Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books / St Martin's Press for giving me an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a girl searching for the truth. It's about how a system ostensibly designed to protect can become corrupt. It's about a young person caught up in the lies of everyone around her, desperate to get out.

But for me, the problem was that I already knew exactly what the main character's revelations would be. I could predict what was going on with the plot, and who was taking advantage of whom. The big realisations at the end were far from groundbreaking, although various twists in the last 10% of the book made me want to pick up the sequel to find out what happens.

I also found it difficult to care about the main character, who seemed perpetually reckless and sure of herself, but always seemed to miraculously survive everything she was put through. I never felt like anything could break her down enough to stop her. Maybe it's because she began the book starting from nothing, or maybe because she seemed to accept the "chosen one" arc incredibly easily for someone who should already distrust the system.

Despite the brilliant ideas behind this book - words being the source of all magic, and also the source of the Plague - and the interesting plot arc it attempted, I wasn't convinced that Farrow's writing helped the story land in the way it could have. Mostly, I was disappointed to find that I was reading a predictable book full of cliches and deus ex machinas, and I didn't care about the character enough to invest in her future. Thanks to the last 10-20%, I'm still interested in the plot, but I hope that any sequels to this book will take this plot opportunity and flesh it out further in more interesting ways.

Hush (Hush #1) by Dylan Farrow was one of my highly anticipated releases for October. A good deal of that anticipation was directly related to Dylan Farrow's work and her family. I mean, her mother and brother are incredibly talented. Plus, the description for the novel was quite enticing. Overall, I had sky high expectations of this novel, but it never managed to live up to them. My main issue is that it feels way too formulaic and predictable. It's never surprising, the characters are somewhat one-note, the romance was dull, and the world the cast inhabit never comes alive off the page. In the end, it's not awful, but I wouldn't call it a solid read either which is disappointing because it has a lot of potential.

Yet, despite the interesting pieces that make up much of its premise, Hush is a novel with a whole that is much less than the sum of its parts.

At first glance, Hush’s magical system of “Tellings” seems interesting enough, a sort of mix of prophecy and basic abilities common to most fantasy stories, like telekinesis. Unfortunately, as the story progresses, things become much muddier and more confusing – suddenly “Tellings” can bring down a building or alter how one sees reality instead of simply make it rain in a land plagued by drought, and Hush itself starts leaning into “Because, magic!” as the reason almost everything happens.

The story is also populated by a string of wooden, deeply basic characters whose development is largely nonexistent and whose actions are almost always predictable.

Farrow frequently makes the mistake of confusing secrets with character development, and though his novel has some strong, relevant ideas about finding your voice and determining what you believe in the midst of propaganda, but, sadly. most of them don’t go anywhere.

Or, at least, they haven’t yet.

The problems with Hush are all things that can be easily fleshed out in a sequel, and the novel itself leaves our characters in a position that all but promises the second book in the series will be a stronger one. Will that happen? Will have to wait and see.

Full review will be up on Culturess: https://culturess.com/2020/10/06/hush/

The writing is very clunky - especially the dialogue. It suffers from an excess of adjectives and adverbs (and commas), making me feel almost breathless just reading it in my own head.

Shae is like a throwback to the YA heroines from 2008: "oh how plain I am, how boring, and yet the most perfect men seem to be chasing after me". But she's also super naive in a way that isn't cute or endearing. For someone whose livelihood depends on interacting with other people as a farmer, shepherd, and seamstress (that's a lot of things for a girl and her mother to manage), she has like zero understanding of other people.

The book is told through a series of sequential but disconnected events. Time is a lie in this story. Like, I couldn't tell you how long passed between various events. She goes "oh, it'll take a week to walk there" but if she hitches a ride in a wagon it magically only takes a few hours?? Like... No?? Not how travel works??

This book is filled with mystery and intrigue. I spent a whole morning reading it non-stop and I loved every second of it. The characters are wonderful, and Shae is a great protagonist; everything the author writes seems so believable and at the same time it feels difficult to wrap the mind around what is happening. I must say that in this book, each and every character has a role leading to the epilogue, as if you take one character out and you won't have a story to read. They all have a part to play and no-one is indispensable. And if I dare indulge anything, even any character's name, it will definitely become a spoiler. It is better if you head on If you are a fan of Red Queen you'll definitely love this one.

Set in a world where words can be dangerous, Shae, our main character, is a peasant girl who has suffered many loses. Her brother and father are dead. Her mother is mute, and then murdered, and Shae is an outcast in her own village. There's a lot riding on this poor girls shoulders, but that doesn't stop her from finding a sense of normalcy or happiness. 

