It was the cover that first attracted my attention to this book, the image of the Russian nesting dolls, then the by-line of “Everything can change in a heartbeat” piqued my interest that I knew had to learn more about the book. As soon as I read the blurb, I was hooked and knew I had to read it!

This really is a very different world that the characters in this book find themselves living in.
The free movement and privacy of the populations has been eroded away over time, with being instructed to wear watches that can be used to pay for items at stores. At first these watches are advised, then more strongly insisted upon, until now when they are compulsory to wear all the time. Their every move is tracked and logged by the government via the watches everyone must wear and never remove under any circumstances.

In England due to the strange occurrence of babies being born looking and being totally healthy yet never taking a breath, all women that have a positive pregnancy test are being closely monitored. In fact, the only way you can actually have a pregnancy test is to purchase one via your watch which then kicks in a whole sequence of requirements. Your pregnancy test result is not private. The government puts it across that it is in the mother’s best interest and the future of humanity that your pregnancy be closely monitored. Then suddenly young pregnant girls begin to go missing, some with their families, some without. To publicise the fact that young girls are mysteriously disappearing, PreacherGirl, a young girl herself takes to social media with a song about it.

It’s all these disappearances that prompt teenager Lainey into stealthily removing her watch that tracks her every move and placing it on the front paw of her dog Fergus and sneaking out of the house without waking her mother, Emma to meet her best friend Sereena. They have come up with a plan to obtain a pregnancy test without the act of doing so being registered in any way. Lainey does the pregnancy test all the while hoping and praying that it’s a negative result. She cannot bear the thought of having what has been nicknamed as a “Doll Baby.” Lainey knows she should confide in her mother, in fact, once she has the positive pregnancy test, she knows it’s only a matter of time until she has to say something. Lainey also has the added worry of Ellis, a friend from school having recently gone missing. The rumours are that Ellis was pregnant, but no one knows for sure and they have no idea where Ellis or her family have gone.

Lainey’s mother Emma has noticed that her daughter has withdrawn more and more from her lately. Emma blames herself as she has been so busy at work and under so much stress and pressure that she hasn’t really felt like striking up a conversation or pursuing the increasingly elusive Lainey. Emma is a midwife and is dealing with the “doll babies” on a daily basis. Emma used to love her job delivering bundles of joy, now a bundle of joy is the rarity. Emma still feels her calling is midwifery and is there to support the newly bereaved parents. Though that is stressful, it is the increasing paperwork that the Government and the NBCC (National Birth Crisis Centre) is demanding the midwives fill in. The working conditions Emma is working under are becoming increasingly worse due to paperwork, staff shortages and the increasing amounts of births being babies perfect in every way except they do not breath. These women have to answer questions about what they have been doing during their pregnancies, what they have been eating and so on as if it is their fault. The babies are being whisked away to be closely examined to see if any clues to this awful phenomenon is occurring.

I could truly go on and on about this book so much happens! I also enjoyed the different relationships between the strong female characters in the book. There’s Lainey’s relationship with her mum, Emma, then the fact Emma was estranged from her mother Geraldine Fox, but as a last resort turns to her for help. It seems perhaps Emma didn’t know the whole story of how and why her grandmother brought her up instead of her own mother. There are also strong bonds between Emma and her friends, and she has to make a difficult choice of who to tell the whole truth to and who to keep in the dark to protect them.

The whole Government and NBCC collusion is scarily so believable, the tracking watches aren’t a million miles away from the system of logging in and out of places using a mobile phone and barcode system the government in England implemented for their Track & Trace system in an attempt to keep track of where people were going and where the covid hot spots were! The population were just swept along without much say in what we were expected to do.

My immediate thoughts as I finished reading this book were, that the book had been an amazing read and that it was scarily believable!

Summing up, I loved this book from beginning to end. It is speculative fiction at it’s very best. I put this book right up there with other top speculative/futuristic fiction favourite authors, Rebecca Bowyer, Christina Dalcher, Tanvir Bush, NJ Crosskey and Joanne Ramos to name a few.

The Hush was quite dark, and at times, hard to read. But it was also so, so good, and I could not put it down. The story is so incredibly powerful, but there are also a lot of exciting twists, so I am keeping this review as short as I can to avoid giving away too much. The general gist is this: Emma, a midwife at a local hospital is having to care for more and more women whose babies are born still, due to some unknown pandemic of sorts. Things are getting more desperate by the day, and she is trying to not only keep her patients safe, but her daughter too.

