This book is a solid beginning to a new YA fantasy series written by another talented offspring of Mia Farrow.
In the world of Montane, many common people have been killed by the Blot, a horrible disease caused by ink and books. All written word has been banned and only the Bards can read and write and they also create a magic of their own. The Bards reside in High House and routinely visit the small villages around Montane to collect tithes.
Shae is a willful teenager who lives outside the small village of Aster. Five years before the story begins, she lost her brother to the Blot and her mother has remained silent ever since. Shae has two good friends-Fiona and Mads- but is shunned by the town folk due to her brother's past contraction of the disease.
Due to a convergence of horrible events, Shae travels to High House to look for help and answers. What she finds there is confusing and unexpected.
This book is the first book in a series and ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger. It's a little uneven and Shae wasn't my favorite character. Some of the plot twists are predictable and Shae runs towards trouble constantly. If another character tells her not to do something, you can be sure that she will ignore the advice. All that being said, the world Farrow built is interesting and I will most likely finish the series once it's published. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

**Thank you NetGalley for this arc**

I think this book could have been a really decent ya fantasy, but what was lacking for me was depth. Both in the one-dimensional characters and the explication of the magic in her world. This is one of those times where I wanted an over explication because the lack thereof for me made this story a three star book.

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

3.5/5

I received an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll be honest that I had no idea who Dylan Farrow was when I decided to read this book, I legitimately thought the premise sounded interesting. A plague from ink that turns people blue and they eventually die and now all written word is gone but there’s bards who do Tellings aka illusions/magic. That’s pretty neat.

For a debut this book is quite good but it does still fall flat in some areas.
1. The characters were two dimensional, I didn’t feel any connection to any of them and they didn’t seem to have much chemistry with each other either.
2. The pacing is a little off. I’m not really sure how much time passes from start to end. I think we follow Shae in the village for a few days, then a week passes? A day to travel to high house and that’s where I lose track of time. The first week is dragged out where it doesn’t seem like she’s really learning anything but being stunted by Kennan. Then maybe a day with Ravod? Then time muddles again and we don’t know how much time passes. But it doesn’t seem like enough for Shae to know some of the things she knows about Tellings.
3. A mark was missed on not exploring the mysterious castle, it just suddenly was mysterious and magical when it needed to be.
4. What even was that random bipolar village with the flickering tavern??? It’s never explained.

After the compelling authors note at the end where some very good points ago it today’s world were made I looked up the author. Now knowing who she is I understand some of the points she was trying to make in this book. People can lie, gaslight, and use you and it’s your job to fight back like Shae does.

I did enjoy this book overall, the writing is well done and the story had me hooked, but like any other debut it could use a little work. I have high hopes for the sequel.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So, I am a bit on the fence with how to rate this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it on the other I felt like it could have been better executed. I loved the POV. I thought Shae was a strong choice.

What I did really love is the magic system. I loved how intriguing it was. The premise for the book was also amazing. The romantic aspects of this book felt a bit awkward. You can tell the author is going for a love triangle in later books but it still felt a bit off to me. I think it will get better as the next book comes out.

I really hate the instalove books, but I think with better execution this could be a great series. I will definitely read book two because I need to know what happens. Overall, this was an easy and enjoyable read with a great magic system and a good premise.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for letting me read Hush early! This was one of the books that Wednesday Books had available on that day during the summer when so many of their great fall releases were read now and I'm super glad I was able to grab it! Overall, Hush was a fun read that's definitely really different from most of the other books I've read recently, but I had a hard time connecting with the story in places, which led to me losing the plot and storyline decently often.

Hush 3.5/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads: They use magic to silence the world. Who will break the hush?
Seventeen-year-old Shae has led a seemingly quiet life, joking with her best friend Fiona, and chatting with Mads, the neighborhood boy who always knows how to make her smile. All while secretly keeping her fears at bay… Of the disease that took her brother’s life. Of how her dreams seem to bleed into reality around her. Of a group of justice seekers called the Bards who claim to use the magic of Telling to keep her community safe.
When her mother is murdered, she can no longer pretend.
Not knowing who to trust, Shae journeys to unlock the truth, instead finding a new enemy keen to destroy her, a brooding boy with dark secrets, and an untold power she never thought possible.
So, the summary of this book is amazing and it made me really excited about reading it. Then I started reading it and I kept reading it and coming back to the summary, because although I kinda see the parallels, the summary doesn't really seem that close to the book. Don't get me wrong, I liked the direction the book took, but some points were really weird and I just don't know if I really liked the execution all the time. Character wise, Shae was not always my favorite- I get that she was grieving and that she really wanted to find out the truth about what happened to her mother, but she was a terrible friend to both Fiona and Mads. The Bards we meet seemed interesting... but Shae's connections with them seemed super rushed. She ends up having feelings for one of them and I thought those came from completely left field (like, yes I could have seen it coming, but based on every interaction they had had, it made zero sense). Overall, there was a lot of promise in Hush and it was a fun read, so I'll definitely read book two!

