Hush-Hush

Still stuck with the drug-like addiction over Meyer’s famous Twilight Saga? Rather than re-reading the four books, let me recommend another saga that you need to watch out for – ‘Hush, Hush’ by Becca Fitzpatrick. Following Hush, Hush as the first book, there’s Crescendo, Silence and Finale (which is not out yet).

If you’re into Twilight, you will easily fall to the charms of ‘Hush, Hush’. The main character of the story, the Isabella Swan, is Nora Grey. Nora’s life is nothing but typical. Spending her days with best friend Vee Sky, the biggest problem in Nora’s life is planning a perfect payback for her eternal enemy, Marcie Millar’s sophisticated torture…until she met Patch. Having to work together for an assignment, Nora had to endure all the harassment and talk Patch out of his unwillingness to cooperate. During that time, Nora noticed a few quirks about Patch, and becomes – surprise, surprise – attracted. The attraction grows bigger, until Nora can no longer mouths the word ‘no’ to Patch. Having a new mysterious guy, Elliot, clearly asking for her attention, will Nora resist Patch and realized what he’s actually is? No, not a vampire – but you’re welcome to take another guess, or better yet, just read the book.

One advice, do not skip the prologue. Yes, it goes way back at the year of 1565 and the names are unrecognizable (no Patch or Nora in sight), but the prologue is vital in understanding the whole mystery of Patch – and Elliot. One thing that you can learn after uncovering their mystery: slavery is not a good thing to do. Not only it creates pure hatred from the slave towards the master, but the hatred also becomes a fiery fuel to something called revenge.

As for the writing style, other than the prologue, which is written from the point of view of a third person – the rest of the story is written clearly from Nora’s head. This I have no problem with, especially with all the detailed information of how Patch made Nora feel. I find the addition of Nora’s endless speculation entertaining to read, like ‘His mouth held a neutral line, but I detected a speculative smile trapped behind it.’ (taken from page 49).

I personally read the buzzing comments online about how ‘Hush, Hush’ is hitting way too close to Twilight. Like how Patch and Nora met in Biology class, Nora’s willingness to stick around Patch even when she knows something is dead wrong and mainly Patch’s ability and swiftness – very Edward ish. But other than these accidental resemblances, I find ‘Hush, Hush’ very enjoyable to read, although it is sometimes a bit predictable. If you end up liking this saga, know that according to Fitzpatrick, ‘Hush, Hush’ movie rights is not yet sold. Too bad, eh?

Rating: Three and a half stars (out of five) J



By: @ivanachristabel
www.thedonkey-lady.blogspot.com