Long ago in the land of Montane, the Blot spread by ink and turned the veins of those touched by it indigo, eventually killing them. The High House saved the land, but common people were forbidden from learning how to read or write, for fear of a second wave of the Blot. Now, language is magic and only a few deemed Bards are able to wield it. Outcast seventeen-year-old Shae lost her brother to the plague and lives in fear that she is cursed by it, too. When her mother is murdered and no one will listen to her, Shae is forced to confront her fears and seek help from the High House.

Dylan Farrow subverts the traditional YA fantasy novel with a unique magic system and feminist messages shining from beneath the surface. Hush explores themes of manipulation and propaganda by those with power in a world mainly controlled by men. The world-building is very intricate and immerses the reader in the setting from the first page. The murder of Shae’s mother happens early on and propels the story forward in its mystery, and the added twists throughout the book keep the reader turning pages to find answers alongside Shae. Shae is a brave, impulsive protagonist to follow and is sure to endear you from the beginning. The novel ends on a nail-biting cliffhanger, and I’m intrigued to see what Farrow does in the next installment. Who can you trust when those in power are dishonest?

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

In away this was like 1984. Where you couldn't have books or know how to write.
Only bards are allowed to do magic and they are feared.
Shaes brother was killed because he caught this sickness from touching words.
Its soon found out that she has magic when she leaves her town after an accident. She is told she has to find a book to help save the world

4.5 Stars

Going into Hush, I was expecting something much different than what’s actually there. It’s not a bad thing, but the synopsis provided by the publisher (above), does read a bit more modern or dystopian. In actuality, the book has a more medieval tone, with all the atmosphere and nuances you would expect for the setting.

Author Dylan Farrow is particularly adept at setting the scene. You experience the vastness of the land where Shae lives. You feel the crisp air at night. And your skin prickles at the cold opulence of the High House.

At the center of everything is Shae, who’s dogged determinedness and sense of right and wrong propels her forward. Though the circumstances are different, many of the challenges Shae faces mirror real life and will ring true with readers.

Hush is the first book in a planned fantasy series. I read this book in one day, and I look forward to reading more from Farrow.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Shae’s brother was killed by a disease called the Blot, which is spread through ink and her mother has been killed under mysterious circumstances. Their town has been hit by a drought, believed to have been caused by this illness and Shae’s family has been banished to live outside the town. When Shae approaches the Bards to ask for a cure, she finds out that she has magical powers and is trained to be a Bard herself. I love the concept for this story and how the story is pulling together. Shae is a strong female character, which I love. I like the dystopian and feminist elements and look forward to seeing how the story progresses.

Hush, by Dylan Farrow, transported me from our current world of a deadly virus, angry factions competing for leadership, and an economy in disrepair to a medieval world where there is a deadly virus that is transmitted through ink, abject poverty, and a mysterious authoritarian leadership. Farrow’s world has magic, and a seventeen-year-old female protagonist who refuses to bow down and be silenced. This is a captivating, fun novel, the first in a planned series, that I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to the next entry in the series. There are many twists and turns, some of which make sense, others less so. However, I am a fairly forgiving reader of this genre. If you are not, do read more critical reviews so you know what you are getting.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press; Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure.

I received a copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion of the book

I have been marinating on this one for a few days since I finished to see how it would sit. At the end of the day, I liked it but I didn't love it. And it's still up in the air for me if I liked it enough to read the next one. The thing is, I really really loved the premise. I was intrigued by this world where the written word was forbidden and the spoken word was highly regulated and you had these mysterious Bards in which the fate of a society seemed to rest on their good graces. So I was pretty excited going in, but it just kind of fell a bit flat for me.

The world building fell pretty short short for me, and I think that's one of my main complaints. I really wasn't able to grasp the world, how everything worked, who the Bards are? Why the Bards are? The history? The magic system? <i>And how all of those things tie in to each other.</i> Fantasy worlds may be my favorite aspect of reading this genre and I was left with a lot of questions and a bit underwhelmed. Now, there's at least one more book , so I get that a lot of questions and holes may be filled in later. And one of the main purposes of the first installment is to build the foundation....I'm just not sure <i>enough</i> foundation was built in this one for me.

