Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

SLIGHT RANT: I stumbled across this blog post by Fitzpatrick whilst checking out what others thought of Hush, Hush and it’s really annoyed me – the way I see it, she’s basically saying you should never write a negative (well, she says "scathing" but never gives a definition) review of any book, most especially hers, and therefore allow the author to live in a world where everyone loves their book because it’s mean to express your honest opinion of what you thought of the book (which you have spent time and money on - it's impossible to "drop the books you don't love" because you have no idea what a book is like until you've read it, and if you don't like it then you want to warn others to not waste their time), and just in case you submit your work and the publisher spends time Googling your name, discovers a few critical reviews you have written and instantly decides to blacklist you – a lovely ill-disguised scaremongering tactic which really put me off writing a three star review for her book, but I shall go ahead and "take the higher road "; if I don’t like a book, I won't hesitate say that I don’t, but I will always at least try and find positives about it and reasons why I didn’t like it, and whilst negative reviews may put a damper on the author's day, they give positive ones worth, are much more valuable long-term than positive ones, and will often lead to better writing; it's inevitable that people both will hate and love your work, and some may hate it in an non-constructive way, which is annoying, but not everyone in life is nice and helpful, and Fitzpatrick should be happy that her work is actually out there to be reviewed.

          Also, if I don't like an author then I would most certainly not want or expect them to publicly review my work, but for all Fitzpatrick knew it may have been the editor's idea to say the author loved her book without their knowledge. I would hope if I am ever published, it would be on the basis that my work is, to the publisher, profitable and likely to be read and enjoyed by the public and I would sincerely hope that I am not rejected on the basis that I am negative in some of my reviews. Sorry for the rant, but the blog post really irked me, and I felt I had to let out a bit of steam. Anyway, on with the review:

REVIEW: The similarities between Hush, Hush and Twilight cannot be denied or ignored – I’m really not a fan of prologues (they’re often pointless, misused purely to make the story sound interesting, confusing and usually the sign of a bad book) so when I started to read Hush, Hush I instantly thought ‘Oh god no…’ (which I thought again when I read that it’s getting a graphic novel), coupled with the whole ‘forbidden romance’, magical mythical creature turned mysterious-hot-new-guy-in-school and I was thoroughly expecting to dislike Hush, Hush; I was quite wrong – it’s definitely not the best book I’ve ever read, but I found myself enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I also realise it’s inevitable that stories will have uncanny coincidences towards each other but it still ruins the reading experience when they’re so undisguised and obviously there so the author can collect a larger paycheck owing to Twilight’s infamous popularity.

I adored the humour in the book, and I really liked Fitzpatrick’s writing – it draws you in but at times, such as the prologue and the stupid-nothing-to-do-with-story title, she is trying far too hard to be poetic and it really doesn’t work. The pacing was well done, and it did have you turning pages. However, Patch was a pretty bad jerk a lot of the time, not to mention genuinely dangerous almost all of the time, and you know like character development is generally supposed to make you like the characters in the book more? Well, the little character development that occured sort of went the opposite way in this book – I really liked Vee and Nora in the beginning, but Vee developed into an awful friend and Nora kept on doing really stupid things – she continuously claims Patch frightens her, yet as soon as she meets him she’s overcome with desire and forgets all her hate for him and just ends up being annoying.

The story and ending were predictable, many many things were insufficiently explained, I got very sick of all the smutty innuendos curtsey of Patch, and I don’t think it was made too clear at what point they fell in love with each other; nonetheless Hush, Hush is still an enjoyable, if forgettable, read.

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[SYNOPSIS: 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 judgement, 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.]