Shae has a secret. From the outside she leads a relatively normal life, talking about boys with her best friend and definitely not flirting with a boy from the neighbourhood. But underneath all that normality she is afraid, afraid that she has somehow got the 'Blot' the disease that killed her brother. When her mother is murdered, Shae is cast out of the village and decides to seek out the Mages, those who are tasked with taking out the 'blot'. Only what she discovers when she gets there turns her world upside down, not only does Shae learn a truth about herself, but she also discovers that this place of sanctuary may hold the key to her mothers murder... and Shae might not be as a safe as she thinks.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I definitely think it will appeal to the lower end of the YA age range, but I found some of the storytelling a little confusing and couldn't fully get myself into the plot. Shae is a really great POV to read from. She leads a pretty secluded life, her family shunned after her brother died from the 'Blot' a disease transferred by Ink. She spends her time between caring for her mother and their farm and spending time with the only two friends she has in life Fiona and Mads. She is headstrong and determined, willing to go against those in a position of power especially if it means protecting those she loves, and I found it incredibly easy to bond with her as a character. Though we do get introduced to numerous other characters throughout the book, I didn't feel that any were given enough page time for us to really develop a bond with them.

The premise for this book and the magic system inside both had me intrigued, a disease spread by the written word, Mage's that can perform 'tellings' such as the ability to make it rain or bring a barren wasteland back to life. However, the author just didn't really build on the magic system or explain it well enough for me to get a proper grasp as to what was going on. There were times with Shae when I struggled to tell whether she was in a 'telling' or not, and found myself struggling to understand the basics of the magic the mages could create.

The romance in this book is a little awkward in parts. I can see the author preparing for a possible love triangle in book two, but in book one we have one character willing to propose to Shae, and another who she almost 'Instcrushes' on who spends the rest of the book trying to dispel her advances. I liked neither more than the other, and though the romance played a large part in the plot, feel like it could have been left out and the story line wouldn't be effected at all.

Would I pick up book two? Probably, if only because book one ended on a pretty good cliff hanger that definitely left me wanting a little more. But also because I'm really hoping that the author will use it to give us a better understanding of the magic system. This was an enjoyable and easy read, one that I think young readers and YA fans in general will enjoy.

3.5 / 5 stars.

Hush is the debut novel from Dylan Farrow, and I'll admit that I didn't make the connection that other readers did about who Dylan is. I'm always intrigued by fantasy books, and I'm drawn to books with interesting world-building, so this one seemed like a perfect one to download from NetGalley. I think this is the perfect book for younger readers, and even though I think it was meant for readers younger than myself, I found it a generally enjoyable read.

Hush takes place in a world where writing is banned and a terrible disease called the Blot stems from the written word and leaving dead villagers in her wake. Mysterious figures called Bards travel from town to town and are able to use magic in the form of a Telling to affect the world around them.

We're introduced to this world through the character of Shae, a seventeen year old girl who's life is turned upside down as she loses one family member after another. Just when she thinks things are finally safe, her mother is murdered in their home, and she's left truly alone to embark on a journey to try and find the truth.

The world in Hush is fascinating. It drew me in from the start of the book, and I loved discovering it with Shae. My biggest complaint with the world building is that I wanted to see more of it and understand more about how the magic system worked. I hope that this is explored more in the next book! The pacing felt uneven at times throughout the book, but it wasn't too much that it slowed me down reading it. Some of the plot points were predictable for me, but I'm excited to see where Shae's story goes next!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book grabbed me on page 1 and never let up. Shae lives in a land where people die of a feared illness called the Blot. The Blot is caused by the written word and is fatal. The communities are overseen by the Bards who travel from village to village collecting tithes which the impoverished citizens scrape together in an effort to win the favor of High House, their ruling body. Through 'tellings' the Bards can bring much-needed rain IF your tithe pleases them. It is a brutal existence. After a terrible tragedy, Shae seeks the shelter and help of High House only to discover that all she has been told throughout her young life is a lie. Surely there will be a sequel because this cannot be the end of Shae's story..

