Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush, #1) in Shut Up & Read

Dec 29, 2009 Jessica B rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2010, own, angels-fallen

So to start I will just say I loved this book.

However, this book haunted me. On boxing day I decided to take a trip to Chapters because I was already headed to another store near by. I received a fabulous gift card for chapters for Christmas and thought I could see what I could get my hands on. Well I was browsing through a section of new YA books and came across this book. For starters the cover grabbed my attention and then the small clip written on the back sealed the deal for me. SO I picke ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2011 Terri rated it really liked it

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, fantasy, urban-fantasy

I have to admit what most drew me to this book was its great cover. Then it also got a lot of great reviews.

It is a dark story of fallen angels and other not so nice creatures and Nora is caught up in the middle.

I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the rest of the series

3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 15, 2009 Wrighty rated it really liked it

Shelves: traded, arc

Nora Grey is a responsible, independent teenager who lives alone with her widowed mother in Maine. When she is unexpectedly paired up with the transfer student, Patch, in Biology class she is unhappy to be stuck with someone so sullen and annoying. He is also quite mysterious and very handsome, a bad combination. Although she tries to keep her distance he always seems to be around. He becomes a favorite topic of conversation for Nora and her best friend Vee. Eventually she acknowledges her growi Nora Grey is a responsible, independent teenager who lives alone with her widowed mother in Maine. When she is unexpectedly paired up with the transfer student, Patch, in Biology class she is unhappy to be stuck with someone so sullen and annoying. He is also quite mysterious and very handsome, a bad combination. Although she tries to keep her distance he always seems to be around. He becomes a favorite topic of conversation for Nora and her best friend Vee. Eventually she acknowledges her growing attraction to him and realizes he is linked to many strange occurrences. As she starts to dig deeper into Patch's past she must determine where the true dangers lie and to what extremes she will go to uncover the secrets.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the dramatic black and white cover. I really liked it and I had to know what this book was about. My first impression was that it started very similar to Twilight and there have been many comparisons. In a First Look online bookclub at Barnes & Noble the author explained the background of her book. She told how the inspiration for this story came from her own 10th grade Biology class and she wrote the two chapters of classroom scenes in 2003 before Twilight was published. This book took her over five years to write and when it was submitted to publishers the title was Eclipse. (I like the final title much better!) From 2003-06 no agents mentioned any similarities to the Twilight series. It wasn't until 2007 when it was mentioned that it was too similar and was rejected. It's a tried and true formula that's used often in YA stories and hardly a secret. Teenagers spend much of their life in the classroom and most of their relationships develop there. It works for this story as well. As Nora becomes more interested in Patch her friend Vee seems to feel the opposite. But she has developed feelings for her new friend Elliot and it would be so convenient if Nora could be paired off with his friend Jules. The friction increases between the girls as their lives are pulled in different directions and when Nora finds herself in increasingly dangerous situations she turns to Patch for help. This could be the very person she is threatened by but she is drawn to him and he is the only person who understands these strange events. And it seems the events aren't random and her very life is at stake.

I found this to be fast paced and easy to read. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me turning pages to solve the mysteries. The story was interesting and I liked the mythology of fallen angels. There were elements that bothered me and some were probably more noticeable as a parent of teens than if I were a teen myself. Nora is mature and independent but she was left alone too often even after threats and attacks and some of her decisions made no sense to me. I also realized that I was curious about these characters but I didn't find them very likable and I'm not sure why. Some were annoying but were suppose to be. Miss Greene, the new school counselor, really got on my nerves with her strange questions. I realize she had motives but they seemed so obvious to me. I'm not sure what was going on with Nora's iron pills but they were mentioned a lot. I expect this will have more of a role in the future as well.

Even with the parts I didn't care for I still want to know what comes next. I thought there was chemistry between Nora and Patch and imagine that it will only get stronger in the future. The ending in the finished copy is different than the ARC version. It's only a few paragraphs but it's on the last page but it does make some changes in the storyline. I like both versions. Since this was the author's debut novel I'm sure the stories will get better and better. I look forward to reading more from Becca Fitzpatrick.

The sequel, Crescendo, will be released in October, 2010.

Thank you to TEEN.SimonandSchuster.com for an ARC of this book.
...more

Like · see review

Aug 10, 2010 Yusra Asaad rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-stars, favorites

This is the 1st book in the Hush, Hush series.

