I enjoyed reading this book, as it has many facets. It explores being a wife, being a mother, wanting to be a mother and loss. The title The Whispers, is so relevant to this story. When people whisper and gossip about others, without actually having the facts, it can cause many things to happen and become distorted. Most of the book takes place over three days, and how it effects all the main characters, mainly the women, and then their husbands and families.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read this title. I would recommend this as it is something a little different from the norm. 3.5 out of 5.

Welcome to Harlow Street. An upscale neighbourhood. The Whispers introduces the readers to four women, motherhood, infertility and love lost. Four different women dealing with their everyday lives, their insecurities, and their relationships. A tragic accident reveals all. Ashley Audrain’s writing kept me engaged. What a neighbourhood!
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

This has been on my most anticipated list ever The Push was my favourite book the what it came out.

The Whispers had the same dark writing as The Push and once again looks at the gritty, less talked about parts of motherhood, which seems to be the author’s sweet spot.

There’s something that amazes me about someone who can create such an ominous, chilling tone with their words.

This book is a true domestic drama. Following the lives of four neighbourhood women- of course they are all in each others business, and there are secrets and lies all around.

I found the parts about motherhood and marriage to spark many emotions in me.

This one comes with a VERY heavy and descriptive content warning for miscarriage/infertility, so please proceed with caution. I’d even go so far as to say it’s unnecessarily graphic.

Whispers
The whispers. We all hear them. That little voice you hear, the voices of others about you.

Do you know your neighbours? The ones you socialize with. Everyone thought Whitney was perfect. The perfect one who did it all. Big career, perfect wife to Jacob, perfect mom to three kids. But everyone was wrong and when they all heard those terrible words Whitney said to her son in irrational anger, her crown started to slip. And now, the unthinkable has happened and who is to blame?

Blair lives across the road with her husband Aiden and has a very strange habit. Whitney’s best friend. She’s always wanted to be Whitney, has always been in awe of her and maybe a little in love with her. But now, she has a reason to hate her.

Rebecca, the doctor married to Ben, only wants one thing. One thing so easy for some, but heartbreakingly is out of her reach. What is holding them together? Can they survive after all the heartache?

Mara is the older woman on the street who has seen her share of tragedy. She doesn’t fit in with the younger crowd but she sees it all.

They all have secrets.

When I got the opportunity to read and review this book, I was ecstatic. I loved “the push”; it was definitely one of my favourite reads and I eagerly anticipated digging into her yet to be released. But sadly, I was disappointed. This book was missing the magic of her precious book. At times, I just wanted it to be over. Many books go from past to current time but this was all over place. It was missing the flow of a good novel. I couldn’t put “the Push” down. I had to force myself at times, to read this one. Maybe if I hadn’t read “the Push”, I wouldn’t have as high expectations with this one.

I tried really hard to relate to these women. I know we are all flawed but I wouldn’t want to be friends with Whitney or Blair. So different, yet each jealous of the other. Blair is more harmless, just a wanna be. And Whitney? I disliked pretty much everything about her. The woman who seemed to have it all, should not have had kids. And the men in the story? Mostly, they are unlikable as well. Sometimes if you dislike a character, it can colour the way you think about a book. I don’t think that’s the case here. I just think this book didn’t have near the caliber of “The Push”.

Knowing what she is capable of, I would read another one of her books and am not ready to write her off. But this one is a 2.5 for me, rounded up.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book by giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This review can be found on goodreads as well as book purchase sights.

Ashley Audrain hit it out of the park again. She will be an automatic buy for me. While this novel is not exactly a thriller, it is still suspenseful and reads like one. There is enough drama and revelations doled out in small pieces consistently throughout that makes this a page turner like The Push.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

I love neighborhood drama, crazy as it is its exciting. So much excitement in this one. Some sadness, miscarriage trigger warning, affairs, death, and secrets.. what more could you ask for. The chapters were just the right length and smoothly brought you from one person to another. Loved this book.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

What I love about Audrain’s books are all the nuances starting with the title and funnelling down through the thematic elements. Whispers are the things we don't want others to hear, things we say to ourselves, things we say about others, and things that may or may not be true.

