Thursday 8 December 2011

Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick


The Story:
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.


My Thoughts:
I've been sitting here trying to think of a way to review this book. I really wanted to love it, but unfortunately for me, it fell into the category of books that I don't especially love but I didn't totally dislike either. I find these the hardest to review because there isn't anything which distinctly sticks out to make me like or dislike it.I picked up Hush, Hush because I watched Dogma a few weeks ago and it occurred to me that I haven't read many angel themed books in my time. Given the glowing reviews it has received on Goodreads, I figured I couldn't go wrong.
        I've read a lot of reviews which liken Hush, Hush to Twilight and truthfully, I could see where these reviewers are coming from. There's a lot of the same Twilighty stuff going on in Hush, Hush and besides a semi mystery subplot that really isn't developed very much, for me it felt like the exact same book plot wise. There are also a few loose ends that I didn't think were tied up very well, but I'm willing to overlook those because this is a paranormal romance and that's what takes centre stage.
And now on to my favourite topic:
        
Characters:
Nora: Too Stupid To Live. I really enjoyed Nora's voice and seemingly normal girl personality.Up until the point where she does the one thing that kills a heroine for me. The "he's dangerous and I know I should stay away from him because he could kill me, but gosh darn it, he's just so hot and for some reason I feel safe around him." <insert a string of expletives here>. There were times when I had to put the book down because some of the things she did just completely baffled me. It's a testament to Fitzpatrick's writing skill that I didn't immediately stop reading. Despite Nora's defects, I don't dislike her the way I do Bella Swan so she falls into the category of clueless heroines who I don't really care for but don't want to be murdered.


Patch: Again I can't decide if he fits into the stalker guy category or if he was the one who saved this book for me. As a character, he at least did what it was he was supposed to do: brood, add sexual tension and be an arrogant jackass. I liked that he stuck to his guns and didn't turn into some lame puppy after his feelings for Nora came to light. Even if I didn't understand where these feelings came from.

Vee: Who needs enemies when you have friends like this? Ones who think nothing of embarrassing you with their awkward outbursts and who insist on believing you're deluded rather than that the guy they like could possibly be a violent sociopath. I'll stick to being a loner thanks. 


Now that I've totally violated my 'I'm going to be professional with my reviews' resolution, I will go ahead and say that the angel mythology was interesting and the writing well done. I liked that Nora had a good relationship with her mum and didn't disregard her because she thought Patch was some kind of omnipotent hot guy. Overall, Hush, Hush was a quick and easy read and I would recommend to those who like a paranormal romance. I'll even go so far as to say that I wouldn't mind reading the sequel.



The Rating:
7/10

20 comments:

  1. Did you know she's at the State Library tomorrow night? It's a ball, with food, goody bags, etc. and two of my students are going, despite the $45 ticket price, so obviously she has something that appeals to teen girls. ;-) Mind you, one of the girls is a major Twilight fan, who tells me she discovered Twilight in Grade 5, when her only interest was in playing sport. Then she became a passionate reader. As of this year, she is reading at Year 12 level (she's just finishing Year 8)

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  2. Sounds about right! Good Review. I thought the same when I read this last year. It took me forever to finish for those very reasons

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  3. I felt the same way about Patch. I didn't know whether I wanted to hate him or like him. I did like Vee thbough.

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  4. YES! I love your honesty. There's not enough of that out there. :) Great review!

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  5. I've been putting off reading this series because I heard Patch was a complete stalker control freak guy. But I trust your opinion. So, if it's not THAT bad should I give it a go?

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  6. Sue: I'm not surprised that there are kids who would pay dearly for an event like that. If Isobelle Carmody or Melina Marchetta did the same thing I would be there in a second regardless of the cost. I'm not saying there isn't anything appealing about the book, it's just that I'm a bit tired of the story being moved along by the sheer stupidity of the heroine.

    Sherre: Great minds ey? I didn't finish this in one sitting either. Had to stop and start because of some of the things Nora did. Grrrr

    Ash: *spoiler for anyone who hasn't read this book!* When Nora tells Vee that Elliot got violent with her, Vee's reaction did not impress me at all. Bros before Hos right? with Vee, the Hos always win.

    Jessica: Thanks! I'm still trying to perfect my professional vs ranty review structure :)

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  7. Jenny: This one is touch and go. It got a passing review because I managed to finish it and no feel like I wasted so many hours of my life, but on the other hand, there are some very aggravating things about this book that I can't imagine you'd be able to get over. I think compared to the other stuff I read at the same time, it was okay. Nora does some seriously illogical stuff. I'd put it on par with my feelings about Firelight.

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  8. LOL LAN!!!! Your whole "he's dangerous and I know I should stay away from him because he could kill me, but gosh darn it, he's just so hot and for some reason I feel safe around him" thing just made my day!! ;) It bugged me too, since everyone knows that realistically beautiful romances beat out instant ones any day. But there are just so many of them in YA nowadays (along with guys like Patch!) that I kind of got used to them! x)

    Awesome fun & honest review, Lan! Despite having some of the same quirks with Hush, Hush as you, I actually kind of enjoyed it LOL! If you ever decide to read Crescendo, I'll definitely be reading your review! :)

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  9. I'm shocked you read this, actually! I refuse to because I've heard that it's too much like Twilight, etc., and I just either hate those books, or just feel the way you do about this one, neither-here-nor-there about it.

