Whisper of the Woods is a quick creepy read.

*The "main" artwork was nice except for one thing... the missing noses. I know that's a personal preference, but I want noses! 😂 The artist was able to convey emotions through the characters eyes so that was a consolation. The artist really shined with the scratch-style artwork. It fit the vibe and I really liked it. Those illustrations remind me of Emily Carroll.

*I've seen reviews about untranslated Romanian text, but if you're paying attention, you catch the drift. I think it makes the situation more realistic - not everyone is bilingual and it adds extra drama.

*other possible touchy topics: The nudity included is just female aureolas - nothing to write home about. Gore is kept to a minimum.

Thank you NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for providing an advanced reader copy of the book for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher/author for letting me review this graphic novel!

This was a fun short horror folklore comic about Adam who goes in search for his best friend who went missing.
The opening was gripping and I think this is one of those books you have to go in clueless as you go through Adams journey with him in search for his friend.
I've seen people say there was a lot of Romanian text that was not translated but I think its better this way as you get to really feel the same sense of confusion and anxiety that Adam goes through.

The only thing that bothered me personally was the art style and how some panels were placed really weirdly sometimes, but that's just a personal preference as I'm not a big fan of the kinda scratchy art style.

overall I highly recommend this if you are looking for a quick horror read!!

TW: gore, violent murder, nudity

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher/author for letting me review this graphic novel!

This is a short spooky folklore comic that would be great around Halloween! It reminded me of that horror film The Forest and I was living for those vibes.

The artwork is great. There is Romanian dress that has so much detail, it was insanely beautiful. I think that some people will not like the type of artwork is used. There are quite a few sections where the graphics are in-depth but others that were of people. The people had a scratchiness to their design that gave some off vibes. I think it really fit the vibe of the genre. The plot and story was well done, I loved that you knew this was Romanian folklore from the start.

One issue that I can see is that there was no translations. I don't see that being an issue if this is mainly for Romania but I can see this detracting from it if its being released in the US. I ended up getting a loose translation from Google which while I got the concept of what was happening, I think having the author put exactly how its mean to be would be better.

Overall, this was a pretty fun and solid read. I think this would be perfect for anyone who loves folklore, movies like The Forest, or anyone looking for a good spooky book around Halloween.

Romania is one country that is on my travel bucket list. It has a rich and dark history that I'm drawn to like Mothman to a light. Bran Castle has been the place where I have always wanted to get married. Who wouldn't want to get married inside Dracula's Castle?

I'm not going to lie, the cover trapped me. It called my name like a whisper in the wind while traveling through the darkest part of the forest. I couldn't look away until I read it. It was disturbing in the best way and I hyped this one up big time. I even talked it up way before I read it. And then I read it, talk about creepy.

I'm not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't this. This one chilled me to the bone and I am obsessed. The art was spectacular and it built the story up. The story was so very creepy. It had that intense buildup that had you glued to the story.

Whisper of the Woods was a hauntingly spooky fun time!

2.5 out of 5 stars.

The combination of the cartoonish art style and simplicity of the story made it feel more like a young adult book than an adult horror graphic novel , there was some nudity and a bit of violence, but not much for a graphic novel.

The art style seemed a bit vague with most of the characters looking similar, there was some darker images in it which I really liked, but only a few, the story itself reminds me of the original Brothers Grim stories, which I find too basic for my liking.

Overall this was not bad, but just wasn’t for me.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.*

Really enjoyed this one. I love any story that includes folklore and Balkan countries. My main issue here was the length, and the ending was a bit meh. The art style isn't my usual cup of tea but it did work well for the story and the creepy vibes. But honestly, yes slay women's rage

I was excited because I enjoy a good horror, creepy graphic novel but this just didn't have enough substance for me. It was short and unfortunately didn't do much for me. I liked the concept and the fairytale-esque vibe, that was pretty much it for me.

<blockquote>Humans...are such fools.</blockquote>
I have received a copy of this Graphic Novel ARC in exchange for an honest review, Thanks to Ennun Ana Lurov, and NetGalley for the opportunity.
This will come out 24 Oct 2023, Tune in if you like a good supernatural horror story that's a light read, but profoundly scary at the same time, Folk horror tales of Romania, Atmosphere of some fucked up scary shit is about to go down!

