Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Hush, Hush.
Series: Hush, Hush, #1.
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick.
Publication Date: October 13th, 2009.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster.
Format: Paperback, 391 pages.
Source: Bought.
My Rating:



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.

My friend had been bugging me to read this book for a while now, probably since not long after it came out. However, I was very reluctant to do so. Why? Because I’ve never really been overly keen on the speculation of Angels in general. I don’t have a proper, detailed explanation as to my being opposed to them – however I do think it has something to do with the fact that I’m not religious - at all. It’s not that I have anything against religion; it’s just never been my cup of tea. I suppose when I think of Angels, I think of God and the pearly white gates and I couldn’t seem to separate the two. When I first started reading Hush, Hush, I didn’t have my hopes up and wasn’t expecting much. However, I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed reading it – so much so, that I read it in only three sittings.

Ever since Nora Gray’s Biology teacher re-assigned the class seating arrangements and she was placed next to Patch, the brooding new kid – things have been happening around her. Things she can’t explain. Nora is drawn to Patch from the start. It’s not just his dashing good looks – there’s something dark and mysterious about him – something Nora wants to desperately find out. As she learns more and more about Patch and his dark past – Nora can’t decide whether to fling herself into his arms, or run and hide.

Nora’s character was quite interesting. She wasn’t the most in depth character I’ve read; however, her character narrated the book very well and made it quite a pleasure to read. Nora is just your typical teenage girl; worrying about what clothes to wear, messing around with her best friend and trying to pass her exams. Although Nora’s character was generally stated as a girl who doesn’t care much about boys in general, she falls - against her better judgement - for Patch, a new student who has suddenly has become her new Biology partner.

Patch is tall, dark and mysterious – every girls dream, right? Yet Nora also finds him slightly threatening and dangerous. She does her best to stay away from him, yet finds he crops up wherever she goes. It wasn’t until I was nearing the last 70 pages of this book that I actually started liking Patch’s character. He was too rude, too arrogant and honestly; he just really irritated me. Even though I didn’t like Patch at the beginning, I found myself constantly rooting for Patch and Nora to get together – don’t ask me why...

Although most of the time Nora is pretty much petrified of Patch, and is constantly trying to figure out whether he’s starting to stalk her - her plan to keep away from him fails. This really irritated me. Yes, she felt a strong pull towards Patch, yes he’s smoking hot and you wouldn’t mind taking him for a few laps. But honestly, girl - if you think he’s dangerous, so much so that you’re getting paranoid and mentally accusing him of different crimes – you avoid him! I can’t help comparing Patch to Edward Cullen, although Patch doesn’t tell Nora to stay away from him (like Edward does), they’re both giving off dangerous vibes, yet the female characters are drawn to them. Isn’t it our natural instinct to flee from danger? Doesn’t Nora have the fight or flight button programmed into her like everyone else?

Anyway, apart from my irritations with Nora’s actions at times, I did like her character overall. Every character has its flaws and rough edges. By the time I was ending the book, I’d warmed up to Patch’s character – he didn’t make me swoon and faint on the floor, but he turned out to be a pretty likeable guy. The last two characters I’d like to introduce are Vee and Elliot. Vee is Nora’s best friend. Her BFF, they share clothes, cars and love to talk about pretty much everything. Vee’s character wasn’t that well developed in my opinion; however I don’t think it really mattered. I do think that she was too easily swayed by the good looks of a guy and would rather tell her best friend that she’s crazy than admit that Nora has a stalker – which annoyed the hell out of me. Overall, she seemed like a reasonable character and I loved her connection with Nora – it was incredible.

Moving onward to Elliot, not long after Patch became Nora’s Bio partner, he transfers from an Elite School in which he held a scholarship, to the regular high school Nora and Vee go to. Elliot starts off seeming like a stand up guy, quickly becoming friendly with the girls and hanging out with them. Nora even admits to liking him at the start until she ends up spending more time with Patch. Right from the start I never liked Elliot. He seemed like a slimy, stuck up worm that wanted to latch onto any pretty girl he could. Yet, that’s probably me being too judgemental of him in general. Pretty much wherever Elliot went, his friend from his old school, Jules followed in the background, not speaking much at all.

Overall I thought the characters were amazing and very interesting – even the ones I didn’t like were very well thought out. I loved the way Nora’s and Patch’s relationship wasn’t so cheesy and insta-love, which, if it was, would have ruined the book in my opinion. It wasn’t exaggerated and overdone and kept in balance with the plot line well. There were so many different twists and turns throughout this book, it kept me completely on edge, constantly wondering what would happen next. I debated around quite a bit about whether to give this book 4/5 stars or 5/5. In the end I settled for the 4/5 stars, mainly because I felt there were a lot of loose ends that the book didn’t tie up – and my irritations towards the characters idiocy at times. I think Becca Fitzpatrick is a great writer and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel to this book.

Quotes

Patch grinned down at me. "I'm hard to resist."
I blinked up and him. "Leave me alone." I tried to sidestep him, but he caught me by the elbow.
"What's wrong? You look ready to throw up."
"You have that effect on me" I snapped. - Page 108.

"I can't walk in high heels."
"Good thing they're not high then."
"They look high," I said, eyeing the protruding stiletto.
"Almost five inches. They left 'high' behind at four."
Lovely, If I didn't break my neck, I just might get to humiliate myself while seducing secrets out of Patch's coworkers. - Page 168.

A car door opened and the crackle of gunfire broke out. Two shots. The car door slammed and the black sedan screeched away. I could hear my heart hammering in my chest, and it blended with the sound of running feet. I realised a moment later that they were my feet, and I was running to the mouth of the alley. I rounded the corner and came up short. - Page 278.