Book Review: Hush, Hush

When I was a senior in high school I had to read Milton's Paradise Lost and Dante's Divine Comedy. Ever since then, I've been facinated by this idea of fallen angels. Fast forward to the Friday after Thanksgiving. Mike and I are ridiculously early for our flight so we're walking around the Borders in LaGuardia. I'm instantly drawn to the young adult section. Maybe it's because I teach 10th graders or because more and more of the YA books that are being released are wonderful and well written. Either way, one look and this cover and I'm frozen to the spot. No, it's not because of the shirtless guy (though I'm not opposed to a shirtless guy on the cover of a book, sorry Mike), it's more the wings and his position and the overall mood of the picture that draws me in.

I open the cover, read the flap and think, "whoa." Of course I bought it.

Hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Man, what a good book.

As always, I'll let Amazon take it:

"For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and 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 Nora 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 her life."

The thing about this book is that, besides having the romance factor that we all love, it has an element of suspense and genuine horror that you don't expect. Maybe horror is too strong a word...it's scary. I did not know what was going to happen next. I just kept saying to myself, "Please don't let Patch be the bad guy..."
 
I read through half the book on the plane. When I came home, between this and that, I never got around to finishing it. Wednesday I got home early and picked up the book while having a snack. I didn't put it down until I was finished. Nearly three hundred pages in one shot. And I was genuinely concerned about Nora and Patch. Let me also say, that there is a scene in a hotel, where the lights go out that...wow...just, wow. That's how I know something is good, when I enviously wish that I wrote it.
 
Bottom line: Buy this book if you like dangerous, mysterious guys, plucky heroines, suspense, mystery and a little mythology.