Oh boy, it runs in the family: Mia Farrow has talented kids. This book truly surprised me with its dance between genres: YA fantasy-fairy tales- general fiction-feminist fantasy. The world building is creative, implosive, thought-provoking, characters are well-developed, complex, layered, story-telling is unique, different but it never gets you out of the hook, you still get invested into the story and know about the future of the characters. It keeps your interest alert and never bores you till the end.

It takes place in the land of Montane: the language is not a skill to possess, is not for everyone because it is pure magic. And only the powerful, unique people may have the privilege to have this special gift: you have to one of the Bards.

There is deadly disease out there spreading by ink which killed 17 years old Shae’s brother five years ago and now Shae is afraid because she can create magic by her embroidery. She needs to discuss this matter secretly with the Bards. But can she trust them? Because as soon as she contacted them she finds out her mom is killed by golden dagger which is the one of the weapon Bards use against their enemies. She needs to do something to protect herself and find the killers’ identity which forces her to start her journey to High House for getting the answers she needs.

But as soon as she gets there and meet with kind, genuine, protective Cathal who makes a tempting offer for her to stay at the place and get a proper training to be a Bard, she accepts without thinking what kind of complex and dangerous situation she is getting herself into because this place is full of lies, secrets and illusions: Nothing as it seems. And of course her torturing training séances are not sunshine of her days, thanks to merciless female Bard and let’s not forget her undeniable attraction to another dangerous Bard who may be the killer of her own mother.

As you may see the strong metaphors by sacred power of words and the ink’s power to endanger lives reflect the activist parts of the author smoothly and her eagerness to center the story around young female who is adamant, brave and truth searcher gives the story extra feminist fantasy vibes. The cliffhanger at the ending was interesting enough to give a chance for second book. I think this was original, dazzling and promising start to the series so I’m looking forward to read more of her stories.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for sharing this unique ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

Let us jump right in here... I am borderline on this book.

It started off very very interesting and although it follows the “rules” of fantasy YA books, the plot line feels a bit different. A lot of things happen in the opening of this book and it made me WANT more. I could not put it down. There was a good bit of world building originally, but the author did it in a way that caused readers to ask more questions. It made me want to keep reading.

The middle of the book was a weird combination of slow and fast. Certain things were happening rather quickly, while others progressed slow. In all honesty I don’t know how I feel about this because I feel like there was a lot not explained. It sort of just happened. It also worked well because we weren’t left waiting around watching unimportant things develop. This left me in a gray area, but I think it will play out as the series continues so I’m not entirely upset about it.

Now for the ending... WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!?! It was just a lot. Like, I don’t want to give away the plot, but what?!?! Random people showed up with no explanation as to how they even got there. A character appears in a twist (which was phenomenal actually) and I appreciated that a lot. However, a character literally just disappears. He just isn’t there anymore and I’m hoping it is explained later, but as I realized he was just not there all I could think was “Wait did the author just forget he existed and no longer wrote about him?” Idk.

The idea is wonderful and refreshing and I do recommend reading the book. I just want people to be aware that you are NOT going to be okay when you finish it. You will beg for book two because there is so so so much that happens at the end and you might just look around your room wondering what the heck just happened.

-Stone

A stunning debut novel .A fantasy novel so imagenitive so creative ,a book that takes you out of your armchair into the world written on the pages. Highly recommend an author I will be following so exciting when a new novelist writes this beautifully,#netgalley#.martinspress

I was drawn in by the concept of propaganda being a form of magic. The world building was very good, however there where some inconsistencies and there where parts of the plot that didn't quite fit together.

This is a debut novel, and there is a lot of potential in future works by this author. All in all I didn't enjoy it as much, but it's not a bad book it's just ok.

I'm currently experiencing a reading slump so that may be affecting my review so I will possibly come back to this at another time.

With her debut novel "Hush," Dylan Farrow becomes the latest Farrow to enter the literary world with this YA fantasy novel that is already set to be the first in a series with the second title due for release later in 2021.

"Hush" introduces us to 17-year-old Shae, an impulsive yet obviously passionate young lady from the land of Montane and, in particular, the impoverished village of Aster where she lives alongside her mother on the outskirts of the village due to an incident years earlier in which her brother, Kieran, was lost to a controversial infection known as the Blot.

When tragedy strikes again and Shae's mother is found to have been murdered with a golden dagger as the weapon, Shae's thirst for justice leads her to travel to High House, where Montane's mysterious ruler Lord Cathal resides surrounded by an equally mysterious and absolutely powerful group known as the Bards, a nearly all male group with a highly evolved gift for the sacred act of "Telling," a way of controlling both the people and the world around them with intention of language and presence.

Shae gets more than she bargained for once she arrives at High House and discovers that sometimes when we seek out the truth it reveals more than we'd ever imagined.

A longtime activist, Farrow returns to her creative roots without setting her activism aside with this fictional yet timely and relevant tale that possesses both cultural insights and serves as a powerful feminist fantasy centered around the 17-year-old Shae, who believes herself to be plagued but who is, in fact, much more gaslighted by the world that surrounds her and is, also in fact, far more gifted than many of those who are regarded as the most gifted in the land.

As the first in an intended series, "Hush" is filled to the brim with the setting of atmosphere, place, time, and circumstance. At times, there's no question this comes to the detriment of story though seldom to the detriment of character development. Told largely from the first-person perspective of Shae, "Hush" is at times overwhelmed by descriptive language that distracts from the story's overall tone and one can only hope that having set the stage for this world with "Hush" that future novels will relax more into the story itself.

It is important to remember that "Hush" is intended as a YA fantasy, a novel and series along the lines of the "Hunger Games" novels or "Divergent" series or, to a much lesser degree, even the "Harry Potter" books though the Potter books definitely skew younger. While only the ages of Shae and a secondary character, 13-year-old Imogen, are specifically noted, "Hush" is set in a medieval-tinged land with a central character who radiates youthful impulsiveness and immaturity along with a more than healthy curiosity and sarcastic wit that serves her well. "Hush" occasionally dips its literary toes into light sensuality, mostly unsuccessfully, as Shae seems to resort to physical descriptors of nearly every male that surrounds her in a way that feels unnatural and untrue to the tone of the rest of the book.

While "Hush" is occasionally hindered by tonal inconsistencies, in a very tangible way Shae's journey finding her strength and gifts seem to mirror those of Farrow finding her own literary voice and watching that come to life on the page. While "Hush" is not without its challenges, rest assured that Farrow is a gifted writer and "Hush" shows tremendous promise as a YA fantasy series.

The world that Farrow creates is incredibly visual, a cinematic optioning of the material seems inevitable if it hasn't already occurred. Farrow writes in such a way that Aster, Montane, and High House all come vividly to life and that vivid picture helps us to buy into the suspense and mystery surrounding Shae. Farrow also keeps everything age-appropriate, Shae a believable 17-year-old on the cusp of womanhood yet still seeking affirmation from those who will affirm and also from those who will exploit her. As an activist in the area of sexual violence, Farrow clearly understands boundaries and never exploits the character herself.

The characters here for the most part fit the worlds into which they are created. Young Imogen, a servant girl, is perhaps the most beautifully drawn and it's hard to imagine you will not picture her yourself. I certainly did.

Fiona, Shae's friend, is in some ways paper thin yet also easy to imagine and easy to embrace within her place in the story. Mads, the only young man in Aster seemingly interested in Shae, is like many other men we've met before in YA fantasy novels yet Farrow nicely makes him more complex and compelling.

Lord Cathal's complexity is never in doubt, the kind fatherly aura we're first introduced to an obvious mask for the story to unfold. The same is true for most of the Bards including Kennan, Ravod, Niall, and others. They are both familiar characters in a familiar fantasy yet also given their own specific distinctions.

To tell anything more would be a disservice to Farrow's work here and to the joy of the written word itself. It is difficult to rate a book such as "Hush," both a first novel yet also already known to be the first in a literary series. As a stand-alone, it would likely exist in the 3-star range yet one can easily see characters developing and worlds growing and the universe opening up to Shae and in this unfolding feminist fantasy where the written word is sacred, misusing it potentially fatal, and repressing it perhaps the gravest mistake of all.

"Hush" comes to life on October 6th from Wednesday Books, a St. Martin's Press Imprint.

This was a toss up between a three and a four star and I think I might bump it up at a later date.

“Hush” tells the story of a world where the spoken word is reserved for those with permission to wield its power aka an organization called the Bard, made up almost exclusively by men. When Shae comes home to find her mother murdered she is quickly thrown into a world far outside her towns limits where magic and power go hand in hand and there’s someone in the shadows eager to ensure that they are the only one who can control it.

There was a lot of this that I liked with that mainly being the idea of an unreliable narrator which they make Shae out to be and it’s kind of your guess as to if it’s madness or reality that’s shaping the bizarre thoughts and illusions plaguing her mind and I think it’s a mix of both with her trauma and new found talents distorting her reality and the would be puppet master taking advantage of her vulnerability to shape her into the person they need to get what they want.

I feel like a lot of this book is just on the cusp of something great, we’d have moments that were truly riveting and I could not pull myself away from the narrative it was setting up and then we’d backslide into something more comfortable and basic that left me hungry for what I hoped was coming.

This is a series that I think has a lot of potential I just hope it can build on what was presented here but only time will tell.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I have never read anything quite like this book. It was not at all what I expected it to be and was never once predictable.

I really liked the main character, Shae. I loved that she was so stubborn and didn't falter in her search for the truth. I wish we got to spend more time with the side characters so I could care about them as well. Also, there were a handful of moments where I got pretty confused and felt like I missed a page, but it didn't last long enough to pause in reading.

Overall this book was great and wholly unique. It also ends on an insane cliffhanger, so I am very excited for the next one! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this one!

4.5 Stars. A nearly-perfect read. I couldn't stop turning pages. It was deeply compelling, rich and truly felt. I really hope to read more from Farrow in the future! Highly recommended!

A solid debut fantasy set in a fascinating world.

What drew me first to this book was the concept of propaganda being a form of magic, speaking things into being, and I was pleased to see the concept woven expertly throughout the book. I particularly appreciated the focus on the value of truth, even when it is heartbreaking, and the cost of silence individually and as a community. These themes really shone through the story.

Overall, Shae was a character I wanted to root for. Throughout the story, she wavered between being naive and skeptical, which worked well to highlight how parts of ourselves are at war with each other and inconsistent.

The pacing was brisk, and I was hooked after the first few chapters. About halfway in though, it became apparent this book was setting up a series. As a reader who loves to explore characters and worlds more, I was excited. However, some readers may be frustrated that all of the plot lines and questions won't be answered in this book.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and will be excited to return to this world for future installments.

I decided to give this book a chance and I am glad that I did! It was a good read that I finished in an afternoon and will probably reread. This is one I will be purchasing for myself and my libraries YA collection. I think the teens of my community will really enjoy this book.

#Hush
#Edelweiss
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review Hush by Dylan Farrow.
I have to say Hush is a dark, fantasy novel that will leave you wondering long after you have read it. I loved the main character, Shae, her perseverance is somewhat annoying and fascinating in the novel. She could easily have given up, but never once does she even consider doing so. Great plot, wonderful writing, and I hope more to come!