Shae was the only character that seemed layered and fully fleshed out. I was invested in what happened to her, but there were several other characters that could have been so much more.

While the plot was interesting and I was invested in the story and where it was going; it did suffer some holes and pacing issues. I'm not throwing in the towel on this one just yet though. I think it has some potential, so we'll see where it goes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy!

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

I was intrigued by the blurb; a world where writing and certain words are forbidden - unless you belong to the magic wielding Bards, since ‘the Blot’ a fatal disease, is spread by writing and words. The main protagonist, Shae, is a 17 year old girl left to fend for herself after her Mother is murdered... possibly by a Bard. Shae leaves the small village she was raised nearby and discovers that her world is far more dangerous and complex than she imagined.

Dylan Farrow wrote a book and I had to read it! She is an advocate for women, sexual assault victims and the daughter of Mia Farrow. Not only is she impressive but she published through a favorite publisher of mine so of course, this was a no-brainer. Coming through with a breathtaking debut, I was pleasantly surprised by this YA fantasy.
The concept was truly original, a deadly illness taking lives, known as the "indigo death" has claimed the life of Shae's brother and father. Shae is an outcast and sets off to find the elusive answers to this "blot." There are many interesting ideas here and I believe Farrow will continue to grow as a writer and I for one, will be here for it!
This story is compelling with a side of romance and I look forward to the next one and will recommend it to my teens at school!
Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press and Farrow herself.

All writing, and reading has become disallowed with the advice that anything relating to Gandol be destroyed. Least you be infected by the blot. A disease with blue ink colored streaking all over your body that leads to fever, weakness and then death. Shae has lost her brother to the blot and her town is struggling with a famine. The bards who come to gather a tithe of food may be the towns only option for survival by being granted a telling. The bards are not pleased and Shae winds up finding her mother dead in their home the next day. Where will Shae go now and what will she do now that everyone around her feel that she is cursed?

A very great read for the most part. I feel like some parts could have slowed down a little more so that the reader could get into the life that the bards lead before being lead down another part towards where Cathal is manipulating the bards. Some parts of the story just happened way to quickly. Realization downing on Shae too fast and not enough twists and turns for my liking.

I also feel like the ending didn't entice me enough to be super excited about a sequel. Not much was resolved in this story but also the problems that the story created were not particularly interesting to me.

I was however interested in the relationship between Shae and Rivade and possibly a love triangle adding in Madds. I feel like this part of the story also fell a little flat for me. Shae is not interested in Madds enough and Rivade is not remotely interested in Shae as far as it seams. I feel like this story could have had a little more awkward moments and more of a dynamic of love even if it is one that is impossible because of circumstance.

With all that being said I was very impressed with the implications that I gleaned about religion as well as women and their role in this world. I liked the book enough to read the sequel but it was not a heart stopping deep feeling in my belly of want and longing that felt like I could not wait. That is why this book is a 4 star for me. Still a good read and a interesting and unique story.

3.5/5 stars

I was really digging this one… in the first half. Unfortunately, I feel like the plot gets off-track towards the ending, and though I was entranced until the end, I wasn’t satisfied with the chain of events of the last quarter or so of the book.

The main character, Shae, lives with her mother in the small, starving town of Aster in the land of Montane. A deadly disease coined the “Blot” ravaged the population a decade or so ago, caused and spread by ink. Books, writing, reading, and particular “dangerous” words were subsequently banned, to protect those who were left. A group of powerful Bards keep order, taking offerings from the towns across Montane and providing Tellings - magical bestowing of gifts and good harvests - for those who sacrifice well. Shae lives in the aftermath of the disease, helping her mother tend to their farm and dealing with the loss of her young brother during the outbreak, as well as the discrimination their “curse” brings from the rest of the village. But when she finds her mother murdered in her home, and the evidence wiped clean only days later, she cannot remain in the village, not when she might be a danger to those around her, not while she feels a call to something beyond the empty content of her current life, and not while her mother’s killer remains free. What she finds outside the gate, however, is danger, deceit, and a power running through her veins she never thought could be a gift. Her mother’s death was no accident, but can Shae get to the bottom of it before the murderer comes back for her?

