Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
How I Got It: I own a copy.

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.

So, meet Nora Grey, a fun loving teenager who lives in one of those towns where nothing interesting ever happens. (Hey, sound like where I live!) She’s typical, and so nothing overly exciting is ever expected to happen to her or her friend Vee. That is until the new boys show up and suddenly she feels like she has to fight for her life.

First of all, it’s pretty clear this novel concerns angels. I don’t think anybody is fooled by that. The back cover, the front cover, the prologue. Packed full of “by the way” segments, so you dive into this book prepared to read a novel about angels. I was excited, as this was my first fallen angel book, and I was excited to get into the details and the lore that covers this subject. It was a relief from the themes YA fiction has been tackling lately, so I dove in.

This book wasn’t that bad. I didn’t jump for joy over it, but I’ll get into that later. In all honesty I did enjoy this book, though, and I don’t regret reading it. Fitzpatrick’s writing isn’t bad, she has a witty sense of humor at times, and you can tell that the research and legend building she worked on for this was fairly dimensional.

The first problem I had with hush, hush was it’s pacing. I know we’re not supposed to expect the plot to unravel in the first line, but the beginning 2/3 of the book didn’t really mention angels as much as I’d expected. To me it felt like any typical, non-paranormal, YA romance punctuated occasionally by moments of action that were strung together to keep the illusion of something more going on alive. I read on, day after day, waiting for some fallen angel to swoop down and grab her, but to no avail.

The last 1/3 of the book, however, really blew up for me and finally I was getting into the thick of the plot and, in turn, the series. I read through this last section so quickly that I finally felt the book was reprieving itself. When I closed the cover I felt like I’d finally managed to get to what the book was about.

In this case, the book was fun, and I do recommend it to people who have patience to get to the heart of the matter.

Fitzgerald’s characters, however, are something to be desired. I particularly didn’t care for Vee, who seemed to be a complete idiot and the exact opposite of the type of friend I’d pegged for Nora. She constantly gets into trouble, chooses men over her supposed best friend, and crosses boundaries constantly. Found myself questioning if Nora would really be friends with a person like her or if rude people like Vee even existed.

Second was Patch. Okay, Patch was adorable, and he’s hot, and I even wanted to hug him, but please, stalker much? At times I was completely turned off by his inability to leave Nora alone or leave his attitude behind. His personality and in your face attitude got a little old and crossed the line from mysteriously dark and sexy to really needing a restraining order because not even the reader is buying it. I even felt awkward and was wandering how Nora could keep this fantasy alive about him.

Thankfully, by the end of the book I wasn’t harboring hard feelings still. Patch continued to be one of those YA male characters we know and love, and even Vee gave me a reason to want to stomach her character again.

This book is a series, will I read the rest? Yes I will!

I highly suggest this book to any readers out there looking for a fun read, a new series, or a break from the run YA fiction has fallen into.

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