my brain so this was great for that.
Full review on my YouTube channel.

I really enjoyed Wildwood Whispers! This book brings fantasy and magic to life through Mel's journey of trying to reconnect with her best friend who she lost so suddenly. The characters brought the darkness out and sucked me in as the reader. To all my friends who love fantasy, I highly recommend this book!

This is a great read and i would recommend you read this! This was a really fun listen which I read so so quickly. I was kindly gifted an e-book in return a honest review.

I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it has become a dnf.

Whilst listening to the 50% of the book that i did get through i never truly felt settled or immersed in the story, i thought this would eventually happen but after several hours and that wishy-washy feeling still present i started to lose steam.

The premise of the novel was all things i liked, a romance , a story about love and grief , a bit of magic , a forest - but for some reason the characters and the writing just didn’t invoke any passion or excitement from me. This could have been a me problem, and i hope it was , because i think this could be such a beautiful, impactful story to someone and i hope it finds its audience.

Thank you to #netgalley and Hachette audio for the chance to experience this story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wildwood Whispers was my first delve into magical realism and man, was I impressed! What an amazing story!

In this novel, we're introduced to Mel Smith, an orphan since birth. Mel had forged a deep bond with a foster sister named Sarah. Upon Sarah's untimely death, Mel returns to Sarah's Virginia hometown to fulfill Sarah's final wish.

Upon arriving in the small, mountain town, strange things begin to happen and Mel meets Granny, an elderly town wise woman and she begins to study the ways of the wildwood. Along the way she forges bonds with people who had been part of Sarah's life. When a fanatical religious sect threatens this new family she's created, Mel Mel finds out who she truly is.

Magic, fantasy and a lot of heart bring this beautiful story together. I found myself deeply engrossed in this story. I fell in love with the characters and the story. I also loved the writing. We got a first person view of Mel, but we also get Sarah's POV told through dream sequences. The book was just magical. Highly recommended!

As for the audio, I loved it. It was read by three different people and I loved the Appalachian drawl of the narrator reading Sarah's POV. Absolutely perfect narration.

Five stars!

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

The narrators were good but I struggled to get into this story. I'm sorry to say it just didn't keep my interest.
The cover is amazing though

In a Nutshell: A decently-written magical realism story with some hits and some misses.

Story:
Mel Smith’s life as a foster child has been a tough one and she has now learnt to stand up for herself. When she meets Sarah at the age of eleven, they form a sisterly bond. Now Sarah is dead and Mel finds herself in a small town in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains to honour Sarah’s last wish. There she finds secrets and threats, and mystique and creepiness, and her visit might just change her life forever.

I was looking forward to this story because of that wonderful title and cover. But somehow, the book didn’t quite work out as I had imagined.

Where the book clicked for me:
• The concept of the book is superb. At its bare essence, the plot promises a journey through a magical wood with a disbelieving main character whose interactions turn her life. (The execution left a lot to be desired, but the concept was good.)
• After a long time, I found a book where the prologue justifies its existence in the story. The incident narrated in the prologue gives a wonderful setting to the kind of relationship that Mel and Sarah have. That’s how prologues must be used, rather than only repeating an incident coming near the end of the story to create an unnecessary suspense, most of which is forgotten as we go along the story.
• I loved everything connected to nature: the mountains, the bees, the wildwood itself! These were fabulously written. The wildwood is a character by itself in this book and it justifies the title through an almost sentient presence through the main story. I also liked Charm the mouse, a cute addition to the human characters.
• Some of the connections between the characters were portrayed well. Their attachment to nature and their interpersonal relationships within the small community stand out.
• The writing is quite lyrical in places, especially when it talks about the wildwood. The atmosphere it creates is at once spooky and appealing.

Where the book could have worked better for me:
• The pace, especially in the first 60% or so, is very slow. Sometimes, it felt like I had read/heard so much but in terms of the story, hardly anything had progressed. The writing takes its own sweet time rambling through multiple characters, flashbacks and incidents, many of which weren’t really needed.
• Most of the characters didn’t appeal to me. Of the three who did, two were dead. So I didn’t really feel much of a connect with the book.
• There is no mystery as such, though the plot tries to build up on atmospheric suspense. The guilty party is clear right from the moment of their introduction. So it turned out to be a game of “when” and “how” and not “who’.
• The romantic subplot was absolutely unnecessary.
• A small subplot depicts how talent in a particular field (not giving spoilers) is independent of gender. I loved that part. Wish there had been more of it. The rest of the book is quite gender-stereotypical.
• For a magical realism book, the magical content is just in a few scenes. Though those scenes are really well-written, they further increased my thirst for more, and that didn’t happen.