'Hush' by Dylan Farrow was another of my most highly anticipated reads for 2020.. and it absolutely exceeded my expectations.

Shae, our main character, is a girl of seventeen who lives a quiet life in the small village of Aster with her mom.. the last living member of her family. Terrified of the plague that killed her baby brother, she lives in constant fear that she's cursed.. a fear that's reflected back at her by most of the townspeople.

Treated as an outcast, the only friends she has are Fiona and Mads.. both of whom do their best to make her life a little better.. but there are rules with harsh punishments enforced by a group called the Bards. These justice bearers come dressed all in black and gold, claiming to use the magic of Telling to keep the people safe.. so long as they provide appropriate tithes.

When she finds her murdered mother's body, the discovery exacerbates everything. All her fears and those of the community.. come down hard around her.. and that's where her journey begins.

This is one of those extremely rare instances where the synopsis not only leaves the best parts of the story out.. as well it should.. it even leaves out some of the most intriguing aspects told in the very first pages. It's actually kind of mind-blowing.. how bland the blurb is when compared to even the opening of the tale.. and it only gets better from there.

The brooding Bard with secrets of his own has an absolutely magnetic pull and I desperately hope there will be another book so I can learn more about him. Everything seems to imply there will be considering the way it wraps up.. but I've seen no confirmation anywhere yet.

As for the magic system, I loved how the importance of balance was displayed and how it seemed to work. Especially good was the play between illusion and magic grounded in reality. It created a sense of uncertainty, not only for Shae.. but a bit for the reader at times, so that one might wonder which way things would go.

Through it all runs an important message that the author alludes to in her acknowledgements. The importance of speaking out, the strength it often takes to do so.. when those around you seem aligned against you, and the celebration of those who do so anyway. It's certainly a position Farrow knows personally and I think that showed in the conviction and sometimes wavering bouts of despair that Shae struggled with.

I found the setting nearly as fascinating as the story itself. Shae's home village is described so cleanly, I feel like I can see it.. and the castle.. wow. It's a vast fortress of training grounds and corridors, a hidden maze, and a multitude of dangers.

If I was looking for something to improve on.. I'd say the dialogue could be better.. but that's not to say it's bad either. The conversations feel a little contrived at times, but there's definitely better dialogue chemistry once she reaches the home of the Bards.

Anyway, this book was fantastic! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a wonderfully creative fantasy read.

This was such an enjoyable read. I admit I had some trouble understand things in terms of world-building, but overall, really liked the book. The premise itself is really unique and while this is touted as a “feminist fantasy” I sometimes had a hard time seeing it because it didn’t seem as…forceful and obvious. The signs of feminism were subtle. You could tell as the story progressed that Shae has a lot of internalized misogyny and it doesn’t help that there aren’t many female Bards.

The main character, Shae, isn’t a physically strong character but she’s loyal albeit also a bit naive due to her past. There were times when I thought she got by and through things fairly easily (as in, not many obstacles in her way). It was interesting to see the world of the High House and the Bards through her eyes due to the general connotation of dislike and fear that surround them. The more I think about it the more the Bards and High House is like a cult, keeping the country in the grip of fear and dependent on their Tellings to survive.

Now in terms of the Tellings, I struggled to comprehend how they worked exactly and how Shae seemed to grasp doing them easily. Okay, maybe not that easily but it was really Ravod and Kennan, two other Bards, who threw me off as well as Cathal. You have three ambiguous characters here, not knowing whose telling (haha) the truth and you’re left in the same state of confusion as Shae. I wanted to know more about Shae and her embroidery (loved how it was used in this book) because I think there’s an untapped story there—maybe we’ll get it in book 2.

I’m really glad we were reunited with two characters as well. I won’t say who because it’s a spoiler, but I feel like they strengthen Shae in a way the Bards don’t and we spent a lot of time with them in the beginning of the book.