Let's speak about my least favorite about this story first, The Art!
<img src="https://imgur.com/MFUQgJn.jpg"/>
While it had a few moments like the page i just put, which is my favorite in the entire Graphic Novel, they were few and far between, it's not an attractive art style at all for me, it's fluctuating around webtoon style, which sucks, i just don't know if this is a step up or a few steps down from that.
<img src="https://imgur.com/9mpT6tR.jpg"/>
Pretty Romanian women dresses here and there, this one was my favorite.

The Writing while it was light and nothing to write home about, luckily for us, Great Writing isn't the only thing that can make a story good, and this story was good, i liked it, i would read it again, i am just not sure about the choice of using so many Romanian sentences without translating them at the same page, because they were part of the dialogue going on, so why?
Was This directed to Romanians only and i picked it by mistake? i don't feel that was the case, it's an early ARC though, so this can be saved, just translate sentences, in notes in the same pages.

The Poem by that poet that i didn't memorize his name, Was actually pretty good sounding even in Romanian, and i translated most of the early verses, till we got the full blown poem in a single page, and i didn't want to bother, it's so hard, and 1 letter wrong, can actually change the meaning of the entire sentence, i suggest finding the best translation of that poem in English, and replace it in the page that has the entire poem instead, not many people will bother translating that much, and it's a chance to share such beautiful piece of literature with the world through your graphic novel.

About Eilele, That's one Hot naked woman i am willing to pass on, any time of any century, and btw if Romanian atmosphere is this scary, intertwined with horror tales of the supernatural, i am never going there, thank you very much! I say this in good fun btw, but i am still not going 😂

Overall, this was a win for me, at the first 8 pages i thought here comes our first 1 star on NetGalley, i am glad it wasn't, and i hope it never comes.

I loved this story as well as the graphics! It was an intriguing story that you can’t help but read in one sitting. I adored this book and will look for more from this author!

This graphic novel includes a story so captivating and horrifying about seductive supernatural beings who trap and kill men within the Haunted forest. I really enjoyed reading this book. The art was very intense and had a unique style, and the narrative was fast paced and so interesting. I couldn't understand the Romanian text, but I was able to see context throughout the art. Pretty great read, but I wish it was a bit longer and prolonged the suspense of Adam's descent into madness.

Adam is searching for his missing friend in a supernatural forest. Adam arrives in the small town where his friend was last spotted, only to be warned multiple times not to enter the forest.
This was not for me only because I could see where the story was going once Adam made it the village or small town. I would have loved it to be a little longer so the reader could learn more about Adam and his friend. I also wanted more background on the townspeople and the town itself. However, I loved the art style and would like to see more from this author in the future.
I recommend Whisper Of The Woods if you like this art style and want a quick read.
Thanks, NetGalley and publisher for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

i’ve always loved my country’s folklore, but every time an author tried to work with it, it failed monumentally – from spelling mistakes to inventing cities in Romania. granted, the author of this graphic novel is Romanian, from what i’ve seen online, but it’s so refreshing to finally see someone do justice to our stories.

“whisper of the woods” is a short graphic novel about a guy that goes into the hoia baciu forest – aka the most haunted place in romania, more or less – to look for his friend that disappeared. the story is pretty solid and i think it worked well with how short the comic was, it didn’t feel rushed at any point. i actually wished it was longer because i liked the author’s storytelling.

the art style is simply gorgeous – not overly complicated and it flows with the story. i loved how subtly creepy the drawings of the forest were. the lyrics of traditional songs added here and there was a nice touch and i liked how the iele were used. the character design was bloody awesome, i especially liked madam maria, she looked very cool.

overall, i really liked both the story and the artwork and i’ll definitely follow Ennun from now on!

→ thank you to the publisher & netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

My heart is racing after reading this. A man travels to a haunted forest to rescue his friend, but encounters warning after warning to turn around. He is however, stubborn, and has his own run in with the supernatural.
I am not a big reader of graphic novels, but I really appreciated what the images added to the story. The art style was simplistic, which made the detailed scenes really stand out. I don't think this book would have had the same effect if I read it without pictures, so the author/artist did an amazing job of telling the story through the use of both methods. It's a good read for horror lovers and will turn you on to graphic novels!
Thank you to Netgalley and Madcave Studios for an eARC of this book, all opinions are my own :)

A quick read with just a touch of spooky with unneeded nudity.
The art is very basic and takes away from the atmosphere. Nothing feels spooky with stark tree trunks and the lack of emotion in the faces.
The story is barebones and the fear is instantaneous. Nothing is drawn out for attention and the pacing towards the end is faster than the beginning.
For a quick, basic horror story, you may like it. But I was left lacking.