The audiobook experience:
A mixed feedback here. The narrators were great in their own way. But one of the accents was really grating on my ears, though it might have been authentic for the story. Furthermore, the identity of the third narrator, who comes in just randomly, doesn’t become clear until almost midway (for valid reasons). While this would have worked well if I were reading the book, it just became confusing the audiobook because I didn’t know who was talking and, more importantly, how he/she fitted in the story.

Overall, the book improves as the story progresses. The end is fairly satisfying. But you do have to trudge through a lot of content to reach that finale. I think I might have enjoyed this a little more if I had read it but I wouldn’t have loved it even then. The second half of the book does save it to a great extent, so if you go for it, have patience with it and focus on the wildwood for it is the best thing in the book.

A 3.5 from me, rounding up to 4.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hachette Audio, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Magical, enchanting and vicious in its overall feminine strength; what a novel! Wildwood Whispers is a delightful mix of nature based magical realism, mystery, murder and folklore all tied up with beating heartstrings. I took slightly longer than I expected to finish due to the length and slower beginning. I had a bit of an initial disconnect from the characters and storyline only because my impatience was catching up with me. I wanted revelations and plot progress quicker than I was getting it. Once I finally simmered myself down, I found my pacing and fell into the Wildwood world created by Reece. However, now that I’ve ended, I do have a feeling of wanting more out of the whole package.

Now don’t stray away yet, that said there is so much beauty in this book and it comes from the captivating writing style and deeply crafted magical realism flowing through the plot. I loved how Reece made this feel realistic and genuine. There’s a beauty in the way she makes the folklore come to life and dance throughout the pages as Mel becomes entwined in the traditions of Sarah’s past. The story is told in multiple POVs that are easy to follow. Mel is a complex character with a history that makes her hold back her trust and favor her instincts. She also has a protector’s heart and comes to the table with the loss of her best friend Sarah. We get to watch her heart mend as Reece creates the found family and support system in this small town. Sarah’s character is slowly pieced together from memories and dreams that merge with Mel’s own awakening. Though Sarah has a prominent spot in Mel’s life she is more of the plot instead of the character for me in this book. Which is perfectly ok, she lends to the mystery and the murder aspect that creeps along the plot’s edges. Granny is probably one of my favorite renditions of a wise woman, mentor and grandmother. Her role tended towards that of a MC for me and she was everything I wanted her to be.

There is a little dash of budding romance with a secret holding biologist, a unique spin on familiars, a cult lurking in the darkness and the mysteries of who is murdering the locals. I do want to point out that there is a decent bit of descriptive text that may not be for every reader. The storyline is slow and lends more towards the everyday musings of Mel learning the ropes. Like I mentioned earlier, I ended wanting more. Even though I adored the magical elements I battled myself on wanting more of the enchantment that hung over the town, creatures and people that lived there. That honestly may take away from how realistic it felt though. I could’ve used a quicker character connection in the beginning, but the slow burning pace made that connection harder to grasp onto for a bit. There is a quote on the cover that’s says, “a feast for the senses,” and I could not find a better description for this novel.

For those who enjoy audiobooks, the novel is read with what I would call a full cast. Three narrators bring to life the young Sarah, Mel, little Charm and more. Questioning who Charm is? Well, you’ll just have to read to find out about that utter cuteness! Each narrator has well delivered cadence and for the characters they speak for. I would’ve liked a smidge more emotional depth on some of the scenes, but the full audio journey was exactly what I love to dive into when I can’t sit back and read. Would I prefer one over the other? I’d say that the audiobook helped me enjoy the slower paced introduction more than if I was reading but being able to hold my copy, sip my tea and finish the ending on the couch was everything.

Overall, I am charmed by Reece’s newest novel. I need to check out some of her paranormal romances and young adult gothic books next. I’d highly recommend Wildwood Whispers to readers who enjoy the quieter reads you can cozy up with that bring folklore and feminist contemporary mystery together in an enchanting tale. Thank you, Orbit Books, for the beautifully gifted novel and Hachette Audio for making my introduction to Reece’s work richly immersive with a gifted ALC. All thoughts are my own and in exchange for the gifted formats.

EXCERPT: Twelve year old Sarah Ross reached quickly for the fragrant charm beneath her pillow the same way she would have reached for a parachute ripcord if she'd been rudely pushed from a plane cruising at ten thousand feet. It was only an imaginary fall, one that had propelled her awake, as bad dreams do, but her trembling fingers clutched at the familiar shape of the tiny crocheted mouse like a lifeline. The charm her mother had filled with sage and lemon balm was supposed to help Sarah sleep, and it did, usually, but the dream fall had cannoned her awake with stomach-swooping dread, as if the entire world had disappeared beneath her sleeping body.

This time her knuckles didn't stop hurting even after the bed solidified beneath her. She wasn't falling. She was awake. Her soft bedding still smelled of sunshine from its time on the clothesline.

Her hands hurt.

It was only a ghost pain that had haunted her first waking moments since she was a little girl. There was nothing wrong with her fingers, her knuckles, the palms of her hands. The mouse usually banished the pain by grounding her in the real world.

Not this time.

ABOUT 'WILDWOOD WHISPERS': At the age of eleven, Mel Smith’s life found its purpose when she met Sarah Ross. Ten years later, Sarah’s sudden death threatens to break her. To fulfill a final promise to her best friend, Mel travels to an idyllic small town nestled in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains. Yet Morgan’s Gap is more than a land of morning mists and deep forest shadows.

There are secrets that call to Mel, in the gaze of the gnarled and knowing woman everyone calls Granny, in a salvaged remedy book filled with the magic of simple mountain traditions, and in the connection, she feels to the Ross homestead and the wilderness around it.

With every taste of sweet honey and tart blackberries, the wildwood twines further into Mel’s broken heart. But a threat lingers in the woods—one that may have something to do with Sarah's untimely death and that has now set its sight on Mel.

MY THOUGHTS: I was looking forward to listening to Wildwood Whispers, a story of magical realism set in a village in the Adirondacks. But, sorry, this just didn't strike a chord in my heart. I found it difficult to connect with the characters and found the story very slow moving.

There is no real mystery, because it is apparent very early on, who is responsible. The why takes longer to be revealed, but by then I had lost interest.

I really enjoyed the scenes based around the bees, but the mouse really didn't work for me. I also felt that the romantic interest wasn't necessary, and was far too obvious.

The description of the wildwood and the garden interested me, and I would have liked more information about the recipes.

While I usually like audiobooks to have multiple narrators, there was one narrator whose voice grated on my eardrums, which definitely didn't enhance my experience.

Overall, this was just an average read.

⭐⭐.5

#WildwoodWhispers #NetGalley

I: @willa_reece @hachetteaudio

T: @ReeceWilla @HachetteAudio

#audiobook #fantasy #contemporaryfiction #cult #mystery #paranormal #romance

THE AUTHOR: Besides writing, Willa is devoted to animal rescue and her three scientist sons—a biologist, and an aspiring chemist and physicist. Willa lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where stories are often told on a dark side porch by the flicker of firefly light.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Hachette Audio, Orbit via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

This book is going to be a big hit for readers that enjoy beautiful, magical writing that whisks you away into the story and setting. This one reminded me a bit of Where the Crawdads Sing with a location that feels secluded and has people that live life in a specific way. I enjoyed learning about the people, and seeing how Mel interacts with them. I found myself really pulled into this story. I think there were a few parts that slowed down a bit too much for my liking, but overall, I thought this was a beautifully written story that readers are going to love!

I loved the concept of this book and if you’re looking for a book that really nails “cottagecore” vibes, I think this might be for you! It has magical nature elements that I found very sweet, and overall I’d say this book is charming. However, I wanted to absolutely adore it, and it just didn’t happen. My biggest complaint is that it’s very slow-paced and meandering. I thought I would enjoy reading about the main character making jam and homemade bread with items from the wood, but for some reason it just didn’t work for me as a whole, maybe because the characters just didn’t click with me (I find for quieter books like this, that I need to really love the characters). I also wanted the magical elements explored more, because I loved what was there. For example, the bee scene was amazing!! While I found this book just “ok,” I think it would absolutely work amazingly for the right reader. So, if you’re looking for small town vibes with a creepy cult lurking fairly subtly in the background and lots of vignettes of very natural home-spun activities, this might be the book for you.

I thought the audiobook was quite nice. The main narrator had a very cozy effect to her voice, and she spoke very clearly which came across even when sped up, which is something I really appreciate for any narrator. I do wish when points of view changed that they were indicated with the name in the audiobook, without having a digital or physical copy, I’m not sure if it’s included in those mediums though.

Thank you to NetGalley and HachetteAudio for this advanced audiobook copy.

The cover instantly grabbed my attention and the premise gripped me so I started listening to this book with high hopes. Unfortunately it didn’t take long for me to realize this book would be a struggle for me, I found the narrator so grating that I could barely listen to what she was saying, the tone as-well as the faux southern drawl.

I listened as long as I could stand and finally decided that I would have to DNF this book purely due to the narration. But that said, I’m still very interested in this book, what I did hear was well written enough that I will be purchasing a physical copy . I will withhold my reviews on Goodreads, Amazon and Instagram until I’ve finished with that copy.

But for me the audiobook is on the DNF list, so here and now it’s a 3 star read for me.

Rating: 5/5 stars
Q: "It felt as if I was fighting this injustice, which was crazy: I was making jam and bread. And yet, the truth of the fight pounded in my heart when i realized that jam and bread from the wildwood was life. The simple power of life itself. By sharing what I made, I was sharing the ongoing cycle of life with others."

Set against the background of the a small Appalachian village and its lush surrounding woods,
Wildwood Whispers delivers a story that is the perfect bittersweet mix of haunting and strangely comforting.

We follow Mel, a young woman in de depths of grief over the loss of her best friend and “foster-system-sister” Sarah. To fulfil her final promise to her friend, Mel travels to Sarah’s birthplace Morgan’s Gap, a seemingly idyllic town nestled in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains, to scatter her ashes in the surrounding Wildwood. Once there, she feels a deep connection to the place, its community of Wisewomen and the hints of Sarah’s memories that linger everywhere.

Wildwood Whispers sets up an ambitious multi-layered story with some heavier underlying themes, and somehow manages to hit it home without missing a beat. With lyrical, descriptive prose, Reece brings to life the town of Morgan’s Gap and all its inhabitants, enveloping the reader like the misty groves envelope the town. Covering grief, healing, religion, prejudice and found family, she displays an impressive emotional range, without ever feeling melodramatic. We veer from melancholy to healing, from nostalgia to hope, and even from safety to claustrophobia in an instant once the thread that lurks among the town inhabitants makes itself clear. Even a non-book-crier like me had to swallow some emotions away at times at the wonderful depiction of grief and found family here…
In addition, this novel feels like a love song to modern green- or hedge witchcraft, and the healing power and lifeforce that can be drawn from nature. There’s a trend of witchy books in publishing at the moment (especially within YA) that is quite hit or miss for me. This is the kind of witch-story that I personally love: a bit more understated, grounded in nature and written with respect for modern witches. No sacrificing black cats or flying on broomsticks here.

Wildwood Whispers is out on August 17th and is one of my most anticipated releases for this month thus far. Although I highly recommend it regardless of the format, I especially endorse the audiobook. For the perfect experience; take this book with you on a walk through nature. I personally listened to it whilst walking the heathers near my town, and it really added to the immersion.

Many thanks to the publishers Redhook and Orbit for providing me with an ARC as well as an early copy of the audiobook.

"Wildwood Whispers" starts as a story of grief, where we find out more about how our main protagonist deals with the loss of her best friend. Through the first chapters, we also find out more about their bond.
I was very interested in that part but then the book took a bit of a turn and it kind of lost me. Magical realism is not my favourite genre, so it could just be a personal feeling.

My main issue with the book is that, at some points, it was a bit difficult to follow the story. There wasn't necessarily a lot going on, but it felt like the way it was shown in the story made it a bit more overwhelming than it should have been.
A few topics featured in the book were very interesting and I wished they could have been explored in a way that made me enjoy them more. But again, it's a very personal thing. I'm sure many people will enjoy those parts.