Raw and visceral, THE WHISPERS is a comment on how trying motherhood is, how awful it is to want to be a mother, and how awful it is to not be one anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada (Viking) for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. THE WHISPERS comes out June 6th.

Disclaimer: If miscarriage and pregnancy loss is difficult for you to read about, I would skip this one, as this book talks about that topic a lot.

CW: miscarriage, spouse death, child death, infidelity

THE GOOD: THAT ENDING. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and the ending was the best part.

THE BAD: After loving THE PUSH by this author, I had high hopes for this one, but I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. There were a lot of characters and I found it hard to keep track of everyone's role in the story. All of the characters, except for the children, were unlikeable and that made it difficult to root for anyone. The plot wasn't very compelling and can honestly be summed up as a lot of "rich people drama." I kept hoping for a shocking twist or plot point and did think there was one at one point, but it turned out to not be a twist after all. I guess it's safe to say this one was a bit underwhelming.

Favourite quote: N/A

THE VERDICT: ★★★☆☆

This was a tense domestic drama mostly revolving around 3 couples, each with their own hardships. After an accident leads to one couple's ten-year-old son in a coma in the ICU, the tension is high and secrets start unfolding, all leading up to how the young boy fell in the first place.
Thorough character development and raw emotion throughout, this was a slow burn with a great payoff, right until the very last gut punch of a line.
3.5/5 ⭐

Ashley Audrain strikes again and I am HERE FOR IT. if you liked The Push then you will like this one as well. It has similar themes and is just as chilling as her first novel. There was a lot going on but it was never confusing. I devoured this one and LOVED how it ended. Thank you to NetGallery and Penguin Random House Canada for this eARC!

Ashley Audrain definitely has a specific writing style; this book had huge The Push vibes. She is very talented at writing layered characters that seem very real, but I didn't really find this book to be much of a thriller. It was more of a drama. I enjoyed reading about the characters' lives, and she is amazing at writing the minds of many different mothers, but besides the last sentence, there wasn't really anything in the book that I didn't see coming. It reminded me of the show Desperate Housewives.

I thought that the whole concept of the "whispers" that we let take control of our minds and start to create their own narrative was really interesting. It's totally true that we can get a small idea in our head and run with it, and before we know it, we have created a whole situation that we find difficult to believe isn't real. It can be hard to know if you are trusting your instincts or creating something from nothing.

If you enjoyed The Push, then I definitely recommend reading this book by the same author; I'm sure you will like it. Or if you enjoy slow burn, character focused, domestic dramas.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Four women.
Blair, the 'perfect mother' at the expense of her marriage
Whitney, the 'career woman' at the expense of her children, or, perhaps she should never have been a mother
Rebecca, the doctor unable to carry a fetus to term and could not be a mother
Mara, the elderly woman who was a mother and now lives with crushing guilt.

This is a novel about four very different women, their daily lives, private thoughts, ended dreams, the men they love or simply bear because they must, secrets they desperately hide, and for one of them, who's blend of never-ending guilt for one person and hatred for another brings her to a dreadful, yet understandable decision.

The story begins one end-of-summer day at the home of Whitney and her husband Jacob who are hosting an outdoor garden party for the neighbourhood. We meet all main characters and catch a glimpse into their lives and personalities. It is here one of the women's shameful secret becomes shockingly revealed, thus setting the centre point event for the rest of the book.

I found this story to be well-written and suspenseful throughout. At times we are taken into the past in order to glean a better understanding of the present and thus I found myself growing an empathy where I previously sat in judgment of one or more of the women. In fact, some of their thoughts held a familiarity to some of mine as they echoed back to me from my own past as a wife and mother.