///// English /////

*Disclaimer: I had received a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/10 – 2,5 stars out of 5
Genre: Graphic novel

Listening to what the natives tell us is always the best way to act.

Whisper of the Woods is a graphic novel in which we follow, in just a few pages, how Adam tries to find his best friend in Hoia Baciu, one of the forests with the most supernatural activity in Romania.

It is very short and the designs are quite simple. I liked the details, but it's not fascinating. The plot looked interesting, but being so short it was almost impossible to enjoy it.

I would have liked to know more about the folklore of the area, that they told the legend in more depth, that it had a more developed common thread, that it looked something darker or something that attracts the character more towards the curse.

It lacked a little more intrigue, fear, history... The detail of the sentences in Romanian is incredible, so it would have further enhanced that type of sample of Transylvanian culture.

Last but not least, I would like to make a public request to those who travel to other parts of the world to respect the local culture, landscape, language… We are tourists, we have no right to destroy anything.



///// Español /////

*Aviso: Recibí un eARC gratuito a cambio de una revisión honesta.

Calificación: 5/10 – 2,5 estrellas de 5
Género: Novela gráfica

Hacer caso de lo que nos dicen los nativos siempre es la mejor forma de actuar.

Whisper of the Woods es una novela gráfica en la que seguimos, en muy poquitas páginas, cómo Adam trata de encontrar a su mejor amigo en Hoia Baciu, uno de los bosques con más actividad sobrenatural de Rumanía.

Es muy corta y los diseños son bastante simples. Me han gustado los detalles, pero no es fascinante. La trama se veía interesante, pero al ser tan corta casi no se ha podido disfrutar.

Me habría gustado saber más acerca del folklore de la zona, que contaran la leyenda con más profundidad, que tuviera un hilo conductor algo más desarrollado, que se viera algo más tenebroso o algo que atraiga más al personaje hacia la maldición.

Le faltó un poco más de intriga, de miedo, de historia… El detalle de las frases en rumano es increíble, así que habría potenciado más ese tipo de muestras de la cultura de Transilvania.

Por último, pero no menos importante, me gustaría hacer un requerimiento público a quienes viajan a otros lugares del mundo que respeten la cultura local, el paisaje, el idioma… Somos turistas, no tenemos derecho a destruir nada.

Thank you, Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios/Mad Cave Studios Inc. for the e-Galley.

Okay.....it's safe to say that this graphic novel was super creepy and made me never want to go outside again when it's dark.
That aside I did enjoy it, this graphic novel hooks you in within the first couple of pages and you just want to know what happens to the characters next and if there is happy ending.
The art style is really nice, the illustrations add that extra layer of creepy, without having the super gore moments that other graphic novels use to get the same effect.

I read an ARC through Netgalley and the inhabitation of the Romanian setting was excellent. I loved some of the splash pages that reminded me of Junji Ito.

I liked this one. It was haunting and gripping. I hope to see a second issue. I would love to know what is happening to the people who enter the forest.

Thank you #NetGalley for #WhisperoftheWoods by #EnnunAnaIurov

Whisper of the Woods by Ennun Ana Iurov.
In search of his missing friend, Adam travels to the heart of Romania's most supernatural forest, Hoia Baciu. Disregarding the local's warnings of iele hunting the men in the vicinity, and the witch's premonition of his impending death, he remains steadfast in his decision to find his friend. Though with every passing night, it becomes impossible to ignore the happenings around him...
A really good quick read. Loved the story and illustrations. 5*.

Ultimately, this book just left me confused. If it's a volume 1 of a series that will be continued, it would make more sense, but even then, there's just not much to it. Guy goes to look for his friend who disappeared into a haunted forest, ignores warnings of locals, and predictably bad things happen. Also, there are boobs! I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it, unfortunately. The art, the premise, the vibe, are all emergent, in that they don't seem without promise, but none of them are strong enough to fully carry this story. When I finished it, my first thought was, "That's it?", but I also didn't feel terribly concerned about finding out what happened next. On the plus side, reading this did lead me to research the actual haunted forest in Romania, which was fascinating.