Book Review of Wildwood Whispers by Willa Reece

Reece, Willa. Wildwood Whispers. Redhook Books/Orbit and the Hatchette Book Group, NY: 2021.

Thank you to Goodreads and Redhook Books/Orbit/Hatchette Book Group for the advanced readers edition.

For quite a while, at least the first half of the book, this novel is haunting, melancholy, grieving — not the easiest thing to read when you’re grieving.

This book reminds me of Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, although it mostly feels more serious and somber. I’m accustomed to much more whimsical novels about witches, but that’s okay. There’s room for all kinds of witch novels.

I think this is magical realism. It’s realism… with low-key magic. So yeah.

The novel also has a gothic tone. It’s set in Virginia, so… Southern Gothic? Southern Gothic combined with magical realism….

Suffice it to say, the novel mixes genres: fantasy, gothic, romance, and mystery.

It took me about 50 pages to get sucked into this book, but it’s worth the wait. Part of it could simply be because I’m reading numerous books simultaneously and hadn’t sufficiently focused on this one.

I love the mouse familar’s perspective! Squee! Or… squeak!