HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick

A SACRED OATH
A FALLEN ANGEL
A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

Where’s the light switch? Seriously, this book was so dark. Not in a bad way, but the mood that Fitzpatrick set was definitely very thick and well executed. It felt like the room I was sitting in literally dimmed whenever I was reading this book. So again, I’m not saying this as a bad thing, but if you are more into the cute summer reads and you aren’t really big on the darker stuff, then I wouldn’t highly recommend this book.

Hush, Hush was an entertaining book, but only for the reasons that I was expecting - we have an attractive angel and a human girl who find each other extremely attractive, even though they bump heads a little bit. The kind of thing to be expected. Obviously, I like to read books of these sorts, but it’s always nice to have distinguishing features to the story that make it it’s own. Hush, Hush didn’t give that to me. It was exactly how I thought it would go. Dark, scary angel meets nice, goody-goody girl, and despite their incredible personality differences, they fall in love, and THEN it’s super complicated because he’s an angel, and she isn’t.

Something that was definitely different and unexpected was that Patch didn’t even try to hide his un-humanity. As I am sure anybody who reads books such as these, it generally starts out with the human/normal one noticing that there is something off about the not normal one (in this case, our angel) but chalking it up to their own minds, but they ‘just can’t shake that feeling.’ But it didn’t seem like Patch was all that into hiding his identity at all. He would deny that anything was different about him, but he’d say things that just were not normal. And then he would talk to her mind and then say she was crazy, he was completely normal? Um, hate to break it to you Patch, but...kind of a dead giveaway there.

The other thing that I didn’t like about Patch was that he was so plastic. He had that tough exterior, and I kept reading because I really wanted to see what he was like underneath his shell. But no. He was just a ken doll. Yes, he’s attractive and awesome, but I wanted more from his character. It was like he had no vulnerabilities whatsoever, and I like vulnerabilities. A lot. How am I supposed to relate to this guy if all he is is reserved and...an angel? Not a lot to go off of there. I JUST WANTED HIM TO FEEL SOMETHING.

I did like the idea of the plot, but I wish more would have been put into it - Nora went through a lot in the book, but she was always okay and only mildly affected. The climax was exciting, but for the most part, predictable.

In general consensus, this book did keep me hooked and reading, and despite all of my problems with it, I did enjoy reading it.

Oh, did I forget to tell you? There’s rumors that this book is going to be a movie! According to a few articles, it’s in the making, but only in the screenplay stages so it still might not fall through. So let’s just remember that it’s a RUMOR. :)

The Mortal Instruments - TV show and New Covers!

I'm sure that quite a few of you have already found out about this news - but I thought I would make a post about it just for good measure :) Because I can't help it! I love The Mortal Instruments, and I just have to talk about it! So first things first, let's talk about these new covers.


Original Cover Movie Cover NEW COVER


Original Cover: I don't necessarily love it, but it catches my eye for sure. But from my sister's point of view, it is very "tacky." I think I love it because it is the original, and since I love this series I love the cover, but I am trying not to be biased...so I will say that I like it, but I don't love it.

Movie Cover: I never really like movie covers...I don't even know why, but I just don't like movie covers! I have always felt like it was a sin to put the movie cover on the book, because they are poor representations of what the book will be like. Because the books are ALWAYS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE. I want people to read it for the beauty of it's bookness and not the movie. Though I do have to admit, this cover is better than a lot of other movie covers...I might even like it if it weren't for the fact that it's a movie cover. XD

New Cover: I've spent a fair amount of time staring at this cover, and finally I have concluded that I like it. Do I love it? I don't know. But I do like the Jace on the cover (He looks finnnne) However, I don't feel that the title looks as fierce and mysterious...the lettering just looks so...simple. So if I could change one thing, I would make the font and color of the title a little more intense.

Overall, I like the original cover because it was the cover it had when I first read it, and I have a special place in my heart for it. However, I can say without a doubt that these new covers have potential. I could even say that I might like them more than the originals in the future. As for now, that is all I can say :)

I saved the best news for last...



THE NEW TV SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Right now, they are still working on casting. This is great news to me, because I didn't like the casting from the original movie... There were a few characters here and there that I wouldn't be upset to see come back, like Robert Sheehan, but for the majority I wanted to start over with a clean slate. Hopefully they do a good job with casting!

2. They start filming MAY. As in, NEXT MONTH.

3. We are guaranteed 13 episodes, whether or not it gets good reviews. If the show is a success, the show will continue. If it is losing more than it is making, we can only assume that they will stop filming.

4. We can expect to see the first episode early 2016 - as early as January! The title? The Mortal Cup. For more information, go ahead and check out this link - http://www.mtv.com/news/2135165/mortal-instruments-pilot-title-date/

5. WE HAVE OUR ACTOR FOR JACE!!! Dominic Sherwood. Maybe some of you recognize him as Christian from the Vampire Academy movie.

THAT'S HIM!!!!!!!! 
HE'S BEAUTIFUL.
I very much approve of this decision. Point one for the TV show.

Tell me what you think about these new updates in the comments! I would love to hear your opinions! As for now, good bye, and happy reading!

ELEANOR AND PARK REVIEW

Summary:

Two misfits.

One extraordinary love.

Eleanor... Red hair, wrong clothes. Standing behind him until he turns his head. Lying beside him until he wakes up. Making everyone else seem drabber and flatter and never good enough...Eleanor.

Park... He knows she'll love a song before he plays it for her. He laughs at her jokes before she ever gets to the punch line. There's a place on his chest, just below his throat, that makes her want to keep promises...Park.

Set over the course of one school year, this is the story of two star-crossed sixteen-year-olds—smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try.

My Review:

This has been one of the greatest books that I have read this year! I heard from a lot of people that it was a good book, but I honestly was just expecting the usual deal - attractive boy meets attractive girl, and they start a romance. I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff, but it’s always refreshing when I get something different but just as good - if not better. This is exactly what I got out of Eleanor and Park.

Basically, it starts with Park seeing Eleanor for the first time when she walks onto his bus and has nowhere to sit. He takes pity on her and invites her to sit with him on the bus, but makes his first impression by swearing at her and doesn't talk to her for the first couple of weeks that they sit together on the bus. Obviously, it wasn't the greatest first impression to make - and Eleanor wasn't making the best first impressions either, considering that the first words that everybody used to describe Eleanor when they first saw her was that she is “bigger” and “awkward.” Immediately I knew this wasn't going to be a regular romance. And it only gets better as you start to delve into their everyday lives. You see that there’s a lot more to them than just the outside look of both of them - especially with Eleanor.

Eleanor has a hard home life. It made me tear up about every time I had to read about her - it just broke my heart and opened my eyes so much. I realized, maybe deeper than I ever had before, that there are real people out there with situations like hers. And I think that it’s important to remember that people are more than just what they look like. Eleanor wore men’s clothes and did weird things with her hair, never wore makeup, and didn't act like a normal girl in really any way. But she didn’t have a choice in the matter, considering she couldn't afford better clothes, let alone makeup.

As for Park, he had the biggest heart. I haven’t read about such a kindhearted character in a long time, and it makes me want to be better myself, because Park was so sweet and thoughtful. I feel like serving everybody within a five mile radius right now!

As you all have probably already figured out, I’m a very character driven reader, so these two really made the book for me. But aside from characters, the writing was beautiful and real, as well as eye-opening. I feel like this book has changed me - and that is the best sort of feeling that you can take away from a book.

So should you read this book?

Two words: Heck. Yes.

My Rating: