An interesting read that fell flat for me. Great concept but it seemed empty and not completely filled with all the details that could've made this a touch more interesting. I found it to be more of a bare-bones YA version of a book that could have been rated higher with more development.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Dylan Farrow and Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

What a uniquely developed story. Farrow shines as she introduces her characters and the world they live in to her readers. A brilliant read.

I really tried to get into this book but I felt like I was confused right off the bat. You’re pretty much thrown into the story without exposition, which almost makes it feel like I was jumping into the middle of a story. There just needed to be more information at the beginning of the book to try and hook the reader, instead of leaving us confused.

This book was not at all what I expected and I loved the mystery and magic in what appeared to be an apocalyptic back drop. Excited to see where the sequel Veil takes this story. There are characters I really want to end up finding happiness and I want other to strengthen bonds. An interesting and fun read from start to finish!

This book was very interesting and hits upon quite a few important social issues in a way that doesn’t feel in your face but rather a built progression that makes you question and think. I loved the use of words, ink, and pretty much anything imagination building was deemed unsafe and that the curse/plague is called The Blot. A very intriguing way of pulling literary imagery into a fantasy world. I’m definitely looking forward to book two.

Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2021
The book follows Sage, a seventeen year old girl whose family is ostracized in their community because her brother died of the Blot. The Blot or Indigo Death is caused by ink, so I this world the written word has been outlawed. Bards have a gift with words and they protect the realm from the Blot by using magic in the form of Tellings.

When Shae’s mom is murdered, no one believes her. She thinks the Bards are responsible and she sets out on a mission to avenge her mom. She puts herself in danger to show the world that the Bards may not be the protectors they seem.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a unique YA Fantasy. It has a strong female main character that won’t let people keep her down. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

DNF - 25%

I was in the mood for a YA fantasy and I thought this would curb my craving but alas it didn't. Hush proved to be anything but a fantasy in the quarter of the book I read. The writing felt very mediocre although I know it's better than anything I can do. It didn't have any magical elements in it within the first quarter of the book which was disappointing. The story also failed to totally grab my attention so I decided it was best to set it aside.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an egalley in exchange for my honest review. Hush is available now.

The premise here is a bit shaky, and I don't understand why Shae likes Ravod as much as she does when there are less manipulative characters around. A pair of pretty eyes is not a personality! But I adore Dylan Farrow and her bravery as a human so she gets an extra star.

I loved the cover of this book. I thought it was gorgeous. Just like the premise of this book, however, it feel short to me.

I found this book predictable and slow for what was given. I wish that there was some more building of the magic system, but unfortunately, there wasn't.

Hush by Dylan Farrow

B083HBLGKZ

365 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press / Wednesday Books
Release Date: October 6, 2020

Fiction, Teen & Young Adult, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magical Adventure, Personal Quest

Shae lives in a poor town that has been suffering a drought. They also have been affected by the Blot, a disease from reading or having written documents. Their sheep farm began declining after the death of her father. When her brother contracted the Blot and died, her mother stopped speaking. Shae believes the Bards, the ones that bestow blessings, in the way of a Telling, and justice, killed her mother. She seeks their castle to get answers, but she may get more than she bargained for.

Shae’s quest is hard and at times she feels she is going mad. She learns the hard way that trust should not be given easily. The book is fast paced, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. The author has a descriptive writing style that is easy to read. If you like the Hunger Games, Divergent and other dystopian books, you will probably enjoy this series as well. This was the first book I have read by this author and look forward to reading Veil, the next book in the series.

Initial Thoughts
I was really excited to read this book. I thought it was going to be a standalone but by the time I actually read it, it was already announced as a duology so that made me even more excited to read it.

Some Things I Liked
I really enjoyed the world building in this book. For what I thought was a standalone, I was really impressed with the amount of detail the reader got about the world.
The romance / tension between the main characters. I loved the almost enemies to lovers vibes we got with the palpable tension.

One Things I Wasn't Crazy About
It wasn't that memorable. While I did delay in writing my review, I honestly don't really remember that much of this book. That really doesn't bode well for reading the sequel.

Series Value
I want to read the sequel. I am intrigued. But, I don't really recall this book all that well. The fact that I will likely need a reread of Hush will probably deter me from reading the sequel immediately.

Final Thoughts
I liked this book. I'd continue with both this series and this author. This book just wasn't the most memorable book I've read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I did not finish - I have tried reading this book on multiple occasions and just could not get into it.

My Review: I was initially drawn to this book by the stunning cover and then the tag line that it was for fans of Graceling by Kristin Cashore, one of my all time favorite series. Sadly, I really, really struggled with this one. I feel like I have been reading it forever. I tried reading the ebook but it just wasn't working for me, I could not stay focused on this story. It hooks you a bit with the first chapter but after that it is a very slow build up. You don't really get into the meat of the story until about half way through, then if finally starts to make progress. I eventually had to purchase my own audio book to try listening to the story and still I found myself putting it down for a month or more. The story gets very confusing in the later part, both for the character and the reader and we just don't know enough to make much sense of it. This one just really did not work for me, maybe it would have been better if I was a younger reader just getting into fantasy or YA books but I expect quite a bit more out of my books at this point.

Hush by Dylan Farrow is the first book in the young adult fantasy series by the same name, Hush. This series is one with a lot of different elements including a romance, magic use, a little science fiction and set in a dystopian type of world.

The world of Hush is built around a deadly disease that has ravished the land spread by ink. Yes, ink as in the stuff that is used to write a book or a letter. This plague is known as The Blot and has brought about magical soldiers known as Bards to control the spread of The Blot.

Seventeen year old Shae lost her own brother to the Blot so she knows the disease well and has done her best to avoid it. One day the Bards come to either bless or curse Shae’s town. As they are leaving though Shae discovers her mother’s body and knows that the Bards had something to do with her death.

The one thing I will say that held me back from a higher rating for Hush by Dylan Farrow is that I thought this one could have used a bit more world building overall. The idea behind the story was creative and it moved at a decent pace to me for a fantasy which is usually my one big complaint but as I said this one was more an understanding of the plague and magic use that needed a bit more. Overall though this one came in at three and a half stars for me and I did enjoy it despite thinking it needed a little improvement.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I want to thank you for the early copy, but I DNF this book at 20%. I just count get into the book of characters.

Shae lives in a world with no books or drawings. The Blot is a deadly disease that killed her brother and is passed through ink. It spread like wildfire, killing countless people and leaving everyone paranoid and suspicious. The only people who can fight against the Blot are the Bards, a group of magical soldiers that can seemingly work miracles. When Shae's mother is murdered, she becomes obsessed with finding answers, and she knows that the Bards have them. Finding the truth will test Shae to her limits, physically and mentally.

This book has three amazing things that work in its favor. 1. A heroine that is hellbent on finding the truth and revenge. 2. A magical military castle. 3. A coo-coo bananas magic system that will have you questioning your sanity.

Shae is a character you can quickly get behind. She believes her family is cursed. Why else would her brother be killed by a deadly disease, her mother be brutally murdered, and her grasp on reality seems to be slipping. She knows what she needs to do to get answers, and her profound determination has her risking everything to find them. Sure, some cute boys come along and try to complicate things, but Shae never loses sight of her purpose. She is a force to be reckoned with!

I loved the setting for most of this book. Hightown is the seat of power and home to the Bards. It is not so much a town, more like a military castle carved out of a mountain. Think Hogwarts but for a magical militia. I loved it.

I fell in love with this world and the characters. I cannot wait to see where Shae will go from here! I will be eagerly anticipating the next book!

First, thank you to Netgalley for an e-arc of this book. My apologizes this review has taken this long to write down my thoughts.

DNF at 25% as I tried to read this during the COVID pandemic. It was not a good idea. It wasn't a good idea for me to try and read any type of book that had the smallest mention of plague during that time or even now. However, this is not a bad book. The set up for the world at large is fantastic. So is the characters - Shaw is a strong character and I like that we have her in first person. I like getting her thoughts and seeing through the world. However, as it went on, I just felt more on edge the more I tried to push myself into reading this book. I will probably come back and give it another try, maybe when book 2 comes out, but, for now, it will remain as one of the books in a long line of them where I try and they just do not give me a reason to keep on reading.

This was not as interesting as I hoped it would be. It didn’t capture my attention within the first few pages and I kept getting distracted while reading it. This book was missing so much detail and so much story and so much building. There should be some room for improvement maybe the sequels would be better?

This debut novel has a very interesting plot premise involving the magic of words.

Shae’s character is relatable and realistic with moments of intense bravery when needed to continue her path, She has self-doubt and low self-confidence but she’s filled with immense power that she is unaware of, adding to the joy of this fantastical discovery.

I can see many YA fantasy fans liking this book, and could make many connections to the Red Queen style of writing as mentioned in the blurb. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for this ARC.

I wanted to love this book so much. The premise sounded so interesting. I think for me the pacing was not good for the amount of world building that needed to happen. The magic system also left me wanting way more. I wish the timeline that happened during this book was condensed a lot more and more time was spent building things up.
Probably won’t continue on in this series.