Overall, a clearly fascinating premise, one that wrapped me up in intrigue and excited my curiosity for the entire book. In a world so clearly brainwashed and a magic system that can twist one’s reality, the lines between true and false blur until you’re left wondering how close Shae could possibly be to the truth. I liked Shae as a character and was hopeful for the potential of a little romance with a certain brooding boy. <spoiler>But alas, I’m not sure how that’s going to work now…</spoiler>. I was equally (if not more) hopeful to see her journey from blind faith into knowledge, from falsehood into truth, from conformity into making her own decisions. I figured that was the whole message of the book, for it’s clear to readers the banning of certain <i>spoken</i> words is in no way associated with a disease spread by ink… But by the ending, I wasn’t sure how much of this message was really hit on and what just floated through the entirety of the novel.

In addition, because the book is focused on those manipulations of reality, the magic system becomes too… whimsical for me by the end, if that’s even a good word for it. The magic, and thus the events leading up the end, don’t seem rooted in anything logical - the chain of events just doesn’t really make sense. That may just be tied to my personal tastes, as I am a very logical person in general, but I feel like the events of a book have to be connected to magic in a way that doesn’t use the magic as a crutch for anything to happen. In this way, the ends don’t justify the means; just because we got somewhere in the end doesn’t mean the plot made <i>any</i> sense on the way there. And now, I have absolutely no idea where the second one is going - but not really in a good way; it feels like Farrow just decided, on a whim, to go the opposite direction than where the entire book had gone up to that point.

I don’t really know if any of that made sense. I’m not sure if my own thoughts make sense, in terms of this book. So overall, I actually did enjoy my time with this book - I was itching to keep reading no matter where I was, excited and anxious to see what happens. I just didn’t feel satisfied with what actually did happen, by the very ending. But I will probably read the sequel to satisfy my curiosity :)

THANK YOU Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the free e-arc in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own!




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I wanted to love this book- the synopsis is intriguing, the cover is gorgeous, and I have been hearing a lot of hype surrounding this release. Unfortunately, it fell really flat. The beginning had me hooked with its concept and I liked the vibe of the writing style, but it all went off the rails pretty quickly. The main issue for me was the absence of world-building. There was a severe lack of clarity that caused all of the unique and exciting ideas to be muddy and confusing. This issue leaked into the plot development, as so much of the plot had to do with the magic system and its place in the ruling of the world. It felt very disjointed, and without a strong base of understanding, Shae's struggles were ineffective. Plot points seemed to come out of nowhere and had little to do with furthering any character arcs. Shae as a narrator was fine, but there was nothing special about her that allowed me to connect on a deeper level. Her journey was convoluted and she never developed from where she began. We only got a surface level experience with all of the supporting characters, which was disappointing as they had the potential to be really interesting with complex dynamics. In a fantasy or dystopian novel, having a strong and clear foundation of your world is arguably the most important thing, because it directly informs every other aspect of the novel. While Hush had great potential, the lack of this crucial element overtook the book's positives, delivering a murky and unfulfilling story.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this review. This book is available now.

I was intrigued by the rather vague mention to dreams bleeding into reality, so I just had to pick Hush up. I have to be honest: this felt rather generic to me in many ways. Dylan Farrow is a skilled author, there’s no denying that, but the story itself felt like an idea that hadn’t been fully fleshed out yet.

Shae is the main character. When she was younger, her brother died of the Blot, a mysterious plague thought to be spread by ink. After her mother is murdered, Shae decides to track down the Bards, the only people who are now allowed to read and write. There is a reason for her choice, but it doesn’t really make a ton of sense if you think about it for too long. A good chunk of Shae’s decision to find the Bards is for knowledge. If anyone can help her, it would be them. This book is a lot of “don’t notice, don’t question”, with Shae needing to overcome her blind acceptance of things to discover the truth.

Unfortunately, Shae was a rather forgettable character. I never really got a feel on who she was. Again, I got the feel of a half fleshed-out idea. She was stubborn when it didn’t make sense to be, had the dreaded insta-attraction that I hate, and I just felt like she was more a stereotype of what people say all YA female characters are like, as opposed to being a full character. I don’t need to love a character to like reading about them, but feeling apathy regarding the main character definitely detracts from my enjoyment of a book.