Until her mother is murdered. Once the action gets going, we fly through this story. I like how everything comes to be as Shae goes from hiding in the shadows to trying to uncover the truth. Even if it kills her. 

One thing about this character that I didn't like about Shae was her trusting nature. She trusts the wrong people too quickly and I just wanted to smack her across the face and point to all of the red flags we see! Shae has a good heart, which I love about this character - she's not all about right or wrong, but treating people kindly and decently. Like a certain scene with gloves. Too kind for this world. 

And she's rash. She's not cold and calculating or an over thinker. When Shae has an idea, when she wants to do something, she goes out and does it. No other thought put into than "I'm gonna do it" - which I find is not a trait we see in YA female protagonists often.  

And along with Shae, I really like the plot. I thought it was a really cool idea that magic comes from words and the power of those words can be amazing or devastating. One thing I didn't like so much though was how fast the book was. Not necessarily pacing, because that was fine, but the fact that I felt like the book was short. I felt like we could have had a little more time in certain scenes or situations, but from what we get, I still really enjoyed this book.

Overall, this was a fun, magical read with an interesting magic system and a character who can't let things go. This was a 3.75 // 5 stars for me!

After her brother dies of the Blot, Shae and her mom are ostracized and forced to move outside of the village. When her dreams start to come true and the things she stitches manifests itself in real life, she begins to worry that maybe the Blot has not only taken her brother but has also cursed her. Her search to remove the curse is cut short when her mother is murdered and the village refuses to acknowledge her account of what happened, effectively trying to silence her. Lies are twisted into truths, making Shae question what she knows, or thought she knew, but she will not stop until she finds her mother’s killer.

The tone Farrow sets at the beginning of the book is eerie and ominous but it doesn’t quite carry through to the rest of the book. The latter part of it left me more frustrated than intrigued, more exasperated than in suspense— states both largely attributed to Shae’s behavior even understandable as it was. Despite my frustration, I found Farrow to be a masterful storyteller. The strength of the book comes from the recurring theme of truth. Farrow weaves it into the story so effortlessly from the power of illusions and manipulating reality to the spread of a disease through ink called the Blot. I found myself fully immersed in the novel from the beginning although it lost some steam from the middle onward. The ending answers some questions but still leaves much more unanswered. I look forward to what happens in the next installment.

An interesting new take on the silencing-the-written-word plot from a new voice in fantasy, HUSH takes us along with seventeen-year-old Shae on a journey of risk, discovery, and facing your fears. It's the pretty typical story of a girl who lives in a world of fear and ignorance while being too curious for those around her and feeling like an outsider in her little village. A tragic event leads Shae to abandon her village and head to the place of power in her world, but what she finds there both about herself and about the truths of the world might just be enough to unravel the world as she knows it. Typical, but not told in a typical way. Even with the familiarity I felt with the plot, Farrow manages to take readers on an adventure full of intrigue, deciet, magic, and emotion that I really enjoyed.
I found a couple of the big reveals to be fiarly easy to figure out way before they happen, but I still enjoyed the way Farrow got around to them.
Overall, it's a story with potential and definite emotional pull that fans of light fantasy with a YA dramatic flare.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the early read.

(2.5/5⭐️) What a disappointment. This book was heralded as a fiercely feminist novel. It was anything but. Shae, our female hero, makes rash, and frankly thoughtless stupid decisions that will have you asking WTF at every turn. Stuff even YOU wouldn’t do. Moreover, at the end of the story, she needs a man to save her. How is this different from so many other books out there? I expect a strong female hero to be capable of thinking through a few decisions (at the least) and capable of getting herself out of whatever trouble she puts herself in. We all love a damsel in distress, but if its going to be marketed as feminist, then it needs to deliver. I disliked Shae’s character immensely, but that’s because of how she was executed. Let’s take a step back.

Reading Hush felt like reading a first attempt at a rough draft. The plot development, characters, writing, and pace felt completely underdeveloped. I’ve read plenty of Wattpad books and this felt like one of them. Or even an indy published book. Certainly not something from a traditional publisher. And it certainly didn’t feel like something that went through multiple rounds of editing.

Most obvious issues were character dialogue and character development, ESPECIALLY at the beginning. Characters said and did things that felt one dimensional and unrealistic. The most obvious thing that comes to mind were Shae’s friends’ reactions to her mother’s death. I mean, the guy who wants to marry her offers her one single line of “I’m sorry you had to go through that while I was gone.” And then he goes down on one knee two lines down and proposes. DUDE! Her mother just freaking died. And you don’t care at all? You’re not listening to a word she’s saying? And you want to marry this girl? What even is your concept of love? Instead you’re trying to marry her!? What an awful reaction! Is that how characters in Hush react?! It just doesn’t feel believable at all! And that was most of the characters through the plot. I mean, I understand the Blot taboo, and the curse taboo, but a character who has always looked past that (supposedly) is now ignoring a life altering event?! I almost set the book down for good at this point.

