Hush, Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Length: 391 pages

Release Date: October 13 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Blurb

For Nora Grey, romance was never part of the plan. Not until Patch came 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 isn’t sure she can trust him. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and to know more about her than her closest friends. And when she tries to seek answers, she discovers she is right in the middle of a centuries old battle between the immortal and the fallen… and it’s time to take sides…

Review

I was of two minds about trying Hush, Hush; for one it screamed Twilight and for two it was on a table in the book store for books that were on sale; not too encouraging for an authors debut novel. But what I found inside was completely different from what I anticipated; Hush, Hush was a fast paced addictive novel that pulled me in and refused to let go. Fitzpatrick managed to deviate just that little bit away from the stereotypical dark romance novel without alienating the intended audience. With a stunning narrative, beautifully crafted plot and complex characters, Hush, Hush has sped to the one of the top slots in my 2011 reads.

Intricate and unique, the romance between protagonist Nora and mysterious love interest Patch has not quite been replicated in any of the romance books I’ve read; they shared a tenuous attraction fuelled by suspicion and lust, rather than falling down on their knees and confessing their undying love for each other by the eight chapter. This pair’s relationship truly did fall into the category of ‘dark’ with a powerful tug of war commencing right from the first chapter and for once the heroine gives her love interest as good as it gets, with Nora’s sassy and independent attitude the perfect agent against Patch’s cool and confident demeanour.

In a smooth and mature style, Fitzpatrick pens an emotional and fascinating plot, filled with twists here and hard turns there that drive this book to all sorts of places you never expect it to go. Several story threads running at once crams this book with action and secrecy as each parts unravels, another takes it place to carry the reader further into this well placed and descriptive book. Fitzpatrick isn’t afraid to take typically ‘dark romance ideas’ and incorporate them into her book either; however the links between those other novels and Hush, Hush have their own Fitzpatrick spin on them as our esteemed authoress rethinks and reworks features that so commonly appear in our young adult romance novels, adding a sense of comfort and a certain spice to the book.

As far as characters go, Fitzpatrick came up well. Nora was a likeable, but at times overly paranoid, lead with a great persona so different from the wallflower we readers are inflicted with in so many other books of the same type. Patch played a great love interest, slippery smooth and mysterious, with a real air of menace and danger mixed in so that his ‘bad boy’ label was played to its full potential. Secondary characters such as the delightful Vee, Nora’s neurotic best friend, and a fantastic set of villains and antagonists provided an all star set encompassing humour, mystery and evil all in a book under four hundred pages; these are characters your really love to read about.

Overall, Hush, Hush was a fantastic beginning to the series, an individual and intelligent spin on the tried and tested dark romance demographic. Not only will this book keep the target audience happy, but a whole host of readers who picked this book up by mistake or were recommended it by a friend will find it hard to put down. Fitzpatrick shows us what a great young adult book should be; punchy, thrilling and beautifully written. With a confirmed two sequels already released and a fourth in the pipeline, I’m looking forward to experiencing more of Nora and Patch’s white hot relationship wherever it may take them; from what I can gather from Hush, Hush, it’s going to be one heck of a ride whatever happens next!