I enjoyed reading this book as a psychological adventure. It kept me very interested and at no time did I think of not finishing it. Speaking of finishing, the end of this novel was, in a word, novel! The end was so abrupt, it felt as if an axe, from out of nowhere was suddenly embedded into the page without warning, as the final words reverberated within my brain. So many instances were left open, it wouldn't surprise me to see a sequel, or perhaps it was Audrain's purpose to have each of us close those instances as we wished.

The "whispers" , I deduce, are the often unheard or ignored messages of our intuition, those 'gut' feelings we tend to brush aside, if we hear them at all.

Ashley Audrain has done it again!
The Whispers is a fast paced domestic thriller that will keep you turning the pages until she delivers a final gut punch with a last sentence that will stick with you long after you've finished the book.
Following 4 women at different points of their lives, we see how they're fates entwin as they deal with incredibly raw emotions surrounding motherhood.
Ashley is an incredibly talented storyteller.
Please find attached my spoiler free youtube review .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUFvfqrL5KE

The neighborhood barbecue has been fun until the perfect hostess explodes in fury at her oldest child. This is the child that turns up in ICU but how did that happen? This is a dark look at the lives of four women of the neighborhood - their loves, their lives, their jealousies and their secrets. Definitely on the darker side but an enjoyable read with a killer last line. DO NOT LOOK AHEAD!
#TheWhispers#NetGalley#PenguinRandomHouse

This was an interesting read though not as compelling as the author's previous novel, THE PUSH. Though it presented sympathetic insights into the various challenges of motherhood, it tended towards too much detail and interior soul-searching that slowed down the narrative. Some of the main characters were difficult to relate to and the final twist, though intriguing, came way too late.

The complexity of all these characters in the neighbourhood gave me all the big feels. So many questions are left unanswered. So many lives I want more of. What happens next? A novel of families, their lives, tragedies and piecing it all together to see what is left.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc

while I related to each mother on some level or another, I ultimately felt like they were horrible people. The story was slow moving and information was slowly released. Each mothers own perception was shared in bits and pieces and left the reader questioning what was happening. The ending was not clearly wrapped up and left storylines unfinished or to the readers imagination. I wanted to love this book as much as I loved The Push.

I enjoyed the story. Not as suspenseful as I was anticipating after having read the author's other book The Push.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an advanced copy of this ebook.

Audrain’s debut The Push was one of my favourite reads of 2022 (out of 213 books read) - I still think about this book all the time. So I nearly jumped for joy when I was approved for an advanced copy of this booo - and it did not disappoint!
At a party Whitney loses her temper and goes on a tirade directed at her son Xavier. Afterwards, Xavier falls out his bedroom window. We follow the POV of multiple characters, hear their gossip and secrets until we finally find out what really happened.

The characters and plot are fantastic and this is a must read

"𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦."

Ashley's debut, "The Push", was one of my top 10 favorites of 2022. So when I found out she was coming out with her second, I was so excited. So when I found out I got the ARC yesterday? I squealed!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the e-arc in exchange for my review!

Writing: 5/5 - Plot: 5/5 - Ending: 5/5

Addictive, seductive, and sinister are words that come to mind when I think of The Whispers. I love her writing; it is so captivating. She has a mother's theme in her books, but this one is more "Mommy drama in the neighborhood with a mystery plot" over The Push, which was less mystery. All the characters felt real, raw, emotional and very well flushed out.

I don't want to give too much away, but if you have suffered from miscarriages before, this book may be triggering. That aside, Ashley handled the topics with such care and grace. I could not put this down. This took place over a week with multiple POVs and kept me turning the pages to see what was going to happen.

That final sentence? Ashleyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Another shocker of a final line! If you've read The Push, you know.

This book is going to be a big hit this summer and deserves to be! Pre-order it NOW!

Pub Day: June 6th.

TW:
Miscarriage