The entire first half of the book could have been cut out and relayed through a couple of flashbacks. The most important part of the plot “The Book of Life” isn’t revealed until the 50% mark. After that, Shae must discover it. The tests she goes through to obtain it are completely anticlimactic. In fact, everything about this story was anticlimactic. One of the ONLY cool things about her is that she sews and her sewing comes to life. For example, if she sews a couple of flowers, suddenly they appear before her. This ONE really cool aspect gets completely ignored while she is training and doesn’t show up until the end, for one anticlimactic moment, where she sews a much-needed door into being. Ugh. If I was an editor of this book, you can bet I would have required this aspect to be played up more, and woven it more into the story line.

The only unique things about this book were the plague, and the magic system of “Tellings” which was also very underdeveloped. They say “Telling” is a way of casting magic, but half the time, Shae casts magic simply using her mind and not speaking, or sewing something into existence (mostly at the beginning). So maybe I’m missing a few marbles, or else there was some definite disconnect there. So basically, there was very little I liked about this book.

I’m usually a very lenient judge of books. I nine point five times of of ten I give a book three stars or higher. If I don’t like a book I DNF, but that’s extremely rare. I forced myself to finish this one because I was mildly interested. But admittedly, this has to be the worst book I’ve read in years. I hate trash talking a book, but I don’t understand why this one is getting published. It needs to go through at least 10 more rounds of editing...Work out all the clunky parts of the plot, expand and further develop certain areas, etc. And for goodness sake, fix these poor characters into something more realistic, believable, and relatable!

Sorry, but I definitely DON’T recommend this. There are better books you can spend your time on. And I won’t be reading any further in this series. MY RATING: 2.5/5⭐️

I liked it, I am waiting anxiously for the sequel, but I just felt there could have been a better story flow. The world building has all the key ingredients, the magical curse was perfect, the characters are just what you want but for me there was no connection. I will reread because I want to like this more. I also will totally get book 2 in case that seals the deal:)

If I can say anything about Hush, Dylan Farrow knows how to write a page-turner. I read about 80% of it in one sitting and finished the rest a day or two later. It's a quick read for a nearly 400-page novel.

Montane is a fantasy world with strict restrictions on who can read and write, what you can speak aloud or even think. Words have immense power – and for some, magic. People who possess the ability to harness such magic are trained as Bards to perform miracles – Tellings.

I felt like Hush had all of the bones of a fantasy novel that I would enjoy, but I wanted more development in almost every aspect of it. The Bards and Tellings were a fascinating addition to the world, and I loved seeing Shae using her burgeoning gifts, but I wanted a better explanation of the magic system and the world.

Characters who I expected to turn out to be evil...turned out to be evil, and in the last 30% of Hush, I felt like all of the baddies turned into exaggerated caricatures of young-adult fantasy villains.

This felt a lot like the first novel in a debut young-adult fantasy series, but I enjoyed reading it well enough, and I am interested to see where Dylan Farrow takes the story from the ending.

The concept for Hush is compelling and timely. I'm intrigued by the idea of world that is forbidden from speaking certain words or from writing. This aspect is what kept me interested in the story as I read, convincing me to keep reading. The message of standing up for yourself to decipher what's true and what's false is powerful.

The worldbuilding and magic, however, fell flat for me. I went with it at the beginning, hoping that more would be explained as I continued to read. But by the end, I was still left feeling confused and with too many questions. How do the people of Montane know what words are forbidden, especially if they can't read or write? How does the Telling magic work? What actually causes the Blot?

I expected more from this story. More answers to the questions poised by Shae at the beginning of the story. More explanation from the magic and world. More connection to the characters. Instead, the book moves quickly and offers little by the end, leaving the story on a cliffhanger.

This story and its message no doubt has potential to be a powerful idea, but it seems like it could have done with a few more drafts to truly flesh out the characters, worldbuilding, and magic.

