Review - Hush Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Hush Hush
Series: Hush, Hush (#1)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy
Publication: October 13th 2009, Simon & Schuster
Pages: 391 Pages, Paperback
Source: My library
Rating: 2/5 Cupcakes

I have been hearing about the Hush Hush saga for quite awhile now and I have always been interested in reading them. A gorgeous cover, an intriguing premise as well the paranormal theme being one that has rarely been done before. I heard of the swoon-worthy Patch and was delighted to be introduced to a possible new book-boyfriend, but then when I started reading...I realised my expectations were too high. I really wanted to love this book but I just couldn't, quite disappointing as I was hoping this would be a new favourite and stand out among the average books I've read lately. I'm glad I did finish it though, (as I was close to marking it as a dnf) because the ending did make me like the characters a little bit more. Just a bit.

Hush Hush is about sixteen year old Nora Grey, whose life is going pretty well. She is doing well in her school work, her mom has a good job, although it does require her to travel and they are coping well enough with the murder of her father. However, when her biology teacher switches the seating plan and Nora is seated next to the transfer student called Patch, whose aloof, dark appearance has disconcerting effect on her...yet he enthrals her simultaneously, Nora's life begins to change...for the worse. When danger starts striking Nora from every angle and it seems like Patch is at the centre of it all, she can't help but wonder if trusting Patch is such a good idea after all.

The thing about Hush Hush, is that it's one of those paranormal books where the "bad boy" tries too hard and comes off incredibly stalkerish and creepy, the main character is extremely dependant and can't stand on her own two feet yet is still putting her self in constant danger and the two characters' relationship is extremely unhealthy and should be reported to security. Does this remind you of any other YA book you've read?

...

Yes. That's right. Hush Hush reminded me of Twilight. They were extremely similar. I'll let you on a secret, I really enjoyed the Twilight Saga when I read it when I was 12 (don't judge me) but I think if I re-read it now, I'd probably find more faults with it and not like it as much. A lot of the things that happened in Hush Hush reminded me of what happened in Twilight. But I think I enjoyed Hush Hush less. There were so many similarities. Patch was like Edward, "dangerous" and "bad boy", Patch and Nora's first meeting in biology (like Edward and Bella) and the fight scene was practically identical to the "fight" scene in Twilight, where James corners Bella at the ballet studio. There were a lot of things that made the two books very similar.

I'll start with the characters. Nora was likeable at first. She seemed sweet, intelligent and like she wouldn't make too many bad choices. HA. I was so wrong about that.  Nora doesn't have a backbone in her body, she depends on Patch way too much even though he terrifies her, and she can't say no. In fact, I don't even think that it's in her vocabulary. She was constantly letting Patch/Elliot/Vee walk over. She was constantly trying to act all bravado (and not pulling it off) by putting herself in danger to try and figure things out, and then ending up needing to have Patch rescue her. I seriously hoped that Nora would start standing up for herself and by the end I would view her as a strong, independent character, but no such luck. I'm not sure if I'm going to bother reading the rest of the series but if I do, I seriously hope that Nora will grow a backbone.

Patch. Patch, Patch, Patch...I seriously don't see WHAT readers see in him. He was so incredibly stalkerish, I think Nora should've put a restraining order against him...if she didn't completely fall in love with him first. The fool. From the beginning of the book I wasn't keen on Patch. He is such an arrogant, cocky, jerk who thinks he's the bee's knees. He was not "sexy" or "swoon-worthy" as some have said. He was such a stalker, and I don't use that term lightly. When him and Nora were assigned biology partners in science he already knew more about her than Nora's best friend, Vee, knew about her. He also admitted to having lots of photos of her and let me point out,it was the first time they'd ever met. Nora than states that she feels uncomfortable about it, but she doesn't go out of her way to make sure she doesn't have to be in Patch's company. Also, there were several times where you could see Patch was about to harm her, yet she does NOTHING ABOUT IT. She just continues warbling on about how she can't stay away from him, and there's something dark about him that's so irresistible. For GOODNESS SAKE, Nora, it's called SELF-CONTROL. You can CONTROL your actions. If he invites you out and he scares you, say NO. But no, she continuously goes off with him. She knew she was getting into trouble when she kept going back to him, yet she decided to ignore any sensible thought that ever entered her BRAIN and just go along with it.

I also don't get Patch and Nora's relationship. Nora seemed to be petrified of Patch for most of their relationship and Patch seemed to either be trying to wind Nora up or kill her all the time. Then, towards the end of the novel, they were saying how they loved each other and how he couldn't live without her and stuff and then I'm sitting there thinking, did I just read a completely different novel? How did they go from that to THAT. Their relationship wasn't authentic, it wasn't healthy. It was bad, very, very bad. 

I also thought that it was bizarre in this book when the biology teacher refused to switch the seating plan back to the way it was, or even give Nora a new partner, even though Patch was basically sexually harassing Nora in front of the whole class. I mean you could see how uncomfortable she was with all the sexual comments Patch kept making, yet the teacher encouraged him. I may be home-schooled now, but when I was at school, I know that if you feel like you're being harassed by another student and you go to a teacher, they will do something about it. The biology teacher was so unrealistic and it was so obvious that the author made him like that so Patch could continue freaking Nora out. I don't know why she didn't just go to another teacher then if the biology teacher wasn't listening. Another thing, the biology lessons just seemed unrealistic. Their first lesson in biology together was about human reproduction and the teacher starts waffling on about what the students felt made them attracted to others, which hasn't got that much to do with biology. When Patch was asked what attracted him to a girl, one of the adjectives he used was "vulnerable". The way he acted was so predator-like and Nora noted that, yet she still gets herself in close contact with Patch and gets them into these romantic situations.

I didn't care for any of the other characters very much either. I liked Vee, Nora's best friend, in the beginning, she was quirky and cute but then the things she said and did irked me. She never listened to Nora, she was constantly hanging out with Jules and Elliot, who Nora warned her about and she didn't give a thought before doing anything. I just couldn't connect with Vee after the first few chapters, it's like she became a whole different character.

Despite the flaws of the characters/romance, I must admit Hush Hush has something about it that makes you want to keep reading. Even though I did almost DNF it, and I did want slap Patch and talk some sense into Nora, the little mysteries that were drifting around in the story did have me curious, and did have me wanting to know what happens. The plot is interesting, with the whole "guy in the ski mask" mystery and the mystery surrounding Patch, although it wasn't much of a mystery since we all already knew what he was. It is a book that, despite its flaws, will have you wanting to keep reading so that the tiny mysteries that have infiltrated through will be solved. I was quite disappointed at parts though, as it wasn't what I expected. For an instance, on the blurb, it said that there was going to be this huge battle and sides will have to be chosen, and there wasn't much of that in the story. I also would've liked it if the author gave us more of an insight onto Patch's history and about who he is. Hopefully in the next book.

Hush Hush did, unfortunately, disappoint me. It wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't fall in love with Patch and I found him quite creepy and not my cup of tea. Nora was too dependant on others and was constantly putting herself in dangerous situations, which almost ended up getting her killed. I also would've liked more focus on Patch's past and about the fallen angels but maybe in the next books. Although I was disappointed with the characters and the romance, the plot was incredibly gripping and the story was fast-paced. I also quite liked Becca's style of writing, those two factors redeemed the novel for me. Overall, I was quite disappointed by this but others have loved it, so give it a go! :)

I give it: 2/5 Cupcakes!