Hush, Hush is a bestselling debut YA novel and is book one of the Hush, Hush saga. Author Becca Fitzapatrick’s teen novel is about a human-angel romance with a dark side. This book drew me in, mainly because there was an angel in this story. I had hoped that I would love this book after I finished reading it. 

The book’s premise goes: 

“A sacred oath.
A fallen angel.
A forbidden love.

Romance was not part of Nora Grey’s plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora 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 seems 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 way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she 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 Nora her life.”

The book cover is the first thing that captures my attention, and it’s gorgeous. I haven’t read too many paranormal romances that involved an angel (or a fallen angel in that respect). So, of course, I had to get it. Unfortunately, I fell into the trap of judging a book by its cover. 

After reading this book, I rated this book two-and-a-half stars out of five. That’s below average.

Fitzpatrick published her novel in 2009, which was when Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight was popular and comparable to. People either loved or hated Hush, Hush, and there was no in-between. Many book reviewers had pointed out that like Twilight, the supernatural love interest was creepy and stalkerish. It had gotten to a point where the reviewer would mention that Hush, Hush was a wannabe Twilight or a Twilight rip-off. 

Since I gave it two-and-a-half stars, there were some surprising things that I liked in this story. The majority of it was what I didn’t like about it. 

Pros:

Reading it was an easy read. Overall, the author does an excellent job of building suspense and tension throughout the story. I will say that Becca Fitzpatrick’s strength in the story was the setting. When she describes the setting in a paragraph, you know exactly where you are. 

“My mom and I live in a drafty eighteenth-century farmhouse on the outskirts of Coldwater. It’s the only house on Hawthorne Lane, and the nearest neighbors are almost a mile away.” (p.18)

I didn’t expect to like Nora Grey as a Mary Sue character. She’s intelligent and has a strong sense of right and wrong. When you are in her point of view, you can understand her confusion and how she feels like everyone is out to get her. 

“But if I hadn’t imagined the damage to the Neon, what really happened that night? Was my vision, or my memory, somehow…being altered?” (p.160)

The sexual tension between Nora and Patch throughout the story was on point. There is a scene where Nora is in the kitchen, sitting on top of the kitchen counter while Patch is kissing her neck. That gave me the goose-bumps in a good way. 

Cons:

While I said this book was an easy read, it didn’t mean I loved her writing. In fact, the story itself seemed to be all over the place. Some of her dialogue was unnatural and weird, and way too corny. 

“All this time, I’ve hated myself for it. I thought I’d given it up for nothing. But if I hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t have met you.” (p.338)

Her characters also needed a lot more development. It was easy to get lost in Nora’s thoughts, and I would even say that her logic makes little sense. One of them being falling for Patch, the fallen angel. 

Patch was the most consistent bad-boy character type throughout the story. I just couldn’t understand why Nora would fall-head-over-heels for a jerk. Becca Fitzpatrick was trying hard to get me as the reader to fall in love with Patch the way Nora did. But I wasn’t buying it. He is a stalker, a creep, and dangerous – to the point where Patch wanted to kill Nora. What was Nora thinking? 

Vee, Nora’s best friend aka the traditional sidekick, was likable. However, her whole purpose in the story was to be used as a humor device. As Vee hangs out with Elliot and Jules, she gets weird, and I was worried for Nora that maybe her best friend might go after her too.

Too many villains in this story were also an issue for me. Other minor characters seemed to be after Nora for whatever reason. You don’t know who is the true villain of the story until the very end. 

Overall, I wanted to like it, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t recommend this book, especially with the message that is given to teenagers. Unless you wanted to read it purely for entertainment and to amuse you, then sure, give it a read. I hope to find a young adult angel romance story that I can fall in love with.