Hush, Hush.
By, Becca Fitzpatrick.
Publication date: October 13, 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Pages: 391
Series: Hush, Hush Saga (#1)
This is one of those books that you look at the cover and think, "Oh, this ought to be good." I mean, there's a shirtless guy....seeming to fall from the sky, feathers flying around him...well. It sets a mysterious, dramatic atmosphere, and of course, its the kind of book that you either, a) start reading secretly at the book store, or b) purchase without a second thought. Me, I did the second option. And I wasn't horrified by what I read.
SUMMARY: The story follows Nora Grey, a teenage girl attending Coldwater High School, who finds her life in danger when she becomes involved with a mysterious new student named Patch Cipriano, who is revealed to be a fallen angel himself with a dark connection to Nephilim Nora.
Well, it [the cover] certainly did make my expectations rise a couple of levels. But when I finished, those expectations were not met. First off, NORA GREY. Since the summary makes you think she's involved with a dangerous guy, that makes you start thinking, she has to be interesting. Being involved with a dangerous guy has to make you interesting. Well, I'll tell you- eZine columnist Nora Grey is anything but interesting. I can't think of any word to describe her that wouldn't be describing her physical appearance. I think this girl might make Bella Swan have a run in with her money for "biggest Mary Sue" in town, except for Zoey Redbird, but we won't get into that today. What makes Nora Grey's character a Mary-Sue isn't that she's boring. I have read about many boring characters in successful or at least good books. Usually in those cases, the main characters don't matter because the plot itself, and the supporting character, can carry the story. And, also in those cases, the main characters are not Mary--Sues. Being boring does NOT make you a Mary Sue. But when you are boring and a hot, mysterious, dark fallen angel falls in love with you because you are "interesting and like nobody else" when you are really as interesting as cold oatmeal, that does make you a Mary sue.
Now that we are talking about Mary Sues, I am brought back to the center of almost everything these days: Twilight. This book is very similar to Twilight so, if annoying (there's a word for Nora!) main characters don't bother you, this may just be the book for you- if you liked the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The similarities, in my perspective, were stunning. To start off (And I promise, I won't go too much into detail) Nora and Patch both meet at Biology class, where they are forced to pair up together. That was also the case with Bella and Edward. Nora's appearance (she is brunette and pale- but Patch noted at one point that her hair looked like it was red in the light, same as Mike Newton said to Bella Swan on one of those rare sunny days in Forks) is also like Bella's, though the resemblance between Edward and Patch ends....well, I'm not sure it was there to begin with. However, when you reach the middle of the book, I promise you that any similarities with Twilight (well, any noticeable ones) come to an abrupt stop. I was about ready to put this book down when the action got started, and that got me hooked, because there is nothing I love more than action, fantasy, and romance. Except maybe dystopias. The book goes from "Slowly, moving along" to "OHMYGODISTHATHAPPENING?" in the span of maybe a chapter or two. Really, the book was a bit slow in the beginning, but I can't deny the author this: even when it was slow, it was mostly exciting. There were parts when Nora was sitting at home being her boring self that I was like, "Oh, please, spare me..." But more often than not, that wasn't the case. Usually small, exciting things happened leading up to one big moment in the book that made your heart stop. The climax, if you please.
To cut it short, as much as I hate Nora's personality and the paranormal-fiction cliches and Twilight similarities, I just couldn't really stop reading this book until I finished. I'm not sure if I will read the second book, because I feel like this is one of those books that there shouldn't be a sequel to take away from the excitement. But, just for closure, I might finish the rest of the series. This book isn't exactly original, but there's something about it that kept me reading. Maybe it was because right after Patch and Nora met, the "small, exciting" things started to happen, and that kept me going, or maybe it was the fact that the love interest could turn out to also be the villain. Something kept me reading. It was definetly not the best work of fiction, but it was (as my cupcake-oriented mind would say), "Just sweet enough for me." Though it fits right in with the cliched paranormal/fallen angel books that seem to be around every corner, it was okay.
Would I reread it again? Probably. It's really depending on my mood. Yesterday I wouldn't, today I might. It's one of those in-between books.
Well, it [the cover] certainly did make my expectations rise a couple of levels. But when I finished, those expectations were not met. First off, NORA GREY. Since the summary makes you think she's involved with a dangerous guy, that makes you start thinking, she has to be interesting. Being involved with a dangerous guy has to make you interesting. Well, I'll tell you- eZine columnist Nora Grey is anything but interesting. I can't think of any word to describe her that wouldn't be describing her physical appearance. I think this girl might make Bella Swan have a run in with her money for "biggest Mary Sue" in town, except for Zoey Redbird, but we won't get into that today. What makes Nora Grey's character a Mary-Sue isn't that she's boring. I have read about many boring characters in successful or at least good books. Usually in those cases, the main characters don't matter because the plot itself, and the supporting character, can carry the story. And, also in those cases, the main characters are not Mary--Sues. Being boring does NOT make you a Mary Sue. But when you are boring and a hot, mysterious, dark fallen angel falls in love with you because you are "interesting and like nobody else" when you are really as interesting as cold oatmeal, that does make you a Mary sue.
Now that we are talking about Mary Sues, I am brought back to the center of almost everything these days: Twilight. This book is very similar to Twilight so, if annoying (there's a word for Nora!) main characters don't bother you, this may just be the book for you- if you liked the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The similarities, in my perspective, were stunning. To start off (And I promise, I won't go too much into detail) Nora and Patch both meet at Biology class, where they are forced to pair up together. That was also the case with Bella and Edward. Nora's appearance (she is brunette and pale- but Patch noted at one point that her hair looked like it was red in the light, same as Mike Newton said to Bella Swan on one of those rare sunny days in Forks) is also like Bella's, though the resemblance between Edward and Patch ends....well, I'm not sure it was there to begin with. However, when you reach the middle of the book, I promise you that any similarities with Twilight (well, any noticeable ones) come to an abrupt stop. I was about ready to put this book down when the action got started, and that got me hooked, because there is nothing I love more than action, fantasy, and romance. Except maybe dystopias. The book goes from "Slowly, moving along" to "OHMYGODISTHATHAPPENING?" in the span of maybe a chapter or two. Really, the book was a bit slow in the beginning, but I can't deny the author this: even when it was slow, it was mostly exciting. There were parts when Nora was sitting at home being her boring self that I was like, "Oh, please, spare me..." But more often than not, that wasn't the case. Usually small, exciting things happened leading up to one big moment in the book that made your heart stop. The climax, if you please.
To cut it short, as much as I hate Nora's personality and the paranormal-fiction cliches and Twilight similarities, I just couldn't really stop reading this book until I finished. I'm not sure if I will read the second book, because I feel like this is one of those books that there shouldn't be a sequel to take away from the excitement. But, just for closure, I might finish the rest of the series. This book isn't exactly original, but there's something about it that kept me reading. Maybe it was because right after Patch and Nora met, the "small, exciting" things started to happen, and that kept me going, or maybe it was the fact that the love interest could turn out to also be the villain. Something kept me reading. It was definetly not the best work of fiction, but it was (as my cupcake-oriented mind would say), "Just sweet enough for me." Though it fits right in with the cliched paranormal/fallen angel books that seem to be around every corner, it was okay.
Would I reread it again? Probably. It's really depending on my mood. Yesterday I wouldn't, today I might. It's one of those in-between books.
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