When it comes to the narrators, I don't have many complaints. It was easy enough to follow the story through their narration. However, it felt like they could have worked more with the whimsical aspects of the book to incorporate them into the narration. It just felt like a normal contemporary book kind of narration.

Audio review - really liked all three narrators. Very easy to listen to, very engaging and each brought nuance to their characters.



Book review: I requested this on a whim. The cover suggested a soft, fairly comfortable read and the blurb promised some light magical realism elements within family type drama. I'd been reading a lot of intense non-fiction, dystopian fiction and harder edged fantasy. An easy read seemed perfect.



But this was so much more than merely commercial women's fiction with a light window dressing of fantasy elements. Mel Smith is obeying her best friend's wishes by conveying her ashes back to her home in Morgan's Gap, in the Appalachian mountains. Sarah died in a car crash leaving Mel, her foster sister, bereft and rudderless. But Morgan's Gap is not quite like any other town. Mel is in the Wild now and the Wildwood wants her. Spending time with a group of hard working, industrious women who live close to the land, Mel's life is about to change in miraculous and dangerous ways. There is more to the story of how Sarah ended up in foster care than Mel realises. There's secrets to Mel's own past of which even she is unaware...



This is a beautiful, multi layered story about family, identity and belonging. A cottagecore feast for the senses and a cosy witchy tale about female friendship and redemption. It's a little like the (far more preferable) film of Practical Magic or like Chocolat but concerned more with telling a story than with literary style. And yet it has it's own soft poetry. The descriptions of landscape and crafting and nature are rich and full of sensory detail but never outstay their welcome. The story moves at a swift pace, despite being largely propelled by internal conflict rather than external action.



Unlike other books which try (and often fail) to deliver this kind of reading experience, Wildwood Whispers speaks of equality alongside individuality, sisterhood next to brotherhood. Men are not excluded from this lifestyle, even if fewer of them seem to take to it. Another thing which raised this above run of the mill commercial women's fiction for me, is the fact that it's not taken for granted that everyone is heterosexual. While the MC is straight, there are several gay secondary and tertiary characters, and this is explored as yet another type of relationship between women.



Overall this was heart-warming without being saccharine, magical without the fantasy overwhelming the plot, feminist without being preachy (or screechy) and incredibly engaging. I loved every minute of Mel's journey. Highly recommend.

Mel Smith has traveled to a little town in Appalachia to honor the last wish of her childhood best friend, Sarah. In Morgan’s Gap, Mel finds a balm for her troubled soul in the form of nature and a mysterious healer, known as Granny and a book of ancient natural remedies may hold answers to Sarah’s death. In the grip of yet another wave of Covid 19, this book is a much needed balm to all of us who are feeling frightened and soul weary. The excellent cast bring this beautiful story to life so have your tissues ready

Sarah Ross and Mel Smith survived the foster system and were starting their lives as functioning adults, when Sarah saw something bad in her tea leaves. Days later she was dead.
Honoring Sarah's request that her ashes be spread in her hometown, Morgan's Gap, Mel has arrived without a clue where to go. Then she met Granny, and everything became clear.
Granny, and other wise women who live in the Wildwood, were Sarah's family. They welcome Mel with open arms, eager to teach her their ways. But Mel doesn't know if she wants to learn to be a healer, even though she is enjoying the lessons.
Once you welcome Wildwood into your heart, you can never leave.

This was a wonderful book to listen to. Willa Reece has brought out the magic that lives in the Appalachian Mountains. An overwhelming feeling of community and sisterhood envelopes you the minute Mel sets foot in the town. Within the first few chapters I was sucked into to lore of the wise women, and the generations of healing hands.
Three narrators bring the voices to life in this audiobook. With country accents, the narrators give a little extra to the mountain people. I especially loved Sarah's voice. They way she talked about growing up in Morgan's Gap, sounded like it came from real experience. With so much heart and emotion, Sarah became a real person. I could understand how much Mel felt her loss.
Any fan of Alice Hoffman would love this book. It was a beautiful, magical read that left me wanting more. I feel like it could be the start of a series, and I hope it is.