This book is terrifying. I mean, first off, you can absolutely understand the panic and desperation. Babies, perfectly healthy babies, seem to die at birth for no observable reason. Parents are devastated and terrified, and hospitals are basically in a full-blown emergency state. And of course, the government is just waiting to muck things up. It's desperate times, no question. Emma is trying so hard to hold it all together, but the situations she's dealing with grow more dire by the day.

The plot is exciting and thrilling, and yes, emotional, as Emma tries to save her daughter and her patients. She finds herself in deeper than she could have ever imagined, and must make some incredibly difficult decisions, and fast. The pacing was perfect, as there was a great blend of action and emotion, and I simply loved reading this book- even if the world was one I never want to find myself in!

Bottom Line: It's high-octane, high-emotion, completely immersive storytelling that I absolutely cannot recommend enough.

What a unique story!
Set in Britain, post covid, still getting used to the new rules of life in the near future. Amid all the other changes, babies are increasingly being born stillborn. Of course, the government needs to step in, and soon pregnant teens start to go missing.
Emma has a first hand account as a midwife, but isn’t prepared when her own teenage daughter becomes pregnant.
Great dystopian take on things!

This thriller was action-packed right from the beginning.

Set in the near-future after COVID, the British government has issued sweeping mandates that slowly begin to look a lot like Big Brother, stripping people of their human rights. For some unknown and horrifying reason, an increasing number of otherwise healthy babies are born unresponsive. The government’s response to this crisis is to heavily monitor the health and whereabouts of its citizens via smartwatches. On top of all that, young pregnant women have started to go missing, sometimes with their entire families. When Lainey, a seventeen-year-old girl, suspects she is pregnant, her mother and grandmother do everything in their power to protect her.

This thriller is fast-paced and has one shocking revelation after another. It’s told from Lainey and Emma’s perspective.

There’s not much to critique with this one. It kept my attention, but it was a touch too quickly paced to what I normally read. Otherwise, I found this to be a gripping novel.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the arc via Netgalley.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Netgalley and Sara Foster for letting me read The Hush early. This one hits shelves November 2.

This near-future thriller looks deep at society and turns the pandemic and the quest for human rights on its back. I really connected with the characters right away and had a hard time putting this one down. If you enjoy creepy futuristic thrillers that feel like they’re not far off, I highly recommend this one.

The Hush is a multi generational female led dystopian thriller based in the UK. Six months ago a healthy baby wouldn’t take a breath at birth. Since that time there have been more tragedies and now the country is in turmoil. The government is coming for everyone’s freedom and the women are losing their rights. Young pregnant women have started going missing, people are all being monitored and are terrified. Emma is a midwife and mother of 17 year old Lainey. As Lainey finds herself in trouble in this new dangerous world, both women are facing impossible choices.

This is a really difficult book to review - I appreciated it, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading it, because it’s terrifying how possible it all feels. Set in the near future, in a world recovering from COVID and grappling with worsening climate change, the plot hinges on a mysterious illness causing stillborn deaths, and the disappearance of pregnant girls. Corrupt governments, gaslighting, and media control all factor into the plot - and the whole time, I felt myself waffling between reassuring myself that this is a work of fiction, and fearing that it all felt entirely too plausible. Ultimately, the strong female characters and the message of hope conveyed through the relationships between mothers, daughters, and friends helped to overshadow the darker themes of the novel.

"The Hush" stands out as a gripping dystopian read. It's timely and thoughtful, asking much-needed questions about how our societal standards have changed following the pandemic.

I initially thought this was going to be a true-crime/MI5 type thriller but it is really much more of a dystopian Handmaid's Tale story. I particularly enjoyed the Germaine Greer stand-in character. #NetGalley #ARC

I think the concept was amazing, but I struggled terribly to get into it. The writing was a bit slow and tedious, in my opinion, and I found myself skimming often.

The book has potential with a bit of editing, I think. Right now it just seems to be a spin-off of the Handmaid's Tale.

Please consider reading it regardless. I seem to be in the minority here so plan go read it again soon with a fresh pair of eyes.

”It’s speeding up, trauma upon trauma, fear upon fear.”

Take a relational drama packed with three generations of mother-daughter interactions, mix it with an unsolvable medical mystery, and add layers of political unrest & and conspiracy theories that feel oh-so-timely, and you’ve got the recipe for an utterly riveting dystopian thriller.

”The system seems to be getting more draconian every day.”