I’ll definitely keep an eye out for the sequel, that’s for sure.

2.5 stars, rounded down.

This was a book with a great premise that just didn't quite follow-though for me. I never felt connected to the main character, Shae, and at times had to reread sections to catch what was actually happening. One of the problems with stories that involve things like magic and twisted realities is that author's can start to rely a little too heavily on those and the story becomes a bit lazy - things don't have to make sense if you can just brush them away as "madness." And I just wasn't feeling that here. Perhaps, as an adult, I'm not the targeted audience for this YA fantasy, and a younger reader wouldn't mind these tropes.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

More interested and excited for the next book after that ending.

The questions this book leaves you with: What lengths would you go for to make everyone believe sinister things are going around you? Would you succumb to their tricks and lies or would you take control and fight back?

Disclaimer: I was unaware of Farrow's work as an activist, etc., and this in no way influenced my review.

The best thing I can say about this book is that the stakes were high: Shae fearing that she has contracted the disease that killed her brother. And I got somewhat of an enemies to lovers vibes, although my excitement was tempered by how quickly Shae became infatuated (making it much too insta-love for my taste. Her poor love interest just wants to live his life and didn't, as far as I could tell, reciprocate her adoration). Unclear whether this was a comment on him being ace-spec (which I would have supported).

Most of the time she seemed to keep her goal in mind. Mostly. As the story went on, however, Shae's tendency toward the extreme made it difficult to follow along with her actions and impulsive behavior. She defaulted to running away from consequences and problems, and sometimes it was difficult as the reader to distinguish what was in her terrified imagination and what was real. This amount of confusion was more distracting than enjoyable. It felt like an attempt to be cinematic but felt more like disjointed jump cuts, not enough clues to the reader to sort out what was actually happening. Really led to a lot of chaos and confusion without much resolution.

The character also asked herself a lot of questions and realized things and jumped to conclusions (another "tell", not "show") in ways that didn't make logical sense to me. All in all, though there were some parts I enjoyed, I didn't really vibe with either the protagonist as a character or with the writing style as a whole. Trying to assess whether my perspective is because I'm an adult reading it, or whether it's a character discrepancy issue.

When you think about it as "magic is a metaphor for gaslighting", it does make slightly more sense... but I still think the execution didn't quite work. And besides, as someone who has experienced plenty of gaslighting in relationships, the workplace, and from the federal government... reading an allegory of it is definitely not the escapism I'm looking for from a fantasy book.

I wanted to keep an open mind with this book. Given the name on the cover, it's difficult not to ask whether this book was published because it was good, or because of the author's last name. My verdict? Well, it wasn't bad ... but it's certainly not good either.

The premise of this book is initially what attracted me. A world where language is magic, the written word is taboo, and ink spreads disease sounded like such a fabulous concept, and it could have been so good. Except it was poorly explained. Full disclosure that I did read an uncorrected ARC, but in re-reading the book summary as I write this review, I wonder why some of that was even mentioned. There was such a disconnect between the plot and those key elements of the Bards, the Blot, and the power of stories. I am genuinely unclear on how they all related to each other and what the purpose of each was. It felt like I was missing a major point the entire time I was reading. There was a cool world-building element in where Shae, the main character's magic unveils itself by her embroidery coming to life. Honestly, I would have preferred a book centred around that, compared to what I actually got.

As a main character, Shae truly baffled me. She is somehow a mousy Mary Sue who is unbelievably naive in everything she does. It was her naivety that bothered me the most in the beginning and set the tone for what I expected from her going forward. In referring back to the lack of clarity in the world-building department, I am not sure why she is treated as an outcast in her village. Her father died from the Blot several years ago, but I didn't get the impression that her family was the only one affected. I assumed that a sheltered young woman being shunned by her village, cast aside by her friends would make her suspicious or hesitant of the world beyond. Instead she has a weirdly misplaced optimism and is terribly obtuse to what is going on around her. She does not think before she acts, and it showed in everything she did. The way she responded to so many situations—like a love interest training her or her giving someone a gift they clearly will not like—was just ... dumb. Which made the fact that this foolish, wholly inexperienced girl could suddenly be considered the only Bard who can complete some fancy task—which was another plot point that made no sense—utterly ridiculous.

