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A review by caidyn
Hush by Dylan Farrow
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I received an ARC through Netgalley and a physical ARC through the publisher in exchange for an honest review!
CW: death, parental death, and general scenes of violence
I devoured this book. It went by so quickly and it was just... wow. What a fast read where the action just kept coming.
Shae's world has many taboos. There are things that they can't say or talk about and they're ruled by/kept in line by the Bards, a group of people who have magic (Telling) that they can use to help keep those people the way they are needed to be. That and a disease called the Blot that took her brother away. Yet, Shae's life is relatively normal until a tragedy strikes that brings her on her way to wanting to find out why this happened.
As I said, the book is very quick. Whenever I sat down, I found myself reading at least 100 pages at a time because it was easy to turn the page and keep going. The pacing was very good because it didn't feel like it was too fast or that things were going by too quickly. I also enjoyed the characters. Shae was a good one and I felt that Ravod had a great start, but I wanted a bit more development to them. Still, they had a good foundation created.
My main critique of the book is that the plot felt a little contrived at times. It didn't feel nearly as polished as other books I've read. Such as, I could see where things were going and the use of characters (aka their real internal selves) a mile away. I also felt that Shae was a bit too innocent and I found it hard to believe that she wouldn't see through the people as well. But, that is my minor critique of the book because the rest was very good.
All in all, can't wait for book two because it left off in a great way to dive into the next adventure!
CW: death, parental death, and general scenes of violence
I devoured this book. It went by so quickly and it was just... wow. What a fast read where the action just kept coming.
Shae's world has many taboos. There are things that they can't say or talk about and they're ruled by/kept in line by the Bards, a group of people who have magic (Telling) that they can use to help keep those people the way they are needed to be. That and a disease called the Blot that took her brother away. Yet, Shae's life is relatively normal until a tragedy strikes that brings her on her way to wanting to find out why this happened.
As I said, the book is very quick. Whenever I sat down, I found myself reading at least 100 pages at a time because it was easy to turn the page and keep going. The pacing was very good because it didn't feel like it was too fast or that things were going by too quickly. I also enjoyed the characters. Shae was a good one and I felt that Ravod had a great start, but I wanted a bit more development to them. Still, they had a good foundation created.
My main critique of the book is that the plot felt a little contrived at times. It didn't feel nearly as polished as other books I've read. Such as, I could see where things were going and the use of characters (aka their real internal selves) a mile away. I also felt that Shae was a bit too innocent and I found it hard to believe that she wouldn't see through the people as well. But, that is my minor critique of the book because the rest was very good.
All in all, can't wait for book two because it left off in a great way to dive into the next adventure!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence