alyssabug711's review
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Every girl’s dream (according to this book): get a guy that touches you/watches you/interacts with you in a manner you’re not entirely comfortable with. We love no boundaries. Slay. Also—We love when an author jokes about school bombings and has students slut-shame other students.
(Read all of this with very heavy sarcastic overtones.)
(Read all of this with very heavy sarcastic overtones.)
All in all, a vapid teenage romance that was definitely published in 2009.
———
I still read it in a day. Sometimes you just gotta give in to the impulse to read teenage drama.
———
I still read it in a day. Sometimes you just gotta give in to the impulse to read teenage drama.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Murder, and Fatphobia
prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
“A fairy tale with fallen angels, human hybrids, and sacrificial killings.”
There wasn’t much that I liked about this book, but the overall concept was nice – fallen angels on Earth and what not. From the start I was amused by Patch’s banter with Nora and as the story progressed I started to like Nora and Patch more and more.
But seriously though, what’s up with everyone around Nora?! It's like nobody listens to what she says or takes her feelings into consideration. It already started off weird when Nora complained about Patch to her teacher. She told her teacher explicitly that she wasn’t comfortable and he completely dismisses her feelings. And don’t even get me started on Vee who claims to be her best friend. When Nora tells her that someone physically threatened her, you’d expect her to take Nora’s side over some guy they don’t even know that well. She even goes as far as making excuses for his behavior.
“He was wasted. Maybe – maybe he didn't know what he was doing. Tomorrow he's going to feel horrible.”
"He's like there nicest guy I've ever met. When was the last time he forgot to hold open a door for you? Oh, yeah, that's right... never."
Uhhh… what?! Nope, nope nope.
Unfortunately, I don’t expect to continue with this series. I am curious to know how Nora and Patch will continue, but I couldn’t care less for the other characters.
There wasn’t much that I liked about this book, but the overall concept was nice – fallen angels on Earth and what not. From the start I was amused by Patch’s banter with Nora and as the story progressed I started to like Nora and Patch more and more.
But seriously though, what’s up with everyone around Nora?! It's like nobody listens to what she says or takes her feelings into consideration. It already started off weird when Nora complained about Patch to her teacher. She told her teacher explicitly that she wasn’t comfortable and he completely dismisses her feelings. And don’t even get me started on Vee who claims to be her best friend. When Nora tells her that someone physically threatened her, you’d expect her to take Nora’s side over some guy they don’t even know that well. She even goes as far as making excuses for his behavior.
“He was wasted. Maybe – maybe he didn't know what he was doing. Tomorrow he's going to feel horrible.”
"He's like there nicest guy I've ever met. When was the last time he forgot to hold open a door for you? Oh, yeah, that's right... never."
Uhhh… what?! Nope, nope nope.
Unfortunately, I don’t expect to continue with this series. I am curious to know how Nora and Patch will continue, but I couldn’t care less for the other characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Violence, Death, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Fatphobia
tonylovd's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
2.0
not for me, very twilight-esque, if you're into that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fatphobia and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder
teagstime's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
This was a reread for me, bc I originally read Hush, Hush in 2010 when I was 10 or 11… Back then I gave this book 4 stars, so ! Things are definitely different now to say the least.
Honestly the only things I liked about this book were Patch (he was an interesting lil asshole & had some good moments) and Jules (who was hardly even around and had minimal dialogue) 😅
Meanwhile Nora and Vee were two of the worst characters ever,, they made me go through the 5 stages of grief just about every time they spoke or did anything at all.... I was this 👌 close to becoming a misogynist by the end OTL
The twist at the very end was actually pretty good (which is why I'm giving 1.5★ instead of 1)! But most of the book felt convoluted and unimportant, and Nora's thoughts / actions were sooooo stupid for a smart girl (allegedly). Idk ! The ‘romance’ was rushed and didn't feel natural either-- I still don't understand why Patch was in love with her, as she didn't do anything the whole book except be dumb and flip between thinking he's a psycho stalker killer / suddenly feeling like he's safe to be around w no explanation 😔 And for that matter, idk why Nora even likes Patch bc he spends > the first half of the book being a total creepy asshole to her? We get it girlie, you think he’s hot… now please go to your therapy sessions I’m begging you OTL
My friends and I legit had to rewrite the plot in our final book club discussion to cope with how much it frustrated us. There were a few good ideas scattered around here and there but ! Overall disappointing and bad :(
Honestly the only things I liked about this book were Patch (he was an interesting lil asshole & had some good moments) and Jules (who was hardly even around and had minimal dialogue) 😅
Spoiler
After the Chauncey reveal, he actually shot up in approval for me and my friends. He wasn’t even completely in the wrong here ! His life fr sounded like it sucked! Justice for Chauncey Q_QMeanwhile Nora and Vee were two of the worst characters ever,, they made me go through the 5 stages of grief just about every time they spoke or did anything at all.... I was this 👌 close to becoming a misogynist by the end OTL
Spoiler
Elliot also disappointed me, but mostly bc I wish he had gaslight gatekeep girlbossed a bit more instead of becoming a cartoon supervillain the MOMENT Nora started investigating him. Like. Cmon dude you’re supposed to be charmingThe twist at the very end was actually pretty good (which is why I'm giving 1.5★ instead of 1)! But most of the book felt convoluted and unimportant, and Nora's thoughts / actions were sooooo stupid for a smart girl (allegedly). Idk ! The ‘romance’ was rushed and didn't feel natural either-- I still don't understand why Patch was in love with her, as she didn't do anything the whole book except be dumb and flip between thinking he's a psycho stalker killer / suddenly feeling like he's safe to be around w no explanation 😔 And for that matter, idk why Nora even likes Patch bc he spends > the first half of the book being a total creepy asshole to her? We get it girlie, you think he’s hot… now please go to your therapy sessions I’m begging you OTL
My friends and I legit had to rewrite the plot in our final book club discussion to cope with how much it frustrated us. There were a few good ideas scattered around here and there but ! Overall disappointing and bad :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment
mercyiscurrentlyreading's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
Personally, this felt like a chore to read. Normally, I finish through with the book even when I don’t like it however, this was just not for me.