    Great review and super funny! It's hard to write those more objective reviews when your own biased ones are so much more fun, right? But, your biased unprofessional reviews are so much more worthwhile to read, and why shouldn't you keep them up? You may get shunned when it comes to receiving ARCs, but they are over-rated, really. Snarky, honest reviews are too good to pass up.

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  10. You beat me - I borrowed Hush, Hush, from a friend last year and it ended up being returned unfinished. I just couldn't do it! The TSTL thing did me in quickly...

    Good review! And I think you should always write the kind of review you feel...that's you, and that's what keeps us all coming back to your blog. :)

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  11. You definitely liked the book a LOT more than me, haha. Loved this part of your review: "Nora: Too Stupid To Live." Couldn't agree more! I didn't think anybody could be more of a walking contradiction than Bella Swan, but Nora Gray has proved me wrong ...

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  12. I started this book but had to put it down, probably i wasnt in the mood to deal with Nora. atleast not yet. Great review.

    ♥Ficbookreviews♥

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  13. Haha, I'm glad you didn't end up being "professional" with this review, because I totally enjoyed it the way it was. Your comments on Patch had me smiling so hard.

    I haven't read this book yet, but my sister really loved it, so I'll probably end up reading it eventually. I'm just not motivated enough to get to it any time soon.

    Loved your review!

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  14. Mimi: I'm was getting used to these kinds of relationships as well! Until I took a bit of a break from paranormal YA and read a few contemp books and then when I went back it was like "what the heck is this?" Crescendo is ready for me to pick up at the library :)

    Cathy: I can't believe I actually finished reading this. I put it down for the longest time but then decided I had read too much to stop and because I hadn't done a review on the blog for so long! My next book idea has angels in it so I thought I'd better read some angel books. So far, not that thrilled.I'm not too worried about ARCs. It's not like the publishers can stop me buy/borrowing a book and trashing it later on. I couldn't care less about reading a book before it's officially released. I have too many books on my TBR anyway!

    BJ: I was so close to not finishing this one bigtime. And I've come to terms with my reviewing style. I read over a few of my early reviews and they're well thought out, but then again they were for book which were little bits of awesome. This one is readable but didn't grip me at all.

    Jinny: I've never come across anyone that is so stupid. At least in Twilight, Edward never actually did anything for real to try and hurt Bella, hence her feeling safe with him was possibly understandable. When a guy tries to kill you, even if he changes his mind, you must have serious issues if you go ahead and fall in love with him anyway...that's the part that I hate the most. That Nora seems to encourage Patch's stalker tendencies.

    Lalaine: Thank goodness all the non-rabid fans have come out of the woodwork. I was beginning to think I have some kind of brain anomaly.

    Karen: I'll look forward to your review when you read it Karen. As I said, the writing was good, the teen dialogue was believable but the characters weren't my favourites. They're no Taylor and Jonah that's for sure.

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  15. I love Dogma!!!!!! Oh, wait, the book, almost forgot about that. I have an awful time with the YA-PR that are coming out. It is too a point that I wonder if I am jaded.

    Lead- "I love him so much! I know what he is, I just don't care"
    Me- Wait! seriously? You almost died because of what he was. He is following out around. Chick, do you know what would happen if you tried to get away from him?!
    Lead- "I don't care! I love him."
    Me- Even if you moved away, found someone else, there is a good chance he will hunt you down. That would scare me.
    Lead- "I don't care. I love him!"
    Me- Your a dumb bit...

    Beth ^_^

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  16. Great honest review!!!I actually LOVE the Hush Hush books (hides under bad...please don't yell at me!!!) but I agree with some of the points you made. I recommend you continue the series because it's really good :) Thanks for the review Lan :)

    Jaskirat~SeeitORreadit

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  17. Beth: Your comment cracked me up! I think I am jaded too but it's a good kind of jaded. I just want to see some strong, sensible lead females. I don't think that's too much to ask!

    Jaskirat: I didn't completely hate Hush, Hush so I won't yell at you :) And as always it's just my personal opinion on the book. I'm sure there are many people who love it.

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  18. Oh, gawd. If you think Nora's stupid in Hush, Hush wait for Crescendo. Of all the TDTL so-called-heroines I've encountered, she takes the cake. I kid you not. And, like you, I've read a LOT of books, with a LOT of dumbass heroines.

    The thing is--and I kind of hate myself for it--but for some inexplicable reason, I really enjoyed this book, and I don't know why. I think Becca does a great job at creating a seriously creepy story, and while Patch scares the bejeezus out of me, but I like him... and I can't explain it... maybe it's because I think he's onto something with murdering Nora? Mwaha :D

    I have mixed feelings on this book. Vee's a pain, Patch is terrifying, and Nora, despite being intelligent, is a moron (oxymoron! Ha!). But I was ADDICTED to this book, it scared me in a good way (with Nora's bedroom, huh? huh?!) Crescendo annoyed me like I can't even explain, but I REALLY enjoyed Silence. I hope you like the rest of them :D

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  19. Sarah: I'm laughing at your comment because out of all the series I've read and kinda liked, this is the only one where I plan to read the next book, even though if I met Nora in real life I'm pretty sure I'd punch her! I've read the blurb for Crescendo though and it seems like it's going to annoy me!

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  20. This has been on my "read eventually" list for forever. The TSTL heroine worries me though. I am harsh with heroines, and they tend to bring entire books down for me. Great review!

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