Hush, Hush | by: Becca Fitzpatrick

As soon as Nora meets the mysterious new student, Patch, her whole life seems to shake and spin out of control. Strange, unexplainable things are happening left and right beginning on the first day that they meet at her high school. Of course, that could all be a coincidence. But there is at least one thing she can be absolutely positive of: She is very drawn to Patch, even though she believes he's a threat she should stay away from. Even though she's sure that his past is filled with dark secrets.

Books about angels tend to make me happy, espcially when the author knows what he/she is talking about when referencing older stories (or facts, if you believe in them). However, I've had a bit of an adventure with this novel.

The first time I read Hush, Hush was almost exactly a year ago, and I liked it. Well, sorta. It seemed to be an okay book, but I wasn't exactly a fan. If I'd been blogging at the time, I would have given it a 3.5/5 star rating.

I just finished reading it for the second time, so I'd has everything fresh in my mind for Crescendo, the sequal. And let me tell you that my opinion has changed.

I couldn't put this book down. The story intrigued me, AND it was completely entertaining, and moved at a nearly perfect pace. Funny thing... when I first read this, I thought it went too slowly and that nothing happened. (I think I was stressed out when I first read it, so my opinion wasn't reasonable.) I found it completely interesting, and kinda beautiful in some way. There were even bits of humor in there that made me smile.

Another big surprise for me is that I really did not like Becca's writing the first time around for whatever reason, but this time, I found a very small amount of problems with it. In fact, I liked it. Her writing is effective, and she gets to the point. She created a number of strange events that could seem randomized if she didn't do it right, but she did. All in all, it's not bad writing, but it's not the most amazing writing I've ever seen.

One of the reasons why I loved Hush, Hush so much is I relate to Nora. Most of the time, the things she'd say to people, whether reasoning with Vee, attempting to reason with herself, or trying to act smart toward Patch, sound like exactly like what I'd say. She's constantly finding herself pulled Patch, but she fights herself all the time, trying to get that idea out of her head, and replacing it with one that screams "STAY AWAY FROM THAT CREEP." This sounds like me. I fight my emotions a lot. And yet, this very thing is what irritated me most about Nora - she was so slow to like and trust Patch.

Speaking of Patch... I'm just gonna come right out and say it... He's sexy, okay? In all of his mysterious-ness and bad boy-ness. I think he's my favorite out of all the hot guys I've read about in books, in his personality and appearance. In fact, this also sort of brings a downside, since because I love him so much, I want him to be in the book with Nora more! Usually she's avoiding him or sneaking around trying to find info about him, and I can't stand it! I want more Patch! And I want my questions about him answered. (What is his real name? Where has he been all these years? When did he fall? Is he going to live forever while Nora has to die eventually, or how does this situation work?)

I'm having issues with getting this book out of my mind. Every half hour, it pops into my mind. I don't really understand how my opinion completely changed after one year and a reread. All of a sudden, I'm just in love with the story and the characters (espcially Patch). It has this creepy and dark edge to it, where you're not so sure what's happening because nothing makes sense. If you ask me, Becca's running it more like a movie than a book. Either way, the story in general makes me so nervous for the characters and anxious for what will happen next! I just crave and crave for more!

Seriously, I'm worried about reading Crescendo. Not because I don't think it'll be good (I'm sure it will be), but because if I have such a I-can't-stop-reading-because-I'm-too-scared-to-stop rush during a reread of this one, I can't imagine the stress Crescendo could possibly bring. I'm so excited to read it, though!

Hush, Hush is an eerie and addictive read, and it gives readers some healthy doses of mystery, romance, angels, and events filled with paranormality.

4.5/5 Stars