Shae's family is cursed. She and her mother live on the outskirts of town is basic isolation because of the stigma associated with their family because her brother died from the Blot, a plague-like illness supposedly brought about because of the written word. There are no books or reading in Shae's life. When Shae's mother is murdered, Shae seeks the help of the Bards, a mysterious group of individuals who claim to use a magic called the Telling to "bless" the community. Shae takes a journey to

When this book became available to read and review, I was intrigued by the concept. The world building is incredible and thought-provoking. Some of the characters probably could have been more well-developed, but it was an intriguing start to this series. I look forward to reading the next volume.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was definitely not what I thought it would be. In a very good way. I thought this book was going to take place in present day, but it took place in a totally different world. It follows Shae, a girl from the poorest village in her country, whose entire family has been killed in some way or another. She travels to the center of her country to get answers from the people that are supposed to protect everyone.

I really liked the worldbuilding in this book. I was immediately drawn into the dark, gloomy world of Shae's village. It really did feel the desperation of the people that lived there. I also liked the characters in this book. Shae was a tad bit annoying at times, and had a singular focus throughout the book. I like when the MC has a mission that they want to complete, but I felt that Shae made some bad decisions to get there.

The side characters were also fairly interesting, although I thought they fell into some stereotypes. You had the "enemies to love interest", the "best friend who had a falling out", the "crush", the "mentor", and the "bitchy girl who turns out not to be evil". They just sort of felt one dimentional compared to what I thought they would be.

Overall, this was a pretty good start to a promising series. While the ending did feel somewhat not wrapped up, it was definitely set up for a sequel to start right where this one left off.

It was a bit hard to get into the story. It is a fastpaced story and in the beginning, it feels like that everything is happening really fast and you cannot grasp the details or even understand the whys and hows. You have to stick with it though, It is a really iteresting debut novel and it definitely makes you long for the sequel.
The concepts of dangerous words, lies truths and the ink disease are fascinating and refreshing. The world building and the way they use magic is trully spellbinding. On the other hand, I could not connect with any characters apart from Shae, the female MC, because this book focused solely on her. The other characters were just around to help stuff happen. But Shae did not disappoint. Her growth is obvious through the book, apart from some instances that I was screaming to her to get a grip, and really satisfying towards the end. Hopefully, the sequel will help us connect with the other characters. Please, please we need more Ravod!

I can't say enough good things about this book!

I love that the author, Dylan Farrow, took the time and really spent time on world building and Main character development. I fully felt Shea's sense of frustration, anger, confusion, and loneness. There were multiple times were I had to put down the book because I was overcome with emotions that ranged from Joy to Anger to Heartbreak.

I am so happy that this is just book one in the series! If I were able too I'd preorder the next book this very moment.

5 out of 5 stars!

2.5 stars

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SMALL SPOILERS.

This book had so much potential to be great, but unfortunately that potential was never utilized. The magic system that works though Telling, whether spoken or written, was very interesting. I enjoyed reading about that, as well as about the disease, the blot, that took so many lives in this fantasy world. I wish that there was more about this magic system that we got to find out, as it could have been expanded upon and made feel more real. But by the end of the book it all felt half-baked, very surface level. And it really disappointed me.

The characters were flat, one dimensional. They were nothing more than cardboard cutouts of what they could have been. I couldn't connect with any of them. They weren't developed at all, as well as their relationships with one-another. I personally didn't see any spark between Shae and Ravok, and Mads's love for Shae didn't feel real at all. We didn't get enough interactions between them for it all to feel believable. Half of the time I couldn't even remember the names of some characters. But I have to say that Shae was the most developed character in this book. She was a fairly interesting character to follow throughout this story.

The plot, overall, was compelling and it was pushing me to keep on reading the book. But then we found out pretty much nothing by the end of the book, and I felt cheated. The book ends on a cliffhanger, leaving almost everything unsolved. It was frustrating and very disheartening. Though, I have to say that I will be reading the sequel as I hope it'll turn things around. And you know what they say, hope dies last.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many variables are at play if a book will be published. Having an established audience and or a well known last name pushes the variables in your favorite. Plenty of well known people have published fiction and a couple in YA. Knowing that Dylan Farrow is from a writing family I have less suspicion. First to say Mia Farrow has TALENTED kids.

Hush is about a nation called Montane. A epidemic broke down this nation. The Blot, a disease were ink colors the veins blue and rots the body. The royalty destroys all stories and the written word.

With all the beautiful writing, the world and magic felt lackluster and the characters one dimensional. And the pace was off . Yep this a debut fantasy. I know I sounded mean but I know people will like and love it more than I did . And grow found of Shae the main character

Shae is an outcast. The society in which she lives claims reading/writing causes a disease called the Blot which killed her brother. These mysterious Bards will come to town and tell a story that equals a blessing in their minds. When her mother is murdered, it is a downward spiral for Shae because no one in the town seems to care about the truth. She won’t give up though and leaves to find the Bards who she thinks can help. It’s discovered she actually has the same magic as the Bards and begins her training with them. The conflict is that she’s sure one of them is the killer.