The world itself is a fascinating one, full of little details that make it more three-dimensional, and it’s apparent that the author has a vision and is capable of realizing it. Even bare bones of the plot are pretty stinking cool. It just needs to be a little more developed.

I have a feeling that this series will grow and evolve into something great as it continues on. Unfortunately, I won’t be reading any subsequent books. Hush was just not for me.

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

Going into this book I had no idea who Dylan Farrow is. I didn't check out the author until that note at the end of my e-ARC; it made the story personal and made me curious. Nevertheless, the story has its own strengths and weaknesses that I shall detail below.

Starting with the good stuff.
The dilemma from the beginning was interesting. A never-seen-before (to me) kind of interesting. A sickness called "the Blot" that is thought to be caused by the use of ink, as a metaphor to the use of information, I think. So it is a world in which books, maps and the written word, in general, is considered contraband and gets confiscated by the Bards of High House, the regime that rules the deteriorating lands of Montane. A brilliant premise.

Which left me with the question: how did High House communicate with the four corners of Montane?

The Bards of Montane are gifted individuals capable of a sort of magic called the Telling. However, the telling is no more than an illusion that warps the perception of reality instead of actually altering it. That still hasn't answered my first question and gave birth to another question: If the magic isn't real and longlasting, how come it controlled the people that much that long?

The latter question is where the story was unconvincing. The concept of magic realized in the novel to control people was disproportionate to the kind of effect we've got. It could have been solved with conceptualizing a more complex type of magic in order to make the final effect more believable. But here, it was flat. And I couldn't help comparing what Farrow intended with all the types of magic in the genre. Farrow loses by a landslide (forgive the plot-related pun).

Another downside to the book was the characterization. Shae, our protagonist was too naive. She had potential but it was wasted and her gift could have been handled far better. Ravod, was flat (Sorry, buddy. But you were.). Keenan piqued my interest but I didn't get to see her much. Cathal was a one-dimensional dictator.

Again. the premise was brilliant, but the novel, like Shae, did not realize its full potential. I'm very curious how Farrow is going to handle this in the next instalment. Are we going to see what really causes the Blot?

Thank you NetGalley, Wednesday books and St. Martin's Press for my e-ARC.

I really liked the fantasy aspect! This was a fun and interesting spin on the classic dystopian book world-building. I love the message of how words have power over us as individuals and as a society, and how damaging silencing people can be. Fans of The Bone Season (specifically the Mentor Is A Jerk But Maybe Not aspect) and Divergent (specially the parts of the book set in the Dauntless commune) may really enjoy this one.
While I liked it! ... I didn’t love it. The pacing felt a little erratic, and the magic system was a little undefined for my taste. Every time a problem arose - it was fairly easily fixed by just throwing some magic at it, which resulted in my being a bit underwhelmed by the world building (which was what I was most excited for going into this book). Though the ending did leave me wanting more! So I think I’ll definitely be checking out the sequel!

2.5 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is an ok YAFantasy about a young girl who is out of options and undertakes a journey to seek justice for her family.

Shae lives on a sheep farm with her mother. Her younger brother died from a mysterious disease called "the blot", which is allegedly caused by illegally reading or writing contraband, or speaking a forbidden word. Shae's father dies shortly thereafter, and ever since, her mother doesn't speak a word. Shunned by most of her community, Shae eeks out a meager existence with her mother, until one day Shae returns to her home to find her mother murdered. When noone in town will help her, Shae flees to seek aid from a group of justice seekers called The Bards. The Bards use a form of magic called the Telling to keep the country safe.

The rest of the story is a jumble of Shae being trained to use her magic as a Bard. This book is a worn out formulaic telling of a misunderstood young girl with a special gift that is found/seeks out a powerful group to train her/prevent her from being trained/kill her/welcome her/etc. We've all read this kind of story before, and this is not one of the great ones. The characters are all one-note and I didn't connect with any of them.

There is almost no worldbuilding. Apparently the small communities are ruled by the Bards, but we don't know what led to this or why. We have no idea when writing and reading were outlawed or why. We know nothing about "the blot" or how someone contracts it or whether anyone can be cured of it. We don't know anything about the "magic" the Bards use, how it works or why some people can use the magic and others can't. We aren't told how the Bards were formed or why, and we are not told anything about their leader and how he came into power. There is a quest for an all-powerful book, but we aren't told much about what information it contains, how it can change the world and why someone would seek it.

I mean, sure, you leave some things up in the air to maintain mystery, but not THIS much! It's hard to get invested in a community or characters when you don't know anything of their background or their motivations. Half way through the book things became so convoluted and muddied that I didn't understand what the heck was going on or why the characters did what they did. I lost total interest, but figured I should finish the book to be fair. It did not improve.

Sadly, I have no interest in reading any further books in this series. It just didn't resonate with me, but I'm sure other people will enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin's Press for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So this book honestly started out great, but I just got bored of it after a while. it just didn't hold my attention, and I felt like the plot wasn't doing much for me. I expected more from it that I got in return. I wish I liked it more,

Hush is Dylan Farrow's debut novel, and it is a little bit of everything, fantasy, romance, mystery, and so much more.

Shae has grown up in a world that some would describe as quiet. Though that quietness belies the danger and pain that is so common in her world. Shae watched her brother grow ill – and saw how it cost him his life.

That was the first of several tragedies for Shae, and she is no longer willing to stay silent anymore. Not about her fears. And certainly not about the truth she is determined to uncover.

“What I cannot say to her – what I cannot even understand myself – is that sometimes, I fear the dark will swallow me whole.”

Hush was a wholly unique and chilling reading experience. It was unlike anything else I had ever read, and left me feeling oddly unsettled by the time I came to the final page. This debut novel has been enough to draw my attention towards Dylan Farrow's writing.

All of that being said, I will confess that I did struggle to get into Hush. Though I couldn't quite put my finger on the why. Once I did though, I found it to be a dark yet enjoyable read. One that wasn't afraid to portray all of the dangers that can come with silence – as I said, it's a chilling read.

Truthfully, I am left with so many questions about this series, and the world it is set in. I would give anything to see more of the magical system, of the history, and even the larger world itself. Likewise, I wouldn't mind getting to know a few of the characters that appeared over the course of Hush.

One thing I did truly love about this read is how it seems to defy the definitions of genres. It's undoubtedly YA, but it is also fantasy, with a bit of feminist/women's fiction thrown into the mix as well. I wish this was a blend I saw more often if I'm being honest (seriously, if you can recommend more books like this, I will love you forever).

Also, apparently, I'm just oblivious? I missed all of the hype about Hush, so my review is really not biased based on any of that. I simply enjoyed the premise and the world – and would love to see another visit in it someday.

Hush was such an interesting read, I was really intrigued by the magic system. I did feel like it needed to be explored further though, I just kept waiting for more to happen and for more to be explained and it never did. It constantly felt like something was missing but I am still very intrigued and would have liked to just see more.

I feel like Hush was an okay start to the series, I can definitely see the potential and where it could go and I would continue to read it but yeah I just wanted more from it.

What a fantastic debut novel for Dylan Farrow. Hush is a new and refreshing story idea.

Shae lives in a village that is failing. Each day becomes more of a struggle. A few years ago, many died from the Indigo Death, including Shae's brother, Kiernan. Here they don't read or write and certain words are not permitted to be spoken aloud for fear of the weight and power they hold. Shae believes she may be cursed or going crazy. Things are happening that she can't explain.

The Bards are the ones that helped them when people are dying and now Shae is on a mission to go there for help. Here they find that she harbors magic and begin to train her. But things take a turn and start to become more dangerous. She is not sure who she can trust, especially Ravod. And things become more difficult as she begins to feel like they have a connection.

I really loved the characters and how the story unfolded. I definitely felt like I was in another time, another realm. I can't wait to see where this series goes.

I enjoyed this debut novel despite the few issues it has (and I expect when it’s a debut). There will be a second book and I can’t wait to see what happens next. And more importantly, I’m excited to see how this author grows in her writing.

It has everything I love: magic, a dystopian setting filled with lies, a strong female lead, a love triangle. There are hints of hunger games mixed with modern-day feminisim. The character development needs some work but I really enjoyed the overall plot and the pacing was spot on which helped to keep me engaged with the story. I loved how speaking your truth morphed into magic and the use of traditional women’s handicrafts, like embroidary, was also used for magic. I hope for more character development in book two because I really want to know more about Shae and her compatriots.