The Hush tells the haunting story of a post-COVID world, where Britain’s government has implemented terrifyingly severe health and location monitoring laws for its citizens. The country is inexplicably plagued by a nearly 1-in-2 stillbirth rate, and scientists cannot identify a cause or a solution, so now pregnancies must be reported to the government for tracking as well. Suddenly, young pregnant women begin to disappear, and one family begins to suspect that there might be sinister motives at play…

”The surveillance never stops, so we can’t let our guard down if we’re going to outsmart it… Remember, fear is their ultimate weapon, but it can’t get you unless you let it.”

Sara Foster explores themes like motherhood, women’s rights, control, and government overreach. The Hush prompts thought-provoking questions about how much of our freedom we are willing to sacrifice for the sake of our safety, and about when cooperation becomes complicity.

”A patriarchal system will never pursue collaboration as a method of progress or restitution.”

I found myself so triggered by literally every scene in this book, not because any of the content was overtly offensive, but because I found the story to be so realistic and believable, and I could absolutely imagine a future where our reality looks a lot like this one. And that possibility, however remote, enrages me beyond what my vocabulary can succinctly express.

”Every day it feels more of a charade. She seriously doubts there’s a higher power listening to their pleas—and if there is, then all she has for this lackluster god is hot, venomous anger.”

The Hush was an absolutely riveting read, and my only wish was that it might have been longer, with some of the conspiratorial elements a bit more fleshed out. Overall, I really enjoyed it!

——

A huge thank you to Sara Foster, Blackstone Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this exceptionally well written novel. A near-future story that is extremely hard to put down and will keep readers up late into the night. In the current climate of Covid19 the story opens your eyes to an very uncertain future. It portrays the strength and love of families and friends pitted against an overpowering and controlling government. It also highlights the power of caring women caught in a precarious situation. I highly recommend this novel to readers of all genres and it deserves a very well earned five stars for Sarah Foster.

Everything changes in a heart beat. Mysteriously two dozen girls go missing and one of those girls is Ellis, Lainey’s friend. The UK has been hit with a new epidemic when healthy babies don’t take their first breath after birth. The country is suddenly turned upside down and the government pass incredibly harsh laws through to monitor everyone!

Lainey’s mum Emma is a midwife and her job is now orchestrated with precise precision, every brith is now recorded. Emma constantly finds herself in dangerous territories trying to do what’s right for her patients. When Emma and Lainey find themselves in trouble, Emma’s estranged mother is their on hope.

From the moment I started this book I couldn’t put it down. Sara Foster is an auto buy author for me and I went into this one blind and it blew me away. I will preface this by saying that this does deal with some heavy topics, including covid, still born and removal of human right. I’ve never read anything like this before, bad ass women supporting women and it has you on the edge of your seat right to the very end!

3.5 Stars, rounded up!

Set in a slightly futuristic UK, The Hush by Sara Foster details a horrifyingly plausible future where women's reproductive rights are once again in jeopardy. It's a tale of three (soon to be four) generations of females in the same family, who will do whatever it takes to keep each other safe. In the last year, numerous babies, called Intrapartum X babies, have seemed perfectly healthy in utero, but when born refuse to take a breath, and many pregnant teenage girls have disappeared. Emma works as a midwife at a hospital that more recently feels like a war zone. Her daughter Lainey ends up in trouble, and this forces her to reach out to the mother who she believed had abandoned her as a child.

The paragraph above? Yeah. I'm a woman; I'm a mother; I recognized this book to have the ability to grip me and not let go. Thus why I chose to read it. Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for making it available to me.

The book is set after the COVID pandemic in a world that is facing the consequences of both global warming and overpopulation. The government has mandated all citizens wear smart watches to help with health checks. They are also used for paying for purchases. Naturally, they can be used to track the citizens. Successful setting - check.

The main characters in this story are very likeable, and the reader will definitely root for them. However, character depth could be better, including the more minor characters. They seem to fall into either good or evil categories. Emma's and Lainey's emotions do always seem to be true to what someone would feel in the situations they encounter. Geraldine, Emma's mother, is a badass. I really wish we readers could've found out what happened to her after everything that happened. Lainey did show some growth as the story progressed.

Although the characters could've been a bit more well-rounded, the book is definitely more story-driven, with development after development building to the climax. It's a taut thriller that the reader won't want to put down.

I would recommend this to fans of speculative fiction, thrillers, and women in general.

WOW!! What did I just read?! “The Hush” by Sara Foster is absolutely brilliant and genre-defying. It’s a thriller, sci-fi, dystopian, and family drama all rolled into one. Set in near-future UK, this story takes place post-COVID and in the thick of the effects of climate change. The country is in the throes of a reproductive crisis – an epidemic of babies who appear perfectly healthy in the womb right up until the moment of birth are stillborn and never take their first breath. Now the Government is clamping down on personal freedoms – citizens must wear watches that track their movements, health status, and spending. On top of all that, pregnant teenagers are going missing.

Told through the eyes of midwife Emma and her teenage daughter Lainey, this story is terrifying because it feels utterly plausible. Citizens have given up their rights in exchange for perceived safety and public health, but end up in a situation where a corrupt government is in near-total control of women’s lives. Jam-packed with strong female characters and perfect for fans of “The Handmaid’s Tale”, what sets this dystopian novel apart is its wonderfully compelling human aspect. Emma and Lainey and the supporting cast are perfectly drawn, and I was absolutely rooting for them to prevail as Lainey’s predicament puts them all at the heart of an increasingly dangerous situation.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me an advance copy of this fabulous book.

This felt like a book trying to be Handmaids Tale. It was derivative and nothing special. It is a dystopian story based in UK and around fertility. The Covid-19 is a fine backdrop but again, nothing special about this book.

Wow, this was good.

Mini Synopsis: It's post-covid. Society is stressed. There's new government. There's more security - in the form of watches that track everyone's location and health status at all times. And there are babies being born... that never take a breath. Why are the babies dying? Why are pregnant women disappearing? This all seems part of the "new normal" until main character Emma finds out her daughter Lainey is pregnant and facing danger.

Fans of Handmaid's Tale and 1984. But throw in a little more of a thriller and some bad ass feminists. The Covid twist made this even scarier.

Be sure to read this one when it hits shelves in October!

WOW I flew through this one it was so addicting I couldn't put it down! I felt such strong visceral reactions to all of the characters (especially my hatred for Liam ugh) and it felt so real and high stakes the entire time I was reading. I was definitely not suspecting the eugenics plot line at all and I think while I enjoyed it it maybe could have been explained a bit more clearly or slowly because we were thrown a lot of information all at once which was a lot to take in and remember. I was so proud when she escaped from that weird facility and kept screaming at all the twists and turns practically.

The Hush is set in the near future in the UK, which has been swept by an epidemic of mysterious stillbirths of babies who seem perfectly healthy right up until the moment they are delivered - at which point, they simply never take a breath. In a climate of heightened surveillance and the government suppressing freedoms in the name of safety, young pregnant women have started going missing. As a midwife, Emma’s once-rewarding job has become a waking nightmare. When her teenage daughter Lainey admits she’s pregnant, Emma knows she will do anything to keep her daughter safe.

For the most part, this book is not what you’d call “action-packed” in the traditional sense – no car chases or standoffs at gunpoint here – and it’s just a little slow to get started, but the author still manages to ratchet up the tension, make the pace quick enough, and pack in enough intrigue, conspiracy, and mystery to earn its place in the “thriller” genre. The book also has a distinctly dystopian flavor, even though it’s set less than 10 years after the COVID-19 pandemic. The fact that it takes place only a few years in the future – and that the future portrayed is believably extrapolated from current events – makes it all the more terrifying.

I really enjoyed the book – the plot and the mystery were intriguing and the main characters (the POV switches between Emma and her daughter Lainey) were people you really wanted to root for. My only real complaint is that the ending was pretty abrupt and left some threads unresolved. I would have liked to see more of the aftermath.

Representation: Women of color as prominent side characters

CW: Pregnancy loss, abduction, gaslighting, government abuse of power

Published on Instagram @Tiffany_is_reading

Holy shit! This was so good. I love a good dystopian story. This was definitely “near future” as it was described in the synopsis, and it felt so terrifying as it references Covid as the start of the troubles. The characters were all amazing in this, and I could not stop reading to see where it was all going.

I have a lot to say about this novel, but lest I delve into a thought piece rather than a review, let me put it plainly; you should read this.
Think "Handmaids Tale" meets "1984"; a feminist "what if" put into practise. A not-too-distant future England is still reeling from the aftermath of COVID-19 & climate crisis, and sent into a tailspin by widespread pregnancy complications. At the heart of the tale are three generations of women, navigating life during a hell scape of a socio-political climate.
This is both touching & thought provoking; thrilling, yet unsettling in it's plausibility. Highly recommend!