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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
Check out this review and more on my blog, Maya’s Reviews.
Thank you to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
~Quick Statistics~
Overall: 4.5/5 Stars
Plot: 5/5 Stars
Setting: 2/5 Stars
Characters: 4/5 Stars
Writing: 4.5/5 Stars
Memorability: 5/5 Stars
~Quick Review~
I was fairly surprised by how excellent this novel was. My favorite parts of Hush were the characters and plot, not to mention that the writing style is exquisite. However, my biggest issue with the novel was the world-building. While the main character, Shae, is taught somewhat about the magic system in the world, she learns little to nothing, which left me very confused. However, Hush is most likely getting a sequel, so hopefully, more world-building is done in the second novel of the Hush series.
~Other Information~
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Page Count: 384 pages
Release Date: October 6, 2020
~Quick Synopsis (via Goodreads)~
How do you speak up in a world where propaganda is a twisted form of magic?
In the land of Montane, language is literal magic to the select few who possess the gift of Telling. This power is reserved for the Bards, and, as everyone knows, the Bards have almost always been men.
Seventeen-year-old Shae has lived her entire life in awe of the Bards—and afraid of the Blot, a deadly disease spread by ink, which took the life of her younger brother five years ago. Ever since, Shae fears she’s cursed. But when tragedy strikes again, and her mother is found murdered with a golden dagger—a weapon used only by the Bards—Shae is forced to act.
With a heart set on justice, Shae journeys to High House in search of answers. But when the kind, fatherly Cathal, the High Lord of Montane, makes Shae an undeniable offer to stay and train as a Bard, Shae can’t refuse.
Through this twisty tale, Shae endures backbreaking training by a ruthless female Bard, tentative and highly-forbidden feelings for a male Bard with a dark past, and a castle filled with dangerous illusions bent on keeping its secrets buried.
But sometimes, the truth is closer than we think. We just have to learn to listen.
~Characters~
Hush follows the story of a young girl, Shae, whose entire family has been taken from her. To discover the truth of her family’s demise, Shae travels to High House, a place where Bards train and where she finds out that she has the power that the Bards hold. I’m on the edge of how I feel about Shae; on one hand, she is selfless and kind, but on the other hand, can be quite frustrating in her choices. Half of the story I spent being frustrated with what she chose to do, but nevertheless, she was a strong main character.
While the main character was strongly built, I thought that many other characters like Kennan, Niall, Ravod (who, by the way, I totally ship with Shae), Mads, and Fiona were almost paper-thin and had no true characteristics about them. They all are very important to the plot, however, they just didn’t seem like enough thought was put into them.
Also, I was fairly disappointed to see that all of the characters in Hush were white. And I mean all of them. I expected something more honestly, maybe a few POC sprinkled in at the very least, yet there was absolutely no representation for any minorities.
~Writing and Setting~
Dylan Farrow’s writing style made it very easy for me to get lost inside the novel. The majority of the time, the writing was very descriptive and illuminating, however, as mentioned before, little was told about the magic system or any basics to Shae’s world.
The setting is what I had the biggest issue with. Shae is from the village of Aster, which resides in Montane. However, that’s almost all we know of the world. I found myself questioning the world-building throughout the novel. Is Montane the entire world, and therefore the only kingdom in the world? Or is Montane under such tyranny that they are cut off from the outside world? For me, at least, the world-building was honestly (I’m sorry to say) horrible.
Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I learned little to nothing about how the magic works in Montane, which is concerning because Shae is a magic-user, so understanding how magic works seems almost critical. Hopefully, Shae’s knowledge of magic is built upon in the sequel.
~Plot~
While there were other issues in Hush, I have to commend Dylan Farrow for creating such a great plot. Not only is the novel fantasy, but it’s also a mystery. Shae’s focus is entirely driven on finding out the truth about her mother’s murder, which leads to many other shocking discoveries. I could not set this book down, and when I did it was hard to not focus on what was happening in the novel.
~Overall Review~
Overall, Hush is a pretty solid and good novel with a few minor issues, however, it is definitely one of my favorites and I absolutely cannot wait until the sequel is published.
