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3.35 AVERAGE
3.35 AVERAGE
I absolutely loved this book. It thought that it was different and has a great message about not being hushed and speaking your truth and the truth to whoever will listen in a world where certain words aren't allowed to be spoken, and there are no books. While the characters could have developed more, and the magic system explained better, I am excited to read the second book especially after the jaw-dropping, cliff-hanger ending!
Torn on this review.
There was a lot I liked about Hush, but at the same time it needed more editing. A lot of the world building was either left out (possibly intentionally due to it being a series) or glossed over with little detail and rarely brought up again.
But I was totally into this story. Shae is not your typical heroine. She’s weak a lot, cries a lot, and isn’t as strong as most YA fantasy leads tend to be nowadays. But it helps humanize her.
Overall, it was an interesting read but was missing things that could have pushed it up a level.
There was a lot I liked about Hush, but at the same time it needed more editing. A lot of the world building was either left out (possibly intentionally due to it being a series) or glossed over with little detail and rarely brought up again.
But I was totally into this story. Shae is not your typical heroine. She’s weak a lot, cries a lot, and isn’t as strong as most YA fantasy leads tend to be nowadays. But it helps humanize her.
Overall, it was an interesting read but was missing things that could have pushed it up a level.
I recieved this book as an ARC and was not certain what to expect since I have not read YA in a bit. I found I very much enjoyed this debut novel of Dylan Farrow. I was impressed with the build up and pace of the novel. The world building is intriguing and I am already looking forward to her second novel to expand the world more. Farrow created likable, frustrating, multi-faceted characters who all had flaws that affected thier decisions and actions throughout the novel and led to some surprises.
This book was a surprise. The synopsis clearly sounded good to me, as I requested (and was approved!) an ARC from NetGalley months ago. For some reason, even though I’ve had this on my Kindle TBR for a while now, I couldn’t find the motivation to read. Even though the concept interested me, I didn’t really have high hopes for it. No real reason for that, that’s just how I felt in the back of my mind. I’m glad this book surpassed my expectations!
Hush is a world where a disease caused by the written world has plagued the cities and towns. Because of this, writing with ink (and therefore, reading) have been banned, along with a list of other activities. The world is governed by the Bards of High House, who are basically magicians using the spoken word as their magic.
Queue our main character, Shae. Her family has been affected by the plague, the Blot, and now she and her mother live on the outskirts of their village, basically the town pariahs. After her mother is murdered and the killing is covered up, Shae decides to join the order of the Bards as a way to search for her mother’s killer. This leads to her uncovering more than just the cover-up of her mother’s murder, and she finds herself in a battle for the wellbeing of reality as she knows it.
Because Shae and her mother were basically shunned by the majority of her village, she didn’t grow up with a lot friends and connections. Because of this, she is very quick to trust any new person who shows affection towards here. She is also a very emotional person, and both of these facts hinder her training once she joins the Bards. Shae is quick to learn though, and she quickly turns her situation around to her advantage. Reading from her point of view was interesting. I don’t want to say fun, because madness grips Shae at some points in the story, and she lets her stress and anxiety overtake her, and I felt this anxiety myself in my core.
One thing I really loved about Hush was it’s unique notion of magic. The entire concept of the book was an eccentric one, and it’s not like anything else I’ve read before. The idea that written word is harmful is so ironic because that concept comes to live from being written down in a fictional story. I love it, and the way we got to learn how that magic was wielded along with Shae was extraordinary.
Again, this book really took me surprise by how much I enjoyed it, and I will definitely be picking up the next installment in this series!
Hush is a world where a disease caused by the written world has plagued the cities and towns. Because of this, writing with ink (and therefore, reading) have been banned, along with a list of other activities. The world is governed by the Bards of High House, who are basically magicians using the spoken word as their magic.
Queue our main character, Shae. Her family has been affected by the plague, the Blot, and now she and her mother live on the outskirts of their village, basically the town pariahs. After her mother is murdered and the killing is covered up, Shae decides to join the order of the Bards as a way to search for her mother’s killer. This leads to her uncovering more than just the cover-up of her mother’s murder, and she finds herself in a battle for the wellbeing of reality as she knows it.
Because Shae and her mother were basically shunned by the majority of her village, she didn’t grow up with a lot friends and connections. Because of this, she is very quick to trust any new person who shows affection towards here. She is also a very emotional person, and both of these facts hinder her training once she joins the Bards. Shae is quick to learn though, and she quickly turns her situation around to her advantage. Reading from her point of view was interesting. I don’t want to say fun, because madness grips Shae at some points in the story, and she lets her stress and anxiety overtake her, and I felt this anxiety myself in my core.
One thing I really loved about Hush was it’s unique notion of magic. The entire concept of the book was an eccentric one, and it’s not like anything else I’ve read before. The idea that written word is harmful is so ironic because that concept comes to live from being written down in a fictional story. I love it, and the way we got to learn how that magic was wielded along with Shae was extraordinary.
Again, this book really took me surprise by how much I enjoyed it, and I will definitely be picking up the next installment in this series!
What an excellent debut novel! I was thoroughly impressed by the unique idea of the Blot and the magic that words yielded. As someone who loves writing, these ideas grabbed my attention and drew me into the story. Shae’s character is someone that most of us who have had to be brave and take risks can relate to. She has such human qualities with her self-doubt and low self-confidence but she’s filled with immense power that she is unaware of.
This book will take you on a thrilling adventure with lots of surprises. It’s an addictive page-turner that will keep you guessing until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. I can’t wait to see what this author has in store next.
This book will take you on a thrilling adventure with lots of surprises. It’s an addictive page-turner that will keep you guessing until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. I can’t wait to see what this author has in store next.
An epic new favorite! I absolutely loved it!
New fantasy stories are always hard for me to get into, but I had no problem with this one. It's that good!
New fantasy stories are always hard for me to get into, but I had no problem with this one. It's that good!
The excellent start of a new fantasy series! It's well written, gripping and enthralling.
I loved everything: the well thought characters, the excellent world building and tightly knitted plot that kept me hooked.
I can't wait to read another book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I loved everything: the well thought characters, the excellent world building and tightly knitted plot that kept me hooked.
I can't wait to read another book by this author.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
What an excellent debut novel! I was thoroughly impressed by the unique idea of the Blot and the magic that words yielded. As someone who loves writing, these ideas grabbed my attention and drew me into the story. Shae’s character is someone that most of us who have had to be brave and take risks can relate to. She has such human qualities with her self-doubt and low self-confidence but she’s filled with immense power that she is unaware of.
This book will take you on a thrilling adventure with lots of surprises. It’s an addictive page-turner that will keep you guessing until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. I can’t wait to see what this author has in store next.
This book will take you on a thrilling adventure with lots of surprises. It’s an addictive page-turner that will keep you guessing until the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this ARC. I can’t wait to see what this author has in store next.
Dylan Farrow is a wife, mother, and woman that I have highly respected for years, due to her advocacy of sexual assault victims, so when I heard that she was publishing her debut YA fantasy through one of my favorite publishers, I had to read it as soon as possible. Even though the majority of readers, myself included, are hesitant to pick up novels from otherwise famous folk, I found this novel to be a solid debut that came across as a labor of love to the writer.
If you've read the blurb above, then you know that this book hinges on a magic system involving language and the silencing of many voices. The premise is fantastic and timely; however, I found that the execution didn't quite meet today's YA fantasy standards. There isn't much explanation into how the magic system works which leaves a gaping hole in the world building of the story, and a vague exclamation of "Magic!" is usually the blanket explanation for any scene that couldn't be logically explained away. I'm the type of reader who needs to understand how this magic works and why some people have it while others do not.
Another aspect that felt misleading is that this is being marketed as a "feminist fantasy", but I didn't find any portion of this plot to be particularly feminist. The main character falls into a typical insta-love relationship with the only boy available, which I don't personally have a problem with, but might be a turn off for readers expecting a story of solo female triumph or strong platonic bonds.
I'd like to end on a positive note by saying that the story is a page turner, and I think the right reader will really connect with Shae and her plight, and I'm truly excited to see how Dylan grows as an author with the second part of this story. Also? Wow, that cover. Excuse me while I drool over it for eternity.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
If you've read the blurb above, then you know that this book hinges on a magic system involving language and the silencing of many voices. The premise is fantastic and timely; however, I found that the execution didn't quite meet today's YA fantasy standards. There isn't much explanation into how the magic system works which leaves a gaping hole in the world building of the story, and a vague exclamation of "Magic!" is usually the blanket explanation for any scene that couldn't be logically explained away. I'm the type of reader who needs to understand how this magic works and why some people have it while others do not.
Another aspect that felt misleading is that this is being marketed as a "feminist fantasy", but I didn't find any portion of this plot to be particularly feminist. The main character falls into a typical insta-love relationship with the only boy available, which I don't personally have a problem with, but might be a turn off for readers expecting a story of solo female triumph or strong platonic bonds.
I'd like to end on a positive note by saying that the story is a page turner, and I think the right reader will really connect with Shae and her plight, and I'm truly excited to see how Dylan grows as an author with the second part of this story. Also? Wow, that cover. Excuse me while I drool over it for eternity.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy.
I was excited to read this for three reasons:
The idea of magical propaganda is such a powerful thought, and has potential to be an excellent parallel of the real world.
I instantly fell in love with the cover.
The author is an activist for survivors of sexual assault, so I was curious to see if this would reflect that.
And there were some redeemable aspects to this book. Firstly, the concept? Fantastic. I am obsessed with this idea. And personally, I loved the themes and messages discussed. The author dives deeply into a world marred by severe poverty, classism, sexism, and “government” control. The entire narrative held notes of several important conversations and was dealt in a very subtle way.
