Hush, Hush
** Disclosure: There are
spoilers regarding the novel **
It used to be that I
could and would read 16 books within a week back in "the day" (i.e.
middle school). However, as an undergrad senior soon-to-be grad student, that's
not the case. So it’s always a rare treat when I can finish a novel.
Moving quickly through
the prologue scene, Fitzpatrick begins the bodice of her novel. Once again she
begins with the intrigue of sex- this time set in an educational manner in a
high school biology class. I wonder if the recurring topic of sex is a
reflection of Fitzpatrick’s target audience- which I am guessing is teenagers. Another
thing I noticed is that the biology class setting resembled a lot like the
scene in Twilight when Bella and Edward are paired up. In the case of Hush, Hush, its Nora and Patch who are forced
to work together as the result of an arranged seating assignment.
Fitzpatrick characterizes
Patch as the most aggravating, arrogant man one could ever meet. Despite this,
Nora seems to find some unspoken attraction to him, which – at certain moments –
failed to be mirrored by my feelings. I think the author could benefit from
better translating scenes into emotions the readers can relate to. Unless the
intention is dramatic irony, I feel that I should be feeling whatever the
protagonist if feeling. Isn’t that the purpose of reading- to be able to run
away into a world where you can experience someone else’s adventures? In a play
or show this would be addressed as the fourth wall. For the most part Fitzpatrick
did great and I was able to immerse myself into this land of Fallen Angels and
hybrids known as Nephilum, but there were moments where I was definitely not able
to connect.
I wonder if this may also
be a reflection of Fitzpatrick’s target audience. After all, maybe the teens aren’t
so concerned with issues of the fourth wall.
Nonetheless, matters most
teens are fascinated by, sex, lust, romance, are covered. Hush, Hush is really a great love story, and it takes a twist on
the recent “Vampire/Human” relationship conflict by substituting the vampires
for Fallen Angels. Fitzpatrick is able to keep the dark and ominous feel of a
vampire love story by describing how these Fallen Angels become bad once they
are shunned to live with humans for all eternity as punishment for whatever
crime they have committed.
In spite of my aforementioned
comment about Fitzpatrick’s failure to retain a fourth wall feel for some scenes,
the chemistry between Nora and Patch is extremely well written. The two have
some very heated scenes together that did gave me goose bumps. Moments between
them take you right back to your first kiss or special moments- the uncertain
suspense of a kiss or a touch, the explosive reaction in your heart to the
simplest actions from someone you feel so much for, and overall, so much sexual
tension. I just wanted to add that there are no sex scenes, and the steaming
hot moments feel heated without being trashy. In fact, they always stop at such
a point that you just want them to keep going- just a little bit more. Wink,
wink.
The story line does
include a common bad-boy-turned-good-for-love theme, but that didn’t hinder the
story from reeling me in. Sometimes it’s nice to feel like younger again by
reading genres of book that I used to love as a teen, and continue to love as a
young adult. I would recommend this NY Times Bestseller to anyone who enjoys
dark teenage romance novels- which may not be the exact genre the novel is
categorized as, but if you enjoy those types of books you know exactly what I’m
talking about.
I look forward to reading
the next book in line: Cresendo.
** This was my first blog
post J Yay! Comments, compliments
and criticisms are all welcome. Thanks for reading! **
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