Amazon
Thank you to the author/publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
~Quick Statistics~
Overall: 4.5/5 Stars
Plot: 5/5 Stars
Setting: 2/5 Stars
Characters: 4/5 Stars
Writing: 4.5/5 Stars
Memorability: 5/5 Stars
~Quick Review~
I was fairly surprised by how excellent this novel was. My favorite parts of Hush were the characters and plot, not to mention that the writing style is exquisite. However, my biggest issue with the novel was the world-building. While the main character, Shae, is taught somewhat about the magic system in the world, she learns little to nothing, which left me very confused. However, Hush is most likely getting a sequel, so hopefully, more world-building is done in the second novel of the Hush series.
~Other Information~
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Page Count: 384 pages
Release Date: October 6, 2020
~Quick Synopsis (via Goodreads)~
How do you speak up in a world where propaganda is a twisted form of magic?
In the land of Montane, language is literal magic to the select few who possess the gift of Telling. This power is reserved for the Bards, and, as everyone knows, the Bards have almost always been men.
Seventeen-year-old Shae has lived her entire life in awe of the Bards—and afraid of the Blot, a deadly disease spread by ink, which took the life of her younger brother five years ago. Ever since, Shae fears she’s cursed. But when tragedy strikes again, and her mother is found murdered with a golden dagger—a weapon used only by the Bards—Shae is forced to act.
With a heart set on justice, Shae journeys to High House in search of answers. But when the kind, fatherly Cathal, the High Lord of Montane, makes Shae an undeniable offer to stay and train as a Bard, Shae can’t refuse.
Through this twisty tale, Shae endures backbreaking training by a ruthless female Bard, tentative and highly-forbidden feelings for a male Bard with a dark past, and a castle filled with dangerous illusions bent on keeping its secrets buried.
But sometimes, the truth is closer than we think. We just have to learn to listen.
~Characters~
Hush follows the story of a young girl, Shae, whose entire family has been taken from her. To discover the truth of her family’s demise, Shae travels to High House, a place where Bards train and where she finds out that she has the power that the Bards hold. I’m on the edge of how I feel about Shae; on one hand, she is selfless and kind, but on the other hand, can be quite frustrating in her choices. Half of the story I spent being frustrated with what she chose to do, but nevertheless, she was a strong main character.
While the main character was strongly built, I thought that many other characters like Kennan, Niall, Ravod (who, by the way, I totally ship with Shae), Mads, and Fiona were almost paper-thin and had no true characteristics about them. They all are very important to the plot, however, they just didn’t seem like enough thought was put into them.
Also, I was fairly disappointed to see that all of the characters in Hush were white. And I mean all of them. I expected something more honestly, maybe a few POC sprinkled in at the very least, yet there was absolutely no representation for any minorities.
~Writing and Setting~
Dylan Farrow’s writing style made it very easy for me to get lost inside the novel. The majority of the time, the writing was very descriptive and illuminating, however, as mentioned before, little was told about the magic system or any basics to Shae’s world.
The setting is what I had the biggest issue with. Shae is from the village of Aster, which resides in Montane. However, that’s almost all we know of the world. I found myself questioning the world-building throughout the novel. Is Montane the entire world, and therefore the only kingdom in the world? Or is Montane under such tyranny that they are cut off from the outside world? For me, at least, the world-building was honestly (I’m sorry to say) horrible.
Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I learned little to nothing about how the magic works in Montane, which is concerning because Shae is a magic-user, so understanding how magic works seems almost critical. Hopefully, Shae’s knowledge of magic is built upon in the sequel.
~Plot~
While there were other issues in Hush, I have to commend Dylan Farrow for creating such a great plot. Not only is the novel fantasy, but it’s also a mystery. Shae’s focus is entirely driven on finding out the truth about her mother’s murder, which leads to many other shocking discoveries. I could not set this book down, and when I did it was hard to not focus on what was happening in the novel.
~Overall Review~
Overall, Hush is a pretty solid and good novel with a few minor issues, however, it is definitely one of my favorites and I absolutely cannot wait until the sequel is published.