This book sets up a nice framework for a sequel. The writing is simplistic, and allows the reader to fly through the pages easily. In the end, there is enough intrigue and information to expect the sequel to be full of potential.
Unfortunately, I had a few issues with this book*. Shae is an obnoxiously dull character. Well, not dull exactly. She’s extremely single-minded, basic, lacking in the character depth I’ve come to adore and appreciate from books. I wouldn’t go so far as to call her stupid but my gosh. An answer would stare her in the face for a solid half a chapter and then suddenly PLOT TWIST that thing we all assumed was so obvious it didn’t need to be blatantly stated? Yeah, our dear main character just realized it. So um… clearly I didn’t like Shae. However, I did like the unreliable narrator moments that the author incorporated.
*aren’t you proud of how articulate i am today? instead of “asdfghjkl i really didn’t vibe with this sis”. i’ll be back with that tomorrow.
My other big qualm is that I genuinely didn’t feel like this was of a caliber I’ve come to expect from published works. Maybe I’m being too strict (especially considering that this is the author’s debut after all!) but this entire novel was disappointing in the basic book critieria. Writing, plot, and characters: none of it stuck out.
the writing was very plain, and a lot of “tell” rather than “show”. not a single line stayed with me because it was all extremely unmemorable.
plot-wise, i definitely expected more. it was fast-paced to the point that not a single plot point got its due time, and so everything felt shallow and underdeveloped. almost every twist i could see coming a mile away.
I ALREADY RANTED ABOUT SHAE SO UM YEAH.
And then. The sickly sweet, sugar coated icing on top of this mess of a cake: the romance. It didn’t play the biggest role in the plot but still. From the moment Shae meets a certain character, she instantly forgets about this boy she’d (a) been friends with her whole life and (b), had just talked about how much she adored the friend. Like, what??? And then she has the audacity to tell her "love interest" later that she likes him and This Character* is rightly like “uhh…you shouldn’t be feeling like that”. Mostly because they’d had maybe three conversations in total before Shae decided to confide in him. Goodbye.
*bless his little unnamed soul
Hopefully I didn’t sound too salty, because I do believe that both this author and this series have fantastic potential. I’m just not sure if it’s worth investing in for me though.
a huge thank you to Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The idea of magical propaganda is such a powerful thought, and has potential to be an excellent parallel of the real world.
I instantly fell in love with the cover.
The author is an activist for survivors of sexual assault, so I was curious to see if this would reflect that.
And there were some redeemable aspects to this book. Firstly, the concept? Fantastic. I am obsessed with this idea. And personally, I loved the themes and messages discussed. The author dives deeply into a world marred by severe poverty, classism, sexism, and “government” control. The entire narrative held notes of several important conversations and was dealt in a very subtle way.
This book sets up a nice framework for a sequel. The writing is simplistic, and allows the reader to fly through the pages easily. In the end, there is enough intrigue and information to expect the sequel to be full of potential.
Unfortunately, I had a few issues with this book*. Shae is an obnoxiously dull character. Well, not dull exactly. She’s extremely single-minded, basic, lacking in the character depth I’ve come to adore and appreciate from books. I wouldn’t go so far as to call her stupid but my gosh. An answer would stare her in the face for a solid half a chapter and then suddenly PLOT TWIST that thing we all assumed was so obvious it didn’t need to be blatantly stated? Yeah, our dear main character just realized it. So um… clearly I didn’t like Shae. However, I did like the unreliable narrator moments that the author incorporated.
*aren’t you proud of how articulate i am today? instead of “asdfghjkl i really didn’t vibe with this sis”. i’ll be back with that tomorrow.
My other big qualm is that I genuinely didn’t feel like this was of a caliber I’ve come to expect from published works. Maybe I’m being too strict (especially considering that this is the author’s debut after all!) but this entire novel was disappointing in the basic book critieria. Writing, plot, and characters: none of it stuck out.
the writing was very plain, and a lot of “tell” rather than “show”. not a single line stayed with me because it was all extremely unmemorable.
plot-wise, i definitely expected more. it was fast-paced to the point that not a single plot point got its due time, and so everything felt shallow and underdeveloped. almost every twist i could see coming a mile away.
I ALREADY RANTED ABOUT SHAE SO UM YEAH.
And then. The sickly sweet, sugar coated icing on top of this mess of a cake: the romance. It didn’t play the biggest role in the plot but still. From the moment Shae meets a certain character, she instantly forgets about this boy she’d (a) been friends with her whole life and (b), had just talked about how much she adored the friend. Like, what??? And then she has the audacity to tell her "love interest" later that she likes him and This Character* is rightly like “uhh…you shouldn’t be feeling like that”. Mostly because they’d had maybe three conversations in total before Shae decided to confide in him. Goodbye.
*bless his little unnamed soul
Hopefully I didn’t sound too salty, because I do believe that both this author and this series have fantastic potential. I’m just not sure if it’s worth investing in for me though.
a huge thank you to Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!