Overall I enjoyed it. I found Shae’s magic interesting in that she can change reality. There’s the fear of going mad from her power, a broody love interest, and an even bigger mystery concerning the Bards themselves.

Thank you #netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Wednesday Books for this advanced e-ARC.

“No one wants to listen. The truth is too great a risk to take over stability.”

Hush is one of the sharpest commentaries of our time, packaged as a spellbinding fantasy story in a realm filled with compliant citizens who are at the mercy of the Bards, the religious leaders who govern Montane. The citizens are also at the mercy of the land, which is dying. Drought plagues the region where Shae grew up, and it’s harder and harder for the local people to produce crops.

Shae’s life was forever altered when her brother died of the Blot. Her mother never speaks again, and she and Shae barely survive on their limited means. They are condemned and ostracized because their family was touched by the mysterious illness.

Things are happening to Shae, and in a world where simply uttering certain words can lead to punishment or even death, she is terrified. She doesn’t understand what’s going on and has no one to turn to. When she hears the Bards are coming, she swaps roles with her one good friend, Fiona, and heads to town to try to ask for their help.

She witnesses a horrific act when a young child turns his grandfather in for talking about forbidden things and the whole town hears the old man’s cries as his tongue is cut out. Then Shae is recognized, and it jeopardizes her mission. She does get a chance to speak to the Bards, but she never gets help.

When her mother is murdered everyone wants her to forget and move on, but she can’t. She is determined to get answers, and this is the catalyst for her journey.

Hush does follow a quest structure. Shae must overcome obstacles and deal with enemies and friends along the way. It isn’t always easy to tell the difference between her enemies and friends, either. She has to navigate new environments and undo some of the indoctrination she’s lived with her entire life. This prompts her to grow, but she remains human and relatable. Often, when a character is blessed with some gift or ability, they quickly master it and use it to right wrongs or restore order. Not here. Shae is like a toddler learning how to walk, and she stumbles along the way, which makes her more relatable and believable. She has been called out for being headstrong and impulsive, and she also struggles to learn to think things through so that she won’t put people in jeopardy and so that she can achieve her goals. She is a flawed but determined character that is relatable and believable.

One of the things that is appealing about this story is the very healthy friendship that Shae has with Fiona. There’s no sense that Fiona is cruel, although she is very pretty and popular. She easily supports Shae’s potential relationship with Mads and helps her friend when asked. Although the two do argue, she finds a way to let Shae know she still cares about her and wants what’s best for her. It is refreshing to see a story that focuses on a healthy female friendship instead of a competitive/harmful scenario. And, although Shae’s later conflict with Kennan could initially seem to be due to pettiness, the author has a number of revelations in store that make it clear it’s far more complicated than that.

This work does one of the things that compelling fantasies must do effectively. It provides a sense of completion to this story and arc, while laying the foundation for a potential continuation of the story.

Hush features superb worldbuilding with captivating characters whose arcs intersect and compliment the core story. Although the entire story is told from Shae’s perspective, the stories of Ravod, Kennan, Cathal, Fiona and Mads all intertwine with her story and contribute to the core plot or to her character arc. Farrow has done an exceptional job of immersing readers into Shae’s world and investing them in her mission. And, like the best stories, there are more truths Shae may uncover that go far beyond the one answer she initially seeks, yet every revelation feels earned because of the depth of worldbuilding, character development and deft foreshadowing that is woven into the fabric of the story so naturally it’s not always noticeable. In the hands of a less talented writer there may have been a temptation to repeat and underscore key information that will matter later, but Farrow trusts the reader to pick up the threads and make the appropriate connections later.

While it’s obvious Hush can be considered a commentary on contemporary politics and global warming, readers could also argue Farrow uses Hush to comment on gaslighting. There’s no doubt Hush underscores the importance of truth and free speech. It’s clear from the narrative that silencing people is a form of oppression.

This is a work of fiction that seems born from the author’s experience, and Farrow includes a personal note at the end addressing this. However, as a YA novel, many teens may not be familiar with Farrow’s story, and that will not affect their ability to enjoy this novel fully or to understand the importance of the issues she tackles. Some authors lose sight of the story in their attempt to impart a moral, but that is never the case here. Farrow’s work never lets up or loses sight of Shae and her journey. It is completely engaging, and the fact that it makes some subtle but effective social commentary only makes it more powerful.

5/5 stars and more, please. Now.