Book Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush caused a lot of controversy in the U.S. Was it all hype or did it have a point?

"For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her... Until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life." (Goodreads)

BOOK SPECS:

Number of Pages: 391

Format: Paperback

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Tropes: Angels, Forbidden Love, Morally Grey MM Character

SHORT REVIEW:

This is the second time I read this book. I must admit: the first time I read it, I liked the story but not quite enough to become a fan of the series. The second time changed my mind slightly. Having said all that, it is still a very interesting love story and a fun read. Reading it again did make me curious to see what happens next; and while I originally had no intention to continue reading the series, now I do. What about you? Have you read this book? Do you agree with me?

HEART RATE:

SMUT SCORE:

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FULL REVIEW:

Plot & Characters

I love the title and that cover... (still having hot flushes over here!) I could not resist putting it in my shopping trolley. And I do think the central idea of the plot is great.

I also love Nora's attitude (the female lead - no, she's no delicate flower) and the way bad boy Patch gets under your skin. However, I do think that Fitzpatrick created these very complicated and multi-faceted characters she wasn't quite able to develop or explain, hence why Patch got such bad press. He's a tormented hero much like Edward Cullen from Twilight and Jace Wayland from The Mortal Instruments, albeit he is a little edgier and naughtier. His lines verge on cheesy, but you cannot not quite help thinking he has some umph. 

Frankly, I can and cannot see what the big fuzz was all about. Yes, Patch is a little dubious and dodgy, but isn't that what every bad boy does or is?

Granted, he did want to kill her at the beginning; but isn't the fact that he has a change of heart the turning point in the story? And yes, he did manipulate situations to be around her and even stalked her, but do you really think you don't do it when you fancy someone? Oh! Make no mistake, it's just called social media stalking these days. Some of the arguments I read about his behavior were points of the books taken out of context; in which case anything you say has a double and dark meaning. So there is no point in biting the bait.

Smut and Romance Score

There's a mention of sex in the Prologue dating back to 1595, and the whole book centres around angels wanting to sleep with human women, but our main characters never actually do the deed.

Writing

I once went to a creative writing course and one of the things the instructor told us is that there must be a purpose for everything in a story. That includes every scene and every character reaction or behaviour. A character always behaves in a certain way for a reason. If he's unpredictable, he must be persistently so. After reading many books, I could not agree more. Little details like that are what makes certain books stand a notch above. Hush Hush, on my humble opinion, has a lot of loose ends. But I guess, this is why it's a series. Hopefully these get tied up on the following instalments.

Some of the scenes really annoyed me, though. They remind me of when I was a teenager and let my imagination run wild in crazy day dreams. The extra scene at the very end, where he turns up to fix her alarm, is just... [breathes through teeth] I'd rather have that kiss on the end of the previous scene and close it at that.

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