To put it kindly, when considering the issues I've already had with this book, the plot was a hot mess. The first 100 pages or so I was slowly getting into it, digging in and trying to piece things together. Letting the murder mystery entice me to carry on. But once we reached High Place, the home of the Bards, everything went off the rails. So many scenes I found myself asking several times, what is even the point of this? Again, there was such a disconnect throughout the book between concepts, ideas and plans. The only way I can explain is that either my copy was missing a sentence every paragraph, or every character in this book is capable of the most muscle-straining reaches I have ever read. There was no space to dwell on any news or developments before leaping into action. No letting anything steep and snowball into more information that builds up the tension. Instead, it's a lot of Shae hearing one thing, assuming an answer, and diving headfirst across a single page. It made me laugh rather than get mad, so that's a bonus point.

I wanted to like this book, especially since I requested it the moment I first could, but this did not hit. While this was clearly an important topic for the author, it felt more like a sloppy first book written by a teenager giving the whole writing thing a go. And I would know, since I had a few messy books like this myself. I don't think I'm really invested enough, or interested, to care about how this series will end.

I’m not really sure how to review this book because it’s been a while and I can’t remember much about it. It felt like a cliche YA fantasy with an interesting world but not much to say about the characters.

I guess it can feel entertaining enough for more newer audiences of the genre, but I don’t know if I will pick up the sequel.

Interesting concept of a book...It was a favorite read for me but I would be buying book 2. This left just enough questions to interested.

So, Hush was an interesting series starter! There's a plague of sorts that killed her brother, and basically caused she and her mom to live as the town pariahs. This for me is just rude, because they didn't do anything, yet 99% of the townspeople were awful to them. Because people suck, and unfortunately, that felt truly realistic. Crowds of people believing nonsense lies and treating others horribly? YEP, we're living it! So that to me was a really chilling and intensely relevant situation.

After her mother is murdered and Shae finds less than no sympathy from the townspeople, she sets off to infiltrate the group that she believes has killed her mother. But there's more to it, much more, than Shae can know. I really loved that even as completely defeated as Shae was, she was able to keep on fighting for what she thought was right. Even when no one had her back, she had her own back.

The world is certainly very interesting, and though I do wish we'd gotten more information on it, I suspect we will in the subsequent book(s?) so I can't fault it. Shae herself knows very little about it, so it makes sense that the reader is in the dark. The magic system, too, is interesting though needing a bit more development, but again, that could certainly be forthcoming.

I liked Shae, and I look forward to getting to know and understand her better. At times it seems like her sole motivation and character traits are the awfulness she's trying to fight against, which does make sense. But I'd love to know who she is underneath the pain, too. I'm also hoping that some of the relationships that we begin to see are developed more in the next book.

Bottom Line: Overall a pretty good start to a series, as long as the sequel answers most of my burning questions- and yes, I will definitely be reading the sequel!

There better be a sequel!

Dylan Farrows debut novel Hush starts out a bit slow, but we get introduced to all the main characters of this book. Sometimes I had to go back and read over a paragraph to see if I had missed something, like a time or scene change, but other then that, the writing kept me captive.

The book got really interesting at around 60%. The action started at 80% and I knew that a fulfilling ending could not be done in the last 2 chapters.
I’m hoping that the sequel to this book will come out soon, so we can read what happens next for Shae, Mads, Fiona, Kennan and Ravod.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dylan Farrow's debut fantasy novel HUSH is a story filled with secrets, a deadly curse, magic, and above all, one young woman named Shae's search for the truth about what happened to her mother. Was her death an accident as Shae has been told by law enforcement or is something more sinister at work?

Shae is that underdog character that I always find myself rooting for, so I of course loved her from the moment I realized what she was up against in her search for the truth. I was completely invested her in story and hoping she would find the truth she was so desperately seeking.

I was also very impressed with the writing style, the worldbuilding, and especially with the unique system of magic, which is actually based on language, the written word. Shae herself also possesses a kind of magic, that she doesn't quite understand, but where she can actually sew things into existence. I found this fascinating and couldn't wait to see how it factored into the overall story.

My one issue with Hush is that I did find some of what should have been twists and turns a little predictable at times. It didn't really hamper my overall enjoyment of the story but I would have loved my guesses to be wrong a few times as I followed Shae to the truth. Other than that though, Hush is a really solid fantasy debut and I look forward to reading more from Dylan Farrow.

3.5 STARS