I read this book for a challenge, I was supposed to read three books but time was not on my side, since I started it quite late I only got to finish this one.
I was supposed to hate it, the problem is I LOVED it!! It was amazing! It was so hard for me to put the book down to take a break and do some work :)

Nora Grey can't seem to get attracted to any of the guys at school, until Coach pairs her with Patch. Patch seems to know a whole lot of things abo ...more

Like · see review

Dec 26, 2010 Marla rated it really liked it

Shelves: zz-2012, with-reservations, chick-lit, series, fantasy, romance, young-adult, back-to-back, paranormal, angels

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book. I apologize for comparing this book to other series books, but I think I would've liked to see a review comparing them.

I liked Nora better than Luce in Fallen and Bella in Twilight, but I cringe at the message she sends as a role model to teenage girls...your life as a top student was dull and unromantic, but meet a tall, dark and handsome Senior who reeks of danger and mystery and your life is filled with excitement and attraction, and don't worry about lying to ...more

Like · see review

Nov 08, 2011 Sasha rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow. Where do I begin with this book?

I was drawn to this book mainly for two reasons: one, because everyone else that I had talked to seemed to think it was a good book and two, because the plot premise was relatively interesting. I’ve always held an appreciation for the concept of angels (blame my obsession with the television show Supernatural). Plus, the cover art is absolutely gorgeous. Color me intrigued.

But then I started reading, and it all went downhill from there.

I think that one of the Wow. Where do I begin with this book?

I was drawn to this book mainly for two reasons: one, because everyone else that I had talked to seemed to think it was a good book and two, because the plot premise was relatively interesting. I’ve always held an appreciation for the concept of angels (blame my obsession with the television show Supernatural). Plus, the cover art is absolutely gorgeous. Color me intrigued.

But then I started reading, and it all went downhill from there.

I think that one of the main things that makes a good romance story plotline is having an interesting and at the very least, relatively likeable male love interest. Patch is the mysterious, devastatingly handsome newcomer to Nora’s high school, and quickly zeroes in on her as his object of pursuit. However, the only thing that Patch has going for his is his mystique and good looks. Some might say “bad boy,” but the truth is that Patch is, in a word, a complete jerk. Seriously. I wanted to punch him in the face throughout the entire book (and maybe in some other places more painful to guys as well). And worse, he treated Nora like complete crap for most of the novel. He was a complete sexist pig, made jokes towards Nora that were sexual harassment, and was so frustratingly cagey about everything, from his backstory to his obsession with Nora. Basically, Patch repulsed me, and represented everything I don’t look for in a guy romantically.

Now all of this I might be able to stomach (barely) if Nora had seen through this guy’s B.S.; but it was the exact opposite! Nora finds herself unable to resist Patch’s allure, despite her head telling her what her heart doesn’t want to hear, which is to run, run far away from him. And the problem is that her instincts prove exactly correct… Patch is extremely dangerous. And yet, still Nora doesn’t run. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t find that to be the foundation of a good relationship…

There’s a lot of this book that smacks of Twilight, practically verbatim in terms of the setup. I mean, Patch and Nora meet as lab partners in their Biology class. And Patch seems to hate Nora at first glance, yet Nora is strangely drawn to him. Sound familiar? However, I did find that, at the very least, the mythology of the angels that Fitzpatrick created was very interesting. In addition, I actually felt some tugs at my heartstrings during certain scenes towards the end, especially when Patch reveals the real reason that he is in Nora’s life. That’s part of the reason that I didn’t give this book 1 star—it takes some good writing skill to make the reader care about something that involves a character that is repugnant to them.

I had a lot of high expectations for this book, but I just couldn’t get past the fact that Patch was a terrible excuse for a love interest and that Nora seemed to be blind to it despite herself. I didn’t find this book romantic at all and the only saving grace was Fitzpatrick’s good writing style and the angel mythological world that she created. ...more

Like · see review

Aug 09, 2011 Bridget rated it it was amazing

I finished this book in one sitting. Its one of those book that you just can't put down. Its about a girl named Nora who is just a ordinary high school girl and she gets partnered with the mysterious Patch in biology class. It is a cute romance but it is a little intense at times and it really kept me guessing on what was going to happen. So if you like paranormal young adult romances give this book a try I think that you will really enjoy it. ...more

Like · see review