For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn 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 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 far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora 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 her life.

I’ve been intrigued by because I saw a lot of reviews of it around the blogosphere, but it seemed like they were primarily at very drastic ends of the spectrum. People either loved the novel or hated it, so after seeing that my library had a copy, I checked it out to see what I would think, and I find myself falling somewhere in the middle

I have to say that I think Fitzpatrick is talented as an author. I found the premise of this book to be quite original. My favorite part of this novel was easily the plot. While I could get an idea of where it was going about halfway through, I was impressed by how intricately and carefully it was done, while still leaving the reader wanting just a little bit more. I would go further in depth, but I don’t want to spoil anything.

My problem with this novel was the characters themselves. They were well developed, I just didn’t like the actual characters. I was often surprised by how imperceptive Nora and Vee seemed to me (especially Vee). When I read about some of their schemes I said, “Really? Why would they think that is a good or feasible plan?” Other times I just felt that they were a little bit oblivious.

And then there’s the issue of Patch and Nora’s relationship with him. I know Nora kept saying she knew Patch was dangerous and chased him anyways, and while I didn’t find this to be intelligent, I didn’t necessarily consider it to be the most unrealistic aspect of the novel. If fiction only represented idyllic relationships where no one does anything they might regret later, that wouldn’t be entirely true to real life. I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, but not every relationship is perfect. Sometimes people have a hard time getting out of bad relationships, or they chase people who’ve hurt them before and will probably do it again. I also felt that control and manipulation, both physical and mental, were interest concepts throughout the novel and I’ll be curious to see how Fitzpatrick treats them later in the series.

I enjoyed Hush, Hush, but clearly I finished the novel with some grievances. I think for a lot of people, their perception and opinions of Nora strongly affect how they feel about the novel as a whole. I say if you’re intrigued, give this novel a chance and form your own opinion. I’d love to hear what you think!

Disclosure: I checked out a copy of this book from my awesome local library.