Amazon
When I saw the description for Dylan Farrow’s YA fantasy debut Hush, I was intrigued by the premise. There’s an original, magical world with exciting elements to be explored here, but unfortunately, the overall development is half-baked at best.
Seventeen-year-old Shae lives in a world without books and written language due to the Blot, a pandemic-style disease that infects people through the use of ink. The only people allowed access to such materials at the magical Bards who oversee the nation, traveling to the villages to grant “miracles'' that sustain the communities… if they gain the Bards’ favor. On top of banning books, the Bards have a slew of taboo words and activities for the everyday citizen. Disobeying means death.
Years after her brother died from Blot, Shae and her mother are outcasts in Montane. The people fear that they, too, have Blot. Then Shae finds her mother viciously murdered and is told by the Bards that what she saw was not real-- her mother died in an unfortunate accident. The experience opens up a new revelation: That Shae has reality-altering magic of her own. Suspecting a murderer among the Bards, she joins their ranks, training to become one of them while secretly trying to hunt down a killer.
Thrilling premise, right? I wish the rest of the novel lived up to it.
To give the novel some kudos, the early worldbuilding really worked for me. Montane felt like a dreary but very real village. Its mistrust of Shae jumps off the page in a pretty visceral fashion. The way townspeople are expected to turn on each other to appease the Bards is chilling. As Shae travels, the places she goes to leave a mark. The magical system that rules over the kingdom and gives the Bards their power, however, is never clearly defined. Nor is the history of the kingdom beyond Blot occurring and somehow allowing the Bards to take power.
The worldbuilding shortcomings could be forgiven if there wasn’t a much bigger issue with plot and pacing. Shae’s magical abilities cause her to lose grip on reality often, thrown into a chaotic state where she can be sure of nothing. This is fascinating to a point. The novel quickly becomes so caught up in Shae’s real-or-not-real fever dreams that it forgets focus on a plot beyond that. Shae is investigating her mother’s potential murder, but everything is interrupted by her breaks from reality. Perhaps it’s meant to be purposefully jarring and drag you into an unsettling headspace, but instead it’s tedious.
The repetitive nature of her illusions is not helped by the fact that, to me, obvious villain is obvious and the minimal red herrings provided felt wafer-thin. Throughout the novel, Farrow is trying to deliver a message about victimization and gaslighting that should be particularly poignant coming from her, but it’s tangled up in so many distractions that it never fully develops. That was probably the most frustrating part for me.
There’s also a wet cardboard love interest. It’s been a few months since I finished the book and honestly, I don’t even remember his name.
I’m not saying Hush is a horrible book. I just think it wasn’t fully there yet. Farrow’s ideas are good, but need finesse and development. As a writer, there’s plenty of potential, it just feels like Hush needed a few more brainstorming sessions to shore up the plot and more investment in the character interactions.
Seventeen-year-old Shae lives in a world without books and written language due to the Blot, a pandemic-style disease that infects people through the use of ink. The only people allowed access to such materials at the magical Bards who oversee the nation, traveling to the villages to grant “miracles'' that sustain the communities… if they gain the Bards’ favor. On top of banning books, the Bards have a slew of taboo words and activities for the everyday citizen. Disobeying means death.
Years after her brother died from Blot, Shae and her mother are outcasts in Montane. The people fear that they, too, have Blot. Then Shae finds her mother viciously murdered and is told by the Bards that what she saw was not real-- her mother died in an unfortunate accident. The experience opens up a new revelation: That Shae has reality-altering magic of her own. Suspecting a murderer among the Bards, she joins their ranks, training to become one of them while secretly trying to hunt down a killer.
Thrilling premise, right? I wish the rest of the novel lived up to it.
To give the novel some kudos, the early worldbuilding really worked for me. Montane felt like a dreary but very real village. Its mistrust of Shae jumps off the page in a pretty visceral fashion. The way townspeople are expected to turn on each other to appease the Bards is chilling. As Shae travels, the places she goes to leave a mark. The magical system that rules over the kingdom and gives the Bards their power, however, is never clearly defined. Nor is the history of the kingdom beyond Blot occurring and somehow allowing the Bards to take power.
The worldbuilding shortcomings could be forgiven if there wasn’t a much bigger issue with plot and pacing. Shae’s magical abilities cause her to lose grip on reality often, thrown into a chaotic state where she can be sure of nothing. This is fascinating to a point. The novel quickly becomes so caught up in Shae’s real-or-not-real fever dreams that it forgets focus on a plot beyond that. Shae is investigating her mother’s potential murder, but everything is interrupted by her breaks from reality. Perhaps it’s meant to be purposefully jarring and drag you into an unsettling headspace, but instead it’s tedious.
The repetitive nature of her illusions is not helped by the fact that, to me, obvious villain is obvious and the minimal red herrings provided felt wafer-thin. Throughout the novel, Farrow is trying to deliver a message about victimization and gaslighting that should be particularly poignant coming from her, but it’s tangled up in so many distractions that it never fully develops. That was probably the most frustrating part for me.
There’s also a wet cardboard love interest. It’s been a few months since I finished the book and honestly, I don’t even remember his name.
I’m not saying Hush is a horrible book. I just think it wasn’t fully there yet. Farrow’s ideas are good, but need finesse and development. As a writer, there’s plenty of potential, it just feels like Hush needed a few more brainstorming sessions to shore up the plot and more investment in the character interactions.
A mysterious illness, magical embroidery, forbidden words, and a world that's not quite what it seems? If any of this sounds intriguing, then say hello to the next book on your list! Hush by Dylan Farrow introduces us to our protagonist Shae as she tries to deal with the aftermath of the Blot killing a beloved family member. She and her family become pariahs in their small town, and Shae believes herself to be cursed.
So when the Bards come to town for their annual inspection, she pleads with one of them for answers, but to no avail. After yet another tragedy strikes her home and her local government proves untrustworthy, Shae heads for High House for more answers. The rest of the story is part murder mystery, a sprinkle of slow-burn budding romance, and a whole lot of revealed secrets.
Hush hooked me right at the beginning with the introduction of the Blot, a fatal disease caused by speaking or reading forbidden words. Then the talk of yarn and embroidery spoke to my craft-loving heart! Unfortunately, the interest I had in the beginning faded rather quickly as I got to the middle third of the book.
Shae spends much of the book questioning her own reality, and these whirlwind scenes where she spirals left me just as confused as Shae. This could be an intentional choice on the author's part, but the confusion took me out of the story.
Shae and Ravod were compelling characters, but I would have liked to see more interaction and the development of their relationship. I felt like the side characters could also use a little character building as they came off two dimensional and the villain(s) felt like storybook villains.
Overall I think the idea behind this book was interesting, and I hope the sequels delve deeper into how the magic system works, and why reading and writing became illegal in the first place. I would give this book 4/5 stars!
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
So when the Bards come to town for their annual inspection, she pleads with one of them for answers, but to no avail. After yet another tragedy strikes her home and her local government proves untrustworthy, Shae heads for High House for more answers. The rest of the story is part murder mystery, a sprinkle of slow-burn budding romance, and a whole lot of revealed secrets.
Hush hooked me right at the beginning with the introduction of the Blot, a fatal disease caused by speaking or reading forbidden words. Then the talk of yarn and embroidery spoke to my craft-loving heart! Unfortunately, the interest I had in the beginning faded rather quickly as I got to the middle third of the book.
Shae spends much of the book questioning her own reality, and these whirlwind scenes where she spirals left me just as confused as Shae. This could be an intentional choice on the author's part, but the confusion took me out of the story.
Shae and Ravod were compelling characters, but I would have liked to see more interaction and the development of their relationship. I felt like the side characters could also use a little character building as they came off two dimensional and the villain(s) felt like storybook villains.
Overall I think the idea behind this book was interesting, and I hope the sequels delve deeper into how the magic system works, and why reading and writing became illegal in the first place. I would give this book 4/5 stars!
Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Shae and her mother have lived alone at the outskirts of their village after the Blot took her little brother. The Blot is an illness, spread through ink, that is a death sentence. The only thing standing in the way of the Blot obliterating humanity are the Bards, magicians who use words to transform reality, giving blessings to the land and punishing those who transgress Montane's laws. The Bard's are predominantly male and periodically collect tribute from the villages. Shae's brother's death marked the family as outcasts - few are willing to deal with them for fear of infection, even many years later. Shae has begun having strange dreams that come true and is worried it may be a sign of the Blot returning to her family.
'Hush' is likely meant to kick off a series, but Farrow's writing wisely makes the book work as a standalone. This is a solid effort for a debut author, with my only issues relating to magical mechanics and some character inconsistencies.
Now, I don't want to come off as one of those dull people that wants magic explained to them, but the advertising copy of this book and the characters within it speak of the magic of Montane being based in words. Most of the time, it seems like characters in the book just have generic Green Lantern powers and can imagine whatever they want as long as they have the strength of will to make it a reality.
A lot of these supposed inconsistencies have a simple explanation: 'Hush' thrives on the unreliability of the senses and memory. In fact, the whole book is an extended allegory to that effect. At times the writing is powerful and vividly puts the reader into a place where our hero is being denied, ostracized and gaslit for refusing to accept a version of events she didn't experience. Sometimes, the writing is just confusing.
Most young readers will miss this, but as an adult reader I couldn't help but read this through the lens of the author's own history. Dylan Farrow is the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, and at seven years old accused her father of sexually abusing her. Farrow gives Shae a fierce will and desire for vengeance, but also a desire for the truth. Montane is a world where women have been marginalized and a plague has compelled the people to give up their literacy and their stories out of fear.
The book shows promise, but I think there were some steps skipped in world development and the character's interactions. We needed more time with them before epic magical destruction began. I hope a sequel, or a second novel of any kind, is allowed to develop into something really special.
'Hush' is likely meant to kick off a series, but Farrow's writing wisely makes the book work as a standalone. This is a solid effort for a debut author, with my only issues relating to magical mechanics and some character inconsistencies.
Now, I don't want to come off as one of those dull people that wants magic explained to them, but the advertising copy of this book and the characters within it speak of the magic of Montane being based in words. Most of the time, it seems like characters in the book just have generic Green Lantern powers and can imagine whatever they want as long as they have the strength of will to make it a reality.
A lot of these supposed inconsistencies have a simple explanation: 'Hush' thrives on the unreliability of the senses and memory. In fact, the whole book is an extended allegory to that effect. At times the writing is powerful and vividly puts the reader into a place where our hero is being denied, ostracized and gaslit for refusing to accept a version of events she didn't experience. Sometimes, the writing is just confusing.
Most young readers will miss this, but as an adult reader I couldn't help but read this through the lens of the author's own history. Dylan Farrow is the adopted daughter of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen, and at seven years old accused her father of sexually abusing her. Farrow gives Shae a fierce will and desire for vengeance, but also a desire for the truth. Montane is a world where women have been marginalized and a plague has compelled the people to give up their literacy and their stories out of fear.
The book shows promise, but I think there were some steps skipped in world development and the character's interactions. We needed more time with them before epic magical destruction began. I hope a sequel, or a second novel of any kind, is allowed to develop into something really special.
Wow, is this cover gorgeous. That is what initially drew me into the story was the cover, but while the cover is breathtaking unfortunately the same can not be said of the story.
While Hush has a good premise and even an interesting magic system that is about it for it because everything was predictable and underwhelming. I saw everything coming and nothing really stood out to me, in the end the whole story kind of bland.
The magic system was by far the most interesting part of the story, the idea of the blot (an ink disease) and a written magic system was super interesting, it sucked that Shae had pre-developed powers sucked as I could have learned more as she did.
Shae came across as a typical Mary Sue, falling in love with a boy she just met, being misunderstood by those around her. It was all the same stuff we have seen in older YA novels, there was no fresh take on it.
I was really grabbed by the fact that this was a feminist story, but then while reading it nothing came across as feminist. In fact the way the girls were portrayed in this story sent them all back years.
Overall, the book came across as the typical run of the mill YA nothing that hasn't been done before and that won't be done again.
While Hush has a good premise and even an interesting magic system that is about it for it because everything was predictable and underwhelming. I saw everything coming and nothing really stood out to me, in the end the whole story kind of bland.
The magic system was by far the most interesting part of the story, the idea of the blot (an ink disease) and a written magic system was super interesting, it sucked that Shae had pre-developed powers sucked as I could have learned more as she did.
Shae came across as a typical Mary Sue, falling in love with a boy she just met, being misunderstood by those around her. It was all the same stuff we have seen in older YA novels, there was no fresh take on it.
I was really grabbed by the fact that this was a feminist story, but then while reading it nothing came across as feminist. In fact the way the girls were portrayed in this story sent them all back years.
Overall, the book came across as the typical run of the mill YA nothing that hasn't been done before and that won't be done again.
Hush is an amazing debut novel by Dylan Farrow that continuously left me wanting more, and to know what happened next. It was engaging and such a unique story, that I am DYING to know what happens next. Spoiler alert, this book ends on a cliffhanger. I wasn't aware until I reached said cliffhanger that it was part of a series, so be warned!
One of things that I've seen others comment on is the lack of character development. Personally, I kind of liked that the characters weren't fully fleshed out to begin with. It added an air of mystery to them and also went along with the concept that all of the characters, no matter their role size, kept to themselves and didn't share things about them to begin with.
Overall, this was a stunning debut that I can't wait to get my hands on as it was definitely a favorite read of mine this year, and the cover is gorgeous! This is definitely one that I recommend!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this opportunity!
One of things that I've seen others comment on is the lack of character development. Personally, I kind of liked that the characters weren't fully fleshed out to begin with. It added an air of mystery to them and also went along with the concept that all of the characters, no matter their role size, kept to themselves and didn't share things about them to begin with.
Overall, this was a stunning debut that I can't wait to get my hands on as it was definitely a favorite read of mine this year, and the cover is gorgeous! This is definitely one that I recommend!
Disclosure: I received a complimentary eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this opportunity!
I cannot count how many times I rolled my eyes while reading this. I skimmed the last 100 pages or so because after Carthal told her she was like a daughter to him I wanted to die.
3/5 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an E-ARC for an honest review!
After reading the synopsis of this book, I was super excited to read it. However, this book did not meet the expectations I had of it. I thought that the idea of the book was super cool and really amazing, however, the writing was not to my liking. I felt like the author had a good idea but didn't quite know how to construct that idea. I found a lot of the world building and magic building confusing, a lot of the plot was all over the place, and I did not feel like the characters were flushed out at all. The only redeeming thing about this book was the idea of it. I really wanted to see where Farrow took the story, and that is what kept me reading.
In the end, I liked the idea, but not the finished product, and I am not sure if I will continue with this series.
Thanks for reading!
Caden
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for sending me an E-ARC for an honest review!
After reading the synopsis of this book, I was super excited to read it. However, this book did not meet the expectations I had of it. I thought that the idea of the book was super cool and really amazing, however, the writing was not to my liking. I felt like the author had a good idea but didn't quite know how to construct that idea. I found a lot of the world building and magic building confusing, a lot of the plot was all over the place, and I did not feel like the characters were flushed out at all. The only redeeming thing about this book was the idea of it. I really wanted to see where Farrow took the story, and that is what kept me reading.
In the end, I liked the idea, but not the finished product, and I am not sure if I will continue with this series.
Thanks for reading!
Caden
ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4
I enjoyed this book and all its twists and turns. This is a really unique fantasy novel and I haven't really read one like it that I can recall. The world and locations are described with just the right amount of detail given. The characters are quite relatable and the plot seems well thought out every step of the way. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an amazing YA fantasy!
Rating: 4
I enjoyed this book and all its twists and turns. This is a really unique fantasy novel and I haven't really read one like it that I can recall. The world and locations are described with just the right amount of detail given. The characters are quite relatable and the plot seems well thought out every step of the way. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an amazing YA fantasy!