Initially, I thought this book would be a knockout for me. The concept immediately caught my attention and the worldbuilding kept it. That ended up being the only thing to really stick with me. I found the characters lackluster and found I didn’t care what happened with any of them (and therefore lost my reason to keep turning the pages). Added to that, it felt like nothing really happened. The twists never felt like twists. There wasn’t that tension you want as a reader that keeps you up late at night. I was bored with the book and ultimately gave up on it around the 75% mark.

This was such a breath of fresh air from a debut author who is sure to bring more amazingly vivid worlds in the future. I gobbled this book up quickly and was unable to put it down. (Hello sleepless nights!)

This was a good read, but nothing great. I enjoyed the characters and the world. I would say the main character is a typical YA character. There is nothing wrong with that, so I think this book would be a good read for someone new the YA genre. The romance was a reminder of insta-love and took an interesting turn that I'm not sure I liked.

This was a decent enough YA read for me. I thought the character development was pretty could and the book held my interest for the most part as I was reading. I would definitely pick up something else from the author.

There were elements of this story that I found interesting and are ultimately what helped me to be able to push through to the end of the story. I found most of the characters very flat and wanted to root for Shea but she really just got on my nerves. I thought the magic system in this book was interesting and the plot was intriguing enough for me to want to know what happened but the pacing of this book was just not good in my opinion. I think there is definitely people who will love this book unfortunately I did not.

Here's the thing, 5 stars for Dylan Farrow speaking her truth, she's a survivor and I want only good things for her.

I really do understand and appreciate what she was trying to do here--the entire book is about gaslighting, the truth being obfuscated, victim blaming, all of that I completely get what she is trying to do and I think the bones are there, but the actual story itself suffers. What's the political organization here? How do the Bards actually use their magic? What can it do versus what can it not do? There was no chemistry between who I assume the love interest is and our MC and we know nothing about him short of him being grumpy.

I think there's the makings of a good book here--the writing really shines when Farrow talks about gaslighting and memory--but could have benefited from tighter editing and actual world building

Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

Thank you Netgalley for this early copy of Hush by Dylan Farrow. This wasn't the book me. The characters lacked development and not much on the world building. I didn't feel any connection with the characters and wish there was more background. I believe this book had so much potential, but fell a little flat for me.

When I first started this one, I was a bit worried whether I'd liked it. It felt a little silly and over the top and I felt myself tuning it. I flipped to an aduio and settled in and felt myself drawn in. The world is completely different and it took a minute to understand it. I liked the bloody horror of the bards. I liked how strong-willed the MC was. I especially appreciated the twists near the end, ones I somehow didn't even think to figure out. I look forward to reading book 2.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Having read YA fantasy for 10 + years, I felt like this was a story I had read before. I found the concept of the Blot really interesting, but it didn't play as large of a role as I would have liked.

I was originally tempted by this book for quite a few reasons. I loved the cover art, and something about the title was intriguing as well! I was also a big fan of Graceling, and did enjoy Red Queen, so it seemed like this book would be right up my alley.

Unfortunately, I didn't end up enjoying this book. This book had quite a slow and long lead-in before the action started really happening, which meant it took me a while to really get into the story. It also just felt like something I'd read before, even with its unique concept, and it made the story feel more repetitive rather than fun and exciting. I feel like I might've enjoyed this book more when I had just been getting into YA Fantasy, but it just didn't quite hold up to most of my favorites in the genre.

What I really loved about this book was how the author brought all the pieces of plot they dropped along the way. I was confused for much of the book but when that story unraveled….wow. Spectacular, wonderfully crafted.

My least favorite thing about the book though was the romance. I felt like it wasn’t perfectly developed and could have used a lot more UMPH to it I guess.

Very wonderful introduction to a fantasy world and I think many fans of the genre would enjoy

Hush by Dylan Farrow was an interesting YA fantasy novel. It is the first in a series, with the sequel Hush already available. Both were good and I am glad I read them in close succession. The real-world social commentary was woven in well. I look forward to more from this author.

I really thought I would enjoy this story. When the author released a new book o figured I would give this a try, but alas the characters were not remarkable and the writing style not for me. I ultimately did not finish in full.

The cover art is what drew me in and the comparisons as well. When I started this I had high hopes, but was let down. It's extremely hard to understand and get into. So much struggle and less reading enjoyment. I couldn't get into it and for that, I just DNF.

I did not finish this book. I was putting it off because of the so so reviews. I usually like fantasy but I just could not get into it. Usually with fantasy you need a rich backstory in the beginning. We were kinda thrown into it and it just threw me off.

HUSH is a pretty decent fantasy story, though. I liked it, even if I didn't love it, and I think younger readers will enjoy it even more than I did.

I really wanted to like this book and I gave it a few tries but I couldn't seem to get into it. The idea is an interesting one, the characters appear to be compelling from what I have read so far, and I am curious to find out how the story ends. However, while the story seems interesting and I do want to know how the story eventually ends I don't think this was the right book for me right now. I am going to let it sit and come back!

This was a very hard read for me. There is a lot of tragedy and disturbing events in this novel. It was not what I wanted. I didn’t think this was a fantasy novel. It seemed like a science fiction novel. This, the synopsis was very misleading.

This wasn't my cup of tea. I am not sure if I read the description and thought it was something else, but I was a bit thrown off. I am sure other will like it, just wasn't for me.