Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick – Series Review (Reread)

Series Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5

Books in the Series:

• Hush, Hush

• Crescendo

• Silence

• Finale

Best Book: Hush, Hush (Book 1)

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Spice: Mild

Summary:

Nora Gray is a normal high schooler: she writes for her school’s ezine, hangs out with her best friend Vee, and aspires to get out of her hometown of Coldwater, Maine and go to a good college. So, when Nora is paired with the new guy, Patch, on a school assignment, she’s not happy. Patch is uncooperative, secretive, and loves pushing Nora’s buttons. But there’s something about Patch’s dark brand of handsome and the way he looks at Nora that’s magnetic, pulling her in. Nora finds herself doing things completely out of character to catch his attention.

But as soon as Patch comes into her life, weird things start happening to Nora. She keeps having terrifying experiences, only to find that they weren’t real. Nora’s father was also killed last year, and she’s afraid whatever is happening may be connected to his unsolved murder. Nora begins to suspect Patch has something to do with these mysterious experiences, so she decides to find out more about him. But as she’s pulled further into Patch’s orbit, she’ll find that she’s in the center of a struggle between the Fallen Angels and their immortal offspring, the Nephilim.

Reaction:

Hush, Hush is another of those series I originally read as a teenager, and I remember having mixed feelings about the series overall. That held true for me on a reread. I think the first two books are amazing, fun reads, especially for a relatively dark YA paranormal romance. The author pulls in elements of Mystery and Thriller books in a way that I think is super successful compared to other books in the genre. They have a perfect combination of teenage angst, spooky settings, and outrageous (in a good way) characters. The push and pull between Patch and Nora is a roller coaster for sure, but I enjoy every minute of it for those first two books. The last two books of the series present some problems for me. First, the characters’ growth seems to be stunted from a certain point. They never seem to identify and improve upon their mistakes in a tangible way, and after multiple books, it does get a little old. Another thing was that the series starts with a slow introduction into the world of Fallen Angels and Nephilim, and I was on board since it was reading like a mystery. But once Nora was more involved in that world, I wanted her to take control of her environment by learning more, doing more about the Nephilim and Fallen Angels. And that just didn’t happen, leaving the ending lackluster since she seemed totally out of step with a normal teenage life, but also wasn’t owning her position in a paranormal world. So, if you want to read an absolutely wild YA paranormal romance, please read Hush, Hush, then continue the series depending on how you feel about that first book.