I feel as though this book isn’t for everyone, my friend loved but overall I felt like there was too much going on and a lot of jumping to conclusions from Nora. I felt like it was a desperate attempt for it to feel as though everything has been solved. I felt so confused for the 60% I read. I didn’t feel as though I was immersed into the world Becca created. I obviously wasn’t her target audience and I just didn’t really enjoy much outside of the Vee interactions and Patch really. I feel like a lot was going on and also it was barely moving at the same time. The prologue was utterly confusing even to where I read to.
I feel as though this book isn’t for everyone, my friend loved but overall I felt like there was too much going on and a lot of jumping to conclusions from Nora. I felt like it was a desperate attempt for it to feel as though everything has been solved. I felt so confused for the 60% I read. I didn’t feel as though I was immersed into the world Becca created. I obviously wasn’t her target audience and I just didn’t really enjoy much outside of the Vee interactions and Patch really. I feel like a lot was going on and also it was barely moving at the same time. The prologue was utterly confusing even to where I read to.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Car accident, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Stalking, Physical abuse, and Fatphobia
shorts_family's review
I really wanted to like this book, but after trudging my way through 100 pages and not enjoying a single minute of it, I had to give it up. I just couldn't get past the multitude of red flags the main love interest consistently showed. This book, or at least the first 103 pages of it, constantly promotes (without critique) not taking no for an answer, actively trying to make your crush uncomfortable and reveling in it, possessiveness and jealousy, and literal stalking. Like, the stalking is explicitly mentioned and talked about in the book. The main character's reaction to all this seemed really unrealistic to me, and her best friend's reactions also made me extremely uncomfortable. In my experience, if a friend expresses their worry that they're getting stalked by someone at school, I would never purposefully put my friend in close contact with that person. That is not the case with this book, unfortunately. I really wanted to like it because it ticks a lot of my boxes for favorite genres and tropes but everything was executed in a way I simply couldn't get down with.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Stalking
Moderate: Fatphobia and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent
thecourtofreading's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
"all this time i've hated myself for it. i thought i'd given it up for nothing. but if i hadn't fallen, i wouldn't have met you."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Stalking and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder and Fatphobia
syrenhug's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I read this book years ago and I remember liking it, but obviously, you revisit stuff and you don't always feel the same. It's part of growing.
Wildly enough, I still really like this book. I'm thinking about reading the whole series. Maybe.
Anyway here are my thoughts:
Not him gaslighting her lol
This book is so obviously not a romance. It's a warning, it's a red flag. Stalking, being touched without permission, and having someone continuously come on to you when you've expressed your discomfort, are all awful/gross violations. But, unfortunately, they are behaviors that are deemed (lightly) acceptable under the patriarchy. And young women have come to normalize and accept them as just part of being interested in men (because it's moreso men who are getting away with this stuff). And, in this case, Nora finds these red flags kind of attractive. She wants to know more. I've met people like this - usually, they have their own issues. I find that pitfall very interesting.
I love demon/angel/fallen angel stuff. It's always cool to get a perspective on vice/virtue that is rooted in religion (with a huge emphasis on Biblical knowledge). I enjoy how awful Patch is. But he's honest. Mostly. In the end, at least.
So I didn't enjoy this as a romance, I enjoyed this as a cautionary tale, something full of tropes, cliches, and teenage awkwardness. Also a cool plotline. It should have just been about that, honestly.
Wildly enough, I still really like this book. I'm thinking about reading the whole series. Maybe.
Anyway here are my thoughts:
Not him gaslighting her lol
This book is so obviously not a romance. It's a warning, it's a red flag. Stalking, being touched without permission, and having someone continuously come on to you when you've expressed your discomfort, are all awful/gross violations. But, unfortunately, they are behaviors that are deemed (lightly) acceptable under the patriarchy. And young women have come to normalize and accept them as just part of being interested in men (because it's moreso men who are getting away with this stuff). And, in this case, Nora finds these red flags kind of attractive. She wants to know more. I've met people like this - usually, they have their own issues. I find that pitfall very interesting.
I love demon/angel/fallen angel stuff. It's always cool to get a perspective on vice/virtue that is rooted in religion (with a huge emphasis on Biblical knowledge). I enjoy how awful Patch is. But he's honest. Mostly. In the end, at least.
So I didn't enjoy this as a romance, I enjoyed this as a cautionary tale, something full of tropes, cliches, and teenage awkwardness. Also a cool plotline. It should have just been about that, honestly.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia
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