I was bored within two seconds and could not continue. This was high on my 2020 TBR but fell very quickly right off the list. The cover is beautiful and I wanted to like the story but I couldn't get past the poor writing.

Interesting read! I enjoyed the characters and overall plot. They both could have been a bit more developed. The limited twists of the story were not surprising... But this was a quick read with some different ideas on the typical dismal dystopian fiction. I would read a sequel. :)

Thanks to Netgalley for the free e-book!

This book was so confusing. I felt like I was going crazy myself, I wasn't able to discern illusion from madness... But when the pieces of the puzzle came together, OH MY GOD. Everything felt crystal clear.

I really can't wait to see what happens next in book 2!

Many thanks to #StMartinsPress for the complimentary e-copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This has been sitting on my kindle for months. To think I was most excited when I first got approved for the arc. Unfortunately, everytime I picked up the book I immediately had to stop reading. Much as it pains me to say it, this has to go to my DNF pile.

I've been trying to get through this book for months, but I truly can't. Every time I come back to it, it's like forcing myself to read. After all this time, I think we should just call it what it is. DNF.

This book did not vibe with me, but I'm hopeful it will find the readers it deserves who will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a perfect book to recommend to my students who are into the fantasy genre. To start the characters were intriguing and Shae was easy to get to know and follow. I could emphasize with her and loved the magic and plot behind it. The end did leave me still holding onto a lot of questions, but I am hoping that was left for a follow-up book. Adding to my library now!

This little wonderful book brought me such an entertaining experience. I loved it. I will definitely recommend this book to others.

This book deserves so much hype and is absolutely amazing!!! I loved it so much from the world to the characters to the writing everything fit what I want in a fantasy novel. I will deff be picking up a physical copy as well as if a sequel comes out picking that up too! Such a wonderful surprise.

I admittedly wanted to read this book because I want to support Dylan Farrow. I think her bravery for coming forward about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father and her work as an activist is really commendable. Luckily, her book is written well enough that it can stand on its own, aside from that part of her life. This YA fantasy, however, does contain a lot of elements that relate to Farrow's own personal strengths: a strong, feminist hero, secrets within a family, and a society that discounts and disbelieves everything the main character says. It's not hard to draw the parallels between real life and Farrow's fictional story.

I think world-building is a really difficult aspect of fantasy writing, and Farrow does a wonderful job with it. It's easy to follow the 'rules' of the story and her imagination knows no bounds. This definitely had a Harry Potter-esque magical vibe throughout - this made it easy to visualize some of the magic that takes place. I loved how fully fleshed-out the side characters were (not one unnecessary character in the bunch) and thought the pacing was done really well. Although there were a few twists that I predicted ahead of time, the story is still interesting to read.

There was an abrupt ending that left a lot of loose ends, but it does seem like Farrow will write a follow-up, which I'll look forward to reading.

3.5 stars This was fun and a quick read for me. It was engaging and the characters were awesome. Overall, enjoyable. But it did not wow me.

Starting this book I honestly thought my rating was going to be lower because I am not in love with the time period it is set in. Especially with the setting of the world in the beginning, but the setting gets better when Shae starts going to going to a school for Bards. And once we are in this new setting everything gets better. But, with getting further into the story it starts to get very predictive. Everything that happens after Shae leaves her hometown is not surprising because it has a similar plot line and outcome as other books I’ve read. Even though this book was very predictable, it was still gripping and enjoyable to read. The characters it started with only the main character being likable or enjoyable to see. And the relationship that starts to grow in this book, has a funny start to show that a romance is going to start. Overall, even though this was very predictable and it took a while for me to get into the story, I thought this was a fun read

Dylan Farrow's Hush begins with a bang and an intriguing, timely premise. I wish the rest of the book was half as good. It isn't. What we get is a sadly generic fantasy about greed, murder, magic, secrets, and lies all set in a dystopian world. While I understand that the author needs to leave room for a sequel, I do think she has a responsibility to bring the first novel to a satisfying conclusion. She didn't. She left so many basic questions left unanswered. What actually redeemed the time I spent reading Hush was Dylan Farrow's Afterwords at the end of the book. It touches on many themes in the book, specifically the power and abuse of information and, worse, disinformation; and the power of words and the power of lies - repeated over and over again.

I read Hush courtest of Net Galley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review. I

The premise is that a young girl, Shae, lives in a poor village beset by a plague-like disease called the Blot which is spread by ink, books, and taboo words. The Blot slowly (and painfully) covers the body until death. The townspeople are so afraid of the Blot that they burn down the family's house and usually slaughter the remaining family members. The only ones who can prevent it are the Bards, who travel from town collecting tithes for their ruler. When Shae returns home one day she finds her mother murdered and her house destroyed. She sets out to discover why her mom was murdered and who was responsible. She discovers more than she ever imagined. Sadly, the reader doesn't get a lot of answers.

I tried to make sense of the plot but got nowhere. Why didn't the Bards use magic to stop the Blot and restore the devastated land? There seems to be Magic all over the place but why, and how?

The plot moves along ordinary lines, with no surprises, and too many cliches. Hush is supposedly the beginning of a series. I have no plans to read the sequel.

i was little sceptical going into this, as i am with most books written by notable people - i constantly have to ask ‘was this published because of their name or because its actually a decent story?’ i think this book is a combination of both.

this is definitely an interesting concept and there is some groundwork laid, but its very bare bones. i didnt feel like the magic system was explored enough, the characters are pretty one-dimensional, and the pacing/flow is off at times. and i couldnt shake the feeling that i was constantly missing something to really connect all the dots throughout.

i think there is enough content to build upon and improve as the series progresses, but the jury is still out as to whether i am interested enough to continue reading the books.

Gripping and immersive - I enjoyed the interesting take on a magic system, and the compelling voice of the protagonist.

Words are powerful in this world. Wielded by the Bards, they can be used to create powerful spells. Though when a mysterious illness called the Blot begins killing people, discoloring their veins, and spreading through ink, writing becomes banned. When Shae’s brother died 5 years ago from the Blot, she becomes a pariah in her small village. Intrigue abounds when her mother is also killed, by a weapon very much like the ones the Bards use to protect their people. Desperate to find answers to her mother’s death Shae sets out on a path that’ll lead her to powerful and dangerous people. A path where she’ll find she’s more than she appears.

Overall Hush was a decent YA fantasy debut. The plot was a little formulaic, as it follows established YA tropes, which isn’t a bad thing. There’s a lot to enjoy in this one.

I thought that this was an interesting, if a bit bland, of a debut with an interesting world and concept but maybe just a bit of a lackluster execution?

The concept of the Blot - the disease that spreads through ink and illegal stories was really interesting, but I found the MC just so-so. The pacing was a bit odd as well.

So this was...weird? I wanted to like this but the whole time I just felt a kind of disconnect from the story and the characters. I was also confused for some of it. And also I'm forgetting a lot of it? This was both strange and unmemorable to me.

This book just did not work for me. The characters felt flat, the plot felt jerky and strange, and the prose just wasn't for me.

While this one sounded right up my alley and the world felt lush and like it truly changed throughout the course of the story, unfortunately, this one just felt short for me.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.